Chapter 148: A Clash with Hun Feng!
At night, Jiang Yun did not disturb the resting group. Instead, after settling Zhu Kun in, the three of them each returned to their rooms to rest.
The next day.
Having finished her cultivation, Qing Lin was the first to step out. With a single glance, she spotted Zhu Kun seated within the courtyard. A look of suspicion flickered through her eyes.
The moment Qing Lin noticed Zhu Kun, Zhu Kun naturally noticed her as well. Seeing Qing Lin's appearance, Zhu Kun's expression immediately turned somewhat unnatural.
Living together with Jiang Yun and Zi Yan—clearly the two parties were acquainted. A terrible premonition surfaced in his heart at that moment.
This brat Jiang Yun—he wouldn't happen to be a scumbag, would he?
Last night, out of respect for Jiang Yun and his daughter's privacy, Zhu Kun had not probed the surroundings, and thus had no idea that Jiang Yun was also harboring three great beauties here!
"Who are you?" Out of caution, while Zhu Kun was still dazed, Qing Lin fixed her gaze tightly on him. Deep within her jade-green eyes, three minute points of light slowly emerged. Three jade-green flowers were ready to bloom at any moment and erupt into a terrifying attack.
"Yi—" Noticing the abnormality within Qing Lin's eyes, Zhu Kun was somewhat astonished. Surprised, he remarked, "Jade-Green Snake Triple Flower Eyes!"
"This old man is Zhu Kun, Zi Yan's father!" After his initial surprise, Zhu Kun's heart quickly calmed. To him, there was no real distinction among things like divine-grade bloodlines, Jade-Green Snake Triple Flower Eyes, or the Calamity Poison Body.
They were merely somewhat more special, that was all!
"Ah—so it's Uncle!" Upon learning Zhu Kun's identity, Qing Lin's small face flushed red. The hostility in her eyes faded, and she respectfully stepped forward to attend to Zhu Kun.
"What is your name?" Looking at the well-behaved young girl attending to him before his eyes, a trace of a smile surfaced in Zhu Kun's gaze. Having left the Ancient Emperor's Mansion and having also found his daughter, his mood was now excellent.
"This junior is Qing Lin!" Qing Lin brewed a cup of tea for Zhu Kun and answered respectfully.
"Can you tell me about Zi Yan? Having been gone all these years, I haven't fulfilled a father's duties at all!" Zhu Kun looked at Qing Lin and slowly asked.
Shooting Zhu Kun a somewhat startled glance, Qing Lin quickly recovered and softly said, "Alright."
"I first met Sister Zi Yan in the Jia Ma Empire..."
Listening to Qing Lin's detailed account, Zhu Kun also came to understand Zi Yan and Jiang Yun better—and of course, Xiao Yi Xian, Medusa, and the others as well.
This left the old father feeling somewhat displeased in his heart. But as he swept a glance at Qing Lin, who was narrating in a gentle voice, Zhu Kun sighed inwardly.
They are all pitiful children!
All of this is that rascal Jiang Yun's fault!
Thinking this, the discontent in Zhu Kun's heart toward Jiang Yun for stealing his daughter surfaced once more.
As time passed, the others also woke one after another. Upon meeting Zhu Kun, Medusa and Xiao Yi Xian were naturally curious as well. With Zi Yan bridging introductions, everyone became acquainted.
The moment Jiang Yun emerged, he saw Medusa and the others sitting together, listening to Zhu Kun talk about everything under the sun.
"Jiang Yun, you really are quite the blessed one, aren't you!" Before Jiang Yun could even sit down, he heard Zhu Kun speaking in a barbed, mocking tone from the side.
Just moments ago, he had already discerned the situations of Medusa and Xiao Yi Xian—one a Nine-Colored Devouring Heaven Python, the other a Calamity Poison Body whose hidden dangers had been resolved. Add to that a Jade-Green Snake Triple Flower Eyes.
Good heavens—frightening constitutions that might not appear even once in a thousand years, and Jiang Yun had collected them all in the Jia Ma Empire.
