Rewards Galore

Seeing the mercenaries lose all will to fight in an instant, Xiao Yu seized the chance to shout, "This flame kills on contact. If you want to live, get the hell out of here now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he swung the Bone Chilling Flame at them again.

To all the mercenaries, Xiao Yu now looked like a demon wreathed in flames. Seeing him charge forward, they hurriedly scattered to either side.

However, they did not know that the Bone Chilling Flame's appearance was sustained by Xiao Yu's Dou Qi. Xiao Yu, currently only a six-star Dou Practitioner, could not keep up such consumption for long.

Had they been more observant, they would have noticed that the flames were no longer as savage as they had been at the start.

That was why Xiao Yu had shouted so fiercely—to frighten them into retreating.

Using the strange flame's intimidation, Xiao Yu and the Little Medical Fairy finally broke through the mercenaries' encirclement. Seeing the cave entrance so close ahead, Xiao Yu could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Come to think of it, this was his first true battle since beginning his training. His usual practice had only been sparring with Xiao Yan, which was far less thrilling than a real life-or-death fight.

Behind Xiao Yu, the Little Medical Fairy stared at his back, gratitude and curiosity rising in her heart.

She was grateful because without Xiao Yu, setting aside whether she could have entered the cave, even surviving would have been a question.

What made her curious was that despite being so young, Xiao Yu had managed to carve out a path of survival through the encirclement of so many mercenaries with her in tow. And the cold white flame he had used earlier possessed such terrifying destructive power that it had shocked her.

His robes were made from exceedingly expensive mulberry silk, and at such a young age, he was already both a respected alchemist of the Dou Qi Continent and a Dou Practitioner.

All of it raised the Little Medical Fairy's impression of Xiao Yu by another level.

Though perhaps the most important reason was that Xiao Yu looked rather handsome when he smiled.

"Whoosh!"

Just as the two were about to rush out of the cave entrance, a cold arrow suddenly shot toward them from the nearby cliff edge.

Xiao Yu's advancing steps abruptly halted. With a light tap of his toes against a stone ahead, his forward-moving body suddenly retreated backward. This was the movement technique Xiao Yu had mastered—the Startling Dragon Step.

The next moment, Xiao Yu raised his eyes and stared darkly toward the cliff edge.

If he had not sensed that something was wrong at that critical moment, the arrow would have pierced straight through his body. His experience was still lacking. He had let down his guard the moment he broke out of the encirclement.

Had his reaction been even half a beat slower, he would likely be a corpse by now.

At the cliff edge stood a man around twenty years old, holding a massive horn bow. He still maintained his shooting posture, surprise flashing through his eyes as though he had not expected Xiao Yu to evade his arrow.

Following Xiao Yu's gaze, the Little Medical Fairy cried out, "Wolf Head Mercenary Group! Mu Li! It's you!"

Hearing the Little Medical Fairy's cry, Mu Li turned to look at her. He then tossed the bow in his hand to a subordinate beside him and said, "Little Medical Fairy, our Wolf Head Mercenary Group discovered these ruins first. Hand over everything you obtained, and I can spare your lives."

"Besides, with such excellent skills, little brother, I can make the decision to let you join the Wolf Head Mercenary Group. Your status will be second only to mine. What do you say?"

Hearing this, the Little Medical Fairy's expression turned ugly as she roared, "I clearly discovered this place first! You are merely robbing people by force. Who in all of Green Mountain Town doesn't know the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's conduct?"

Mu Li narrowed his eyes slightly at her words, a trace of coldness flashing through them. Yet he turned to Xiao Yu with a smile. "With skills as good as yours, little brother, why not join my Wolf Head Mercenary Group? I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

Xiao Yu laughed disdainfully. "I wouldn't dare keep company with jackals and wolves."

"You really don't know what's good for you. Let's see how you escape now."

Mu Li stood at the cliff edge with his arms folded, watching the two coldly.

Xiao Yu glanced at the mercenaries surrounding the cliff edge, then heard footsteps echoing from inside the cave behind him. Clearly, Mu Li was waiting for those inside the cave to emerge so they could join forces and surround the two of them here.

Xiao Yu shook his head helplessly and looked at the Little Medical Fairy with a deliberately bitter smile. "We're out of options now. Looks like we really can't escape."

