Battle Through the Heavens: Xiao Yan, who was kidnapped to another world

"I guess so. After all, it's a pill that enhances soul power, so it's quite difficult to make," Xiao Yan nodded, "and the time is pretty tight..."

With less than half a month left until the three-year agreement, aside from the Alchemist Conference, he only has about ten days at most to deduce the new pill formula. If he's late, he might have to skip classes for a while longer...

That's right, it's skipping classes. Although Xiao Yan took a year and a half off from Canaan Academy, the time is almost up. If he really can't deduce the pill before the three-year agreement, he might have to extend this vacation, which wasn't obtained through normal means in the first place.

Chapter 192 The Royal Family's Plans

The distance between the Mittel family's residence and the Nalan family's residence was not far. When Ya Fei got off the carriage, she saw the carriage parked outside the Nalan family's gate, pulled by two pure white horses with no blemishes.

On the golden brocade curtains surrounding the carriage, a strange beast with blue flames rising from its body was painted.

The royal coat of arms?

Consort Ya looked at the mythical beast emblem on the carriage with slight surprise. After the eldest daughter of the Nalan family joined the Yunlan Sect and became a disciple of the current sect leader, the frequency of exchanges between the royal family and the Nalan family was gradually decreasing.

On this night, when the Nalan family is hosting a banquet, the only member of the royal family who will be attending is—

"Sister Yafei?" A light, melodious voice came from the direction of the Nalan family's gate. "I didn't expect to see you here, Sister Yafei. The banquet is in the evening, isn't it a bit too early now?"

Looking up, one could see Princess Yaoyue, the royal princess, wearing a purple dress with silver patterns.

At this moment, Yaoyue's pretty face held a slight smile, appearing quite elegant and serene. However, the smile that fell on Yafei carried a hint of playfulness. In front of acquaintances, this little princess had no intention of hiding her personality.

“I didn’t expect to see you here, Princess,” Ya Fei said with a faint smile. “However, it seems that you are even more looking forward to the banquet tonight than I am. It hasn’t been long since the final assessment of the Alchemist Guild, has it? You’ve already come to the Nalan family.”

“After all, Mr. Nalan is the marshal of the empire. As a princess, I should be concerned about his health,” Yaoyue slowly walked out of the Nalan family’s gate and stopped a meter in front of Yafei. “But why did Sister Yafei, who is on good terms with Mr. Yanxiao, come to the Nalan family?”

Ya Fei fell silent, not because she didn't refute Yao Yue's words, but because Yao Yue's current reaction confirmed one of her suspicions—

"The Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Saliva that Yan Xiao wanted is already in your hands, Princess, isn't it?" Ya Fei asked softly, lowering her voice.

"The Nalan family wants to gain Mr. Yan Xiao's forgiveness, so this Seven Illusion Green Spirit Saliva was used as an invitation to tonight's banquet." Seeing that Ya Fei had revealed the truth, Yao Yue pouted somewhat displeasedly, but still spoke honestly.

“If Sister Yafei has also come for the Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Saliva, then there’s no need to go in. I just wonder if I, who obtained this Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Saliva for Mr. Yanxiao, could meet with him?” Yaoyue’s face once again displayed a serene smile that revealed her ladylike nature.

“If nothing unexpected happens, there shouldn’t be any problem,” Ya Fei sighed softly. “Please, although the Mittel family’s carriages are not as luxurious as those of the royal family, they are certainly worthy of your status, little princess.”

"Then I won't stand on ceremony." With a light laugh, Yao Yue slowly boarded Ya Fei's carriage.

At the entrance of the Nalan family's residence, the guards who were about to announce the arrival of the inspection elder of the Mittel family watched as Ya Fei, who had just gotten off the carriage, got back on.

"Do we still need to announce it?" The newly arrived guard beside him asked in a low voice, watching the departing carriage.

"What are you reporting? Has anyone been here?" the seasoned guard retorted.

"Yes, yes." The newcomer nodded obediently, understanding the way of survival for the guards.

Inside the carriage, Ya Fei and Yao Yue sat facing each other.

"Has the royal family decided to bet on the Xiao family?" After a moment of silence, Consort Ya opened her lips and asked.

