Battle Through the Heavens: Beauties Abound Starting with Yunlan and Her Disciples

86: Section 86”We’ll deal with whatever comes our way.”

A cold, sharp light flashed in his eyes: ”If the people from the Izumo Empire truly succeed, the worst outcome... is war.”

Upon hearing this, Princess Heavenly Night’s eyes suddenly lit up!

She turned her head, looking intently at Yun Xiancheng, a strange emotion rising in her heart. She hadn’t expected... this Young Sect Master of Cloud Mist Sect to actually be a warmonger?

But then again, that made sense. He was someone who had been deeply involved in the tragic war in the Tagor Desert! Having personally commanded the slaughter of tens of thousands and witnessed the cruelty of blood and fire, how could he possibly fear war?

After completing a series of deployments, Yun Xiancheng and Princess Heavenly Night returned to the site of the Alchemist Convention. At this point, the first round of the Alchemist Competition was drawing to a close.

Inside the venue, the aroma of medicine permeated the air, and flames soared. The contestants had all completed the first stage of the task, presenting the Medicinal Pills they had refined. Cheers erupted continuously from the audience, applauding the outstanding Alchemists.

This time, with Medicine Lady guiding her completely from the depths of her consciousness, Xiao Yan encountered no setbacks during the Pill Refinement process.

Her technique was skilled, and her flame was precise. She successfully refined a Medicinal Pill of extremely high quality, causing the surrounding Alchemists to look over and offer heartfelt applause.

Princess Heavenly Moon, as one of the seeded contestants in this competition, had also completed the first round task. She looked at Xiao Yan, who appeared exceptionally dazzling and radiant among the many Alchemists, her eyes filled with shock and admiration.

She had long known about Xiao Yan, the Young Sect Master of Cloud Mist Sect, and had heard about her deeds of avenging her brother. Swift retribution! For a sheltered young woman like Heavenly Moon, Xiao Yan’s experience was a legend.

Now seeing her for the first time with her own eyes, her performance certainly lived up to the rumors—she was a true genius! And what about the demeanor of the first Young Sect Master of Cloud Mist Sect mentioned in the stories? How astonishing must he be?

In the heart of Princess Heavenly Moon, the white-robed figure who had descended from the gate while holding Nalan Yanran, like an exiled immortal, involuntarily surfaced. Her cheeks unconsciously flushed hot, and the Medicine Cauldron in her hand nearly exploded due to her distraction.

However, she quickly suppressed the throbbing in her heart, calmed down, and completed the first stage of the task.

Just then, a clear and pleasant voice rang out beside her ear, ”Hello?”

Princess Heavenly Moon was slightly startled. Turning her head, she saw Xiao Yan, who had just shone brightly among the crowd, smiling at her. It turned out that Xiao Yan had noticed Princess Heavenly Moon’s gaze upon her the whole time, and now that the competition was over, she proactively stepped forward to strike up a conversation.

Xiao Yan looked at the small, cute, yet inherently noble little princess before her, feeling an inexplicable sense of closeness.

She couldn’t help but think to herself:

Hmm, this is also a cute child... Senior Brother will definitely like her, right?

173 Old Fellow

Princess Heavenly Moon hadn’t expected Xiao Yan to initiate a conversation. Feeling both surprised and nervous, her small face slightly flushed, she stammered, ”Your Pill Refinement Technique... is very impressive.” She praised her sincerely.

”Mhm, yours is also very impressive!” Xiao Yan said with a bright, enthusiastic smile. She reached out and naturally took Princess Heavenly Moon’s hand, saying:

”Let’s go! Let’s go see what level the Medicinal Pills we refined are!”

Princess Heavenly Moon’s heart was in even greater turmoil as Xiao Yan held her hand. She nervously followed Xiao Yan, her mind racing. This Xiao Yan was Yun Xiancheng’s Junior Sister! Moreover... judging by her intimate demeanor with Yun Xiancheng, their relationship was clearly extraordinary! This... wasn’t this a perfect opportunity?!

Could she... could she use Xiao Yan as a channel to seize the opportunity to speak with that captivating Young Sect Master of Cloud Mist Sect? The little princess fantasized about this, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt it was a good chance, causing her to secretly clench her small fists.

