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

"And this is just the normal situation!" Su Qian took a deep breath. "According to the dean, after this Soul Palace protector took over the body of a high-star Dou Zong along with all the Soul Envoys who assisted him, himself, and that ferocious soul, his combat power... is comparable to a Dou Zun! Moreover, he is the kind of Dou Zun who only knows how to fight endlessly, and whose body can almost infinitely regenerate!"

"A Dou Zun?" Xiao Yan tilted his head. "What level Dou Zun?"

"What do you mean by 'multi-star Dou Zun'?" Su Qian didn't react for a moment. "The gap between Dou Zong and Dou Zun isn't something that can be easily bridged!"

"So, what star Dou Zun is it?"

This time, not only Xiao Yan, but also Zi Yan, Wu Tianlang, Hu Qian and others couldn't stand it anymore. They patted Su Qian, turned around, saw the helpless expressions of Wu Tianlang and Hu Qian, and after noticing Zi Yan's expression, Su Qian finally realized what was going on.

"Ahem, the number of Dou Zun stars isn't the point!" Su Qian coughed and said, "The key is that his wounds can keep healing!"

"He'd better really be able to repair himself indefinitely," Xiao Yan chuckled. "After all, if he gets ruined too quickly, I'll be the one who's frustrated..."

As Xiao Yan's words slowly fell, all the souls finally entered the body completely. Then, a violent aura burst out from the somewhat damaged body, and Protector Xuan's triumphant laughter rang out again.

"Xiao Yan, if you obediently surrender today, this protector will make your suffering less..."

Bang!

Before Protector Xuan could finish speaking, he was slammed to the ground with a loud thud. Then, before Protector Xuan could react, a foot stepped on his head.

"Next, I'll ask, you answer, understand?" Xiao Yan's icy voice slowly rang out after placing a foot on Protector Xuan's head.

"This……"

Bang!

Before Protector Xuan could utter a single word in fear, Xiao Yan slammed another fist into him.

"I ask, you answer, do you understand?"

"you……"

Bang!

"I ask, you answer, do you understand?"

The relentless attacks and the overwhelming power that he could not resist finally made Protector Xuan realize the reality. Although he did not understand why he was still no match for Xiao Yan even after summoning all the Soul Envoys of the Black Corner Region, having them cooperate with him to use the Myriad Soul Devouring Spirit Array, feeding the most powerful ferocious soul, and even taking over the body of the Earth Demon Old Ghost, Protector Xuan still became obedient.

"Yes, I understand."

Watching Xiao Yan, who was treating Protector Xuan like a dog being trained, not far away, Su Qian and the others had somewhat subtle expressions.

At first, they thought Xiao Yan's confidence came from the Medusa Queen and the Heavenly Flame Venerable whom Xiao Yan had just befriended, but now it seems... Xiao Yan can deal with a Dou Zun on his own.

"Speaking of which, should we let Xiao Yan beat up Elder Qian and Elder Bai?" Su Qian asked in a low voice. "Although they are the academy's last trump card, and they won't make a move unless the academy is at its last moment... it's still too much to ask them to stop Xie Zhen and the others without even making a move... right?"

"Ha ha……"

Faced with Su Qian's audacious idea, Hu Qian and Wu Tianlang could only laugh awkwardly and look away, not daring to say a word.

Chapter 356 News from the Soul Palace and the Heavenly Demon Puppet

"Are there still Soul Hall Protectors in the Black Corner Region?" Xiao Yan asked calmly, looking at Protector Xuan at his feet.

“That’s all,” Protector Xuan swallowed hard. “I’m the only protector in the entire Black Corner Region. The rest are Soul Guides… the Soul Guides I just called out.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan nodded slightly. This statement was the same as what Han Feng had said. If these two people had not been deceived, then the tentacles of the Soul Palace in the Black Corner Region had been completely severed.

"There should be a branch of the Soul Hall in the Northwest Continent, right? Where is it?"

