Staring at the battlefield where the situation had suddenly reversed in just a few minutes, everyone around the square was stunned, their eyes wide open. It was hard to believe that Xiao Lie, who rarely met his match within the group, would be inexplicably defeated by Xiao Yan, who was seven or eight years younger than him.
In the field, Xiao Lie was also dazed for a while as he looked at the spear tip pointing at his chest. He gradually came back to his senses, his gaze sweeping over the smiling Xiao Yan. He couldn’t help but click his tongue and shake his head in amazement. “Little guy, I didn’t expect you to be hiding such deep? With the strength you’ve shown, you’re not like an ordinary Dou Shi of only one-star level.”
“Ha ha, it’s just a stroke of luck,” Xiao Yan shook his head with a smile, then stuck the long spear into the ground. He walked over to the Heavy Xuan Ruler nearby and was about to pick it up when Xiao Lie stopped him with a smile.
“Let me try… your ruler seems a bit strange.” Xiao Lie, full of interest, stared at the giant ruler on the ground, smiling and saying.
“Eh?” Hearing this, Xiao Yan was slightly taken aback, then smiled and nodded, stepping back, a hint of mischief in his eyes. Xiao Lie rubbed his hands, slowly stood beside the Heavy Xuan Ruler, gripped it tightly, and took a deep breath. He casually tugged at it, and with this tug, Xiao Lie’s face changed slightly, and he exclaimed in surprise. He found that since he had taken the Heavy Xuan Ruler, the lightning Dou Qi in his body, which had been surging vigorously, suddenly became sluggish, like a turtle crawling…
“Damn, it really is a bit strange…” Murmuring in astonishment, Xiao Lie’s arm tensed, the veins in his arms bulging. Holding the Heavy Xuan Ruler tightly, Xiao Lie’s face slowly turned red, and he let out a low shout, “Up!”
With the sound, Xiao Lie’s arm trembled slightly as he slowly lifted it, then grasped it in front of him, swinging it forcefully from side to side. His gaze towards Xiao Yan carried a hint of shock. “You… you were carrying this thing during our fight?”
Looking at Xiao Yan’s smiling face, Xiao Lie said in a dry voice. My God, it was already quite amazing that he could move around with this thing on his back, and Xiao Yan had actually carried it through several rounds of fighting. This made Xiao Lie both shocked and dazed.
Seeing Xiao Lie’s shocked expression, Xiao Yan smiled and nodded slightly. Taking the Heavy Xuan Ruler, he casually stuck it on his back. Keeping a close eye on Xiao Yan’s actions, Xiao Lie noticed that when Xiao Yan took the Heavy Xuan Ruler, his hand only sank slightly, and the slight arc immediately adjusted and stabilized.
Seeing Xiao Yan’s casual demeanor, Xiao Lie opened his mouth in awe. After a while, he shook his head in amazement. “Little guy, remarkable… Nalan Yanran must have her eyes clouded by dog dung. How could she disdain my brother, who is so outstanding? How many people in the Jia Ma Empire can match him?”
Xiao Yan smiled and spread his hands. “At least Xun Er wouldn’t be weaker than me.”
“Xun Er? Ha ha, that little girl. It’s been many years since she went back. She must have grown up very charming, right? Do you know, the young masters in Utan City used to climb the walls outside the Xiao family every day just to see her. But she seemed to stick to you, huh? Hehe.”
Hearing the graceful name, Xiao Lie paused, reminiscing with a smile. Recalling the beautiful face and alluring figure of the girl, Xiao Yan also smiled slightly, touched. Patting the Heavy Xuan Ruler lightly, he said with a smile, “When there’s a chance, I’ll bring her to meet you guys. Hmm… but now, I have some business and need the help of my big brothers.”
“Oh? Business? No problem! Just say it. Even if it’s beyond our abilities, Big Brother and Second Brother will do our best to help!” Hearing this, Xiao Lie waved his hand and smiled.
“Okay,” Xiao Yan smiled lightly and nodded.
In the spacious room, Xiao Yan and the others sat down, while Qing Lin carefully served them three cups of tea and stood obediently behind Xiao Yan.
“Ha ha, Xiao Yan, what’s the matter? Tell us. Let Big Brother help you analyze it,” Xiao Ding took a sip of tea and smiled at Xiao Yan.
Smiling and nodding, Xiao Yan pondered for a moment and said softly, “I came to the Tagor Desert to find something.”
“Something? What kind of thing?” Hearing this, Xiao Lie asked curiously with a smile.
“Foreign Flame…” Tapping the table lightly, Xiao Yan whispered.
“Er…” The word “Foreign Flame” was enough to make the room quiet. Xiao Ding and Xiao Lie looked at each other, puzzled, and said, “Foreign Flame? That kind of thing is usually needed by Alchemists, right? Why do you need it?”
