On the spacious battleground, the young man’s icy calm voice slowly resounded, causing countless of people to glance over.

“Xiao-Yan-Zi?” Eyeing the black clothed young man who had suddenly appeared, Xiao Ding, who was on the other side of the open space, was at a momentary loss. Immediately, a wild joy surfaced on his somewhat dark and vicious face. His palms heavily clapped together. “This guy has really come at a perfect moment.”

“Ke ke, looks like our ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company’ has not reached its end.” The fist that he held tightly slowly stretched and opened. Xiao Ding inhaled a deep breath and slowly suppressed the unrestrained joy in his heart. He tilted his head and said those words with a smile to the company members. Although Xiao Yan was young, Xiao Ding had an extremely great confidence in this somewhat mysterious younger brother of his. The previous incident when Xiao Yan managed to frighten the ‘Sand Mercenary Company’ by himself until not one of them dared to leave the city also caused this confidence of Xiao Ding’s to become even richer.

Seeing that Xiao Ding was full of smiles, everyone also sighed in relief, but many of them did not know why this young man could let the two Company Leaders possess such confidence all of a sudden. They had all witnessed the practice match between Xiao Yan and Xiao Li. However, now even Xiao Li was no match for this Da Dou Shi. Xiao Yan may...

The hearts of the members of the ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company’s’ were quite perturbed. However after following Xiao Ding for so many years, they at least understood that this Company Leader who was cool-headed when doing things, would definitely not randomly boast in this kind of situation.

Everyone exchanged glances with each other. Their eyes immediately revealed a smile and the expectation of being able to survive from a near-death situation. They hoped that this Young Master Xiao Yan would really be able to help the ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company’ find a solution for today’s annihilation crisis.

“Second Brother, are you alright?” Holding the heavy ruler in his hand, Xiao Yan turned his head around and eyed the blood covered Xiao Li. His dark black eyes surfaced a killing intent that was difficult to hide. He took out a bottle of healing pills and threw it toward Xiao Li’s chest as he inquired softly.

“*Cough*, *Cough*...” After intensely coughing out some mouthfuls of blood, Xiao Li carelessly rubbed the blood traces from the corner of his mouth. After which, he consumed the medicinal pills, lifted his head and watched the young man, whose body was tall and straight, standing in front of him. A glow surfaced on his pale white face. He parted his mouth and his tensed up body also quietly relaxed.

Leaning on the huge rock behind him, Xiao Li’s voice was somewhat hoarse as he laughed, “Little Fellow, you have finally returned. If you had arrived a little later, you might well have had to go to the grave in order to chat with Second Brother.”

“I’m sorry, I’m late.” Xiao Yan said softly. He suddenly smiled. In the smile, there was a savageness and viciousness similar to that of a hungry wolf. He exchanged glances with Xiao Li and the gentle slight smile was filled with awe. “Be rest assured, Second Brother. I will help you take that guy’s life.”

“*Cough*. That guy’s name is Mo Ran, a one star Da Dou Shi. His Qi Method is of the ground affinity. This kind of affinity specializes in having a large amount of Dou Qi, which makes it most suitable for long fights. Moreover, the numbing effect that my lightning Dou Qi possesses does not have much of an impact on him. Otherwise, I would be able to endure for some time. However, it is a pity that there is too big a gap between our classes. Therefore, during this period of time, he did not display any Dou Techniques, so I am also not sure what class the Dou Techniques he possesses belong to. When fighting with him, you should be careful.” Xiao Li smiled and nodded his head. He once again coughed out a mouthful of blood and panted for breath as he slowly said.

“A one star Da Dou Shi?” With a dense smile, Xiao Yan nodded towards Xiao Li. He immediately turned around slowly. The delicate and handsome face that carried some smiles had suddenly become as savage as a demon’s. His gaze, which was as cold as the deepest underground ice, caused the skin on the head of the opposite yellow clothed middle aged man to numb.

