"Leave the rough stuff to me."
Mu Li and the twenty or so members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Company burst out laughing as they saw Xiao Yan standing in front Little Fairy Doctor with the Heavy Xuan Ruler, as if he was going to save her heroically.
"Ha ha ha ha, this little kid really thinks he's the hero saving the beauty."
"Ha ha ha, he can't possibly think that he can beat over twenty of us Dou Practitioners just because he's a bit strong."
Mu Li chuckled with a mocking look in his eyes as he looked at Xiao Yan. "A 2-star Dou Practitioner at such a young age is indeed talented, but unfortunately, geniuses often die young."
His gaze swept over the several piles of glittering gold coins in the room, and a flicker of greed flashed through his eyes. He licked his lips and smiled, "All right, whatever you two found here now belongs to the Wolf Head Mercenary Company. Little Fairy Doctor, I might spare your life if you're willing to become mine. Don't worry, I will treat you well, unlike that assistant of yours who betrayed you."
Little Fairy Doctor trembled upon hearing this. She had no family, and the closest person to her was her medicinal assistant. She had only mentioned the cave to her assistant in passing and never expected to be betrayed by the person closest to her.
"Ke ke, that woman was pretty stupid, just a few sweet words and she blurted out everything. But rest assured, I've already silenced her forever. She won't betray you again," Mu Li said with a slight smile, a hint of cruelty in his eyes.
"You bastard!" Little Fairy Doctor cursed, not expecting Mu Li to be so ruthless.
Mu Li extended his hand like a gentleman and invited, "Come, Little Fairy Doctor, hand over the items to me. I, Mu Li, swear I will never betray you. With these treasures, our Wolf Head Mercenary Company will surely dominate Qingshan Town and even annex the neighboring cities."
At this moment, no one felt more out of place than Xiao Yan.
He drew his Heavy Xuan Ruler with a dashing flair and positioned himself in front of Little Fairy Doctor in a stance that suggested he could hold off thousands single-handedly.
Yet, no one paid any attention to him.
This Mu Li even began his 'villain's monologue', and did not put him in his eyes at all.
"Alas, have you ever considered that maybe, just maybe, none of you will survive tonight?" Xiao Yan awkwardly scratched his cheek with his finger and uttered the most threatening words in the softest tone.
"If you're in a hurry to die, I can oblige you. Killing a wet-behind-the-ears kid like you wouldn't be difficult," Mu Li's smile was filled with murderous intent.
Xiao Yan touched his nose, finding the naive nature of the townsfolk in Qingshan Town quite endearing. They actually believed his claim of being a 2-star Dou Practitioner, which made him, the little liar, feel slightly embarrassed.
"Ke ke ke, kid, hand over the stuff and I might let you keep a complete corpse," a burly man with three golden stars on his chest stepped in front of Xiao Yan and patted his large cleaver.
Xiao Yan shrugged and said indifferently, "No need to leave the whole body, just burn it all up. It's much easier that way."
"Alright, as you wish!" The burly man swung his cleaver, his Dou Qi surging in an instant as he swung it toward his forehead.
Xiao Yan remained expressionless as he watched the rapidly descending cleaver. He merely flicked his Heavy Xuan Ruler lightly. The immensely heavy ruler met the cleaver like a stone meeting an egg and shattered it bit by bit. After that, the ruler smashed into the burly man's body with a thunderous crash.
The tremendous force instantly shattered the man's ribs and arm bones, and his organs, unable to withstand the impact, burst inside him. He was slammed into the wall, dead on impact.
Little Fairy Doctor's mouth hung open so wide that a goose egg could fit in it, and she was not able to close it for a long time. This was simply unbelievable! It was far beyond what natural physical strength could explain.
As for the members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Company present, their minds short-circuited temporarily, unable to comprehend what had just happened. A 3-star Dou Practitioner, who was considered middle-tier strength in their group, had just been killed with a single blow? This visual shock left them unable to recover their senses.
Mu Li's face turned ashen as he stared at Xiao Yan's Heavy Xuan Rule, "Be careful with his weapon, it's strange and might be an ancient artifact!"
Xiao Yan almost laughed out loud. He was not sure if it was their lack of knowledge or their unwillingness to believe.
Not to mention, the Heavy Xuan Ruler was even suppressing his Dou Qi and affecting his performance. At this moment, his Dou Qi was equivalent to that of a 6-star Dou Practitioner.
"Charge! Everyone, attack! Avoid his weapon! Ambush him from behind!!!" Mu Li roared and ordered all the mercenaries to surround Xiao Yan.
