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**
The black-clad man who suddenly appeared on the arena stage was, naturally, Xiao Lin. At this moment, Xiao Lin was wearing night-walking clothes, wrapping himself tightly from head to toe, leaving only a pair of eyes visible.
"Who are you?"
Xiao Lin's sudden appearance on the stage gave Xie Bi Yan a fright as well.
"Me? Naturally, I am your opponent for this Dou Zong battle!"
Xiao Lin had altered his voice through Dou Qi, answering in an exceptionally low and deep tone.
"Hmph, a person who hides their head and shows only their tail—why should this old man fight you?"
For some reason, he felt a faint sense of danger emanating from the person in front of him dressed in night-walking gear. However, since Xiao Lin had not yet displayed his strength, it wasn't that Xie Bi Yan was afraid of him.
Mainly, in Xie Bi Yan's view, if this mysterious person of unknown identity was also a Dou Zong powerhouse of the Jia Ma Empire, then adding Yun Shan to the mix would mean he stood absolutely no chance.
After all, he himself was only at the cultivation level of a Two-Star Dou Zong. Therefore, Xie Bi Yan was intentionally trying to label Xiao Lin as someone who did not belong to the Jia Ma Empire!
"You don't need to overthink it. If you defeat me, this Dou Zong battle will be counted as a victory for your Chu Yun Empire. Sect Master Yun Shan will not step in afterward. Do you still have a problem now?"
How could Xiao Lin not see through Xie Bi Yan's petty schemes? Thus, he stated it plainly.
As Xiao Lin's words fell, Xie Bi Yan's eyes, which had been narrowed, suddenly snapped wide open.
"Are those words true?"
If that was the case, he didn't care anymore.
After all, he only suspected the opponent wasn't from the Jia Ma Empire because of his attire. But if the opponent really was a part of the Jia Ma Empire, then in a normal fight, his Chu Yun Empire would undoubtedly lose this Dou Zong battle.
Even if the person before him was only a One-Star Dou Zong, he had no confidence that he could defeat Yun Shan after winning the first match.
It was precisely considering this point that Xie Bi Yan appeared so excited when Xiao Lin said that defeating him would count as a victory for the Chu Yun Empire. Because this way, he only needed to fight one match for this Dou Zong battle!
In a single fight, he had absolute confidence in himself!
One must know that his Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate had many spies in the Jia Ma Empire. Yet, for all these years, they had never heard of a Dou Zong powerhouse being born.
Even Yun Shan had only broken through in the last two years. Therefore, in Xie Bi Yan's view, even if Xiao Lin was a Dou Zong powerhouse, at most, he was just a low-tier Dou Zong who had recently broken through.
In that case, what was there to fear in a duel?
"Naturally, they are not false!"
Looking at the excited Xie Bi Yan, Xiao Lin gave an affirmative answer.
However, at this moment, Xie Bi Yan didn't seem to seek only Xiao Lin's opinion; instead, he turned his gaze toward Yun Shan.
"Yun Shan, what do you say?"
Xie Bi Yan asked, his eyes fixed tightly on Yun Shan.
After all, Yun Shan was also a Dou Zong and was eligible to participate in the Dou Zong battle between the two nations. Therefore, seeking his personal opinion on such a matter was indeed very necessary.
"To the two facilitators, I forfeit my participation in this Dou Zong battle! Xie Bi Yan, now you don't have to worry about that, right?"
To set Xie Bi Yan's mind at ease, Yun Shan turned directly to the two facilitators from the Sky Serpent Empire to state his position, then looked at Xie Bi Yan with a relaxed expression.
"As long as both parties agree, we naturally will not object!"
One of the two facilitators from the Sky Serpent Empire spoke up.
They were only here to serve as witnesses and would not interfere in this Sect Grand Competition between the Four Great Empires.
"Good! Then it's settled!"
Hearing this, Xie Bi Yan grew very excited, feeling that the Chu Yun Empire had gained a massive advantage. Originally, he might have had to fight a gauntlet against two of the Jia Ma Empire's Dou Zong powerhouses. Now, he only needed to win a duel against the person in front of him.
Wasn't this a total win for the Chu Yun Empire?
Meanwhile, Yun Shan had already returned to the Jia Ma Empire's contingent.
"Sect Master Yun Shan, you... sigh~."
"Sect Master Yun Shan, how could you just forfeit like that?"
"Sect Master Yun Shan, who is this mysterious person? Is he also a Dou Zong powerhouse from our Jia Ma Empire?"
"Has such a person been in our group all this way?"
"Did he just arrive, or has he been in our ranks all along without us noticing?"
"Sect Master Yun Shan, is it really okay to pin the hopes of this battle on this mysterious person?"
...
As soon as Yun Shan returned to the Jia Ma Empire's side, the others immediately swarmed him, buzzing with discussion. Clearly, because they had never seen or even heard of him, the people of the Jia Ma Empire were not at all at ease with Xiao Lin.
This was understandable.
Anyone would feel bewildered if, in the most critical battle, an unknown person suddenly appeared to replace their side's strongest fighter.
"Rest assured, he is also a member of our Jia Ma Empire. Moreover, with him taking action, our Jia Ma Empire is guaranteed victory in this battle!"
Yun Shan spoke with absolute certainty.
Hearing Yun Shan say this, the others instantly looked at one another in surprise. Among them, Jia Xingtian and Fa Ma seemed to suddenly recall something.
"Sect Master Yun Shan, could it be that he is..."
Before Jia Xingtian could even finish his sentence, Yun Shan understood his meaning.
"Two years ago, didn't you both receive a bit of news regarding this person from Hai Bodong?" Yun Shan spoke with a mysterious expression.
"It really is him!" Fa Ma couldn't help but blurt out.
"That's right, he is the one I told Hai Bodong about—the strongest expert in our Jia Ma Empire!"
Yun Shan's tone was incredibly firm!
Upon receiving Yun Shan's confirmation, Jia Xingtian and Fa Ma became instantly excited. After all, according to their understanding, Xiao Lin was already a Dou Zong powerhouse twenty years ago; by now, he could only be stronger!
However, at this point, Jia Xingtian and Fa Ma were even more curious about the identity of this mysterious Dou Zong. But seeing the night-walking attire and the voice that was clearly altered on purpose, they also realized the person intended to keep his identity hidden.
"Ah, I really want to know who he is!"
"I wonder when the veil of mystery surrounding him will be lifted?"
Jia Xingtian and Fa Ma lamented once more.
The three of them spoke in riddles, leaving the rest of the Jia Ma Empire group completely in the dark.
However, whether it was Yun Shan, Jia Xingtian, or Fa Ma, none of them had any intention of explaining things to the others right now. Yun Shan would not reveal Xiao Lin's secrets, and Jia Xingtian and Fa Ma simply didn't know Xiao Lin's true identity themselves.
Nevertheless, this didn't stop the Jia Ma Empire's crowd from hearing it from Yun Shan's own mouth: the person about to fight the Chu Yun Empire's Xie Bi Yan was the strongest powerhouse in the Jia Ma Empire!
This was a certification provided personally by Yun Shan!
**
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