Nalan Yanran opened her eyes, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar back in front of her, her pupils shrinking sharply.
"Xiao Yan..."
Xiao Yan turned back to look at Nalan Yanran.
Although he said before that he didn't want to have any more involvement with her, since he encountered this, he couldn't just stand by and watch her die.
"Are you okay?"
Xiao Yan asked simply.
Nalan Yanran was originally exhausted, but hearing this sentence from Xiao Yan, for some reason, a flame reignited in her heart.
"No, I'm fine!"
How could she show a weak side in front of this guy?
Nalan Yanran staggered a bit, raised the long sword in her hand tremblingly, and stood beside Xiao Yan.
"I can still fight!"
Xiao Yan smiled noncommittally, then looked coldly at Yan Ling in the sky.
In the encounter just now, Xiao Yan had initially understood the opponent's strength.
Three-Star Dou Emperor, good at speed, attacks are relatively flexible, and claw skills are not weak.
At this time, Yan Ling looked cautiously at Xiao Yan who suddenly descended from the sky, very puzzled in his heart.
A mere Dou King actually shattered his Gold Goose Heaven Splitting Claw with one blow.
This was something he would never have thought of before.
How can a Dou King compare with a Dou Emperor?
"Who are you?"
Yan Ling narrowed his eyes and asked.
"You don't need to know."
Xiao Yan said lightly.
"Very good..."
A cold and cruel smile appeared on the corner of Yan Ling's mouth.
"I will let you know what cruelty is!"
Whoosh!
Yan Ling turned into a golden light and shadow, quickly flying towards Xiao Yan, preparing to defeat this Dou King who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth with one blow.
Xiao Yan waved the Heavy Ruler and said to Nalan Yanran: "Step aside."
In the next second, a huge energy storm shook open from under Xiao Yan's feet. Nalan Yanran was caught off guard and was directly blown away.
"Xiao Yan, you!"
Nalan Yanran endured the pain inside her body and stabilized her figure.
But just as she looked up, she saw a golden light smashing towards Xiao Yan.
"Be careful!"
Nalan Yanran shouted anxiously.
Xiao Yan just arrived here and probably didn't know the details of the Gold Geese Sect yet. If he rashly exchanged moves, he might suffer a loss.
Boom!
Two energies collided, and an even stronger energy storm dispersed.
Nalan Yanran obediently retreated a distance this time, took out a healing pill from her storage ring, and quickly swallowed it.
The aura Xiao Yan presented just now hadn't broken through to Dou Emperor yet; he should be at the same realm as her.
Nalan Yanran quickly refined the medicinal power of the pill in her body, ready to return to the battlefield at any time.
Although she and Yan Ling were enemies, their thoughts were consistent at this time, that is, a Dou King cannot defeat a Dou Emperor.
This is also why Nalan Yanran showed despair after seeing Yan Ling at first.
But with two people, hope is always greater than with one person.
"Xiao Yan, hold on..."
Nalan Yanran stared straight into the energy storm, worrying about Xiao Yan's situation in her heart.
However, what she absolutely did not expect was that the one who was repelled from the energy storm first was actually Yan Ling!
Boom!
A giant ruler flew out through the air and smashed towards Yan Ling.
"How is this possible?!"
Yan Ling shouted in extreme shock.
The physical strength Xiao Yan burst out just now actually suppressed him!
The black ruler shadow continuously magnified in Yan Ling's eyes until it finally smashed onto his body. A huge force hit, and Yan Ling was like a goose with broken wings, quickly smashing onto a small hillside.
Xiao Yan followed closely, rushing out from the energy storm.
At this time, his upper body was completely bare, and flame patterns burned on his muscles like substantial flames.
His originally lean body became somewhat robust at this time, like a little giant.
Boom!
Xiao Yan aimed at the place where Yan Ling fell and stomped down.
The small hillside was razed to the ground in a huge loud noise.
Yan Ling escaped in a wretched state.
Under the crisis of life and death, he burst out with extreme speed, activating the "Heavenly Goose Nine Row Wings", dodging Xiao Yan's kick.
In the ruins with flying earth and stones, heavy footsteps came slowly.
Xiao Yan looked at Yan Ling in the sky, a smile of growing interest appearing on his face.
"Nice Flying Dou Technique."
The Flying Dou Technique Yan Ling performed was much more advanced than his Purple Cloud Wings.
