“Master, it’s time to wake up…” Early in the morning, Qing Lin, with her delicate hands on her slender waist, gazed at Xiao Yan who was still fast asleep in bed, and softly called out. In response to Qing Lin’s call, Xiao Yan drowsily opened his eyes, drooping his eyelids, and lazily sat up. He looked at Qing Lin with a small pout beside him, sighed, and reluctantly gave up the idea of staying in bed. Under the gentle service of Qing Lin’s tender little hands, he put on his clothes and quickly got dressed.
“Master, you can’t blame Qing Lin for disturbing your good dream. Today is the monthly test of the Desert Iron Mercenary Corps, and also the most lively time within the corps. You reminded me last night to wake you up on time, or else…” Qing Lin’s delicate face blushed slightly as she continued, “or else, you said my bottom would be in trouble.”
“Cough…” Just waking up in the morning, it was when a man’s desires were at their peak. Although Qing Lin was only thirteen or fourteen years old, perhaps due to her snake lineage, her petite figure was curvy and well-defined in all the right places. These attributes were a lethal temptation for those with certain unusual preferences. Though Xiao Yan did not have such preferences, an impulse always arose at such times. Fortunately, he quickly suppressed it, otherwise, it would be quite embarrassing.
Qing Lin’s tender little hands served Xiao Yan very satisfactorily. Stretching, he teasingly smiled, “This kind of life is what a master should live. If I didn’t have someone so thoughtful around me in the future, I would have to go back to my previous life, wouldn’t I?”
Hearing this, Qing Lin felt a sweet warmth in her heart. After several days of interaction, her relationship with Xiao Yan had become increasingly close. Due to Xiao Yan’s gentleness towards her, Qing Lin was very happy to serve him in this way.
“If Master wishes, Qing Lin can stay by your side as a maid forever,” Qing Lin whispered while smoothing out the wrinkles on Xiao Yan’s sleeves.
“Haha, I wish I could, but I will only be here for ten days. After that, I have to continue my training in the desert. That kind of environment would be too harsh for a young girl like you. Don’t worry, I will make sure my brothers take good care of you before I leave,” Xiao Yan said with a smile, ruffling Qing Lin’s hair.
Hearing Xiao Yan’s words, a hint of disappointment flashed in Qing Lin’s green eyes, but she quickly forced a smile and said, “Alright, Master, let’s go. The test might have already started.”
Nodding with a smile, Xiao Yan slung his Heavy Profound Ruler over his shoulder and walked out of the room. The quick-witted Qing Lin pushed open the door and turned to give Xiao Yan a charming smile.
The so-called test was the monthly strength assessment of the Desert Iron Mercenary Corps. The purpose of this assessment was to motivate the members to train harder. As long as they performed well in the test, they could qualify to form their own squad and become a team leader. To obtain this qualification, the atmosphere within the Desert Iron Mercenary Corps was always industrious, and the members’ strength grew much faster than other mercenary groups. This was one of the reasons why the Desert Iron Mercenary Corps’ overall strength was consistently ahead of other mercenary groups in the city.
Xiao Yan highly approved of this healthy competition. Unsurprisingly, this competitive proposal was made by his clever elder brother, Xiao Ding. Now, this originally somewhat flawed test had gradually been improved, yielding more significant results.
Wandering around the mercenaries, they met some comrades who were hastily getting up from their beds. They greeted each other with smiles and then rushed to the training ground. Perhaps because of Xiao Yan’s influence, the current Desert Iron members had become less hostile towards Qing Lin. Although they were still cold, they no longer spoke ill of her.
Xiao Yan had no intention of participating in the test, so there was no need for them to rush. Chatting and laughing with Qing Lin, he slowly walked to the backyard. When they arrived at the vast training ground, the battle was already in full swing. Over a hundred people were engaged in a chaotic fight, while the audience cheered loudly. Some even placed bets on the last five standing.
Standing on a large rock outside the field, Xiao Yan pulled Qing Lin up beside him. The two stood side by side, watching the chaotic battle with great interest. Occasionally, seeing some extremely vulgar moves, they couldn’t help but laugh.
“Master, Commander Xiao Ding and the others are up there,” Qing Lin suddenly pointed to the high platform opposite the field, smiling at Xiao Yan.
