Tyrannical Slaughter, Unification of Wutan!

Xiao Yan's tone was flat, but the pressure radiating from him made cold sweat drip from the foreheads of everyone present.

Just as the atmosphere fell into silence, the guards behind the Xiao Family suddenly collapsed limply to the ground, one after another.

Several black-robed figures darted swiftly from the Xiao Family's ranks, slipping into the camps of the two rival families.

The Xiao Family disciples erupted in chaos, panic and unease spreading through their ranks.

Xiao Zhan and the few elders were nearly splitting their eyes with fury: "Xiao Hong? Xiao Yue?"

"The Xiao Family treated you well—how could you commit such treason!"

"There are even your own kin in the Xiao Family. Are you willing to watch them be slaughtered?"

"You—"

Xiao Zhan's bitter words had barely left his mouth, and he'd only managed one syllable of the next sentence before Gale Bi had no chance to sneer.

Xiao Yan cut him off: "Father, why waste words on a few worthless traitors?"

"Leave everything to me!"

The nine fire dragons raised their heads and roared at the heavens, the Dragon Roar shattering the Dou Qi Armor of the Allied Forces.

"A bunch of scum dares to run wild in my Xiao Mansion?"

"Then I'll grant you a one-way ticket to hell!"

The surging Kirin Devouring Heaven Flame coiled and erupted around Xiao Yan, forming a blazing Kirin Phantom at his side.

"Urgh..."

The two Second-Rank Alchemists suddenly dropped to their knees, convulsing, pained groans forcing their way from their throats!

The beast flames within their bodies turned into fireflies, burrowing out through their flesh and surging toward the fire dragons, merging into them.

The nine fire dragons coiled in the night sky, their crimson scales casting the entire Xiao Mansion in the light of a hellish furnace.

Gale Bi's sinister grin froze on his face as he saw the bluestone beneath Xiao Yan's feet begin to melt.

Winding threads of fire crawled along the cracks in the ground toward the Allied Forces' formation.

"This—this is a Great Dou Master?"

"How the hell is this just a Great Dou Master!"

The Scarred Man's hand gripping the Horse-Chopping Saber bulged with veins, but suddenly a sharp "crack" rang out from the blade.

The finely forged steel of the saber had been seared with cracks by the intense heat!

Xiao Yan tapped the Heavy Black Ruler with a flick of his finger, and the trembling hum of the ruler turned into a tangible wave of sound.

The front row of thirty Dou Masters suddenly spewed fire from their seven orifices.

"Boom!"

Their eyeballs burst into bloody mist in their sockets, and charred corpses kept their charging postures as they toppled into the fire waves.

"Now..." The youth's voice carried sparks: "Who wants to test my technique?"

Cold sweat dripped from Oba Pa's forehead, but the situation was already like an arrow on a bowstring—there was no turning back!

"Ha!" Oba Pa suddenly lunged, his poisoned dagger splitting into nine streaks of ghostly light: "So what if he's a Seven-Star Great Dou Master?"

"With the nine of us joining forces—"

Before the words finished, a Dragon Roar shattered the air.

A fire dragon dove down, and the ghostly light vaporized the instant it touched the dragon's whiskers.

Oba Pa felt a searing pain in his palm. Looking down, he saw the dagger melting into droplets of molten iron, his right hand already reduced to charred bone!

"Aaaah!"

Amid the screams, the fire dragon pierced straight through him!

His internal organs vaporized before they could even fall.

The lower half of his hollowed corpse kept its running posture as it slammed into the courtyard wall.

On the blue bricks, human-shaped scorch marks were splattered.

Xiao Yan stepped forward slowly atop the fire dragon.

Nine pairs of dragon eyes reflected the twisted faces of the ants before him:

"Eight left."

"Form the formation! Hurry—"

The Scarred Man's roar cut off abruptly as the second fire dragon swept past his head.

When his skull burst from within, the splattering brain matter ignited into sparks midair.

The headless corpse stood for a moment, blood spurting from the neck cavity before being vaporized into crimson mist by the searing heat.

"No... impossible!"

"This can't just be a Da Dou Shi!"

"I don't understand—how did we lose?!"

The Allied Forces began to rout; some dropped their weapons and knelt, begging for mercy.

As their knees touched the onrushing wave of fire, they instantly turned into human torches.

