Advantage Is Mine!

"Who are you?!"

Yue Mei's chest heaved rapidly. She gritted her teeth and forcibly suppressed the roiling blood and qi within her body, her charming face ashen.

"A true man never changes his name, whether standing or sitting!" Lu Bu flicked his sleeve and threw back his head with a hearty laugh. "I am Xiao Yan of Wutan City, Jia Ma Empire!"

"Never heard of you!"

Yue Mei's pretty face darkened as Cyan Dou Qi burst forth around her body. She had never heard of him. Could he be a Dou Wang who had recently advanced?

"You've actually never heard of me?" Lu Bu smacked his lips and sighed.

"You don't even know that? The guy whose engagement was broken off—the one who said, 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; never look down on a poor young man!'"

"..."

Yue Mei's face went black. She could tell now that this guy was just messing with her.

"Human, leave the desert. Leave the Snake People Tribe. I'll let bygones be bygones and pretend I never saw you."

Yue Mei shouted coldly. From their earlier exchange, she had been unable to gauge this man's strength, but he was probably not much stronger than her. This was the desert, her home ground. Fighting here... advantage was on her side!

I'll test his limits first. If it really comes down to it, I have ways to save my life. It won't be too late to run then!

"Tsk tsk, little snake girl..."

Lu Bu chuckled, about to throw out a few taunts, but Yue Mei's gaze suddenly sharpened. Killing intent erupted from her as she threw back her head and let out a shrill cry.

"What a decisive little snake girl..." Lu Bu praised. She had not even waited for the outcome of the negotiation.

As Yue Mei cried out, the sound of countless grains of sand grinding together rose swiftly. Dense swarms of colorful snakes burrowed out from beneath the sand, their bodies twisting rapidly as they lunged at Lu Bu like lightning.

This was the source of Yue Mei's confidence. Snake people could advance to attack in the desert, or retreat to... slip away. Fighting a snake person in the desert was absolutely not a wise choice.

"Since you refuse to leave, then leave your life behind... behind...?" Yue Mei sneered, about to strike again, only to find that the handsome young man surrounded by snakes had not moved at all.

Yue Mei's expression changed at once. She sensed that something was wrong, and her heart tightened. Dou Qi Wings enveloped her protectively as her hands rapidly formed seals, preparing to unleash a Dou Technique.

But...

Bang!

A fist came from an unknown angle and smashed viciously into her face. Yue Mei felt pain flare across her face and her nose sting, then the world spun around her as she spiraled through the air.

"Ever seen a fist as big as a sandbag?" Lu Bu grinned. "The next second, it'll punch Jia Nai... Oh, sorry, I was thinking too small. Yours are real."

Yue Mei pulled her head out of the sand, stars dancing before her eyes. Her charming face was bruised and swollen, tears streamed from the corners of her eyes, and two thin trails of blood ran from her nostrils. A goddess had instantly become a madwoman.

"Damn it, I'll kill this bastard!"

Yue Mei wiped away her nosebleed and cursed through gritted teeth that this bastard had no appreciation for delicate beauty. She also cursed Lu Bu to have children without assholes.

Yet she was filled with confusion. Just now, she had not sensed even the slightest eruption of Dou Qi from him.

"Could it be soul power?" As one of the eight tribal leaders of the Snake People Tribe, Yue Mei was naturally well-informed. She quickly analyzed the strange nature of Lu Bu's abilities.

"Such skillful use of soul power... is he an alchemist?" Yue Mei's gaze flickered. But even for an alchemist, wasn't he far too powerful?

"Now it's my turn, little snake girl." Lu Bu chuckled and lightly tapped the ground with his foot. Invisible soul power spread outward.

Yue Mei sneered. In the desert, he actually wanted to take the initiative against a snake person Dou Wang?

Wishful thinking!

Her hands formed a strange seal. Yue Mei shouted, sweeping her snake tail against the sand.

Boom!