“Oh?” Surprised, Xiao Yan looked up and saw Xiao Ding and Xiao Li sitting on the platform, along with some other senior members of the corps. Over the past few days, Xiao Yan had met them, so he recognized them vaguely.
As Xiao Yan watched, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li also looked over, and the three exchanged a hearty laugh and waved to each other.
Just as Xiao Yan was about to look away, he noticed Xiao Li’s gesture and was taken aback. Xiao Li pointed to the field and then to himself. Seeing this, Xiao Li laughed and nodded, whispered something to Xiao Ding, and then jumped down to the field with a steady stance.
Seeing Xiao Li’s actions, Xiao Yan rolled his eyes and, after saying something to Qing Lin, stepped firmly onto the large rock. With a loud thud, he charged into the field, somersaulted in mid-air, and landed inside the field.
“Haha, little Yan, let me see how strong our family’s little genius has become in these few years!” Xiao Li’s voice, carried by his fighting spirit, overshadowed the noise around the training ground.
“Vice Commander! Vice Commander!” Hearing Xiao Li’s shout, the crowd, initially surprised, then burst into excited cheers. Immediately, waves of enthusiastic shouts rose, reaching the sky.
“Since Second Brother wants to, Little Brother naturally cannot refuse!” Moved by the passionate atmosphere, Xiao Yan grasped the handle of his Heavy Profound Ruler, drew it out with a resounding clang, held it diagonally, and laughed heartily.
“Haha, good!” Xiao Li roared with laughter, his hand flipping, producing a straight tungsten-steel spear. His hand tightened, and a silver fighting spirit rose from his body, forming a layer of silver fighting spirit armor on his surface.
“I didn’t expect that Second Brother’s lightning attribute fighting spirit has become even purer after a few years,” Xiao Yan shook his head, admiring the silver fighting spirit armor on Xiao Li. Xiao Li’s fighting spirit, quite rare, was a lightning attribute, which not only had powerful attacks but also came with a paralyzing effect, making it a headache in battle.
Taking a deep breath, the purple fire fighting spirit within Xiao Yan’s body surged rapidly. Soon, a layer of purple fighting spirit armor, enveloped in purple flames, surrounded him.
“Good guy…” Xiao Li couldn’t help but praise as he saw the purple flame armor, then tightened his grip on the spear and shouted, “Let’s begin!”
As Xiao Li’s voice fell, Xiao Yan and Xiao Li almost simultaneously moved. Their feet stamped on the ground, and they shot out like arrows.
Seeing the two carve a path through the chaos, the surrounding mercenaries erupted again. A fight between two Fighters was a rare sight, and today they had the privilege to witness it, filling them with excitement.
“Master, come on!” Standing on the rock, Qing Lin’s small face blushed slightly as she cheered crisply.
“Hehe, Commander, who do you think has a better chance of winning, Second Commander or Xiao Yan?” On the high platform, Xue Lan glanced at the field and asked with a smile.
Hearing Xue Lan’s question, the other senior members also turned their gaze to Xiao Ding, who usually made decisions for the corps.
Under everyone’s attention, Xiao Ding casually picked up a teacup, took a sip, and, with a smile, said, “Second Brother is currently a four-star Fighter. With his speed, he should soon reach the fifth star.”
“Little Yan, on the other hand, has just become a Fighter. Additionally, Second Brother’s lightning attribute fighting spirit, as we all know, is formidable. Although Little Yan’s purple fire fighting spirit is mysterious to me, I don’t think his true strength is just what he shows on the surface… Who do you think has a better chance?”
A mischievous glint flashed in Xiao Ding’s eyes as he smiled.
“From what you say, Second Commander is surely going to win, right? After all, they are several stars apart in strength…” Xue Lan pouted, a bit disappointed. She really wanted to see Xiao Li humiliated.
“Hehe…” Smiling, Xiao Ding tapped the table lightly and fixed his gaze on the young man wrapped in purple fire fighting spirit. “For anyone else, there might indeed be no chance, but for my youngest brother, he can’t be judged by common sense. That little guy knows how to hide his strength since he was young. I don’t think his true strength is just what he shows…”
“So… in this match, it’s possible that Little Yan has a greater chance of winning!”
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