Chapter 313: The Rules of the Great Meeting of Factions

Word Count: 2,687 Words

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Little Fairy Doctor's fair face flushed a deep crimson upon hearing those words. She hastily grabbed a white bedsheet from beside her and draped it over half her face, leaving only her eyes visible. Those beautiful, innocent, yet faintly questioning eyes seemed to ask Xiao Yan: You're lying, aren't you?

Shrinking under the thin blanket, her lovely eyes looked so red they seemed about to drip water. The sight made Xiao Yan's heart pound violently, and his body suddenly grew hot.

Being stared at like that made him feel rather awkward. He braced himself and said, "I swear, the Secret Technique Venerable Tian Huo passed down to me really does have this requirement. After all, we need to use a Heavenly Flame to draw the seal, and clothes would just burn up."

Seeing Xiao Yan's awkward yet 'sincere' demeanor, the flush on Little Fairy Doctor's cheeks actually subsided slightly. She bit her red lips, and then her slender hand, trembling slightly, gently pressed onto the buttons of her clothes.

After giving Xiao Yan a fleeting glance with her captivating eyes, she seemed resigned to her fate and began to undo her clothes bit by bit.

Her white hair only enhanced her immortal-like beauty, making her appear exquisitely pure. Yet it was not just her face that was beautiful; her figure could also be called flawless.

Her shoulders were elegantly sloped, the most alluring Xiao Yan had seen in his twenty-two years. Her willow-like waist was slender and graceful, and her jade-like arms, devoid of any excess flesh, further accentuated her pure beauty.

It was hard to imagine how such slender, delicate arms could have poisoned a Dou Ancestor to death with a single finger.

Little Fairy Doctor hugged the bedsheet tightly with both hands and turned around, revealing her smooth, snowy back. That mesmerizing sight nearly stole Xiao Yan's breath, and the man who had boldly sworn an oath moments before felt his composure falter.

In such a situation, remaining calm would be unthinkable unless one wasn't a man.

Xiao Yan silently chanted Xun Er's name in his heart, trying to calm his feverish thoughts.

"I'm ready."

!!!

Those three simple words nearly undid all his resolve!

"Lie face down." Xiao Yan bit the tip of his tongue to keep himself focused. After all, this seal concerned Little Fairy Doctor's life.

Little Fairy Doctor hugged a pillow and lay face down on the bed, slowly closing her eyes.

"This might hurt a little, but please bear with it."

Xiao Yan spoke softly. His finger hovered in midair for a long moment before finally descending to touch the back of her neck. Her smooth, jade-like skin immediately released wisps of white smoke where his fingertip pressed, seemingly laced with faint gray.

Low, muffled groans escaped from her lips as the white smoke rose, sounding extremely pitiable and evoking sympathy.

A mark formed by the Heavenly Flame gradually appeared where his finger landed. Xiao Yan resisted the allure of her soft skin and carefully guided his finger along the path of the 'All Day Fire Seal,' moving with extreme caution.

More white smoke rose as his fingertip glided downward, and a fiery trail slowly took shape upon that sculpture-like back. This additional fiery trace did not mar the delicate body in the slightest; instead, it added a unique charm.

Xiao Yan's expression grew increasingly serious as his finger continued its course. He needed to maintain the Heavenly Flame at a precise temperature: hot enough to form the seal, yet not so hot as to harm her body.

His finger moved lightly across her body like a paintbrush, leaving behind strangely intersecting lines drawn horizontally and vertically. Where these lines met, they faintly revealed a touch of profound mystery.

At the same time, countless memories flitted through Xiao Yan's mind. The time he accidentally glimpsed Xiao Yu bathing in his childhood and scampered away, not daring to do more than look; the unexpected slip in control of the Ten Thousand Beast Flame in the cave of the Amethyst Winged Lion King, which led to a dizzying entanglement with Yun Yun; or the moment in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower's No. 1 Cultivation Room when Medusa pinned him down under the influence of the Ten Thousand Beast Flame. On all those occasions, he was either too rattled or too restrained by circumstance to have a clear recollection afterward.

As for Xun Er, there was even less to say. They were young back then, and even as they grew older, their interactions were always tempered by a layer of clothing between them.

But today was different. He was completely conscious! Wholly focused! And entirely present! He could swear to the heavens that he would remember every sensation of this moment for as long as he lived.

Who knows how much time passed before Xiao Yan finally exhaled and retracted both his finger and the Heavenly Flame. Little Fairy Doctor slowly opened her eyes once his touch disappeared. Her gaze was hazy, her breath faintly fragrant, and her cheeks were flushed—though whether from the flame's heat or her own stirred emotions, it was difficult to say.

Just as Little Fairy Doctor let out a quiet sigh of relief, Xiao Yan spoke words that made her body tremble involuntarily and turned even the tips of her ears bright red.

