The Nalan Clan, As Always

On the Dou Qi Continent, Magic Beasts possessed physical strength far beyond that of humans. Earth-attributed Dou Qi excelled at defense and countershock; the stronger the attack it endured, the stronger the rebounding force became.

The entire Su Clan cultivated earth-attributed techniques, so Su Heng understood this quite well.

Earth-attributed Dou Qi generally fell into two categories. One focused primarily on defense, with both Dou Techniques and Dou Qi devoted entirely to protection and endurance. It was like condensing earth into gold—unyielding and indestructible.

The other followed the path of countershock, cultivating protective Dou Qi to withstand damage with the body before using Dou Qi to injure the enemy in return.

This Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake clearly followed the countershock path among earth-attributed Magic Beasts. Combined with the Rattlesnake Demon Sound, it could control its enemies after wounding them, then kill them with everything it had.

Of course, that only applied to battles between opponents of the same realm. If a Dou Emperor faced a Great Dou Master, the Great Dou Master would likely be killed in a single strike before they could even countershock the attack. After all, the damage had to be endured by the body itself.

This black-armored commander was clearly no weakling, at least a three-star Great Dou Master. His full-force strike had successfully injured the Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake, but the giant snake's formidable defense and the countershock force created by its earth attribute had caught him off guard and injured him as well.

And Su Heng, hiding within a pile of sand, saw all of it clearly!

To defend against the Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake's sonic attack, he had sealed his ears with Dou Qi in advance. Despite all his preparations, when the rattlesnake released its sound waves, his vision still went dark and he spat out blood.

Trying to erase the gap in raw strength through petty cleverness was simply impossible.

Only after the black-armored commander injured the Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake did he regain some clarity. Taking advantage of the giant snake's injury, Su Heng slipped away through the darkness and hid his body beneath the sand in the distance.

The pitch-black night was perfect for hiding. Even in broad daylight, as long as he did not move, no one would be able to find him.

As the rattlesnake's sound waves faded, the soldiers on the city wall gradually regained consciousness. Following the commander's orders, they raised their heavy crossbows and continued firing at the Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake.

By then, the Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake had curled itself into a ball. Its thick stone scales made it look like a small artificial hill. No matter how the giant crossbows atop the wall attacked, it remained utterly unmoved.

Once their fierce assault proved ineffective, the defenders stopped wasting their effort and ceased firing. The two sides settled into a delicate standoff.

After waiting for a long time, neither side made another move. Taking advantage of their confrontation, Su Heng quietly rose from the sand. He tried his best not to make a sound as he carefully backed away through the darkness.

Now that the giant snake was tied up by the defenders, if he did not run now, when would he?

After creeping more than a hundred meters away, Su Heng was just about to break into a sprint when a thunderous boom erupted behind him. The grinding of stone scales sounded like a mountain collapsing.

The Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake, which had originally been curled into a ball, had somehow noticed Su Heng fleeing. Its eyes turned blood-red as it sprang up again and charged toward him.

On the city wall, the soldiers saw the Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake move and were about to fire when the black-armored commander stopped them with a shout.

"That Magic Beast is chasing that brat. Let him suffer the consequences himself. No one interfere."

The black-armored commander crossed his arms and began watching the show. He had never wanted to risk his life fighting the giant snake. Debts had their creditors; whoever caused the trouble could bear it themselves.

This time, Su Heng truly had no options left. The effects of the Windstride Pill had long worn off. With only the strength of a two-star Dou Practitioner, whether he fought or fled, he would merely be shaking a tree with an ant's strength—seeking death.

Entrusting one's life and death to someone else usually led to this sort of outcome. Su Heng had wanted to use the Gama Empire's border guards to deal with the Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake, but they clearly had no interest in making sacrifices for someone else.

Just as Su Heng's life hung by a thread, a dazzling bolt of silver lightning tore through the stars and descended from the night sky.

"Thunder Arc Three-Stage Dance!"

Within the silver lightning, a valiant figure descended from the heavens. This time, the Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake failed to withstand the attack. An electric arc pierced through its forehead, and black blood burst from the wound, spreading into a cloud of black mist.

"Second Brother Xiao!"

Seeing the familiar figure again, Su Heng's eyes reddened, and tears nearly spilled from them. The Xiao Family truly was full of heroes!

Su Heng had risked his life to save every member of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group. How could Xiao Li simply stand by and do nothing?

After settling the mercenary group, Xiao Li had raced westward in search of Su Heng.

The splattering blood and searing wound only made the Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake more frenzied.

It roared madly, its piercing cry enough to make one's blood run cold. Amid that terrifying shriek, the utterly enraged Magic Beast charged straight at Xiao Li.

Just as the Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake opened its blood-filled maw and was about to devour Xiao Li and Su Heng, a petite figure stepped forward. She spread her arms and stood in front of them.

An eerie radiance blazed within her emerald-green eyes. Bathed in that glow, the Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake's shrill cry came to an abrupt halt.

Its body began twisting violently, and the savagery in its eyes instantly faded by more than half, replaced by deep terror.

The emerald glow completely enveloped the Magic Beast. Under its illumination, the Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake's body gradually stiffened and stopped moving.

A moment later, the glow contracted, and a small emerald flower mark appeared on the Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake's forehead, where black blood was still flowing.

The Magic Beast slowly curled up. Its savage eyes became clear and gentle as it lay quietly on the ground without moving.

"Qing Lin!"

Once the Magic Beast had completely fallen still, Su Heng hurried forward and pulled the petite figure into his arms. The newcomer was Qing Lin.

