Chapter Sixty-Six: An Astonishing Discovery

This was the first time Xiao Yan had ever seen Lin An reveal such a look of utter shock; it was clear that Lin An had recognized the strange flames in his hand.

Both of these extraordinary flames were rewards he had obtained upon completing missions. Though they did not rank on the Heavenly Flame List, the system had once evaluated them, claiming that these two flames in his hands were in no way inferior to those listed among the Heavenly Flames.

In fact, if these two flames were used together, their power would be enough to rival the top ten flames on the Heavenly Flame List.

This was one of his trump cards.

If Lin An couldn’t withstand even this move, then the impending battle with the Cloud Mist Sect would lose much of its meaning.

Yes, Xiao Yan wanted to know—after leaving his homeland and enduring so much hardship—what level of strength his true opponent held.

“Blazing Inferno, Scorch the Heavens!”

As soon as Xiao Yan’s words fell, the two strange flames burst forth violently.

Lin An’s expression grew grave, and he immediately ordered everyone to fall back, leaving him alone in the center.

Many did not understand what Lin An intended, but they still obeyed his command and retreated.

In the blink of an eye, terrifying flames encircled Lin An, obscuring even his figure from view.

Only Xiao Yan could see Lin An, enveloped by the fire.

From the endless flames, a humanoid shape quickly condensed—it was Xiao Yan’s own image.

He watched Lin An intently, eager to see how Lin An would ultimately break free.

A humming sound rose. Around Lin An, milky-white flames began to emerge, and in an instant, they wrapped around him, sealing off the terrifying heat.

“A strange flame?”

“This is... the Bone Spirit Cold Flame!”

Xiao Yan murmured in surprise.

He hadn’t expected Lin An to wield a Heavenly Flame as well. The Bone Spirit Cold Flame was a notable presence even among the ranked flames.

Unfortunately, compared individually, the Bone Spirit Cold Flame was not inferior to either of Xiao Yan’s own flames, but now he was wielding two at once. The fusion of two flames was no simple addition.

With the appearance of the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, the surrounding temperature quickly returned to normal.

Lin An soon realized that the strange flames filling the space were still rapidly eroding the protection the Bone Spirit Cold Flame afforded him. If things continued this way, it wouldn’t be long before its defense completely failed.

This was something Lin An did not wish to see.

As the Green Lotus Heart Flame appeared, a lifelike green lotus materialized, floating above Lin An’s head. Curtains of green light cascaded down like waterfalls. With both strange flames present, it was now impossible for Xiao Yan to breach Lin An's defenses in the short term.

“Two Heavenly Flames as well!” Xiao Yan was even more astonished.

A low hum sounded.

Immediately, wisps of gloomy energy appeared from the surrounding space—the purest yin aura of the Hall of Yama.

Under Lin An’s control, it fused perfectly with the Green Lotus Heart Flame and the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, boosting their power several times over.

In the blink of an eye, a tri-colored flame formed, and as if in retaliation, it began to erode the strange flames Xiao Yan wielded.

“What is that? Why does it feel so familiar to me?”

Xiao Yan frowned, noticing that ever since that mysterious black flame appeared, his own strange flames had begun to falter. At this rate, he feared Lin An would soon break through his assault.

“System, I want to redeem a third strange flame!”

Xiao Yan recited silently.

This was his first battle with Lin An; he did not want to lose inexplicably.

Even now, his mind could not help but recall the humiliation he suffered at the Xiao clan.

To him, it was an unbearable disgrace.

“Redemption successful: Azure Luan Heavenly Flame!”

The moment Xiao Yan acquired the third strange flame, Lin An instantly sensed a familiar aura.

It was exactly the same as the feeling he got from the Hall of Yama. For a split second, Lin An clearly saw a vision of a flawless Netherworld Reincarnation, within which a mysterious master of the Hall of Yama sat, face obscured, as if aiding Xiao Yan.

“How can this be? Could it be that this world also contains a Hall of Yama, contains reincarnation? And... after Xiao Yan’s destiny was altered, he too obtained something akin to the Hall of Yama’s power?”

A bold idea sprang up in Lin An’s heart.

If so, then everything made sense.

Everything Xiao Yan possessed came from something similar to his system, even those two never-before-seen strange flames.

At that moment, Lin An’s soul was shaken as never before.

The third flame appeared in Xiao Yan’s palm—the Azure Luan Heavenly Flame. It was like a primordial Azure Luan, crossing the river of time, draped in endless mysterious fire, manifesting in this world.

As the third flame joined the others, the power of Xiao Yan’s flames surged exponentially. In an instant, Lin An was completely submerged by the strange flames.

Xiao Yan let out a cold laugh, and the flames vanished.

Leaving behind only a bewildered Lin An.

“Lin An? So that’s all there is to you.”

With those words, Xiao Yan turned and walked away.

Hearing Xiao Yan’s words, Lin An finally snapped out of his daze, only now realizing that he had been defeated by Xiao Yan.

“Lin An, are you alright?”

Nalan Yanran hurried to Lin An’s side, her face filled with worry.

“Don’t worry. I’m fine. I was just careless,” Lin An replied calmly.

He had indeed been careless, mainly because of the mysterious power behind Xiao Yan, which even he himself had not fully discerned.

Lin An even suspected that, apart from himself as the master of the Hall of Yama, no one else could detect the mysterious power supporting Xiao Yan.

What Lin An couldn’t understand, however, was that if this world possessed a complete cycle of reincarnation and a Hall of Yama, why had his own appearance not drawn its attention?

A vague suspicion grew in Lin An’s heart: perhaps when his Hall of Yama reached the highest level of the Battle Through the Heavens world, his ultimate adversary would be the Hall of Yama native to this realm.

Perhaps it was simply that he was still too weak to be worth noticing.

Or perhaps Xiao Yan was the one chosen specifically to eliminate him.

No matter what, Lin An now realized that the struggle between himself and Xiao Yan was not as one-sided as he had imagined.

Thinking back on how he’d all but ignored Xiao Yan of late, regret crept into his heart.

Fortunately, he still had one year left.

If, at the appointed three-year duel, he lost to Xiao Yan, then he would truly have disgraced all those gifted with a system.

He watched as Xiao Yan departed.

Soon after, the army of the Cloud Empire also began to withdraw, as if all their previous actions had merely been to draw Lin An out.

[New Mission: As an alchemist from the Cloud Empire, participate in the Jia Ma Empire Alchemist Tournament and win first place. Reward: Power of Yama!]

Just as he turned, Xiao Yan received a new mission. Although he had no idea what the Power of Yama was, he knew the system’s rewards were never anything trivial.