Meanwhile, the conversation between Yun Xiancheng and Princess Heavenly Night continued. ”Your Royal Highness,”

Yun Xiancheng scanned the venue below and finally focused on an Alchemist wearing a long grey robe, who appeared somewhat mysterious. He whispered, ”That person is likely the Poison Master sent by the Izumo Empire this time.”

”Hm?” Princess Heavenly Night followed the direction of his finger, a trace of solemnity flashing in her eyes.

”His Soul Power is very strong,” Yun Xiancheng continued, ”At least at the level of a Fourth-Grade Alchemist.” ”A Fourth-Grade Alchemist?!”

Upon hearing this, Princess Heavenly Night tightly furrowed her delicate brows, her tone carrying a hint of surprise and confusion:

”That’s impossible! I checked the information on the participating Alchemists this time. This grey-robed Alchemist’s profile shows he is very young; he absolutely cannot be a Fourth-Grade Alchemist!”

All the information about this Alchemist quickly flashed through her mind, and she immediately drew a conclusion:

”Most likely, he is an established Fourth-Grade Poison Master from the Izumo Empire who, in order to hide his identity, consumed an expensive Face-Changing Pill to disguise himself as a young person and attend the convention alone.”

”But why would he do such a thing? Does he want to take first place?”

Yao Ye muttered to herself, seemingly analyzing the Alchemist’s goal, and continued:

”So what if he gets first place? At most, we lose a little face. When the time comes, we can just capture him directly, or even kill him on the spot.”

”Fame versus the tangible loss of a Fourth-Grade Alchemist—one who even has the potential for Fifth-Grade—is quite worthwhile.” As a princess holding real power, her analysis of interests always started from practical considerations.

”Heh heh,” Yun Xiancheng chuckled lightly, a confident light flashing in his eyes: ”I believe Yaner can defeat this person.” ”You are truly confident in your Junior Sister.”

Princess Heavenly Night looked at Yun Xiancheng’s confident appearance and couldn’t help but tease him:

”You know, her opponent is a genuine Fourth-Grade Alchemist, and he’s disguised as a young person by an Old Fellow.”

As Yao Ye spoke, her body unconsciously moved a little closer to Yun Xiancheng, seemingly wanting to feel his unique charm more clearly.

”Because she’s my Junior Sister.” Yun Xiancheng turned his head and gave Princess Heavenly Night a warm and doting smile. ”You fellow.” Princess Heavenly Night’s heart trembled because of his smile, and a blush flew onto her cheeks.

Gathering her courage, she extended a slender jade finger and lightly flicked Yun Xiancheng’s forehead, the action carrying a hint of playful reproach yet full of ambiguity. Then, as if shocked by electricity, she quickly withdrew her hand, her two fingers nervously twisting together, her eyes slightly evasive, appearing quite tense.

Yun Xiancheng was also startled by her actions, not expecting this princess to be quite proactive. Proactive was good; he liked proactive people.

Down in the venue, Xiao Yan and Princess Heavenly Moon had already placed the Medicinal Pills they refined into the Assessment Instruments.

Two dazzling beams of light shot up from the Assessment Instruments almost simultaneously, piercing the sky! The brilliance of those light beams instantly captured the attention of everyone present!

This indicated that the quality of the Medicinal Pills they refined far surpassed the level of the other Alchemists! The Assessment Instruments gave them extremely high ratings!

Among these two beams of light, the color of the light beam from Xiao Yan’s refined Medicinal Pill was much deeper than Princess Heavenly Moon’s, displaying a mysterious and noble purple-gold hue.

Clearly, its quality was superior!

Just as the entire audience was bursting into cheers for the stunning performance of these two young Alchemists.

The Old fellow in grey robes, who had been the focus of Yun Xiancheng and Princess Heavenly Night’s attention, slowly walked forward.

He expressionlessly tossed the Medicinal Pill he refined into the Assessment Instrument. ”Yu!”

Another Beam of Light shot up into the sky!

However, unlike the beams of light from Xiao Yan and Heavenly Moon, this Beam of Light was actually pure gold! The golden light was dazzling, soaring straight into the sky, and its height even subtly surpassed Xiao Yan’s purple-gold beam! This indicated that the quality of the Medicinal Pill he refined was actually higher than Xiao Yan’s!