“They’ve placed their bets on Xiao Yan,” Yao Yue said listlessly, looking at the tea set on the table between the two of them. “Mr. Yan Xiao also said that Xiao Yan is now able to refine fourth-grade pills, and it won’t be long before he can refine fifth-grade pills. He might even be able to refine sixth-grade pills within the next two years.”

"If Xiao Yan doesn't plan to leave the Jia Ma Empire in the future, the imperial surname of the Jia Ma Empire will eventually become Xiao. It's better to place your bets sooner rather than later to avoid an unwanted future."

Although Yao Yue didn't say it explicitly, based on her current behavior, Consort Ya was certain that the royal family's discussions over the past two days must have included the suggestion of making Yao Yue Xiao Yan's wife.

"So, to prevent Xiao Yan from leaving the Jia Ma Empire directly after the three-year agreement, the little princess came to see Mr. Yan Xiao to discuss everything openly and frankly?" Ya Fei naturally wouldn't provoke Yao Yue, so she pretended to be curious and asked.

“If possible, I would naturally like to talk to that young master of the Xiao family,” Yao Yue sighed deeply. “However, yesterday, after Elder Yao Yan finished refining the Soul Rejuvenation Pill, he left directly, which undoubtedly proved that Xiao Yan would not come to the capital before the three-year agreement was reached.”

"In that case, the only thing we can do is come and find Mr. Yan Xiao."

"Let's make this clear first, all I can do is take you to Mr. Yan Xiao's room. Whether he allows you to go in after that is not up to me." Looking at Yao Yue, who had been fooled by Xiao Yan into genuinely believing that "Xiao Yan" had not entered the capital, Ya Fei thought for a moment and said seriously.

“That’s natural.” Yao Yue nodded, showing no surprise.

In the room where Xiao Yan was located at the Mittel family's residence.

After spending some time taking out all the medicinal herbs that he had previously speculated could be paired with the Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Saliva and categorizing them, Xiao Yan heard footsteps outside.

Knock knock knock—

Immediately afterwards, there was a knock on the door.

"Mr. Yan Xiao, Princess Yaoyue wishes to see you."

Upon hearing Ya Fei's words, Xiao Yan sighed helplessly. He said, "Come in," while rubbing his face slightly with both hands, transforming his handsome features back into those of an ordinary young man.

"Is there anything the little princess needs my help with?" Xiao Yan asked with a smile, after seeing Yao Yue enter the room, glance at the medicinal herbs on the table, and then warily look away, staring at his toes. He took out a black cloth, covered the herbs with it, and then asked.

"Is the third young master of the Xiao family in Wutan City Yan Xiao's junior brother?" Yao Yue slowly raised her head after Xiao Yan covered the medicinal herbs, and the first question she asked left Xiao Yan slightly puzzled.

"Hasn't this already been discussed?" Xiao Yan blinked. "Does Princess Yaoyue have any questions?"

“Um…” Noticing the change in Xiao Yan’s form of address, Yao Yue subconsciously straightened her body, then took out a strange medicinal herb from her storage ring and handed it to Xiao Yan. “This is the Seven Illusion Azure Spirit Saliva that Mr. Yan Xiao wanted. It was provided by the Nalan family. They hope that Mr. Yan Xiao can attend the banquet tonight.”

After glancing at the medicinal herbs presented to him, Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment, then looked at Ya Fei with a look that said, "You decide for yourself," before accepting the herbs. "If it's the banquet tonight, I'll attend..."

"However, has the little princess suddenly become interested in junior brother?" Xiao Yan changed his address to "little princess" again, perhaps because the term was more intimate, and Yao Yue relaxed.

"Um... I want to know Xiao Yan's current strength." After a brief hesitation, Yao Yue said softly.

"Junior Brother's strength?" Xiao Yan gradually understood everything. It was nothing more than the royal family wanting to know the changes that "Yaoyan" had brought to Xiao Yan in the past three years, and using this to determine their attitude towards "Xiao Yan" and "Xiao Family".

"There are still more than ten days until the three-year agreement, right?" Xiao Yan asked, feigning nonchalance. After receiving Ya Fei's affirmative answer, he continued, "If nothing unexpected happens, Junior Brother will become a Dou Ling when the three-year agreement begins, right?"

"Although I've consumed quite a few pills, I've also had my share of life-or-death battles. Among fighters of the same level, there are probably very few who can match my junior brother, right?" Xiao Yan chuckled.

"A battle spirit?!"

