The Battle Through Heaven
Da Ling City
Da Ling City was located in the northwestern region of the Jia Ma Empire. Its size might not be comparable to big cities like the capital, but when compared to Wu Tan City, it was still much larger. Moreover, it was neighboring the Magical Beast Mountain Range that covered nearly half of the empire. Therefore, countless risk takers and business groups came and went, giving this city a never-ending stream of human traffic.
At the northern city gate of Da Ling City, the flow of humans moving to and from the city almost clogged the city gates. Not far from the north gate was the seemingly endless Magical Beast Mountain Range. A small group of mercenaries with different ranks repeatedly entered and exited this point, like ants moving house. Occasionally, there would be troops using horse carriages to carry the Magical Beast's corpse that ran out of the forest and a wisp of dust behind it. This would attract many envious gazes from the people around. It was not an easy matter to kill a satisfying prey within the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
"Well, we were really unlucky, losing two brothers to kill a second-rate Magical Beast. In the end, it was a stone egg without any treasures. " The seven blood-soaked big men cursed as they walked out from the forest entrance. In the frame of the horse carriage behind them, lay the huge corpse of the Magical Beast. The corpse head had been split apart and there was only brain, fresh blood, and a few other things without the most precious thing: Monster Core. From the mercenary jargon that appeared in their conversation, this Magical Beast without Monster Core was called a stone egg without treasures. TL: brother here means brother-in-arms/friends, not actual brothers
"If there were a rank 2 Monster Core inside this damn thing, we would be able to raise enough money to purchase the High Huang Level Qi Method from the auction house." The big man's face was filled with dissatisfaction as he spoke.
"High Huang Level, ah. That kind of Qi method would require up to a hundred and ten thousand gold coins. It's like a blood-sucking ghost. " A man who seemed to be the leader spat out his saliva and scolded.
"Hee hee, the Misty Cloud Sect issued the desired command. Anyone who could provide a clue would be able to obtain the Xuan Class Qi Method. He could even be given a chance to be accepted into the Misty Cloud Sect. We can go and try our luck. That way, we don't need to waste our lives to exchange items for money to purchase the Qi Method. " A somewhat thin man wiped the blood marks off his face and spoke with a laugh. When he mentioned the Xuan Class Qi Method, a greed that was hard to hide flashed in his eyes.
"Thin ape, did you become stupid after being with so many women?" The man, who seemed to be the leader, coldly looked at him. He clicked his lips and said, "Don't tell me you don't know the person that the Misty Cloud Sect is after? Xiao Yan's! The mysterious person who became the champion of the Alchemist Grand Meeting. He was also a terrifying person who had stormed into the Misty Cloud Sect twice, killed Yun Leng, who was of the Dou Wang class, and managed to escape unharmed from the hands of Yun Shan, who was not at all, the Dou Zong class. Do you think he's the type of person that people like us can afford to offend? "
"Hee hee, I just said that as a joke. How could we possibly meet such a person. " The skinny man laughed awkwardly as he said, "However, I have heard that the Misty Cloud Sect has issued this desired order throughout the empire. Interesting conditions like this will certainly make many people interested. I think even if Xiao Yan were to escape from the Misty Cloud Sect, he would have trouble moving even half an inch inside the Jia Ma Empire.
"Does this matter have the slightest connection with us? Don't just daydream naively all day. Even if you're gonna meet him, don't tell me you can use your broken knife to stop him? " The man leading the group laughed coldly, "Don't waste any time. Hurry back to the city to rest for the day. Tomorrow, we still have to keep risking our lives. Otherwise, with our current Middle Huang Qi Method, when before we can break through to the Dou Shi class? "
As the group leader scolded, the people with bloodstains could only mutter unhappily and begin stumbling towards the City Gate.
