Despair

"Mu Li, how did you know about this place?"

Xiao Yi Xian glared at him angrily. She had never told anyone about this place.

Even with her assistant, Feili, she had only mentioned it in passing.

Suddenly, Xiao Yi Xian realized something, and her expression darkened. "Did Feili tell you?"

"Haha, that's right. That woman wasn't too bright. All I did was say a few things she wanted to hear, and she told me everything.

Hand over what you found, and I won't make things difficult for you."

Mu Li spoke with a smile, but in truth, he had never intended to let Xiao Yan leave this place alive.

Xiao Yan was too talented. He feared retaliation once Xiao Yan grew stronger. If Xiao Yan became a Dou Shi someday, there would be no end to the trouble he could cause.

He was only saying this to soothe Xiao Yan's nerves and make it easier to launch a surprise attack.

Yet after confirming who he was, Xiao Yan acted as though he had not even seen him. He picked up the final key and inserted it into the iron box.

"Don't try anything unless you really have a death wish!"

Seeing Xiao Yan ignore him, Mu Li immediately drew his sword. The dozen or so men behind him drew their weapons as well.

"Honestly, you're still thinking about treasure at a time like this? We need to figure out how to get out of here!"

Xiao Yi Xian's face was full of anxiety. Seeing Xiao Yan continue opening the box at his leisurely pace only made her more agitated.

"Don't worry. Everyone wants to see what's inside this box anyway, right?"

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Mu Li and his men did not rush to attack. The passage was narrow, and his men already filled it.

Even if Xiao Yan charged out with all his strength, more of Mu Li's men were waiting atop the cliff. There was no chance of letting him slip away.

The third box opened, revealing another scroll, this one emerald green.

"Xuan Tier High Grade Dou Technique-Mad Lion's Roar!"

Without a doubt, all three treasures here were one of a kind. Whether the Flying Dou Technique or the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture, each was a treasure rarely seen in the outside world.

As for the Mad Lion's Roar, it belonged to an exceptionally unusual category of offensive Dou Techniques: sonic Dou Techniques!

Sonic Dou Techniques were lower-tier versions of soul Dou Techniques. Not only did they lack an elemental attribute, allowing Dou Zhe of every attribute to practice them,

they could also inflict damage over a wide area and bypass a certain amount of Dou Qi defense to strike the soul directly!

"Fine treasures indeed."

Mu Li laughed. He had spent ten years roaming the Magical Beast Mountain Range, yet this was his first time discovering a cave like this.

If someone had not tipped him off, these two really would have reaped all the benefits.

"I'll take this Dou Technique first. How about I give it to you once I've learned it?"

Xiao Yan completely ignored Mu Li's words and instead began negotiating with Xiao Yi Xian.

"You're still worrying about that at a time like this? If you can get out of here alive, you can keep the Dou Technique outright!"

Xiao Yi Xian was both angry and exasperated with him. How could he still fail to grasp their situation?

"It's a deal."

After settling the matter with Xiao Yi Xian, Xiao Yan finally turned his attention to Mu Li. "Your faction doesn't even have a Da Dou Shi, yet you dare act this arrogantly?"

"Killing you, at least, will be child's play. I've changed my mind. Hand over the treasures, and I'll leave your corpse intact."

Seeing how close Xiao Yi Xian and Xiao Yan were, a nameless flame of jealousy rose within Mu Li.

"Honestly, I consider myself fairly easygoing. Even when you provoked me time and again, I didn't take it to heart.

But this time, it looks like only one side will be leaving here alive, doesn't it?"

Xiao Yan's gaze swept back and forth across the mercenaries, studying their positions.

Unless it was a matter of life and death, Xiao Yan would not take such things too seriously.

But once he decided to act, he would spare no one and give his opponents no chance to escape.

"You're at death's door, and you're still so arrogant! Chop this bastard into mincemeat! And make sure you don't hurt Xiao Yi Xian. She's the woman I've chosen. I'll cripple anyone who hurts her!"

At Mu Li's command, more than a dozen mercenaries poured into the stone chamber, blocking the way to the stone door.

Mu Li himself stood with several mercenaries at the doorway, denying Xiao Yan any chance to charge through amid the chaos.

"Step back a little so you don't get caught in this."

At this point, Xiao Yi Xian could only obediently comply. She, too, wanted to know what gave Xiao Yan the confidence to face so many men alone.

Yet when Dou Qi Armor appeared on Xiao Yan's body, everyone's eyes went wide!

[Profound Tier Low Grade-Great Flame Palm]!

Xiao Yan unleashed the only Dou Technique he had mastered once again. It was also the only fire-element Dou Technique in the Xiao Clan's Dou Technique Pavilion.

Unlike before, however, he was now a Da Dou Shi, and his cultivation method had risen to Earth Tier Mid Grade!

In terms of Dou Qi strength alone, he could even match a Five-Star Da Dou Shi practicing a Xuan Tier cultivation method!

After advancing to Da Dou Shi, Xiao Yan could condense his palm's power into a tangible hand of flame. A gigantic palm five or six meters long took shape, then surged forward!

Like a force smashing rotten wood and withered branches, the flaming palm burned every mercenary it first encountered to charcoal.

The mercenaries behind them were scared out of their wits at the sight and fled, howling like ghosts and wailing like wolves.

"Run!"

"Let me out! Hurry, let me out!"

"I don't want to die! Someone save me!"

The usually cold-blooded, battle-hungry mercenaries now scurried about like rats, scrambling to escape. Several unlucky men were knocked down by the crowd and mercilessly trampled.

Xiao Yan's Great Flame Palm swept forward more than a dozen meters, only stopping when it struck the stone door.

Yet even the stone door, several meters thick, shattered under that single blow, exploding into a skyful of stone fragments.

With that single attack, nothing remained on the ground but charred corpses. Not one had survived.

"It's a little bloody. You're not scared, are you?"

Xiao Yan slowly lowered his hand and looked at Xiao Yi Xian, who stood behind him, dumbstruck.

"You're actually a Da Dou Shi!"

Xiao Yi Xian stared at Xiao Yan in shock, with even a trace of terror.

Remembering how she had repeatedly tried to knock him unconscious with poison, she felt a wave of lingering fear.

If Xiao Yan had not been so good-tempered, she would probably have died long ago.

She simply could not believe it

-the boy before her, who clearly looked a year or two younger than she was, actually possessed the strength of a Da Dou Shi!

"Just a lucky break. But that fellow Mu Li ran pretty fast. Anyone else can leave today, but he's not getting away!"

With that, Xiao Yan wrapped an arm around Xiao Yi Xian. No longer needing to restrain his speed, he sprinted at full tilt.

"A monster! That bastard's a monster! How could there be a Da Dou Shi that young?"

The instant Xiao Yan's Dou Qi Armor appeared, Mu Li had turned and fled.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, a scream rang out behind him. The men he had brought inside had been wiped out almost instantly!

He sprinted all the way to the cliff and shouted to the men above, "Hurry, lower the rope! Pull me up!"

Hearing Mu Li's voice, the mercenaries stationed above immediately lowered a rope.

Yet just as Mu Li reached to grab it, he discovered to his horror that the freshly lowered rope had burst into flames right before his eyes!