The entire Yunlan Sect, and even the entire Jia Ma Empire, felt the ominous sense of a crisis, as if a storm was about to descend.
A thick, murderous aura rendered the atmosphere of the entire empire grim.
The forces of the Soul Hall split into three directions: one headed towards the Snake-People Tribe, another went to the Imperial city of the Jia Ma Empire, while Xiao Yan and the Void-swallowing Flame went straight for Yunlan Sect, planning to directly capture Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran.
As long as he had these two in his grasp, Xiao Yan believed that even if Xu Ran heartlessly abandoned them, it would be enough to infuriate him greatly.
In the past, it had always been Xu Ran attacking him, toying with him. Now the roles had switched, and it was his time to hunt.
The Void-swallowing Flame was now his master, albeit in name only, and while his status in Xiao Yan's heart was far below that of Yao Lao, his strength was undeniably real, and they had a common goal.
The Void-swallowing Flame hoped to break through to Dou Di with Xu Ran's strength, while he simply wished to die!
If Xu Ran died, he would take over Xu Ran's "Harem" group. That, indeed, would be satisfying.
"Xu Ran, I wonder which group you'll choose to protect with your forces split three ways? If you come to Yunlan Sect, then you'll be able to see me capturing Nalan Yanran and Yun Yun Sect Master. As long as my master occupies you, with the Soul Hall's combat power here, I can easily crush the others in Yunlan Sect. When Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran are underfoot, I wonder if it will pain your heart?"
"If you go straight to the Mittel Family, even better. We can directly seize control of Yunlan Sect and the Snake-People Tribe. If you go to the Snake-People Tribe, then we will annihilate all of the Mittel Family. I wonder then, whether Ya Fei will continue to love you or come to hate you? If it weren't for you, the Mittel Family wouldn't have faced extermination by our hands."
Xiao Yan analyzed with a playful tone.
The Hun Clan was Zhongzhou's foremost power and the strongest force beneath the Ancient Families, holding itself in the highest arrogance. The Soul Hall, even with its evil methods, wouldn't stoop to threatening family members, such a disgraceful act; it was not necessary with their strength.
However, after two defeats, the Soul Hall no longer cared. As long as they could kill Xu Ran, that was all that mattered. Because of Xu Ran, not only had the Soul Hall's influence suffered, but even the Hun Clan became a laughingstock behind closed doors amongst the Ancient Families. This made all the elites of the Soul Hall and Hun Clan silently fume with resentment towards Xu Ran, second only to Xiao Yan.
But Xiao Yan knew Xu Ran all too well. Past overconfident maneuvers had led only to defeat. While reflecting and concluding that his side held a significant advantage, he was not overly complacent. This time, with forces split three ways, unless Xu Ran could clone himself, Xiao Yan had the upper hand no matter what. The Mittel Family and the royal family could be swept away without Xu Ran's interference. Even if he wanted to save anyone, Xu Ran would choose to save Queen Medusa or the two from Yunlan Sect. Regardless, whatever Xu Ran chose, he was doomed to lose this time.
This time, it was Xu Ran's turn to make the decisions!
Xu Ran! Hadn't Xu Ran forced him to make his own helpless choices using such methods in the past? With every decision, he watched as he lost everything, the physical pain and the sense of defeat seemingly tearing his soul apart.
These days, he had been living in such agony, tormented daily to the point of nearly suffocating.
All that he had, his life of exploiting the system and his "Harem" lifestyle, had been destroyed by Xu Ran.
As a transmigrant, he originally only needed to get through the initial painful phase before he could soar to the heavens and enjoy the blessings of many. This was a story of suppression followed by grandeur; as a transmigrant, given his own conditions, he was undoubtedly destined to be a protagonist of this caliber.
Moreover, he was a descendant of the Ancient Xiao Clan, possessing an important piece of the Tutelage Imperial Jade.
If things went as expected, he figured he would initially rely on Yao Lao's sly development, later accidentally activating the Dou Di Bloodline, and then find a way to assemble all the fragments of the Tutelage Imperial Jade, open the Tuo She Ancient Emperor Cave Dwelling, and receive the inheritance of the Dou Di, leaping forth to become a formidable Dou Di powerhouse in a single bound.
Such a clear path for leveling up.
In his dreams, he often saw this path as his destiny; in the end, he would become a Dou Di, standing above countless beings, becoming the true overlord. At that time, he would have ten beautiful girls by his side, both physically and emotionally attached to him, and he would live a joyful and wonderful "Harem" life.
But Xu Ran had ruined his path and by joining the Soul Hall, he had also sealed off his own future possibilities. Beneath the watch of Hun Tiandi and the Void-swallowing Flame, he could only ever be their slave for life! As a transmigrant, to end up like this, it was indeed enough!
He only hated that he did not possess a System; as a transmigrant, one could lack other cheats, but not a System. Although he had Yao Lao and others, facing someone as unreasonable as Xu Ran utterly destroyed his path of growth. If he had a System, no matter the time, all he would need was to complete System Missions to gradually grow stronger. No matter how powerful Xu Ran was, he would eventually defeat Xu Ran.
However…
Xiao Yan withdrew the random thoughts from his mind, his eyes becoming resolute.
Even if he could not become the first on the Continent, he would not let Xu Ran live happily. Xu Ran had bullied him for so long; it was time to repay that debt.
Xiao Yan was, of course, unaware that he and the Void-swallowing Flame's every move was under his watchful eye. The beautiful dreams they had were just dreams. The joy they felt now would be proportionate to the pain they would experience when those dreams shattered.
"Master, let's go straight to the Yunlan Sect and capture those two women, then wait for Xu Ran to come. At that time, you can verify his identity," Xiao Yan whispered.
"Sure!" the Void-swallowing Flame said, opening his eyes that were closed.
"I'll head to the Snake-People Tribe then. After I wipe out those ants, I'll come back and join you, and then we'll extinguish that ignorant Canaan Academy."
"Let the rest of the Hun Clan go and wipe out the Jia Ma Empire; anything related to Xu Ran, I don't want to see it anymore," said Hun Miesheng in a cold voice filled with a powerful intent to kill. It was because of Xu Ran that he was humiliated within the Hun Clan. Although he wasn't the strongest in the Hun Clan, his position was not low because of his role as the Lord of the Soul Hall. The Hun Clan, being reclusive, allowed him to be the Clan's left and right hand on the Continent.
With the support of the Soul Hall, his days were comfortable and easy, having real power and a high position within the Hall. But Xu Ran had affected his status within the Hun Clan, and if he didn't regain his reputation this time, his role as the Lord of the Soul Hall might well be in jeopardy.