Zhu Kun was even beginning to suspect whether the Jia Ma Empire had something special about it. For such a place to be so blessed with outstanding talents, producing so many terrifying constitutions in succession.
"Uncle is too kind!"
Seeing Jiang Yun's thick-skinned attitude, Zhu Kun immediately felt as though he'd punched a ball of cotton. Most importantly, Zi Yan looked completely indifferent, which simply made him grind his teeth in frustration.
Daughter, this brat Jiang Yun acting this way—you're eight-tenths the one who spoiled him!
Just at that moment, the group raised their heads and looked over. A figure could be seen strolling through the air, arriving before them in the blink of an eye.
"Jiang Yun, you've returned!" Su Qian looked at Jiang Yun, who had emerged from seclusion, and at the unfamiliar Zhu Kun beside him. He guessed inwardly that this must be Zi Yan's father.
"Great Elder!"
"This must be Great Elder Su Qian!" After Jiang Yun and the others had greeted him, Zhu Kun stood up and cupped his fists solemnly toward Su Qian. "Many thanks, Great Elder Su Qian, for raising Zi Yan all these years. Zhu Kun is deeply grateful. Should you ever have need, Zhu Kun will certainly fulfill it with all his strength. The Ancient Dragon Clan will also forever be a friend to Jia Nan Academy."
He had already learned about Su Qian from Jiang Yun and the others. It was precisely Su Qian who had brought Zi Yan and Jiang Yun out of the Magical Beast Mountain Range together and taken them to Jia Nan Academy to be nurtured. Zhu Kun absolutely had to remember this kindness, no matter what.
"I dare not accept such praise. I didn't really take care of Zi Yan and the others all that specially—merely gave them a place to stay. That they could reach where they are today is still thanks to Zi Yan and the others' own efforts!" Su Qian did not dare act presumptuously. This person was a fully mature Taixu Ancient Dragon. Though he didn't know Zhu Kun's exact status within the Ancient Dragon Clan, his origins were surely extraordinary.
Otherwise, he couldn't possibly speak on behalf of the entire Ancient Dragon Clan so casually!
In all likelihood, he might very well be the legendary—Dou Sheng?!
"Old man Su, you don't need to stand on ceremony with him! He's got plenty of good stuff—just speak up freely!" Seeing Su Qian so reserved, Zi Yan immediately spoke up loudly.
Hearing Zi Yan's words, everyone except Zhu Kun had a light smile tugging at their lips. Zi Yan was truly fleecing her own father!
"Great Elder, take this. Should Jia Nan Academy ever face disaster, crush it. No matter where I am, Zhu Kun will arrive at once!" As he spoke, Zhu Kun produced a purplish-gold dragon scale and handed it to Su Qian.
Under Zhu Kun's insistence, Su Qian ultimately accepted the dragon scale. Seeing this, Zhu Kun smiled faintly and continued, "Once I return to the clan, I can open a spatial passageway between Jia Nan Academy and Ancient Dragon Island. The academy's outstanding students may come to our Dragon Island to study!"
Hearing Zhu Kun's offer, Su Qian was immediately moved. This was a reward far more generous than any condition!
To study on Dragon Island—how many people dreamed and yearned for such a thing, yet could never attain it!
And just like that, it had been so easily realized. Ultimately, Su Qian agreed.
Seeing the matter settled, Jiang Yun looked at Su Qian and asked, "Great Elder, have all the medicinal ingredients been gathered?"
"Oh, the ingredients for the Sect-Advancing Pill have been prepared. When do you plan to begin refining?" Su Qian came back to his senses, handed Jiang Yun a ring, and spoke softly.
"There's no time like the present. Let's begin now!" Jiang Yun accepted the ring and swept his gaze over it. Seeing the six sets of ingredients quietly arranged within, he said in a deep voice.
"Then I'll trouble Uncle to stand guard for me." Turning his head to look at Zhu Kun, Jiang Yun chuckled lightly.
