Douluo: My Spirit is Fallen Angel

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Qian Renhan approached Elder Feng and Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan's expression froze in shock the moment he saw him.

"Who are you? Why have you come to my Falling Star Pavilion?" Elder Feng's eyes narrowed, and a terrifying storm of Dou Qi began to swirl above his head.

"Big brother, you're alive!"

Xiao Yan was both surprised and delighted. He hadn't expected his fellow villager—whom he hadn't seen in years—to suddenly appear at the Falling Star Pavilion. Back in his days at Jia Nan Academy, he had heard that Qian Renhan had been hunted down by an expert from the Gu Clan and had fled into the magma beneath the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower, completely vanishing afterward. Xiao Yan had always assumed he had perished.

Qian Renhan nodded slightly. A ball of white light emerged from his storage ring—it was Yao Chen. Yao Chen looked at Xiao Yan with warmth in his eyes and smiled gently. "Little Yan, you've grown up."

Upon seeing Yao Chen, Xiao Yan dropped to his knees in excitement, his eyes reddening. "Teacher, you've escaped!"

"What are you crying for? A man doesn't shed tears easily. You're my disciple, aren't you? Get up," Yao Chen scolded, then turned to Elder Feng with a sharp look. "Feng Xian, isn't it a bit disgraceful to speak ill of me in front of my disciple?"

Feng Xian replied flatly, "What I said was the truth."

Though Yao Chen and Feng Xian were bickering, their eyes betrayed the joy of two old friends reunited.

Soon after, Elder Feng cupped his hands toward Qian Renhan. "Sir, I apologize for releasing my aura earlier. Since you've rescued Elder Yao, you are now a valued guest of the Falling Star Pavilion. If there's anything you need, as long as it's within our capabilities, feel free to ask."

Qian Renhan paused in thought. He did have something in mind—information about places in the Dou Qi Continent similar to the Death Soul Mountain Range, where chilling energy permeated the terrain. As one of the four major pavilions of Central Continent, the Falling Star Pavilion's intelligence network was far superior to him wandering aimlessly. So, he agreed to stay temporarily—and perhaps enjoy a few good meals while he was at it.

"Teacher, take a look," Xiao Yan said, flicking his finger. A jade bottle flew from his storage ring. As his finger brushed the bottle's mouth, a faint soul form shot out in a panic.

"Xiao Yan, what will it take for you to let me go?!" Han Feng's soul emerged from the bottle, howling in fury. But his roar was abruptly cut short as terror overtook his expression.

"Yao Chen! Elder Feng!"

Elder Feng's gaze turned icy. He curved his palm into a claw and pulled Han Feng's soul through the air with a terrifying suction force, clutching his neck like an eagle gripping its prey. "You bastard! You dared raise a hand against your own teacher? If not for Yao Chen, you'd have been torn apart by wild dogs long ago. You disgraceful beast!"

Yao Chen's eyes dimmed, and his face filled with complexity and sorrow. He had raised and nurtured this child with painstaking care, watching him grow into a man. Even if his own blood had betrayed him, the emotional wound would not have been deeper. That teacher-disciple bond—almost like father and son—wasn't something that could be severed so easily. After thirty years, Han Feng still refused to call him teacher.

"Master, please spare me! I was momentarily blinded by greed and deceived by the Hall of Souls. Please, have mercy!" Han Feng begged Yao Chen desperately. He knew better than anyone that his master had always favored him the most.

"The Hall of Souls again! Those damned bastards!" Upon hearing the name, Elder Feng's expression darkened further. He gritted his teeth and then let go, saying, "Yao Chen, he's your disciple. You decide his fate."

Yao Chen and Xiao Yan both fell silent, the only sound left in the air was Han Feng's continuous pleas for mercy.

After a long silence, Yao Chen sighed deeply. His gaze sharpened. With a wave of his hand, the Bone-Chilling Flame that had been sealed in Xiao Yan's mind returned to his palm. A massive hand of pale flames formed, pressing down on Han Feng's soul with crushing force.

Yao Chen's voice was firm and resolute. "From this moment on, I, Yao Chen, have only one disciple—Xiao Yan!"

As he finished speaking, the massive flaming hand descended, utterly erasing Han Feng's soul from existence. Xiao Yan stood frozen beside him, stunned. Yao Chen's fatherly love came so suddenly, and yet Xiao Yan had long since regarded him as a father.

After dealing with Han Feng, Yao Chen turned to Xiao Yan's resolute face, his own expression softening with kindness. "Four-Star Dou Zong, and your soul strength has reached the peak of the Mortal Realm. Little Yan, you haven't let me down. By my estimate, it's only about a year until the Pill Tower's Grand Alchemy Gathering—you should be preparing to participate."

"I won't disappoint you, Teacher. You were once the champion of the Alchemy Gathering—I won't let your name be shamed. I'll bring back the first place and maybe even reclaim the Three Thousand Burning Flame sealed in the Pill Tower," Xiao Yan said, brushing a finger across his upper lip. For a moment, he seemed like the mischievous young man he used to be during his training days with Yao Chen. Yao Chen smiled faintly, the heaviness from executing Han Feng finally easing from his heart.

"I'm not sure if Big Brother will attend the Alchemy Gathering," Xiao Yan mused. "But since the Pill Tower is one of the continent's top forces, even if Big Brother isn't an alchemist, there should still be something there that interests him."

He thought for a moment. The most valuable item he had on him was only a few drops of Seventh-Tier Heavenly Demon Phoenix Essence—he just wasn't sure whether Qian Renhan could use it.

Upon hearing this, Yao Chen's expression grew serious. "Little Yan, there's something I need to tell you. It's about your big brother."

Xiao Yan blinked in confusion. "Teacher, what is it?"

Yao Chen's voice deepened, carrying a weight that made the air still. "It's about Qian Renhan. You can continue being friends with him—you can even trust him—but you absolutely must not become too close."

Xiao Yan's eyes flickered. What did that mean? He could trust him, but not grow too close?

Yao Chen sighed. "Little Yan, I was rescued and brought back by Qian Renhan, so I've had time to observe his character. Qian Renhan is indeed a once-in-a-generation genius—unparalleled in the continent. His talent, intellect, ability, and courage are second to none. But... his heart is far too cold. Or rather, he is utterly indifferent to life itself."

He paused, then asked solemnly, "Let's suppose Qian Renhan were driven to the edge, with no way out except to slaughter tens of thousands of innocent lives in front of him. Only by killing them could he survive. What would you do in that situation?"

Xiao Yan didn't hesitate. "Your disciple would never slaughter innocents! Even if it cost me my life, I'd tear off a piece of the bastard trying to kill me!"

Yao Chen wasn't surprised by his answer. After all, Xiao Yan was the disciple he had personally trained—his greatest source of pride. Taking a deep breath, his voice turned even heavier.

"If it were Qian Renhan, he would kill all those innocent people without the slightest hesitation, gain the power, and then turn back to kill his enemies."

"Teacher... that can't be," Xiao Yan said, blinking again. "Big Brother doesn't seem like that kind of person."

He clearly remembered that both he and Qian Renhan were modern souls, Dragon's heirs who had crossed into this world. They had both received nine years of compulsory education. How could someone like that commit such cruelty?

Sure, Qian Renhan was skilled in killing, looting, and surviving, but his targets were never the innocent. He had never harmed kind-hearted people like Han Yue or Han Xue. Xiao Yan believed he would rather die than commit such acts.

(End of Chapter)