Chapter 169 The Yan Family

Through Shi Yan's introduction, Su Yi finally learned why the four of them were present; they had participated in the Cloud City Tournament held in Yunzhou City.

Speaking of the Cloud City Tournament, it could be considered a regular event in Yunzhou City, designed to give the younger generation of cultivators within the city a proper trial and tempering. Moreover, the top finishers with the best results would receive certain rewards. The reasons Ina and Shi Yan participated in this tournament were twofold: first, among the reward items was a medicinal herb extremely useful for counteracting poison; second, there were rumors that the traces of the Soul-Melting Poison Grass had once again appeared within the Luojia Mountain Range.

Hearing this, Su Yi remembered that back when Ina and others arrived at Changling City, it seemed to be for the purpose of finding a medicine to cure Ina's father. Judging from the present situation, it seemed the problem had not yet been resolved?

"Then is your Cloud City Tournament still ongoing?" Su Yi asked.

"Judging by the timeline, it should still be ongoing, but—" Shi Yan shook his head and said, "However, the four of us are currently planning to head back to Yunzhou City..."

"Oh? Has something happened?" Su Yi pondered and asked.

"An unexpected change has occurred..." Ina, who was standing nearby, glanced at Su Yi and chimed in, "Along the way, we suddenly discovered the corpses of quite a few other contestants. This is highly abnormal. At first, we thought it was the work of certain magical beasts, but after inspecting them, we found that all of them were killed by human hands!"

"That means someone is committing murder in the Luojia Mountain Range? And their targets are those contestants?" Su Yi asked, slightly startled as he frowned.

"Perhaps so, we aren't entirely certain either..." Ina sighed softly and said, "And the most bizarre thing is that the powerful experts sent to protect the scions of those major families seem to have vanished without a trace... Even the several Douluo-level experts sent to protect Miss Yao Fei and Yan Yang have yet to show themselves... Realizing that the situation was deeply amiss, Miss Yao Fei proposed withdrawing from the competition and returning to Yunzhou City, and everyone agreed..."

"Oh, I see... May I ask what Miss Yao Fei's background is—" Su Yi looked at the other party with some surprise. He hadn't expected that although she possessed a certain arrogance, she also seemed quite decisive, remaining relatively calm and composed amidst this sudden upheaval.

"Yao Fei is none other than the daughter of the Yunzhou City Lord, possessing a most noble status. Su Yi, if you can establish a connection with her, it will be of immense benefit to you in the future..." Yan Yang said with a hidden, sarcastic edge. Although he had tried to trick Su Yi just a moment ago, he did not believe Su Yi would dare to do anything to him! Back in Yunzhou City, even against Douluo experts he had once behaved without courtesy, yet in the end, they still hadn't dared to touch him!

So she was also a city lord's daughter. Ignoring Yan Yang, Su Yi nodded inwardly to himself. Speaking of which, that Gelie was also a city lord's daughter, but this current young miss undoubtedly surpassed her greatly in terms of appearance, charm, and strength. Her fair skin and alluring thighs seemed almost dripping with moisture, a beauty that could only be born from a major metropolis like Yunzhou City.

Looking at this noble, somewhat arrogant, yet intensely sexy daughter of the city lord, even Su Yi could not help but experience a momentary urge to conquer her—to shatter her pride and make that tender, highly arousing body crawl, writhe, and moan beneath him!

To be frank, Su Yi possessed the absolute strength to achieve this. None of the four were his match, and this was a deep, secluded mountain forest; he could easily capture Yao Fei as a captive slave. As long as he prevented her from committing suicide, he could enjoy that charming flesh every single night...

Shaking his head slightly, Su Yi banished these thoughts from his mind. Could it be that staying in the uninhabited deep mountains for too long had made him this excited at the mere sight of a woman? Speaking of which, the only woman he had ever shared an intimate relationship with was Lie Feifei. Yet at the mere thought of Lie Feifei's fiery body, Su Yi felt his self-control slipping once again.

With great effort, he calmed his mind, only to hear Yan Yang speak with an arrogant and overbearing expression: "As for me, I am the only son of the Yan family in Yunzhou City! ...Heheh, Su Yi, would you like to follow me? Our Yan family has the backing of the Imperial Extreme Sect, and our future is infinitely bright..."

"...Imperial, Extreme, Sect?!" While Yao Fei and the others merely furrowed their brows imperceptibly, the moment Su Yi heard those three words, his expression instantly turned somewhat gloomy!