"A branch... a branch hall?" Protector Xuan's eyes widened suddenly. "You... what are you going to do? You don't mean to destroy the branch hall, do you? Do you know that every branch hall has a Venerable in charge? Not a Quasi-Battle Venerable like me, but a true Battle Venerable, and a Five-Star Battle Venerable at that!"

Although Protector Xuan had already surrendered, in his opinion, falling into Xiao Yan's hands would at most leave some superficial wounds. Although it would hurt, it wouldn't be unbearable. However, if Xiao Yan went to the branch hall and was defeated by the branch hall master, he, the surrendered protector, would enjoy a treatment worse than death.

Having worked at the Soul Palace for decades, Protector Xuan was well aware of his company's punishment for traitors. Therefore, Protector Xuan chuckled as he tried to persuade Xiao Yan.

"Are you afraid of the Soul Palace's punishment?" Seeing the fear on Protector Xuan's face, Xiao Yan laughed. "Then... do you know that I retrieved the Fallen Heart Flame that was sealed in Canaan Academy?"

Xiao Yan slowly raised his right hand, and a transparent flame appeared on his palm. Then, he slightly turned his right hand, and the transparent flame floated down to the ground, gently touching Protector Xuan's skin in the breeze.

"what!!!!!"

That mere instantaneous touch caused Protector Xuan to let out a heart-wrenching scream, and this was even with a layer of physical protection protecting him when he came into contact with the Fallen Heart Flame.

"Perhaps you are not aware of the effects of the Fallen Heart Flame..." Xiao Yan continued, "but I can tell you that the Fallen Heart Flame is the absolute nemesis of souls, and even ordinary pill lightning is no match for it... Would you like to try touching the Fallen Heart Flame again without the protection of a physical body?"

"Don't worry, I'm an eighth-grade alchemist, and I still have quite a few fifth-grade Soul Nourishing Saliva in stock. So, the burning of the Fallen Heart Flame will absolutely not completely destroy your soul," Xiao Yan said calmly, even though Protector Xuan's shouts had stopped and the fear in his eye looking at the sky was even more obvious. "Of course, you can gamble that I'll make a mistake, gamble that my Spirit Realm soul power will burn you to death with my Fallen Heart Flame..."

"Well, have you made up your mind?" Xiao Yan lowered his head and gave Protector Xuan a very bright smile.

"There is only one branch hall in the Northwest Continent." Facing Xiao Yan, who was smiling like a demon, Protector Xuan once again chose to surrender. Moreover, it seemed that because it was the second time he had surrendered, Protector Xuan had become much more adept at it.

"It is located in the Fallen Soul Mountain Range between the Izumo Empire and the Nether Lion Empire," Protector Xuan said very skillfully. "The branch hall master is a five-star Dou Zun. When the Venerable from the Central Continent came last time, I heard that Venerable address the branch hall master as... Nether Sea."

Normally, a protector of Xuan's rank wouldn't be qualified to know the name of the branch hall master, but not long ago, the branch hall in the Northwest Continent summoned all the protectors located in the Northwest Continent... He was very lucky to learn the name of the branch hall master during that summons.

"Minghai?" Xiao Yan frowned, then relaxed his gaze. He had never heard of this name before, but since it was a five-star Dou Zun... well, he might be able to get an answer by asking Yao Lao after Yao Lao woke up.

"What was the title of that Venerable One who came from Zhongzhou before?" Xiao Yan asked casually.

"It seems to be... Mu Gu...?" Protector Xuan thought for a moment and said uncertainly.

"Mu Gu...?" Xiao Yan frowned again, expecting a different answer. "He came to the Northwest Continent more than eight months ago?"

"How...how did you know?"

Protector Xuan was initially terrified, seemingly worried that he would soon be useless and used by Xiao Yan as fuel for the Fallen Heart Flame. However, after seeing the question on Xiao Yan's face, he breathed a sigh of relief. At least, he should be safe until Xiao Yan confirmed the truth of what the other captured protector had said.

