Advancing to Dou Wang, Perfecting an Earth Class Dou Technique

Overnight, the once all-powerful Sand Mercenary Group in Shimo City became history.

The entire city of Shimo was shaken.

It was unbelievable. Where had the Xiao Ding and Xiao Li brothers found such a ruthless man? Killing Luo Bu had been as easy as killing a chicken.

That had been a mighty Da Dou Shi expert!

Along with the shock came worry. Everyone felt insecure, and the leaders of the major factions began to speculate whether the Xiao brothers would seize this chance to swallow them up as well and dominate Shimo City.

Meanwhile, after taking over the Sand Mercenary Group, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li were brimming with vigor and high spirits. Even their steps seemed light as swallows.

Who could have imagined that just the day before, they had merely been a fairly decent small mercenary group in Shimo City? Yet now, they had leaped to become the city's new overlord, with several Doushi under their command.

Under Xiao Ce's intimidation, Xiao Ding easily took over all of the Sand Mercenary Group's assets, including its remaining five Doushi experts.

The former headquarters of the Sand Mercenary Group.

After absorbing the Sand Mercenary Group, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li directly made this place the new headquarters of the Moti Mercenary Group.

The spacious council hall.

The upper ranks of the Moti Mercenary Group had gathered together, including several surrendered captains from the Sand Mercenary Group.

Xiao Ce sat lazily in one of the lower seats. Though he did not say a word, he remained the most conspicuous person in the hall.

Especially that scene from yesterday, when he had crushed Luo Bu's head with one hand—it had been deeply branded into the minds of everyone from the Sand Mercenary Group. Even recalling it now still made them shudder with lingering fear.

Fortunately, he was one of them now!

Xiao Ding calmly laid out the Moti Mercenary Group's plans for the coming period, then assigned corresponding tasks to the various captains.

These mainly concerned the Sand Mercenary Group's several shops in Shimo City.

As Shimo City's largest mercenary group, the Sand Mercenary Group naturally did not rely solely on hunting magical beasts to make money. It had five shops within the city alone.

Four of those shops specialized in magical beast materials, while the last dealt in medicinal herbs, specifically selling herbs unique to the desert.

Now that the Sand Mercenary Group had been absorbed by the Moti Mercenary Group, trusted subordinates naturally had to be assigned to take over those five shops.

Aside from that, there were also the various property deeds and land deeds belonging to the Sand Mercenary Group.

With so many interests involved, if it had only been Xiao Ding and Xiao Li, the newly surrendered captains of the Sand Mercenary Group might not necessarily have obeyed them.

But with Xiao Ce holding the fort, not a single person dared object.

After the meeting ended and everyone gradually dispersed, Xiao Ding looked at Xiao Ce with a somewhat grave expression.

"Cousin Xiao Ce, I received some information yesterday that I haven't had the chance to tell you about."

"What information? Does it concern the Sand Mercenary Group?" Xiao Ce asked curiously.

Xiao Ding nodded slightly. "That's right. It concerns the Sand Mercenary Group. Yesterday, while I was absorbing the five captains of the Sand Mercenary Group, First Captain Luo Hu told me a secret about them."

"Luo Hu is Luo Bu's distant cousin, and they were close. He told me that the reason the Sand Mercenary Group had reached its current status was because it had secretly received support from the Mo Clan of Yancheng."

"And because of that, the Sand Mercenary Group had to hand over fifty thousand gold coins and a number of treasures to the Mo Clan every year. In three months, it will be time for them to deliver their gold and treasures again."

"So the Sand Mercenary Group had this connection with the Mo Clan?"

After hearing this, Xiao Ce looked enlightened. He had not expected the Mo Clan to have stretched its hand so far.

No wonder that in the original story, Qing Lin had been discovered and captured by Mo Cheng not long after her snake-controlling ability was exposed. Luo Bu had most likely secretly informed the Mo Clan.

Otherwise, the Northeast Three Provinces and Shimo City were separated by several hundred miles. Without someone passing along the news, word of Qing Lin could not have reached the Mo Clan so quickly.

Furthermore, in the original plot, after the Mo Clan captured Qing Lin, it had also sent a Da Dou Shi expert to assist Luo Bu in an attempt to unify all of Shimo City. It only failed because Xiao Yan had arrived at the critical moment.

Come to think of it, the current Sand Mercenary Group was vastly different from the one in the original story.

The Sand Mercenary Group in the original story had not been particularly strong. Aside from Luo Bu, a Da Dou Shi, it had only possessed Mo Xing, the current Fifth Captain, as a Doushi. Some unexpected change had likely caused severe losses among its elite, leaving even the Mo Clan without time to provide aid.

Xiao Ce chuckled and said to Xiao Ding:

"I didn't expect that I really would have such a connection with the Mo Clan. First, there was a chief guard commander of the Mo Clan looking for trouble with me, and now Luo Bu, whom the Mo Clan secretly supported, has popped up as well."

"You don't need to worry about the Mo Clan. Even if they do not come looking for me, I will sooner or later come knocking on their door."

It would have been one thing if he had not known what sort of people the Mo Clan were. But now that he knew they were no good, and that they had crossed paths with him so often, Xiao Ce had no reason not to rob the rich and aid the poor.

The Mo Clan had dominated the Northeast Three Provinces for a hundred years. Its foundation had to be deep enough for Xiao Ce to make a fortune.

Seeing Xiao Ce so confident, Xiao Ding immediately smiled in relief. It seems Cousin Xiao Ce is not weak even among Dou Ling experts.

The following time passed quickly. During Xiao Ce's second month with the Moti Mercenary Group, he successfully broke through to Dou Wang, and his advancement came even faster than he had expected.

The main reason was that during those two months, Xiao Yi Xian had consumed quite a few poisons. She had soared from a Two-Star Doushi all the way to a Seven-Star Doushi.

Even Xiao Ce found that cultivation speed outrageous.

As Xiao Yi Xian's strength rose, the effects of her dual cultivation with Xiao Ce naturally improved as well, hastening his breakthrough to Dou Wang.

The reason Xiao Yi Xian's realm had risen so dramatically was mainly because, when she had left the small valley, she had taken away a great many herbs and refined them into poisons.

Though many herbs in the small valley were not toxic by themselves, all things could reinforce or counter one another. At times, herbs with entirely different properties could be combined into something lethally poisonous.

It was precisely because she had enough poison to support her cultivation that Xiao Yi Xian's strength could advance by leaps and bounds.

Moreover, the supplies in the small valley would still be enough to sustain Xiao Yi Xian's cultivation for a long time.

Within the earthy-yellow desert, sand filled the sky.

A blue-and-white figure flashed through the yellow sand, silent and traceless, like a phantom.

Below stood Xiao Yi Xian and Hai Bodong.

After Xiao Ce descended from the sky, Hai Bodong could not help sighing. "Your movement technique is becoming more and more terrifying. It is truly hard to believe that you are only a One-Star Dou Wang."

Xiao Ce smiled faintly. Whenever he was not dual cultivating during these past two months, he had crazily practiced his movement technique, eventually raising the Earth Class low-tier movement technique he had mastered, Cloud Treading Traceless, to the perfected level.

Perfected Cloud Treading Traceless was not only far faster than its advanced level, but also consumed much less Dou Qi.

With perfected Cloud Treading Traceless, if Xiao Ce encountered the Purple Lightning Thunder Wolf King again, he could make it eat dust behind him.