Hearing this, the Little Medical Fairy looked at Xiao Yu and blinked. "Then why don't you capture me and hand me over to them? They would definitely value you greatly."

Xiao Yu immediately retorted, "When has a man ever needed to sell out a woman to protect himself? If I did that, I wouldn't deserve to be called a man."

Although he said it to raise the Little Medical Fairy's favorability, Xiao Yu was also telling the truth. Nine years of compulsory education in his previous life had never taught him that men should bully women.

For some reason, upon hearing Xiao Yu say this, the Little Medical Fairy suddenly gave a playful, radiant smile. Then she walked to the cliff edge and blew a whistle.

"Screech!"

Soon, a sharp cry rang out from the horizon, followed by a huge black shadow diving down from the sky.

The creature rushing down from the horizon was the Little Medical Fairy's companion, a first-tier Blue Eagle.

With a light leap, the Little Medical Fairy landed on the Blue Eagle's back. Smiling at Xiao Yu, she said, "Come on! Now we can leave this place!"

Looking at the Little Medical Fairy's sweet smile from atop the Blue Eagle's back, Xiao Yu smiled as well. He gave a slight push with his right foot and leaped onto the Blue Eagle's back.

At the cliff edge, the moment Mu Li saw the Blue Eagle swooping down, he realized things had gone badly. He hurriedly ordered his subordinates to shoot arrows at Xiao Yu and the Little Medical Fairy.

But before the rain of arrows could even get close, the Blue Eagle gave its wings a slight flap, whipping up a violent gust that sent the arrows tumbling in all directions. They posed no threat at all to Xiao Yu and the Little Medical Fairy.

With a spread of its wings, the Blue Eagle carried the Little Medical Fairy and Xiao Yu away, instantly breaking through the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's blockade.

Beneath the azure sky, a massive black shadow soared through the air.

It was Xiao Yu and the Little Medical Fairy, fleeing far away.

On the Blue Eagle's soft back, Xiao Yu and the Little Medical Fairy sat facing each other, discussing the danger they had just escaped.

Xiao Yu had never expected to run into the Wolf Head Mercenary Group. He had thought that since he and the Little Medical Fairy had entered the cave first, they would not encounter them. It seemed they had been watching the Little Medical Fairy for a long time.

Otherwise, it could not have been such a coincidence.

After this adventure, Xiao Yu also realized some of his own shortcomings.

First, he had relied too much on knowing the plot. He had believed everything would follow the original story, and that as long as he acted carefully, he would not face much danger.

But many dangers could not be conveyed through words. For example, if Mu Li and the others had blocked the cave entrance in advance, Xiao Yu and the Little Medical Fairy would not even have had a chance to break through.

Second was his mindset. He had always believed he viewed the world from a god's perspective, never realizing that he had long since been drawn into it. This was no longer a simple novel from a book, but a world Xiao Yu himself lived in.

The price of his carelessness could very well be his life.

Shaking his head slightly, Xiao Yu temporarily pushed those thoughts aside.

He decided to check this time's gains first.

[Strongest Supporting Character System]

Name: Xiao Yu

Level: 3 (Experience: 381/400)

Strength: Six-Star Dou Practitioner (600/1000)

Technique: Sun Devouring Technique

Dou Techniques: Low Huang Tier Raging Flame Palm (Proficient), Low Xuan Tier Absorbing Palm (Mastered), High Xuan Tier Eight Extremes Collapse (Mastered), Low Xuan Tier Startling Dragon Step (Great Mastery)

Items: Low-grade Storage Ring, Blood-Refining Pill, Third-Tier Wood-Element Magic Core, Green Lotus Core Flame Map, Canaan Academy Enrollment Invitation, Shadowless Mask, Thousand Flame Spear, Pure Soul Experience (Not Yet Absorbed)

Main Quest: Help the Little Medical Fairy escape the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's pursuit. (Completed)

Seeing that the quest was marked completed, Xiao Yu's heart burned with excitement.

This quest should be enough for his system to level up once more. He just did not know whether new functions would unlock upon reaching level four.

Without hesitation, Xiao Yu directly claimed the quest rewards.

"Ding, reward obtained: Lottery Tickets x5."

"Ding, reward obtained: Dou Technique Experience Books x10."

"Ding, reward obtained: Experience +100."

"Ding, reward obtained: Dou Qi +10."

"Ding, reward obtained: Dou Qi +10."