Chapter 43: The Three-Year Engagement (Part 1)

  "Xiao Yan, let's not bring up the past. I don't want to say anything more." Nalan Yanran decided not to probe further and directly planned to use all her strength. Her arm slowly rose, and the pale blue long sword on it emitted an increasingly dense cyan glow. Her gaze locked onto Xiao Yan: "However, now I represent Yunlan Sect. For its reputation, therefore, I won't hold back."

  Although Nalan Yanran often has things to attend to, whenever she returns to Yunlan Sect, she would occasionally look for Xiaoyi to spar with. Although the two get along well, it's hard for Xiaoyi, who has a poisonous attribute, to hold back. As a result, they've both gotten used to going all out from the start, especially now that they're fighting over their future in life. Unlike in the original work, Nalan Yanran didn't spar with Xiao Yan once before coming at him with full force this time.

  As Nalan Yanran's voice slowly fell, her robes and hair suddenly rose without wind. A majestic aura gradually rose from her body, the intensity of which made some Cloudy Sect disciples around her gasp in surprise, their mouths agape. They couldn't help but exclaim in hushed tones: "This aura... Nalan sister has actually advanced to a Great Douluo?"

  Look at the expressions of those Cloudy Peak Sect disciples around. It seems that even they are not very clear about Nalan Yanran's true strength.

  "Not yet at the level of Nalan Fei, but already at the level of a great Dou Shi. Truly admirable." Mu Chen gazed at Nalan Yanran in the arena, who was emitting an aura of immense power, and smiled at Nalan Ke, his smile tinged with envy. Although Mu Chen himself was also a nine-star Dou Shi, seemingly only half a step away from becoming a great Dou Shi. However, he knew that this half-step, if one didn't have the right opportunities, would be extremely difficult to cross."

  Nalan Jie thought of praising Mu Chen's nephew, Mu Zhan, but then remembered that Mu Zhan had been severely injured at a banquet in his home just a few days ago, so he swallowed the words back. However, Nalan Yanran's sudden display of strength also made him breathe a sigh of relief. In any case, when they made the bet earlier, Nalan Yanran had impulsively said that if she lost, she would become someone else's servant girl. Just thinking about it - the future leader of the Yunlan Sect and the eldest miss of the Nalan family becoming someone else's servant girl - was enough to make Nalan Jie's face look a bit unsightly.

  "This lass" slowly spat out a mouthful, Nalan Jie gazed at the calm and collected Xiao Yan in the arena. He said in a low voice: "Alas, Young Master Xiao, I'm really sorry about this. This time's trial has dragged you into too much trouble, I'm afraid we can only inconvenience you for now. Later on, I'll instruct the Nalan family to give you some compensation."

  On the square, the momentum that arose from Nalan Yanran's body reached the level of a great Dou Shi. It finally stopped rising slowly, and with a swing of her long sword in her hand, a clear and crisp sword sound lightly echoed across the square.

  The tip of the sword was faintly blue, and it pointed towards Xiao Yan from afar. In an instant, a gust of wild wind suddenly appeared out of thin air.

  Looking at Nalan Yan opposite him, whose aura had stopped rising, Xiao Yan slightly pursed his lips and muttered in a low voice: "As expected. A four-star Grand Master around."

  "Start preparing desperately"

  Xiao Yan lightly spat out a mouthful of air, his palm grasping the hilt of the Xuan Heavy Sword in front of him. With a burst of strength, he thrust it into the wooden board. A surge of blue battle aura erupted from his body like flames, violently bursting forth. After a brief moment, the battle aura dissipated, and a suit of azure armor appeared before everyone's eyes.

  "This guy is also a Great Douluo!"

  Looking at that suit of armor as if it were a real entity, the square above erupted in a series of gasps.

  "Huh? The aura of the Dou Qi is quite impressive, about two stars stronger than the original. It seems that Xiao Yan is a bit stronger than in the original story. But Nalan Yanran is also the same." Xiao Xing Meng muttered to himself below.

  "I didn't expect Nalan Yanran to be a four-star Grandmaster, if it wasn't for taking the Three-Striped Blue Spirit Pill and Teacher's Seven-Illusion Blue Spirit Gel made into the Flowing Clear Spirit Pill, I absolutely wouldn't have had any hope of winning." Xiao Yan's heart was also filled with great relief.

