Inside the grand hall of the Misty Cloud Sect, Yun Shan sat upright upon the central throne, while below him stood Nalan Yanran, dressed in a moon-colored gown.
"I have reviewed the cultivation plan your teacher arranged for you. It is far too lenient. From today onward, your training will be arranged by me. First, increase your cultivation workload by fifty percent on top of the original plan," Yun Shan's authoritative voice echoed through the hall as he looked at his grand-disciple.
Nalan Yanran frowned slightly and hesitated before speaking. "Grandmaster… regarding the punishment imposed on Teacher, was it perhaps too harsh?" She mustered her courage and voiced the doubts in her heart while meeting Yun Shan's cold gaze.
Yun Shan's brows knitted together, his voice carrying an unquestionable decisiveness. "Silence. The handling of your teacher is not something you are qualified to comment on. As Sect Master, she was captured, this severely damaged the reputation accumulated by the Misty Cloud Sect over generations. As for you, as the Young Sect Master of the Misty Cloud Sect, you bear the burden of the three-year agreement. If you are defeated, the sect's prestige will suffer a heavy blow. I will not allow such a thing to happen. Focus on cultivation and do not allow distractions. This week's training volume will be doubled. You may leave."
Nalan Yanran bit her lip and did not plead further. She bowed respectfully. "Yes, Grandmaster. Yanran will begin training at once."
Not long after Nalan Yanran departed, the doors of the great hall suddenly shut. From a dark corner, an eerie mass of black mist slowly drifted out. A strange, mocking laugh echoed from within.
"Jie jie jie… I didn't expect you to exile Yun Yun. Why?"
Yun Shan turned his head toward the black mist, a trace of puzzlement flashing through his eyes. "Protector Wu, was this not done according to your suggestion? You said Yun Yun had damaged the dignity of the Misty Cloud Sect and was not worth saving. After careful consideration, I found your words reasonable and thus adopted your advice, imposing a harsher punishment. As it turns out, the effect is exactly as you predicted—my prestige within the Misty Cloud Sect and the Jia Ma Empire has risen even further. Moreover, thanks to the Soul Hall, I have already broken through to the Dou Ancestor realm. Compared to secluded cultivation in the mountains, this Sect Master's throne suits me better."
The black mist churned slightly before a faint voice emerged. "Jie jie jie… indeed. Now you understand. Obeying the orders of the Soul Hall, obeying my orders is your best choice. Now that you have once again become Sect Master of the Misty Cloud Sect, handling matters for the Soul Hall will be even more convenient. Next, simply await further instructions."
With that, the black mist rapidly dispersed, and tranquility once again returned to the hall.
Sensing that Protector Wu's aura had completely vanished, a trace of mockery and irony surfaced in Yun Shan's eyes.
"Protector Wu, you rely only on the might of the Soul Hall. Without that layer of mysterious backing, you are merely someone slightly stronger than me. To think I once feared you so deeply, now it seems almost laughable."
Yun Shan withdrew his gaze, his thoughts drifting to the strange aspects of the Xiao Clan described by Ge Ye, who had accompanied Nalan Yanran to annul the engagement.
"According to Ge Ye, the members of the Xiao Clan themselves were nothing special. However, among them was a young girl closely associated with Xiao Yan. She wasn't even a Dou Practitioner, yet she made Ge Ye, a Dou Grandmaster—feel a lethal sense of danger. In her presence, Ge Ye felt like an ant. Such means are absolutely not something the Jia Ma Empire could possess. Moreover, in her speech and demeanor, she showed no regard for the Misty Cloud Sect at all. If my guess is correct, she is likely the descendant of some major figure who maintains friendly relations with the Xiao Clan. It seems there truly are terrifying experts watching over the Xiao Clan. How troublesome."
"So the alchemist didn't lie to me after all. Damn the Xiao Clan, why didn't you migrate somewhere else? Why did you have to come to the Jia Ma Empire?"
Lin Yuan learned of Yun Yun's exile from Queen Medusa.