Upon hearing Mu Li's command, over a dozen mercenaries charged at Xiao Yan with vicious expressions. All of them were wary of Xiao Yan's Heavy Xuan Ruler and resorted to using hidden weapons and long-range Dou Techniques.
Xiao Yan slammed his Heavy Xuan Ruler into the ground like a giant shield in the face of attacks from all directions and effectively blocked all of them.
"Go to die!" Suddenly, three mercenaries who had used Dou Techniques to conceal themselves ambushed him from behind, drawing their weapons with vicious expressions.
"Xiao Yan, watch out behind you!" Little Fairy Doctor suddenly cried out. She hadn't noticed earlier that some of them had flanked Xiao Yan from both sides!
As if he had anticipated this, Xiao Yan kicked up his Heavy Xuan Ruler and, with a turn, swept it horizontally. The tremendous force instantly killed all three attackers.
Seeing Xiao Yan like a war god, all the members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Company exchanged glances in disbelief. How did he know there was an ambush? Their stealth Dou Technique should have been invisible to the naked eye!
How could Mu Li give up while staring at the treasures in front of him? Gritting his teeth, he shouted at Xiao Yan, "If you have the guts, fight without your weapon!"
Xiao Yan froze for a moment. Did Mu Li really think that such a low-level provocation would work on him?!
"Alright." He pulled up his Heavy Xuan Ruler and slung it on his back, then beckoned at Mu Li in a provocative manner.
Mu Li motioned to the mercenaries standing beside him, and four of them charged at Xiao Yan with weapons in their hands and fierce expressions on their faces.
Xiao Yan let out a cold laugh and instead of retreating, he stepped forward with his right foot and closed toward them. Did they really think he relied solely on his Heavy Xuan Ruler?
His Dou Qi surged as he unleashed three punches in succession.
Boom, boom, boom! Three explosive sounds echoed as three mercenaries were sent flying. Their internal energy burst like exploding tomatoes.
Xiao Yan quickly stepped aside to avoid getting his clothes dirty.
"Young Leader, his... his strength seems to exceed that of a 2-star Dou Practitioner. I'm afraid he might even be a 6-star or 7-star Dou Practitioner!"
Even though they were reluctant, they had to admit that Xiao Yan's strength was definitely more than that of a 2-star Dou Practitioner, and he had even cultivated a Xuan Class Dou Technique.
Mu Li's face darkened. He had been supported by his father's resources his entire life and had only just barely reached the 6-star Dou Practitioner stage at the age of twenty-eight! Compared to Xiao Yan, he was like a piece of trash!
"You have the guts not to use Dou Techniques?!"
Xiao Yan smiled slightly, hands clasped behind his back, and nodded, "Sure."
"Whoever can kill him, no, even injure him, will be allowed to cultivate the company's Xuan Class Qi Method!"
The members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Company exchanged glances, their eyes filled with endless greed. People would die in pursuit of wealth, just like birds would die in pursuit of food. Some things were worth the risk!
With great reward comes great courage. Screams of rage rang out as swords slashed toward Xiao Yan like rolling thunder.
Xiao Yan's lips curled into a cold smile as he flicked a large sword off the ground with his right foot and kicked the blade. A flash of white light followed, and four heads rolled neatly off their necks.
The remaining dozen or so mercenaries were already terrified. Was this kid even human?!!
"If you have the fucking balls, don't use weapons, Dou Techniques, your arms, and legs!"
Xiao Yan looked at Mu Li who was about to collapse with a mocking expression in his eyes, then casually folded his hands behind his back, sat down cross-legged, and said with a grin, "Alright."
Even Little Fairy Doctor's beautiful eyes widened in shock. This was akin to courting death!
"Chop him down, all of you!!"
A wave of madness swept over all the mercenaries as they heard the order. As a result, they rushed toward Xiao Yan like a tidal wave.
Xiao Yan showed no pity as he saw these desperate souls rushing toward him. A hunter who is willing to prey on others must always be prepared to become the hunted.
His pitch-black eyes snapped open, and an immense surge of Spiritual Strength erupted from within him.
High Huang Class Soul Skill: Soul Impact!
Thud, thud, thud! In an instant, all the mercenaries' eyes rolled back, their mouths frothed, and without a sound, they lost their lives.
For Xiao Yan, whose Spiritual State had already reached the great perfection of the Low Mortal State and was about to enter the Intermediate Mortal State, the Spiritual Strength of these mercenaries was practically non-existent.
"Do you have any other requests? I can let you die without any regrets."