  In the arena, Nalan Yanran's gaze swept over Xiao Yan's body, her calm and collected expression on her face was finally covered up by an uncontrollable astonishment. Although she had never underestimated Xiao Yan's talent for cultivation, she had never thought that in less than three years, Xiao Yan would be able to leap from a level not even reached by Dou Zhe to become a Da Dou Shi second star! This speed of cultivation, even with Nalan Yanran having the help of Yunxiao Sect and Danwang Ancient River, was still enough to make her feel tongue-tied.

  Nalan Yanran, who was mainly relying on her speed and agility, had transformed into a ray of light and charged forward. She actually used her most skilled fighting technique, Wind Spirit Split Form Sword, at close range and released it head-on. Instantly, several sword auras pierced towards Xiao Yan's body, aiming for his vital spots.

  "Nalan sister actually split another sword energy!" Yunlan sect disciples still remembered that not long ago, Nalan Yanran and the black-robed female disciple on stage had only split five energies when they fought!

  "What speed!" Faced with Nalan Yanran's close-range release of six sword auras, Xiao Yan was completely unable to dodge. He hastily shot out three strange flames from his fingertips, blocking three of the sword auras. The other three pierced through his Dou Qi armor, but only caused some superficial wounds on his body.

  After withstanding the opponent's fierce attack, Xiao Yan immediately launched a counterattack. His left foot heavily stomped the ground, and his body transformed into a black shadow that almost touched the ground as he swiftly approached Nalan Yanran. With both palms supporting the ground and his feet containing ferocious energy, he fiercely swung at her neck, and the whistling sound in the air suggested that Xiao Yan's strength was not held back.

  Feeling that he was approaching so quickly, Nalan Yanran's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she immediately twisted her waist. In an instant, her body was like a flying willow catkin in the midst of a violent gust of wind. Although she had only retreated half a foot, it was just enough to exit Xiao Yan's attack range. Without any hesitation, after dodging the opponent's attack, Nalan Yanran's long sword quivered and transformed into a green shadow that flashed towards Xiao Yan's legs like lightning.

  Feeling the chill of the sword near his leg, Xiao Yan's right hand suddenly opened up in front of him, and a fierce, invisible force burst out, heavily striking Nalan Yanran's chest.

  Suddenly, a vigorous attack came, directly pushing Nalan Yanran back several steps. However, with the protection of the Dou Qi armor, Xiao Yan's attack this time, apart from breaking through the opponent's offensive, did not achieve much.

  At this point, Xiao Yan's heart was extremely clear. He had never expected that this blow would cause much harm to Nalan Yanran. Therefore, when she retreated, his palm suddenly slapped the ground, and the fierce energy caused the hard bluestone slab to spread out with several cracks. His body leaped up, like a ghostly figure, approaching Nalan Yanran's body. Then, like a volcanic eruption, he began to launch the most violent attack since his debut.

  Xiao Yan's forte was close combat, and at this moment, every part of his body - hands, arms, elbows, legs, head, etc. - had become a terrifying killing machine. As he swung his arms, the terrifying force generated sonic booms in the air around him, each time leaving a deep crater on the bluestone floor wherever his energy landed.

  Facing Xiang Yan's fierce and unmatched attack, Nalan Yanran did not show any weakness. Although she was already close to him, relying on her unusual footwork and fighting skills, she was able to dodge Xiang Yan's attacks time and again. Her long sword swung, its energy piercing the air, its light flashing, leaving countless scars on the ground.

  On the square, as the two men's battle gradually entered a white heat, a strong aura, almost at a gushing speed, burst out from their bodies. In the collision of the aura, intense energy explosions kept ringing out on the square.

  On the field, a green light flashed, and the intense fighting spirit and sharp sword aura continuously shot out from the green mist that enveloped them. Two shadows rapidly flickered and moved around the field, the clear sound of clashing swords and the metallic collision also constantly echoed from the two's fierce battle, and their attacking momentum became more and more frenzied as the fight intensified, leaving people speechless.

