BTTH : Emperor Yang

The human mercenaries were momentarily stunned upon hearing the words. They hadn't reacted immediately, and for a moment, no one dared to speak. Silence filled the air.

"No one knows?" Wei Yang frowned at the lack of response.

"Sir..."

A female mercenary, who appeared to be the leader, gritted her teeth, raised her hand, and nervously stepped forward. Her voice trembled slightly as she said, "Sir, I know the way. We can take you to Rock Desert City."

Wei Yang's expression softened as he nodded. "Then lead the way."

At the same time, he made a decision in his heart—once they reached Rock Desert City, he would immediately obtain a detailed map of the Tagore Desert.

"Yes!" The leading female mercenary was overjoyed and quickly turned around to summon her teammates for departure.

On the snake-people's side, the triangular-eyed snake-people leading them became anxious upon witnessing this scene.

He regretted not sending someone back to inform the commander of their clan about these damned human mercenaries stealing a mysterious item from the underground ancient city ruins. Instead, he had chosen to pursue them on his own in an attempt to claim credit.

Originally, there was nothing to worry about. Given their strength, eliminating this group of human mercenaries should have been effortless. But now, things had taken an unexpected turn.

Even though fear gripped his heart, he still steeled himself and spoke up, "Sir, these people stole a treasure from our clan..."

Before he could finish his sentence—

"You're spouting nonsense!" The female mercenary turned around abruptly, glaring at him with rage as she cut him off. The mercenaries under her command also showed expressions of anger and defiance.

"Sir."

The female mercenary respectfully addressed Wei Yang, saying, "That black iron scroll was something our squad discovered in an underground palace within the ruins of the ancient city. These snake-people happened to witness it and attempted to rob us, which is why they have been chasing us all the way here."

The triangular-eyed snake-people argued, "That underground ancient city has been occupied by our Snake-People Clan. You trespassed and stole our treasure."

"Shameless!"

The female mercenary was so furious that her chest heaved, forming enticing curves. With one hand on her hip, she retorted angrily, "That underground ancient city has existed for decades and has been explored by countless people. Normally, anyone can venture in to search for treasures. Since when did it become your Snake-People Clan's territory?"

"Our clan only recently decided to claim ownership of that place. So now, it belongs to us," the triangular-eyed snake-people replied.

"You...!" The female mercenary trembled with anger, wanting to say more.

"Enough." Wei Yang frowned and impatiently waved his hand, interrupting their quarrel.

The female mercenary immediately fell silent and bowed her head respectfully.

Wei Yang turned to the group of snake-people, raising his right hand. A crimson Dou Qi emerged from his palm before he struck forward with a powerful palm attack.

In an instant—

A massive crimson energy lion materialized out of thin air. It was lifelike, its mane faintly shimmering with a golden hue, exuding an overwhelming and terrifying aura of dominance and might.

Everyone present, both human mercenaries and snake-people, were so overwhelmed by the immense pressure that their legs weakened, nearly causing them to kneel.

ROAR—

The energy lion charged at the group of snake-people, suddenly opening its mouth wide and letting out a thunderous roar.

Buzz—

The human mercenaries instantly felt their minds go blank, their eardrums ringing so loudly that they could hear nothing else.

As for the snake-people, they were directly struck by the rippling sound waves. Their bodies exploded like fragile sacks, scattering into the air.

Following that, the energy lion continued its assault.

Boom!!!

A violent explosion erupted, sending sand flying in all directions.

With an expressionless face, Wei Yang lowered his palm and pulled Ye Xian'er into his embrace. A layer of Dou Qi formed a protective shield around them, keeping the sand at bay.

Then, with a wave of his hand, a gust of wind swept through the area, quickly dispersing the dust cloud.

The place where the snake-people had stood moments ago was now a large crater, still radiating heat. Some of the sand had melted, forming crystalline fragments.

As for the snake-people themselves, they had long since been reduced to ashes.

"Wasn't that easy? They insisted on courting death and annoyed me in the process," Wei Yang muttered softly.

The human mercenaries clutched their ringing ears, their faces filled with shock and terror as they trembled at the sight before them.

Wei Yang extended his hand toward the crater, and a dark silver spatial ring flew out, landing in his palm.

A powerful surge of soul power erupted as he forcefully broke through the residual imprint inside the ring. His consciousness swept through the internal space of the ring.

