"Heh, good! Bold indeed—there's a touch of Xiao Xuan's spirit about him!" Suddenly, ripples surged through the space above the training ground, and then three figures materialized—exactly the trio from the hall. The hearty laugh came from the tall, sturdy man on the left. On the elevated platform nearby, Xun's brows furrowed slightly, and Gu Hu's expression grew serious. "What is the Thunder Clan chief up to? In terms of seniority, he should be several generations above Xiao Yan—yet he still intervenes!" They all knew that although Xiao Yan had now become one of the most outstanding young talents on the continent, the Thunder Clan chief, as the esteemed head of the Thunder Clan, was a figure whose rivals across the entire continent were few and far between. For someone of his stature to challenge Xiao Yan was indeed an overreach. "Xiao Yan's elder brother must have his own plans—he wouldn't take on anything without confidence..." Although she did feel somewhat concerned, Xun'er had considerable confidence in Xiao Yan. She knew he wouldn't act too rashly; since he had agreed to do it, there must be some solid grounds for his decision. Upon hearing this, Gu Hu smiled faintly. Lei Ying was an Eight-Star Battle Saint—just thinking about facing someone of that caliber already made it feel overwhelming, let alone actually confronting him. Most of the people present were astonished that Xiao Yan had agreed to face Lei Ying. They exchanged glances, turning their attention to the poised, slender figure standing firmly in the center of the arena. Simply that kind of determination was enough to command genuine admiration. Before Lei Dong, Xiang Yan stared at him with a complex expression, then silently stepped back. Though he launched his full force, Xiang Yan did not retreat an inch, and in fact, Lei Dong himself collapsed under the force of Xiang Yan's sharp palm—harsh reality revealed the gap between them. Behind Leiyun, the others trailed along, heads bowed and spirits dampened. Though they had previously combined their efforts, Xiao Yan had never once looked them in the eye. This silent treatment, while stirring some anger, primarily evoked a sense of helplessness. They didn't doubt at all that if Xiao Yan truly wished to, he could have laid them all out here with a mere wave of his hand. Yet he hadn't done so. Perhaps it was a matter of indifference—In Xiao Yan's eyes, they were merely like floating leaves striving to shake a great tree. True strength, Leiyun thought, rarely pays much attention to the provocations of the weaker. Had it not been for Xiao Yan's occasional teasing of Xun'er, he might never have glanced at them at all. "Though this young man is strong, he still shows some arrogance. The clan elder is an Eight-Star Dou Saint—even with only five parts of his power, he would be sufficient to defeat a typical Seven-Star Dou Saint...." As he stepped back, Lei Yun hesitated, then murmured softly. "Shut up!" Lei Dong snapped sharply, glaring at him sternly, scolding, "Do you still feel embarrassed? If it weren't for your insistence on coming here, none of this would have happened. Even if Xiao Yan truly fails to withstand the elder's palm, he wouldn't suffer any loss in reputation—on the contrary, many would admire his courage and determination!" Seeing Lei Dong grow angry, Lei Yun quickly shrunk back, silencing himself, for in their eyes, Lei Dong held considerable authority. "Hehe, this must be the young lad from the Xiao clan, and indeed, he seems to possess a bearing no less than Xiao Xuan." The Flame Clan chief, Yan Jin, who had a pair of crimson eyebrows, glanced at Xiao Yan below with a slightly unusual expression before smiling. "Lei Ying, given your status, would it not be rather inappropriate for you to engage Xiao Yan directly?" Gu Yuan spoke calmly. "Haha, you all know my temperament—when I fight someone, I don't care about age or rank, only about their ability." Lei Ying's laughter echoed like thunder across the sky. Turning his gaze to Xiao Yan, he smiled, "Well, since Gu Yuan has mentioned this, if you feel it might be risky, then we can certainly proceed with that." "Xiao Yan has long heard of Lei Ying's esteemed name," Xiao Yan added, "and to finally meet and fight him today is truly a privilege for me." Xiao Yan smiled, yet surprisingly did not immediately step back. Instead, he smiled and continued, stating that in dealing with the Hún clan, he might need to engage in detailed discussions—possibly even form alliances—with the three clans. Such talks would be most effective if both parties were placed on an equal footing; otherwise, unnecessary complications would inevitably arise. The best way to achieve this parity, he believed, was to demonstrate tangible strength that would command the other party's respect. Lei Ying, a Star-8 Battle Saint, already possessed power sufficient to overwhelm a typical Star-7 Battle Saint with just half of his strength. Now, Xiao Yan had reached the mid-stage of a Star-6 Battle Saint, and with the aid of additional resources, he could certainly match the strength of a Star-7 Battle Saint. Thus, countering