Others tried to scale the walls, only to have crimson claws burst through their backs.

"A demon. This is a demon!"

The Great Elder of the Gale Family tore at his hair in madness, the white strands catching fire the moment they touched the heat wave from the fire dragon's whirlwind.

When the fourth fire dragon swept past, he melted like a wax statue, pooling into boiling plasma on the ground.

Xiao Zhan watched the rain of blood and suddenly noticed that the fire patterns on his son's neck had spread to his cheeks.

Those ancient characters gleamed in the bloodlight—primeval and mighty!

But this scene was truly brutal.

"Yan'er."

He had just opened his mouth when Xiao Xun'er pressed a hand on his shoulder.

A strange light swirled in the girl's eyes, and the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame coiling around her fingertips faintly resonated:

"Uncle Xiao, Brother Xiao Yan needs to vent right now."

The last two Da Dou Shi stood back-to-back, their Dou Qi Armor riddled with cracks.

They watched the fifth fire dragon tear apart their final comrade, then suddenly let out a bitter laugh in unison:

"Death either way—explode!"

A blinding light flared from their Dantians; two six-star Da Dou Shi were about to self-destruct!

The terrifying energy fluctuation collapsed half the front courtyard, and the Xiao Family disciples retreated in panic.

"Annoying."

Xiao Yan frowned as the Heavy Black Ruler slashed down through the air.

Two fire dragons twisted into a spiral, forcibly pressing the self-destruct energy back into the enemies' bodies.

Everyone watched as the two Da Dou Shi swelled rapidly, their skin glowing with molten light beneath.

Finally, with a "bang," they exploded into blood mist—burst apart by their own Dou Qi!

The nine fire dragons returned to his side as Xiao Yan surveyed the ground littered with charred corpses.

Gale Bi collapsed in a pool of blood, a foul liquid seeping from his crotch:

"Don't—don't kill me. I can pledge allegiance to the Xiao Family, and I can also—"

A flash of Crimson Flame, and his head shot into the air. Xiao Yan flicked the blood beads off the ruler:

"You think you're worthy of negotiating with me?"

Three days later, in the Xiao Family ancestral hall.

"Seventeen ore veins from the Gale Family, twenty-one market stalls from the Oba Family—all taken over."

The Great Elder's voice trembled with excitement as the account book in his hands recorded astronomical figures:

"The high-grade pills the Young Master refined fetched a sky-high price at Black Rock City—"

Xiao Yan leaned by the door, toying with the Crimson Flame, and chuckled lightly:

"These trivial matters are for the elders to decide."

Just as he turned around, he saw Xiao Xun'er approaching gracefully, holding a celadon bowl.

The lotus seed soup in the bowl glistened, and he could tell at a glance that rare herbs had been added:

"Is Brother Xiao Yan going on a journey?"

The girl drew close, her fingertips brushing inadvertently across the fire patterns on his neck.

"Some flames must be collected, some people must be killed."

Xiao Yan tipped his head back and drained the bowl of soup.

Lowering it, he suddenly pulled the girl's slender waist close and pressed a kiss to her cherry lips.

The warm, soft touch swept through him like a jolt of electricity.

A trace of sweetness bloomed in his heart.

Breaking the kiss, Xiao Xun'er pushed her hands against Xiao Yan's chest.

A faint blush crept across her fair little face.

Her voice was low, as soft as a mosquito's hum:

"Brother Xiao Yan, there are still people here."

Xiao Yan chuckled softly.

Xun'er was utterly adorable like this—he just hoped that when he returned from his training outside, she'd still be this cute when she saw Xiao Yi Xian and Medusa.

Ignoring the girl's utterly powerless struggles, Xiao Yan gently pressed her into his embrace.

A soft, smooth sensation met him as he rested his head against her neck.

The scent of her hair filled his nostrils, and he spoke softly, tender and lingering:

"Wait for me to come back. I'll teach you how to refine pills."

"Mm."

The sky darkened into dusk.

A crimson meteor streaked across the night sky. Xiao Zhan gazed in the direction his son had gone.

A smile unconsciously tugged at the corner of his lips.

Dozens of miles away, the Yun Lan Elder crushed a Message Jade Slip:

"Sect Leader, the target is heading toward the Monster Beast Mountain Range. Shall we..."