Yao Yue has been reviewing the story between Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran these past two days. She knows that three years ago, Xiao Yan was just a "waste" with only the third level of Dou Qi. However, in just three years, Xiao Yan has actually reached a level that most people in the Jia Ma Empire cannot reach.

“Yes, Dou Ling,” Xiao Yan continued, seemingly pleased with Yao Yue’s expression. “But as I said, he’s been taking quite a lot of pills. If we hadn’t met the Nalan family’s little girl in Yancheng half a month ago and discovered that she was an eight-star Great Dou Master and seemed to be preparing to break through to Dou Ling soon, we wouldn’t have let our junior brother take so many pills.”

If Yao Yue was only shocked when she learned that Xiao Yan was a Dou Ling, then when she heard that Nalan Yanran might also break through to Dou Ling soon, all that remained in Yao Yue's eyes was anger and dissatisfaction. And these negative emotions were unsurprisingly reserved for the Nalan family.

Faced with the silent Yao Yue, Xiao Yan did not urge her. He poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of Yao Yue, then picked up the Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Saliva that was placed on the black cloth and examined it carefully from head to toe.

"call--"

After a long while, Yaoyue let out a long sigh, took out a storage ring, and placed it on the table.

"What does this mean?" Xiao Yan glanced at the storage ring on the table and, noticing that it was of a surprisingly high level, raised an eyebrow and asked.

“There is a land deed for the former site of the Xiao family in the storage ring,” Yaoyue said softly. “Although it would be easy to get the land deed back after the Xiao family moved back to the capital, it can still be considered a simple gift from the royal family.”

Xiao Yan nodded calmly.

The land deed to the old site of the Xiao family? Perhaps his father and the elders of the Xiao family would care about such a thing, but it didn't matter to him whether he had it or not. After all, as long as he was there, the Xiao family would move to Zhongzhou one day.

"Besides the land deeds, what's left inside are the fighting techniques and cultivation methods that the Xiao family was robbed of by 'bandits' on their way out of the capital. There are countless Yellow-rank cultivation methods, twenty Profound-rank cultivation methods, and one Earth-rank cultivation method," Yaoyue continued.

"A low-level cultivation technique?"

Xiao Yan didn't want to get involved in being robbed by 'bandits,' after all, the law of the jungle has always been the main theme of the Dou Qi Continent. It was only natural that the Xiao family couldn't keep these things after losing their pillar. The only thing that made Xiao Yan suspicious was this Earth-rank cultivation technique.

"There aren't many families in the Jia Ma Empire that possess Earth-rank cultivation techniques, are there?" Xiao Yan asked casually. "The strongest member of the Xiao family in the past was only a Dou Wang. Is this Earth-rank cultivation technique really something from the Xiao family?"

“…Yes,” after a moment’s hesitation, Yan Xiao’s identity as Xiao Yan’s senior brother made Yao Yue lower her guard. “Before the death of that Dou Wang from the Xiao family, there was a rumor circulating in the capital that the Xiao family was a family that had fled from Zhongzhou.”

"It is because of this rumor that many families have their eyes on the Xiao family after they left the capital," Yaoyue said softly. "This Earth-rank cultivation technique was stolen during that raid. It is also because of this Earth-rank cultivation technique that many forces are still keeping a close eye on the Xiao family after they arrived in Wutan City."

"For the sake of the empire's stability, after the Xiao family had been besieged for a long time, the royal family intervened to disperse those forces and appointed a Dou Wang level expert as the city lord of Wutan City..."

As Yao Yue spoke slowly, Xiao Yan nodded from time to time. To be honest, he never expected that the Xiao family would have a Earth-rank cultivation technique. They might even have been a family from the Central Continent, a region teeming with powerful figures. Although they escaped from the Central Continent in a very tragic way, and in the end, the strongest member of the Xiao family was only a Great Dou Master.

After Yao Yue finished speaking, Xiao Yan slowly raised his head, "What does your royal family want?"

After saying that, Xiao Yan seemed to realize that his tone was not right, so he spoke again: "I can bring the storage ring and your conditions to Junior Brother. Whether Junior Brother agrees to the conditions you put forward is his business. I will not interfere."

Although this was the second time she had heard such irresponsible words today, Yao Yue breathed a sigh of relief. At least, everything that had happened so far was not much different from what the royal elders had predicted, which gave her some confidence in what would follow.

