Brothers Reunited

On his way to the council hall, Xiao Kun noticed that everyone in the Mo Iron Mercenary Group was discussing Xiao Yan's imminent arrival.

It seemed that Xiao Yan's rescue had not only won him the goodwill of many mercenaries, but had also made everyone intensely curious about this newly arrived brother of their leader.

Xiao Kun could not help but sigh. Xiao Yan's knack for running into trouble wherever he went was still going strong.

After all, in the nearly half year Xiao Kun had spent here, the Mo Iron Mercenary Group had only encountered snake people ambushes twice.

Yet Xiao Yan had run into one the moment he arrived.

Though lost in thought, Xiao Kun did not slow his pace.

A moment later, after turning down a side path, the spacious council hall came into view.

Pushing open the doors to the council hall, Xiao Kun found that Xiao Ding and Xiao Li had indeed been waiting inside for some time.

Xiao Ding sat calmly in a chair, while Xiao Li stood in the middle of the hall, pacing anxiously.

Seeing this, Xiao Kun first nodded to each of his two brothers in greeting.

After casually taking a seat beside Xiao Ding, he turned his head and asked, "I heard from Qing Lin that Xiao Yan has also come to the Tagor Desert. And as soon as he arrived, he saved some mercenaries attacked by the snake people, and is now on his way back with them?"

"Yes! I wonder how much Little Yanzi's cultivation has improved. But if he could defeat a squad of snake people, he must have made considerable progress!" Before Xiao Ding could answer, Xiao Li, who had been waiting impatiently, strode over and eagerly answered first.

"Mm-hm. In that case, after all these years, the four of us brothers can finally reunite today." Xiao Kun nodded with a smile, clearly delighted.

The three then continued chatting enthusiastically for quite a while.

After some time, they suddenly heard footsteps outside, drawing closer and closer.

Their conversation immediately stopped. All three turned to look toward the door, and when they saw the familiar handsome face of the newcomer, joy spread across their faces.

At that moment, Xiao Yan, who was slowly approaching the council hall from outside, focused his gaze and saw his brothers inside smiling at him.

His steps paused for a moment before he quickly strode into the hall.

Watching Xiao Yan hurry toward them, Xiao Kun's smile deepened slightly.

"Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother!" As soon as Xiao Yan entered the hall, he greeted the three of them.

"Mm." The three nodded in turn.

"Fourth Brother, why did you come all the way to the Tagor Desert?"

"Yeah! Why didn't you go to Jia Nan Academy? What are you doing here?" Xiao Ding and Xiao Li asked one after the other.

"I'm here to train hard. After all, the Three-Year Agreement is almost here." Xiao Yan shrugged with a smile.

"The Three-Year Agreement?" Xiao Ding and Xiao Li froze.

"Yes, the Three-Year Agreement. Back then, Nalan Yanran of the Nalan Family came to our clan to break off the engagement. With Father and me intervening, Xiao Yan made the Three-Year Agreement with her. Thinking about it now, only half a year remains." Seeing their confusion, Xiao Kun explained with a trace of gravity.

Then he turned to Xiao Yan with a bright smile and praised, "But Fourth Brother is talented and hardworking. He's already an eight-star Dou Shi. By the time of the duel in half a year, he'll at least be a Da Dou Shi. You'll definitely win back this honor for the Xiao Family."

Xiao Yan gave a wry smile before saying with some admiration, "My talent is far inferior to Third Brother's. Third Brother has become more and more formidable—you saw through my cultivation level at a glance."

"That's right. In half a year, Fourth Brother will definitely defeat that Nalan Yanran with ease!" After exchanging a glance, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li said solemnly.

To celebrate Xiao Yan's arrival, the four brothers drank heartily once again that day.

The next day, Xiao Kun sat cross-legged on his bed. Recalling their heartfelt conversation from the night before, he could not help but smile knowingly.

However, judging by the time, Medusa would likely soon force her evolution. Pill King Gu He, Yun Yun, and their group would also be arriving in the Tagor Desert.

Speaking of Medusa's evolution, Xiao Kun had considered whether it might be much safer if he controlled the Heavenly Flames himself.

But no matter how hard he thought, he could not find a way to make Medusa trust him.

After all, evolving with Heavenly Flames was far too dangerous. Even in the original story, Medusa had narrowly escaped death, so there was no way she would easily entrust her life to someone else.

In the end, unable to come up with a solution, Xiao Kun could only abandon this naive idea.

Two days later, having made almost all the necessary preparations, Xiao Kun planned to head for the Snake People Tribe.

He first informed Xiao Ding and Xiao Li, who often worked with him on the mercenary group's affairs.

Then he went straight to Xiao Yan's residence, intending to bid him farewell.

After knocking and entering, Xiao Kun sensed that the energy concentration in Xiao Yan's room was slightly higher than usual. Under Xiao Yan's somewhat curious gaze, he smiled and said, "Fourth Brother, you were cultivating just now, weren't you? The energy gathered during your cultivation hasn't even dispersed yet."

"Yes. My cultivation is still too low, so I need to work even harder." Xiao Yan was somewhat impressed that Xiao Kun could notice even such a detail.

However, he still did not understand why Xiao Kun had come to see him at this time.

"I know you're still worried about the Three-Year Agreement, which is why you've been cultivating so diligently. As it happens, I recently obtained some treasures that are no longer very useful to me, but they can give you a helping hand and make you more confident in the Three-Year Agreement."

Seeing the confusion in Xiao Yan's eyes, Xiao Kun directly revealed the purpose of his visit.

Hearing Xiao Kun's words, Xiao Yan first felt a warmth in his heart, followed by intense curiosity.

He wondered what surprise this Third Brother, who repeatedly produced treasures he normally never got to see, would bring him this time.

He could only rise to his feet and solemnly thank him. "Thank you, Third Brother."

Seeing how serious Xiao Yan was, Xiao Kun could not help but chuckle. He hurriedly pressed Xiao Yan back into his seat and said with a smile, "There's no need to be so formal between brothers."

Xiao Kun then took out the lotus pedestal and an Earth Fire Lotus Seed from his Storage Ring—the items he had obtained with Qing Lin in the magma cave—and handed them to Xiao Yan.

In truth, during these past few months at the Mo Iron Mercenary Group, Xiao Kun had considered giving these items to Xiao Ding and Xiao Li.

But after considering that these two items were most useful to Fire Attribute cultivators, while neither Xiao Ding nor Xiao Li possessed the Fire Attribute—

—and that Xiao Yan had greater talent, and had obtained them in the original story as well—he had ultimately let the matter drop.

This time, Xiao Kun had given Xiao Yan only the lotus pedestal and a single Earth Fire Lotus Seed because he had his own considerations.

He was operating under the mindset that the less he gave at once, the higher the critical hit multiplier would be.

Moreover, half a year had passed since his previous gift, so Xiao Kun had high hopes for the critical hit multiplier from this one.

As Xiao Yan looked at the items Xiao Kun handed over, his pupils involuntarily contracted.

Although Xiao Kun had yet to explain what they were, Xiao Yan had already glimpsed the tip of the iceberg of their true value from their appearance alone.

Looking at the crystal-clear lotus pedestal, exquisite as a work of art, and the gleaming lotus seed overflowing with vast, pure Fire Attribute energy, Xiao Yan was once again shaken by Xiao Kun's generosity.