"Hahaha!" Zhu Kun let out a hearty laugh and nodded. "Then let me see your alchemy art. Although I don't understand alchemy, I have seen a few Mystic Pill Grandmasters refine pills before. It should be of some help to you. Refine without worry—let alone a mere eighth-tier pill, even the Nine Mysterious Golden Thunder couldn't harm you in the slightest!"
Zhu Kun's tone was brimming with confidence. Though this body of his was merely an Emperor Realm soul, the Nine Mysterious Golden Thunder truly could not harm him.
Hearing Zhu Kun's bold declaration, Qing Lin, Xiao Yi Xian, and Medusa looked at Zhu Kun with some curiosity. They still did not know the extent of Zhu Kun's strength, and hearing this, they couldn't help but feel rather inquisitive.
"Then I'll ask Uncle for a few pointers." Jiang Yun also laughed heartily. With a raise of his hand, the Black Demon slowly appeared. A white Undying Sacred Flame leapt into it and began burning steadily.
"Boom—"
Inside a secret chamber, a vast and overwhelming aura erupted from within a figure clad in white robes.
Moments later, the aura slowly receded. Yun Yi opened his tightly shut eyes. Feeling the strength of a one-star Dou Zun within his body, he murmured quietly, "First, return to the Hun clan for a visit. After that, focus the next steps on the Central Plains."
Having made up his mind, Yun Yi rose and walked toward the door.
Not long after, an enormous spatial passageway descended. A Purple Crystal Winged Lion King pulled an utterly black war chariot slowly into it.
Soul Realm.
Yun Yi once again met his nominal master, Nihility Devouring Flame.
Looking down at Yun Yi below, black flames blazed within Nihility Devouring Flame's eyes. He laughed, "Your strength has advanced quite quickly—to have already reached Dou Zun!"
"It seems letting you go out back then was the right decision. If you had stayed in the Soul Realm the whole time, your current strength might not necessarily be what it is now."
"Decent enough—just average speed, I suppose!" Yun Yi replied somewhat indifferently.
"Stay in the Soul Realm for these next few days. This time, you truly 'bullied' the Gu clan's young miss badly enough. Those old fellows of the Gu clan almost flew into a rage!" Nihility Devouring Flame looked at Yun Yi, his tone carrying a trace of schadenfreude.
"She brought it upon herself. What—is the Hun clan afraid?" Yun Yi sneered coldly, then countered with a question.
"Heh! The Gu clan doesn't have that capability to make our clan bow its head!" Nihility Devouring Flame sneered, showing exceptional disdain for the Gu clan.
"Stay within the clan these next few days to avoid the Gu clan resorting to desperate measures. Besides, someone has emerged from seclusion. I believe you'll be interested!"
"Oh? Who is it?" Jiang Yun asked with keen interest.
"Hun Feng has come out of seclusion. He is one of the three divine-grade bloodline possessors of this generation of the Hun clan. He's the candidate with the highest support within the clan for the position of Young Clan Leader. Knowing you've returned—it's very likely he'll come looking for you to spar!" As Nihility Devouring Flame spoke, he studied Yun Yi with great interest. Sparring within the Hun clan was never about stopping at the appropriate point—people died.
Honestly, Nihility Devouring Flame rather wanted to see an expression of panic appear on Yun Yi's face!
"If he comes, I'll just beat him until he explodes!" Yun Yi said indifferently. His face bore not the slightest expression, as if no one could pique his interest in the least. A powerful confidence surfaced on his face as he declared, "In the same realm, I am invincible!"
Having said this, he turned and walked toward the outside, without the slightest hesitation!
"Interesting!" Gazing at Yun Yi's retreating back, after a long while, Nihility Devouring Flame murmured, "Hun Feng carries a child flame of mine. Let this seat see, then, the true nature of your flame!"
As his voice faded, the great hall was once again shrouded in darkness!
Yun Yi has returned!
The next day, the explosive news spread at lightning speed to every corner of the Soul Realm.
Immediately, countless people grew excited. Who was Yun Yi?
