The Might of the Flame Bullet

"Kid, compared to the magical beasts of the Magical Beast Mountains, humans can sometimes be far more terrifying."

Yao Lao's voice sounded in Xiao Yan's heart.

Xiao Yan smiled faintly. "Killing that many people really is terrifying."

"Hm?" Yao Lao was truly surprised. After Xiao Yan killed the Red Flame Demon Tiger, he did not have much battle qi left.

That mercenary party had more than thirty people. Even if Xiao Yan's true strength far exceeded the level he displayed, he could not possibly be a match for so many people!

Xiao Yan calmly turned to look at the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, explaining to Yao Lao in his heart at the same time.

"The injuries on the second-tier magical beast, the Red Flame Demon Tiger, were clearly inflicted by humans, and it looked like it had not been wounded long ago.

Although my soul power is not as strong as yours, did you really think I would not guess that I might encounter mercenaries pursuing the Red Flame Demon Tiger?

When I attacked, I used Eight Extremes Collapse rather than Eight Extremes Sky Cannon, reducing the number of times I had to cultivate Eight Extremes Sky Cannon.

Not only did I judge that the Red Flame Demon Tiger could be killed in one strike, I also wanted to conserve battle qi in case I encountered mercenaries."

Yao Lao had not expected Xiao Yan to be so young yet so meticulous.

"Even if you saved some battle qi, there are so many of them. Can you deal with them?" Yao Lao asked the crucial question.

"Just wait and see." Xiao Yan smiled faintly.

Seeing Xiao Yan move so slowly, Hemon roared, "Don't try any tricks!"

"I gathered these herbs with great difficulty along the way. Can't you leave me some?" Xiao Yan said with a bitter smile.

The sharp-faced mercenary standing beside Hemon drew the saber in his hand and threatened, "Kid, do you want to die?"

"No, no, no!" Xiao Yan quickly spread his hands. "I'll give them to you. But you have to keep your word and let me leave."

"Hurry up and hand them over!" Hemon urged impatiently, sneering inwardly. He had only said Xiao Yan should leave the cloth bag behind; he had never said he would let him go.

"Catch!" Xiao Yan untied the cloth bag from his waist and casually tossed it.

The mercenaries blinked. They had not seen anything fly toward them at all. Had this kid gone mad? He actually dared to toy with them?

Relying on the exceptional eyesight honed through years of struggle in the Magical Beast Mountains, Hemon vaguely caught sight of a streak of red light shooting toward him.

His sharp instincts, forged from living on the edge of a blade, made every inch of his skin suddenly tighten as a flash of warning raced through his mind.

Hemon abruptly stepped back and grabbed two mercenary brothers, pulling them in front of him as shields.

At the same time, the battle qi vortex within his body spun madly. His originally bronze-colored skin visibly turned somewhat pale.

With a muffled pfft, the sharp-faced mercenary being used as a human shield felt as if his abdomen had been pierced through. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Y-you..." He had never imagined that he would die at the hands of a youth like this, and without even understanding how.

What Xiao Yan had thrown was not a cloth bag, but a Flame Bullet refined from that first-tier fire-attributed magic core.

The mercenaries felt as though they were dreaming. This seemingly weak little lamb had killed one of their brothers in the blink of an eye.

Just then, the berserk energy within the Flame Bullet burst forth and exploded with a deafening roar.

The Flame Bullet's violent energy was like blazing fire from hell, instantly devouring everything around it.

The terrifying explosion was deafening as flames shot into the sky. The sharp-faced mercenary bore the brunt of it and was instantly blown to bits, while the other mercenaries near the Flame Bullet, completely unprepared, were blasted flying.

Even more mercenaries were knocked to the ground by the fierce shockwave. The high heat charred their skin black, set their hair ablaze, and made their armor scorching hot.

For a time, the air was filled with smoke and dust from the Flame Bullet's explosion, along with the groans of the injured mercenaries. The scene was utter chaos.

Some were burned so badly they could not move, while others struggled to stand but could not because of their injuries.

The mercenaries on the outskirts who had escaped injury hurriedly retreated, staring at Xiao Yan with extreme vigilance.

The little lamb they had once looked down upon had now become the sole source of this disaster.

Only then did Yao Lao suddenly understand. "No wonder you were so confident—you actually had something like this! I never expected you to be able to directly make use of a magic core!"

"Oh, right. You liked tinkering with all sorts of strange things when you were little." Yao Lao could not help recalling those little iron men that could dance.

He had found them rather amusing at the time. Who would have thought that, years later, the craft of making those things would evolve into such a terrifying application?

Compared to Yao Lao's excitement, Xiao Yan did not have much of a smile on his face. It had only killed about half of them.

This was going to be troublesome...

Hemon casually tossed the mercenary brother whose body had been blasted into a bloody mess aside. Though he had hidden in the rear, the waves of fire spreading through the area had still roasted his face red.

"Good kid, I really misjudged you." Hemon slowly exhaled. There was no longer any smile on his face, only grave seriousness.

Glancing at the dozen or so mercenaries on the outskirts who were still relatively intact, Hemon shouted, "Get him! Kill this kid and avenge our brothers!"

The mercenaries were no fools. If they took a hit from that explosive thing, even if they had not died just now, they probably would not survive it now.

Hemon angrily kicked the nearest mercenary. "What are you afraid of? If he had more of those things, he would have used them already! The truth is, he only had one!"

"If this kid has such a treasure, he must have inherited the legacy of some powerful expert. He might even have a Xuan-tier cultivation method! Whoever kills him will be the first to cultivate it!" Hemon offered an incentive the mercenaries found difficult to refuse.

The mercenaries hesitated for a moment, but in the end, their eyes shone as they looked at Xiao Yan.

A Xuan-tier cultivation method! With such a method, they, mere fighters, might have a chance to break through and become Dou Masters in their lifetimes!

Yao Lao urged, "Go. If you fight with everything you have, these mercenaries are no match for you."

"Run!" To the astonishment of both Yao Lao and the mercenaries, Xiao Yan, who had just looked ready to start a slaughter, immediately turned and fled desperately into the dense forest.

As he leaped through the trees, Xiao Yan said to Yao Lao, "The Flame Bullet made quite a commotion. Who knows whether there are other mercenary companions nearby, or powerful magical beasts? Even if I kill them, my little life might still be in danger."

"Not bad. You have already grasped one of the secrets to surviving in the Magical Beast Mountains: always save some strength to deal with unknown dangers," Yao Lao praised.

Xiao Yan smiled faintly. "These mercenaries now think I have a Xuan-tier cultivation method and plenty of treasures. Sooner or later, they will still fall into my hands. There is no need to rush."