After the group of men left, a human figure completely covered in black robes suddenly walked slowly out of the deep forest. His gaze swept in front of him. Immediately, he lowered his head slightly, letting the shadow of his Doupeng cover almost half of his face. TL: Doupeng – conical bamboo hat with dangling cloth to cover the head
"Did they start looking for me all over the country? Yun Shan was really willing to pay. " The black-robed person coldly laughed. He raised his head slightly and revealed half of the delicate and handsome face underneath. Looking at the familiar contours, it was surprisingly Xiao Yan, who had escaped from the Misty Cloud Sect!
From the day Yun Yun allowed Xiao Yan to leave, he, he relied on the map that Ya Fei had given him to take a long detour and spent nearly ten days walking through the forest to completely escape from the people who had survived in it. chased him. After which, he rested for one day before following the map and walking all the way to the northwestern border of the Jia Ma Empire through the Magical Beast Mountain Range. He spent another seven days rushing on his way before he arrived at this Da Ling City, which was close to the northwestern border of the Jia Ma Empire.
Using the map as a reference, as long as he passed this Da Ling City and passed through several other checkpoints, he would easily reach the border of the Jia Ma Empire. When that time came, all he needed to do was leave the Ma Ma Empire and the order desired by the Misty Cloud Sect would become completely ineffective.
The Misty Cloud Sect might still have some deterrent effects abroad, but it was much inferior compared to the reputation enjoyed within the Jia Ma Empire. Naturally, the other factions would not care about the desired orders of any sect. During these years, the Misty Cloud Sect remained firmly entrenched within the Jia Ma Empire and did its best to eliminate factions from outside the empire. Hence, it resulted in the Misty Cloud Sect not being famous outside of the empire.
Although rushing through the journey during this period of time had caused Xiao Yan to suffer great hardships, it was, the thing that caused the greatest excitement was that Yao Lao's exhausted Soul finally completely recovered after being nursed to health for half a month. At this moment, the heart of Xiao Yan, who had been in a state of alert all this time, finally relaxed. No matter how one put it, with Yao Lao present, at least it meant that he had a trump card to protect his life.
Moreover, due to the residual medicinal effects stored within his body, Xiao Yan actually had the ability to increase his strength once again during this one month of escape after his great breakthrough. During the escape from the mouth of a Dou Wang-class Magical Beast, Xiao Yan completely raised his strength without even realizing it. Xiao Yan had thus become a four star Da Dou Shi in such a short period of time!
If someone added the hurried growth of the medicine within the mountain cave last month, Xiao Yan's strength had actually surged by three stars in this one month. This kind of speed can definitely be explained with one word, ‘scary’. Although the main reason for this was the life and death fight, which he had experienced during this period of time and the medicinal effects remaining within his body, he had, it was unable to cover up Xiao Yan's training talent that even caused Yao Lao to praise him repeatedly. Of course, not including all of this, though, the thing that caused Xiao Yan's heart to be filled with the most excitement was that he began to clearly understand some parts of the Secret Technique that guarded ‘Burning Flame Valley’, ‘Skyfire Three Mysterious Change’, three days ago after training for a month and under the guidance of Yao Lao. He might have failed several times during this period, but from the appearance of how his strength still managed to surge despite this failed attempt, Xiao Yan could faintly sense the concept of the Secret Technique. He had the confidence that as long as he was given enough time, he would definitely be able to completely master ‘The Mysterious Change of the Three Mysterious’ successfully. When that time comes, he will have trouble finding an opponent who can compete with him at the Da Dou Shi level or even higher with his strength raised by this ‘Secret’ Technique!
In short, the benefits Xiao Yan had obtained during this one month flight almost made him smile until his mouth was chapped.
"Hee hee." As he thought about his gains over this past month, he could not help but laugh, ignoring the strange gazes that others were throwing beside him. He pulled Doupeng down slightly and hid his entire face in the dark shadows. His gaze scanned the entrance of the city in the distance, where people came and went, before walking slowly. With the situation now, it was better to leave the Jia Ma Empire as soon as possible. The current Xiao Yan did not have the qualifications to leave and repay his debt with his current strength. Fortunately, he was not in a hurry. It was because he knew that his greatest advantage was that he was young, and had plenty of time to spend.
