Mercenary Squad

By then, Xiao Yan possessed the strength of an Eight-Star Great Dou Master and had mastered the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame. His fighting prowess had even surpassed that of Wutan City's Three Great Families combined back then.

He planned to meet up with Xiao Yi Xian and resolve her problem before setting off for the Misty Cloud Sect to seek out Gu He and become his disciple.

Fallen Emperor Gorge stretched a full thousand miles across the eastern Magical Beast Mountain Range. Previously, its Astral Gales had made it difficult for Xiao Yan to break out through the top of the gorge.

But now he wielded the power of heavenly flames. He only needed to release a little of the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame's terrifying heat to scorch the air until it warped, easily neutralizing the Astral Gales.

Still, to be safe, he traveled several dozen miles along the bottom of the gorge, making sure he was far enough from the Amethyst Winged Lion King's cave abode before leaving Fallen Emperor Gorge.

After all, even with both layers of his divine pattern fully activated, he was only a Two-Star Dou Ling. If he encountered the Dou Emperor-level Amethyst Winged Lion King, a single swat would still kill him.

The moment he flew out of Fallen Emperor Gorge and broke through the thick mist, Xiao Yan felt an exhilarating sense of rebirth.

The changes in his Dou Qi had also coated his Eagle Wings in blood-red flames, intimidating many low-tier flying magical beasts so much that they did not dare approach.

However, he had ventured too deep into the mountains. Remaining exposed in the sky for too long would inevitably draw the attention of some fourth- or fifth-tier flying magical beasts.

After all, right beside the Amethyst Winged Lion King's territory lived the sixth-tier flying magical beast, the Azure Emperor Sparrow!

Thus, after leaving Fallen Emperor Gorge, Xiao Yan mostly traveled on foot. Although it took a little longer, it was far safer than flying through the sky.

Following the route he remembered, Xiao Yan soon left the depths of the Magical Beast Mountain Range and returned to its outskirts.

After a day's travel, Xiao Yan reckoned he should be nearing Qingshan Town.

But it was already late, and he was in no hurry to save those last few moments. He would get a good night's rest first.

Even as a Da Dou Shi, getting enough sleep would help him replenish his soul power more effectively.

And just as Xiao Yan was about to look for somewhere nearby to settle down,

he suddenly spotted a fire burning not far away. Clearly, someone had made camp there.

As luck would have it, Xiao Yan's stomach growled just then. He had also been traveling in a hurry all evening and had brought little dry food, so he decided to go over and cadge a meal.

Only when he drew closer did he discover five people sitting beside the campfire. Their weapons lay beside them, and each wore the same badge. They clearly belonged to the same mercenary group.

To show his sincerity, Xiao Yan neither released his Dou Qi nor concealed his movements. He simply walked openly toward them.

The rustling of grass as Xiao Yan moved alerted the five of them.

"Who's there?!"

Four of them drew their weapons in one smooth, practiced motion.

A younger girl among them, however, needed two attempts to pull out her sword, and her cheeks immediately flushed crimson.

Fortunately, everyone's attention was on Xiao Yan. Apart from him, no one noticed her embarrassment.

"Don't be nervous, everyone. I'm an herb gatherer. I saw a fire in the forest and came over to take a look."

Xiao Yan waved his empty hands to show that he meant no harm.

Seeing Xiao Yan's youthful face, the mercenaries immediately relaxed.

Just then, however, the youngest girl among the five snapped at Xiao Yan with a trace of resentment, "Don't you know the rules? Sneaking up on someone else's mercenary group like that-were you trying to steal our spoils?!"

Having such a damning accusation slapped on him right away made Xiao Yan frown slightly.

The girl was rather pretty, but a spoiled, willful air lingered on her face. She had clearly been pampered growing up.

She had probably come to the Magical Beast Mountain Range on a whim, just to join in the excitement.

Before Xiao Yan could speak, the middle-aged man leading the group reprimanded her. "Ling'er, don't be rude!"

Then the middle-aged man turned to Xiao Yan with an apologetic expression. "Young brother, I'm truly sorry. Please don't stoop to arguing with her. Night is when the magical beasts in these mountains are most active. Why don't you come sit with us?"

Xiao Yan nodded and followed them to the fire. Afraid that he and Ling'er might clash again, they deliberately seated the two apart.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Ka Gang, and I'm the captain of this mercenary squad. As for my strength, I'm a Five-Star Dou Zhe."

The middle-aged man then pointed to the five gold stars beneath the badge on his chest. Each represented the strength of a One-Star Dou Zhe.

After Ka Gang introduced himself, the others began introducing themselves in turn.

"Qing Xin, Four-Star Dou Zhe." The other female mercenary besides the girl nodded to Xiao Yan as she introduced herself.

"Mo Shi, Four-Star Dou Zhe. You can call me Lion, too, young brother," the burliest man in the squad said with a smile.

When it was the final member's turn, a young man dressed in white, Ling'er cut in before he could speak. "This is my big brother Mu Lan. He's already a Five-Star Dou Zhe at twenty! Even our group leader says he's incredibly gifted. Compared to a novice like you, he's up in the heavens while you're down in the dirt."

"That's enough, Ling'er. You're being far too rude. My apologies, young brother. Ling'er's father is the Third Group Leader of our Blood Battle Mercenary Group. He had her late in life and dotes on her, so she can be rather overbearing when she speaks. But she's all sharp words and a soft heart. Please don't take what she said to heart."

The young man named Mu Lan carried himself with considerable grace and was very handsome. Whenever he was mentioned, a gleam appeared in Ling'er's eyes, clearly one of admiration.

"Don't worry. I'm quite even-tempered."

Xiao Yan chuckled. After all, even when people had wanted to kill him before, he had given them a chance to get lost. Unfortunately, they had failed to appreciate it.

"Speaking of which, we still don't know your name or how strong you are, young brother. Coming to the Magical Beast Mountain Range alone is very dangerous, you know."

As they chatted, everyone's attention turned to Xiao Yan.

"My name is Xiao Yan. Someone asked me to come to the Magical Beast Mountain Range to find a medicinal herb. As for my strength... I suppose you'd call it eight-star."

Hearing Xiao Yan announce his cultivation, everyone widened their eyes.

Xiao Yan looked only sixteen or seventeen, yet he already possessed eight-star strength, while Mu Lan, who was a little older, was still only five-star.

"No wonder you dare venture into the Magical Beast Mountain Range alone, young brother. You really hide your depths well."

They all felt

a surge of admiration for Xiao Yan-except, of course, for the girl named Ling'er.

"You're just bragging. You only look a year or two older than me. How could you possibly have eight-star strength?"

After all, she was fifteen that year and had only just reached ninth stage Dou Qi.

Xiao Yan chose to ignore Ling'er's hostility.

Just as the mercenary squad was preparing to assign watches for the night, a wolf's howl suddenly rang out nearby.

A second howl followed, then a third, a fourth...

Everyone in the mercenary squad instantly went on alert. "This is bad! It looks like a Forest Wolf Pack has set its sights on us!"