On the outskirts of the Tagor Desert, within a remote mountain range—
Xiao Yan, having fully recovered his Dou Qi, gazed solemnly at the azure flame burning within the Azure Lotus pedestal.
This was his first time absorbing a Strange Flame. Even with Yao Lao's guidance and his meticulous preparations, a faint sense of dread still lingered in his heart.
The power of a Strange Flame was truly terrifying.
"It's about to begin… Brother, please bless me so that I may succeed."
Xiao Yan murmured silently. A resolute glint flashed through his eyes as his soul power surged outward, slowly releasing the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame from the pedestal.
—
Under the cool night sky, gazing at the familiar outline of the city in the distance, relief finally appeared on Xiao Jian's face.
After advancing to the Great Dou Master realm, his cultivation speed had increased dramatically thanks to his Earth-rank, earth-attribute cultivation technique.
Along the way, in order to stabilize his rapidly growing strength, he deliberately chose routes infested with magical beasts. Most were second-tier beasts, though some appeared in overwhelming numbers—enough to exhaust even Xiao Jian.
Unfortunately for them, none could fly.
They became nothing more than stepping stones for his cultivation.
At one point, he encountered a third-tier Giant Sand Scorpion. After a fierce battle, he successfully extracted its sand-attribute magic core. Using it as a medium, Xiao Jian converted his earth-attribute battle qi into sand-attribute qi, making his traversal through the desert far smoother.
The magical beasts along the way were truly unlucky.
Those he could defeat were slain outright, their bodies yielding a considerable harvest of medicinal herbs.
Those he could not defeat were still challenged—or robbed. Xiao Jian would snatch the herbs and soar away, exploiting their inability to leave the ground.
The journey took nearly half a month.
Now, as the silhouette of Stone Desert City gradually expanded before him, Xiao Jian spread his wings and accelerated.
—
Within Stone Desert City, atop a towering structure, Xiao Jian folded his wings and landed silently, overlooking the desert-themed metropolis below.
His battle aura burst forth, dispersing the yellow dust in the air. At the same time, his spiritual perception spread outward, covering most of the city.
In the next instant, his expression darkened.
He could not sense Qinglian's aura.
Worse still, unfamiliar presences had appeared within the Desert Iron Mercenary Group—auras he had never felt before.
In just over a month… Qinglian had already been taken away?
Xiao Jian's face turned grim as he shot toward the Desert Iron Mercenary Group's headquarters.
—
In the group's backyard training grounds, a dense crowd packed both sides of the arena, their gazes brimming with undisguised killing intent.
At the center, two figures clashed violently. Their moves were sharp and lethal—any mistake would mean death.
One figure was wrapped in crackling lightning, silver serpents coiling around his body. Each thrust of his spear thundered like a storm breaking loose.
Yet despite the ferocity of his assault, he posed little threat to his opponent.
Every attack was casually evaded.
From the ease with which the yellow-clad figure dodged, it was clear the two were not on the same level. Still, the latter refused to end the fight quickly, deliberately drawing it out to display his so-called "strength."
Such a mindset doomed one's path of cultivation.
Beside the arena, members of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group watched with blazing eyes. They could all sense the mockery and humiliation behind the yellow-clad man's actions.
At the front of the crowd, Xiao Ding stood silently. His expression was calm, but beneath it burned a frenzy of rage.
"Captain, the back entrance is sealed as well. We have nowhere to retreat."
A mercenary squeezed through the crowd, clothes disheveled, whispering urgently.
"So it's as I thought… they've gone all out."
Xiao Ding clenched his fists and drew in a deep breath of the scorching night air, forcing down his fury.
"Since escape is impossible, then we fight to the death. If they want to wipe out my Desert Iron Mercenary Group, they'll have to pay for it in blood."
—
"Thunder Arc Triple Dance!"
A low shout rang out as the lightning-wrapped figure thrust his spear forward, three arcs of electricity tearing through the air toward the yellow-clad man.
"Haha! Trash is trash!"
The middle-aged man laughed disdainfully.
"In the face of absolute power, what use is your so-called strongest lightning battle qi? Die!"
Yellow battle qi surged around his fist, condensing into a solid energy gauntlet. He punched forward, violent winds howling as his attack collided head-on with the lightning arcs.
With overwhelming force, his fist shattered all three arcs, momentum unabated as it slammed into Xiao Li's chest.
Pfft!
Xiao Li's face turned deathly pale as blood sprayed from his mouth. His feet gouged a trench more than ten meters long into the ground before he crashed heavily into a boulder at the edge of the training field.
"Haha! With strength this pathetic, you dare challenge me?"
The middle-aged man sneered, stomping forward like a charging beast. Fierce energy condensed once more around his fist—he clearly intended to kill.
"Die!"
—
Just as his fist descended—
Someone was faster.
A tiny black dot appeared in the sky.
In the blink of an eye, it was directly above them, plummeting downward.
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