Battle Through the Heavens - chapter-316

When the sky had just become bright the next day, this flourishing city
appeared like a huge machine controlled by a clock as it began to
function in an orderly manner. The human flow that passed through the
city’s streets were the best attestments to the power of this large
machine.

The place within the city which was most crowded and lively today was
without a question the huge Imperial family’s square. After
yesterday’s competition had been spread around by the audience, there
was an increasing number of people whose minds were attracted by the news
of this soul-stirring pill refining competition. Therefore, the area
outside the Imperial family square was already filled with people even
though it was still quite early. The dark mass of human head extended
until the edge of one’s sight.

As time elapsed, a morning ray from the horizon broke through the
restraining layer of clouds and shone on the huge city. The closed main
doors of the Imperial Family Square were slowly opened as the sun rose.
Immediately, the black mass of people outside began flooding in like the
tides.

Xiao Yan and Hai Bo Dong were stunned when they arrived at the open
ground and eyed the long human dragon at the main door. Immediately, they
shook their heads helplessly. It was unexpected that the audience today
would be even crazier than the one from yesterday.

“Follow me.” Hai Bo Dong swept his gaze around once before speaking
to Xiao Yan. After which, he turned around and walked toward the other
side of the plaza. Xiao Yan followed Hai Bo Dong and walked for some
distance. The noise had also gradually been reduced by a large amount.
They turned at a bend and Xiao Yan realized that there was another back
door at the back of the plaza. It was just that there was over a hundred
fully armed guards at this back entrance, totally blocking it.

Hai Bo Dong ignored these soldiers and led Xiao Yan through the entrance
as though there was no one else present. Those guards also appeared to be
aware of the identities of the two of them since no one came forward to
stop them.

Xiao Yan entered the door and walked for some distance before his sight
suddenly broadened. He lifted his eyes and looked around, only to find
that Liu Ling, and Little Princess had actually arrived earlier than him.
Beside the two of them, there were quite a number of competitors who had
passed the two rounds of the competition yesterday. This group of young
people were conversing and smiling with one another.

When Xiao Yan and Hai Bo Dong arrived, everyone, who appeared to be
discussing something softly, suddenly lowered their voices significantly.
Although Xiao Yan was still wearing the robe of a tier two alchemist,
there was not a single person among those present who was stupid enough
to think that was a representation of his true ability. In the
soul-stirring competition yesterday, the ability that Xiao Yan had
displayed had caused everyone to watch him with amazement. Among this
group of competitors, Xiao Yan undoubtedly belonged to the leading
position. This leading position was something that even Liu Ling and
Little Princess had difficulty comparing against. After all, the ridicule
from Yan Li yesterday was a blow toward all the Jia Ma Empire’s
participants. Yet, Xiao Yan was the only one who could reflect the
ridicule back at Yan Li.

Regardless of where one was, people with ability would always easily
obtain other people’s reverence. This did not have slightest change
even when one was was placed in the alchemist world.

“Haha, Mister Yan Xiao, you are quite early.” The Little Princess
smiled as she spoke and eyed Yan Xiao, before turning around and moving
forward.

“Little Princess is also early.” Although Xiao Yan did not like the
Little Princess’s initial attitude toward him when they first met, she
was after all the descendant of that old demon whom even Hai Bo Dong
feared. Therefore, it was not good for Xiao Yan to appear too cold. He
nodded his head and randomly said some greetings that had no substance to
them.

“The examination today is the final round. Mister Yan Xiao, we cannot
lose to that fellow.” The Little Princess softly laughed, unconcerned
about the perfunctory reply that Xiao Yan gave.

“I will try my best. That fellow is definitely not someone simple.”
Xiao Yan nodded as he replied.

“Mister Yan Xiao, you cannot make any mistake during such an important
moment. I still wish to compete with you.” Liu Ling walked over and
smiled faintly. Although he had managed to persist through the two
examination rounds yesterday, it was clear that Xiao Yan was better than
him if one did a comparison. This was really a blow to Liu Ling, whose
character was usually arrogant.

Xiao Yan randomly nodded before raising his head. On the second story, Fa
Ma and a group consisting of the upper echelons of the association were
slowly walking out. When he saw that Xiao Yan had looked over, Fa Ma gave
him a friendly smile. After which, he led everyone and walked down to
greet Xiao Yan and the others.

As the group of them descended the stairs, Xiao Yan realized that Jia Lao
was actually slowly following behind. He was currently smiling and
conversing with a few elders of the association who were beside him.

Xiao Yan smiled as he chatted with Fa Ma and Jia Lao before he suddenly
sensed something and turned his head around. He saw a grey-robed young
man was slowly walking in from the spot where he had come in from earlier.

Following the entrance of the grey-robed young man, the originally noisy
large hall immediately became quiet. Numerous gazes that contained all
sorts of emotions paused on the former.

“What this fellow said last night was indeed true. Today, he once again
recovered his appearance.” Xiao Yan shook his head slightly as he
watched the appearance of the grey-robed young man which was exactly the
same as yesterday. Did that so called ‘Appearance Recovery Pill’
really have such a miraculous effect? Even a Dou Huang was unable to
distinguish if it was real or fake.