“Who are you?” The yellow clothed middle aged man swung his slightly numb arm that was the result of his rebounded force. His face darkened at Xiao Yan as he demanded.

Ignoring his demand, Xiao Yan closed his eyes and threads of green colored Dou Qi flowed out from within the vortex and swiftly flowed around his body. Immediately, a faint green colored Dou Qi cloak slowly rose from the surface of Xiao Yan’s body.

Eyeing the slightly strange Dou Qi cloak on Xiao Yan’s body, the middle aged man’s face changed slightly. This was the first time he saw an real solid flame Dou Qi appearing. His face appeared grave as he harshly cried out, “Little Fellow, I advise you to not meddle in the affair of other or get yourself burned in the process!”

“You should be well aware that with just this ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company’, it is insufficient to match us as enemies.” Mo Ran’s finger pointed at the large cluster of people on the other side of the empty space as he coldly laughed, “Thus, you should not do such fruitless things.”

“You are really full of nonsense.” Xiao Yan opened his eyes and shook his head slightly. His hand that held the Heavy Xuan Ruler tightly and his feet violently stepped on the ground. Following an energy explosion sound, a pothole appeared on the hard rock surface where his feet had previously been.

The explosion had just sounded when Xiao Yan’s body seemed to have transformed into a black violent line that shot toward this middle aged man called Mo Ran. His speed caused the surrounding people to emit shocked gasps.

Seeing Xiao Yan’s swift and violent speed, Mo Ran’s expression grew darker. He let out a cold laugh and rubbed the storage ring on his hand. A pair of dark black gloves that were completely covered with sharp spikes appeared.

After swiftly putting on the pair of gloves, a ferocious wind fiercely emerged in front of him. As Mo Ran tightened his fist, yellow colored Dou Qi began to swiftly agglomerate over the gloves. The forceful energy released a faint energy ripple in the air.

The middle aged man did not cower when faced with Xiao Yan’s heavy ruler attack. He appeared to specialize in this kind of head-on battle. Therefore, he did not dodge. Taking a step forward, his sharp black metal gloves carried a powerful force as they violently met the black colored heavy ruler being smashed forward by the dark black shadow.

“Clang!”

A clear sound of metal on metal came rippling out from the point where the two weapons met. Following the sound waves being emitted, a circle of ferocious energy force also surged out from between the black ruler and the gloves. Instantly, the ground under Xiao Yan’s and the middle aged man’s feet quietly cracked open and formed crevices.

In this fierce exchange, Xiao Yan held his heavy ruler and hurriedly drew back by a few steps. On the other hand, the Mo Ran merely took half a step back before he managed to stabilize his body.

“Oh, you are but only slightly stronger than the guy just now by a little. You actually dare to act unruly in front of me.” As he took a step back, Mo Ran eyed Xiao Yan who was forced back a few steps. Having come into contact earlier, he had roughly gauged Xiao Yan’s strength. He immediately skimmed his lips together and laughed with disdain.

Ignoring those words, Xiao Yan’s retreating steps suddenly stomped. His body once again shot out explosively like a sharp arrow. The dark black huge ruler in his hand whirled around, releasing waves of pressurizing wind sound.

When his body was about to enter the range of Mo Ran’s attack, Xiao Yan abruptly stepped off the ground and his body strangely shifted horizontally to Mo Ran’s left. His hand tightened and the black ruler swung and smashed down toward Mo Ran’s head.

After their earlier exchange, Xiao Yan had also roughly understood the opponent’s foundation. Although the ground type Dou Qi was suitable for long battles, the thick Dou Qi caused Mo Ran’s speed to be extremely slow. Therefore, Xiao Yan could use his swift speed to start a wild and vicious attack on Mo Ran.

Mo Ran was also very clear about his own weakness. Thus, he did not do any of those useless dodging actions. The black metal gloves in his hand danced around as nothing was able to penetrate through them. Any attack that was in front of his body’s surface would be violently repelled by his even stronger attack.

