Chapter 139: The Sixth Brother
Tap, tap, tap!
At the western gate of the imperial capital, a gray-robed figure rushed out of the city. But after running barely a hundred meters, he saw a white-clothed, strikingly handsome young man standing calmly ahead, his expression indifferent as he looked toward him.
The youth looked incredibly young, and his aura was plain and unremarkable. But something about him made the gray-robed man instinctively uneasy.
Looking closer, he realized the young man bore a slight resemblance to the one who had defeated him in the tournament—Xiao Yan!
"You're from the Chu Yun Empire, aren't you? I have some questions. If your answers satisfy me, I'll let you leave."
Xiao Yuan's voice was calm, but carried an undeniable authority.
"What brat dares block my way? Courting death!"
The gray-robed man guessed that the youth was likely a relative of Xiao Yan, and assumed he couldn't possibly pose a threat. He sneered, his voice cold.
"Wrong answer."
Xiao Yuan's tone turned stiff and icy. In the next moment, his figure floated forward like a falling willow leaf, and in a flash, a black ice dragon surged forth with a deafening roar, charging at the gray-robed man.
"Dou Ling?!"
Feeling the explosive wave of Dou Qi, the gray-robed man cried out in shock.
That white-robed youth didn't even look twenty—and yet he was already at the Dou Ling level?
Impossible!
But while the gray-robed man was stunned, he wasn't afraid. As a peak fourth-tier alchemist who specialized in poisons as well, his combat power exceeded that of most peers.
His own strength was at the level of an eight-star Dou Ling.
Thanks to his poison mastery, even peak Dou Lings avoided fighting him.
Plus, as an alchemist with beast flame, his fire-attribute Dou Qi perfectly countered Xiao Yuan's ice.
By all logic, the advantage was his!
With renewed confidence, he steadied himself and launched toward the oncoming dragon, dark flames swirling around him.
Though Xiao Yuan's Frost Dragon Soar didn't match Hai Bodong's in grandeur, its might was nothing to scoff at.
But the gray-robed man had no idea the kind of genius he had just provoked.
"Break!"
With what he thought was flair, he shouted and punched the dragon's head.
His black flame formed a rotating drill at his fist, and his body was wrapped in poison-coated armor—clearly a high-grade Xuan-level technique.
As expected, his punch shattered the ice dragon's head, spreading cracks through its body. Flames burst from the fractures.
Smirking triumphantly, he opened his mouth to mock—but Xiao Yuan's expression remained unchanged. He simply shifted his hand seals without hurry.
The next moment, the ice dragon's mouth opened, and a bead of black and white flame shot out. Instantly, it devoured the black flame like a whale gulping water.
The gray-robed man's pupils shrank—he recognized it at once. It was the second flame Xiao Yan had used during the tournament!
So… this fire belonged to this young man!
He then saw the black-and-white flame bead pulsing like a heart. Sensing danger, he immediately summoned a flame shield to defend.
Sure enough, the bead exploded violently, releasing a horrifying firestorm.
Even his flame shield crumbled instantly under the pressure. And in that moment, a strange gray-black light burst from the flames and shot toward him.
Panicked, he quickly gathered Dou Qi to block it—but the light melded into his Dou Qi the moment it touched.
Suddenly, his face twisted.
The gray-black light spread through his meridians and blood vessels—and it was poison!
He tried to block it, but it had already entered his Dou Qi and dispersed throughout his body.
An overwhelming weakness surged over him.
A look of terror crept into his eyes.
He—an expert in poisons—had been poisoned!?
Damn it!
Frantically, he pulled out a detox pill and poured all of it into his mouth without chewing, swallowing it whole.
But…
Nothing happened.
Panic overtook him. He grabbed more jars and vials—no good. His condition worsened.
His Dou Crystal was turning black. The corrosive poison began eating away at his organs.
Worse, some of the detox pills contained poisonous compounds, and now all the toxins were merging into an even deadlier cocktail.
Soon, even his organs began to rot.
"W-What is this poison?!"
He screamed in agony, desperate to know what had felled him.