He was the sole disciple of Nihility Devouring Flame. The moment he had first arrived in the Soul Realm, he had, as a Dou Wang, counter-attacked and defeated a Dou Huang, earning great fame from then on.
Moreover, after that, Hun Feng—the divine-grade bloodline possessor of the Hun clan—had once declared that once Yun Yi reached Dou Zun, he would fight him in a fair duel.
Now, Hun Feng had just emerged from seclusion, and Yun Yi had returned as well. Mars colliding with the earth—how could this not stir anticipation?
On a mountain peak, Yun Yi stood quietly, watching the denizens of the Soul Realm living their lives below. The denizens of an imperial clan were no different from ordinary people in the outside world.
Their talents were generally not high. They lived the lives of "ordinary people" within the Soul Realm—their entire existence spent procreating for the Hun clan, relying on the principle that quantitative change could lead to qualitative change in order to produce descendants of higher bloodline grades.
In certain respects, the denizens of an imperial clan were also quite pitiful. They were the foundation of the imperial clan's strength, yet lived at the very bottom!
"Boom—"
Just then, from a distant mountain peak, a sharp gaze locked onto Yun Yi. Within that gaze was contained an extremely powerful oppressive force. The space around Jiang Yun's figure seemed as though it were about to solidify at that very moment.
"Hmph!"
Sensing the change in the surrounding space, Yun Yi let out a cold snort. His terrifying soul power contained threads of flame force within it.
"Boom!"
Scorching-hot flames, in that single instant, exploded outward from the sky with extreme abruptness. Terrifying waves of fire, centered on Yun Yi, rumbled and spread in all directions.
"What powerful flames!"
Seeing this scene, the black-robed figure in the distance also revealed a look of surprise in his eyes. He stared intently at the figure at the center of the flame waves. At the same time, the pitch-black flames within his own body also grew increasingly fiery.
"Hm?" In the split second he was slightly distracted, Yun Yi's form had already vanished from before his eyes. Abruptly, Yun Yi's figure appeared, standing silently behind Hun Feng.
"What exquisite spatial control!" Hun Feng seemed to have detected Jiang Yun and couldn't help but praise.
"Your cultivation is very advanced as well." Yun Yi observed Hun Feng. He was a youth of twenty, extremely young. His face wore a timeless, unchanging expression—neither joy nor sorrow. His features already seemed somewhat rigid.
A pair of pitch-black eyes resembled two black pearls forcibly embedded into his eye sockets, giving off a chilling, cold aura.
"Hun Feng!" Hun Feng turned around and fixed his gaze on Yun Yi, his voice light and indifferent.
Nodding, Yun Yi looked at Hun Feng and said, "Yun Yi!"
The two faced off, invisible auras already beginning to clash. The very air around them seemed to congeal.
"Boom—"
Accompanied by a violent rumble, their two figures vanished like ghosts in the same instant.
"Bang!"
The next second, the two reappeared in midair. A fist and a palm collided. A terrifying ripple of fierce wind immediately surged outward. The dreadful gust landed on the ground below, and instantly, fearsome cracks spread rapidly outward. Some of the shattered rocks atop the mountain peak were directly shaken into powder-like nothingness.
"Ugh!"
The instant they clashed, Hun Feng let out a muffled groan. Tapping his toes, he rapidly retreated. He cast a glance at his palm—now somewhat red and swollen, with blood seeping out from within his flesh and dyeing his hand into a bloody mess in the blink of an eye.
In their very first exchange, Hun Feng had already suffered a minor loss!
"As expected—just as they said, your physical body is exceptionally fearsome!" Hun Feng was completely unconcerned with his injury. Expressionlessly gazing at Yun Yi, he spoke in a low voice.
Yun Yi's figure moved, once again closing in on Hun Feng!
"Wind-Splitting Tiger Howl Palm!" Hun Feng sneered coldly. The seals in his hand changed, and a fierce, aggressive palm seal shot violently toward Jiang Yun.
Facing Hun Feng's attack, silver light flashed beneath Yun Yi's feet. His figure appeared abruptly behind Hun Feng.
"Black Extreme Collapsing Burst!"