Chapter 364: Chapter 364: Forming a New Faction?
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Ma Imperial Capital.
Located at the very heart of the city, occupying a prime location, the Xiao Estate was undoubtedly the most eye-catching place in the imperial capital recently.
Other than the Alchemist Association, this place was the most lively of all.
Every day, crowds flowed through its gates nonstop.
Countless prominent figures from both the capital and the empire personally came bearing generous gifts to visit.
Some were even willing to disregard their status, waiting outside the manor in long lines for hours without a trace of dissatisfaction on their faces.
Just to show their sincerity to the Xiao Clan, many even put on warm smiles when speaking to the gatekeeping Xiao clan members, their tone full of flattery and friendliness.
After all, compared to others, they could at least get close to the Xiao Clan. If luck was on their side, maybe they’d even catch a glimpse of Xiao Yan.
As for Wei Yang?
Forget seeing the man—most of them couldn’t even set foot inside the Alchemist Association where he stayed.
So they could only shift their focus to the Xiao Clan instead.
This kind of treatment made some of the Xiao clan members swell with vanity. Even their demeanor changed slightly—they no longer acted as cautious and humble as before, as if they were rats scurrying across the streets, always trying to keep a low profile.
At that moment—
Inside a spacious and quiet hall within the Xiao Estate, several figures sat gathered, chatting and laughing casually.
Besides Xiao Yan, his two elder brothers Xiao Li and Xiao Ding were present, along with Hai Bodong.
The Mittel Clan and the Xiao Clan were now closer than ever, with a strong alliance between them.
After a short period of idle chatter, Hai Bodong’s gaze swept over Xiao Yan carefully. A moment later, a hint of surprise flickered across his eyes as he blurted out in astonishment, "Your aura...?"
To Hai Bodong, Xiao Yan’s current aura seemed somewhat unstable, fluctuating subtly—something reminiscent of someone on the verge of breaking through.
Xiao Yan smiled and nodded, replying in a low voice, "That last battle allowed me to faintly touch the barrier of the Dou Huang level."
"If I hadn’t been waiting for Brother Wei to return, I probably would’ve already gone into seclusion to attempt the breakthrough."
Hearing that, Hai Bodong couldn’t help but smack his lips in amazement, his face full of admiration. "Kid, you’re really about to break through to Dou Huang already? That’s insanely fast!"
As a Dou Huang himself, Hai Bodong naturally understood how vast the gap between Dou Wang and Dou Huang was. It was a hurdle that was incredibly difficult to cross.
Back in the day, he had been stuck at the peak of Dou Wang for nearly ten full years before finally breaking through with a stroke of fortune.
And he, Hai Bodong, had once been a rising star in the Jia Ma Empire—a genius among geniuses.
Now, with the rise of Wei Yang and Xiao Yan, even veterans like him were left speechless.
They finally understood what a true heaven-defying genius really looked like.
As for Wei Yang? That guy was a complete freak of nature.
Even compared to Xiao Yan, old-timers like Hai Bodong felt ashamed. They no longer dared to call themselves geniuses.
Xiao Yan just smiled in response to Hai Bodong’s admiration and didn’t say much more.
He knew his own situation. His rapid advancement came from cultivating Flame Mantra, from walking the line between life and death to devour Heavenly Flames. That was how he managed to rise so quickly.
Aside from that, he didn’t really have much to brag about in terms of innate talent.
"Oh right, didn’t you say before that Wei Yang would be back in about a month after he left? It’s already been over two months, so where is he?" Hai Bodong suddenly asked.
"Who knows." Xiao Yan shrugged.
"Nothing dangerous happened to him, right?" Hai Bodong frowned slightly, his tone laced with concern.
"What could possibly happen to him?" Xiao Yan chuckled and shook his head. "With his strength, at least in the region around Jia Ma Empire, nothing can threaten him."
"You’ve got a point," Hai Bodong nodded. Then he chuckled as well. "Looks like I’m overthinking it. With Wei Yang’s strength, aside from those rumored Dou Zun powerhouses, no one could possibly be a threat to him. And Dou Zun..."
At this point, Hai Bodong slowly shook his head and sighed. "In the entire Northwestern Region, that level of existence is already just a legend."
Dou Zun.