  Able to fight against Nalan Yanran, the most outstanding of the younger generation of Yunlan Sect for so long, yet still not showing half a sign of defeat. Even if they use their buttocks to think, they can also know that the elegant young man in front of them is absolutely not a lamp that saves oil!

  With Nalan's elegant and refined strength, she unleashed these few fighting techniques. Even if the opponent was a strong warrior who surpassed her by two or three star levels, it was still possible for her to lightly brush them aside.

  However, the reality that appeared in front of them clearly told Yun Leng and others that those powerful fighting skills were all resisted by Xiao Yan, who was slightly inferior to Lan Xiang, without any damage.

  Xiao Yan's body was covered in a crisscross pattern of sword scars, and beneath the deep gashes, faintly visible was the crimson color of blood. Clearly, during that previous bout of frenzied close combat, he had not been completely unscathed by Nalan Yanran's counterattack.

  Xiao Yan's appearance was not very good, and Gu Na Lan looked similarly slightly disheveled. The originally neat moon-white skirt was now somewhat disheveled, with a clear footprint visible on the lower abdomen area. Her disheveled black hair was stuck to her forehead, which had some sweat on it, and her teeth were clenched tightly on her lips, her breathing slightly rapid.

  It's no wonder that in close combat, Xiao Yan has the upper hand. Even if Nalan Yanran's realm is higher than his, she can only fight to a draw with him. Xiao Yan's fighting talent is indeed one step ahead of Nalan Yanran's.

  Nalan Yanran didn't expect Xiao Yan's close combat to be so powerful, but after several exchanges with Xiaoyi, she had already gained considerable experience in dealing with enemies who excelled at close combat. With a flick of her wrist, the hair tie was undone, and her black locks cascaded down, revealing her lively and spirited demeanor. The captivating scene caused countless people who already harbored affection for her to accelerate their heartbeats.

  Nalan Yanran's body slowly rose into the air, and the energy around her also burst forth like boiling water at this moment. Circle after circle of pale blue substantial ripples spread out from her body.

  "Wind's Edge - Dazzling Sunset!"

  In the sky, a loud and clear voice fell, and the terrifying energy fluctuation finally burst out. A sharp sword aura, from the sky, as if descending, covered the sky and shot towards Xiao Yan violently. The hard ground, under the pressure of that sharp sword aura, actually cracked and split into numerous cracks extending to the end of the square.

  Jia Xing Tian and Gu Hei also knew this move, Feng Zhi Ji was the proud technique of their sect's master Yun Yun, they thought that Nalan Yan Ran had already been forced to reveal her trump card by Xiao Yan.

  To counter this move, Xiao Yan finally used the Purple Flame, combining it with Qinglian's Earth Fire, preparing to unleash the Buddha Fury Lotus!

  When Xiao Yan summoned these two flames, the people present finally discovered that this young man was actually the genius alchemist Xiao Yan who had won the Alchemy Grand Competition championship with a single move!

  Xiao Xing Meng was observing the principle of Buddha's Fury Lotus, after all, he had four kinds of heterodox fire, and this move might become a good fighting skill.

  "Go! Buddha's Fury Lotus!" Xiao Yan hurled his Azure Purple Fire Lotus at that scorching Sunlight Sword.

  In an instant, two ferocious and unmatched energies touched each other in mid-air, releasing their own terrifying energy. Suddenly, a wild wind appeared out of thin air above the square, whistling as it passed by. At the point where they touched, even the illusory air was distorted and twisted by the powerful collision of energy.

  The energy wave spread out immediately, but Xiao Xing Meng, the referee, was not just standing there watching the show. With a wave of his hands, a vast amount of energy poured into the protective shield, instantly strengthening it to be impenetrable.

  Xiao Yan spread out the Purple Cloud Wing that had been hidden for a long time, flew into the sky and avoided the energy impact. However, the chaotic energy in the sky made him unable to see Nalan Yanran's situation clearly.

  "Hey, Nalan Yanran is my part-time disciple after all. Although she didn't receive as much guidance from me as the other disciples, do you think you can win that easily? I haven't even used the fighting skills I taught her yet." Xue Xing Meng smiled smugly from below the stage.