Heaven Tier Qi Methods, Casually Written by His Teacher!

"You refined all these pills?"

Xiao Li looked at the Jade Bottle on the table, then at Xiao Yan, as though he had only truly come to know his younger brother today.

"Why else would I bring so many empty bottles?"

Xiao Yan smiled and pushed the Wooden Box toward them, then grew a little more serious.

"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, there's something else I came to discuss with you."

"Go ahead."

"Come back to Wutan City."

Both men froze.

Xiao Yan continued, "The family has taken over the two major clans' businesses. The Marketplace, the caravans, the medicine shops—they all need people we can trust. Father can't keep an eye on everything by himself."

"You've spent years leading a mercenary group, managing people and escorting goods. If you come back, you can help Father and give your men somewhere safe to cultivate."

Xiao Ding and Xiao Li exchanged a glance, neither answering immediately.

Of course they missed home, but Mo Tie was more than just the two of them. The mercenaries who had followed them in scraping out a living in the desert needed somewhere to go, too.

Seeing their concern, Xiao Yan smiled and said:

"Anyone willing to come can return with us. The clan guards and caravans both need men, and the pay will only be better than it is here."

"For anyone who wants to stay, settle their pay and give them some extra money to get settled. There's no need to force them."

"Eldest Brother can help manage the caravans, and Second Brother can lead the guards. The clan's youngsters who have just begun cultivating need someone to teach them, too. That's better than staying here and fighting people over a handful of jobs every day."

At this, Xiao Li couldn't help looking at his elder brother.

All these years of living on a knife's edge—hadn't they done it to give their family a better life? Now that their father truly needed them, what reason did they have to be reluctant to return?

Xiao Ding nodded slightly, temptation already showing in his eyes.

"I'll discuss this with your second brother."

"There's also this."

Xiao Yan raised his hand and laid four thin booklets on the table.

Two had a green sheen, while faint silver patterns marked the other two. Their covers were all new, as though they had only recently been written.

"On the way to Stone Desert City, I asked my teacher in advance to work out qi methods and Dou Techniques for you."

"Eldest Brother has the wood attribute, and Second Brother has the lightning attribute, so there's one set for each of you."

Xiao Ding picked up a green booklet and opened it to the first page. His previously calm expression gradually changed.

Myriad Wood Eternal Spring Art!

The booklet beside it contained a Dou Technique called the Green Vine Dragon-Binding Hand.

The former nourished qi and generated vitality, making Dou Qi enduring and abundant. The latter could condense wood attribute Dou Qi into vines to bind an opponent, or gather its power into a palm strike to attack.

Xiao Ding followed the opening instructions to circulate his qi for just a moment and immediately noticed that a somewhat obstructed meridian had eased considerably. Rather than rashly continuing, he stopped at once, yet couldn't resist reading those lines of the formula again.

This qi method seemed practically tailored to his strengths.

The booklets in Xiao Li's hands were the Violet Firmament Thunder-Riding Art and the Thunderclap Mountain-Breaking Spear.

He had only read a few circulation routes when the lightning attribute Dou Qi within him began faintly responding.

"Little Yanzi, what tier are these?"

"According to Teacher, both qi methods qualify as Low-grade Heaven Tier. Their matching Dou Techniques are High-grade Earth Tier."

Smack.

The booklet in Xiao Li's hand nearly dropped onto the table.

"Heaven Tier?!"

Even Xiao Yi Xian, sitting nearby, couldn't help lifting her head.

Back in the cave, those two high-grade Profound Tier Dou Techniques had already been rare treasures. Yet these unassuming booklets before them were so much higher?

Xiao Ding drew a deep breath, his grip on the booklet visibly tightening.

"Something like this... your teacher..."

"Don't worry. Teacher knows they're for you."

Xiao Yan smiled. "He wrote these in his spare time. Just follow the opening section to switch your cultivation over. Leave the later methods until your cultivation is high enough."

Heaven Tier qi methods, casually written in his spare time.

Hearing those words, the brothers found themselves at a loss for how to react.

Xiao Yan didn't find it strange. He had mentioned his elder brothers during the journey. After listening, the Grandmaster had only asked about their attributes and preferred weapons, then produced these booklets in the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

He had worried about troubling his master at the time, yet there hadn't even been time to refill the tea.

Just then, a muffled thud suddenly came from outside the courtyard.

Immediately afterward, the angry voice of the mercenary guarding the gate rang out.

"Luo Bu! This is Mo Tie, not your Sand Mercenary Group!"

The smile vanished from Xiao Li's face. He rose and headed straight outside.

"These bastards just won't quit!"

Xiao Ding put the booklets away, his expression darkening as well.

In the courtyard, more than a dozen armed mercenaries had already blocked the gate. A burly man stood at their head with his hands behind his back, accompanied by a man with a sinister gaze.

They were Luo Bu, leader of the Sand Mercenary Group, and Mo Xing.

"Xiao Ding, let's settle this once and for all today."

Luo Bu looked at the people emerging from the hall and spoke flatly.

"From now on, hand over those escort jobs in the south of the city. Mo Tie will merge into the Sand Mercenary Group. Naturally, I'll arrange positions for you brothers."

Mo Xing sneered beside him.

"Our leader came in person as a courtesy to you. Don't wait until blows are exchanged to regret it."

Recently, Mo Tie had secured escort contracts for several caravans in succession and recruited more and more mercenaries. Luo Bu had long intended to swallow them up. Having brought his full force today, he had no intention of leaving empty-handed.

Xiao Li tightened his grip on his spear.

"If you want to swallow Mo Tie, let's see whether you have the teeth for it!"

"You think you can stop me?"

Luo Bu snorted coldly, and the aura of a Four-Star Great Dou Master suddenly bore down on everyone.

Yet Xiao Yan stepped forward at that moment, placing himself in front of his two elder brothers.

"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, leave these people to me."

Mo Xing swept his gaze over him. Seeing an unfamiliar youth, his face immediately filled with mockery.

"Where did this brat come from? You dare interrupt us? Take him down!"

Two mercenaries immediately rushed forward, their steel blades chopping straight toward Xiao Yan's shoulder and neck.

Xiao Yan drew his sword.

A clear gleam flashed, and both steel blades snapped in two. The charging men fell to the ground before they could even scream.

Mo Xing's smile instantly froze.

He was just about to retreat when Xiao Yan closed in with a single step, his sword sweeping across Mo Xing's chest.

Dou Shi-level Dou Qi had barely flared to life before that clear gleam cleaved through it as well!

"You dare!"

Luo Bu's expression changed drastically. Dou Qi rapidly covered his body as he hurled a punch at Xiao Yan.

At the same time, the remaining mercenaries raised their weapons and blocked the courtyard gate.

Xiao Yan lifted his wrist. Five-colored lightning flowed along the Taiji Liangyi Sword, gathering entirely at its tip.

Origin-Returning Sword!

The blade thrust forward, and thunder suddenly exploded through the cramped courtyard.

The Dou Qi Armor covering Luo Bu's front was pierced straight through by the sword qi as though it were thin paper!

His eyes widened, and his hulking body crashed to the ground.

A Four-Star Great Dou Master, dead in a single strike!

Xiao Yan didn't stop. His sword swept back around, sending several slender streaks of sword qi flying in succession.

The mercenaries surrounding the courtyard gate fell one after another. The last man had only just turned and stepped over the threshold when the sword qi caught him, silencing him forever.

From beginning to end, it had taken only a few breaths.

Luo Bu, Mo Xing, and the dozen or so men they had brought—not one survived.

Xiao Yan sheathed his sword and turned to look behind him.

"Now, no one should be stopping us from discussing our return home."