“Clang, clang.”

As these two people’s dazzling attack and defense continued, the clear sound of metal being exchanged sounded throughout the wide open space, the ringing of metal lingered in the air above the open space and did not disappear for a long time.

Following the increasingly fiery fight that went on in the battleground, Mo Ran, who had felt some disdain at Xiao Yan having only the strength of a Dou Shi level, became somewhat startled. He was most proud of his endurance in a fight. However, the young man in front of him had chosen to fight him in a head-on battle from the very start. A Dou Shi and a Da Dou Shi fighting head-on? Moreover, Xiao Yan was able to endure this prolonged confrontation without the slightest injury.

“This guy, it appears that the Qi Method he practices is not of a low class. Otherwise, he would definitely not be able to squander Dou Qi when fighting with me!” Mo Ran said gravely in his heart as his gaze stared intently at the black clothed young man swiftly attacking him.

“I should end the fight quickly. If the other people in the clan knew that I was dragged into such a long fight by a Dou Shi, I would likely become the target of their ridicule.” With this thought swiftly flashing in his heart, the middle aged man’s expression gradually became vicious.

“Clang!” The fist once again smashed the heavy ruler aside, however the sharp spikes on the gloves had already become much more blunt.

“Brat, it’s over!”

After blocking Xiao Yan’s attack, the middle aged man suddenly took a step toward his side and coincidentally blocked Xiao Yan’s dodging route. In a thick deep voice he cried, “Big Dipper Exploding Ground!”

Following the middle aged man’s deep cry, a ferocious yellow colored Dou Qi began to wildly agglomerate on his fist. A moment later, a yellow sand vortex seemed to have been formed on top of his fist. In the middle of it was a swarthy blackhole. A ferocious force was swiftly gathering within it.

“Die! Brat!” The middle aged man parted his mouth with a grin. A savage expression appeared on his face as his hand abruptly struck out heavily. As his hand was thrown forward, a circle of deep yellow colored ferocious energy ripples moved along his hand and surged out.

The yellow sand vortex on his fist suddenly paused at that moment. In the dark black hole, a substance that looked like yellow colored energy clusters, carrying a ferocious wind, violently smashed onto Xiao Yan’s black ruler. At the point of contact, the yellow colored energy cluster surged, immediately and violently exploding like a bomb.

“Bang, clang!”

This sudden and unexpected sound of metal in contact with another metal violently exploded in the open field like a thunderclap. The intense sound waves caused the surrounding audience to involuntarily cover their ears as they eyed the battleground with stunned faces.

When the black ruler was struck by the cluster of ferocious energy, Xiao Yan’s face changed slightly. His footsteps quickly retreated back. Each step that fell down would leave a footprint embedded on the tough rock surface.

After taking over ten steps back, the heavy ruler in Xiao Yan’s hand suddenly trembled and forcefully left his palm. It flew and landed sideways in an empty space nearby.

“Boo...” The moment the heavy ruler left Xiao Yan’s hand, the members of the ‘Sand Mercenary Company’ immediately let out a disdainful booing sound. The mocking laughter reverberated throughout the empty space.

On the other side, the members of the ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company’ sighed in dejection upon seeing this scene. Disappointment flashed across their faces.

“Ke ke, what is there to sigh in despair? Do you remember what happened in the fight between Xiao-Yan-Zi and the Second Company Leader?” Xiao Ding inserted into his sleeves. His gaze stared at Xiao Yan in the battleground as he muttered with a smile, “Xiao-Yan-Zi without that strange black ruler is at his strongest condition!”

Leaning on the huge rock, Xiao Li’s breath had already become much more steady. He lifted his head to watched Xiao Yan in the battleground who had his weapon thrown off his hand and helplessly shook his head. He said with a smile, “This guy. He should be starting to fight seriously now.”

