Battle Through the Heavens: Heavenly comprehension

"Little guy, compared to the magical beasts in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, humans can sometimes be far more terrifying."

Yao Lao's voice echoed in Xiao Yan's mind at this moment.

Xiao Yan smiled faintly, "Killing so many people is indeed quite terrifying."

"Hmm?" Yao Lao was genuinely surprised. After Xiao Yan had slain the Crimson Flame Demon Tiger, he didn't have much Dou Qi left.

This mercenary group consisted of more than thirty people. Even if Xiao Yan's actual strength surpassed what he usually displayed, it was unlikely he could handle such a large group on his own!

Xiao Yan turned calmly toward the Wolf Head Mercenary Group and explained his thoughts to Yao Lao.

"The wounds on the second-rank magical beast, the Crimson Flame Demon Tiger, were clearly caused by humans and seemed relatively fresh.

Although I don't possess the same powerful soul energy as you, do you think I wouldn't guess that there would be mercenaries chasing the Crimson Flame Demon Tiger?

When I made my move, I used the Eight Extremes Collapse instead of the Eight Extremes Sky Cannon, to preserve its usage count and reduce its consumption.

Not only did I calculate that the Crimson Flame Demon Tiger would be killed with one strike, but I also ensured I conserved my Dou Qi to deal with any mercenaries we might encounter."

Yao Lao hadn't expected that, despite Xiao Yan's youth, he would have such meticulous thoughts.

"Even if you saved some Dou Qi, with so many enemies, do you think you can handle them?" Yao Lao asked the key question.

"Just wait and see," Xiao Yan replied with a faint smile.

Seeing Xiao Yan's leisurely demeanor, Hemeng shouted angrily, "Don't try anything funny!"

"These medicinal herbs were hard to gather along the way. Can you at least let me keep some?" Xiao Yan asked with a wry smile.

The monkey-faced mercenary standing beside Hemeng unsheathed his long knife and threatened, "Kid, do you want to die?"

"No, no, no!" Xiao Yan quickly raised his hands. "Fine, I'll give them to you, but you must keep your word and let me go."

"Hurry up!" Hemeng urged impatiently, sneering inwardly. He only mentioned leaving the pouch behind; he never promised to let Xiao Yan leave.

"Catch!" Xiao Yan untied the pouch from his waist and casually tossed it over.

The mercenaries blinked, confused. They didn't see anything fly toward them. Was the kid insane, daring to mess with them?

Thanks to his years of experience surviving in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, Hemeng vaguely caught a glimpse of a red light streaking toward them.

His sharp instincts, honed from living on the edge of life and death, made his skin tighten suddenly as a warning flashed through his mind.

Hemeng instinctively took a step back and grabbed two mercenary brothers, pulling them in front of him as shields.

At the same time, his Dou Qi whirled furiously within him, and his originally bronze-toned skin visibly paled in an instant.

With a muffled thud, the monkey-faced mercenary used as a meat shield felt as though his abdomen had been pierced. Blood spurted from his mouth.

"You..." He never imagined he'd die at the hands of a boy, let alone die so inexplicably.

What Xiao Yan had thrown wasn't a pouch but a Flame Bomb he crafted using a fire-attribute first-rank magic core.

The other mercenaries froze, as if in a dream. The seemingly weak lamb before them had, in an instant, killed one of their brothers.

At that moment, the violent energy of the Flame Bomb erupted in a deafening explosion.

The hellish fire devoured everything around it in an instant.

The terrifying explosion roared like thunder as flames shot into the sky. The monkey-faced mercenary bore the brunt of the blast, his body reduced to a bloody mess. The other mercenaries near the bomb, unprepared for such an attack, were blown away.

But most of the mercenaries were knocked to the ground by the powerful shockwave, the high temperatures scorching their skin black, burning their hair, and heating their armor to unbearable levels.

For a moment, the air was filled with the dust and smoke from the Flame Bomb's explosion and the groans of the injured mercenaries. The scene descended into chaos.

Some mercenaries were too severely burned to move, while others struggled to stand but failed due to their injuries.

The mercenaries on the outskirts, who had avoided the explosion, retreated quickly, watching Xiao Yan with extreme caution.

The boy they had once dismissed as a harmless lamb had now become the sole source of this disaster.

It was only now that Yao Lao realized what had happened: "No wonder you were so confident—you had something like this! I never expected you to be able to directly utilize a magic core in this way!"

"That's right, you've been fascinated with tinkering with strange little things since you were a child," Yao Lao recalled, thinking of the little dancing iron figurines Xiao Yan used to make.

Back then, it had seemed amusing, but who could have guessed that years later, that curiosity would evolve into something so devastating?

Unlike Yao Lao's excitement, Xiao Yan's expression remained serious. He wasn't entirely satisfied—only about half of the mercenaries had been killed.

This was going to be troublesome…

Casually tossing aside the mangled body of a mercenary, Hemeng, despite staying in the rear, was still flushed red from the waves of heat surrounding him.

"Good kid, I really underestimated you," Hemeng exhaled slowly, his face now devoid of any humor, replaced by deep seriousness.

Scanning the remaining dozen or so unscathed mercenaries, Hemeng shouted, "Charge! Kill that boy and avenge our brothers!"

The mercenaries weren't stupid; if they got hit by another of those explosive devices, they wouldn't survive.

Seeing their hesitation, Hemeng angrily kicked the nearest mercenary. "What are you afraid of? If he had another one of those, he would've used it already! The truth is, he only had one."

"That brat must've inherited something from a powerful expert—he might even have a profound-rank cultivation technique! Whoever kills him, I'll let you be the first to train with it!" Hemeng offered a temptation the mercenaries couldn't resist.

After a brief hesitation, the mercenaries' eyes lit up as they turned their focus to Xiao Yan.

A profound-rank cultivation technique—if they obtained something like that, even as Dou Zhe practitioners, they might one day break through to become Dou Shi!

Yao Lao urged, "Go for it! If you fight with all your strength, these mercenaries are no match for you."

"Run!"

To Yao Lao's and the mercenaries' astonishment, Xiao Yan, who had just seemed poised to unleash havoc, suddenly turned on his heels and bolted toward the dense forest.

As he leaped through the trees, Xiao Yan explained to Yao Lao, "The Flame Bomb caused quite a commotion. Who knows if there are more of their comrades or powerful magical beasts nearby? Even if I kill them, my life might be in danger afterward."

"Well said. You've already grasped one of the key survival secrets of the Magic Beast Mountain Range—always save some strength for the unknown," Yao Lao praised.

Xiao Yan smiled faintly. "These mercenaries now think I have profound-rank techniques and treasures. Sooner or later, they'll fall into my hands again. There's no need to rush."

(End of Chapter)

────────────────────────────────────

"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [One Piece: General Blue]."

"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Battle Through the Heavens: Heavenly comprehension]."

"If you want an early access join my patreon:- patreon.com/BaDwYGaMeR"