Those two words seemed to carry a strange kind of magic, making everyone in the room fall into silence.
A moment later—
Xiao Ding was the first to speak softly, "It’s said that in our Jia Ma Empire, apart from the first generation Sect Master of Yun Lan Sect, no one has ever reached the legendary level of Dou Zun."
Everyone lightly nodded in agreement.
To them, Dou Zun was too unfamiliar, too far out of reach. Not just for the Jia Ma Empire— even the neighboring empires treated that realm as nothing more than legend.
"Dou Zun..." Hai Bodong let out a bitter laugh and said with some self-deprecation, "Even Dou Zong is already beyond our reach—let alone Dou Zun?"
"Dou Zun..." Xiao Yan, however, slowly clenched his fists. A heavy pressure welled up in his heart.
To Hai Bodong and the others, that realm might be an unreachable legend. But for him, even a Dou Zun wasn’t enough!
At the very least, an ordinary low-rank Dou Zun was far from enough.
If he wanted to go up against Hall of Souls, if he wanted to rescue his father, then he would have to at least reach the level that his teacher once stood at—only then would there be even a sliver of hope for success.
"Master," he asked quietly in his heart, "How big is the gap between an ordinary Dou Zun and someone at the peak of Nine-Change Dou Zun?"
"..." Yao Lao fell silent.
After a long pause, he finally sighed and replied softly,
"Like heaven and earth. Even greater than the gap between Dou Zong and Dou Zun."
"I see..." Xiao Yan exhaled deeply.
With both the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame and Sea Heart Flame waiting to be devoured, he still had confidence that he could ascend quickly to the peak of Dou Zong, maybe even touch the threshold of Dou Zun.
But the peak of Nine-Change Dou Zun...that felt like a different story altogether.
"Oh right—" Hai Bodong composed himself and said solemnly, "The reason I came today is mainly to discuss forming a new faction."
"Forming a new faction?" Hearing something serious, Xiao Yan snapped out of his thoughts.
He tapped his finger lightly on the table, signaling Hai Bodong to go on.
"However," Hai Bodong changed the subject, "before that, we should talk about Hall of Souls."
"This faction—we hadn’t heard much about them in the past."
"It was only because of the Yun Lan Sect incident that we deliberately started gathering information on them. While we didn’t learn much, we did manage to gain a rough understanding."
"This group is extremely powerful and deeply mysterious. Their specialty lies in hunting down powerful soul bodies that have lost their physical forms across the continent."
"Now that we’ve provoked them, it’s certainly not good news. Especially your Xiao Clan—it seems like you’ve been marked by them. You need to be very cautious." Hai Bodong frowned as he warned.
"My father’s disappearance was most likely at their hands. And yes—they’re definitely interested in my Xiao Clan. It’s likely they’ll send strong experts again in the future." Xiao Yan’s eyes flickered with a cold light as he replied softly.
Hai Bodong, Xiao Ding, and Xiao Li all nodded slightly, their hearts heavy.
Although they had successfully uprooted Yun Lan Sect, the even more powerful and terrifying Hall of Souls now loomed over their heads like a dark cloud, making it hard to breathe.
"Hall of Souls is extremely enigmatic. Very few people know where they’re based. And with the strength of our Jia Ma Empire, we’re nowhere near qualified to even get involved with them. Honestly, I believe that Hall of Souls is probably one of the most powerful organizations on the entire Dou Qi continent."
"As for us—forget anything too far away. Just look at Yun Lan Sect in its prime. Even then, it could only throw its weight around within the borders of the Empire. In the vast expanse of the continent, even within this northwestern region, Yun Lan Sect barely qualified as a second-rate power."
"During past Great Meeting of Factions, their reception was always lukewarm at best. They got their fair share of cold shoulders and ridicule too," Hai Bodong said bitterly with a sigh.
"Now that Yun Lan Sect has collapsed, we must form a new faction. Otherwise, we won’t be able to attend the next Great Meeting of Factions held every five years."
"More importantly, if we want to resist Hall of Souls, we’ll need a faction to gather our strength together. Otherwise, we’re just a bunch of scattered sand with no cohesion."
Just then—
A faint chuckle came from outside the door.
"You’re planning to form a new faction?"
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