Who Exactly Was This Young Man?

Those mercenaries walked out of the hall and into the courtyard.

The mercenaries outside immediately crowded around them, all talking at once.

"Well? What did the captain say?"

"Yeah, did the captain agree?"

So, are we doing it or not?"

The mercenaries exchanged glances and shook their heads.

"The captain refused. We just told him what we had in mind, but he turned us down."

The mercenary at the front spoke up.

"Why?"

"Why else? Xiao Chen is the captain's cousin. He wants to protect him. What other reason could there be?" The mercenaries who spoke curled their lips, their voices tinged with discontent.

The other mercenaries heard this, and disappointment showed on their faces.

"The captain's being a fool. He's going to get hundreds of brothers killed for an outsider."

"Exactly. Queen Medusa is a Peak Dou Emperor. No one in the entire Jia Ma Empire is her match. If she comes after us, we'll be wiped out."

"Xiao Chen went looking for death, and now he's dragging us down with him."

"If we'd known this would happen, we shouldn't have let him join the mercenary group in the first place."

Complaints rose one after another, and the mercenaries grew more and more agitated.

"Enough. Keep it down."

An older mercenary spoke up. "The captain's already made his decision. Nothing we say will change that. Instead of griping here, we might as well do something useful."

"What can we do? Just wait to die?"

"We'll take it one step at a time." The mercenary sighed. "If it comes to that, we'll deal with it then."

After discussing it for a while, the mercenaries each went their separate ways.

Though they were unhappy, none of them dared actually cause trouble for Xiao Chen. After all, he was the one who had killed a Dou Wang expert.

Inside the hall.

Xiao Ding sat in a chair, looking at Xiao Chen with an apologetic expression.

"Xiao Chen, let me make this clear again: don't take what those mercenaries said to heart."

"I know."

"They're all rough sorts."

Xiao Li added, "Don't stoop to their level."

Xiao Chen nodded.

"But Xiao Chen, aren't you worried about Queen Medusa at all?"

"What should I be worried about?"

Xiao Ding stared at him, momentarily stunned.

"She's a Peak Dou Emperor," Xiao Ding said. "No one in the entire Jia Ma Empire can match her."

"So what?"

Xiao Ding froze, and so did Xiao Li.

So what?

He said it far too casually.

"Xiao Chen, I know you're powerful," Xiao Li said. "But Queen Medusa isn't the Great Elder. She's a Peak Dou Emperor, countless times stronger than the Great Elder."

"Even if she comes, you might not be her match."

Xiao Chen stood up and said coolly, "Queen Medusa's strength is nothing but a fart."

Xiao Ding froze. Xiao Li did too. They exchanged a glance and saw the shock in each other's eyes. If Xiao Chen's words got out, they would cause a tremendous uproar.

Queen Medusa's strength was nothing but a fart?

If anyone else heard that, they'd think Xiao Chen had gone mad.

She was a Peak Dou Emperor, the strongest person in the entire Jia Ma Empire. Yet in Xiao Chen's mouth, she was nothing but a fart.

"Xiao Chen, you..."

Xiao Ding opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Without another word, Xiao Chen turned and walked out of the hall.

Qing Lin hurried after him.

Xiao Ding and Xiao Li sat in the hall without speaking for a long time.

"Big brother, do you think what Xiao Chen said is true?"

"What part?"

"That... Queen Medusa's strength is nothing but a fart." Xiao Li said, "Could Xiao Chen's strength have already surpassed that of a Dou Emperor?"

After a moment of silence, Xiao Ding shook his head.

"I don't know."

"But he said it so casually. It didn't sound like he was bragging."

"Maybe." Xiao Ding said, "But no matter what, we have to prepare for the worst."

Xiao Li nodded.

After leaving the hall, Xiao Chen headed for the courtyard gate.

Qing Lin followed close behind.

The two crossed the courtyard. Along the way, they passed quite a few mercenaries, who all kept their distance when they saw Xiao Chen.

No one dared approach him to speak, and no one dared greet him.

Seeing the way they looked at Xiao Chen, Qing Lin felt a little hurt.

Young Master was clearly so powerful, yet every one of these people treated him this way.

"Qing Lin."

"Yes, Young Master."

"I need you to help me with something."

"Tell me what you need, Young Master," Qing Lin said. "If I can do it, I'll do it."

"Use your Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils to sense the Fire Spirit Snake's location."

Qing Lin froze. "The Fire Spirit Snake?"

"Yes," Xiao Chen said. "If we find it, we can find the Green Lotus Core Flame."

Qing Lin's face paled.

The Green Lotus Core Flame, nineteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, was a treasure of heaven and earth—something countless powerful experts dreamed of obtaining.

Young Master wanted to find a Heavenly Flame?

"Young Master, I'm afraid I can't do it."

She lowered her head, her voice barely audible.

"Why?"

"I'm too weak. I haven't fully mastered the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils you told me about. I'm afraid I won't be able to sense it."

Looking at her, Xiao Chen said, "How will you know if you don't try?"

Qing Lin gritted her teeth.

Young Master was right. How would she know if she didn't try?

"Okay. I'll try."

Xiao Chen nodded. "Let's go."

The two left the mercenary group's headquarters and headed toward the outskirts of Shimo City.

A long strip of sand marked the border between Shimo City and the great desert.

On one side lay Shimo City's yellow earth; on the other stretched the yellow sands of the Tagor Desert.

Walking along the border, Xiao Chen and Qing Lin searched for traces of the Fire Spirit Snake.

They hadn't gone far when a small wooden hut appeared ahead.

The hut was very dilapidated and looked as if it had been there for years.

A sign hung by the door, bearing several words.

Xiao Chen stopped and looked at the hut.

"Young Master, what's wrong?"

"Let's go inside and have a look."

Xiao Chen pushed open the wooden door and walked in.

Qing Lin hurried after him.

The hut was small. A few shelves stood inside, stocked with medicinal herbs and magical beast materials.

An old man sat behind the counter, dressed in a gray robe. His face was gaunt, and he looked to be in his sixties.

His hair was white, and deep wrinkles creased his face.

His eyes were half closed, as if he were dozing.

Xiao Chen walked up to the counter and looked at the old man.

Ice Emperor Hai Bodong, once a Dou Emperor expert and one of the Ten Great Experts of the Jia Ma Empire.

Queen Medusa had sealed his strength, leaving him with only the power of a Dou Ling.

He had hidden away in this remote place and opened a little shop.

Hai Bodong opened his eyes and glanced at Xiao Chen.

"What are you buying?"

"I'm not buying anything."

Hai Bodong's brows furrowed slightly as he looked at him.

"If you're not buying anything, what are you doing here?"

"I came for something."

"What?"

"That mysterious fragment map you have."

Hai Bodong's expression instantly froze.

He lifted his head and stared at Xiao Chen, a flicker of shock in his eyes.

He had come across that fragment map by chance many years ago, and no one had ever known about it.

How did this young man know?