Chapter 346: Chapter 346: From This Moment, We Are Strangers
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three of them hovered in the air, silently watching everything unfold below.
Hmm?
Suddenly, a flash of white shot up from the mountainside, then sharply changed direction, speeding toward the plaza at the mountaintop.
Behind her, two figures followed in hot pursuit.
Wei Yang and the others looked over and recognized the white silhouette—it was Yun Yun. And the two chasing behind her were Su Mei and Elder Yin Gu.
"Giggle~ Sect Master Yun Yun, don’t run~ You and I are both leaders of our factions and both Dou Huang—why not spar a little?" Su Mei’s flirtatious laughter echoed across the sky.
Yun Yun’s delicate face was a shade of iron blue, her eyes filled with urgency and fury, but she ignored Su Mei’s teasing.
She raised her head and looked toward the plaza.
When she saw the figures of Wei Yang and the others, her eyes lit up.
With a beat of her cyan Dou Qi wings, her figure streaked through the sky and charged straight toward them.
At this moment, the remaining members of the Yun Lan Sect were either being captured or slaughtered. Yun Yun understood—if she wanted to save them, her only chance lay with the three people ahead.
Wei Yang turned to glance at Xiao Yan and asked softly, "She’s coming for you. What do you plan to do?"
Xiao Yan frowned but didn’t speak.
Yao Lao stroked his beard in silence.
...
In the blink of an eye, the three figures reached the plaza.
Yun Yun came to an abrupt halt mid-flight.
Behind her, Su Mei and Elder Yin Gu slowed as well, fanning out to surround her, Dou Qi rising from within their bodies, ready to strike at any moment.
Yun Yun’s gaze first swept past Wei Yang and Yao Lao, giving them a slight nod, then locked onto Xiao Yan.
She didn’t speak, but her eyes were filled with pleading as she stared at him.
She knew—Xiao Yan was the key to changing the outcome.
"Mr. Wei, senior, Sect Master Xiao," Su Mei and Elder Yin Gu both bowed slightly in greeting, showing their respect.
At this moment, these once-arrogant Black-Corner Region elites behaved with great humility.
Especially toward Wei Yang—they didn’t even dare meet his eyes directly.
The atmosphere gradually fell silent. No one spoke.
Facing Yun Yun’s desperate gaze, Xiao Yan didn’t avoid her eyes—his face remained expressionless.
The silence dragged on.
Wei Yang finally shook his head and looked toward Su Mei and Elder Yin Gu, who were still waiting for his orders. He lightly waved his hand and said, "You don’t need to concern yourselves with this. You may go."
"Yes." Su Mei and Elder Yin Gu bowed and quickly turned to leave.
Seeing the two leave, Yun Yun grew even more anxious and finally opened her mouth.
"Xiao Yan..."
"What?" Xiao Yan’s tone was indifferent. "Back then, I respected your choice. After all, we stood on different sides—I could understand that. But from the moment you made that choice... it also meant we became enemies."
"I..." Yun Yun was struck speechless. Her lips parted slightly, but it was a long time before she could softly whisper, "I’m sorry."
"This has nothing to do with right or wrong," Xiao Yan slowly shook his head. "You don’t owe me anything. But we are enemies."
"Xiao Yan, please—no, I beg you... Please spare them. Alright?" Yun Yun pleaded in a low, trembling voice.
"Ha! Spare them?" Xiao Yan suddenly let out a cold laugh, then his face darkened as he said coldly, "Back then, did they ever consider sparing my Xiao Clan?"
"From the elderly on their deathbeds to newborns still in swaddling clothes—not one was spared. And now, you come here and ask me to spare them?"
"Yun Yun, don’t you think that’s ridiculous? Isn’t it completely unreasonable?"
"My Xiao Clan... those relatives who died under the Yun Lan Sect’s butcher knives... they begged too, you know? But did you let them go?"
"No!"
"Even the few who survived—you all hunted them down, determined to wipe us out completely!"
"If I hadn’t returned in time this time, the Xiao Clan would have already been destroyed by your Yun Lan Sect."
"Now, ninety percent of my clan is dead. My father is missing. My eldest brother crippled. My second brother..."
As he spoke, Xiao Yan’s initially rising anger gradually settled into calm.
Looking at the speechless Yun Yun, a trace of disappointment flashed across his face.
He shook his head.
In his heart, that last bit of emotional attachment to Yun Yun... finally disappeared.
Yun Yun... did once hold a special place in Xiao Yan’s heart.
After all, back when he was still weak and training alone in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, that encounter with Yun Yun had been... bittersweet.
Truly unforgettable.