Xiao Yuan didn't move closer—he didn't want a dying man to lash out. Calmly, he said:
"Just a touch of Scorch Poison. But for someone like you, its mutated form is probably fatal."
At those words, the gray-robed man's pupils shrank.
Scorch Poison—even Nalan Jie had only managed to suppress it through sheer power. And that was the regular version.
What Xiao Yuan used was mutated, capable of devouring Dou Qi, enhanced by flame, and refined with poisonous methods he learned from Xiao Yi Xian.
Even Xiao Yuan didn't fully understand how lethal it had become.
He doubted Nalan Jie himself could withstand it now.
This gray-robed man—merely a Dou Ling—had no chance.
"You have three minutes. If you answer my questions, I might spare your life. Just nod or shake your head."
Xiao Yuan's tone was unhurried.
The man, desperate not to die, nodded frantically.
"Good. Looks like we have an understanding."
Xiao Yuan smiled faintly. But to the gray-robed man, every second that passed was a death sentence.
"Has a young female poison master appeared in your Chu Yun Empire recently? One who improves very quickly and is extremely skilled?"
The man nodded immediately.
Why Xiao Yuan asked wasn't his concern. Staying alive was.
He believed Xiao Yuan.
He knew how deadly Scorch Poison was—and he knew that Heavenly Flame could expel it.
If Xiao Yuan had both, he might survive.
What he didn't realize was that his body was already too far gone. If Xiao Yuan used Heavenly Flame on him now, he'd die even faster.
"How is she doing now? Good? Nod. Bad—"
Before Xiao Yuan could finish, the man nodded quickly.
That girl's condition was excellent. She'd poisoned countless powerful people. Even he was afraid of her.
She had already reached Dou Ling before coming to Jia Ma Empire—her progress was terrifying.
Come to think of it, how was this youth a Da Dou Shi?
Sensing Xiao Yuan was only three-star Da Dou Shi, the man's eyes widened in disbelief.
He had released a Dou Ling-level attack?! Poisoned an eight-star Dou Ling to death?!
What kind of monsters were these brothers?!
Then he realized—Xiao Yuan had stopped asking.
He looked up—but saw nothing.
Some thick liquid was trickling from his face like paste.
Before he could comprehend what it was, a flame touched his back.
Black-and-white fire erupted.
A crackling sound followed.
With his voice box rotted away, he couldn't even scream as he burned into nothing.
"Idiot. Did he really think I'd save him?"
Far off, Xiao Yuan sneered at the ashes.
He waved his hand and summoned the man's storage ring with soul power, then turned to leave, erasing the soul imprint as he walked.
Not long after, the ashes scattered in the wind. A faint shadow emerged from them.
"Damn it… good thing that poison and fire weren't lethal to souls…"
It was the gray-robed man's soul!
But just as he finished his sentence, a white flame burst beneath him—the same flame Xiao Yan had used in the finals.
Wait… Xiao Yan had that fire too?
The man's ghostly face twisted in agony. He felt himself flash from boiling heat to freezing cold.
This was Bone-Chilling Flame, extremely effective against souls.
He hadn't noticed Yao Lao had struck silently.
Not surprising. If a master like Yao Lao was detected by this weakling, it'd be an embarrassment.
"Trash. An alchemist combining poison techniques… Brain must be rotten."
Back on the road to the city, Xiao Yuan muttered, annoyed.
He searched the storage ring.
Besides a few useless recipes Yao Lao scoffed at, there were some alchemy-poison hybrid notes—not valuable.
Most bottles were poison.
Thankfully, there were some decent herbs. Xiao Yuan could use those.
"Teacher, did you intervene just now?"
After storing what he needed, Xiao Yuan asked suddenly.
"Hm? You noticed?"
Yao Lao sounded surprised.
"Yeah, just for a moment. But I think you used flame?"
Xiao Yuan grinned.
"Heh, fair enough. That ring is yours, after all. With your soul strength, I'm not shocked you sensed it."
Yao Lao chuckled, clearly pleased with Xiao Yuan's awareness.
"Well, it's all done. Time to go congratulate Xiao Yan properly."
Xiao Yuan smiled and picked up the pace, heading back to the royal square.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Albino1