Yanran's Fury!

Flames soared into the sky, lighting up half of Wutan City with their raging blaze.

The Hyena Mercenary Corps ran amok through Wutan City like a band of marauding soldiers whose blades never returned to their sheaths.

The deserted Xiao Family Market had not left them so much as a single dose of healing medicine. The furious mercenaries set the market ablaze, then turned their attention to the residents living beside it.

The mercenaries smashed their way into the civilians' homes. They plundered every valuable they could see, slaughtered every living soul before them, and, still unsatisfied, set another fire before leaving. Raging flames swallowed the residents' corpses, sending up billowing black smoke and illuminating the scarlet bloodstains.

Pampered all her life, Nalan Yanran had never witnessed such a hell on earth. Her fury now knew no bounds.

"Wind Spirit Split-Form Sword, unleash!"

Without wasting words or making threats, Nalan Yanran swept her sword into motion. Her very first strike was a killing move!

As her longsword swept through a semicircle, its dazzling light traced an elegant arc. Each time the blade traveled a short distance, it left behind a sword-shaped afterimage that seemed almost solid. These afterimages resembled the ribs of a fan, supporting a fan fashioned from sword light. For a moment, all the sword qi withdrew inward, sealed within those ribs.

All this took time to describe, but it happened in an instant. By the time Nalan Yanran softly spoke the name of this Mysterious Tier Dou Technique, five sword-shaped afterimages were already whistling through the air, each aimed straight at a Dou Shi mercenary!

They were the absolute core of the Hyena Mercenary Corps, the very foundation upon which it stood.

"Watch out!"

The leader of the Hyena Mercenary Corps sensed the killing intent. He turned around and saw a sword-shaped afterimage hurtling straight toward him.

"Earth-Forged Copper Wall!"

With no time to hesitate, the leader of the Hyena Mercenary Corps roared, and a thin gauze of dou qi immediately covered his body. Bright yellow dou qi surged out, forming a solid earthen wall before him. He hoped to use it to withstand Nalan Yanran's Wind Spirit Split-Form Sword!

But how could a mid-level Mysterious Tier Dou Technique unleashed by a full-fledged Da Dou Shi be stopped so easily?

Like a blade through rotten wood, the sword-shaped afterimage smashed through the wall of earth-attribute dou qi, then hurtled toward the mercenary leader's heart without losing any speed!

Facing death, the leader of the Hyena Mercenary Corps erupted with a surge of dou qi more powerful than any he had ever produced. Relying on his strength as a nine-star Dou Shi, he forcibly condensed a bright yellow armor plate!

This was the embryonic form of Dou Qi Armor, a sign that he was on the verge of breaking through to Da Dou Shi—the next step he had dreamed of for years.

Unfortunately, the sword-shaped afterimage coming to claim his life was already at his chest.

Clang!

The sword-shaped afterimage struck the plate of Dou Qi Armor, throwing off blinding sparks. The defensive strength of earth-attribute Dou Qi Armor was indeed extraordinary: it actually blocked Nalan Yanran's attack. The sword-shaped afterimage began spinning rapidly, drilling against the armor with a metallic clatter.

"Shatter!"

Nalan Yanran brought two fingers together and twisted them, giving a soft command.

The rapidly spinning sword-shaped afterimage exploded. The powerful sword qi contained within burst outward, spreading into streaks of sword light that bypassed the Dou Qi Armor and attacked the leader of the Hyena Mercenary Corps from every direction.

Having condensed only a single plate of Dou Qi Armor, the mercenary leader could not react in time. He could only rely on the thin gauze of dou qi covering his body to withstand the attack. Sword qi crisscrossed him like countless tiny knives, their exceptional sharpness slicing effortlessly through that gauze.

In an instant, countless sword wounds appeared across the mercenary leader's body. Blood spurted from him all over, and he collapsed helplessly.

"W-wait..." he pleaded weakly.

Nalan Yanran ignored him. With one sweep of her sword, she slit his throat.

With that, every Dou Shi in the Hyena Mercenary Corps had been killed. The remaining mercenaries either scattered in flight or dropped to their knees to beg for mercy.

Begging for mercy in this hell on earth they had created with their own hands?

Those unarmed people—ordinary folk who had not even reached Dou Zhe, including children and the elderly—had suffered an undeserved calamity. Surely they, too, had begged for mercy and tried to flee.

They had not even possessed a precious treasure that might bring disaster upon its innocent owner. Their entire families probably could not scrape together more than a few gold coins. And what had become of them?

Raging flames were burning their corpses, while the packs of every member of the Hyena Mercenary Corps bulged with their stolen possessions!

Nalan Yanran tightened her grip on her sword. The flames reflected in her pupils, staining her eyes red.

"You look unfamiliar, my friend. I take it you're not from Wutan City?"

Nalan Yanran had been about to give chase and kill the fleeing mercenaries, but the voice behind her stopped her.

The newcomer had a powerful aura. He was a Da Dou Shi.

Nalan Yanran had no choice but to halt her pursuit. Turning around, she saw a middle-aged man holding a spear. A long, narrow scar marked his left eye, giving him an especially vicious appearance.

When the newcomer saw Nalan Yanran's pretty face, made unusually bewitching by the Ice Silk Silkworm Mask she wore, even his breathing faltered for a moment. Meeting her scrutinizing gaze, the middle-aged man puffed out his chest and said with a wicked smile, "I am Jia Lie Jing. Our clan head sent me here to aid the civilians. On behalf of the Jia Lie Family, I thank you for lending a hand."

"Heh. You can actually bring yourself to spout lies like that?" Nalan Yanran sneered. "Aid the civilians? Without your orders, would a little Mercenary Corps with only Dou Shi among its ranks dare run wild on the Xiao Clan's turf?"

At her words, Jia Lie Jing's expression darkened. "So you're reinforcements hired by the Xiao Clan?"

"That's right. Back in the Imperial Capital, Xiao Yan already saw through your tricks. He asked the Alchemist Guild to send out invitations far and wide. I'm one of the people he called in!"

"There's something you don't know, miss. Xiao Yan offended the Misty Cloud Sect and has already died on Misty Cloud Mountain!" Jia Lie Jing said. "He can no longer pay you. Why not help our Jia Lie Family instead? I don't mind telling you that we now have the assistance of a Third-Grade Alchemist as well. I'm sure we can offer terms that satisfy you."

What a load of bullshit! Since when had Xiao Yan died at the Misty Cloud Sect?!

"Help you? Help you do what? Slaughter civilians?" Nalan Yanran pointed her sword straight at Jia Lie Jing. "Spare me the nonsense. A mere three-star Da Dou Shi like you has no right to negotiate with me!"

"You fucking little bitch! I tried to reason with you out of goodwill, and you don't know what's good for you!" Jia Lie Jing broke into a savage grin. "In that case, don't blame me for showing no tenderness toward a delicate beauty."

"Once I catch you, we'll see whether the mouth between your legs is as stubborn as the one on your face!"

Jia Lie Jing summoned emerald-green Dou Qi Armor. He swept his spear, whipping up a fierce gust that extinguished the flames around him.

"Such filthy words. I'll cut out your tongue!"

Nalan Yanran shook the blood from her blade with dou qi. Powerful dou qi surged from her body, forming pale blue Dou Qi Armor.

"Wave Overlap!"

"Great Compassion Wind-Rending Hand!"