But now, with everything that had happened, the final thread of emotion lingering in Xiao Yan’s heart had completely vanished.
From this moment on, they would walk separate paths—as strangers.
...
"But all of this... it was Yun Shan’s order. And many of them—many never even participated in that massacre. They’re innocent..." Yun Yun still tried, desperately making one last effort.
"Innocent? You’re telling me they’re innocent?" Xiao Yan sneered, though his gaze turned ice-cold. "The members of my Xiao Clan—were they not innocent?"
"I’m already showing mercy by letting them surrender and be captured. The ones I’ve killed were those who resisted to the bitter end. What more do you want from me? Sect Master Yun, don’t push your luck!"
He took a deep breath and waved his hand with a hint of disinterest. "You were born in the Yun Lan Sect and even became its sect master. From your standpoint, it’s understandable that you want to protect them. But that doesn’t mean I have to accept it."
Finally, Xiao Yan said coldly, "Leave. I won’t kill you, nor will I imprison you. Just get out of the Jia Ma Empire—far away from here. From now on, you are never to set foot here again."
Upon hearing those words, a look of pain and despair appeared on Yun Yun’s face. Her body trembled slightly as she slowly closed her eyes.
Wei Yang and Yao Lao stood in silence, watching it all unfold.
Xiao Yan had not allowed his personal feelings to cloud his judgment, nor had he acted recklessly.
That, at least, was commendable.
...
Yun Yun stood there in a daze, her face full of helplessness and confusion.
The Yun Lan Sect... was gone.
And her?
Where should she go now?
Since childhood, she had grown up in the Yun Lan Sect, cultivated within its walls, and eventually become its leader.
To her, the Yun Lan Sect had always been her home.
But now... her home was no more.
It was like everything she had spent her life protecting and dedicating herself to—vanished in an instant.
At this moment, "devastated" was hardly enough to describe her state.
Just then—
Buzz—
A sharp, mighty sword aura suddenly burst from the rear mountains of the Yun Lan Sect, piercing the sky.
The clear ring of a sword echoed above the mountaintop.
And with that sound, a powerful aura surged forth from the direction of the rear mountain.
Hm?
This sudden emergence of power immediately drew the attention of Wei Yang and the others, who turned their gazes toward it.
"This aura..." Xiao Yan was slightly stunned. Then, his eyes narrowed into slits. "Nalan Yanran!"
At the same moment, Yun Yun’s dull gaze flickered faintly with light. She murmured, "Yanran...?"
Nalan Yanran’s appearance was like a ray of light breaking through the darkness, piercing straight into Yun Yun’s broken heart.
...
The sword’s clear cry rang through the skies.
Then, a radiant streak of sword light shot from the rear mountain of the Yun Lan Sect, streaking like a rainbow.
Within a few breaths, it appeared above the ruins of the ravaged plaza.
As the brilliance faded, a figure was revealed within.
She wore a dark gown that clung elegantly to her form. Her long, silken hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall, brushing past her waist and down to her hips.
Her eyebrows were like painted strokes, her skin like fresh snow. Though her face was slightly thinner than before, the delicate features combined to form a breathtaking beauty that stirred the heart at a single glance.
It had been more than three years.
The once-young Nalan Yanran had now shed her immaturity and begun to exude a mature charm that belonged only to grown women.
Startled by the chaos she saw below, Nalan Yanran was momentarily frozen.
Then her sharp eyes swept across Wei Yang and the others. Her slender brows furrowed, and she quickly looked away, finally landing on the stunned Yun Yun.
A dazzling, soul-stirring smile bloomed across her porcelain-like face. Her crisp voice rang out like the song of a lark.
"Teacher!"
"Yanran..." Yun Yun slowly came back to her senses. A faint, somewhat forced smile appeared on her pale face. "You... you really broke through the Gate of Life and Death. Congratulations."
Looking at the disciple who had matured noticeably in just a few years, Yun Yun felt her heart lighten just a little.
With a light beat of her Dou Qi wings, Nalan Yanran streaked through the air and landed beside Yun Yun. Her eyes scanned the surroundings, and her brows furrowed.
"Teacher, what happened to the Yun Lan Sect?"
Hearing that question, the faint smile on Yun Yun’s face froze.
Her slender jade hand clenched slightly.
In a hoarse voice, she answered, "Yanran... the Yun Lan Sect... is no more."
Her slender frame trembled.
Then Nalan Yanran’s head snapped toward Xiao Yan. Her eyes instantly locked onto him with fierce intensity.
Grinding her teeth, she growled through clenched jaws: "Xiao Yan... why are you here? Was this... your doing?!"
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