Annihilation

"It's the Second Group Leader and the Third Group Leader!"

Gan Mu and He Meng were thrown out, landing on the ground like two dead dogs.

The other members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group were frightened by the sight and hurried out of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion.

"All that barking first thing in the morning hurt my ears. The consequences are pretty serious, you know."

A boy dressed in black stretched lazily and walked out through the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's doors.

There was not a trace of fear in his eyes as he surveyed the hundred-odd people gathered outside.

"Grand Group Leader, this brat is really strong! He ambushed us as soon as we went in and wounded us badly. You have to avenge us!"

The bones in Gan Mu's and He Meng's legs were broken. They could not even stand up.

"I never expected someone so young to have reached this level. I miscalculated."

Mu She had originally thought Xiao Yan was merely a Nine-Star Dou Zhe. Now, it seemed his opponent had definitely advanced to the Dou Shi level. Otherwise, he could not have severely wounded a Nine-Star Dou Zhe and an Eight-Star Dou Zhe with a single strike.

Fortunately, he had been cautious. In a one-on-one fight, he might not have been able to defeat his opponent.

But this time, he had brought over a hundred men. Even if his opponent was a Dou Shi, facing so many Dou Zhe at once could only end with his Dou Qi exhausted and his death from sheer fatigue.

Still, there was no telling how many members of his Wolf Head Mercenary Group would die in the process. If they could negotiate, everything could be settled.

"You little thief! Not only did you kill my son, you also gravely wounded two leaders of my Wolf Head Mercenary Group in public! Do you really think the mercenaries of Qingshan Town are easy targets?"

Mu She spoke with impassioned indignation, trying to use his words to turn all of Qingshan Town against Xiao Yan.

But that tactic had little effect on Xiao Yan.

"All that bluster is just for the treasures in that cave, isn't it? Let me tell you clearly: it's right here."

With that, Xiao Yan took an emerald-green scroll from his Storage Ring.

"This Dou Technique is called Mad Lion's Roar. It's Xuan Tier, Advanced Level, and it's a rare sonic Dou Technique, too. Well? Tempted?"

Xuan Tier, Advanced Level!

When Xiao Yan revealed the grade of the Dou Technique, everyone's eyes burned with desire.

In a small place like Qingshan Town, the vast majority of Dou Zhe practiced nothing but Yellow Tier Cultivation Techniques and Dou Techniques.

Even the leaders of the three major mercenary groups generally only had Yellow Tier High Grade techniques, occasionally managing to acquire a Profound Tier Low Grade Dou Technique or cultivation technique.

A Xuan Tier, Advanced Level technique, however, would rank among the sect's highest secret manuals even in the Misty Cloud Sect, the strongest sect in the entire Jia Ma Empire.

It would take an expert of at least the Dou Wang level decades to create one.

How could these mercenaries not go mad when something like that appeared in Qingshan Town?

Any one of the three major mercenary groups that obtained this Dou Technique would be able to defeat and absorb the other two in a short time, unifying all of Qingshan Town!

Even the members of other mercenary groups watching from outside immediately hurried back to their own groups to inform their leaders.

If this Dou Technique fell into the hands of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, it would be far more frightening than if Xiao Yan kept it.

After all, Xiao Yan was not from Qingshan Town. No matter how strong he was, he would leave one day.

But if the Wolf Head Mercenary Group obtained this Dou Technique, the other mercenary groups would be in for a disaster.

Mu She stared at the emerald-green Dou Technique in Xiao Yan's hand, his eyes filled with greed.

"Friend, if you're willing to give me that Dou Technique, all grievances between you and my Wolf Head Mercenary Group will be wiped clean today. What do you say?"

Mu She forcibly suppressed the urge to snatch it and negotiated with Xiao Yan.

"Oh? A Xuan Tier, Advanced Level Dou Technique can buy off your son's death? Group Leader Mu She, you really know how to calculate a bargain. Unfortunately, your son's life isn't worth that much to me."

Xiao Yan was in no hurry to attack. Instead, he kept provoking his opponent. His aim this time was to make a bigger impact, so naturally, he had to wait for more spectators to arrive.

One punch to clear the way would spare him a hundred punches later.

More and more mercenaries gathered to watch. Almost everyone salivated over the Xuan Tier, Advanced Level Dou Technique, but most were unaffiliated mercenaries with no means to contend with the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.

"You brat! I offered you one last path to survival, but you refused and insisted on courting death! In that case, I'll kill you!

Everyone, heed my command! As long as you can wound this brat, I'll reward you with ten thousand gold coins for every slash that lands! Whoever kills him will receive a hundred thousand gold coins, along with the right to read this cultivation technique!"

At Mu She's words, the hundred-odd mercenaries erupted with excitement.

They all knew they could never obtain this Dou Technique for themselves, but if they killed Xiao Yan, they could earn the chance to read and learn it as a reward.

For these mercenaries, learning a Xuan Tier, Advanced Level Dou Technique was a chance to ascend to the heavens in a single step!

A lavish reward always brought forth brave men. Besides, they did not believe Xiao Yan could kill so many of them alone.

"Brothers, charge with me! I refuse to believe he can slaughter us all by himself!"

The frenzied mercenaries surged toward Xiao Yan, who merely smiled faintly.

Before, killing this many people one by one would have taken him some effort. Unfortunately for them, Mad Lion's Roar was itself a powerful, wide-area Dou Technique.

"In that case, let me show you the power of this Dou Technique."

Xiao Yan drew a deep breath, channeled his Dou Qi into his mouth, then threw back his head and unleashed a long roar!

[Xuan Tier, Advanced Level—Mad Lion's Roar]!

A sky-shaking lion's roar erupted from Xiao Yan. Terrifying sound waves spread in every direction, and the hundred-odd charging mercenaries clutched their heads as the demonic sound pierced their ears.

"Ah! My head is splitting!"

"What is that sound? Why can't I hear anything anymore?"

Mere Dou Zhe could never withstand a Xuan Tier, Advanced Level Dou Technique unleashed by a Da Dou Shi.

In fact, to avoid affecting the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, Xiao Yan had used less than a tenth of the technique's power.

Even so, many medicine jars, pieces of porcelain, bricks, and tiles inside the Myriad Medicine Pavilion cracked from the vibrations, leaving a scene of utter disorder.

Outside, meanwhile, practically all of the hundred-odd mercenaries lay on the ground.

Those at the very front were bleeding from all seven orifices and had already stopped moving.

Those a little farther back rolled on the ground, clutching their heads. Even if they recovered, many of these mercenaries would remain deaf for the rest of their lives.

After just one exchange, Mu She was the only one still standing. Yet even

so, he was hardly unscathed. He felt as though his internal organs had been battered by a heavy hammer. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth; he had clearly suffered severe injuries.

"You... you're actually a Da Dou Shi!"

Only then did Mu She realize how outrageously wrong he had been. No wonder Xiao Yan had dared to display that Dou Technique with such fanfare.

Unfortunately, he had realized it far too late. After today, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group would no longer exist in Qingshan Town!