"Make Xiao Zhan, Xiao Yan's father, a royal retainer." After swallowing hard, Yao Yue spoke cautiously.

"...Huh?" For a moment, Xiao Yan even doubted that he had heard correctly. "Royal family's retainer? Do you know what you're talking about?" Xiao Yan looked at Yao Yue strangely.

“Of course,” Yaoyue smiled somewhat reluctantly, “These are the words my father instructed me to say, so I certainly can’t be wrong.”

Did the emperor say that?

Xiao Yan fell silent. To be honest, the fact that his father had become a royal retainer was somewhat unexpected, to the point that he even lost his composure for a moment. But after calming down, he understood the royal family's purpose in doing so.

An eighteen-year-old Dou Ling, and also a fourth-grade alchemist—based on these two points alone, the royal family could understand that Xiao Yan's future definitely did not belong to the Jia Ma Empire. And before that future arrived, Xiao Yan's biggest concern and worry must have been the weak Xiao family and his relatives.

Based on this alone, making Xiao Zhan a royal retainer is the best choice for the Jia Ma royal family. Although the Jia Ma Empire is weak, it can still protect a small family without any problem.

In this way, even if the Xiao family leaves the Jia Ma Empire and the Northwest Continent in the future, Xiao Yan should still repay the royal family for their kindness.

The reward for a powerful individual who can bring their family back to Zhongzhou, even if it's just the bare minimum, would be an immense benefit for the Jiama royal family. At least until the Jiama royal family produces a Dou Zun or an alchemist who doesn't care about seventh or even eighth-grade alchemists, such a reward would drive people crazy.

Even if Xiao Yan doesn't care about this favor in the future, sponsoring a Dou Ling or Dou Wang won't put much pressure on the royal family.

“I will talk to him,” Xiao Yan looked deeply at Yao Yue. Of course, he also knew that these were not Yao Yue’s ideas. “I will make all the benefits and what you want clear to you.”

"Given how much Junior Brother cares about his family," Xiao Yan smiled, "he will likely agree."

Seeing the smile on "Yan Xiao's" face, Yao Yue took a deep breath and then revealed a bright smile.

Chapter 193 The Nalan Family

Tonight, the Nalan family mansion is brightly lit, and people are walking around. The sounds of chatter and laughter, accompanied by music, carry far and wide, creating the impression of a joyous gathering.

However, while the guests were seated in the spacious hall, several members of the Nalan family stood at the door, anxiously scanning the street, seemingly waiting for some important guest.

"Father, why don't you go inside and rest for a bit?" A beautiful woman stood beside Nalan Su, looking at him with concern as his eyes showed barely concealed anxiety. "Isn't it enough for me to wait here for that guest?"

Upon hearing this, Nalan Su frowned slightly and glanced at Nalan Yanran, his daughter, the apple of the Nalan family's eye, and the personal disciple of the current sect leader of the Yunlan Sect, who was still wearing the Yunlan Sect's wide-sleeved moon-white robe at such a banquet.

“Mr. Yan Xiao is Xiao Yan’s senior brother,” Nalan Su sighed and said, “and he is also a distinguished fifth-grade alchemist. I am not at ease entrusting him to receive you.”

Although he felt that Yan Xiao wouldn't hold a grudge against Nalan Yanran because of Xiao Yan's matter, but... what if he did?

After listening to her father's words, Nalan Yanran's expression remained unchanged, and she calmly said, "I think I have more experience communicating with high-level alchemists than you, Father, right?"

"How can this be the same?" Nalan Su laughed out of anger. "Alright, I'm too lazy to argue with you anymore... Haven't the Mu family arrived yet? I remember they sent someone to deliver the invitations, right?"

Turning around, Nalan Su frowned and asked the butler beside him, puzzled, after scanning the hall with his gaze.

“Mu Zhan has returned from the northwest border. If nothing unexpected happens, he should have taken the Mu family’s invitation.” Nalan Yanran suddenly said.

"Mu Zhan took it?" Nalan Su frowned. He remembered why Mu Zhan had been sent to the northwest border, but soon, Nalan Su's brows relaxed—

The Mu family naturally knew the reason for their banquet today, and they must have told Mu Zhan about Yan Xiao. As long as Mu Zhan had any sense, he wouldn't act as recklessly as he always did when he saw Ya Fei.