The swiftly retreating footsteps of Xiao Yan slowly came to a stop. As he stood firmly, the corner of his eyes glanced at the Heavy Xuan Ruler a short distance away. He gently flicked his almost numb hand and exhaled a long turbid breath, expelling the oppressive feeling in his chest that was caused by the opponent’s attack.

“*Cough*...” Xiao Yan let out a soft cough and gently rubbed his somewhat swollen chest. His heart slowly calculated the difference in both parties’ strength.

Although Yao Lao had said that Xiao Yan’s actual strength was that of a four star Dou Shi, during this period of time, perhaps due to them ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’, Xiao Yan could sense that his actual level was around a five star Dou Shi!

As for his Qi Method, it had already evolved to the Xuan Class Middle Level after swallowing the ‘Heavenly Flame’. However, with its unique special effect, its actual strength would not be weaker when compared to a Xuan Class High Level Qi Method.

Therefore, if one converted it, Xiao Yan, who had the fighting strength of someone who had practiced a Xuan Class High Level Qi Method, should be able to have the strength of an ordinary seven star Dou Shi. Adding this to the ‘Octane Blast’ that Xiao Yan had practiced and the tough body he possessed after being calcined and strengthened by the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’, Xiao Yan believed that he would be able to contend with a nine star Dou Shi if he were to meet one.

Of course, from the view of a one star Da Dou Shi, a nine star Dou Shi naturally had an extremely big gap with him. However, for Xiao Yan who had the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’ and a Di Class Dou Technique: Flame Splitting Tsunami, these two killing moves, this level of difference was not something that could not be overcome!

Therefore, even though this was the first time that he relied on his strength to face a Da Dou Shi, Xiao Yan did not show the slightest sign of being afraid. Instead, he was filled with a heated desire to fight.

“Brat, now do you know what the result of meddling in someone else’s business is? Hehe, but you have already lost your opportunity to leave. Therefore, you should obediently leave your little life here!” Mo Ran stretched his neck. The turbulent yellow colored Dou Qi on his body had become much richer. He lifted his head to watched Xiao Yan who had lost his weapon and laughed sinisterly.

Xiao Yan lifted his eyes but continued to ignore this noisy fellow. His body trembled slightly and was quiet for a moment before the Dou Qi cloak on his body soared by nearly half a meter. The green colored Dou Qi was like a cluster of green colored flame, wrapping all of Xiao Yan’s body completely within it. Threads of hot air shrouded his body. From where his feet stood, numerous tiny crack lines began to slowly spread.

The turbulent Dou Qi flame from Xiao Yan’s cloak rose steadily. A powerful Qi also surged from within Xiao Yan’s body at this moment in time. Under this Qi, the ridicule that the surrounding ‘Sand Mercenary Company’ members gradually softened. A moment later, it finally completely disappeared.

Seeing that the Qi on Xiao Yan’s body continued to climb, Mo Ran pressed his eyebrows together. Shock flashed across his eyes. He eyed this Qi that could be compared with a seven or eight star Dou Shi and thought, “Had this guy been hiding his strength just now?”

“Hmm. Brat, I don’t care how you struggle today. You will only die!” A fury suddenly rose in Mo Ran’s heart as he said thickly.

In the battleground, Xiao Yan’s climbing Qi slowly came to a stop after reaching a certain level. Under the green colored Dou Qi, the dark black eyes of his were also shrouded by a faint green colored flame.

“Bang!”

Xiao Yan lifted his leg slowly and abruptly stomped down. An intense energy explosion sounded, following which, Xiao Yan’s body suddenly turned into a tiny light thread. In the time taken to inhale and exhale, he was already close to the middle aged man.

Eyeing Xiao Yan, whose speed had risen by a few multiples in an instant, the middle aged man’s expression changed. His eyes narrowed as he stared intently at the black colored light thread that was gradually expanding in his eyes.