No wonder he could dodge his moves.
"But next time, you won't be so lucky."
Behind Xiao Yan, the Purple Cloud Wings opened and merged with the Dou Qi wings.
"Flying Dou Technique!"
Yan Ling turned pale with fright.
Just now he relied on his advantage in Flying Dou Technique to barely dodge Xiao Yan's attack.
Now that Xiao Yan also displayed a Flying Dou Technique, doesn't that mean he has no room for escape at all?
"No, I have to open up the distance; can't let him get close again!"
Yan Ling turned quickly and fled into the distance.
At first, he thought he could kill Xiao Yan with one blow in close combat, so he approached rashly.
However, after officially fighting with the opponent, Yan Ling realized he was wrong.
He made the same mistake as that Gold Geese Sect Dou King just now!
Underestimating the opponent too much!
The strength Xiao Yan displayed was not inferior to him with speed enhancement. After the first move failed to work, the advantage Yan Ling accumulated with speed weakened, and Xiao Yan's strength began to gain the upper hand, which was why he was knocked out of the energy collision storm.
Xiao Yan chased closely behind, laughing loudly: "What's the panic? Let's have a good contest again!"
Yan Ling gritted his teeth, wanting to turn back and fight a big battle.
But reason told him not to fight close combat with the opponent again; otherwise, he definitely couldn't dodge the second combo.
A dignified Dou Emperor actually chased and beaten by a Dou King, simply losing all face!
Nalan Yanran watched dumbfounded below.
What happened?
Xiao Yan is actually chasing and beating that Dou Emperor?
Nalan Yanran took two steps forward but found that her speed couldn't catch up with the two at all; going up seemed useless.
"How... did he become so strong?"
Nalan Yanran's tone was complex.
Originally facing death, she could face it resolutely, but when saved, that taut string loosened, and Nalan Yanran's heart softened instead.
It's just... why did it have to be Xiao Yan who saved her!
How can she seek revenge on him in the future like this?
Above the clouds, Xiao Yan finally caught up with Yan Ling.
The opponent's Flying Dou Technique was indeed powerful; Xiao Yan chased for so long before pulling the opponent into attack range.
"This time, you can't escape!"
Boom!
Xiao Yan reached out and clenched fiercely. Yan Ling's heart suddenly shook, as if a ball of fire burned in his heart.
The Dou Qi circulation in Yan Ling's body was interrupted, his breath faltered, and his speed decayed sharply.
Xiao Yan seized this opportunity, flapped his wings directly forward, and grabbed this Dou Emperor powerhouse!
"Caught you!"
Xiao Yan's voice carried a hint of excitement.
Facing a speed-type opponent, either wait for him to attack himself or use various means to force him to slow down.
But if the opponent just buries his head in running away, that is very headache-inducing.
Fortunately, Xiao Yan finally caught him.
Yan Ling's breathing stopped instantly. However, before he could react, he was grabbed by Xiao Yan in his hand.
Boom!
"Explosive Flame Top!"
Xiao Yan delivered a knee strike, and immense force penetrated Yan Ling's back.
In an instant, his internal organs seemed to have shifted positions, and his eyes turned white.
"Cough ah!"
Yan Ling spat a mouthful of blood, wilting like a withered plant, hanging in Xiao Yan's hand, no longer resisting.
Xiao Yan grabbed Yan Ling, restricted him quickly, and then brought him to the front of the Luo Yan Empire army.
"The general has been captured; surrender quickly!"
The Dou King of the Gold Geese Sect almost fainted in one breath seeing Yan Ling captured.
"Young Sect Leader!!!"
A Young Sect Leader at the Dou Emperor rank actually lost in his first expedition!
And became a captive!
If he went back like this, he would definitely be skinned and deboned by the Sect Leader.
"Stop, all of you!"
"Surrender, we surrender!"
The Dou King of the Gold Geese Sect shouted loudly.
The soldiers of the Luo Yan Empire, seeing the general surrender, put down their weapons one after another.
War on the Dou Qi Continent is like this; the commander can determine the true outcome of a battle.
Whoever wins the battle between high-level figures really wins.
The soldiers at the bottom mostly play a basic paving role.
Powerful cultivators can easily destroy a city or a country alone.
If Xiao Yan were to fight against low-level cultivators, many people would die then.
With Yan Ling defeated by Xiao Yan, this defense battle also ended successfully.
