2: Chapter 2 The Oppressive Force of the Chosen One

Hunyuan Hall.

Deep within the main hall, the light was so dim it seemed to have been sucked away by something, leaving only a few ghostly green soul fires flickering on the walls, casting a flickering light upon the ancient, blackened reliefs. The air was filled with an indescribable, chilling aura—not a coldness of ice, but a chill that seeped directly into one's bones.

When Hun Feng walked into the main hall, he saw Hun Tiandi sitting in the main seat at a single glance.

To be honest, if not for the memory of this face, he would never have associated the person in front of him with the greatest villain of the Fighting Qi Continent. Hun Tiandi looked far too refined—a simple, plain greyish-white robe, long hair tied casually behind his head, holding an ancient book in his hands, his brows and eyes as gentle as a private tutor's. He sat on that giant chair carved from a single piece of soul-devouring iron, legs crossed, reading with great interest, a faint smile even hanging at the corners of his mouth.

But Hun Feng knew very well that this man was most dangerous when he was smiling. A Nine-Star Dou Sheng in the late stage, an old monster who had lived for thousands of years, the mastermind behind the Hun Clan's millennial plan to annihilate the Xiao Clan—if this person were really as harmless as he appeared, the Hun Clan would have long been devoured by the other Ancient Eight Clans until not even bones remained.

"Feng'er has come." Hun Tiandi didn't even look up, turning a page of the book, his tone as casual as if he were greeting a neighbor's child, "Sit. I heard your seclusion this time caused quite a stir; Wu Wu has nagged me about it twice already. How is it? Did you ruin yourself?"

"Thanks to the Clan Leader's blessing, I haven't ruined myself yet." Hun Feng took a seat on the side, calmly lifting the teacup on the table and taking a sip. The tea was cold and slightly bitter, with a strange aftertaste—this was the Hun Clan's unique soul-devouring tea, soaked with soul origin; an ordinary person would have their soul scattered after one sip, but for the Hun Clan bloodline, it was a great supplement.

"The God-Grade Bloodline is truly good; no matter how you mess around, nothing happens." Hun Tiandi finally put down the book and raised his eyes to look at Hun Feng, his gaze carrying the gentleness of an elder looking at a junior, but Hun Feng keenly captured a trace of scrutiny beneath that gentleness, "How do you feel after waking up? I heard from the people below that you sent someone to investigate the Nine Serenities Deep Ground Python Clan?"

Hun Feng's fingers holding the teacup paused slightly, then he put the teacup down with an unchanged expression. This old fox, his information network was quite fast. The dark line on Yao Yao's side had been laid for less than half a day, and he already knew—either the Hun Clan's intelligence network was denser than he imagined, or someone around him was specifically reporting to Hun Tiandi. In either case, it was not a pleasant thing.

"I did investigate." Hun Feng admitted frankly, "There is something good at the bottom of the Nine Serene Yellow Springs, and I plan to make a trip there."

Hun Tiandi did not ask what the good thing was, only nodding slightly, seemingly unconcerned. He picked up the book again but did not open it, instead resting it on his knees, his gaze falling into the void of darkness somewhere in the hall, as if looking through the wall to a place further away.

"You can take whatever is in the Nine Serenities Deep Ground Python Clan to play with. But I called you here today to talk about another matter." His tone was still gentle, but his speed slowed down, each word articulated clearly, "How much do you know about that boy from the Xiao Family?"

Hun Feng's heart skipped a beat.

It was coming. Hun Tiandi personally asking about Xiao Yan—what did this mean? It meant that this Hun Clan leader had begun to treat Xiao Yan as an opponent who needed to be taken seriously, rather than just an "Xiao Clan remnant" to be dismissed as before.

"Xiao Yan, the last awakened user of the Dou Di Bloodline of the Xiao Clan." Hun Feng organized his words, "Walking out of a small city in the Jia Ma Empire, he broke through to become a Dou Sheng in his early twenties, and his alchemy has reached the level of a Grade 9 Profound Pill master. He obtained the final bloodline inheritance of the Xiao Clan during his trip to the Ancient World, and his current combat power—at least a One-Star Dou Sheng."