Xiao Yan walked up to the city gate and queued in the back row. His gaze swept around him before slightly frowning as his gaze was fixed on the white paper affixed to the city gate. At this moment, there were two very different faces drawn on the white paper. Xiao Yan's gaze swept over and realized that of those two faces, one was his current appearance, while the other was actually Yan Xiao's appearance, the identity he used to participate in the Grand Meeting Alchemist. Clearly, this was a plan formed because the Misty Cloud Sect was afraid that Xiao Yan would once again use Yan Xiao's identity and take the opportunity to escape from the Jia Ma Empire.
"Yun Shan has spent a lot of effort to catch me." Xiao Yan laughed coldly. His gaze gazed towards the city gate and realized that the troops guarding the city were actually checking the identities of those entering the city along the way. Before everyone entered, the two soldiers would hold the picture and compare it to their appearance for a long time before letting them in.
"Did the Imperial family of the Jia Ma Empire secretly help the Misty Cloud Sect?" Xiao Yan frowned slightly as he muttered, "With Jia Xing Tian's cunning thoughts, he must know what kind of enemy he would create for the Jia Ma Imperial Family if I were to escape if he were to fight me at this time. Moreover, the Imperial family of the Jia Ma Empire and the Misty Cloud Sect were not very friendly with each other. "
"Damn Mu Sang. Isn't he just a city guard? He was actually this arrogant. Does he think that he alone has the final say in Da Ling City? How could he not be afraid if he really met Xiao Yan, the latter would beat him to death with his ruler. " As Xiao Yan was feeling doubtful, a man who had been waiting for a long time in front of him suddenly cursed with an impatient face.
"putting. Don't be so noisy. Although the desired order for Xiao Yan was not related to the Imperial family of the Jia Ma Empire, Mu Sang was someone who came from the Misty Cloud Sect. Since he received the desired orders from the sect, he naturally needed to prioritize his own interests under the guise of doing public works and working well. " A man who seemed to be his friend hurriedly grabbed him and whispered.
"Using the influence of others to oppress others." The man spat out saliva and cussed unhappily. However, he did not open his mouth and spewed out violence like he did just a moment ago. Clearly, the person named Mu Sang still scared him.
"Actually someone who came from the Misty Cloud Sect." Xiao Yan absorbed the conversation between the two into his ears. Only then did he suddenly realize. The disciples of the Misty Cloud Sect were scattered throughout the Jia Ma Empire. With their abilities, they had no shortage of people holding official posts within the Jia Ma Empire. Now that they had received the desired order from the sect, all they needed to do was to secretly use authority in their hands, and they would be able to quickly deploy people to intercept at all the checkpoints within the Jia Ma Empire. Only now did Xiao Yan faintly sense what kind of power the Misty Cloud Sect had within the Jia Ma Empire. No wonder even the Imperial family of the Jia Ma Empire, who controlled the entire Jia Ma Empire, was afraid of them.
Xiao Yan mused in his heart before pulling out of the queue that was gradually moving forward. After which, he turned the corner and arrived at a remote part of the city wall. He raised his head and glanced at the sleepy patrol unit on the city wall. His back trembled slightly and the Purple Cloud Wings slowly extended. He bent his legs slightly and in an instant, he flapped the wings on his back. His body suddenly surged before his toes clung onto the city wall and he turned into a black shadow that climbed over the city wall in a lightning-like manner. After which, he jumped to the other side of the city wall before the patrolling soldiers turned their heads.
Xiao Yan's feet had just touched the ground as he hurriedly flashed to the back of a building. He clapped his hands and kept the Purple Cloud Wings. Only then did he casually walk into this city, which was one of the few that he had to pass through before leaving the Jia Ma Empire. He needed to obtain some information regarding the Misty Cloud Sect during this one month.