Xiao Yan landed on one foot, the wings on his back slowly retracting as he blocked the path forward for this group of the Snake-People Tribe.
The leader of the Snake-People Tribe watched as Xiao Yan actually possessed Dou Qi Transformation Wings, a feat only possible for a Dou Wang expert at the very least, and her complexion instantly turned pale.
Especially the imposing aura on Xiao Yan's body, which was not the least bit weaker than those commanders within their own tribe, and even faintly seemed a cut above.
How could they have run into an expert of this caliber!
Xiao Yan swept his gaze over this group of the Snake-People Tribe, seeing that they were all almost bare with only two scales covering their crucial areas, and could not help thinking that the Snake-People Tribe, a race that favored the cold, lived in this scorching desert and really had it quite tough.
However, that had nothing to do with him.
His gaze shifted to the several cage wagons being pulled by this group of the Snake-People Tribe, looking at the several men and women inside who looked like mercenaries at a single glance.
These people had sturdy builds and carried a sense of righteousness between their brows, not looking like treacherous individuals at all.
Xiao Yan was willing to stop for them purely because he thought of his own two brothers.
If there was anyone here who could discipline the mercenaries under them to the point of exuding righteousness, it was most likely only the Desert Iron Mercenary Group founded by his two brothers.
Under the gaze of everyone, both the snake-people and the mercenaries inside the cages, Xiao Yan slowly uttered his first sentence:
"Which mercenary group do you people belong to?"
The mercenaries inside the cages were baffled, but this voice sounded rather young, yet his strength had reached that of a Dou Wang expert—he was the entire variable for them right now.
Inside a cage, a woman with a beautiful appearance spoke in reply: "The Desert Iron Mercenary Group of Stone Desert City."
Hearing this name, the corners of Xiao Yan's mouth beneath the mask involuntarily curved upward, and his tone also carried a hint of warmth: "The Desert Iron Mercenary Group... consider yourselves lucky."
With those words, he looked at the strongest Second Rank snake-people among this group of snake-people: "Open the cages, and don't make me repeat myself."
That snake-person shrank her head in fear, feeling as though Xiao Yan's words possessed some kind of magic, and she simply could not generate the slightest thought of resistance.
"Yes, I'll open the cages right now." She immediately moved into action.
Among the other members of the Snake-People Tribe, a snake-person muttered in a low voice: "Team leader, those humans captured quite a few of our clansmen, after all. How can we just let them go so easily."
Inside the cage, the several mercenaries who heard this shouted: "We already said, that wasn't done by us! It was done by the Sand Mercenary Group!"
"What difference does it make?" This snake-person said with indignation.
Xiao Yan glanced at her, his spiritual force pressing down like a massive mountain.
"Ah!" This snake-person was instantly pressed down onto the ground, sinking deep into the desert sand.
"Unable to tell right from wrong, you deserve punishment."
Everyone was startled by this thunderous strike from Xiao Yan, and they all kept their mouths shut without another word.
After demonstrating his strength, everything went even more smoothly.
These mercenaries were rescued by Xiao Yan and expressed their thanks one after another. As the victimized party who had wrongfully captured the people, the small punishment Xiao Yan inflicted was not an extermination.
"Many thanks to senior for the rescue!" the mercenaries said in unison.
Xiao Yan waved his hand, then said: "Lead the way to Stone Desert City. I want to see your two leaders."
Hearing that Xiao Yan wanted to see the two leaders, the few mercenaries immediately wore hesitant expressions, and the woman who had spoken earliest mustered her courage and asked: "I wonder why senior wishes to see our leaders?"
Beneath the mask, Xiao Yan gave the woman an approving look, understanding that she was worried he harbored malicious intentions and was therefore probing him.
"I have to admit, you have a lot of nerve, daring to probe my intentions."
As soon as Xiao Yan said this, cold sweat instantly broke out on the woman.
Yet in a split second, Xiao Yan's tone shifted and he laughed: "However, you have decent luck."
"Your two leaders are my two elder brothers."
"You used this nerve in the right place. Not bad."
