A Half-Step Dou Zun Appears

"You and I are both Nine-Star Dou Huangs. Within the same realm, I will not lose!" Zhang Tian's ten fingers fluttered across the zither strings like butterflies among flowers. Countless flames sprang forth, setting the sky ablaze.

"Twang!" With a crisp sound, one of the Fifth Order Magic Cores embedded in the long zither shattered.

"Roar!" The gigantic purple serpent let out a furious roar. Its body, dozens of meters long and carrying immense force, charged toward Zhang Tian. Powerful Dou Qi surged forth, transforming into more than a dozen enormous Dou Qi pythons that coiled toward him.

Faced with such an attack, Zhang Tian's expression grew slightly grave. With a flick of his index finger, a ripple swept through the air. Two fierce currents of Dou Qi collided, and the flames swelled, raging in every direction.

"Boom!" A massive explosion erupted, its scattered aftershock stretching for hundreds of meters. Within that range, thunderous blasts rang out one after another, like a bolt of lightning exploding overhead, the roar deafening.

"Crack, crack." As though a signal had sounded, the Fifth Order Magic Cores embedded in the zither began shattering one after another. Their radiance dimmed, leaving not a trace of energy behind. A breeze blew in from afar, and they crumbled into dust that scattered through the sky.

Even the Sixth Order Magic Core at the center had developed a crack that covered half its surface.

"She actually got away. Her ability to conceal her aura is truly exceptional." His Soul Power did not dare approach. The explosive energy was so intense that even his soul felt pain, as though it were being pricked by needles.

After a while, the smoke and dust dispersed. Countless falling flames flickered out in the sky, and only then did Zhang Tian see a severed purple tail, covered in wounds and giving off a faint scorched stench.

"I actually have no idea where Medusa Queen went." He sighed. From Lu Man to Medusa Queen, every one of them possessed unique tracking secret arts, while he lacked such sensory abilities.

"Looks like I'll have to find time to learn how to use Soul Imprints from old man Yao Lao." Zhang Tian gave a bitter smile. Only after embedding new Magic Cores into the Demon Zither did he strap it to his back.

Ordinary people could use Soul Imprints freely as well. However, if one wished to leave a Soul Imprint on a Dou Zong of the same realm—or even one realm higher—without it being discovered and removed, they would still need Yao Lao's guidance.

After all, Yao Lao's Soul Power was among the very best even among Dou Zuns. As an Eighth Grade Peak Alchemist, his Soul Power surpassed that of ordinary people by an unknown amount.

"I got no benefits and stirred up a mess instead." Shaking his head, Zhang Tian looked toward the Tagor Desert.

But then again, Medusa Queen truly had nothing he wanted. By his expectations, she would at least have needed to offer a Heavenly Flame as a bargaining chip before he would help her evolve. Unfortunately, she did not possess one.

He had no need for pills, cultivation methods, Dou Techniques, or even inheritances. Since she had nothing that caught his eye and Medusa Queen had tried to take it by force, a battle had naturally been inevitable.

"This aura... a Half-Step Dou Zun?" Zhang Tian suddenly sensed an aura in the distance that far surpassed the peak of a Nine-Star Dou Zong. It was already near—no, it had already stepped halfway into the Dou Zun realm. Perhaps it would only need around a year to truly reach that level.

"The Gama Empire has certainly been troubled lately." Zhang Tian sighed inwardly, then slowly descended into the town. He restrained his aura as much as possible, making himself appear to be nothing more than a Dou Shi.

"Looks like I need to buy some masks, cloaks, and the like that can conceal one's aura." Feeling that his own concealment was crude and unnatural, Zhang Tian could only force himself to head toward the marketplace. Acting as though nothing had happened, he ordered a bowl of Liang Pi.

Strangely enough, this Half-Step Dou Zun seemed to be merely passing through. He flew over the town without stopping in the slightest, not even extending his Soul Power to inspect the surroundings.

Zhang Tian casually raised his head. To ordinary people, the Half-Step Dou Zun's speed was terrifyingly fast, nearly impossible to see. But to Zhang Tian, he was merely somewhat fast, and Zhang Tian could still follow his movements.

The Half-Step Dou Zun wore purple-blue robes and appeared to be around thirty years old. Yet Zhang Tian knew that was not his true age. This Half-Step Dou Zun was likely close to two hundred years old.

He walked through the void, yet his flight speed surpassed the Dou Qi wings of countless Dou Emperor experts by an unknown margin. Even Dou Zongs could only watch helplessly as he sped away.

