Battle Through the Heavens

The surging waterfall angrily smashed against the rocks as the resulting water vapor enveloped the small valley.

On the empty ground beneath the waterfall, a topless young man carrying a strange looking black sword was dodging whizzing attacks from wooden logs with a serious face. The occasional leaping and swift dodging that he performed was as nimble as a monkey. Under the sunlight, his tall strong body appeared to be relaxed.

A month had passed since Xiao Yan had arrived at the valley. During this period, Xiao Yan spent most of his time on the wooden poles, which resulted in many injuries and bruises on his body that came from being knocked down by these wooden logs.

Naturally, with effort comes reward. The current Xiao Yan was already able to dodge around twelve wooden logs at the same time. This was a great improvement compared to a month ago when he met a shameful end under five wooden logs.

On a huge rock outside the wooden log area, Yao Lao was seated with a smiling gaze as he observed the young man continuing to dodge in between the twelve wooden logs. He nodded slightly and swung his sleeve. One of the last three wooden logs hanging in midair suddenly rushed at Xiao Yan ferociously.

The unexpected attack promptly broke the equilibrium that Xiao Yan and the twelve wooden logs had. The little gaps that Xiao Yan could use were entirely blocked by the newly added wooden log.

Xiao Yan’s face turned serious as his eyes stared intently at the thirteen wooden logs that were coming at him from all directions. In the next moment, a wooden log neared his body, carrying an intense wind pressure that caused Xiao Yan to hold his breath.

Releasing a deep breath, the Dou Qi in Xiao Yan’s body surged forth as he tilted his body and dodged the two wooden logs that were headed for him.

Before he could recover from the angle which he used to dodge, Xiao Yan feet suddenly stepped on the wooden pole, allowing his body to jump to another wooden pole. He moved his head slightly back as another wooden log dangerously flew past his ears.

After one month’s adaptation, Xiao Yan’s dodging speed had far surpassed what it was a month ago. Although the twelve wooden logs’ continuous chain of attacks were always perilously and narrowly avoided, it was difficult for any of them to actually hit his body.

The strong pressure that the wooden logs carried as they narrowly passed him caused pain to well up on Xiao Yan’s skin. However, he did not dare use any Dou Qi to protect his body. At such a moment, every thread of Dou Qi must be used at the most appropriate place. Otherwise, once his Dou Qi was exhausted, what awaited him was the terrible end of being knocked off the poles. Such an ending was what had been accompanying him during this period of time.

A Low Huang Qi Method was far too insufficient to support any squandering by Xiao Yan. Hence, he needed to be extremely thrifty when deciding how each thread of Dou Qi was to be spent.

“If only the Qi Method could evolve. Then I would not need to be so ‘thrifty’…” Xiao Yan could not help but think after dodging the eleventh wooden log.

Just as the wooden log skimmed passed Xiao Yan, the twelfth wooden log came shooting towards him. However, Xiao Yan, who was already prepared, turned his feet on the wooden log. Only his toes were hooked onto the wooden log as he inclined his entire body at a strange angle.

“Schfwaff…” the wooden log whizzed passed him with just a mere half an inch of space. The sharp wind caused Xiao Yan to grimace in pain.

When the tail of the twelfth wooden log passed him, Xiao Yan’s face changed. Behind him was another log that was headed for him at an even faster speed and with greater strength.

In order to adapt to the twelve wooden logs’ attack, Xiao Yan had to spend over twenty days to grasp their timing and attacking orbit. The thirteenth log that Yao Lao added had caused him to be at a loss.

Feeling the approaching wind, Xiao Yan slowly let out a breath in his heart. He suddenly closed his eyes at that moment and listened to the sound of the pressuring wind behind him. The sweat pores on Xiao Yan’s back swayed like tentacles.

With the help of the pressuring air, a faint image tracing the wooden log’s attack appeared in the mind of the close-eyed Xiao Yan. In this timeless mental space, Xiao Yan managed to completely trace the orbit of the attack and the strength it possessed. The best position to dodge it naturally surfaced in his mind.

