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Commander Han, Han Shan, Two-star Great Dou Shi, commander of the Qingshan Mercenary Group.

One of the only three remaining Da Dou Shi in Qingshan Town. Rock Tiger of the Fierce Beast Mercenary Group was a One-star Great Dou Shi, slightly weaker than Han Shan.

At its peak, Qingshan Town had four Da Dou Shi: Five-star Great Dou Shi Lin Shi, who had already left; Two-star Great Dou Shi Han Shan; One-star Great Dou Shi Rock Tiger; and the disposable Da Dou Shi Mr. Yao.

Uncle Fu had said that Rock Tiger's strength was more or less equal to Mr. Yao's. That meant Mr. Yao had fallen to the level of a disposable One-star Great Dou Shi.

"Hello, Mr. Yao. Hello, Uncle Han!" In the attic on the second floor of Myriad Medicine Hall, Jiang Lin, under Mr. Yao's instructions, introduced himself to Han Shan.

Han Shan was a middle-aged man who looked solid and steady. He smiled and nodded at Jiang Lin, praised him a few times as a promising young hero, then said to Mr. Yao, "Mr. Yao, after I complete one more mission in a month, I may take the brothers and leave. Commander Lin has already established a base in Black Rock City. We can join up with him directly once we get there."

The reason Qingshan Town's three strongest Mercenary Groups were all leaving together was because Lin Shi had established a base in the New World. They only needed to go there and join him. When traveling outside, mercenaries huddling together for warmth was the norm.

For that same reason, Jiang Lin's main enemy was the hidden Pei Suo Artifact Forger, not the other mercenaries.

Only by forcing Pei Suo Artifact Forger into the open could Jiang Lin find a way to kill him.

As long as he killed the hidden instigator, the Fierce Beast Mercenary Group definitely would not say anything and would simply turn around and leave. Of course, Rock Tiger, who had an old grudge against Mr. Yao, might challenge Mr. Yao to a fight before leaving. That was unavoidable, because Rock Tiger was a victim of Mr. Yao's "save the life first" philosophy.

With his thoughts instantly cleared, Jiang Lin immediately understood how to set his trap.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Han Shan, Jiang Lin returned to the Inner Academy and began forging his Black Knight Battle Boots. Inspired by some of the knowledge from the Mystic Armor Puppet Technique, Jiang Lin had a burst of inspiration and quickly finished tuning the Dou Technique model for Light Wind Steps before beginning the forging process.

Howling Moon Wind Wolf Magic Core, Howling Moon Wind Wolf bone powder, Howling Moon Wind Wolf fangs, Purple Fire Gold Ore, Soft Silver Stone.

In the end, after half a month of work, a pair of black light armor battle boots that looked heavy but were actually very light appeared on Jiang Lin's feet.

Now, he was a complete dragon—no, a complete Black Armored Knight.

At the heels of both boots, he had installed an embedded second-tier Wind-element Magic Core. Jiang Lin only needed to stimulate them slightly with his Dou Qi to have the Wind-element Magic Cores continuously apply a buff called Lightness to him. Its effect was to increase Jiang Lin's speed. In practice, it boosted the speed of fully armored Jiang Lin by thirty percent! It was terrifyingly powerful!

But then again, Jiang Lin's Light Wind Steps already used an optimized Dou Technique model and was no longer merely Yellow-grade low-tier. On top of that, it was powered by second-tier Wind-element Magic Cores—two Husband and Wife Magic Cores with highly overlapping energy compatibility!

The only flaw in Jiang Lin's Black Knight Battle Boots was that their batteries were disposable, requiring Jiang Lin to replace the wind-element batteries on schedule. Fortunately, his boots had double batteries. Double Magic Cores gave them tremendous endurance. At present, with Lightness fully activated, the Black Knight Battle Boots could last an entire day. Naturally, Jiang Lin would not keep them activated while eating or sleeping, so their usable time was more than sufficient.