The sand dune beneath Lu Bu instantly exploded, and a wave of sand several meters high crashed down upon him. Within it came endless hissing, with countless venomous snakes hidden inside, waiting for a chance to deliver a fatal strike.

Since he was an alchemist, there was nothing to fear. Those people were all incomparably delicate, with pitifully weak combat strength.

But the moment that thought arose, Yue Mei's expression changed drastically. Snake people possessed the sharpest senses in the desert, yet in her perception, the enemy seemed to have vanished.

"Something's wrong. That movement just now was a feint?!"

Yue Mei was horrified. She instantly recalled the enemy's ghostlike speed. With that thought, her body immediately softened as she abruptly lowered herself, intending to crawl away.

But at the same moment, a scorching presence erupted behind her.

A fist wrapped in purple flames suddenly appeared behind her. Hot wind howled as it slammed viciously into Yue Mei's fair, smooth, jade-like back.

Boom!

Pfft!

Yue Mei's delicate body trembled. Her red lips parted, and she spat out a mouthful of blood. Carried away by the surging force, she rolled across the sand for several turns before stopping in a miserable heap.

Lu Bu stood with his hands behind his back where Yue Mei had originally been, chuckling. "Well, little snake girl? Do you still want to capture me and make me your slave?"

"Pah!" Yue Mei viciously spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. "I admit defeat today. You really are strong, and I can't beat you. But if you think you can keep me here... you don't have that ability!"

It was time to leave!

Yue Mei sneered, forming seals with her hands as Cyan Dou Qi surged from her body. Then she trembled sharply. With a boom, she exploded into countless tiny snakes that scattered in every direction.

"Kid, just wait for the Snake People Tribe's pursuit!"

Lu Bu did not stop her. Instead, he watched her actions quietly with an amused smile.

"Damn bastard, I'll definitely tie you up in the tribe and force you to refine medicine until not a single drop is left... Huh?"

Yue Mei was viciously imagining how she would deal with Lu Bu in the future when she suddenly discovered that she was trapped within an earthen-yellow pillar of light, unable to escape.

"What?"

Yue Mei was greatly shocked. Several small green snakes shot out like arrows and struck the pillar of light, but they were like ants trying to shake a tree, achieving nothing.

"Damn it... When did this formation appear?" Yue Mei was both shocked and enraged. She was now like a turtle in a jar, with nowhere to flee.

"Little snake girl, did you really think you could escape?" Lu Bu chuckled.

Countless tiny snakes gathered together again, and Yue Mei reappeared, her face utterly ugly. "That wasn't a feint just now, was it? You were setting up the formation?"

Yue Mei had always thought that the enemy's stomp had been a feint to get into close combat, but she had not expected that... he had set up such a formation in just a few breaths!

"Heh heh..." Lu Bu grinned, and his figure flashed before instantly vanishing.

Yue Mei's pupils contracted sharply. She crossed her arms before her body as Dou Qi surged around her, seeking to protect herself.

Pfft!

A soft sound rang out. Yue Mei suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest and abdomen. Lu Bu's ghostlike figure appeared before her, one hand formed into a blade and thrust into her body.

"You..." Yue Mei's face flushed crimson. Everything she had done had been futile. Only now did she understand that Lu Bu's strength was on an entirely different level from hers.

Lu Bu chuckled. His relaxed wrist and elbow suddenly exploded with force, instantly tightening as his palm became a fist. Terrifying strength surged fully into Yue Mei's body.

Bang!

A sonic boom erupted. Yue Mei was instantly sent flying backward and crashed into the formation. With another pfft, she spat out another mouthful of blood.

Lu Bu took a step forward and grabbed her long neck. At the same time, he raised two fingers of his left hand and pressed them against her glabella. Invisible Spirit Fire erupted and poured into her soul.

Several breaths later, a slightly distorted transparent flame mark slowly formed on Yue Mei's glabella.

"Perfect. Snake girl slave successfully subdued!" Lu Bu clapped his hands and chuckled.