Identity Revealed!

"Impossible... Impossible!" Kuzu Ye's mind raced with disbelief. "If he were truly a Dou Huang, how could Yanran even be his match? She wouldn't stand a chance against him, not even for a single move!"

His heart pounded as a terrifying thought crept in, shaking his conviction. He shook his head violently, refusing to accept the possibility.

Meanwhile, in the arena, Xiao Yan remained unfazed. Nalan Yanran's two-star Fighting Master cultivation didn't surprise him in the slightest—after all, he had already experienced this before.

With a calm voice, he declared, "It's my turn!"

The moment the words left his lips, his figure vanished into a blur. He moved so fast that Nalan Yanran couldn't keep up. Before she even realized it, a dangerous aura loomed over her from behind. Her instincts screamed at her, and she turned around in panic, swiftly raising her long sword.

Clang!

A deafening clash of metal echoed through the air. The immense force bent her sword almost beyond recognition, sending her body flying backward like a ragdoll. She crashed onto the ground more than ten meters away, her feet skidding against the stone pavement, cracking it under the sheer force of impact.

Panting heavily, she barely managed to steady herself. Her face turned pale, a clear sign that she had sustained internal injuries. Her eyes, however, burned with disbelief.

"This… this speed is unreal!"

"Not just speed, his strength is terrifying too! Even though Nalan Yanran braced for impact, she couldn't withstand that blow!"

Murmurs of shock rippled through the crowd. The spectators had expected an intense battle, but what they were witnessing was sheer domination. Xiao Yan had bested Nalan Yanran in both speed and raw power.

On the high platform, Yun Leng's expression darkened. He gritted his teeth as he recalled Xiao Yan's earlier insult, and a dangerous glint flashed in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Nalan Jie, who had initially appeared at ease, tensed up once again. He fixed his gaze on Xiao Yan, his mind swirling with regret.

He let out a heavy sigh and slowly closed his aged eyes. A bitter smile crept onto his face.

"If only I had stopped Yanran back then..."

For the first time, he truly regretted not preventing Nalan Yanran from breaking off the engagement. If she hadn't done so, the young man standing before them—the one who had transformed from a so-called 'waste' into an unparalleled warrior in just three years—would have been the pride of the Nalan family.

He would have been their perfect son-in-law.

"Xiao Lin, you have an extraordinary grandson..."

Nearby, the heads of various factions exchanged silent glances. Although they didn't voice it, deep down, they couldn't help but smirk at Nalan Jie's misfortune.

Back in the arena, Nalan Yanran clenched her fists tightly. She refused to accept this outcome.

"If I want to defeat him, I have only one option..."

Determination flickered in her eyes as she suppressed the turmoil in her body. Slowly, she closed her eyes, focusing her energy. When they opened again, a powerful aura erupted from within her.

Her black hair lifted as if caught in an invisible storm, her body rising into the air without wings or external force.

The air around her trembled. Waves of cyan energy radiated outward in rippling shockwaves.

Raising her long sword high, she pointed it at Xiao Yan. The sunlight above converged on her blade, causing it to glow with an intense brilliance.

"She's amplifying her move..."

Xiao Yan observed her actions, murmuring to himself.

In the blink of an eye, he disappeared again. This time, when he reappeared, he was directly in front of her.

Nalan Yanran was still accumulating power for her ultimate attack—Feng Zhi, Sunset Yao—when she suddenly sensed an overwhelming force closing in. Panic set in.

Boom!

Xiao Yan didn't even use his massive black ruler this time. Instead, he simply extended a single finger and lightly tapped her sword.

An explosion of force rippled outward.

Nalan Yanran's entire energy flow collapsed in an instant. The power she had gathered vanished into thin air, and the backlash sent her plummeting toward the ground like a kite with its string cut.

But Xiao Yan did not wish to harm her. With a flick of his wrist, he sent a soft current of air beneath her, slowing her descent. She landed gently on the ground, unharmed.

Silence engulfed the entire arena.

Some had speculated that Xiao Yan might win.

But no one had expected him to win this easily.

The reality was clear—this wasn't a battle. It was a one-sided domination.

Nalan Yanran sat motionless, her face pale.

She understood now. Xiao Yan could have beaten her head-on at any moment. He had never used a single real attack—just pure speed and precision.

She stared at him, her heart in turmoil.

Then, a memory surfaced.

The outline of this young man... It was familiar.

Her mind drifted back to the Alchemist Conference, where an unassuming young man in an alchemist's robe had emerged—Yan Xiao.

Her breath hitched.

The two were the same person.

A bitter smile spread across her lips.

"Was this your revenge, Xiao Yan?"

"To create an illusion of someone so brilliant that I would admire them, only to shatter it in front of me... To make me realize that the person I once looked down on was far beyond my reach?"

She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.

But even so...

Even if she had a chance to redo everything, she would still choose to break the engagement.

Because she refused to let her family dictate her life.

Xiao Yan studied her for a moment before speaking calmly.

"Nalan Yanran, the way you broke the engagement was wrong. But having the courage to defy your family's arranged marriage... That was not a mistake."

With those final words, he turned away.

The battle was over.

But the past?

Perhaps, it had finally been settled.