"There's still... the front."

…

No one knew how long it had been when Xiao Yan finally stepped out from the small wooden house. He looked more tired than when refining a tier 7 pill. His hair was damp with sweat, his steps slightly unsteady, and his eyes somewhat dazed.

He could vow to Xun Er that he had upheld that final boundary between them. However, he had undoubtedly grown in other ways, learning quite a bit about 'this and that'!

Venerable Tian Huo's soul body drifted over as soon as Xiao Yan appeared. He raised an eyebrow and gave a meaningful smile. "With your Spiritual Strength and fire control, there's no reason it should have taken this long."

Xiao Yan gave this old fellow who didn't act his age an irritated glance and retorted, "It concerns Little Fairy Doctor's life, after all. Is there a problem with me being cautious and meticulous?"

"Oh." Venerable Tian Huo instantly understood. Indeed, some areas required caution and meticulousness.

In the evening, Little Fairy Doctor prepared a warm meal. However, during dinner, her gaze when looking at Xiao Yan was somewhat evasive, and he too felt a bit awkward.

"Um... I'll refine some pills over the next few days, and then I'll be heading back to Jia Ma Sacred City," Xiao Yan suddenly said after finishing his meal.

Less than a month remained before the Great Meeting of Factions, and that included travel time. The Jia Ma Empire was only on the periphery of the North-Western Region. Although the Great Meeting of Factions didn't have a fixed venue, it was always held within the empires located in the center of the North-Western Region.

When Little Fairy Doctor heard of his departure, she swept her white hair behind her ear and said softly, "I'll come with you."

Unsurprisingly, Xiao Yan shook his head and refused. "Even with the seal in place, your Woeful Poison Body is on the brink. You can't act recklessly anymore. It's best for you to stay here. With the suppression of the Clear Soul Nether Orchid and the sealing technique, you should be able to hold on for around three years. I'll search for the 'Bodhisattva Body Transformation Saliva' as quickly as possible so I can refine the Poison Pill that you need."

At the mention of the seal, Little Fairy Doctor's cheeks tinted a faint pink. After silently musing for a moment, she nodded and said, "Alright. I'll remain here in the small valley and watch over the Yan Alliance for you."

She understood very well that even though she was a high-star Dou Ancestor who possessed immense strength, the Woeful Poison Body was like a ticking time bomb. If anything unexpected caused it to erupt prematurely, the resulting poison explosion could even kill Xiao Yan. Even with the Ghostly Poison Flame, it would be hard to resist the ultimate outbreak of the Woeful Poison Body.

Over the next few days, Xiao Yan refined various tier 5 and tier 6 pills for the big and small Lion Kings. It was their payment for guarding Little Fairy Doctor. He also refined a tier 7 Detoxification Pill for her to use in case of emergencies.

Three days later, Xiao Yan bid farewell to Little Fairy Doctor with complex emotions in his heart and flew toward Jia Ma Sacred City with Zi Yan.

A gentle breeze drifted across Little Fairy Doctor's cheeks as she stood in the valley, gazing at the black dot in the sky marking Xiao Yan and Zi Yan fading into the distance. Her face, usually pallid from the Woeful Poison Body, slowly brightened with a charming, gentle smile.

…

With Xiao Yan and Zi Yan's strength, flying back from Qingshan Town to Jia Ma Sacred City only took half a day.

The moment Hai Bodong and the others sensed Xiao Yan's return, they finally felt their anxious hearts settle.

"You brat, you really know how to cut it close! Can't you be a bit earlier next time? There's only half a month left now, and reaching the destination requires crossing half the North-Western Region! Even a Dou Emperor needs five to seven days for that!" Hai Bodong grumbled, his beard practically bristling. Xiao Yan truly cut it close every single time.

Everyone present shook their heads with wry smiles. They were used to it, quite used to it.

Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and quickly changed the subject, "Which empire is hosting the Great Meeting of Factions this time?"

Queen Yao Ye, majestic and charming as ever, replied with a somewhat solemn expression, "It's being held under the jurisdiction of the Sky Serpent Mansion in the Sky Serpent Empire."

"Sky Serpent Mansion..." A trace of solemnity flashed through Xiao Yan's eyes. He hadn't expected they would actually have to go to the Sky Serpent Empire.

He had heard the name 'Sky Serpent Mansion' many times. Not only did the two snake-type Dou Emperors, Bai Ya and Lu Man, belong to the Sky Serpent Mansion, but even Elder Qing—who had traveled a great distance to the Black-Corner Region to purchase the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill, only to be robbed by Protector Yan and a certain wicked woman surnamed Gu—was from there.

Of course, the primary reason for his concern was naturally Qing Lin.