In the real world, Yao Lao’s eyes brightened when he saw Xiao Yan suddenly closing his eyes. In a somewhat shocked soft voice, he whispered, “This little boy actually knows how to use his spiritual perception?”

When the wooden log appeared in his mind, Xiao Yan’s body became strangely distorted. His two hands hugged his head and his body fell in an upright manner. At the moment he fell, the huge wooden log narrowly passed by his face; the pressuring wind caused Xiao Yan’s ears to swell slightly.

After hazardously dodging the thirteenth wooden log’s attack, Xiao Yan’s feet stepped on the side of a wooden pole, shooting his body upwards and finally landing on the ground. He grabbed his clothes and carelessly pulled them over his body.

Xiao Yan let out a breath and, before hearing Yao Lao’s words, sat upright on the ground and immediately took out a small bottle from his storage ring. He tilted the mouth of the bottle and two medicinal pills rolled out.

“Huh. have I consumed all the ‘Energy Recovery Pills’? It looks like I will have to go and pick some medicinal ingredients.”

Seeing that there were only two pills remaining, Xiao Yan helplessly shook his head. He placed one of them in his mouth and quickly went into his training form.

Seated on the ground, Xiao Yan swiftly entered the training mode. After months of training, he knew that the time after his Dou Qi was exhausted was the best time to train. At this time, all the cells and muscles in his body were far more greedy for Qi than usual.

Following his entrance into training mode and his calm breathing, a faint energy flow spiraled around Xiao Yan’s body. Any energy that came into contact with his skin was greedily consumed, much like a liquid being absorbed by a sponge.

As the training continued, the energy surrounding Xiao Yan’s body grew increasingly dense without any sign of diminishing.

Yao Lao tapped his finger on the rock as he calculated Xiao Yan’s training time. His eyebrows suddenly jumped; the time Xiao Yan took for training was slightly longer than usual.

According to Yao Lao’s calculations, the Dou Qi storage space in Xiao Yan should be approximately full. However, he noticed that Xiao Yan still showed no sign of stopping…

“Don’t tell me… he is about to break through and become a six star Dou Zhe?”

Yao Lao paused his tapping motion and softly spoke with a smile, “Not bad. My baseline was one and a half months to reach a six star Dou Zhe. But it appears that this boy managed to save half a month. It looks like the fight in the forest a while ago had benefited him significantly.”

Staring intently at Xiao Yan who had his eyes closed, the sharp eyed Yao Lao found something amiss. He frowned. “He is a little forceful in his breakthrough. It looks like a little external help is needed.”

After being silent for a while, Yao Lao lifted his finger and a wisp of air shot from his finger. It hit Xiao Yan’s head and instantly knocked him out of his training state.

With his training disrupted, Xiao Yan immediately opened his eyes and glared angrily at Yao Lao. This kind of opportunity to breakthrough was not something that could be easily encountered.

“Stupid. Had you continued to forcefully breakthrough, you would have to take a month to fully recover even if you did successfully become a six star Dou Zhe.”

Hearing this, Xiao Yan promptly languished. Exchanging a month’s worth of time for a breakthrough was clearly a losing proposition. Sighing, Xiao Yan regretfully wailed, “What a good opportunity.”

Rolling his eyes, Yao Lao opened his mouth and scolded, “I didn’t say there was no chance. Get onto the wooden poles immediately. I will use all fifteen wooden logs!”

“Fifteen?” Pulling the corner of his mouth, Xiao Yan wanted to point his middle finger at Yao Lao. His limit was thirteen wooden logs; if there were fifteen wooden logs, he would be instantly knocked off of the wooden poles.

“Idiot, don’t you know to remove the Heavy Xuan Ruler?” Eyeing Xiao Yan who was staying put and refusing to get on the wooden poles, Yao Lao could neither smile nor cry as he scolded, “All you require now is an opportunity and you would be able to successfully breakthrough. Stop procrastinating!”

