"Who's that young man?"
"How dare he provoke Iron Head? That guy's the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's young leader's top lackey. I heard he broke through to Four-Star Dou Zhe a while ago."
"Iron Head's vicious methods are infamous. If that young man doesn't have an elder backing him, he probably won't make it out of Green Mountain Town."
People nearby whispered among themselves.
Their expressions varied. Some looked wary; others were indignant.
When the Xiao Clan Medicine Shop first opened in Green Mountain Town, its effective medicines and low prices had drawn many mercenaries to snap them up.
Everyone had a hard time making money, so of course they wanted to buy better things for less.
However.
Before long, the town's three major mercenary groups issued a joint statement: anyone who dared buy anything from the Xiao Clan Medicine Shop would be making an enemy of them.
The three groups even stationed men outside the shop to keep watch.
Anyone who dared step inside would be warned.
After a while, the mercenaries were furious, but there was nothing they could do. They could only buy their goods from the Myriad Medicine Pavilion.
Still, some refused to give up. They knew the Xiao Clan Medicine Shop was backed by the Xiao Clan of Wutan City, so they hoped someone from the clan would come and sort things out.
As everyone wondered who the young man was, a figure dashed out of the Xiao Clan Medicine Shop and blurted, "Young Clan Leader!"
The people nearby were slightly startled.
That young man was the Xiao Clan's Young Clan Leader? Had he come to Green Mountain Town on the clan's behalf?
But could a young man like him really solve the problem?
The three major mercenary groups in Green Mountain Town had hundreds of members between them, including several Dou Masters.
Iron Head froze, then said, "You're the Xiao Clan's Young Clan Leader?"
"That's right. You can still get out of here while you have the chance," Xiao Yu said coolly.
Iron Head laughed, his face full of mockery. "Young Clan Leader, you think this is Wutan City? Let me tell you, this place is called Green Mountain Town!"
"Is the Xiao Clan out of people? They actually sent a kid over."
"Tell your elders to come talk. You're not qualified."
The men standing beside Iron Head sneered at him one after another.
Mercenaries lived by the blade's edge and often dealt with magical beasts. Naturally, they weren't easily intimidated.
They wouldn't take a clan's young leader seriously.
Especially when that clan wasn't some prestigious family from the Imperial Capital.
Xiao Yu shook his head. "I gave you a chance."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he raised a hand and struck Iron Head in front of him.
"You dare attack me? I'll teach you a—ah!"
Iron Head was taken aback, then his face twisted into a snarl. Dou Qi surged through him as he prepared to teach the Young Clan Leader a lesson.
But the moment his arm touched Xiao Yu, he was flung straight off his feet. He hit the ground and passed out.
The scene fell silent.
The others stared at Iron Head, their faces full of disbelief.
Iron Head was a Four-Star Dou Zhe! He couldn't even block a single move?
Before they could think it through, Xiao Yu's attacks came one after another.
In the blink of an eye, all the men who had blocked his way were sprawled on the ground, motionless, their fates unknown.
Xiao Yu stepped over them and walked into the shop. As he passed its manager, he paused. "Brother Xiao Lin, tell me what's been happening with the shop."
"Yes, Young Clan Leader." The man called Xiao Lin snapped out of it and respectfully followed him inside.
Xiao Lin was Xiao Yu's cousin, ten years older than him, and only a Three-Star Dou Zhe.
When he had first arrived in Green Mountain Town and faced the mercenary groups' obstruction, he had tried to fight back. But he wasn't strong enough, and after getting beaten a few times, he had learned his place.
When he heard the commotion outside just now, he remembered the Young Clan Leader was coming. One of the men out there today was named Iron Head.
Worried the Young Clan Leader might get hurt, Xiao Lin hurried out.
He had been in Green Mountain Town for some time and knew a little about Iron Head.
He simply hadn't expected Iron Head to fail to block even one of the Young Clan Leader's moves.
Xiao Lin had been confused when he learned that the clan was sending the Young Clan Leader here. Now he understood more or less, and the knot of worry in his heart finally loosened.
Outside the shop.
The crowd of onlookers had not dispersed. They were still discussing what had just happened.
Quite a few of them knew Iron Head well.
That was exactly why they found it all the more unbelievable that the young man had defeated him with a single move.
"Is he a Five-Star Dou Zhe? Or a Six-Star?"
"That's ridiculous. He looks barely sixteen or seventeen."
"He moved so fast just now. I couldn't even see what he did before Iron Head and the others hit the ground."
Many people in the crowd pushed their way out and ran off in different directions.
Each of them wore a different insignia, identifying them as members of one of Green Mountain Town's three major mercenary groups or the Myriad Medicine Pavilion.
The Wolf Head Mercenary Group's headquarters.
A young mercenary hurried inside and said in a trembling voice to the figure seated in the main seat, "Leader, something's wrong! Someone knocked Iron Head out."
The man in the seat started. He was Mu She, leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group and a Two-Star Dou Master.
Knowing Iron Head's job today was to keep watch on the Xiao Clan shop, Mu She asked, "Who did it? Has someone from the Xiao Clan arrived?"
The young mercenary nodded. "The Xiao Clan's Young Clan Leader came. Iron Head and the others couldn't block even one move. They were all knocked out."
"Are you sure you heard right? The Young Clan Leader, not the Clan Leader?" Mu She pressed.
Wutan City wasn't far from Green Mountain Town. Since they planned to suppress the Xiao Clan Medicine Shop, they had naturally looked into the situation.
He remembered clearly that the Xiao Clan had only recently chosen its Young Clan Leader, a boy named Xiao Yu. But he was only sixteen, and his strength was Three-Star Dou Zhe.
How long had it been since then? Iron Head couldn't even block one of his moves?
Gan Mu, the second leader, and He Meng, the third leader, both wondered if they had heard wrong.
Iron Head was the Young Leader's top lackey, so he was bound to have some strength. How could he have been beaten by a young master from the city?
The young mercenary insisted again and again that he couldn't have mistaken what he saw. Plenty of people had been there and could testify.
Mu She waved his hand. Once the young mercenary had left, he fell into thought and said, "Why do you think the Xiao Clan sent a kid here?"
"I'd say the Xiao Clan overreached itself by opening too many shops and doesn't have enough people to handle problems. So they sent a kid over to test our attitude," He Meng said.
The Xiao Clan Medicine Shop had opened more than a dozen branches in just half a year, in cities and towns all around.
Even if the shops could hire staff, they still needed members of the clan to oversee them.
What's more, they had recently heard that several of the Xiao Clan's elders were traveling around.
Mu She nodded, finding the explanation convincing.
He had heard about these things too. When the Myriad Medicine Pavilion approached them about working together, that had been one of the reasons they agreed.
Otherwise, how would their three mercenary groups dare provoke a clan with a Da Dou Shi?
Mu She said gravely, "Third Leader, take some men and bring back those shameful fools, Iron Head and the others. While you're at it, give that Young Clan Leader a warning. Let's test the Xiao Clan's limits."
"Sure." He Meng agreed easily. He was an Eight-Star Dou Zhe and had every confidence he could handle a sixteen-year-old kid.
Just then, a young man entered the hall.
"Father, let me go! Iron Head is one of my men. He hit my men, which means he hit me in the face!" The young man's expression was dark.
He was Mu She's son, Mu Li, and he was now a Six-Star Dou Zhe.
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