That wisp of pale flame, of course, didn't belong to Xiao Yan himself—it was the Bone-Chilling Flame controlled by Yao Lao. He clearly understood how drained Xiao Yan was after the battle and had no intention of letting him face the three Da Dou Shi alone for the sake of training. In truth, Yao Lao had originally intended to act even earlier when She Mo appeared. He hadn't expected this brat to be so fierce—he actually cut that man down himself.
"We… we really won?" Xiao Yixian, who had been watching from the side the whole time, still hadn't fully processed what had happened. She hadn't even thought to question how an utterly exhausted Xiao Yan had managed to instantly kill three powerful Da Dou Shi. She was simply overwhelmed with the joy of surviving a deadly ordeal.
Xiao Yan coughed violently, his breath ragged. His aura had dropped back to that of an ordinary Dou Shi. The previous fight had been far from easy, and with the effects of the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Change and the Power Surge Pill wearing off, his body now felt as weak as that of an old man on his deathbed. If it hadn't been for Yao Lao as his trump card, facing those three men would've been a death sentence.
That said, if Yao Lao hadn't been around, Xiao Yan wouldn't have chosen to face She Mo head-on in the first place. He would've used his Purple Cloud Wings to flee without hesitation. While it was difficult for him to defeat a Dou Spirit in a direct confrontation without using Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler, escaping was still well within his ability.
'Using the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Change at the Dou Shi level really is pushing it too far,' Xiao Yan thought, smiling bitterly as pain coursed through his meridians. He retrieved a pill from his storage ring and swallowed it—a high-grade healing pill designed to treat internal injuries.
"Kid, where did you learn the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Change?" Yao Lao's voice echoed in his mind, filled with doubt. That technique was a core secret of Blazing Flame Valley. Even Yao Lao himself had been denied access when he'd tried to borrow it in the past. It spoke volumes about how guarded and precious the technique truly was. So how had his disciple learned it?
"I saved an old man when I was little. After he woke up, he gave me a scroll to express his gratitude. The Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Change was recorded in it—well, just the first stage," Xiao Yan replied, giving the explanation he had already prepared in advance.
Of course, the truth was far more complicated. In his previous life, he had stumbled upon a fragment of the technique by sheer coincidence. Initially, it was just an incomplete version. Later, during one of his many trials, he encountered an ancestor of the Xiao clan and discovered that the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Change was actually part of their ancestral bloodline techniques.
In fact, the version Xiao Yan had now was even more complete and powerful than the one held by Blazing Flame Valley. Theirs was essentially a neutered variant, stripped of some of its essence. Naturally, he wasn't going to reveal any of that to Yao Lao.
Still, Xiao Yan's explanation wasn't entirely a lie. In his past life, he had indeed come across someone who carried this technique—though it wasn't through saving him. Quite the opposite—he'd killed the man and looted everything from his body. That inheritance had solved many problems for him back then.
"Lucky little brat. Seems you ran into an expert from Blazing Flame Valley," Yao Lao muttered, sounding a little envious. He hadn't been awake during Xiao Yan's early years, so he had no way of knowing what the boy had experienced. Still, this kind of story was entirely plausible coming from someone affiliated with Blazing Flame Valley, so he didn't press further. After all, why would Xiao Yan lie about something like this?
After taking the healing pill, Xiao Yan's condition improved considerably. Though still physically weak, he could recover fully with a bit of rest. However, something else needed to be dealt with first. He turned to Xiao Yixian and said, "Wait here. I need to take care of something."
"What are you going to do?"
"Naturally, I'm going to wipe out the rest of the Snake Nest Mercenary Group," Xiao Yan replied with a faint smile. Although he had killed their leaders, the group still had many mercenaries outside. If they managed to gather together, even in his current weakened state, they could become a threat. So the best option was to strike first and eliminate them while he still had the upper hand.
"What? You're planning to kill all the other mercenaries?" Xiao Yixian's expression changed drastically. She rushed forward to stop him, exclaiming, "That's really unnecessary! Those people are just trying to survive. They didn't do anything wrong. You've already killed the leaders—isn't that enough? Why go further?"
"Naive." Xiao Yan sneered. The moment enmity was formed, he had no intention of being merciful. To him, any survivor was a potential threat. Even if most of them wouldn't seek revenge, there was no guarantee that a few wouldn't cling to hatred. He had no intention of wasting time trying to sort the harmless from the vengeful. Better to eliminate all of them and cut off the threat at its root.
But Xiao Yixian was different. She was a healer—someone who spent her days treating these very mercenaries. She understood their hardships and lives far better than Xiao Yan did. Her kind heart simply wouldn't allow her to stand by and watch him slaughter those at the bottom rung of society. "Think about it," she pleaded. "These mercenaries have families. If you kill them, what happens to their children? Their parents?"
"You're right. I didn't consider that." Xiao Yan nodded slowly, adopting a pensive look. Xiao Yixian sighed in relief, seeing that he was finally starting to listen. She was just about to push her point further when she heard him add, "How could I forget they have families? Killing them isn't enough—if I want to eliminate the root, I should probably go after their families too."
"What?! That's not what I meant at all!" Xiao Yixian's eyes widened in horror. How had her words, meant to stop the killing, only made things worse? Now Xiao Yan was talking about exterminating entire families!
"Heh. Relax. I was just joking," Xiao Yan said with a soft chuckle. "Since you want to spare them, I'll leave it to you."
For a moment, Xiao Yixian just stood there dumbfounded. She had been racking her brain to come up with a way to talk him down, only to hear him casually agree like it was no big deal. Looking at his calm and sunny smile, she felt a little silly for worrying so much. He didn't look like the type of person who'd go around committing massacres… right?
But what she didn't know was that Xiao Yan had genuinely considered wiping out everyone. That intention hadn't disappeared—it had only been postponed. He simply didn't feel like arguing with her. Eventually, Xiao Yixian would learn the hard way just what the consequences of misplaced mercy could be.
(End of Chapter)
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