Hearing that he could remove the Heavy Xuan Ruler, Xiao Yan’s eyes brightened. He bent his legs and with a low groan, he grabbed the ruler’s handle and pulled it off with his strength before stabbing it into the ground.

Once the Heavy Xuan Ruler left his body, Xiao Yan felt that his body appeared to be floating. The Dou Qi inside him exploded like a volcanic eruption and surged through his Qi Paths. A feeling of increased strength spread throughout Xiao Yan’s body accompanied with the continuous cracking sound of his bones.

Once again Xiao Yan felt as if he had been reborn. This feeling was like taking a sip of water on a hot day. All of his pores emitted a relaxed feeling that came from deep within him.

Stepping lightly on the ground, Xiao Yan felt that his body was as light as feather. He raised his head and watched the fifteen wooden logs that were hanging in midair. Grinning, he stepped off the ground, shot his body onto a wooden pole like a cannonball and stood upright.

“Come!”

Xiao Yan spread his arms and waved at Yao Lao. After being relieved of his burden, he was confident that he could withstand being attacked by fifteen wooden logs simultaneously.

“Good attitude.”

Seeing that Xiao Yan’s confidence had grown, Yao Lao smiled. With a wave of his sleeve, a violent wind blew and the fifteen logs shook. A moment later, they were accompanied by a ferocious force as they rushed at Xiao Yan from all directions.

Watching the wooden logs that were smashing through the air towards him, Xiao Yan pursed his lips. His feet stepped lightly on the wooden pole and proactively moved towards it.

Under the control of Yao Lao, the fifteen wooden logs above the wooden poles formed an attack without any gaps. Under their simultaneous attacks, a strong wind blew the leaves and grass off the ground and scattered them in the air.

Without the burden of the Heavy Xuan Ruler, Xiao Yan’s speed increased by over two times. The dodging motion of his body appeared totally natural and the black glue under his feet was no longer able to slow him down.

Under the heavy attacks, the figure of the young man on the wooden poles continuously appeared and disappeared. The fifteen wooden logs repeated attacks were totally evaded by Xiao Yan who had been relieved of his burden,

Seeing Xiao Yan astutely dodging within the training ground, Yao Lao nodded his head. A hint of admiration briefly appeared in his old eyes; Xiao Yan’s performance without his burden had exceeded his expectation.

After the last wooden log was precariously dodged by Xiao Yan, the ten plus wooden logs that were shaking unsteadily in midair suddenly stopped.

Slowly letting out a breath, Xiao Yan stood like a stilt on a wooden pole as he swallowed the last ‘Energy Recovery Pill’. After a brief silence, a faint energy flow suddenly and strangely swarmed around him and wildly flowed into his body.

As more and more energy was poured into Xiao Yan, a pale yellow light appeared on his body. His delicate and handsome face was like a piece of warm jade and after a while, he opened his eyes, revealing an essence like light in his pupils.

After taking a long and deep breath, Xiao Yan tilted his head and eyed Yao Lao behind him. His face was filled with a brilliant smile.

“I’ve broken through!”

Hearing this, Yao Lao smiled and nodded. His gaze carried some satisfaction.

Upon breaking through to a six star Dou Zhe, Xiao Yan’s strength was once again enhanced significantly. Additionally, he was also able to dodge all fifteen wooden logs with the Heavy Xuan Ruler on his back after another three days of training. This obvious improvement caused him to smile widely.

Having become accustomed to the attack by fifteen wooden logs, Xiao Yan was finally able to avoid being bruised all over like he had been in the past when training against the logs. The peaceful days that followed gave Xiao Yan great joy.

……

Under the dense cover of trees, Xiao Yan walked with the Heavy Xuan Ruler on his back. His gaze continued to sweep around him. After the day’s training was over, he had come out of the valley to look for the medicinal ingredients for the ‘Energy Recovery Pill’.