Xiao Yan shrugged and smiled faintly, “Because I am an Alchemist.”
“Huh?” Hearing this, Xiao Ding and Xiao Lie’s faces froze, and after a moment, joy surged on their brows, “You’re an Alchemist?”
“Ha ha, I just happen to have the talent to become an Alchemist, and when I was in Uthan City, I met a teacher, so…” Xiao Yan laughed lightly.
“Tsk tsk… little guy, you are truly remarkable. I didn’t expect our Xiao family to produce an Alchemist, ha ha.” Seeing Xiao Yan nod in confirmation, Xiao Ding and Xiao Lie burst into laughter, a mix of envy and satisfaction in their voices.
“After the joy, Xiao Ding frowned slightly, helpless. “The rarity of Foreign Flames is truly frightening. Although we’ve spent a lot of time in Shimo City, we haven’t heard anyone mention the whereabouts of a Foreign Flame.”
Shaking his head with a smile, Xiao Yan lightly tapped the Storage Ring, taking out an ancient sheepskin scroll and carefully laying it on the table. Pointing to a flame symbol on it, he said softly, “This is a map I got. At the place marked by this flame symbol, there should be a chance to find a Foreign Flame. However, I’m not familiar with the terrain around Shimo City, so… I can’t pinpoint the exact location of the flame symbol. Big Brother, you’ve been here for a while. Do you know if there are any strange places around Shimo City?”
Hearing this, Xiao Ding pulled over the map and glanced at it roughly. “What a detailed map. I’ve never seen such a map before.”
“Indeed, it’s excessively detailed.” Xiao Lie nodded, frowning and scrutinizing the map. “The place marked by the flame symbol seems to be in the eastern part of Shimo City, right?”
“Yes, more precisely, it might be in the southeast.” Xiao Ding nodded, pondering, “But there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly strange in the eastern direction of Shimo City, does there?”
“Exactly, there isn’t. During one mission, I once led people to search there for days, but we didn’t find anything odd,” Xiao Lie also shook his head, helplessly.
Seeing the two of them shake their heads, a hint of disappointment flashed across Xiao Yan’s face. Sighing, it seemed there was no trace of the Foreign Flame here…
However, just as Xiao Yan was feeling utterly disappointed, a timid, soft voice suddenly sounded in the room. “That… Young Master, in the eastern part of Shimo City… there seems to be something a bit strange.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yan first froze, then abruptly turned his head, his gaze burning as he stared at the fidgeting Qing Lin, asking urgently, “You know?”
On the side, Xiao Ding and Xiao Lie also turned their surprised gazes toward Qing Lin, clearly unaware of this.
Under the stares of the three people in the room, Qing Lin’s fear increased, and she stuttered, “I don’t know if my perception is accurate… but half a year ago, I did sense some strange movement in the southeastern part of Shimo City.”
“How did you know? You don’t seem to have the ability to perceive such things,” Xiao Ding stroked the teacup, somewhat suspicious.
“I… I don’t know. Half a year ago, I sensed an extremely powerful aura appearing outside Shimo City. This aura… was similar to some of the bloodline in my body. In front of that aura, even the leader of the Sand Mercenary Corps was much, much weaker.”
Qing Lin, cautiously sticking close to Xiao Yan, whispered.
“Really?” Hearing this, Xiao Ding and Xiao Lie were slightly moved. The leader of the Sand Mercenary Corps was a Da Dou Shi. If even he was much weaker, then… the other party must be at least a Dou Wang-level expert?
“An aura similar to your bloodline? Could it be the Queen Medusa?” After pondering for a moment, Xiao Lie said in surprise. With the Queen Medusa’s power, destroying Shimo City wouldn’t be difficult, right? Such a terrifying person had circled around Shimo City without their knowledge?
Upon hearing the Queen Medusa, Xiao Ding’s face also changed slightly. Around the Tagor Desert, this name was as formidable as the Alchemist King Gu He’s reputation in the Jia Ma Empire.
“I don’t know…” Qing Lin shook her head, whispering, “I could only vaguely sense that half a year ago, she suddenly came to the eastern part of Shimo City and stayed there for a night. During that night, the energy in the east was extremely volatile. And I also know that when she left, she seemed to be injured…”
Listening to Qing Lin’s words, Xiao Yan exhaled lightly, his eyes narrowing. “Can you pinpoint the exact location where she stayed?”
“I think so, although it’s been half a year, the residual aura she left behind was so strong. I… I can use the trace of bloodline in my body to find that place.”
When mentioning the bloodline, Qing Lin’s face visibly dimmed, but she still forced a smile. “If Young Master wants to go, Qing Lin will do her best to take you there!”
“Ha ha, thank you, Qing Lin… We’ll go check it out tomorrow. Hope it won’t disappoint.” Xiao Yan smiled and nodded, speaking softly.
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