Meeting My Two Brothers, Only a Dou Ling?!

Xiao Yan landed on one foot, the twin wings behind his back slowly retracting as he blocked the Snake-People Tribe's path.

The leader of the snake-people saw that Xiao Yan possessed Dou Qi Transformation Wings, an ability only experts at least at the Dou Wang level could use, and her face instantly went pale.

Especially since Xiao Yan's aura was not the slightest bit weaker than the tribal commanders of her clan—if anything, it was faintly stronger.

How had they run into a powerhouse like this?!

Xiao Yan swept his gaze over the snake-people. Seeing that they were all nearly naked, with only two scales covering their vital areas, he could not help thinking that a race fond of cold places really was having a difficult time living in this scorching desert.

Not that it had anything to do with him.

His gaze shifted to the Cage Wagons being pulled by the snake-people and the men and women inside, who were clearly mercenaries.

They were powerfully built, with a righteous air between their brows. They did not look like deceitful people.

Xiao Yan had stopped for them purely because they reminded him of his two older brothers.

If there was anyone here capable of training mercenaries under their command to possess such uprightness, it was most likely the Desert Iron Mercenary Group founded by his two brothers.

Under the watchful eyes of the snake-people and the mercenaries in the cages, Xiao Yan slowly asked his first question.

"Which mercenary group are you from?"

The mercenaries inside the cages did not understand why he was asking, but this voice sounded young, while his strength had reached the Dou Wang level. He was their only variable now.

Inside the cage, a beautiful woman answered, "The Desert Iron Mercenary Group of Stone Desert City."

Upon hearing that name, the corners of Xiao Yan's mouth curled up beneath his mask. His voice carried a trace of warmth as well. "The Desert Iron Mercenary Group... You got lucky."

With that, he looked at the strongest Second Rank snake-person among them. "Open the cages. Don't make me repeat myself."

The snake-person shrank back fearfully. Xiao Yan's words seemed to possess some strange magic, and she could not muster even the slightest thought of resistance.

"Yes, I'll open them right away." She immediately moved to do so.

Among the other snake-people, one said quietly, "Captain, those humans captured several of our people. How can we let them go so easily?"

The mercenaries in the cages shouted when they heard this, "We already said it wasn't us! It was the Sand Mercenary Group!"

"What difference does that make?" the snake-person said indignantly.

Xiao Yan glanced at her, and his soul force descended like a mountain.

"Ah!"

The snake-person was instantly crushed flat against the ground, deeply embedded in the desert sand.

"Unable to distinguish right from wrong. You deserve punishment."

Everyone was frightened by Xiao Yan's thunderous display and fell silent.

After he had demonstrated his strength, everything went much more smoothly.

The mercenaries were freed by Xiao Yan and repeatedly thanked him. The Snake-People Tribe had been the victims in this matter and had captured the wrong people; Xiao Yan gave them a small punishment but did not exterminate them.

"Thank you for saving us, Senior!" the mercenaries said in unison.

Xiao Yan waved a hand, then said, "Lead the way to Stone Desert City. I want to see your two commanders."

Hearing that Xiao Yan wanted to see their commanders, the mercenaries immediately looked hesitant. The woman who had spoken first earlier gathered her courage and asked, "May I ask why Senior wishes to see our commanders?"

Beneath his mask, Xiao Yan gave the woman an approving look. He understood that she was worried he harbored ill intentions and was testing him.

"I have to say, you have quite some nerve, daring to test my intentions."

As soon as Xiao Yan said this, cold sweat broke out on the woman's forehead.

But in the next instant, Xiao Yan changed his tone and smiled. "Still, you're lucky."

"Your two commanders are my two older brothers."

"You used that courage in the right place. Not bad."

With that, 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. Keep serving the mercenary group well in the future. I think highly of you."

The woman stood there in a daze, clutching the medicinal pill tightly. Once she realized what Xiao Yan had just said, her mind nearly stopped working.

This important figure, who was at least a Dou Wang and could casually give her a Tier 3 Medicinal Pill, was actually the younger brother of the two commanders?!

That genius younger brother the commanders often spoke of, whose fame had once spread throughout the entire Jia Ma Empire before his talent disappeared?!

Overwhelming joy surged through her heart.

She understood that, because she had dared to speak up and test a Dou Wang powerhouse for the sake of her commanders, her future was now bright beyond measure!

"Today really is my lucky day."

Meanwhile, Nalan Yanran had been trapped in a cage by the Snake-People Tribe. Along the way, she had not encountered even the slightest opportunity to escape and could only watch helplessly as she was being taken into snake-person territory.

Tears of unwillingness flowed from the corners of her eyes.

"Why am I so unlucky?"

She looked into the distance, silently praying for a powerful expert to suddenly appear and save her from this misery.

Otherwise, once she reached snake-person territory, even if her master Yun Yun personally came to demand her return, she would surely have to pay a considerable price.

"Master Yan, if only you could suddenly appear..." Nalan Yanran fantasized with unfocused eyes.

Unfortunately, the Master Yan she had been thinking about so desperately had just rescued a group of mercenaries and was happily on his way to see his brothers.

Stone Desert City, the Desert Iron Mercenary Group's headquarters.

"Third Brother, hahaha, it really is you! In the blink of an eye, you've grown so much. If Xue Lan and the other mercenaries hadn't seen it with their own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that after only a few years apart, you'd already grown to this extent."

Xiao Li pulled Xiao Yan into a tight embrace, pouring all his overflowing longing into it.

Xiao Yan hugged him just as tightly, without feeling the least bit awkward or overly sentimental.

Having been reborn into the Dou Qi Continent, he understood better than anyone just how deeply his two brothers loved him in the original story.

Ever since he was young, they had secretly given him resources and nearly always granted whatever he asked for.

After his talent disappeared, they had feared that he would bear the pressure of the clan and face ridicule from its members in the future, so they had specifically gone to Stone Desert City to establish a mercenary group.

They had only wanted him to have a place where he could peacefully enjoy life without suffering criticism, even if he never recovered his talent and remained forever at Dou Qi Eight Stage.

If there were only three people in this world willing to risk their lives for him, Xiao Yan believed that his eldest and second brothers would definitely be among them. Even Xun Er, who was now mutually in love with him, would come after them.

"After all these years, my Third Brother is already a Dou Wang powerhouse. It seems the Desert Iron Mercenary Group your Second Brother and I built has been of no use after all." Though Xiao Ding said this, the satisfaction and delight in his eyes could not be concealed.

Xiao Yan rubbed his nose. Before his two brothers, he shed some of his usual composure and said with a smug smile, "Big Brother, Second Brother, I'm not a Dou Wang powerhouse. I'm only a Dou Ling."

"But in terms of actual strength, even a Dou Emperor is no match for me."

"Only a Dou Ling, yet capable of displaying the strength of a Dou Emperor?" Xiao Ding and Xiao Li exchanged glances, both thinking of something before realization dawned on them. "Could it be that your physique has improved tremendously, Third Brother?"

Xiao Yan maintained his smug grin. "That's right."

"Hahaha, excellent! So we still underestimated your strength. There are only a few Dou Emperors in our Jia Ma Empire, and yet, Third Brother, you've become one of that level. You're truly remarkable!" Xiao Li laughed loudly with immense pride, as though he were talking about himself.

Seeing how happy his two brothers were, Xiao Yan took out the medicinal pills he had prepared long ago from his Storage Ring.

"Big Brother, Second Brother, I didn't come to see you empty-handed this time."