The ‘Energy Recovery Pill’ was something extremely important to Xiao Yan’s training. With it, he could save more than half the time he need to recover his Dou Qi. Most importantly, time was something that Xiao Yan currently needed.

Although Xiao Yan had finally become a true first tier alchemist with the growth of his strength, the ‘Energy Recovery Pill’ was a second tier medicine that he, with the ability of a first tier alchemist, could not refine. Hence, refining the ‘Energy Recovery Pill’ was something that he had to rely on Yao Lao for.

Additionally, the medicinal ingredients needed to refine the ‘Energy Recovery Pill’ were quite rare. Back then in Wu Tan City, Xiao Yan could only find enough medicinal ingredients to refine ten pills. Under normal circumstances, just finding the medicinal ingredients would consume a significant amount of Xiao Yan’s time.

However, Xiao Yan could sigh in relief as this was the Mystical Beast Mountain Range where there was an abundance of medicinal ingredients. Out of the five medicinal ingredients needed to refine the ‘Energy Recovery Pill’, four had been found by Xiao Yan in significant quantity. If he could find the last and the most important ingredient, ‘Red Spiritual Recovery Fruit’, a sufficient number of pills could be refined for Xiao Yan’s use.

The ‘Red Spiritual Recovery Fruit’ usually grew in places where energy was dense. Of course, this was not always a given but it was better for Xiao Yan to search along the lines of this clue than to blindly look for it.

Relying on his outstanding spiritual perception, Xiao Yan could vaguely feel the surrounding energy abundance and rough positions of high energy places. His current path was headed towards a place where he sensed the energy was the most dense at.

Noon was a time that the Magic Beasts seldom roamed around. Understanding this, Xiao Yan picked this time to search for the medicinal ingredients. During his journey, he rarely met any Magic Beast roaming in search of food. The one or two of them that he occasionally found were avoided when he detected them.

Xiao Yan’s figure quickly passed through the cover of some bushes. Following which, a small pile of rubble became visible to his eyes. Behind the pile of rocks was a mountain wall with green ivy creeping all over it.

Eyeing the pile of rubble, Xiao Yan rubbed his hands. From his spiritual awareness, the energy that was aggregated around that area was the densest in the surrounding region.

Xiao Yan’s gaze, which was focused on the pile of rubble, was slowly sweeping the area and a moment later, it paused on a purple colored sapling on the mountain wall. The sapling grew from within the mountain wall. On it, green and red colors were interwoven because hiding under the green leaves were stealthily hidden red fruits that were emitting a faint fragrance.

“Red Spiritual Recovery Fruit…” Staring at that sapling, Xiao Yan smiled and heaved a sigh of relief. After searching for two days, he had finally found it.

The medicinal ingredient he needed was just in front of him but Xiao Yan did not hurry out. He knew that where there was a dense energy and rare medicinal herbs, there was likely a Magic Beast guarding it.

Xiao Yan’s eyes cautiously swept across his surroundings but did not find the trace of any Magic Beast. He frowned. After another brief silence, Xiao Yan slowly left his hiding place when he found no sign of any Magic Beast appearing. Then he slowly and carefully headed for the purple-colored small tree.

As his footsteps approached the tree, a cold feeling suddenly appeared in his heart. He halted his footsteps and pressed his eyebrows together before turning around and runing.

“Bang!”

Just as Xiao Yan turned around, a huge white figure suddenly descended the peak of the mountain wall, smashing onto the ground. Like a small hill, it completely blocked Xiao Yan’s path of retreat.

Seeing the sudden appearance of a huge Magic Beast, Xiao Yan felt a chill run down his spine. His body froze on the spot, not daring to move.

The beast that had appeared before Xiao Yan was a huge white Magic Ape. This Magic Ape was around two to three meters tall and its entire body was covered by long, snow-white hair. Its white fangs extended out of its sinister, huge mouth. From its pair of blood red eyes, a brutal killing intent was being emitted.

Xiao Yan’s eyes scanned the Magic Ape’s white body and took in a cold breath. “A rank two Magic Beast, Blizzard Magic Ape?”

