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**
Fwoosh~
Black flames floated in midair, burning without wind. They showed no signs of extinguishing—on the contrary, they roared even fiercer, their power intensifying by the second.
The black fire surrounded more than a dozen people from the Yun Lan Sect, forming a blazing ring of flame.
Instantly, the temperature inside the main hall skyrocketed, making everyone feel as if they were trapped in a scalding furnace.
Such eerie and terrifying flames caused Yun Fan's expression to grow extremely grim. From these flames, he sensed a deeply dangerous aura.
"I don't know which powerful expert has arrived. Please reveal yourself!" Yun Fan stood at the center of the formation, his aura surging as he gripped a light-blue longsword and spoke with a solemn tone.
At that moment—
A faint, amused voice slowly drifted down from the sky above. It echoed throughout the hall, swirling in the air and lingering for a long time.
"Heh… I've only been gone for three years, yet Yun Lan Sect has already become this arrogant. Truly beyond my expectations. Seems that old dog Yun Shan, after breaking through to Dou Zong, has grown quite ambitious. No wonder he no longer bothers to see me as a threat."
This sudden and mocking voice left everyone in the main hall stunned. After all, in the entire Jia Ma Empire, there were very few people who dared to openly insult Yun Lan Sect like this.
Yun Fan's face gradually darkened. He shifted his gaze toward the outside of the grand hall.
There, more than a dozen massive flying magic beasts were slowly circling down, descending onto the plaza outside the palace.
Many of the soldiers stationed outside looked at one another in confusion. They gripped their weapons nervously, unsure whether they should step forward to intercept.
Even Mu Tie, who was still kneeling, watched the scene unfold with a mixture of shock and uncertainty—but more than that, his heart was secretly filled with joy.
From the current situation, these unexpected guests… didn't seem like enemies.
Over a hundred powerful figures leaped down from the backs of the flying magic beasts, landing steadily on the palace plaza.
A suffocating and overwhelming aura immediately spread out, blanketing the entire City Lord's Mansion.
Among them, more than a dozen individuals began slowly walking toward the main hall.
Because they were walking against the light, their faces were cast in shadow. Furthermore, the burning black flames in the air dimmed the hall's lighting even further, obscuring visibility. Even Yun Fan, squinting hard, couldn't make out the newcomers' exact features for the time being.
But Yun Fan was certain of one thing: these people were definitely not from the Jia Ma Empire.
"You all don't appear to be from the Jia Ma Empire, are you?"
Yun Fan's expression turned somber as he looked at the group striding into the hall and said coldly, "This is an internal affair of Yun Lan Sect. I advise you all not to meddle in matters that don't concern you.
And besides… with so many of you strong individuals barging into our empire unannounced and with such force, are you not afraid of causing misunderstandings and conflicts?"
Normally, there existed a kind of unspoken rule between the empires:
That is—foreign powerhouses, unless on official business, should avoid entering another empire's territory casually to prevent unnecessary misunderstandings.
Even if one needed to enter, they usually limited the number of entrants to five at most—so as not to agitate the host nation's sensitive nerves.
But now, a dozen flying magic beasts carrying more than a hundred powerful-looking individuals had boldly entered a military fortress of another empire without warning. Such a scene was almost unheard of.
This kind of behavior would naturally be seen as a provocation by the local forces.
Either they came to stir up trouble—or they were supremely confident in their own strength, utterly unafraid of the Jia Ma Empire.
"Heh." The black-clothed young man at the front merely chuckled at Yun Fan's questioning.
Then, their footsteps continued—and they stepped straight into the main hall.
The moment they entered, the surging aura that Yun Fan's side had released to suppress the entire hall was instantly withdrawn like a receding tide. In just a blink, it was completely forced back into their bodies, and they could no longer release even a sliver of pressure.
Even the powerful defensive formation that had been activated seemed to weaken significantly in that moment, as if a portion of its might had been forcibly stripped away.
Seeing their own side's aura so completely suppressed, Yun Fan and his companions exchanged glances in silence. In that instant, their expressions turned incredibly ugly.
From just this alone, it was obvious—the strength of the other side far surpassed their own.
As the footsteps of the newcomers halted at the center of the grand hall, they stopped not far from the kneeling Mu Tie.
At this moment, everyone in the hall was finally able to clearly see the appearance of the people who had arrived.
Their gazes quickly swept across the group, first settling on the handsome young man at the front, dressed in a black brocade robe embroidered with golden patterns.
Staring at that handsome and youthful face, both Yun Fan and Mu Tie were momentarily stunned. There was an inexplicable sense of familiarity stirring in their minds.
Yet, in such a tense moment, they couldn't recall exactly when or how they had ever crossed paths with such a powerful individual.
While they were still lost in thought, their eyes quickly darted across the dozen or so other figures standing behind him.
And soon, a storm of shock erupted in their hearts.
Because they realized—among the dozen people who had entered the grand hall, aside from three or four who were clearly at the low Dou Wang level, the cultivation of the rest was completely undetectable.
There was only one reason such a situation could occur:
These people's strength vastly surpassed their own.
Realizing this, Yun Fan and Mu Tie couldn't help but swallow hard, their throats dry as sand.
Over a dozen Dou Wang experts—or stronger—had suddenly descended into the Jia Ma Empire in full force.
Where did these people come from?
Why did they come now—especially at such a sensitive time?
Why hadn't there been any word about this beforehand? Even if it were a neighboring empire, it would be extremely difficult to gather so many powerful experts on such short notice!
A terrible sense of foreboding began to creep into Yun Fan's heart.
He had the distinct feeling that even the weakest among these people likely possessed strength on par with his own.
As for the others—especially the leading handsome young man and the alluring, cold, and seductive woman in a red dress behind him—the pressure they exuded made him instinctively tremble in fear.
This kind of feeling… he had only ever vaguely felt before, and only in the presence of the old Sect Master, Yun Shan.
The entire spacious grand hall fell into an eerie silence due to the arrival of this mysterious group.
Yun Fan and the others didn't dare to make the slightest move.
"May I ask how I should address you, sir? I am Yun Fan, an elder of Yun Lan Sect. Our Sect Master is Yun Shan—perhaps you've heard of him?"
After a long silence, Yun Fan finally managed to suppress the shock in his heart and offered a slight cupped-fist salute toward the handsome young man at the front.
His tone, compared to earlier, was much more polite—and cautious.
Bringing up the name Yun Shan was clearly meant to invoke some hesitation in the other party.
"Yun Shan? I've heard of him. We've even… seen each other from afar once, I suppose," the handsome young man replied with a faint smile and a casual nod.
Hearing this, Yun Fan quietly let out a sigh of relief.
If the other party had heard of Yun Shan, all the better. Surely, he must know that Yun Shan was a Dou Zong-level powerhouse, a terrifying expert in this region.
However, before Yun Fan could fully exhale, the next words from the young man made his pupils contract violently.
With his hands behind his back, the young man took a few slow steps forward and spoke in an unhurried yet ice-cold tone:
"Three years ago, I personally visited Yun Lan Sect and made a pact with you in front of everyone. I had thought that, as a prestigious sect of this region, Yun Lan Sect would at least honor that agreement. So I left without worry."
"But to my disappointment, not even half a year passed before you went back on your word, breaking the agreement as if it were nothing—and in doing so, you slapped me right across the face!"
"I've always been a man of my word. A person without trust is no better than dirt. Once I promise someone something, I keep it—even if I suffer for it."
"That's why I absolutely despise those who break their promises."
"Especially when that broken promise involves me."
"What you did—this betrayal—is not only an insult to me, but also a complete betrayal of my trust. It's utterly intolerable!"
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