The Jia Ma Empire defended the city and captured a large number of soldiers from the Luo Yan Empire.
Xiao Yan returned to outside Jia Ling Pass and found Nalan Yanran.
"Xiao Yan."
Nalan Yanran spoke first.
"Thank you for saving me."
Xiao Yan waved his hand casually.
"Small matter."
"To me, you are my savior. Moreover, I treated you like that before, yet you saved me regardless of past grievances, I..."
"Alright, alright, don't give me that!"
Xiao Yan interrupted Nalan Yanran.
"Our grudges were settled before. Saving you now is just out of my conscience."
Xiao Yan said seriously: "You are a good general. Facing a Dou King with cultivation higher than yours, you can achieve a one-hit counter-kill. Even facing a Dou Emperor, you can hold on for so long."
"Eh? How did you know..."
Nalan Yanran was stunned.
"Cough cough..."
Xiao Yan touched his nose somewhat awkwardly.
Oops, accidentally let it slip.
Saving people in the nick of time, of course, was because he arrived early, just watching Nalan Yanran's performance in the dark.
Looking at Nalan Yanran's increasingly resentful little eyes, Xiao Yan quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, do you know the current situation of the war in the Jia Ma Empire? Preferably with a map or something."
"Follow me. I put these in the command room."
Nalan Yanran sighed, constantly chanting in her heart: Xiao Yan saved me, Xiao Yan saved me...
Absolutely don't get angry with him!
...
Hateful Xiao Yan!
I was thanking him so sincerely just now!
Didn't expect he arrived long ago, watching me get beaten so miserably with open eyes!
Nalan Yanran wasn't angry about anything else, but the scene of Xiao Yan saving her just now had been deeply engraved in her mind, becoming an unforgettable memory.
But now he suddenly said it was premeditated.
What a fool! Even if lying, don't you know to hide it a bit, just don't let me know!
He must still resent me in his heart...
Nalan Yanran thought in her heart.
Xiao Yan didn't know Nalan Yanran had so much inner drama.
If he knew, he would definitely roll his eyes at her.
The two walked into the combat command room. There was a series of intelligence and a sand table map here.
"Teacher is stationed at the eastern border city; the corresponding enemy is the Mu Lan Empire. Old Jia is at the southern border city, resisting the main force of the Luo Yan Empire. Old Hai is on the western front, fighting against the Chu Yun Empire."
Currently, the situation of the Jia Ma Empire is roughly like this.
The power of other families is not enough to determine the outcome of this war, so they can only play an auxiliary role.
Now the situation can still be balanced because the highest leaders of both sides have not suffered casualties.
If one side is defeated first, the situation will tilt.
"What exactly is the reason for the three empires joining forces to attack Jia Ma?"
Xiao Yan asked.
"There are many reasons, but I think the main reasons are two aspects. One is the disappearance of the Snake People Tribe in the Tagor Desert. The buffer zone between the four empires is lost, and friction becomes easier. On the other hand, the only Dou Ancestor of the Misty Cloud Sect was crippled, the strongest sect of the empire fell from the altar, which was seized by the opponent as an opportunity."
"Hey hey hey, your Misty Cloud Sect can't blame others. Blame your Grandmaster for colluding with the Hall of Souls."
"Hmph, I know, don't need you to remind me."
Nalan Yanran said unhappily.
"But speaking of which, the attack of the three empires this time is indeed a bit strange."
"Oh? Tell me about it."
Xiao Yan asked.
"The three empires are also hostile to each other. Why unite to deal with the Jia Ma Empire? The Jia Ma Empire is not the strongest country among the four empires either."
Nalan Yanran said.
"I always feel that there is a hand behind the scenes slowly manipulating the rise of the war."
"Isn't your Black-Corner Region the same recently? I heard that many surrounding countries have used troops against the Black-Corner Region."
Xiao Yan nodded solemnly.
"Hearing you say this, it seems indeed to be the case."
"The situation in your Black-Corner Region should be no less than ours, right?"
Nalan Yanran said.
As the center of the Northwest Continent, there are many powerful countries around the Black-Corner Region.
Xiao Yan smiled gently.
"We don't need to worry about this. Anyone who dares to invade the Black-Corner Region will pay a heavy price."
With Senior Brother present, even if the entire Northwest Continent attacks the Black-Corner Region together, it's just a matter of suppressing with one hand.