“Bang, Bang!”

The Magic Beast held a coarse breath, its pair of blood red eyes stared intently at the human who had trespassed on its territory. Its huge claws smashed onto the ground, turning a couple of rocks to dust.

Eyeing the Magic Ape which showed no sign of hiding its killing intent, Xiao Yan swallowed his saliva. A rank two Magic Beast; its strength was equivalent to that of a human Dou Shi. With his current strength, fighting a rank two Magic Beast was no different than seeking death.

“Teacher?” Xiao Yan shouted in his heart but there was no response. His face became bitter, “Stop fooling around. This is a rank two Magic Beast…”

After his fruitless attempt at calling for help, Xiao Yan could only return his gaze to the Magic Ape’s body and study it carefully. When he did so, he found that there was a terrifying gash on the abdomen of this Magic Ape.

The gash nearly ripped apart the Magic Ape’s abdomen and when it moved its body, fresh blood came pouring out of the wound which painted the surrounding white hair scarlet.

From the appearance of the terrifying wound, it was likely caused by the claws of some savage Magic Beast. A wounded Magic Beast was usually crazy and the unlucky Xiao Yan happened to coincidentally trespass upon the territory of this severely wounded Magic Beast.

Xiao Yan’s eyes narrowed as he stared intently at the frightening wound where fresh blood continued to flow. An idea struck him. Although he was not able to defeat a rank two Magic Beast under normal circumstances, the current situation seemed to be in his favor.

“Dammit. It’s you who started this…” After scolding hatefully, Xiao Yan took off the Heavy Xuan Ruler from his back and fiercely stabbed it into the ground. The circumstances did not allow him to hold back.

Xiao Yan’s action appeared to be nothing but a challenge to the angry Magic Ape. Immediately, this Magic Ape pounded its claws on its hard chest, emitting a clanging sound.

The Magic Beast’s charging towards Xiao Yan, its red eyes staring at the latter. On the beast’s huge claws, a white-colored energy was swiftly being gathered. Almost instantly, the surrounding air turned cold.

Stepping lightly off the ground, Xiao Yan softly cried, “Purple Cloud Wings: Activate!”

Following his voice, a pair of black eagle wings that were two to three meters long suddenly shot out of Xiao Yan’s back. The wings flapped and with the help of the lift created, Xiao Yan quickly flew over ten meters above the ground.

“Roar!” the Magic Ape roared violently as the cold, white energy formed into a ball. It was released from the Magic Ape’s palm and shot towards Xiao Yan.

A month of agility training had endowed Xiao Yan with a monkey-like nimbleness. He strangely moved aside and easily avoided the Magic Ape’s attack.

After evading the attack, Xiao Yan curled his palm and aimed at the sinister looking wound on the Magic Ape’s abdomen and softly growled in a cold voice, “Vacuum Hand!”

Following his words, a ferocious suction force was emitted from his palm. Even the broken rocks on the ground were pulled by the suction force and shot at Xiao Yan.

“Roar!” The ferocious suction force pulled on the Magic Ape until its body was tilted sideways. When it finally stabilized its body, however, a huge pain erupted from its abdomen. Lowering its head, it found that blood continued to flow out like water from the wound that had yet to completely close.

The intense pain caused the mad Magic Ape to lose its sense of reasoning. With footsteps that vibrated the ground, it stomped towards Xiao Yan with killing intent.

Using his litheness, Xiao Yan managed to avoid all of the Magic Ape’s attacks. His palm repeatedly emitted a suction force that drew more fresh blood from within the Magic Ape.

On the pile of rubble, a strange scene was being enacted. The exceedingly mad Magic Ape unceasingly and angrily smashed at the small human figure beside him. Having lost its reasoning, it was no different from an ordinary Magic Beast. The human figure beside him was like a mosquito that continued to draw a large amount of blood from the Magic Beast’s abdomen each time he waved his hand.

