Starting from Douluo to Capture Goddesses

"Teacher, have you also sensed that there's a problem inside?" Xiao Yan's eyes were red.

Both of his brothers were in there. Could it be that something had happened to them?

"Little Flame, how about we don't go inside for now? Finding the Strange Fire is what's important. I'm sure it's Xu Ran causing trouble. Xu Ran is too powerful, wouldn't you just be asking for a beating if you went? Last time at the Alchemist Guild you..." Yao Lao advised earnestly.

Not to mention Xiao Yan, even he himself was beginning to feel a sense of dread towards Xu Ran.

It wasn't Xu Ran's strength he feared, but Xu Ran's omniscient abilities.

Especially since the Burning Decision had already been handed over, he simply couldn't imagine any chance for Xiao Yan to defeat Xu Ran. The only thing to do was to put aside his hatred for Xu Ran and cultivate alone.

He was quite confident that he could at least train Xiao Yan to become a Dou Saint Expert.

The precondition was, not to provoke Xu Ran.

Otherwise, no matter how strong Xiao Yan became, it would be of no help at all. The pressure Xu Ran exerted was something not even the long-established Dou Saint Experts could achieve.

"If it's Xu Ran, I have even more reason to go!"

"My eldest and second brother are all inside, the Mo Tie Mercenary Corps must have run into trouble!" Xiao Yan ran frantically toward Stone Desert City. This devil, Xu Ran, he must have made a move against them!

All of this was because Xu Ran was after him!

If he were to abandon them and flee, what kind of person would that make him, Xiao Yan?

Xiao Yan was definitely not the type to flee the battlefield.

Even if it meant death, what was there to fear?

He wasn't afraid of dying. He bore too much on his shoulders and couldn't afford to die easily. If he were to die, he would take a few others down with him; he couldn't let Xu Ran off easily.

Upon entering Stone Desert City, he found that it no longer had its former prosperity; the two great Mercenary Groups had been decimated. The streets were now deserted, as if everyone feared invoking some taboo entity and ending up with no place to bury themselves.

How could this be?

"What has happened to Stone Desert City?"

The Stone Desert City before him was like a ghost town, utterly empty, devoid of any signs of life.

While cities near the desert couldn't match the vitality of central cities in the Jia Ma Empire, he had never before seen a city so eerily silent.

Yet he remembered that his eldest and second brothers once said that Stone Desert City was a bustling place.

And the remnants scattered on the streets seemed to confirm this.

"They must have encountered something terrifying, which is why no one dares to come out."

"I've sensed Xu Ran and their aura. Xu Ran is probably waiting for you," said Yao Lao, finding some comfort in seeing Xiao Yan's pure-heartedness. All previous displeasure had vanished.

At this moment, he had come to understand that although Xiao Yan had many flaws, his heart wasn't too bad. It was because he was overly compassionate that he had been calculated against and harmed by Xu Ran to this extent.

If Xiao Yan had been ruthless enough, he would not have offended Xu Ran, nor would he be in the state he was in now.

The real villain was actually Xu Ran!

But what was he to do?

The Burning Decision had been stolen by Xu Ran, how was he to help Xiao Yan?

"That's right. Little Flame's identity…" Yao Lao's pupils shrank, surmising that if even Xu Ran was entering the Xiao Family, it must mean that Xiao Yan surely possessed some treasure. Xu Ran was so powerful that even in Zhongzhou he could be considered the absolute overlord of the younger generation, yet he was willing to come to a place like Wu Tan City, which was evidence enough. And there was Xiao Xun'er, not of the Xiao Family, yet accompanied by a protector of Dou Huang level…

In fact, initially Yao Lao didn't believe that Xiao Yan was from that clan.

But Xun Er and that Dou Huang, along with Xu Ran's arrival, it all made him recall that once domineering family from back then. How powerful was the Xiao Family at that time?

Xu Ran, of course, had no idea that his appearance had helped Yao Lao inadvertently guess correctly. But none of that mattered now.

"Little Flame, whatever happens, you must hold on! You absolutely must hold on! Your future will certainly not be that of an ordinary person," Yao Lao said earnestly.

"I know that Xu Ran cannot break me!"

Xiao Yan clenched his arms, thinking of the persecution Xu Ran had been subjecting him to all this time, hating him so intensely that he clenched his teeth.

"I, Xiao Yan, am the Son of Destiny, with a grandpa by my side; I fear nothing," Xiao Yan thought confidently. As a transmigrator, he had read too many fantasy novels before crossing over. A grandpa by his side, a fallen family, a genius in decline—if these weren't the prime features of a protagonist, then what were they?

And wasn't he a transmigrator?

"Heaven tasks those who are great with burdensome missions, first by tempering their hearts and will..."

"Back when I lost my talent, I survived through those days; now that I've recovered my talent, my cultivation speed is even faster, and I have become an Alchemist. Compared to before, I am much more formidable. No matter what happens now, I cannot be worse off than before. As for those betrayals, the ones who betrayed me, I never truly take them to heart, for they don't understand what makes me angry," Xiao Yan exhaled a turbid breath.

He smelled the blood and hurried towards the Mo Tie Mercenary Group.

If Xu Ran dared to lay a hand on his family, then he would stake it all against Xu Ran.

"Xu Ran, you can't do this; otherwise, I will surely make you wish you were dead. Even if I can't beat you, I can still strike at the people around you; don't force me!" Xiao Yan walked into the Mo Tie Mercenary Corps and immediately smelled an intense odor of blood.

"Big brother."

"Second brother."

Following Xiao Yan's gaze, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li were bound and hung in the air, their bodies covered in wounds, soaked in blood, presenting a gruesome sight.

The Mo Tie Mercenary Corps, with two leaders surnamed Xiao, were well-known in Stone Desert City, but now they were half-dead, injured all over, and under the scorching sun, they appeared almost lifeless.

"Little Flame..."

Hearing Xiao Yan's voice, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li slowly lifted their matted heads, looking at Xiao Yan, tears streaming down their faces.

They were truly in a pitiable state; Xu Ran was just too cruel.

Although they were still alive, they wouldn't live much longer. Xu Ran had shattered all the meridians in their bodies; they were practically dead already, with Xu Ran merely keeping them hanging by a thread.

Xiao Ding and Xiao Li also knew this truth; how could they know they had offended such a demon?

And the family still treated this demon as an honored guest, how unjust was that?

"Big brother, second brother, who did this to you? Who exactly did it? Why has the Mo Tie Mercenary Group become like this?"

"It's all my fault, I came too late. If I had joined you in battle earlier, maybe you wouldn't have ended up like this," tears flowed from Xiao Yan's eyes.