Xiao Ding and Xiao Li's Excitement!

Luo Bu climbed to his feet, his face deathly pale.

The Sand Mercenary Group's men stood frozen in place, completely dumbfounded.

Their leader was a Da Dou Shi, yet a young man had sent him flying with a single palm strike?

"How is that possible..." one mercenary muttered.

"Did the leader hold back?" another mercenary whispered.

"Does he look like he was holding back to you?"

The mercenaries exchanged glances, but none of them had anything to say.

Luo Bu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at Xiao Yan. The shock in his eyes gradually gave way to fury.

He'd been beaten like this by a greenhorn in front of so many of his men. How could he show his face after this?

How could he ever show his face in Desert Rock City again?

"You little bastard."

Luo Bu ground out the words through clenched teeth.

The Dou Qi within him surged again, more violently than before.

This time, he held nothing back.

A Da Dou Shi unleashed his full power, and Dou Qi gathered around his body into a visible layer of light.

With a roar, Luo Bu thrust both palms forward, aiming for Xiao Yan's chest.

He put every last ounce of his strength into that strike.

Xiao Yan shifted aside, dodging the blast of wind from the palms.

Luo Bu's strike missed, and his body pitched forward, his balance thrown off.

Xiao Yan raised a hand, grabbed Luo Bu's wrist, and twisted hard.

"Crack."

The snap of breaking bone rang out clear as day.

Luo Bu's scream echoed throughout the courtyard.

"My hand... my hand..."

Xiao Yan let go and drew a long sword from the waist of a mercenary beside him.

The mercenary hadn't even realized what had happened. He only felt a sudden lightness at his waist—the sword was gone.

Xiao Yan swung the sword.

A flash of light streaked past.

Luo Bu's right arm was severed at the shoulder, blood spraying everywhere.

"Ah!"

Luo Bu fell to his knees, blood pouring from the stump of his arm.

His shrill, piercing screams sounded like a pig being slaughtered.

"My hand, my hand is gone..."

The mercenaries around him turned deathly pale, and some began backing away.

No one dared step forward.

Luo Bu knelt on the ground, his whole body trembling.

He looked up at Xiao Yan, the fury in his eyes completely replaced by fear.

"Don't... don't kill me..."

Luo Bu's voice shook.

"I was wrong. I'll never dare do it again..."

"Please, spare my life!"

Xiao Yan looked down at him, his face utterly expressionless.

Luo Bu knelt and kowtowed over and over.

His forehead struck the stone tiles once, twice, three times.

Soon, he'd knocked it bloody, and blood ran down the bridge of his nose.

"I truly know I was wrong..."

"Spare me, and I'll give you every resource the Sand Mercenary Group has."

"I'll leave Desert Rock City and never come back..."

Seeing their leader kneeling and begging for mercy, the mercenaries around him followed suit.

Dozens of men knelt in unison.

"Please spare us."

"We were only following the leader's orders."

"Please, let us go."

"We'll never dare do it again."

"We'll leave Desert Rock City and never return..."

Xiao Yan looked at them, his face utterly expressionless.

He raised his hand and struck out with his palm.

The few mercenaries closest to him were sent flying on the spot. They hit the ground and stopped breathing.

The rest of the mercenaries turned pale. Some turned and tried to run.

Xiao Yan flashed forward, striking them down one after another.

One mercenary had only run two steps when Xiao Yan sent him flying with a palm strike.

Another fell before he could even turn around.

A third mercenary knelt on the ground, not daring to move, but Xiao Yan showed him no mercy.

In moments, all several dozen mercenaries lay sprawled on the ground.

Not one of them could get back up.

A heavy stench of blood filled the courtyard.

Luo Bu knelt in a pool of blood, his whole body trembling.

Everyone around him was dead. He was the only one left.

The leader of the Sand Mercenary Group, who had once thrown his weight around in Desert Rock City, now looked like a stray dog with nowhere to go.

"I'm begging you, I'm begging you..."

"Let me go. I can give you money, lots of money."