The pile of rocks were entirely covered by bright red fresh blood, giving it a frightening appearance.

After a while of running around the Magic Ape, Xiao Yan was at his limit. He pulled out another suction force and this time around, pulled the intestines of the Magic Ape out along with more blood.

Being struck by a fatal blow, the Magic Ape roared a final time before dying. It fell heavily like a small hill collapsing while keeping its huge blood red eyes open.

At the moment when the Magic Ape fell, Xiao Yan’s weakened body also collapsed onto the ground. He ignored the blood blanketing the ground as he laid on the ground and took in huge gulps of breath.

After lying on the pile of rocks for a long while, Xiao Yan finally managed to slowly regain some of his strength. He eyed the Magic Ape’s corpse a short distance away and could not help but feel a lingering fear in his heart. Had he not risen to a six star Dou Zhe or had the Magic Ape not been seriously wounded and lost its sense of reasoning due to the pain, it was likely that the one who would have died here today would have been himself…

“Little boy, you actually managed to kill a rank two Magic Beast. Tsk tsk, amazing…” Yao Lao floated out from the ring and smiled when he observed the huge corpse.

Xiao Yan threw the smiling Yao Lao a disdainful look. He got up snappily and threw a phrase ‘Watch my back’ before forming his training pose and recovering the exhausted Dou Qi in his body.

Watching Xiao Yan close his eyes and recover his energy, Yao Lao floated in midair and acted as his guard.

Half an hour later, Xiao Yan finally slowly opened his eyes. His hands felt a little numb but his body was finally filled with Dou Qi.

“The energy here is quite good.” Xiao Yan mumbled as he stood up. He patted his hand and frowned, “The current ‘Flame Mantra’ is really too lousy. It only supported me for ten minutes. Had the Magic Ape held on a little longer, the one who would have fallen would have been me.”

“Hummph. It is really lousy.” Yao Lao was fairly honest regarding this point. Even if the ‘Flame Mantra’ had great potential, its starting point was too low. Its stamina or endurance in battles was plainly too weak.

“Ugh. When can I find a suitable Heavenly Flame…” Xiao Yan faced the sky and sighed. The pre-evolved ‘Flame Mantra’ was going to be his weakness for quite a long time.

Xiao Yan shook his head and sighed as he walked towards the small sapling. He plucked the thirty-plus ‘Red Spiritual Recovery Fruit’ on it, placed them in a small jade bottle and stored it in his storage ring.

Once the ‘Red Spiritual Recovery Fruit’ was properly taken care of, Xiao Yan took out a dagger from the storage ring and headed for the Blizzard Magic Ape’s corpse. He then proceeded to cut open its head.

“Heh, there was a Magic Stone?”

Cutting open the Magic Ape’s head, a snow-white Magic Stone which emitted a slight chill appeared within Xiao Yan’s sight.

Xiao Yan happily retrieved the Magic Stone, this was the first time he had encountered a Magic Stone of this grade. Somewhat excitedly flinging it about, he grasped it in his hand while the faint chill caused him to shiver slightly. At once, he made haste to carefully store it in the Storage Ring.

“Lets go.” Xiao Yan packed up his things and waved his finger as Yao Lao shot back into the ring.

Rubbing the simple ring on his hand, Xiao Yan lifted the Black Xuan Ruler onto his back before taking firm and stable strides as he traveled slowly down the path he had come from.

Leaving the pile of rubble, Xiao Yan travelled through the dense forest to quickly return to the valley. As a result of the battle, Xiao Yan was covered entirely in blood, thus he applied a layer of grass paste over his body which helped mask the scent of blood. It was an essential item while in the forest.

Once again stealthily journeying a length of distance, Xiao Yan’s footsteps abruptly stopped, he could sense faint voices coming from somewhere to his left.

Xiao Yan’s brows slightly wrinkled as he swept his gaze over the area before rapidly burrowing into a nearby thicket. Through a small crack in the grass, he unhurriedly observed the surroundings.

