Chapter 34: Seeing Yun Yun again

The imperial capital was never short of topics. While the excitement of the Crown Princess's coming-of-age ceremony had not completely subsided, it was time for Misty Cloud Sect's annual disciple competition.

The elder, Yun Ling, was in charge of all matters, and the scale and grandeur of the event were getting larger. Though it didn't match the grandeur of Yao Ye's coming-of-age ceremony, it was not far behind. The major families of the Holy City and the Alchemist Guild were all invited to attend as spectators.

Inside the palace.

Jia Xingtian and Chen Guan were sitting in a royal carriage, heading north to Misty Cloud Sect.

Both of them had their own purposes, but as Jia Xingtian was visibly excited and eager, Chen Guan couldn't help feeling a bit anxious.

"Elder Jia, we are going there to observe, not to fight. Please restrain yourself. It's best not to resort to violence if you can avoid it."

"Don't worry, no one understands courtesy better than this old man."

Jia Xingtian replied full of assurances, but his expression showed no signs of restraint. He seemed no different from a primary school student, who listens to the teacher's advice with one ear and lets it out the other.

Chen Guan sighed. "It's hard for me to feel at ease with you acting like this."

He had tried to advise him many times, but it was useless.

At this moment, in Chen Guan's eyes, Jia Xingtian appeared quite childish and immature.

After a month of intense training in the "The Fall of the Great Barren Star" technique, Jia Xingtian finally had some achievements. It was understandable that he was feeling a bit overconfident at this moment.

However, they still needed to be restrained.

Yunshan was not to be feared; based on the original timeline, he had certainly not broken through the Dou Ancestor barrier at this time. The real concern was the Soul Hall lurking in the shadows!

"Why are you so concerned about Misty Cloud Sect? You've mentioned it to me over ten times already. This doesn't seem like your style."

Jia Xingtian seemed unlikely to change his mind without a reason.

Chen Guan was quite helpless. This old man usually appeared amiable in front of him, but when he became stubborn, he was genuinely stubborn.

What he didn't know was that in their younger years, Yunshan, Jia Xingtian, and Haibodong were evenly matched competitors. Among them, Haibodong always ranked last, while Yunshan and Jia Xingtian traded wins and losses. It was similar to how just a few years ago, Gu He had a unilateral view of him, seeing him as a "lifelong rival."

Now that he finally had a chance to win, it was hard for him to hold back. Even if it took the strength of nine bulls, he wouldn't be able to restrain himself.

Chen Guan had never experienced this feeling before, so he couldn't fully empathize.

After hesitating several times, Chen Guan temporarily restrained himself from telling him about the matter with Soul Hall and casually fabricated a reason.

"To be honest, Elder Jia, when I saw Yun Yun at the coming-of-age ceremony, I was amazed by her beauty. I fell for her at first sight. If you have a falling out with them, it'll be hard for me, and besides, I want to exchange for the Acceptance Soul with Misty Cloud Sect."

"Love at first sight?"

Chen Guan nodded.

Jia Xingtian sneered, indicating that he didn't believe it.

"Is it really love at first sight, or are you just saying that? I don't really know you well enough. Isn't the Acceptance Soul the more important goal?"

Indeed, the Acceptance Soul was the main objective.

"It's important to you?"

"Yes, it's very important." Chen Guan nodded earnestly.

Places like Jia Nan Academy and Blackhorn Domain might offer a chance to find Acceptance Soul with a little more effort, but Chen Guan didn't want to waste too much time. When he calculated, he realized that it had been less than two years since Xiao Yan made his debut. The plot was about to officially begin, and he needed to grow as much as possible.

Jia Xingtian nodded slightly, and the excitement on his face subsided a bit, replaced by a trace of regret.

"Oh well, I can always beat up Yunshan next time."

The distance between the Holy City and Misty Cloud Sect was not far. After about half an hour, the carriage arrived at the military camp stationed at the foot of Misty Cloud Sect's mountain. Yao Ye, whom they hadn't seen for three days, was there.

