Chapter 216: The Man in Black

It was thanks to that indomitable will that Yang Yan had grown, step by step, from the so-called "useless young master" he once was into the formidable figure he is now—one who stands fearless even before a peak Spiritual Realm expert.

"It is about time we moved."

Looking up at the pale, morning light beginning to tint the horizon, Yang Yan muttered to himself. Just as he was about to wake Qing'er, who remained in a state of deep meditation, the slightly solemn voice of Elder Yang suddenly echoed in his mind.

"Watch out! Someone is coming!"

Yang Yan’s heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly roused Qing'er, and the two immediately stood back-to-back, entering a defensive stance.

*Swish! Swish!*

A moment later, the sound of wind being torn apart rang out. Yang Yan looked up to see three figures clad in black robes, their faces obscured by black veils, standing upon the treetops not far away.

"Heh, kid, you certainly made us look hard!" The lead assassin sneered down at Yang Yan.

"Who are you people, skulking about in the shadows?"

Yang Yan’s expression turned grave. He could sense the terrifying aura radiating from these three—it was no weaker than that of the three envoys from the Alchemist Guild he had encountered earlier. This meant that all three of these men were peak Spiritual Realm experts!

"Heh, you take something that doesn't belong to you, and then you ask who we are? Don't you find that a bit laughable?"

Hearing the mocking, cold tone of the assassin, Yang Yan’s heart sank, yet he feigned ignorance. "I don't know what you are talking about..."

"Heh." Faced with Yang Yan’s sophistry, the leader sneered, his eyes filled with undisguised mockery. "Don't play dumb. We have a special method of sensing; we know the Na-Spirit is definitely on you. Otherwise, how could you think we would ever find you in this unfamiliar territory of the Feiyun Empire?"

Yang Yan realized then that these people possessed a way to track the location of the Na-Spirit. No wonder they had managed to track his movements in such a short time.

"You people from the Tianlong Empire truly hold me in high regard. Sending three peak Spiritual Realm experts deep into the heart of the Feiyun Empire, taking such a massive risk—that is quite a grand gesture indeed!"

Seeing that denial was useless, Yang Yan stopped wasting his breath, spreading his arms with a wry smile.

"Compared to the importance of the Na-Spirit, what are these sacrifices?" the masked assassin replied dismissively. "Hand over the Na-Spirit obediently, and perhaps we can leave you with an intact corpse!"

The leader’s tone was flat, yet his words were chilling.

"If I were willing to give it up, I would have done so back at the Holy Spirit Tower. There is no need to wait until now. So, you can save your breath. If you want the Na-Spirit from my hands, you’ll have to see if you have the mettle to take it!" Yang Yan retorted with a cold laugh, ignoring the pointless threats.

"Good. A true hero among youths. It’s just a pity that I wonder how much skill you have to match your arrogance. Although Old Hu died somewhat suspiciously, I refuse to believe that three peak Spiritual Realm experts cannot deal with a teenage boy like you!"

Seeing Yang Yan’s defiance, the leader’s rage turned into a cold laugh. He waved his hand at his two subordinates, and the three of them gradually spread out, encircling Yang Yan and Xue Qing.

Yang Yan and Qing'er stood back-to-back. Yang Yan kept his eyes locked on the leader, whispering something softly to Qing'er. He then felt her hand being gently gripped by his, a sense of warmth and stability washing over her.

"I will try to take that guy out quickly. Let Lan Xue protect you, and take care of yourself!"

As he spoke, Qing'er felt something small and lithe slip from Yang Yan’s sleeve—it was Lan Xue.

*Swish! Swish! Swish!*

The next moment, the three assassins launched their most powerful attacks from three different directions. Seeing the ferocity of their strikes, it was clear they had no intention of holding back. They knew that being deep within the Feiyun Empire, exposing their location would invite the wrath of the empire's three major sects, making it nearly impossible to escape alive if they dragged things out.

Just as Yang Yan prepared to unleash his martial arts to defend, a clear, resonant dragon roar suddenly echoed through the forest, causing the very earth to tremble.

The sudden roar left the three assassins visibly shaken. Despite their masks, shock and fear were evident in their eyes as they felt a terrifying, fierce aura erupt from the girl's sleeve!

But their attacks were already launched. Gritting their teeth, they committed to their strikes, sending three ferocious torrents of spiritual energy surging toward Yang Yan and his companion.

***

A brilliant blue light erupted from Qing'er’s sleeve. In an instant, a small figure expanded before their eyes, transforming into a massive magical beast, five or six yards long and two or three yards wide.

The beast was covered in dense, metallic-sheened blue scales, giving it an aura of ancient, solid power. Its body was lithe, with a pair of wide, pale-blue wings extending from its sides. It opened its massive maw, letting out a thunderous roar that sounded like a crack of lightning, revealing rows of sharp fangs. Its cold, icy-blue eyes scanned the three men with utter indifference, sending a chill down their spines.

"Is that... a Snow-Winged Ice Dragon?!" the leader gasped, his voice cracking.