With those words, Xiao Yan directly took out a Tier 3 Medicinal Pill and flicked it into the woman's hand: "This Tier 3 Medicinal Pill is your reward. Continue serving the mercenary group diligently from now on. I have high hopes for you."
The woman clutched the medicinal pill in a daze, and once she realized what Xiao Yan had actually said, her brain nearly came to a halt.
This big shot, who was at least of Dou Wang strength and could casually toss her a Tier 3 Medicinal Pill, turned out to be the younger brother of the two leaders?!
That genius younger brother whom the two leaders frequently spoke of and whose name had once shaken the entire Jia Ma Empire before his talent vanished?!
A massive wave of joy surged into her heart.
She understood that by virtue of her just having the courage to speak up and probe a Dou Wang expert for the sake of her two leaders, her future was already boundlessly bright!
"Today really is a lucky day."
Meanwhile, Nalan Yanran, who had been trapped in a cage by the Snake-People Tribe and encountered not a shred of opportunity along the way, could only watch helplessly as she was about to be taken into the territory of the Snake-People Tribe.
Tears of unwillingness flowed from the corners of her eyes.
"Why am I so unlucky."
She looked into the distance, silently praying in her heart that an expert would suddenly appear and rescue her from the dire straits.
Otherwise, once she reached the territory of the Snake-People Tribe, even if Master Yun Yun came personally to demand her release, she would inevitably have to pay a heavy price.
"Master Yan, if you can suddenly appear..." Nalan Yanran fantasized with a vacant gaze.
Yet very unfortunately, the Master Yan she was so infatuated with had just rescued a group of mercenaries at this moment and was happily on his way to see his elder brothers.
Stone Desert City, the encampment of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group.
"Third Brother, hahaha, it really is you! In the blink of an eye you've grown this much. If Xue Lan and the other mercenaries hadn't seen it with their own eyes, I wouldn't have dared to believe that after just a few years apart, you've already grown to this extent."
Xiao Li pulled Xiao Yan into a tight embrace, pouring out all of his overflowing yearning into it.
Xiao Yan hugged back just as tightly, not feeling awkward or cloying in the slightest.
Having transmigrated into the Dou Qi Continent as a baby, he knew better than anyone just how deeply the two elder brothers in the original work doted on him.
From a young age they had secretly ceded resources to him, granting him nearly every request he made.
After his talent vanished, fearing that he would bear the pressure of the clan and face gossip from clan members in the future, they specifically ran off to Stone Desert City to establish a mercenary group.
They only thought that if his talent could never recover and he remained forever stuck at the Dou Qi Eight Stage, he would still have a place to go where he could peacefully enjoy life without needing to suffer other people's cynical remarks.
If there were only three people in the world willing to risk their lives for him, Xiao Yan believed that his eldest brother and second brother were definitely among those three, and even Xun'er, with whom he currently shared a mutual affection, had to rank behind them.
"We haven't seen each other in years, and our Third Brother is already a Dou Wang expert. The Desert Iron Mercenary Group that Second Brother and I established really didn't come in handy at all." Although Xiao Ding said this, the satisfaction and joy in his eyes could simply not be concealed.
Xiao Yan rubbed his nose, shedding some of his composure in front of his two elder brothers as he smiled smugly: "Eldest Brother, Second Brother, I'm not some Dou Wang expert right now. My cultivation is only Dou Ling."
"But when it comes to strength, even a Dou Huang is no match for me."
"Only a Dou Ling, yet able to display Dou Huang strength?" Xiao Ding and Xiao Li exchanged glances, each thinking of something as sudden realization dawned: "Could it be that Third Brother's physical body has undergone a massive enhancement?"
Xiao Yan maintained his smug smile: "That's right."
"Hahaha, good! So you were actually understating your strength. There aren't even that many Dou Huang experts in our Jia Ma Empire—Third Brother, you're truly remarkable!" Xiao Li laughed out loud with peerless pride, as if he were talking about himself.
Seeing his two elder brothers looking so happy, Xiao Yan took out the medicinal pills he had prepared long ago from his Storage Ring.
"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, I didn't come empty-handed this time to see you."
Before you continue