Not long after Xiao Yan had hidden himself, two figures slowly appeared within Xiao Yan’s line of sight. When he moved his gaze to sweep across the duo’s chest, the look on his face slightly changed. In his heart, he cursed in a cold and soft voice, “They are from the Wolf Head Mercenaries?”

“I think…… we had better stop here. If we continue, we would be entering into the inner section of the Magic Beast Mountain Range. The Magic Beasts there could easily kill us with a single swipe.” Slowly walking over, one of the mercenaries suggested, a look of worry on his face.

At his companion’s words, the other mercenary also somewhat helplessly nodded his head in agreement, swearing, “Damnit, where exactly is that brat hiding? The commander has already given the death order, we must find that bastard dead or alive.”

“Maybe he has already been eaten by a Magic Beast and become mud. Heh heh……”

“Heh, that could be possible. Looking at his age, he doesn’t seem like he has much experience in the forest given his age…… Forget it, let our search end here today. We’ll return to report and continue tomorrow.” One of the mercenaries said as he frowned before pausing his steps to peer into the already somewhat dark forest.

“En, too bad, that brat is worth eight thousand gold. If we have the good luck to encounter him, judging by both of our strengths as five star Dou Zhes, stopping him should not be difficult.” The other mercenary nodded before regretfully voicing his thoughts.

“Heh, lucky him, lets go.”

The mercenary smiled as he nodded. However, just as he turned around, his complexion abruptly changed. Turning back like lightning, a fierce Qi heading right for his head greeted him.

This sudden attack caused the mercenary to extend out a fist out of reflex to clash heavily with the incoming fist. However, the strength in the Qi attack had wildly exceeded his expectations.

After making contact, the mercenary’s face turned a deathly pale, his chest felt blocked as he violently spit out a mouthful of blood while his body was flung away through the air.

“Kill him!” In the split second before he was sent flying, the mercenary hastily shouted at his companion who had been thrown into a daze by the sudden turn of events.

However, before his shout faded, to his horror, he found that his body which was flying backwards was suddenly pulled forward by a strong sucking force.

In midair, a figure flashed forward. As the figure met the mercenary’s body, an elbow ferociously smashed into the mercenary’s throat. Immediately an ominous snapping sound echoed about the empty forest.

“Bang……” Still in the air, the mercenary’s limp body fell downwards, heavily crashing onto the ground and causing a cloud of dust to splash up.

Between the start of the sudden attack and the mercenary’s demise, only a short seven or eight seconds had passed. By the time the other mercenary regained his senses, he found that his companion had already lost his breath of life.

Overwhelmed with shock, the remaining mercenary lifted his head as he gazed in alarm at the nearby figure who was soaked in a layer of blood. Somewhat stuttering, he yelled, “Who are you? Why did you attack us?”

“Hehe, weren’t you all looking for me?” The figure raised it’s head, revealing the smiling face of a handsome youngster.

“You’re.. Xiao Yan?” The mercenary’s pupils shrunk and after shouting the name, he suddenly turned and ran. While escaping, his hands quickly fished out a signal beacon. Just as he prepared to fire it, the sucking force behind him rose sharply and the signal beacon flew out of his hands…

Easily catching the signal beacon, Xiao Yan fiddled with it for a while before storing it in the Storage Ring. He pressed down lightly with his foot and his body suddenly shot towards the mercenary.

Looking at Xiao Yan’s fierce approach, panic flashed across the mercenary’s face. With a choking sound, he drew the sword at his waist before viciously hacking at Xiao Yan in anger.

Xiao Yan’s body slightly leaned to one side, easily dodging the mercenary’s attacks. In a flash, Xiao Yan’s left leg ferociously kicked out, immediately landing on the lower abdomen of the mercenary.

Receiving a heavy blow to his lower abdomen, the mercenary groaned as a line of blood sprouted from the corner of his mouth. Staggering back a few steps, he saw the figure in front of him flash as the sword in his hand was snatched away which was followed by an ice-cold feeling of metal on his neck.