They were no strangers to such notorious, top-tier magical beasts. Even though Lan Xue looked slightly different from a traditional Snow-Winged Ice Dragon, they recognized it immediately.

As the three powerful torrents of spiritual energy arrived, Lan Xue let out a sound of disdain, much like a human snort. Its massive claw, half a yard in size, swiped out to meet the attacks. With three dull thuds, the strikes—which even ordinary peak Spiritual Realm experts would have to face with caution—dissipated into nothingness under the stunned gazes of the assassins.

"Lan Xue, I'll take care of one. You handle the other two, how about that?" Yang Yan said with a smile, slightly shocked by the beast's power.

*ROAR!*

A deafening dragon roar echoed as if in response. Lan Xue turned its massive body, charging toward the two black-robed men in a truly spectacular fashion.

"It seems I can't fall behind either!" Yang Yan thought to himself. With a smirk, he stomped his foot against the ground, his body launching like a cannonball toward the leader.

The leader’s eyes were filled with gravity. These three were among the six who had fought Fu Lan outside the Holy Spirit Tower. They had assumed Old Hu’s death was at the hands of some other powerful expert in the Feiyun Empire. But when their superiors demanded the return of the Na-Spirit, they had risked everything to track it down. They hadn't expected the boy to have such a trump card—a Snow-Winged Ice Dragon!

Judging by its aura, the beast was at the peak of the Beast King level—equivalent to a peak Spiritual Realm expert. Given time, it would evolve into a Beast Emperor, rivaling a human Spiritual Sea Realm cultivator. To have such a beast by his side at only sixteen or seventeen years of age was simply incomprehensible.

Knowing that dragging this out would only lead to their downfall, the leader decided that capturing Yang Yan was the only way to resolve the crisis.

"Don't overestimate yourself," the leader sneered. "I'm surprised a kid your age has reached the fourth level of the Spiritual Realm, but do you really think that’s enough to beat me?"

"Whether it is or not, why don't you find out!" Yang Yan replied, his face curling into a cold, predatory grin as he charged forward.

"You're courting death!" The leader shouted. A strange, pitch-black spiritual energy swirled around him like a dark mist, carrying an eerie, volatile power.

"Dark-attribute spiritual energy?" Yang Yan muttered, surprised. It was rare, and he had only encountered one other such person—Ji Wuyue, though she was his beloved, while this man was his sworn enemy.

Recognizing the threat of the dark-attribute body, Yang Yan steeled himself. With the added power of such an attribute, this opponent was far more dangerous than Old Hu. He could not afford a single mistake.

***

"Darkness Space!"

The assassin laughed coldly, waving both palms. The ink-black energy expanded, shrouding the entire battlefield in a thick, dark mist. It was like a black cage, obscuring all vision.

Yang Yan found himself in total darkness. Even with his heightened senses, he could barely see an inch in front of him.

"Kid, this is my Darkness Space. You cannot see me, but I can track your every movement within this void. You can die in peace knowing you fell to this technique!" The assassin’s voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere, like a ghostly whisper.

He had decided to abandon the idea of capturing Yang Yan alive; he would simply erase him and retrieve the Na-Spirit from his corpse. This technique was his pride—it didn't deal direct damage, but it allowed him to move with ghostly speed, sensing his prey through the dark medium. He had once used it to exhaust a peak Spiritual Realm expert to death.

Yang Yan stood in the darkness, his initial disorientation fading. He closed his eyes, suppressing his aura to its lowest point, alert to every slight vibration in the air.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp, piercing chill from behind. The killing intent was so cold it made his skin crawl. Without hesitation, he drew his silver longsword and slashed backward. *Clang!* A crisp sound of metal striking metal rang out, followed by a shower of sparks. In that brief flash, Yang Yan caught a glimpse of shock in the assassin's eyes.

"This is... soul power!" the assassin cried out in disbelief.

He had heard that Yang Yan was a talented alchemist and thus possessed strong soul perception, but he had underestimated just how strong. His Darkness Space was designed to suppress soul power, but it was primarily focused on cutting off sight and sound. It left a gap—a gap Yang Yan had just exploited.

Now that Yang Yan knew he could use his soul power to sense the assassin’s blind-spot attacks, the fight was far from over.

The silence returned, heavy and suffocating. Yang Yan stood motionless, his soul power spreading out like a spider’s web, waiting.

Then, the ground beneath his feet trembled. A sharp dagger erupted from the earth, aiming straight for his chin. Yang Yan had been focused on the air and his surroundings, completely neglecting the ground.

In a split second, Yang Yan channeled his "Supreme Profound Heaven Technique," a pale-blue crystalline layer manifesting over his skin. He jerked his head to the right.

*Clang!*

The dagger grazed his cheek, shattering the crystalline layer. But before the assassin could strike again, Yang Yan slammed a palm glowing with a faint blue light into the man's chest. A chilling, icy energy surged into the assassin’s body, instantly freezing his spiritual energy in its tracks.