Zhang Tian made an estimate. With Control Sword with Spirit, not only could he transform into a sword light and escape, but the Phoenix Cry Sword's speed would also soar. Dou Emperors would be completely unable to see or understand it, while Dou Zongs could barely make out a faint outline. Whether they could react in time would depend on their reflexes and strength.

In the eyes of Dou Zuns, it would probably still be fast, but they would have enough time to quickly prepare a defense.

"That direction is... Wu Tan City?" Zhang Tian muttered as he watched the purple-blue robed man travel onward. However, he had no intention of stopping him, because he already knew the man's identity.

"Someone from the Ancient Clan... so they must not be far from the Gama Empire... no wonder Gu Xun'er only has Ling Ying by her side." Sensing an aura slightly similar to Gu Xun'er's from that man, Zhang Tian closed his eyes in thought.

"It probably isn't that Gu Xun'er is in trouble. Otherwise, Dou Zuns would have torn through space and rushed over long ago. That old man Gu Yuan might even act personally." Zhang Tian rhythmically tapped the table with his index finger, stroking his chin with the other hand as he pondered.

It seemed more likely that Ling Ying had reported some situation, and the Ancient Clan had sent someone to investigate.

After all, Soul Hall was watching closely. If they made any major moves, Soul Hall would not let the opportunity slip by.

"Customer, your Liang Pi." As the kind elderly stall owner served him a bowl of Liang Pi, Zhang Tian thanked her and prepared to eat.

"Where did this brat come from? Get lost, get lost! Our Black Tiger Gang is collecting protection fees!" An arrogant voice interrupted Zhang Tian's movements. He looked up to find a burly man with a black tiger tattooed on his body glaring viciously at him.

"The Black Tiger Gang is bullying people in the streets again."

"Sigh, whose child is that? What terrible luck."

Seeing this scene, the surrounding passersby began whispering among themselves. As they looked at the lean Zhang Tian surrounded in the middle, their eyes held varying degrees of pity and sympathy.

"The people here aren't too bad... Are they sympathizing with each other because they've all suffered under this so-called Black Tiger Gang?" Zhang Tian nodded at the many people around him who feared the Black Tiger Gang yet continued speaking up for him.

"The Black Tiger Gang is committing evil in broad daylight again!" A casually dressed man in his twenties spoke angrily, his handsome face filled with rage.

"Young Master Qin, should we intervene?" he could not help asking the noble-looking man beside him.

The man wore white robes and carried himself with grace. Holding a folding fan, he watched the scene with a smile on his face.

The young man, who looked like the son of a wealthy family, laughed heartily and pointed his folding fan ahead.

"This person is no ordinary man. He isn't panicking at all. It seems Black Tiger has kicked an iron plate..." Although he was smiling, Qin Nan felt slightly disappointed. He had been searching for traces of the two experts who had battled in the sky earlier.

However, the violent Dou Qi fluctuations had vaguely obscured their features, making them difficult to find.

"Oh?" After hearing this, the guard Ruan Ku could not help but fall into thought.

Meanwhile, the man called Black Tiger by Qin Nan was completely unaware that his death was near. Standing two meters tall, he looked down at Zhang Tian with a sinister grin.

"Since you refuse to leave, then there are two people here, so I'll collect two protection fees."

His vicious appearance terrified the people around him. The elderly stall owner's face changed drastically, and in her panic and anger, tears immediately fell.

"Lord Black Tiger, we're only running a small business... I still have a grandson at home."

Zhang Tian's hand had already moved to the long zither on his back.

"Hm? That zither of yours is not bad. Hand it over." Black Tiger noticed Zhang Tian's movement. His eyes lit up as he looked at the Demon Zither, and he directly reached out to grab it.

The moment his palm touched the zither's body, he froze in place as though he had become an idiot.

"Oh? You dared touch the Demon Zither with your hand?" A faint smile appeared on Zhang Tian's face. The reason it was called the Demon Zither was because this Heaven Rank Dou Technique acted upon the soul itself. Even a Dou Wang who dared touch it directly would have their soul disperse at once.

His finger dipped into a little wine, then flicked it out like a bullet. Black Tiger's body was pierced through, and he was sent flying backward.

"Gasp! Condensing Dou Qi into matter—he's a Dou Ling!" The gathered crowd could not help but suck in a breath of cold air.

Who would have thought that this seemingly ordinary man was actually a Dou Ling expert?

The people beside Black Tiger were now trembling like sieves. Thinking of how they had nearly attacked someone at the level of a city lord, their legs went weak and their knees shook.