In the Snake-People Tribe's council hall, Medusa hovered in midair, her body brimming with Dou Qi.
Just then, Xiao Fan's voice rang out of nowhere, breaking the silence in the hall.
"Hey, hey, hey! What's so bad about cooperating with humans?"
Xiao Fan's outburst drew the attention of the surrounding Snake-People, their eyes full of wariness and displeasure.
He acted as if he hadn't noticed, cleared his throat, and continued, "You narrow-minded fools—can't you see the immense benefits hidden in cooperation between our sides?"
"Take the rare ores in the desert, for example. If we mined them together, humans could contribute their expertise in smelting and processing, while the Snake-People Tribe could put its knowledge of where the resources are to use. We'd ensure a steady supply, and then share the profits. Both sides could live better and better..."
Xiao Fan spoke eloquently, laying out his arguments one by one. The bright future he painted with those words even made a glimmer of interest appear in the eyes of quite a few Snake-People.
But the sight proved too much for the elderly Snake-Person elder seated on the throne.
He sprang to his feet, his face contorted with rage.
Pointing at Xiao Fan, he yelled, "Hey! You ignorant brat, you're nothing but Medusa's lover. What makes you think you have any right to speak here?"
At his words, the Snake-People who had shown a hint of interest came to their senses and resumed glaring at Xiao Fan with hatred.
"You human brat, you're quite the smooth talker... So this is how you sweet-talked Medusa into coming back, huh?"
The figure on the throne stared at Xiao Fan with venom in his eyes. As he saw it, humans were the most devious and treacherous creatures; it was no surprise one would come up with a scheme like this.
"Those who aren't of our kind must have different intentions! Who knows what evil you humans are plotting?"
"Hahahahaha! You're nothing but a human brat who still smells of his mother's milk!"
Laughter and jeers rose from the surrounding Snake-People.
Medusa frowned in midair, ready to act.
But Xiao Fan only smiled, a trace of helplessness in his expression.
He'd thought he had a gift for winning people over with virtue and wanted to see if he could talk them around.
But it seemed... never mind...
His face returned to its usual calm, and he folded his arms as he asked, "Do you know who this emperor is?"
His voice was low, but laced with an air of command. Unfortunately, the surrounding Snake-People didn't take him seriously at all; instead, their curses grew louder.
"You mere human! How dare you spout nonsense on the Snake-People Tribe's territory? You must be tired of living!"
"Hmph! Weak humans, dreaming of cooperating with us? Keep dreaming!"
"Humans are all greedy, shameless wretches. Don't think a few pretty words will fool us!"
Xiao Fan paid them no mind and repeated, "Do you know who this emperor is?"
As he spoke, he began walking steadily toward the throne.
With every step he took, the aura around him swelled like a rising tide, growing more and more turbulent.
Each footfall seemed to strike everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer.
An invisible pressure spread from him like a raging sea, sweeping through the entire hall in an instant.
The aura radiating from him was chilling and powerful enough to make them tremble. It was as if all the warmth had been sucked from the air, and the temperature had plunged.
"Y-You... who are you?"
The Snake-Person elder on the throne watched Xiao Fan with a grave expression. This aura... Could he be a Dou Emperor?
A Dou Emperor this young... How was that possible?!
"I am the Great Emperor..."
Xiao Fan's voice echoed through the Snake-People's hall. Those four words made countless Snake-People instinctively shudder.
"From the moment I set foot on the path of cultivation, it was fated that the galaxies of this universe would tremble because of me. In my eyes, every foe in this world is but a fleeting cloud, a mere backdrop beneath my feet."
At that moment, Xiao Fan seemed surrounded by countless stars. Dazzling light burst from within him, so brilliant that no one could look directly at it.
His voice boomed like a great bell, reverberating through the hall and making everyone's eardrums ache.
"Beneath the heavens, who is worthy to stand beside me? And who would dare oppose me? Wherever I, Xiao Fan, go, there is none who can defeat me!"
Xiao Fan's aura surged higher and higher, reaching its peak in the blink of an eye.
His aura filled the entire hall. It was as if he were the master of this realm, wielding the supreme power to control everything.
Under that crushing pressure, the Snake-People present could barely breathe. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, and a powerful urge to kneel and submit welled up in their hearts.
"You bunch of ants dare to offend the majesty of the Great Emperor? You're simply courting death..."
Xiao Fan was like a vast, unfathomable ocean without end, his presence radiating a power that struck fear into their hearts.
Every word he uttered struck the Snake-People like a heavy hammer, filling them with terror and leaving them utterly unable to resist.
[Ding! Countless Snake-People have been convinced. Gained +6000 Bragging Points!]
Yet in the hall, there were always a few desperate fools.
Seeing the situation turn against him, the Snake-Person elder on the throne shouted hysterically, his eyes bloodshot. "Attack! Now!"
In a flash, two shadows darted out from a corner of the hall. Two Snake-People at the Dou Emperor level charged toward Xiao Fan like ghosts, forcing their way through the pressure.
Together with the other Dou Emperor already present, the three immediately formed a ring around Xiao Fan and launched a fierce assault.
A ruthless glint flashed in the Snake-Person elder's eyes as he plotted inwardly: He'd originally planned to attack Medusa, but since this brat insisted on showing off, he could die instead!
And even if Xiao Fan really was a Dou Emperor, he would surely be reduced to a corpse in the face of three Dou Emperors attacking together.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Medusa casting a spell in the sky.
Seeing that she made no move to stop them, he was overjoyed.
He couldn't help but shout inwardly, Hahahahaha! Even Medusa, the one you're relying on, doesn't care whether you live or die! Damn human, today is the day you die!
The three Dou Emperors unleashed their full power, their attacks terrifyingly strong.
The air around them instantly grew still. Powerful waves of Dou Qi swept outward in all directions like a raging storm.
The exquisite tables and chairs around them were instantly reduced to dust by the impact of that terrifying force.
Even the solid ground couldn't withstand it. Deep cracks rapidly spread across the floor, and the entire hall seemed on the verge of collapse.
Against that earth-shattering assault, Xiao Fan's figure seemed impossibly frail.
He was like a lone leaf in a raging storm, seemingly on the verge of being torn apart without mercy.
And yet...
Xiao Fan merely reached out one hand, his expression calm and a disdainful smile on his lips.
In an instant, a Dou Qi palm print dozens of meters wide appeared out of thin air. With the force to destroy heaven and earth, it slammed toward the three Dou Emperors.
With three muffled thumps, the three Dou Emperors were turned into clouds of blood by the terrifying palm print before they could even scream...
Xiao Fan lightly dusted off his sleeve, as if he'd just done something utterly insignificant.
He said coolly, "What kind of ants dare attack this emperor? You don't know your own limits..."