“If you make another move.. I will cut open your neck.”

The soft devilish voice slowly sounded in the mercenary’s ear, causing him to freeze up stiffly on the spot.

“You… If you kill me, the Wolf Head Mercenaries will never let you go!” A layer of cold sweat appeared on the mercenary’s forehead as he threatened in a rough voice.

“Hehe, let me go? All of you have never intended let me go, right?” Sneering as he laughed, Xiao Yan emotionlessly continued, “Answer a few questions for me.”

“Will you let me go after I answer?”

“You do not have the right to choices.” All smiles, Xiao Yan pushed the sword slightly closer, “If you don’t believe me, I can make tens of cuts on your body before throwing you into a flesh-eating ant’s nest?”

At these words, the mercenary’s face immediately turned a few shades paler. His legs continuously trembled, regretting that he thought the youth who looked like he was in his teens wouldn’t be malicious.

“What do you want to ask?”

“Did Mu Li obtain anything from the stone case in the cave? He seems to lack the key right?” Xiao Yan smiled savagely as he inquired.

“Commander Mu Li moved both the stone case and the stone table back, as for what was contained within, I do not have the authority to know.”

Eyeing the mercenary who seemed to be telling the truth, Xiao Yan’s brows slightly creased, “How much is the bounty the Wolf Head Mercenaries placed on me?”

“Gu.” The mercenary swallowed before nodding his head with some difficulty, “Since the young commander returned, the commander has issued a statement that whoever reports any traces of you to the Wolf Head Mercenaries will be given a high reward.”

“Hehe, I can’t believe that they are actually so deathly persistent…” Lightly chuckling, Xiao Yan had a cold murderous intent in his face.

“One last question, did anything happen to the Little Fairy Doctor?”

“Nothing. After returning to Qingshan town, the Little Fairy Doctor has not left the Thousand Medicinal House. The commander and the rest dare not make a move.” Eyes turning, the mercenary stealthily slipped a dagger out of his sleeve.

“Oh…” Slightly nodding his head, Xiao Yan raised his brows. An unsympathetic smile suddenly appeared on his face, “Looks like you also know that I never intended to let you go back alive.”

“So, you can go and die!” An ominous glint flashed in the mercenary’s eyes as the dagger in his hand suddenly thrust towards Xiao Yan’s chest.

With an icy smile, Xiao Yan floated backwards, the sword in his hand pulled away as a trace of blood appeared on the blade.

Looking at the lightly twitching body of the fallen mercenary, Xiao Yan let loose a cold sneer. He had never planned to let this person return to make a report, which would lead to a huge troop being dispatched to the areas around here.

“Tch, tch. Looks like the commander of the Wolf Head Mercenaries is also a very vicious and thorough person. No wonder he fathered a son like Mu Li.” With a somewhat gloomy and cold smile, Xiao Yan carefully cleaned up any traces of the fight before dragging the two bodies some distance away to throw them into an abyss.

“Teacher, looks like we need to tighten our training schedule. In just a month, they’ve managed to come so far. Perhaps in a few more days, they will be able to find the place…” Xiao Yan said as his mouth twitched. Casting a glance at the endless abyss, Xiao Yan clapped his hands together as if to wipe off the grime from the bodies on his hands.

“En. Indeed, the schedule needs to be tightened.” From the ring, Yao Lao’s faint voice emerged.

Xiao Yan blinked as he laughed while clicking his fingers together. A small smile on his face, he asked, “Teacher, when will you honor the promise of the Di Rank Dou Technique?”

“Heh heh, little brat, don’t think that a Di Rank Dou Technique is the same as a Xuan Rank Dou Technique. To learn this thing, you need to be prepared for a world of pain!” Yao Lao maliciously laughed.

“Have I not already gone through a lot of hardship?” Feeling his face, Xiao Yan lightly smiled and then turned to travel towards the valley.

“I look forward to the so-called Di Rank Dou Technique. Exactly how strong will it be?”