Upon mentioning the Sky Serpent Mansion, Hai Bodong glanced at Xiao Yan and slowly said, "No need to worry. I gathered some information. That girl Qing Lin is doing quite well now. Word has it she might even be representing the Sky Serpent Mansion in the upcoming competition."

"Represent the Sky Serpent Mansion in battle?! Qing Lin's cultivation has progressed so rapidly! It's only been a few years!" Xiao Yan was shocked. It had only been four years, right?

Guessing that Xiao Yan might have misunderstood, Xiao Ding—representing the Xiao Clan—smiled and said, "You've got it wrong, Third Brother. The Great Meeting of Factions isn't just about comparing the strongest fighters."

"Oh?"

Xiao Ding explained, "The original purpose of establishing the Great Meeting of Factions was very simple. It was to find the most powerful and widely recognized faction in the North-Western Region, to unify the entire region and thus gain a foothold among the forces of the Central Plains."

"A faction's strength does not lie solely in its current power but also in its future; in other words, in its ability to cultivate elite experts. If its younger generation is weak, then that faction will lose recognition. The Sky Serpent Mansion faces this issue. If measured solely by the strength of its top experts, the Sky Serpent Mansion is undoubtedly the strongest in the North-Western Region; however, its younger generation is lacking."

"In contrast, a faction called the Thunderbolt Sect now has many elite experts, especially its young sect leader whose cultivation talent is extremely high. There's even a rumor that the Thunderbolt Sect might produce a Dou Venerate within twenty years! That is why they took Qing Lin away for nurturing."

Xiao Yan frowned. To think there was a faction suppressing the Sky Serpent Mansion! He knew that the Sky Serpent Mansion's strength was primarily due to its deep foundation. It was a faction founded by a Dou Saint and had unparalleled prestige on the Dou Qi Continent, though it had declined over time.

"So... how do they actually compare factions?" Xiao Yan asked.

Sitting off to the side, Yun Yun answered. She had taken part in several of these meetings as the Sect Leader of the Misty Cloud Sect.

"First, the greatest experts from each faction fight one-on-one in an arena defense format, aiming to determine the most powerful force in the North-Western Region. The Sky Serpent Mansion's experts have lost by a narrow margin in the past few sessions."

Cultivation alone did not always determine superiority in battle, nor did it accurately measure a faction's overall strength. If one side had a 3-star Dou Ancestor but the other had two 1-star Dou Ancestors, who was truly stronger would be hard to say.

And to unify the entire North-Western Region, you must defeat not just one faction but also make every other faction submit.

Xiao Yan nodded. This was reasonable. Only when no one dared to challenge you could you truly claim to be the strongest.

"The second part," Yun Yun continued, "is the battle for 'renown.' This requires that the cultivation levels of the competitors do not differ by more than two stars. The more renowned experts a faction has who are invincible among their peers, the stronger the faction is proven to be, rather than relying solely on the faction leader. Battles between renowned experts within similar ranks gave rise to titles like 'Ice Emperor' for Elder Hai in the Jia Ma Empire."

"Ahem." Hai Bodong deliberately coughed lightly a couple of times, as if reminiscing. "Ah, that was over twenty years ago. I once fought two equally ranked Dou Emperors from the Chu Yun Empire simultaneously and won. My old bones are hardly the same now."

"And then Medusa sealed you for twenty years right after," Xiao Yan ribbed without missing a beat.

Hai Bodong gave Xiao Yan an annoyed glance. His old face flushed, especially since representatives from the Snake-People Tribe—Hua She'er and Yue Mei—were present.

Hua She'er was no longer a Dou King but had advanced to a 2-star Dou Emperor, and Yue Mei was an 8-star Dou King. They were both top experts in the Snake-People Tribe.

"Then the last is naturally assessing the strength and talent of the younger generation," Xiao Yan surmised.

Yun Yun nodded, "Yes, competitions among those under thirty years old, following the same arena defense format, determine the most talented young expert in the North-Western Region."

There was a saying that a person's future could be seen by the age of thirty. Back then, Yun Yun held the title of the youngest Dou Emperor in the Jia Ma Empire, reaching that realm at thirty and making a name for herself at the Great Meeting of Factions. Her prowess made the three surrounding empires hesitate to provoke the Jia Ma Empire for some time.

Thinking back, when Xiao Yan first met Yun Yun, she was already a 3-star Dou Emperor.

Jia Xing Tian, who had reached a 1-star Dou Ancestor and was sitting beside Yao Ye, looked at Xiao Yan with a strange expression. "It seems you've broken Sect Leader Yun's record."

Although the record of becoming a Dou Emperor at thirty was not an unprecedented miracle in the vast North-Western Region, it was still as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Now, Xiao Yan was only twenty-two years old and had already become a 3-star Dou Emperor!

What did you do, eat pills for breakfast?!