”It seems Yaner might be facing a formidable opponent,” Princess Heavenly Night said with a slight smile upon seeing this.

Meanwhile. ”How dare he?”

Medicine Lady, who was hiding in the depths of Xiao Yan’s mind, saw the golden Beam of Light rise and said, half-annoyed:

”Yaner, this old fellow is provoking us! Let’s take him down!” Xiao Yan also frowned, her gaze cold as she looked at the Grey-Robed Person.

She could feel that the energy fluctuations contained within the golden light pillar were exceptionally pure, far from what an ordinary Alchemist could refine.

Moreover, she vaguely felt an ancient aura emanating from this Grey-Robed Person, inconsistent with his apparent age. ”You are not a person of this age,” Xiao Yan said coldly, her tone certain.

The Grey-Robed Person was startled by Xiao Yan’s words, then burst into a harsh, maniacal laugh, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

”Hehehehe, people of the Jia Ma Empire, inferior in skill, unable to compete, so you resort to insulting true talents?” He laughed as he slowly raised his hand and removed his hood.

What was revealed was a young face, looking no older than seventeen or eighteen, completely inconsistent with his voice.

He wore an almost sickly confident smile, as if he had already foreseen himself winning the applause of the entire audience. However, to his embarrassment, no cheers erupted from the stands as he had expected.

Instead, there were whispers and merciless mockery. ”This guy, so engrossed, doesn’t he think he’s handsome?”

”Tsk, this kind of trash? Can he even compare to half a hair of the Young Sect Master of Cloud Mist Sect?”

”Exactly! It’s bad enough he’s ugly, but he’s so arrogant!” ”This guy seems to be from the Izumo Empire.

The merciless jeers, like slaps, fiercely struck the face of this ’genius’ disguised by the old fellow, instantly stiffening his once extremely confident smile!

He clenched his fists tightly, a fierce glint of anger flashing in his eyes!

”A bunch of ignorant fools!” he roared, his Dou Qi erupting and amplifying his voice, ensuring everyone present could hear: ”Your Jia Ma Empire’s alchemy level is absolutely terrible! You are simply frogs at the bottom of a well!”

”Meekly accept your fate. Not a single Alchemist of your generation can compare to me!” His extremely arrogant words instantly ignited the fury of the entire audience!

”What?! What did this bastard say?!” ”Dog of the Izumo Empire! Get out!” ”Arrogant! Too arrogant!”

The audience was incensed, roars rising one after another, and the entire venue instantly became chaotic. In the Dou Huang Seats.

Lü Man looked at the farce below and couldn’t help but let out a delicate laugh: ”Ha, what a good show, this trip was not in vain.” He loved watching excitement and was also curious how Yun Xiancheng would resolve this matter.

Big Lion looked at Yun Yun and asked, ”Izumo Empire? Is their relationship with the Jia Ma Empire very bad?”

Yun Yun briefly introduced the history of the two nations. Then Yun Yun smiled:

”Are you worried about Xiao Yi Xian? It’s fine, since she’s entered our family, she’s naturally one of us. I’ll give her some cultivation guidance if anything happens.

Purple Wing nodded: ”She’s a good girl.”

After the family network was established, the communication among Yun Xiancheng’s wives increased significantly, much better than before.

174 Emperor Assassinated

”Let’s go, Princess.”

Yun Xiancheng looked at the agitated crowd below and said to Yao Ye beside him:

”There’s nothing more to see in this competition. The most urgent task is to find out the Izumo Empire’s true intentions this time.”

”Mhm.” Princess Heavenly Night nodded, her expression also becoming solemn. She pondered for a moment, seemed to think of something, and said, ”Let’s... go to the Imperial Palace to see.”

She looked up at Yun Xiancheng, her tone carrying a hint of uncertainty:

”I’ve thought for a while, and by logical deduction, if the goal is to save face, winning the Alchemist Convention is indeed one way. But if they want to cause greater chaos, or even shake the foundation of the nation.

”Only the Imperial Palace could be their true target.”

When Princess Heavenly Night stated this conjecture, her heart was actually somewhat complex.

Although this idea sounded a bit like ’filial piety from a child’, she truly... didn’t feel much respect for the father emperor sitting on the throne. Her father emperor, in her eyes, was weak and incompetent.

