Upon hearing Tang Yan's words, Wan Fei looked in the direction he indicated. Upon seeing it, she immediately noticed an opening in Qing Lang's defense.

She swung her sword and thrust it forward, and Qing Lang was startled. How had the young man spotted the opening in his defense?

“Big sister, he’s definitely going to try to block your sword. Angle your sword downward by three degrees and cut him!” Tang Yan's voice rang out again.

At this point, Wan Fei had started to trust Tang Yan's instructions. She adjusted her sword and swung downward.

Sure enough, another opening appeared!

Qing Lang, now horrified, realized it was too late to avoid the attack. With a sharp sound, Wan Fei's sword left a deep, bone-exposed wound on his leg.

“He’s hurt his right leg, which has shifted his weight to the left. His right neck is exposed—go for the neck and strike quickly!” Tang Yan’s voice was clear again.

Without hesitation, Wan Fei followed his words and swung her sword straight toward Qing Lang's neck.

“Crack!”

Wan Fei herself couldn't believe it—Qing Lang's head was easily severed by her sword. Her heart stirred with a storm of emotions. She had expected the battle with Qing Lang to be a drawn-out, dangerous affair, but Tang Yan had guided her to end the fight in just three moves—no, two, to be precise—and Qing Lang had fallen.

Even in her prime, she doubted she could achieve such a result. Who was this young man, and how could he possess such formidable power?

Seeing Qing Lang's demise, Xiao Liu’s fighting spirit immediately dissipated. Noticing Wan Fei approaching with her sword in hand, he panicked and was easily slain by her.

The situation, which had seemed destined for failure, had been completely reversed in less than a quarter of an hour, leaving Wan Fei utterly surprised.

She looked at Tang Yan with a complex expression and bowed her hands in gratitude. "I am Wan Fei. May I ask how to address this hero?"

"Big sister, just call me Tang Yan," Tang Yan replied casually, still searching Qing Lang's body without turning around.

He quickly checked the bodies of all six men, but only found a stack of silver notes and nothing else of value.

Wan Fei, initially full of gratitude, couldn’t hold back any longer. She’d been called “big sister” one too many times, and couldn’t stand it any longer.

"I'm only twenty-two, not some old lady!" she snapped, frustrated.

Tang Yan was momentarily taken aback and examined her more closely. After a long pause, he said, "Big sister, you’re at least sixty-two, right?"

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"I’m going to kill you!" Wan Fei, completely exasperated, raised her sword to charge at him.

“Big sister, big sister, he’s our benefactor!” Long Ying quickly grabbed her to stop her.

“Hmph!” Wan Fei took a few deep breaths, her chest heaving in anger.

"My sister’s a bit quick-tempered, Tang Gongzi, please don’t take offense. We are truly grateful for your help today," Long Ying said, bowing in thanks.

“No problem. By the way, where are you two from, and why are you here in Cangyun Mountain?” Tang Yan asked curiously.

“We’re mercenaries. We usually hunt spirit beasts, gather spiritual herbs, or serve as bodyguards. We don’t stay in one place, but mainly operate in the Eastern Region. The biggest city we frequent is Fang City since it offers more opportunities,” Long Ying explained. “Mercenaries sometimes act alone, sometimes form groups. Usually, Wan Fei works alone with me, unless the task is particularly difficult, then we form a team. This group was assembled just for this mission.”

Tang Yan nodded, understanding. He had heard of mercenaries—most of them were between the Yellow and Xuan realms. They loved their freedom and would rather fight on the front lines than be controlled by a family or organization.

“May I ask where the benefactor resides? My sister and I would like to express our gratitude in person sometime,” Long Ying asked.

“I can’t tell you that,” Tang Yan refused immediately. “Your sister just tried to kill me—what if you show up at my door later looking for revenge?”

“You!” Wan Fei was about to explode, but she held herself back, knowing she couldn’t beat Tang Yan.

However, she was still deeply curious. Though Tang Yan hadn’t reached the Xuan realm, how could he unleash such terrifying power?

“Haha, my sister’s just quick-tempered. She won’t actually seek revenge. By the way, Tang Gongzi, what brings you to Cangyun Mountain?” Long Ying continued the conversation, clearly eager to chat.

“I’m here for training. The wolf pack was supposed to be my training ground, but now it’s been wiped out by you guys!” Tang Yan said with some dissatisfaction.

Long Ying and Wan Fei were stunned. "Training in a wolf pack?" Long Ying asked, clearly surprised.

“Yeah, I need spirit beasts to train my combat techniques. I finally encountered a wolf pack, but now I don’t know when I’ll find another suitable opponent,” Tang Yan sighed.

"So, as long as you find spirit beasts, you’re good?" Long Ying’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Wait, do you know where I can find spirit beasts?” Tang Yan asked, excited.

“Cangyun Mountain is vast, but based on our experience, we’ve created a rough map,” Long Ying said, pausing before adding awkwardly, “We came here mainly for the White Wolf King’s pelt, but if Tang Gongzi…”

“You want me to exchange the Wolf King’s core for the map? No way,” Tang Yan cut him off firmly.

“Tang Gongzi, you misunderstood. We’ll give you the map regardless. Our primary goal was the White Wolf King’s pelt. If you’re not interested in the pelt, could we take it off your hands?” Long Ying asked hopefully.

Tang Yan had no interest in the wolf pelt. It was too large and he had no place to store it. Besides, what would he even do with it? He nodded in agreement, "If you want it, take it."

“Really?” Long Ying and Wan Fei both brightened with joy.

“Why would I lie to you? Take it if you want it,” Tang Yan casually waved his hand.

“Thank you so much!” Long Ying eagerly went to retrieve the wolf pelt and quickly returned, taking out a rolled-up sheepskin map and handing it over with reverence. “The map of the Cangyun Mountain range is very difficult to come by outside. We risked our lives to make it. Please accept it, Tang Gongzi.”

“Oh?” Tang Yan took the sheepskin map, intrigued. It depicted the terrain of the mountain range. Based on what he knew about Cangyun Mountain, he was nearly certain the map was accurate.

There were a lot of valuable details on the map. For example, the current location was marked with a wolf and the number three, indicating a third-tier wolf spirit beast in the area. Surrounding the wolf were markings for other animals like apes, tigers, and leopards, all marked with the number three. Tang Yan’s eyes lit up as he recognized the location of the leopard he had encountered before.

With this map in hand, he now had a far easier time finding spirit beasts for training.