After helping the mercenary group deal with the Snake-People Tribe's encirclement, Qing Lin had fallen asleep from exhaustion. However, the Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake's rattling sound waves had awakened Qing Lin, who possessed Snake-People Tribe blood.

She had watched helplessly as Su Heng lured that Magic Beast away with the resolve to die, disappearing into the darkness.

This was the first time Qing Lin had experienced the agony of life and death.

She desperately begged Xiao Li to take her with him to save Su Heng. She revealed the secret of her Bi-Snake Three-Flower Eyes, and the Desert Iron Mercenary Group members all stepped forward to testify for Qing Lin.

In the end, Xiao Li took some healing pills, carried Qing Lin on his back, and set off ahead to catch up to Su Heng. The remaining mercenary group members followed behind, heading toward the border outpost of the empire.

Just as Su Heng's life was in danger, Xiao Li arrived in time and saved him.

"Didn't I tell you not to use the Bi-Snake Three-Flower Eyes again?"

Su Heng looked anxiously at Qing Lin, his face full of guilt and panic.

A faint smile was forced onto Qing Lin's pale, oval face. She gently closed her eyes, leaned against Su Heng's chest, and said softly.

"Brother Su Heng, it's enough that you're all right..."

Looking at Qing Lin before him, Su Heng gently held her in his arms. Xiao Li promptly handed over a healing pill and fed it to Qing Lin.

"Second Brother Xiao, thank you. This Magic Beast won't attack us again. It's already Qing Lin's pet."

Su Heng understood clearly that using the Bi-Snake Three-Flower Eyes to control this snake-type Magic Beast was the only choice at the moment.

But after spending so much time with Qing Lin day and night, he truly could not bear to see her suffer. He had thought he could resolve this crisis through wisdom, yet after going through so much effort and taking such a roundabout path, Qing Lin still had to clean up the mess in the end.

Su Heng was too weak—so weak that he could not even control his own life and death. No matter how brilliant one's schemes were, they still required strength as their foundation. Intelligence could make up for a lack of strength, but only to a certain extent.

Seeing the Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake lying docilely on the ground without the slightest Baleful Intent, Xiao Li finally let out a long breath. Once he fully relaxed, the exhaustion accumulated throughout the journey erupted all at once, and his body went limp as he collapsed onto the ground.

"Second Brother Xiao, how are you? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. My Dou Qi is just exhausted. A couple days of rest will do."

The two exchanged smiles. Between comrades who had faced life and death together, no further words were needed.

After a long while, the border outpost guards seemed to realize that the Magic Beast had stopped moving. More than a dozen soldiers followed the black-armored commander, fully armed as they rapidly approached.

"Uncle Nalan, is that you? I'm Xiao Li!"

Looking at the commander clad in pale white Dou Qi armor, Xiao Li suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity. He rose to his feet and called out loudly in a testing tone.

"Xiao Li?!"

Hearing this, the black-armored commander no longer cared about the danger. He threw off the soldiers behind him and hurried toward them.

"It really is Uncle Nalan!"

Joy appeared on Xiao Li's face. He struggled to his feet and quickly went forward. Once he drew close enough, he used the faint glow from the Dou Qi armor to see the man's face clearly. It was Nalan Yong of the Nalan Clan.

He was Nalan Jie's biological nephew, Nalan Su's cousin, and Xiao Zhan's childhood friend. The two had grown up together and were as close as brothers.

When the Xiao Family had moved away from the imperial capital to Wu Tan City, Nalan Yong had escorted them for thousands of miles. At their parting, Xiao Zhan gave the Xiao Family's low-grade Xuan-class Dou Technique, Lion Mountain Rend, to Nalan Yong. The depth of their friendship was obvious.

After the Xiao Family declined, Nalan Yong was the only member of the Nalan Clan who often visited them. He had practically watched Xiao Ding and Xiao Li grow up.

After Nalan Yanran went to the Xiao Family to break off the engagement, Nalan Yong publicly rebuked Nalan Yanran for betraying her word and disgracing the family.

He had even nearly come to blows with Nalan Yanran. Had Nalan Jie's Scorch Poison not flared up, he would likely have crippled that unfilial niece long ago.

The matter had already been settled, and Nalan Yong was powerless to change it. Adopting an out-of-sight, out-of-mind attitude, he chose to leave the imperial capital and become a border commander.

He had never expected that, by such a twist of fate, he would meet Xiao Li here today.

When uncle and nephew met, Nalan Yong and Xiao Li exchanged greetings and spoke for a long while. Only then did Nalan Yong turn his head aside and roll his eyes at Su Heng.

"Who is this?"

"He's my brother, Su Heng from Salt City. This time, our Desert Iron Mercenary Group is escorting him to Black Rock City."

"Escorting him?"

Nalan Yong's eyes were full of disdain. A two-star Dou Practitioner with a belly full of bad intentions—clearly, he had a poor impression of Su Heng.

"He's now an alchemist apprentice. He's going to Black Rock City to study at the Alchemist Guild."

"An alchemist apprentice?"

Nalan Yong froze upon hearing that. Like a Sichuan opera face change, his face instantly transformed from white to red. With a warm smile and an exceptionally amiable expression, he stepped forward, grasped Su Heng's hand, and said enthusiastically.

"Young brother, since you're Li'er's brother, you're also my, Nalan Yong's, nephew. Just tell me whatever you need. As long as Uncle can do it, I'll make it happen!"

Looking at this man who had done a complete one-eighty, Su Heng could not help sighing inwardly. The Nalan Clan truly deserves its reputation as the Gama Empire's foremost snob. Even when an odd one appears in the family, that snobbishness in their bones remains completely unchanged.