Seeming to have sensed the ferocious force that was approaching from the front, the light figure which was like lightning, suddenly shook. The body instantly shifted horizontally and a human figure strangely appeared behind the middle aged person. The figure’s body rotated slightly and a force shrouded the tightly clenched fist. The fist was heavily swung forward and at that instant, an exploding sound was emitted from the air.

“Bang!”

Following a soft deep muffled noise, Xiao Yan’s fist violently smashed on the back vest of middle aged man. The deep muffled sound caused the minds of the surrounding people to tremble.

“Ka Cha!” Where Xiao Yan’s feet landed, a few crack lines swiftly spread out. From this clash, it could be known just how strong the strength of this attack was.

“What a fast speed! However, brat, do you really think that the defense of a Da Dou Shi is so easy to break?” After being struck by Xiao Yan, Mo Ran’s body intensely shook. He was quiet for a moment before his left foot abruptly kicked viciously behind him. At the same time, a chilling laugh was emitted from his mouth.

At the moment when Xiao Yan’s fist struck the target, he frowned slightly. From his senses, the thing that he struck did not feel like a human body. Instead, it was like a layer of hard armor.

Xiao Yan’s body was like a loach as it moved weirdly. Mo Ran’s foot, which was carrying a ferocious force, narrowly passed his waist as it flew past. The sharp wind still caused Xiao Yan’s skin to swell slightly despite being covered by his Dou Qi cloak.

After dodging Mo Ran’s attack, Xiao Yan suddenly moved into close proximity. He used his loach like dodging ability and fast speed to repeatedly flashed around the former’s body like a flea. Each time he appeared, the fist that contained a ferocious force would violently stamp on the opponent’s body.

Under Xiao Yan’s nearly unceasing attacks, numerous ‘bang bang’ deep muffled sounds came continuously one after another in the battleground.

“Brat, ha ha, I have already said that with your strength, it is impossible to break the defence of a Da Dou Shi!” Mo Ran laughed wildly. His body stood without moving, allowing Xiao Yan to wildly attack him. He only acted to block occasionally when the attack targeted vital spots. As for the rest, he simply allowed them to land on his body.

“Bang!”

Another deep muffled noise sounded. The clothes of Mo Ran, that had received more than ten attacks by Xiao Yan, finally burst apart. When the clothes burst apart, Xiao Yan’s eyes abruptly narrowed. He saw that under Mo Ran’s clothes, a layer of ground yellow colored chestplate emitting a faint glow had wrapped the latter’s upper body within it. On the chestplate, one could see some faint punch marks. Clearly, they were traces left behind by Xiao Yan just awhile ago.

“Hei, brat, this is the Dou Qi armor that only a Da Dou Shi can agglomerate. Its is the evolution of the Dou Shi’s Dou Qi Cloak. Unfortunately, I have only entered the class of Da Dou Shi not long ago. Otherwise, I would be able to cover my entire body. However, even with just this, your attacks will not be able to break it!” Lowering his head to glance as the yellow colored chestplate that was emitting a dense glow, Mo Ran first let out a regretful sigh. After which, he immediately gave Xiao Yan a slanted glance and laughed.

“Dou Qi armor? No wonder.” Seeing the dense yellow glow of the substantive like chest plate, Xiao Yan knit his eyebrows together and laughed coldly, “I don’t believe that this tortoise shell of yours cannot be broken!”

Once again, Xiao Yan pushed his feet off the ground and charged directly at Mo Ran. His body rotated strangely and he dodged Mo Ran’s pair of sharp gloves. He twisted his feet and took advantage of his motion to charge toward Mo Ran’s chest with his back. Xiao Yan then twisted his body into a strange angle and his elbow abruptly smashed heavily onto the latter’s chest.

“Octane Blast!” A low cry fell in Xiao Yan’s heart and the force of Xiao Yan’s body suddenly became as sharp as a precious sword that was unsheathed. At his elbow, an uncomparable ferocious force suddenly created numerous sharp explosive sounds.