Lei Ying's half-strength strike was far from impossible. Xiao Yan's words once again left many astonished. Even Lei Ying could not help but chuckle and exclaimed, "Well, young man—your growing appeal to me is truly impressive!" Ancient Yuan, observing the scene, smiled slightly and glanced at Xiao Yan, saying nothing further. Gradually, Lei Ying descended from the sky, arms folded, black lightning swirling around his body. A formidable aura began to seep out, subtly spreading, causing the crowd surrounding the training ground to step back in awe, gazing in fear at the towering figure that seemed like a mountain. Xiao Yan stared intently at Lei Ying, then took a deep breath, and with a subtle mental effort, Xiao Yi swiftly merged with his soul. Instantly, rosy flames began to radiate from within his body, transforming his form once again into that of translucent, delicate pink crystal. Faced with such a formidable opponent, Xiao Yan immediately activated his Devastating Flame Body! "Within the flames, there are six distinct flavors of hetero-flames..." Inan's gaze was unusually intense as he stared at Xiao Yan. With his sharp eyesight, he had instantly discerned the number of hetero-flames blended within the rose-hued flame—just by a single glance. He was deeply impressed. The difficulty of fusing hetero-flames was something he had personally experienced; fusing just two had consumed all his energy, let alone fusing six, which he had never even imagined possible. A wave of eyes converged upon Xiao Yan, focusing on his body now transformed into something resembling translucent jade. Many were stunned, but as they began to sense the rapidly intensifying energy radiating from his transformed form, their astonishment quickly turned into awe. Even Lei Dong, who had previously fought him, could only shake his head with a wry smile—apparently, he had not exerted his full strength at all. "This aura suggests he has already reached the early stage of Seven-Star Battle Saint—this young man truly has mastered the art of harnessing hetero-flame power to its fullest extent." A look of astonishment passed over Yan Jin and the others, who murmured to themselves. "Rai Ying, accept my move!" Once again, Xiao Yan unleashed his Devastating Fire Body, feeling the powerful, volcanic surge of destruction pulsing within him. His spirit soared with confidence; he roared aloud, then stomped the ground, his body moving with unparalleled speed to instantly appear before Rai Ying. With a powerful palm strike, he boldly launched an attack against such a top-tier master—this bold move left many in awe. "What a terrifying flame lotus..." Guo Dao, one of the three immortals of the Guo clan, gazed intently at the flame lotus in Xiao Yan's palm, sensing an unmistakable sense of danger emanating from it. Even he, with his extensive experience, had felt the weight of that threat. He hadn't expected that, after Xiao Yan had ascended to a six-star Battle Saint, the power of his flame lotus would have reached such a level—had this been during the time of Hunshe's pursuit, the sheer force of this lotus alone would have compelled Hunshe to take notice. The emergence of the flame lotus had stunned many on site. Even Lei Ying, who had initially been composed, now showed a slight tightening of his expression before bursting into enthusiastic laughter. With a broad, fan-like hand, he suddenly grasped the air, and within his palm, lightning flashed and thunder roared, resembling a dramatically condensed thundercloud. "Let me try my Lei Clan's Thunder Judgment Palm!" Lei Ying’s palm shimmered with lightning, which eventually coalesced into a compact, miniature thundercloud. The cloud pulsed like a heart, beating rapidly. Suddenly, the heavens darkened, and from within the cloud surged a lightning palm seal—shrunken to the size of a half-open palm—that burst forth with tremendous force. It then collided squarely with Xiao Yan’s fire lotus, under the collective gaze of all present. "Staring at Xiao Yan, who had retreated several hundred paces yet showed no serious injuries, many people gasped in astonishment—especially Lei Dong and the others, who couldn't help but take in a sharp breath. The Lightning Storm Palm was a rare, top-tier technique among the Lightning Clan, and now it was being wielded by Lei Ying. Its power was sufficient to effortlessly destroy all life within a thousand li radius. Yet here it was, merely causing Xiao Yan to step back several hundred paces. "Heard this, Lei Ying didn't grow angry—he instead laughed heartily. That earlier palm strike had indeed been most satisfying. Xiao Yan sighed, his arms now nearly completely numb, so he could neither raise them in a bow nor offer a courtesy gesture, merely shaking his head helplessly amidst the respectful gazes of those around. In the sky, Gu Yu smiled gently, then rested his hands behind him, lifting his gaze to the empty space. His calm voice, however, resonated like thunder, sending a sudden jolt of surprise through everyone's scalp—including Xiao Yan. 'Hun Tian Di, with your status, why do you need to act so secretly?'"