'Speaking of which, wasn't the last one to be captured Protector Wu?' Even in his relaxed state, Protector Xuan had the leisure to let his mind wander. 'Thinking about it carefully, Protector Wu is probably the only protector who has gone missing in the past few years, right?'

"Answer the question," Xiao Yan said, patting Protector Xuan's face with his toe.

“Yes, yes, he came eight months ago!” After a shudder, Protector Xuan replied, “And… and, the attack on the Xiao family… was also his order. However, after we completed the mission… that is, after we handed that person over, Venerable Mugu left the Northwest Continent. According to the Palace Master, Venerable Mugu should have returned to the headquarters in the Central State.”

Protector Xuan carefully observed Xiao Yan's expression and cautiously uttered the second half of his sentence—he roughly understood that his participation in the siege of the Xiao family was the reason for his current miserable state... or even the main reason!

Only after confirming that Xiao Yan did not show any signs of annoyance did Protector Xuan fluently recount all the information he knew related to Mu Gu.

“It’s him again…” Xiao Yan sighed. “Alright, who were the protectors who were with you last time, and where are they? Let’s start with the most recent ones.”

Since Elder Mu Gu wasn't in the Northwest Continent, Xiao Yan didn't bother to express his anger excessively. In any case, after learning that Elder Mu Gu was the one who killed Yao Lao with Han Feng, Xiao Yan had already sentenced him to death in his heart. As long as he saw Elder Mu Gu, he would never let him escape.

“Yes…” Protector Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and said.

*

While Xiao Yan was interrogating Protector Xuan, Su Qian was also leading many elders from Canaan Academy to search the area where Demon Flame Valley was located. Demon Flame Valley was, after all, an old power in the Black Corner Region, and its foundation was far superior to that of the Black Emperor Sect. Its cultivation techniques, fighting skills, weapons, and even medicinal herbs and pills were all coveted gains.

Now that it's been eradicated, the collections of Demon Flame Valley will naturally be taken away. Even though Canaan Academy doesn't lack these things, unexpected windfalls are always a cause for celebration!

However, after a series of searches, Su Qian, Wu Tianlang, and Hu Qian looked at each other in bewilderment. They had not found any trace of what appeared to be a treasure vault... as if Demon Flame Valley had never had such a thing.

"Elder..." Xiao Yan, who had already put Protector Xuan's soul into a jade bottle, looked at Su Qian who was walking out of the ruins and was speechless. "Didn't you even think of asking Zi Yan?"

Upon hearing this, Su Qian and the others suddenly came to their senses and turned their gazes to Zi Yan, who was standing with her arms crossed, looking at them with disdain.

"Haha, well... I just couldn't remember right away!" Su Qian chuckled dryly.

"Hmph!" Seeing the awkward smile on Su Qian's face, Zi Yan decisively turned her head away, looking like she wasn't going to pay him any attention.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan smiled helplessly at Su Qian and after some kind words of persuasion, he finally managed to get a smile on the little girl's face before she reluctantly closed her eyes.

After a while, Zi Yan slowly opened her eyes, moved, and rushed towards the depths of Demon Flame Valley. Seeing this, Xiao Yan, Su Qian, and the others quickly followed.

The group followed Zi Yan through a rather deep valley tunnel. After a few minutes, a stone wall covered with weeds came into view.

Upon reaching the edge of the stone wall, Zi Yan went directly to a certain spot on the wall, clenched her small fist, and slammed it down hard.

Bang!

Amidst the flying debris, a crack appeared in the stone wall. Zi Yan lunged forward again, her small fists blasting open a tunnel ten meters deep through the stone wall like a mountain-splitting machine. Then, Xiao Yan and the others saw a dark, deep hole hidden deep within the stone wall.

"Aren't you afraid there might be traps..." Just as Zi Yan was excitedly preparing to enter the cave, Xiao Yan grabbed her arm and said helplessly.