He remembered the hunt-down led by the Extreme Medicine Workshop of the Imperial Extreme Sect with absolute clarity; he had not forgotten a single detail! Being hunted down time and time again for no reason—surely no one would let such a matter go easily! Originally, Su Yi had planned to visit Lunluo City when he had the time, but he hadn't expected that a disagreeable person connected to the Imperial Extreme Sect would show up right here and now!

Pondering slightly, a thought stirred in Su Yi's mind, and he began to manipulate the Profound Dragon Tendons hidden deep beneath the earth...

Seeing Su Yi react this way, Yan Yang assumed he was considering the offer and felt a surge of secret pride. The Yan family wasn't a place just anyone could enter; countless people begged, sent gifts, and pulled strings just to get in, and Yan Yang refused to believe Su Yi wouldn't be tempted... Once Su Yi became a member of the Yan family, he would be his subordinate, and after that, he could torture and manipulate him however he pleased?!

Just as Yan Yang was lost in his arrogant daydream, a piercing, agonizing pain suddenly surged up from the soles of his feet! Looking down in shock, he saw that all the toes on his right foot had somehow snapped and detached, leaving only five bleeding stumps spurting fresh blood!

"Ah—!"

With a miserable shriek, Yan Yang's body swayed. He hurriedly used his longsword to prop up his crumbling posture and roared in a fury of pain and confusion: "What is going on?!"

"Su Yi, did you do this?!" Shocked and enraged, Yan Yang's mind plunged into chaos. Without even pausing to think, he directly pointed the finger at Su Yi, perhaps instinctively assuming that only Su Yi held malice toward him.

"I've been standing right here without moving an inch... Am I right, Miss Yao Fei?" Su Yi shrugged, asking with an innocent expression as he looked toward Yao Fei, who had been momentarily stunned by the sudden turn of events.

"Uh, yes... That's right, Su Yi hasn't moved at all... It's impossible for him to have injured you. Yan Yang, could you be mistaken..." Yao Fei was initially startled, not expecting Su Yi to question her. After composing herself, she replied slowly in a light, melodic voice. Her calm and serene tone genuinely carried a certain persuasive quality, and Yan Yang's expression noticeably cooled down considerably.

However, despite saying that, Yao Fei still harbored lingering suspicions, carefully observing Su Yi's expression as if searching for any hidden clues. Although there was no sign of Su Yi making a move during this incident, Su Yi had previously displayed many unexpected feats—whether it was his formidable strength or his ability to detoxify poison. Who could say whether Su Yi possessed the capability to secretly harm others without being detected?

Still, since the injured party was Yan Yang, Yao Fei had no desire to dwell on the matter any further.

Gritting his teeth through the pain and drawing in cold breaths, Yan Yang's expression was no longer panicked, but the look he cast at Su Yi grew even more chilling. Clearly, he had locked onto Su Yi as the prime suspect. For Yan Yang, perhaps no evidence was necessary; if someone displeased him, he would simply kill them. The only reason he hadn't acted yet was because he lacked the certainty of victory...

Looking at Yan Yang's injured foot, Ina and Shi Yan nearby could not help but feel a wave of unease and astonishment. Ina even wore a poor complexion as she tentatively suggested, "Could it be those burrowing magical beasts?" Having said that, she involuntarily shifted her feet, as if something might suddenly burst forth from the earth.

"Alright, it probably isn't very safe here either. Let's leave this place first..." Yao Fei surveyed the surrounding environment. The sky was already growing dim; if possible, it would be best to reach the outer perimeter of the Luojia Mountain Range before nightfall. That way, even without Douluo bodyguards, they would still have a strong chance of escaping the mountain range and returning to Yunzhou City.

"Yan Yang, are you alright? Don't drag us down..." Casting a cool glance at Yan Yang, Yao Fei spoke slowly with a hint of overbearance, her tone laced with hesitation and impatience.

"Of course I'm fine!" Yan Yang's gaze flashed as he let out a heavy, cold snort. How could he let a woman question his competence?! Although his right foot was in blinding pain and every step felt like agony, he was, after all, a Douxiu cultivator. With his battle Qi circulating to protect his body and staunch the bleeding, he could barely manage to walk under the support of his Qi.

"Su Yi, are you coming or not?"

"Hn, I'll accompany you all for a stretch of the road..."

...

The five of them headed south for a short while, though not covering much distance since they had to cautiously scout the path ahead. Just as they identified their direction and were about to resume forging a path, two figures suddenly flashed amidst the jungle and appeared directly in front of the group, whose expressions shifted drastically!