Fa Ma and Jia Lao eyed the grey-robed young man who had entered with cold
eyes. They exchanged glances while smiling faintly. The smile contained
some cold killing intent. As strong people who stood at the peak of the
Jia Ma Empire, the triumphant action of Yan Li in front of them
undoubtedly meant that the latter thought that his lifespan was too long.
If it were not for the circumstances of it being unsuitable to strike,
and their fear of a blow to the association’s reputation, it was likely
that the three Dou Huangs would have instantly taken his life.

The grey-robed young man, no, he should be called Yan Li, currently had a
smile on his tender face. His gaze was unconcerned as it swept passed Fa
Ma’s three man group. Finally, he swaggered over to the door that lead
from the hall to the open ground. When he passed by Xiao Yan, his
footsteps paused and he smiled before saying, “Among the three of you,
only you have some ability. However, your good luck ends today. I will
not hold anything back in this final round, ha ha!”

As he eyed Yan Li, who had walked off with a loud laughter, Xiao Yan
merely shrugged his shoulders calmly. The Little Princess pretty face
became somewhat dark while Liu Ling’s became green. As the disciple of
Pill-King Gu He, it was the first time he was looked down upon by someone
to such an extent.

“Forget it, don’t be angry. We will compete on the examination
ground,” Xiao Yan slowly exhaled, roughly estimated the time before
turning around and headed toward the open ground. Behind him, the Little
Princess helplessly followed. Liu Ling, on the other hand, stood in the
same spot, violently ground his teeth and cursed before leaving the hall.

As he eyed the competitors leaving the hall in small groups, Jia Lao knit
his eyebrows together. He softly said, “Looks like you have placed your
hopes on Yan Xiao, no? However, can he win against that fellow Yan Li?”

“Ah, I am unsure either. In any case, I have done all that I can do.
What remains is for Yan Xiao to rely on himself.” Fa Ma shook his head
and sighed, “Honestly speaking, he did not have too much confidence.
Xiao Yan’s talent may be great, but he is at a disadvantage by being so
young.

Hearing this, Jia Lao could only helplessly nod his head. He did not
inquire about what kind of help Fa Ma gave Xiao Yan. This was after all,
an internal matter of someone else’s association.

As the group slowly walked out of the passageway, a piercing sunlight
suddenly shone upon them. Their field of view suddenly widen and ground
shaking cheers also invaded their ears like the tide.

Xiao Yan’s hands covered his eyes, blocking off the sunlight. He raised
his head and eyed the extremely crowded audience seats and could not help
but quietly feel somewhat shocked. He turned his head and smiled to the
Little Princess standing by his side before walking toward his position
in the middle of the open ground.

When some sharp-eyed people in the audience seats saw that Xiao Yan
appeared, a racket immediately occurred. Countless people began privately
conversing among themselves.

“Hey, look at the one who obtained the best result yesterday. He’s
also very young.”

“I heard that his name appears to be Yan Xiao, no? Looking at him, he
should be just over twenty. How envious I am.”

“In this examination, it appears that only he has the ability to
contend with the grey-robed young man from the Chu Yun Empire. If he had
not taken action yesterday, the one who would have had the best result
may well have been the person from the Chu Yun Empire.”

“Today’s the most crucial competition. Hopefully, he can beat that
fellow from the Chu Yun Empire. Otherwise, the Alchemist Association will
really lose face this time around.”

“That’s right.”

Ignoring the conversations that were transmitted from the audience seats,
Xiao Yan quietly arrived at the position he held yesterday. After which,
he sat cross-legged in the large rock chair behind the rock table. He
appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, but in reality, he was
repeatedly looking over the various refining methods and the areas where
one need to pay special attention to when refining the ‘Three Lines
Green Spirit Pill’ within his mind.

As time slowly flowed by, more and more competitors flooded into the open
ground. All the competitors who had entered the open ground acted similar
to Xiao Yan as they sat down and adjusted their condition. Most of those
who could persist until this point had quite a good ability. None of them
wanted to dejectedly leave the competition ground in the final round
because of a small, careless mistake.

When the bright sun was high in the sky, the seats had all be filed with
countless crowds.

“Clang!” In an instant, a clear bell sound resonated through the open
ground for a long time.

The moment the bell sounded, Xiao Yan, who had his eyes tightly closed,
opened them. He gently let out a turbid breath that had been lingering in
his chest, stood up and raised his head to watch the spot in front of the
VIP seats where Fa Ma was at.

“*Cough*”

On the high platform, Fa Ma emitted a soft cough as his light gaze swept
through the entire place. A long while later, the noisy place slowly
quieted down. An elderly, calm tone sounded beside everyone’s ears,
“Ladies and gentlemen, today’s examination will be the most important
round of our Grand Meeting. The final victor will be the champion of this
season’s Grand Meeting. Therefore, do your best today with all the
effort you have put forth!”

“Roar, roar, roar!” When Fa Ma’s voice fell, the human crowd in the
audience seats which had waited for a long time immediately let out an
excited and unified loud roar. The deafening roar shot directly past the
crowd.

Xiao Yan rubbed his ears, which were shocked by the roar until they
became numb. He turned his head around and eyed Yan Li, who was a short
distance away. The corner of the latter’s mouth contained a cold smile.
In a soft voice, he muttered, “It is finally about to begin. Next,
prepare to fight desperately.”