Unfortunately, when Chen Guan and Jia Xingtian arrived, Yao Ye was supervising the beheading of some people with a cold expression and an aura of killing intent. He slightly restrained himself when he saw them approaching.

This was the first time Chen Guan had seen him like this, and he couldn't help but show a curious expression.

Yao Ye didn't hide anything and explained briefly, "These past few days, I've been preparing to bring back a group of people to the imperial city. Unexpectedly, we found seven or eight spies among them, from the surrounding empires. The spies from Chuyun claimed to be from Mulan, and the ones from Mulan claimed to be from Chuyun. They were blaming each other, but none of them were clean. We occasionally found spies before, but not nearly as many as now."

Evidently, the major empires were puzzled by the recent unusual activity of the Jia Ma Empire.

Chen Guan suddenly realized and showed a slightly strange expression.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. I just find them quite amusing."

Chen Guan wouldn't tell Yao Ye that he had been too focused on the letter and had simply believed that the assassins mentioned in it were from the Chuyun Empire, without considering the possibility of framing.

It was a bit embarrassing.

Yao Ye was busy, so Chen Guan didn't disturb here and let her handle the carriage. Then, he strolled with Jia Xingtian to the Misty Cloud Sect on foot.

By deliberately slowing their pace, when they arrived at Misty Cloud Sect, it was almost noon. People like Tengshan and Nalan Su had already taken their seats, and the competition was about to begin. They had timed their arrival just right.

Based on Jia Xingtian's identity, Yun Yun, the master of the sect, personally stood up to greet him.

Wearing a simple and elegant smoke-blue dress, she exuded a refined and noble aura, as pure and beautiful as an orchid, unaffected by the dust. As she walked, her eyebrows were as tranquil as autumn water, and her jade-like skin seemed to accompany the gentle breeze. Undoubtedly, she was the center of attention in the entire venue.

"Haha, Sect Master Yun, there's no need to be so polite. Your teacher and I are old friends. Today, we came out just to relax a bit and chat together."

Before the other person could speak, Jia Xingtian had already made arrangements for himself and pointed to the empty seat beside Fama.

Yun Yun felt somewhat helpless, but she still responded with a polite smile and spoke with tactful words, as delicate as an orchid.

"Please, Elder Jia."

Jia Xingtian left without paying any attention to Chen Guan, even revealing a teasing smile before leaving, as if saying, "Here, since you like her, take this opportunity to make the most of it."

Chen Guan could only laugh and cry. He was on his own now.

"Chen Guan, meets Sect Master Yun."

"Uh, Chen Guan, you can sit here with Yanran and the others. They've been curious about you for a long time. Let them see what kind of person you are and broaden their horizons."

Chen Guan humbly nodded and walked over to sit with the younger generation.

Now was not the time to discuss serious matters. He would inquire about the Acceptance Soul matter after the competition ended.

He probably spoke about himself to them. As soon as Chen Guan sat down, the gazes of Nalan Yanran, Liu Ling, and the others fell on him, observing him carefully.

Even though their teacher had personally told them, Nalan Yanran still found it hard to believe that someone who was only a few years older than herself was already a Dou GrandMaster. His talent made her feel immense pressure, and she unconsciously tightened her long sword resting on her knees.

Sitting a little further away, Liu Ling was also curious, but compared to Nalan Yanran, he still carried an air of arrogance.

So what if he was a genius? He wasn't even an alchemist. Even if he became a Dou King or Dou Emperor in the future, he would still have to show respect to them, the alchemists, in the end.

Liu Ling had blind confidence in himself and showed a somewhat insincere smile to greet Chen Guan. He wouldn't be so foolish as to say his thoughts out loud.

At this moment, a sense of crisis struck Chen Guan from above and from the side, reminding him of the scene when the Red Ice Python targeted him for the first time.

He turned his head suddenly...

(End of this chapter)