Zi Yan's eyes widened suddenly, as if she had just realized this.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan and Su Qian exchanged a glance and sighed at the same time.

Once Xiao Yan confirmed that there were no traps inside, only a fifth-tier magical beast lurking in the shadows, seemingly preparing to launch a sneak attack, the group felt reassured and entered.

As for that fifth-tier magical beast...

It's just adding another magic core to Xiao Yan's storage ring.

As a long-established power in the Black Corner Region, the collection of Demon Flame Valley is indeed unmatched by the Black Emperor Sect. Putting aside everything else, at least in terms of the number of Xuan-rank fighting techniques and cultivation methods, Demon Flame Valley far surpasses the Black Emperor Sect by several times.

However, Demon Flame Valley is slightly inferior in terms of the number of Earth-rank combat skills and cultivation techniques. After all, the Black Emperor Sect had just plundered a secret treasure. Although the collection in that secret treasure was not very rich, it still had one more item than Demon Flame Valley's shelf with four boxes labeled "Earth-rank".

"What are you doing..." Su Qian's eyes showed shock as Xiao Yan took four wooden boxes from the shelf covered by the light barrier without any hindrance. "How come they look exactly like Zi Yan's?"

Su Qian already knew that Zi Yan's true form was the Ancient Void Dragon, so he was not surprised by Zi Yan's past abilities, such as being able to sense rare medicinal herbs in the world and ignoring energy seals.

But Xiao Yan is human!

Human beings, their life trajectories are clearly recorded!

Why did I suddenly gain the ability to ignore energy seals, just like Zi Yan?

"Perhaps it's because I have a better talent," Xiao Yan smiled casually, "that I was able to learn Zi Yan's talent, which is related to spatial abilities."

Is this something that can be learned?

Su Qian, Wu Tianlang, and Hu Qian all had slight twitches at the corners of their mouths, completely disbelieving Xiao Yan's words.

After a casual smile, Xiao Yan opened the first wooden box—inside were two silver scrolls made of an extremely special material, with tiny electric sparks moving around their surfaces like silver snakes.

Upon seeing the scroll's impressive appearance, Xiao Yan's eyes flashed with surprise. He then took it out and slowly unfurled it.

Benlei Jian, Lei belongs to the surname Gong, and is a mid-level official in the law.

The Thunderclap Technique of Awakening of Insects is a mid-level Earth-rank combat skill, and it is a set of combat skills that complement the Thunderclap Mirror.

"Looks like the academy's library is about to have another set of cultivation techniques and fighting skills?" Raising an eyebrow, Xiao Yan tossed the two scrolls directly to Su Qian.

"I remember... your second brother also uses lightning-attribute battle qi, right?" Su Qian frowned slightly and asked after taking the scroll.

"Elder, don't worry, I won't mistreat my second brother," Xiao Yan waved his hand, "A mid-level Earth Rank cultivation technique is nothing compared to what I gave to my eldest and second brothers!"

Aside from the Dragon-Phoenix Demon Flame, Xiao Yan's greatest gain on the Tianxuan Continent was a variety of martial arts techniques. Among them, the Eight Heavenly Martial Arts, which he obtained from the elders of the Yuan Sect and which served as the foundation of the Yuan Sect, were the most precious. Moreover, coincidentally, among those Eight Heavenly Martial Arts were martial arts techniques suitable for lightning and wood attribute battle qi.

Of course, before passing on the cultivation technique to them, Xiao Yan reminded them not to go all out, whether in cultivation or in battle. Otherwise, Yao Tianhuo, a Dou Zun, would not be able to protect them from cultivating the Heaven-rank technique—even though Xiao Ding and Xiao Li could not currently display the power of the Heaven-rank technique.

"...That's good." Seeing that Xiao Yan didn't seem to be joking, Su Qian put away the two scrolls in her hands.

The second box contains the Flame Manipulation Technique... of course, the true Flame Manipulation Technique. According to the scroll, it is a technique that can condense a transformative flame that will not cause any harm to the body.