When he said the last sentence, he deliberately understated the strength. Because he knew that Xiao Yan's true combat power was far from being just a One-Star Dou Sheng; that guy leaping ranks to kill enemies was as common as eating and drinking. But he couldn't show that he knew Xiao Yan too well, otherwise, Hun Tiandi would definitely be suspicious.

Hun Tiandi listened, was silent for a few seconds, and then sighed softly.

"A One-Star Dou Sheng... at this age, with this talent, you are not far behind him, Feng'er." His tone carried a complicated meaning that was hard to describe, "A thousand years ago, Xiao Xuan single-handedly slaughtered half of our Hun Clan's Dou Shengs, forcibly dragging us down from the position of the head of the Ancient Eight Clans. A thousand years later, another God-Grade Bloodline has emerged from the Xiao Clan. What do you call this? Time? Or fate?"

He suddenly smiled, but there was no warmth in that smile.

"But that's fine. I couldn't kill Xiao Xuan with my own hands a thousand years ago, but a thousand years later, I'd like to see what kind of waves his descendant can make."

Hun Feng was about to speak, when a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall. The footsteps were extremely fast and heavy, each step carrying the muffled sound of Dou Qi infusion, clearly the visitor's cultivation was not low and their mood was anxious to the extreme.

The hall door was pushed open.

The person who came was Hun Qian—a senior elder of the Hun Clan, a Four-Star Dou Sheng, usually as steady as a rock, not even blinking if the sky fell. But at this moment, the expression on his old face made Hun Feng's heart skip a beat—nervousness, even carrying a trace of horror that he hadn't been able to fully conceal.

"Clan Leader, Young Clan Leader." Hun Qian knelt on one knee, holding a blood-red transmission jade slip in both hands, his voice hoarse and hurried, "Urgent report from the Ancient Dragon Island. Just transmitted back; the subordinate dared not delay."

Hun Tiandi frowned slightly.

This expression made Hun Feng's back tighten. Hun Tiandi frowning—this could be regarded as a fairly high-level warning signal within the Hun Clan. Because this thousand-year-old fox was always poker-faced; there were not many things in the entire continent that could make him frown.

Hun Tiandi reached out, and the blood-colored jade slip flew into his palm automatically. He tapped his fingertip lightly on the jade slip, and a light curtain immediately unfolded in the hall. The text on it was written in the Hun Clan's secret code—this code could only be deciphered by core members of the Hun Clan; outsiders would not understand it even if they intercepted it.

Hun Feng stared at the secret code on the light curtain, reading it word by word. The more he read, the uglier his face became.

The content of the secret report was not much, but every point was like a hammer hitting his heart.

Internal strife in the Ancient Dragon Island; the Three Great Dragon Kings joined forces to besiege the North Dragon Island; Dragon Emperor Zi Yan fought one against three, exhausted and surrounded, her life hanging by a thread. Just as the Three Great Dragon Kings were about to succeed, Xiao Yan arrived. This person, in the late stage of a One-Star Dou Sheng, shook the three Dragon Kings at the Three-Star Dou Sheng level, forcibly saving Zi Yan, but was himself heavily injured by the joint efforts of the Three Great Dragon Kings, his meridians shattered, his soul damaged, and he was on the verge of death.

Reading this far, Hun Feng's heartbeat missed a beat. Damn, no way?

He continued reading.

On the verge of death, in the middle of the bloody battle, the Xiao Clan's Dou Di Bloodline hidden in Xiao Yan's body was completely activated by the remnant soul of Xiao Xuan. The final bloodline power of the Xiao Clan fully recovered in his body, Dou Qi soared, his soul was reshaped, and all his injuries were instantly healed under the washing of the bloodline power—fully revived, his strength jumped two levels directly from the late stage of One-Star Dou Sheng, stepping into the mid-stage of Two-Star Dou Sheng.

Mid-stage of Two-Star Dou Sheng.

After Xiao Yan was fully revived, he joined forces with Zi Yan to counterattack, defeating the Three Great Dragon Kings one by one; two of the Three Great Dragon Kings died and one was captured. A long-planned rebellion was forcibly overturned by a young man who had just broken through to a Two-Star Dou Sheng. The Ancient Dragon Island was thus pacified, Zi Yan officially became the master of the Dragon Island, and the influence of the Three Great Dragon Kings was completely purged.

At the end of the secret report, there was a small line of text—the North Dragon King fled during the chaotic battle, whereabouts unknown.

The hall was silent for a full five seconds.

In these five seconds, Hun Feng could clearly feel an invisible pressure squeezing in from all directions. It was not from Hun Tiandi—Hun Tiandi was still sitting there, the expression on his face not even changing much—but from that name across thousands of miles. Xiao Yan. This cheater, he really lived up to being the Son of Destiny of the Fighting Qi Continent, every time he walked on the edge of life and death, not only could he not die, but he could borrow the momentum to break through, getting stronger the more he fought. And this time, he didn't just break through a small threshold from Dou Zun to Dou Sheng; he jumped directly from the late stage of One-Star Dou Sheng to the mid-stage of Two-Star Dou Sheng, jumping two levels in a row.

Hun Feng had been in seclusion for three months, relying on the God-Grade Bloodline and the mountain of resources accumulated by the Hun Clan, only to barely grind from the early stage of Two-Star Dou Sheng to the late stage of Two-Star Dou Sheng. Xiao Yan fought a battle, went around the gates of hell, and jumped from the late stage of One-Star Dou Sheng to the mid-stage of Two-Star Dou Sheng, only one small stage away from him.

Who the hell can you reason with about this?

To be honest, at this moment, Hun Feng truly felt a sense of oppression. Before he transmigrated, when he read the novel, he only felt that Xiao Yan's rapid upgrade was cool—protagonist halo, it's only natural. But when he truly stood on the opposite side of Xiao Yan and became the Young Master of the Hun Clan, he realized what this "protagonist halo" meant for a villain—it meant that the gap you tried your best to open might be smoothed out by the other party in just one battle or one breakthrough. It meant that the scheme you racked your brains to set up might be ruined by a suddenly emerging hidden inheritance, a remnant soul's last words, or a chance that just happened to restrain you.

"Interesting." Hun Tiandi's voice broke the silence. His tone was still flat, even carrying a trace of a smile, but the temperature in the hall had dropped significantly, "Late stage of One-Star Dou Sheng shaking three Three-Star Dou Shengs, borrowing bloodline power to break through fully revived on the verge of death. Xiao Xuan was also this style back then, getting stronger the more he fought, more alive the more he died. It seems that he not only left the bloodline to his descendants but also passed down the fighting style."

He threw the jade slip back to Hun Qian casually, the action as casual as throwing a leaf, but when Hun Qian caught the jade slip, his knees sank significantly—that was not the weight of the jade slip itself, but the trace of pressure inadvertently leaked by Hun Tiandi.

"You may withdraw."

"Yes."

Only Hun Tiandi and Hun Feng remained in the hall. Hun Tiandi was silent for a long time, so long that Hun Feng almost thought he was going to say something like "this Xiao Yan must be eliminated as soon as possible." But Hun Tiandi did not. He just leaned back on the chair, his right index finger tapping the armrest rhythmically, making a dull thumping sound.

"Feng'er." He suddenly spoke, his tone as calm as chatting about daily life, "What do you think of the Sky Mansion Alliance?"

Hun Feng steadied his mind, temporarily suppressing the sense of oppression brought over from Xiao Yan.

He knew that Hun Tiandi would not ask this question for no reason. Xiao Yan had just caused such a huge commotion on Ancient Dragon Island, and with the shrewdness of that old fox Yao Chen, he would certainly take advantage of the situation to push the Sky Mansion Alliance into a full-scale offensive against the Hall of Souls.

Xiao Yan also needed to use the Hall of Souls to sharpen his blade—the upgrade of the Burning Technique required devouring Heavenly Flames, and the improvement of soul power required devouring Soul Origin energy. The branch halls of the Hall of Souls were practically leveling dungeons tailor-made for him.

"The Sky Mansion Alliance has the Pill Tower as its core, integrating the Flower Sect, Burning Flame Valley, and nearly thirty percent of the forces in the Central Plains. The Alliance Master, Yao Chen, is a Grade 9 Profound Pill master whose connections span the world."

Hun Feng set down his teacup, his speaking pace slow but every word carrying weight, "On the surface, they appear to be a mob, but in reality, Yao Chen's ability to rally people is terrifying. After the news of his resurrection spread, rogue cultivators from all over the Central Plains flocked to join, and the influence of the Sky Mansion Alliance is expanding every day. More importantly—Xiao Yan is Yao Chen's disciple. Yao Chen will surely exhaust the entire strength of the alliance to pave the way for Xiao Yan, and Xiao Yan will also borrow the power of the Sky Mansion Alliance to deal with the Hall of Souls."

"Well said." Hun Tiandi nodded slightly, "Then, what do you think Xiao Yan will do next?"

"Sweep through the branch halls of the Hall of Souls." Hun Feng said these six words with ironclad certainty.

He then stood up and paced back and forth in the hall, as if organizing his thoughts, but in reality, he was using this action to conceal the anxiety in his heart, "He has just broken through to a Two-Star Dou Sheng, and his strength has surged. This is the time when he is most arrogant and most in need of consolidating his foundation. The branch halls of the Hall of Souls scattered throughout the Central Plains are his most ideal whetstones—each branch hall contains a large amount of Soul Origin energy, which is perfect for enhancing his soul power. Moreover, he needs battle merits to consolidate his status within the Sky Mansion Alliance, and he also needs actual combat to hone the battle power of his new realm. If I am not mistaken, within at most half a month, the Sky Mansion Alliance will launch its first large-scale purge against the Hall of Souls."

After hearing this, Hun Tiandi did not immediately express his stance. He merely looked at Hun Feng with a strange gaze, a gaze that carried three parts approval, three parts scrutiny, and four parts of something indescribable.

"Feng'er, after waking up this time, you are indeed different." He said slowly, "In the past, you would only say 'I will go and kill him,' but now you understand how to analyze the general trend and predict the opponent's moves. The God-Grade Bloodline does not bear its name in vain; it seems this closed-door cultivation has truly opened your mind."

Hun Feng cursed inwardly—damn it, I almost slipped up again. So, the original Hun Feng really was just a reckless brute; no wonder he died so cleanly in the original story.

However, he kept his expression calm and merely bowed slightly, saying, "The Clan Leader is too kind. In the past, Feng'er was young and impulsive, but now I have figured some things out—killing cannot solve all problems. To let the Hun Clan truly dominate this continent, relying on ruthlessness alone is not enough; one must also rely on brains."

"A good 'relying on ruthlessness alone is not enough'." Hun Tiandi laughed, the laughter echoing in the empty hall, carrying a tone of appreciation.

He stood up, walked to the center of the hall with his hands behind his back, his back turned to Hun Feng, and looked up at the impenetrable darkness on the ceiling of the hall, "Since you have already thought it through, then tell me—how do you think we should respond?"

This was the sentence Hun Feng had been waiting for.

"Shrink the defensive lines and focus on key control." He stated the plan he had long thought out in one breath, "The branch halls of the Hall of Souls are spread across the Central Plains; this is both an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage lies in the wide coverage of the intelligence network, while the disadvantage lies in the scattered forces, making it easy for the Sky Mansion Alliance to defeat them one by one. Xiao Yan and Yao Chen are not fools; they will definitely pick the weakest nodes to strike. Therefore, my suggestion is—transfer the core resources scattered in each branch hall to the main hall and a few major branch halls in advance. Collect the Soul Origin energy in the small branch halls that should be collected, hide what should be hidden, and leave a few empty ones for them to attack. At the same time, secretly send stronger experts to a few key branch halls and set up ambushes. The Sky Mansion Alliance will definitely pick what looks like an easy bone to chew for their first strike; we will make that bone into a nail and break a mouthful of their teeth."

Hun Tiandi turned around, and the gaze with which he looked at Hun Feng held an added layer of deep scrutiny. The scrutiny came and went quickly, instantly covered by a low "continue."

"The second matter—Mu Gu Old Man." When Hun Feng mentioned this name, his voice turned a few degrees colder, "He is the most active Tianzun on the surface for the Hall of Souls. Yao Chen has an old grudge with him, and Xiao Yan has also clashed with him. Once the Sky Mansion Alliance makes a move, Mu Gu Old Man will definitely be their priority target to eliminate. I suggest immediately transferring Mu Gu away from the front lines and replacing him with an Elder Zun whom neither Xiao Yan nor Yao Chen is familiar with to guard the periphery."

Hun Tiandi held his teacup, neither saying yes nor no. After a while, he slowly spat out a few words: "And what about the third?"

"The third matter—" Hun Feng's gaze flickered slightly under the reflection of the ghostly green soul fire, "Seize time. Xiao Yan relies on the Burning Technique to become stronger, and the Burning Technique needs to devour Heavenly Flames to upgrade. The map fragments of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame are in his hands, and he has already obtained at least two of the four fragments; he will definitely set his sights on the Purification Lotus Demon Flame. We must seize all the opportunities we can before the Purification Lotus Demon Flame appears—especially that Nine-Colored Origin Stone at the bottom of the Nine Serene Yellow Springs."

Hun Tiandi looked at him with a smile that was not quite a smile, suddenly raising his teacup toward him, "You tricky little devil, you just can't let go of that stone, can you?"

Hun Feng was not embarrassed at being exposed and met his gaze without changing his expression, "Things like opportunities—if I take one, Xiao Yan gets one less. As one grows, the other wanes; this account is easy to calculate."

Hun Tiandi set down the teacup and tapped his fingers lightly on the tabletop. Two dull sounds echoed in the hall, as if he were weighing the gravity of Hun Feng's words.

After a long while, he finally nodded.

"Let Soul Yuan Tian assign a batch of experts to you; you draft the list yourself." Hun Tiandi picked up the scroll again, his tone suddenly becoming very light, so light it sounded like he was talking to himself, but every word carried unquestionable pressure, "Additionally, have the main Hall of Souls recall Mu Gu and replace him with Hun You to preside over the peripheral defensive lines. Remember—the Sky Mansion Alliance can win, but they cannot win too easily."

Hun Feng felt a sudden relief in his heart, but on the surface, he only bowed slightly, "Understood."

"There is one more thing." Hun Tiandi's voice suddenly deepened by a fraction. He raised his eyes to look at Hun Feng, a streak of almost tangible coldness flashing through his gaze, "One of the map fragments of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame is in the hands of the Ancient Clan. Do not have a direct conflict with the Ancient Clan for the time being. As for the Nine Serene Yellow Springs side…" He paused, lowered his head again, and turned a page of the book, "Do whatever you want."

This was tacit approval. And it was tacit approval with an air of indulgence. Hun Feng's mouth curled slightly, and he turned and strode out of the hall.

"Feng'er." Hun Tiandi's voice suddenly came from behind, still that gentle, smiling tone, but Hun Feng's back inexplicably tightened, "Did you do anything else during this closed-door cultivation? Even I cannot see through you anymore."

Hun Feng's footsteps faltered for an imperceptible instant. He did not turn back, his voice very steady, "I just figured some things out. Rest assured, Clan Leader, I am still me."

A light chuckle of ambiguous meaning came from Hun Tiandi behind him.

"That is good."

Hun Feng walked out of the hall. The hall doors slowly closed behind him, emitting a dull rumble. He stood on the steps outside the hall and exhaled a long breath. The fabric on his back had already been soaked with cold sweat, sticking to his skin, icy cold.

Speaking with a thousand-year-old fox like Hun Tiandi was dancing on the tip of a blade with every sentence. He did not know if he had revealed any flaws, but judging from the results, at least his plan had received Hun Tiandi's approval and support.

Standing on the steps of the Hunyuan Hall, Hun Feng looked toward the void in the distance. The black fog of the Soul Realm was silently churning just as it had for a thousand years, and the ground made of soul-devouring iron beneath his feet emitted a faint vibration. In the distance, the thousand-zhang giant shadow of the Hall of Hun Tiandi stood silently and imposingly, like an immovable black mountain. The gears of fate of the Fighting Qi Continent had begun to turn, and this time, he would absolutely not let Xiao Yan hog all the benefits alone.

"Yao Yao." He called out toward the darkness.

A slender figure flashed out silently from behind a pillar. Yao Yao—still wearing that black dress with a high slit, the silver bells on her ankles emitting a crisp sound as she moved. She did not come up to act spoiled as usual but stood quietly by Hun Feng's side, a rare look of seriousness in her peach-blossom eyes. Clearly, she had heard part of the conversation inside the hall from outside, and she knew that Hun Feng's mood was not very good at the moment.

"Young Master, I heard everything you said inside just now." She paused, her voice very soft, as if coaxing a bristling cat, "Xiao Yan is a Two-Star Dou Sheng now; are you a bit unhappy about it?"

Hun Feng turned his head and saw the girl looking up at him. Although there was clearly a trace of unease in her peach-blossom eyes, she deliberately curved her lips and hid her unease with a grimace.

Hun Feng glanced at her, and in the end, he couldn't help but shake his head and laugh, "Whether I'm convinced or not is one thing, but that guy's opportunities… are truly outrageous."

Yao Yao took his hand and shook it, "What are you afraid of? Young Master still has me. At worst, I'll go and stab him twice when he's breaking through." She tilted her head and looked at him with a grin, "Anyway, he can't possibly be on guard against me while he's fighting for his life against someone else, right?"

Hun Feng rolled his eyes and reached out to flick her forehead, "That's all the ambition you have."

Yao Yao covered her forehead, humming and muttering without saying anything more, only the silver bells on her ankles ringing a few times in the wind, like a string of unfinished whispers.

The two walked side by side down the steps of the Hunyuan Hall, each going to prepare for the upcoming action plan. Yao Yao was going to mobilize the secret lines of the Hall of Souls to further perfect the intelligence on the forbidden grounds of the Nine Serenities Deep Ground Python Clan; Hun Feng was going to draft a list of troop deployments to redeploy the experts of the Hun Clan to various key branch halls.

Time was tight. Xiao Yan's battle on Ancient Dragon Island had already ended, and the offensive of the Sky Mansion Alliance could unfold at any moment. He had to have all the necessary layouts in place before Xiao Yan returned to the Nine Serenities Deep Ground Python Clan; otherwise, once Xiao Yan returned to Medusa with the momentum of victory from Ancient Dragon Island, he would never have another chance.

And when he reached the last step, his footsteps suddenly paused.

He remembered the last line of the secret report.

The North Dragon King had escaped.

That treacherous and cunning North Dragon King, the most hidden and unfathomable of the Three Great Dragon Kings, had actually managed to escape with his life under the joint siege of Xiao Yan and Zi Yan. Where would he go? A Dragon King who had lost his power, a traitor hunted by the entire Dragon Island—who would he turn to?

Hun Feng narrowed his eyes, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled into an arc.

Perhaps, he could be made use of.