Chapter 24: An Impending Robbery and Murder
Unlike his entry into Shennong City, Yao Yan chose to conceal himself when exiting. A bamboo hat shaded his face—because at this point, his looks were simply too dazzling. The kind that made men want to praise him, and women want to love him. The kind of looks that turned "1s" into "0s" and turned old ladies and even teething toddlers into swooning fans. He was handsome to the point of absurdity.
If he had lived in Wu Zetian's era, he'd be dragged into the palace to conduct import-export business—through both ends.
So Yao Yan had no choice but to keep a low profile. Not out of fear of trouble, but because he dreaded attracting perverts. The Dou Qi Continent was by no means short on psychos.
"Let's head back home first. I plan to go into secluded training again."
Yao Yan patted Ling'er, the little greenwood fox lounging on his shoulder, as he made his suggestion. He intended to push the Vajra Indestructible Body to the second layer. By then, he could fend off even Dou Emperors in battle. His Dou Qi, which had surged to six-star Dou Practitioner thanks to the Spirit Clan's bloodline, needed tempering—not urgent advancement.
Ling'er gave a lazy "yiying~" in reply, drooping her fluffy ears. She really didn't care. As a lazy glutton, as long as there was food, life was good.
You're definitely a rare breed among heavenly flames… Yao Yan glanced at Ling'er with a smile. He still marveled at his luck in accidentally picking up the Flame of Vitality, an heavenly flame born of pure life energy and composed of wood-type energy—yet still ranked among the most fearsome destructive flames in the world.
It was clearly a spiritual creation, born of the laws of heaven and earth. Kind of like the Eight Ancestral Talismans from Martial Universe.
As for deeper secrets, that was beyond what he could understand for now. Rubbing Ling'er's head, Yao Yan set off again. With the Spirit Clan's Dou Emperor bloodline coursing through him, he could now indulge more fearlessly in body cultivation without worrying about lingering damage.
He had to admit…
The massive vitality from the Spirit Clan bloodline complemented the raging blood power of the Stone Clan perfectly. Together, they granted Yao Yan an unrivaled physique. He might even be able to push the second layer of the Vajra Indestructible Body to completion in a short time.
And when that happened…
He might just be able to throw hands with Dou Sect experts.
That thought made his steps light and quick. He couldn't wait to return to the waterfall cave for closed-door training.
…
"Is that him?"
"It's him. Even though he's wearing a hat, his clothes haven't changed. More importantly, the greenwood fox on his shoulder... No one else in Shennong City keeps that kind of pet. No mistake."
"Are we really doing this? He's from the Yao Clan—even if he's just from a branch family, that's not someone we can afford to cross. If something goes wrong…"
At the city gates, a group of mercenaries argued.
Their leader clenched his fists, eyes gleaming with menace as he cut in:
"What are you afraid of? We're robbing a fat lamb from the Yao Clan—exactly the kind of rookie they send out for trials. Barely any combat experience. Easy target. Quick in, quick out—kill him, split the loot, scatter. A haul like his could elevate all of us by a whole tier."
Greed blinded reason. These mercenaries had long lived on the edge—risking their lives in the Shennong Mountains, picking herbs and flirting with death. A single job like this could change everything.
The gamble? That the boy had no serious backers.
"We off him, split the pills and resources—maybe even become Dou Kings ourselves!"
Dou Kings were a whole different class. Even within Shennong City, they stood above the rest.
Like the floating islands above versus the city below.
One soared across the skies, looking down on the world.
The other lived in shadows, never even glimpsing the vastness of the world.
"…Then let's gamble. Quick job, split the loot, and scatter. Whether we live or die depends on our luck."
A feminine-looking youth finally nodded, his voice cold.
Yao Yan was unlike most of the Yao Clan's outer members. He was clearly someone with status—whether by his attire, manner, or the way he casually splurged at the market. He looked like a pampered young master who didn't know the cruelty of the outside world.
That's why they were all here now.
A hulking man at the rear finally spoke, frowning:
"You sure he has enough pills for us to split?"
"I've got solid intel. That kid's loaded with pills. He's carrying two spatial rings, and one of them is top-tier!"
The merc leader grinned, eyes gleaming with greed.
The others didn't question him. This wasn't his first time organizing something like this. If he said the target was loaded, it was true. The only gamble was the Yao Clan's response—if they were wrong, they were as good as dead.
But if they were right?
They'd walk away rich enough to buy passage out of the Shennong Mountains.
The floating islands above Shennong City housed spatial teleportation ships that could carry one to distant regions—but the fare started at a million. It was prohibitively expensive.
Low-rank cultivators had it hard in Shennong. All the good resources were monopolized by sects and the Yao Clan. Even the few relics that appeared were snatched up by Dou Sect powerhouses. Whatever scraps remained, they had to fight even the weakest magical beasts for.
And worst of all, they couldn't leave.
The feminine youth grinned grimly,
"Let's bet. Hopefully, our luck isn't bad today."
With that, the six of them moved out, silently tailing Yao Yan.
All six were Dou Spirits and had worked together before. They had once taken down a wounded Dou King—but that king was broke and carried nothing of value. This time, their target was different.
A rich, low-defense, rookie alchemist from the Yao Clan.
And not just them…
Two other groups had also locked onto Yao Yan.
(END CHAPTER)
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