Moreover, the Black Knight Battle Boots made up for one of Jiang Lin's weaknesses: his Explosive Step was extremely hard on shoes and damaged his meridians. But now, Jiang Lin had successfully placed the Explosive Step Dou Technique model onto the soles. As long as he supplied fire-element Dou Qi, he could use the Dou Technique model to unleash Explosive Step while wearing the boots. They might be slightly clumsy, but as long as he had enough Dou Qi, he could keep bursting for an entire day—provided the Dou Artifact boots could withstand it.

In any case, not even a Da Dou Shi could catch Jiang Lin if he kept using Explosive Step. That was enough.

After some thought, Jiang Lin used his remaining time to forge himself a Yellow-grade mid-tier Battle Weapon, a Black Straight Blade. Once his final preparations were complete, when the Qingshan Mercenary Group set out on its last mission, Jiang Lin also went to find Mr. Yao.

"Eh? Where's Xiao Yi Xian? Why haven't I seen her today?" Jiang Lin had originally planned to tell Mr. Yao that he was ready to wander around the Monster Mountain Range and would not be returning for some time. He would lure the hidden enemy into the Monster Mountain Range, then counterkill them. If they did not come, fine—he would return to the mountains and find some lucky fellow to refine into his intimate companion.

Since the enemy was in the dark, then he would be in the dark too. If everyone stayed in the dark together, someone would eventually be unable to resist stepping out.

After learning about the relationship between Mr. Yao and Han Shan, Jiang Lin was no longer too worried that anything would happen to Myriad Medicine Hall.

As for the relationship between Mr. Yao and Han Shan, it had to begin with another person: Rock Tiger.

Back when Han Shan and Rock Tiger were still Dou Masters, they had once gone on a mission together to hunt a certain Magical Beast. They accidentally entered the territory of a Third-tier Magical Beast. Han Shan was badly injured and dragged away by his teammates, while Rock Tiger's Kun Kun suffered a "serious injury," and he fled on his own. At the time, Mr. Yao did not yet have any highly skilled medical assistants. He could only choose to save Han Shan first, whose breathing was weak, and then send a Myriad Medicine Hall clerk to check on Rock Tiger's "fellow." In the end, Han Shan survived, but Rock Tiger's "fellow" died.

"She went to gather herbs and learn. Didn't something happen last time? The others were unwilling to go, so Xiao Yi Xian volunteered." Mr. Yao looked at Jiang Lin and spoke quietly.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Jiang Lin's gaze flickered.

"The one in danger has never been her, but you." Mr. Yao said calmly. He picked up his teacup, swirled it, and continued, "No matter what, we are healers. Qingshan Town needs healers."

"There is a saying: when one carries a sharp weapon, the urge to kill arises. From beginning to end, you have been the source of danger. Just protect yourself well."

"...Mr. Yao, I have a question."

"Mhm, go ahead."

"What if Rock Tiger wants to test your true strength?"

Mr. Yao gave Jiang Lin a deep look, then said softly, "Uncle Fu really does love worrying over nothing. Rock Tiger bears a grudge against me, but that is directed at me alone. If he wants to fight, then we fight. Dou Qi cultivation matters less and less to me now."

"Understood." Jiang Lin nodded and prepared to return home, put on his armor, and head into the mountains to farm monsters.

Just as Jiang Lin's back was about to disappear, Mr. Yao's voice reached his ears. "Human hearts are unfathomable. But I can tell you one thing: no one at the Da Dou Shi level will make a move against you."

Jiang Lin froze upon hearing that, then turned and left.

Before long, Jiang Lin was fully armed, carrying a greatsword on his back as he disappeared from Myriad Medicine Hall.

Three days later, when the Fierce Beast mercenaries realized that Jiang Lin had not returned home for three days, small teams began making their way toward the Monster Mountain Range.

Because an informant had reported seeing Jiang Lin in the Monster Mountain Range.