Sensing the extremely terrifying force that had suddenly appeared at Xiao Yan’s elbow, the wild smiling face of Mo Ran changed slightly. He did not expect that Xiao Yan would actually be able to unleash a strong attack of this level. His Dou Qi immediately flowed quickly in his body and the glow above the armor on his chest instantly became brighter.

“Bang!”

The elbow was imprinted firmly onto the chest plate. A circle of shapeless force surged from the point of contact. Instantly, crack lines covered the surrounding rock surfaces as a ‘Ka Cha, ka cha’ sounds were emitted.

“Very good brat. I did not expect that you would actually know such an advanced Dou Technique. Looks like I have really underestimated you!” With a cold face, Mo Ran eyed the Dou Qi armor which was covered in crack lines caused by this attack of Xiao Yan. Fury filled his eyes as he tightened his fist. He was just about to send a violent blow towards Xiao Yan when two muffled explosions suddenly sounded in his body.

When the muffled noise sounded, Mo Ran’s body suddenly trembled intensely. His face changed between green and white as a thread of blood flowed out from the corner of his mouth.

“Hidden force?” Wiping off the trickle of blood, Mo Ran’s furious face was like a tiger ready to bite someone, appearing extremely frightening. He did not expect that his slight negligence had allowed Xiao Yan in front of him to turn him into such a terrible state.

Tightening his fist that was repeatedly trembling in anger, Mo Ran lifted his head and released a roar. The roar was carried by Dou Qi, suppressing all the voices within the yard.

“Little Bastard, today, you must die!”

Mo Ran had a sinister face as he let out an angry howl. His left hand suddenly extended and stubbornly grabbed Xiao Yan’s wrist before the latter could pull back. On Mo Ran’s right hand, yellow colored Dou Qi was swiftly being gathered. An instant later, it brewed into a terrifying force that caused Xiao Yan’s expression to change drastically as the fist viciously smashed toward Xiao Yan’s chest. Looking at its momentum, if one were to be struck, one would likely suffer a serious injury and lose their strength to fight if not, death.

The intense pressurizing wind caused Xiao Yan to have difficulty breathing. He clenched his teeth tightly and used all his strength to pull at his hand. However, his opponent seemed to have made up his mind to get rid of Xiao Yan in one blow. Therefore, regardless of how Xiao Yan pulled, the large hand stayed like a claw that held him firmly.

After another futile struggle, a stormy anger finally surged in Xiao Yan’s heart. A dark viciousness flashed across his face. His right hand shook slightly and green colored Dou Qi hovered over it. After which, it targeted the crack line in the armor created by the ‘Octane Blast’ from before and smashed at it.

The two arms which were of different sizes rubbed passed each others shoulders. The force that they carried caused the other party to feel somewhat awed in their hearts.

TL: I think by shoulders, the author is meaning the left shoulder

Xiao Yan did not block his opponent’s attack. Clearly, he adopted a vicious attitude of risking his life to take his opponent’s life.

As he coldly watched Xiao Yan’s vicious attitude, a hideous and cruel smile appeared on the middle aged man’s face. Competing with a Da Dou Shi on their resistance to being struck, had this guy’s head been beaten until he was stupid?

Surrounding the open ground, everyone could not resist letting out some hissing sounds as they eyed the fight that had already turned into a mess without any tactics. Xiao Yan’s stance of going head-on against a Da Dou Shi made many people think that perhaps he had entered a stage where he had lost his reasoning.

Under the full view of everyone, Xiao Yan’s and Mo Ran’s fists finally carried sharp ear piercing breaking wind sound as they made contact with each other’s body.

At this moment, everyone involuntarily held their breath. Their eyes were wide open as they stared intently at the two people in the battleground. Everyone had a premonition that during this exchange of blows, there would definitely be one person who would be defeated and fall out.

Perhaps this would be the strong Da Dou Shi, but of course, the greater possibility was the black clothed skinny youth.

This was because everyone had difficulty believing that the skinny body would be able to conceal a strength that could contend with a Da Dou Shi.

