"Good lad, good lad! What a fine lad you are!"
Rather than getting angry, He Rang was delighted. After praising him three times, he circulated his Dou Qi, blasted away the yellow sand, and leaped out.
"Consider this match my loss. From now on, your priority will be guarding Master Gu He. If the enemy isn't strong enough, you won't need to be the first to act."
The many Dou Ling hired for this team were actually there to clear out the small fry. After all, those at Dou Wang and above had to be reserved for sufficiently powerful opponents. Exhausting their strength too early could affect the entire battle.
"Thank you, everyone, and thank you, Master Gu He."
With that, Xiao Yan officially joined the team searching for Heavenly Flames.
"All right, we've already lost some time. Let's pick up the pace."
At Gu He's words, everyone continued onward, pursuing the route Yue Mei had taken when she fled.
"Huh? Why does my body feel so incredibly light?"
As they traveled, Xiao Yan noticed that he and the others seemed to be wrapped in a flowing current of wind. With the wind at their backs, their traveling speed increased dramatically.
Xiao Yan glanced back and discovered that it was an aura emanating from the mysterious black-robed Dou Emperor. Dou Qi flowed over her body, enveloping roughly a hundred meters around her and allowing everyone to ride the wind.
Still, Xiao Yan did not ask any questions. His current task was simply to follow them into the Holy City.
"The Snake-People Tribe is just ahead. You few, clear a path. Don't get bogged down in fighting. If any Dou Wang experts block the way, we'll act."
Several hours later, they arrived at a large Snake-People Tribe settlement.
Numerous yellow-stone houses