"Yun Yun was stripped of her position as Sect Master of the Misty Cloud Sect and exiled, forbidden to return unless she breaks through to the Dou Ancestor realm?" Upon hearing this news, Lin Yuan could not help but feel a trace of astonishment. However, he quickly grasped Yun Shan's intention.
'So that's how it is. A cunning rabbit has three burrows, placing everything on the brink of death to seek rebirth. Yun Shan truly deserves his decades as Sect Master. Once his blind spot in perspective was cleared, he immediately learned to draw broader inferences.'
"What exactly did you discuss with Yun Shan?" Queen Medusa asked, noticing Lin Yuan's contemplative expression. Curiosity arose within her.
She and Yun Shan could be considered old rivals and knew his temperament fairly well. She also clearly understood the circumstances surrounding Yun Yun's capture. Yun Shan would certainly know that it was this alchemist, whose combat strength rivaled that of a Dou Ancestor, who defeated and captured Yun Yun. That was perfectly normal. Logically, he should not have made such a decision.
Therefore, the only possible reason for this decision was the conversation that took place after Yun Shan's defeat that day. Moreover, seeing the look of sudden realization on the man before her, Queen Medusa suspected that the alchemist and Yun Shan had reached some extremely secretive cooperative agreement.
Lin Yuan looked seriously at Queen Medusa, whose curiosity was now clearly written across her face, and said in a deep voice, "Apologies, Your Majesty. I cannot tell you this. The matter is of great importance. Even you would be in danger if you were drawn into it."
"Is that so?" Queen Medusa's gaze turned cold. Her lowered arms clenched tightly, her fingertips digging deep into her palms. The unwillingness in her heart only grew stronger.
"Yun Shan can cooperate with you? Yet it's dangerous for me to know? Is it a matter of strength or something else?"
Queen Medusa looked at Lin Yuan, complex emotions surging deep within her eyes.
The first time they met, this man had defeated her head-on despite the odds, then proceeded to forcefully establish a cooperative relationship with the Snake-People Tribe. Yet in their subsequent cooperation, he proved himself to be exceptionally reliable, truly an excellent partner. During this period, with his assistance, a vast amount of medicinal herbs stockpiled in the Snake-People Tribe's treasury had been refined into pills, transforming them into the tribe's true foundation. The Snake-People Tribe had benefited greatly from working with him; so much so that even the four great elders now hoped to maintain long-term cooperation with him and had completely disregarded the initial unpleasantness.
As their interactions increased, the many secrets surrounding Lin Yuan stirred an intense desire for exploration within Queen Medusa. However, reason told her that as a queen, she should not become too deeply involved with such a dangerous individual. Torn between personal curiosity and the rational responsibility she bore for her people, Queen Medusa found herself trapped in a state of deep inner conflict.
At times, she truly wanted to disregard everything and dig out all of his secrets. Her intuition told her that if she genuinely attempted to uncover Lin Yuan's secrets—whether out of mischief or some other reason, he would likely reveal many of them to her.
"Your Majesty, have you made any progress regarding the nearby locations where a Soul Origin Fruit might grow?"
Just as Queen Medusa wavered internally, a questioning voice sounded out, interrupting her thoughts.
When the conversation returned to serious matters, Queen Medusa swiftly suppressed her turbulent emotions and said calmly, "I already have some leads. I consulted the tribe's records, such a place does indeed exist in the northwest, but it is not within the Jia Ma Empire. It lies within the Mu Lan Empire."
"The Mu Lan Empire? The one where Mu Lan Valley is located?"
A glint of interest flashed through Lin Yuan's eyes. He remembered that Mu Lan Valley possessed a rather intriguing combined cultivation technique, the Three Beasts Savage Art. This technique was a mid-tier Earth-class cultivation method, one capable of bridging the bottleneck between peak Dou Emperor and Dou Ancestor.
Thinking of the Three Beasts Savage Art, Lin Yuan's interest grew considerably. He was very intrigued by its concept of merging the strength of multiple individuals into a single entity. If his assumptions were correct, the Three Beasts Savage Art might prove extremely useful to Qing Lin, who was capable of commanding numerous magical beasts.
'It seems I'll need to find some time to visit Mu Lan Valley and retrieve the Three Beasts Savage Art for further study.'
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