He allowed imperial power to decline, leading to the current situation where powerful families run rampant within the Jia Ma Empire. In ordinary cities, any family with a bit of influence can act tyrannically, and the official prestige of the empire has long been lost.

What made her even more disdainful was her father emperor’s own extremely low cultivation.

Nearing sixty, yet only possessing the strength of a One-Star Dou King, this was simply unimaginable in a world where strength was revered. And the most important point was... Yao Ye could clearly feel that her father emperor hated her.

He hated that she was a daughter, yet possessed cultivation talent far exceeding that of the Crown Prince. At only twenty-odd years old, she was already Peak Dou Ling, shining brilliantly and making the mediocre Crown Prince appear insignificant by comparison.

He hated her for being rebellious and wanting to change something.

Yun Xiancheng listened to Princess Heavenly Night’s somewhat ’rebellious’ conjecture, but did not show surprise, merely nodding calmly.

The two no longer hesitated and immediately set off towards the Imperial Palace of the Jia Ma Empire. Outside the Imperial Palace, the defenses were strict.

Just as they were about to enter the palace gate, a man wearing luxurious Crown Prince attire, appearing to be in his thirties, with a face somewhat similar to Yao Ye but with a somewhat decadent demeanor, happened to walk out from inside the palace.

When he saw Yao Ye, his brows immediately furrowed, and his tone carried a hint of impatience and reproach:

”Yao Ye? Why aren’t you at the Alchemist Convention maintaining order, running to the Imperial Palace instead?”

Immediately, his gaze fell upon Yun Xiancheng beside Yao Ye, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, but he quickly replaced it with an enthusiastic smile.

He cupped his hands in greeting towards Yun Xiancheng and said, ”This must be Young Sect Leader Yun Xiancheng of the Cloud Mist Sect, I presume? I’ve long admired your reputation, and seeing you today, you truly are exceptionally talented and live up to your fame!”

He wore an ’I understand’ ambiguous smile, even winking at Yun Xiancheng: ”Perhaps soon, I should change my address and call you... brother-in-law?”

Yun Xiancheng looked at the Crown Prince before him, his heart completely calm, as he had no interest in men. He merely nodded faintly: ”Crown Prince, call me whatever you wish.”

Seeing Yun Xiancheng’s rather indifferent reaction, the Crown Prince seemed to feel a bit awkward and didn’t press further. Instead, he turned his gaze to Yao Ye, his eyes as if looking at a sister about to be married off.

Being thought by her own brother to be ’in love’ with Yun Xiancheng, Yao Ye’s pretty face couldn’t help but blush slightly, but she quickly suppressed the shyness in her heart and said with a serious expression:

”Imperial Brother, I came here to discuss with Father Emperor the matter of the Izumo Empire’s Poison Master infiltrating the Imperial Capital.” The Crown Prince, however, waved his hand dismissively, his tone light:

”The Alchemist Guild and our Imperial Family are merely in a cooperative relationship. Their internal affairs are for them to handle themselves. Yao Ye, aren’t you meddling a bit too much?”

With just this simple conversation, Yun Xiancheng had already clearly perceived the deep-seated conflict between these siblings.

The Crown Prince, and even the current Emperor, likely belonged to the laissez-faire faction: if things are rotten, let them be rotten; if cities are controlled by families, let them be controlled. As long as life can go on, don’t mess with the bugs.

Princess Heavenly Night, clearly ambitious, yearned to restore imperial power and change the current awkward situation where imperial power had declined, and the Emperor ’co-governed’ with sects, guilds, and powerful families, aiming for true centralized power.

Hmm, good idea, lofty aspirations.

The only drawback is... her own strength is currently only Peak Dou Ling.

In this world, centralizing power is actually very simple—the Emperor’s own strength must be powerful enough to suppress all dissent. ”Imperial Brother, you are mistaken!”

Princess Heavenly Night was clearly extremely dissatisfied with the Crown Prince’s attitude and retorted with a frown:

”Since that Poison Master from the Izumo Empire dared to infiltrate our Imperial Capital, do you really think their target would only be the Alchemist Guild?!” Her tone carried a hint of anger at his inaction: