This is a vast expanse of scattered stones. At its center stands a massive stone platform. At the pinnacle of the platform, a colossal black wormhole, stretching dozens of zhangs in height, rotates slowly, continuously radiating powerful spatial tremors. "Pop! Pop!" The quiet of the stone plaza lasted for a while before suddenly breaking into a series of deep, resonant sounds. As these sounds echoed, intense spatial ripples surged from the wormhole, and one after another, figures emerged in straight lines, landing scattered across the plaza. "Finally! This damned spatial wormhole has been unbearable..." As he stepped onto the ground, Lin Yan took a deep breath of the fresh air outside, beaming with relief. Beside him, Xiao Yan also nodded slightly, with a sense of agreement, his gaze sweeping across the area. Now, the plaza was bustling with figures stepping out of the spatial wormholes, instantly infusing the once quiet space with vibrant energy. "Is this where the Dan Domain is located?" Xiao Yan rubbed his palms, drawing his curious gaze, and asked. "No," Lin Yan shook his head. "This is merely the center of the Central Province, known externally as the Central Region. The Dan Domain, however, lies at the very heart of the Central Region." "The Central Region..." Xiao Yan was momentarily surprised. "Hehe. If the Central Province is the central hub of the Continent, then the Central Region is the core of the Central Province. Most renowned and top-tier factions have their headquarters established right here within the Central Region." Lin Yan smiled and said, "The place we're currently in is the southwest of the Central Region. Among the various factions here, Yin Valley and Fenyan Valley stand out as the most prominent—these two have essentially taken the lead in this area. Of course, there are numerous other smaller and medium-sized factions as well, but compared to Yin Valley and Fenyan Valley, they fall significantly short. Li Qing's family is also located within this southwestern region." "Fenyan Valley?" Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan's heart stirred instantly. He had long heard of this faction, and in fact, the Tianhuo Sanxuan Bian that had accompanied him for several years was entirely from Fenyan Valley. Thus, he was particularly interested in them. "One pavilion, one pagoda, two sects, three valleys, and four halls—this Burned Flame Valley and the Resonant Valley are no mere match for Fenglei Pavilion; in fact, they're significantly stronger. Especially the Burned Flame Valley, which has maintained its lineage for several centuries and boasts an exceptionally solid foundation. Hehe, by the way, I've a secret to share: within the Burned Flame Valley lies a unique type of extraordinary fire known as the Nine-Drake Thunder罡 Fire." Lin Yan suddenly leaned in close to Xiao Yan, speaking with a mysterious tone. Xiao Yan smiled slightly, yet found himself somewhat helpless. Though he knew of the extraordinary fire in Burned Flame Valley, he simply couldn't act upon it. Beyond the valley's formidable strength, even if he managed to obtain the Nine-Drake Thunder罡 Fire, the valley's elite had already established a perfectly sealed enchantment upon it. Once secured, he'd likely be unable to absorb it fully—instead, he'd risk alienating a powerful force that surpasses even Fenglei Pavilion in strength. Though he couldn't quite aim his sights at the九龙雷罡火, Xiao Yan was deeply enthusiastic about that Dayfire Triple Transformation. Over the years of cultivation, he had gradually come to appreciate just how profound and intricate the Dayfire Triple Transformation truly was—especially for someone like him, who possessed multiple rare inner flames. Should he succeed in acquiring the remaining two transformations, his combat prowess would undoubtedly surge dramatically. "If the opportunity arises, perhaps I could attempt to secure the remaining two transformations of the Dayfire Triple Transformation. However, this time, unless circumstances are particularly special, I'd better refrain from openly revealing my knowledge of it—otherwise, if the Burned-Inn Valley proves as obstinate as the Fenglei Pavilion, I'm likely to face yet another significant hassle." Xiao Yan paused and murmured these thoughts to himself. "How far is it from here to the Dan Realm?" he asked, lifting his head and turning to Lin Yan. "The journey isn't short, though there are numerous short-distance space rifts within the Central Region. In just six or seven days, we'll be able to reach the Dan Region." Lin Yan calculated it over, then turned to Xiao Yan and said, "The Tian Huang City, where the Liu Qing family is located, happens to be one of the cities we must pass through. There's a space rift from that city directly connecting to the Dan Region." Xiao Yan was slightly surprised but nodded with a smile, saying, "That's perfect—why not take the opportunity to visit him? It's been several years since I last saw Liu Qing. I'm curious to know how he's doing these days." Lin Yan smiled and added, "Liu Qing is now the head of his family. He has a stronger cultivation potential than I do. When we last parted, he had already reached the Three-Star Duke Sovereign level; now, I'd say he's likely at the Seven-Star Duke Sovereign level or beyond. Since you've decided, let me show you the way. With our pace, we should reach him within a day or two." Xiao Yan smiled and nodded. With some distance still before the start of the Dan Meeting, he had the perfect opportunity to make his way there, gathering some beast fire along the way to strengthen the single spark of life-fire within his body. Seeing that Xiao Yan showed no objection, Lin Yan fell silent and gave a subtle shake of his back, his combat aura wings instantly unfolding. With a motion of his body, he soared upward. Though fighters at the level of Duke of Combat were not particularly rare in the Central Region, they still qualified as near-elite, and thus when people on the stone plaza saw Lin Yan ascending into the air, they all cast admiring glances. Now, with such young talent achieving the rank of Duke of Combat, their future accomplishments seemed boundless. Yet, as they admired him, Xiao Yan stepped lightly upon the void, swiftly ascending into the sky. He then waved to Lin Yan, and the two of them merged into a streak of light, vanishing from among the stunned gazes of the onlookers. "Can he walk on air? A Duke of Combat? Is that boy actually a Duke of Combat?" Only after Xiao Yan and his companion vanished at the horizon did a few people on the plaza regain their composure, exclaiming in disbelief. A Dao Cong is, without a doubt, one of the absolute strongest among the elite of Zhongzhou—countless individuals have sacrificed everything to reach this level. Yet, those who actually achieve it are few and far between. It is therefore no surprise that the people present were so stunned upon seeing Xiao Yan, a Dao Cong of such youthful age. In Tianhuang City, numerous power factions stand tall, with two families holding the highest status: the Li family and the Cheng family. These two families are undoubtedly the strongest in terms of strength within the city. However, neither family possesses the capability to construct space wormholes—long-range transportation hubs. Thus, the space wormholes in Tianhuang City belong not to either of these two families, but to Burned-Inn Valley. Burned-Inn Valley is the true dominant force within a radius of several hundred miles, overseeing numerous cities. The only entity capable of challenging it is Yin Valley, which has always remained enigmatic and has a significantly smaller influence area compared to Burned-Inn Valley. Yet, no one dares to underestimate Yin Valley. It is evident—without needing much thought—that there are few other powers capable of rivaling Burned-Inn Valley. This is certainly no ordinary, efficient player. The Burned Flame Valley controls numerous cities, and on this day, Huang City is also within its sphere of influence. In fact, the Li and Cheng families can be considered vassal forces of the Burned Flame Valley. As for the management rights of the spatial wormhole, the Burned Flame Valley selects its agent—naturally, this agent becomes the de facto leader of the city. Over the years, the management rights of the spatial wormhole have shifted back and forth between the Li and Cheng families, yet neither has been able to hold onto it for the long term. This might also be one of the Burned Flame Valley's strategic methods of control... At random, he fused two beast flames into the core of the birth flame. As the flame steadily grew stronger, Xiao Yan couldn't help but smile. There were countless varieties of beast flames available throughout the world, and obtaining them wasn't particularly difficult. With the countless beasts in the Central Plains, and with his current strength, all he needed to do was head into the mountain ranges where the beasts gathered—collecting beast flames would be quite effortless. "While hurrying along, Xiao Yan also informed Lin Yan about the Tianhuo Sanxuan Bian. This surprised Lin Yan greatly—he hadn't expected Xiao Yan not only to master combat techniques from Fenglei Pavilion, but also to have access to the burning techniques from Fenyan Valley, which he had previously thought were beyond his reach. Thus, Lin Yan repeatedly emphasized, trying to keep these details concealed. Xiao Yan nodded gently, his gaze drifting along the path toward the distant horizon, where a vast city lay quietly nestled within the forest, resembling a colossal beast stretching endlessly. "Let's go," he said. "As you mentioned, the spatial wormhole of Tianhuang City is now under the control of the Liu family—this should make things smoother. I'm curious, though, about Liu Qing. I wonder how far he's come these years?" With a light chuckle, Xiao Yan's eyes sparkled with curiosity. Back then, Liu Qing had been among the top three of the Inner Courtyard's strength rankings—someone even Xiao Yan himself had once looked up to. But now, he wanted to know just how far Liu Qing had advanced in the years since.