"Everything the Sand Mercenary Group owns is yours."

Xiao Yan looked down at him and said flatly, "Too late."

He swung his sword.

Luo Bu's body stiffened, then slowly toppled over.

Xiao Yan tossed aside the long sword in his hand and turned toward Xiao Ding and Xiao Li.

The system's voice rang out in his mind.

[Host helped Xiao Yan kill Luo Bu and received a feedback reward.]

[Ascension Pill (Sixth-Grade peak): After consuming, one can advance to One-Star Dou Wang.]

[The required medicinal ingredients have been sent to the system inventory.]

Xiao Yan stopped and opened the system inventory for a look.

The ingredients for the Ascension Pill lay neatly inside.

Snow Spirit Ginseng, Purple Spirit Ganoderma, Thousand Spirit Grass—none were missing.

There were also several auxiliary ingredients, all precious medicinal herbs used in Sixth-Grade Pills.

Xiao Yan smiled with satisfaction.

Xiao Ding and Xiao Li stood there, unable to speak as they watched Xiao Yan walk toward them.

The courtyard was strewn with bodies.

Xiao Ding took a deep breath, suppressing his shock.

"Little Yanzi, you..."

"Big brother, second brother, it's all right now," Xiao Yan said.

Xiao Li came back to his senses. He looked at the bodies on the ground, then at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Ding stepped forward and clapped Xiao Yan hard on the shoulder.

"Good, good," Xiao Ding said. "My little brother really is extraordinary."

Xiao Li smiled too, though there was still blood at the corner of his mouth. "I always said Little Yanzi wasn't an ordinary person."

"Come on, let's go inside and talk," Xiao Ding said.

Inside the hall.

The three of them sat down, and Xiao Ding had a maid bring tea.

Xiao Li picked up his teacup, took a sip, then set it down and looked at Xiao Yan.

"Little Yanzi, what are you planning to do next?"

"Help you two improve your strength," Xiao Yan said.

Xiao Ding paused. "Help us improve our strength?"

"I have the ingredients to refine an Ascension Pill. After taking it, you can advance straight to One-Star Dou Wang," Xiao Yan said.

Xiao Ding and Xiao Li both froze.

One-Star Dou Wang?

Their current strength was only at the Da Dou Shi level.

They were still a hundred thousand miles away from becoming Dou Wangs.

"Little Yanzi, you're not joking, are you?" Xiao Li asked.

"I'm not joking," Xiao Yan said.

Xiao Ding was silent for a moment before speaking. "What grade is the Ascension Pill?"

"Sixth-Grade peak," Xiao Yan said.

Xiao Ding sucked in a sharp breath.

There weren't even a few Sixth-Grade peak pills to be found in the entire Jia Ma Empire.

Xiao Li rubbed his hands together. "I wouldn't even dare dream of becoming a One-Star Dou Wang."

"Second brother, just wait," Xiao Yan said.

"Little Yanzi, keep a pill like that for yourself," Xiao Ding said. "We don't need it."

"Big brother, I don't need it," Xiao Yan said. "I'm already a Four-Star Dou Wang."

Xiao Ding and Xiao Li froze again.

A Four-Star Dou Wang at fifteen.

Xiao Ding opened his mouth, but for a long while, no words came out.

Xiao Li was the same. He stared at Xiao Yan with wide eyes.

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Then Xiao Ding suddenly burst out laughing, his eyes reddening with emotion.

Xiao Li laughed too. "My little brother, Xiao Li's brother, is a Four-Star Dou Wang."

Xiao Yan looked at his two older brothers, feeling a little moved.

"Big brother, second brother, I'm proud of you," Xiao Ding said, clapping Xiao Yan hard on the shoulder.

"Leave the Ascension Pill to me. Once I've refined it, you'll both be able to advance to Dou Wang," Xiao Yan said, getting to his feet.

Xiao Yan turned and left.

As he walked out of the hall, he looked back.

Xiao Ding and Xiao Li were still standing there, smiles on their faces.

Xiao Yan turned away and headed toward the rear courtyard.