Just before Xiao Yan’s fist was about to make contact with Mo Ran’s body, it suddenly and strangely shook a few times. Following the trembling of the fist, a wisp of green colored flame suddenly curled upward and surfaced, finally wrapping Xiao Yan’s fist within it.

When the humble looking wisp of green colored flame appeared, the space surrounding Xiao Yan immediately began to become distorted. It appeared that the air had become extremely hot at this very moment.

The sudden change in air was also sensed by Mo Ran. He immediately lowered his head and saw that writhing flame. A perplexity flashed in his eyes. Instantly, his eyes shrunk to the size of a pin-hole. A frightened expression covered his entire face, causing it to appear extremely ugly and terrifying.

“Bang!”Two fists that carried their own terrifying energy finally and violently smashed on the other person’s body in the next instance. Immediately, the expressions of the two people became pale white.

At this instance, the two people who were originally like rioting thunder, appeared to have become still at the same time. Where their feets stood, a strong energy wave turned the surrounding hard rock surface into something like tip soil which had been ploughed by a bull.

Around the battleground, everyone became quiet at this moment. One by one, everyone’s gaze stared intently at the the two unmoving people.

A faint pressurizing atmosphere shrouded the training ground, oppressing the surrounding group of people until their breathing became hurried. However, they did not dare to exhale with a wide mouth. Many people were choked with their faces slightly red.

After the silence persisted for a few minutes, Mo Ran’s body was the first to shake slightly. Following his trembling body, a flushing red suddenly surged on the face of Xiao Yan opposite him and a mouthful of fresh blood was spat out with a ‘grug’ sound.

Eyeing Xiao Yan who had suddenly spat out blood, the feelings of everyone in the ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company’ sunk. Instantly, a bone chilling iciness that did not disappear for a long time shrouded their bodies despite the hot sun hanging in the air.

“Has he failed?” A member of the ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company’ sighed softly. He smiled bitterly and shook his head. Disappointment flashed in his eyes.

Everyone around had a dejected expression as they maintained their silence. A dusky depressing atmosphere wrapped around everyone after having their hope crushed.

The oppressive atmosphere was like a huge rock that hung in everyone’s heart.

The hands in Xiao Ding’s sleeves were tightly clenched. With unblinking eyes, he stared at the face of the young man in the battleground. His body also shivered slightly as he muttered with his heart feeling lost, “Has he really failed?”

However, just then, Xiao Ding’s entire body shivered intensely. A smile immediately swarmed onto his face. Just a moment ago, he had definitely saw the young man in the battleground part his lips and grin at him.

Under the clear view of everyone, that Xiao Yan who seemed like he ought to have been defeated in everyone’s heart suddenly let out a few violent coughs. He actually slowly turned his body around, walked to the side and slowly picked up the Heavy Xuan Ruler. After which, he supported it on his back as he slowly walked toward Xiao Ding and the others.

When Xiao Yan turned around, Mo Ran’s body, that had remained in an immobile state, leaned slightly back and fell heavily. HIs face, which was still covered with a frightened pale white expression, appeared under everyone’s observation.

Numerous shocked gazes swept over Mo Ran’s body and finally stopped at his chest. There, his chest, which was originally been covered by a thick Dou Qi armor had, at the moment, completely turned into a cluster of charred black. At his chest, there was a dark black large hole. As one’s gaze drifted over, one would notice that everything within that hole had been turned into nothingness.

“Ssss...” Eyeing Mo Ran’s whose death was extremely miserable, the skin on the heads of the surrounding people became numb. Their faces were covered with shock. They took in a deep breath of cold air before their terrified gazes shifted towards Xiao Yan’s body at the side. None of them had expected that this young man who appeared extremely harmless would actually be so vicious when he attacked.

TL: Sss sound = air sucked through teeth

“Gu Lu...” Eyeing Xiao Yan, who was walking over, the members of the ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Companys’ involuntarily took a small step back. Clearly, the manner in which Mo Ran died caused a fear toward Xiao Yan to rise in their hearts.