Moments later, Wei Yang withdrew his soul power and clicked his tongue in disappointment.

It was the triangular-eyed snake-people's spatial ring, but it was of the lowest grade, with a mere cubic meter of space inside. There was nothing valuable within.

Wei Yang's gaze landed on the leading female mercenary.

She trembled as she stepped forward. "Sir… w-we'll take you to Rock Desert City right away…"

"Mm, then let's go." Wei Yang casually tossed a Storage Ring to her. "This is your payment."

"Thank you, sir!" The female mercenary's eyes lit up as she caught the ring, her heart brimming with excitement.

A Storage Ring!

The group of mercenaries looked on, both thrilled and envious.

Even the lowest-grade Storage Ring was worth tens of thousands of gold coins. If it had a slightly larger space inside, the price would double.

Their entire team of fifteen couldn't afford even the lowest-grade Storage Ring if they pooled all their assets together.

Once they returned, selling this Storage Ring and splitting the money would allow their entire team to live comfortably for three to five years without worry.

They hadn't expected to not only escape from the Snake-People Clan this time but also to gain such an immense reward.

The leading female mercenary, her face filled with joy, carefully stored away the Storage Ring before quickly rallying the others to pack up and prepare to set off. Then, she eagerly walked ahead to personally lead the way for Wei Yang.

"Sir, from here to Rock Desert City, there's still over a hundred li. At our speed, we should arrive by dusk," the female mercenary reported.

"Mm." Wei Yang responded indifferently, pulling Ye Xian'er along while taking in the desert scenery along the way.

There wasn't much to see, really—just endless golden sands stretching as far as the eye could see. Occasionally, a small oasis would appear, like an emerald gem adorning the vast sea of sand.

After a while, Wei Yang lost interest and withdrew his gaze.

Ye Xian'er, on the other hand, remained curious and continued observing the landscape.

"Sir, my name is Ai Ni." The leading female mercenary spoke cautiously.

"Oh." Wei Yang glanced at her and gave a faint nod.

Ai Ni?

Damn!

Sensing Ye Xian'er's subtle sidelong glance and the slight tightening of the jade-like hand he was holding, Wei Yang nearly wanted to slap Ai Ni on the spot.

Was she trying to stir up trouble?

The female mercenary named Ai Ni didn't seem to notice anything amiss. Perhaps because Wei Yang had been acting rather amiable along the way, she had regained some of her confidence. After a moment of contemplation, she took a deep breath and retrieved a black iron scroll from a leather pouch at her waist.

"Sir, this is something we found at the bottom of an altar in a hidden underground palace within an ancient ruined city. We're not sure exactly what it is, but if you're interested, I'd like to offer it to you." Ai Ni held the black iron scroll with both hands, presenting it respectfully.

"Oh?" Wei Yang casually swept his gaze over the black iron scroll.

Initially, he wasn't too concerned. Based on the earlier conversation between these mercenaries and the Snake-People, it was clear that this so-called ancient underground city ruins had been exposed for decades. Who knew how many people had already explored it?

What good treasures could possibly be left behind for a small mercenary squad whose strongest member was only a Nine-Star Dou Zhe?

It wasn't that easy to stumble upon a great fortune.

But when Wei Yang's gaze actually landed on the black iron scroll, his expression changed.

"Hmm?"

Wei Yang was a little surprised as he reached out and took the black iron scroll, carefully examining it.

Because just now, when his soul power casually swept over it, it… disappeared!

He immediately became more serious, releasing his soul power once again to probe the black iron scroll. But the moment his soul power entered, it vanished once more.

Vanished without a trace.

This black iron scroll was like a bottomless abyss, devouring every bit of soul power that entered it!

This…!

Wei Yang's expression turned solemn as he grew genuinely intrigued. He sent out even more soul power to investigate.

Instantly, a surge of soul power poured from his palm into the black iron scroll.

Moments later, he had to stop, feeling slightly drained.

Looking at the ancient and unremarkable black iron scroll in his hand, Wei Yang sucked in a sharp breath, excitement flickering in his heart.

Had he really stumbled upon a treasure?!

He was only at the One-Star Dou Ling level right now, but in terms of soul strength, he could already match or even surpass an average Dou Huang.

Yet, when he poured such formidable soul power into the black iron scroll, it vanished like a stone sinking into the ocean—completely erased!