TL: Gu Lu = Gulping sound

Xiao Ding stood at the same spot. He did not step back, but instead grinned at Xiao Yan as he took two quick steps forward. Patting the latter’s back, he softly laughed, “Little boy, are you alright?”

Xiao Yan gave a smile. His hand covered his mouth as he coughed violently for a few times. Some fresh blood was splattered onto his palm. He randomly glanced around and then unconcernedly wiped it on his sleeves. He gently pulled open his outer garment and pointed to the inner vest that Yun Zhi had left for him back then in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. He smiled and said, “Luckily I have this. Otherwise, I’m afraid that I would really suffer a serious injury.”

“Tsk tsk, what a really outstanding fellow. You have actually slaughtered a Da Dou Shi.” Glancing at Mo Ran’s corpse in the distance, Xiao Ding involuntarily sighed in amazement. This was the first time he had seen Xiao Yan reveal his true strength.

Xiao Yan took out an ‘Energy Recovery Pill’ from within the storage ring and swallowed it. He then smoothed out a long breath. Honestly speaking, his victory in this fight was undoubtedly because he was lucky. He may have left some hidden cards untouched, but that Mo Ran had merely used one Dou Technique.

If that guy had not been careless and underestimated his opponent because of his class, the difficulty of this fight would have rose by at least two or three times. Moreover, he was far too confident about his own Dou Qi armor. This resulted in him losing his resistance when Xiao Yan summoned out the ‘Heavenly Flame’. It can be imagined just how weak the Dou Qi armor with a tough appearance was when faced with the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’, a naturally wondrous object that even Queen Medusa was extremely afraid of.

Therefore, the fist that was covered by the ‘Heavenly Flame’ managed to easily pass through Mo Ran’s defensive layer. Since Xiao Yan was extremely unfamiliar with controlling the ‘Heavenly Flame’,when it entered Mo Ran’s body, the abruptly soaring flame incinerated all of Mo Ran’s internal organs into ashes in an instant.This caused Mo Ran’s mournful death appearance. Speaking of it, it was done unintentionally by Xiao Yan.

“Slaughter all these people too.” Xiao Yan smiled gently at Xiao Ding before turning around and smiling brilliantly at the large group of ‘Sand Mercenary Company’ mercenaries on the other side of the training ground.

The current Xiao Yan had exceeded everyone’s expectation by killing the Da Dou Shi. Mo Ran. By borrowing the shock created from this action, his imposing manner was extremely aggressive. Thus, when those members of the ‘Sand Mercenary Companys’ saw him glance over, they hurriedly took a few steps back. As they pushed and shouted, their momentum was totally lost.

Suddenly drawing the heavy ruler from his back, Xiao Yan pretended to rush at the members of the ‘Sand Mercenary Company’. Seeing his action, the mercenaries who had already lost all moral after losing their leader, immediately emitted waves of terrified shouts. After which, they began fleeing from the headquarters of the ‘Desert Metal Mercenary Company’ in an extremely terrible manner.

“Che...” Seeing that the members of the ‘Sand Mercenary Company’ were so flustered that they did not even choose their routes, Xiao Yan skimmed his lips. He shook his somewhat giddy head before lowering it to eye the fresh blood on his hand only to laugh softly. In all these years, this was the first time that he had faced an opponent which he had defeated after great difficulty. In addition, he had persisted in using his own strength and the result was his success!

“Ke ke, Little Fellow, you have done well. I had originally thought that this time around you would have asked me to take action. Yet you managed to rely on your own strength. Perhaps you might not have sensed it, but relying on yourself and believing in your own strength is a faith that only a strong person can possess.” In Xiao Yan’s heart, Yao Lao’s warm laughter, which had been silent, suddenly and slowly sounded while carrying some gratification.

“The current you is progressively becoming a truly strong person.”