If You Want to Blame Someone, Blame the System

At that moment, an overwhelmingly powerful aura erupted from Hei Man.

A One-Star Great Dou Master?

Sensing the aura Hei Man had unleashed, Su Tian narrowed his eyes, the thought flashing through his mind.

But why does his aura feel so familiar, as though I've sensed it somewhere before?

Su Tian rapidly recalled everything that had happened earlier.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration streaked through his mind.

The Snake-People Tribe's pursuit!

Su Tian finally remembered. When he had first arrived on the Dou Qi Continent, a Snake-People Squad had pursued him. Just as he escaped Base, a powerful aura had erupted in the distance.

Now, after thinking it through carefully, Su Tian abruptly realized that the owner of that aura was none other than the burly snake-man standing before him.

No wonder he dared come knocking now. He's clearly here to settle the score.

Having worked out the crucial connection, Su Tian sneered. "Does this idiot really think I'm still as strong as I was back then?"

A One-Star Great Dou Master was certainly powerful.

But to Su Tian now, he was hardly an opponent who would be difficult to defeat.

Su Tian was even confident that, in a fight to the death, defeating him would pose no problem.

Heh, as if you're the only One-Star Great Dou Master here!

Looking at Hei Man right before him, Su Tian couldn't help sneering inwardly.

Hei Man had probably dared come looking for him because Base had told him about Su Tian's strength.

For Su Tian, being a Nine-Star Dou Shi was already a thing of the past.

Moreover, after the tempering he had undergone while refining medicinal pills these past few days, his Dou Qi had grown increasingly condensed, and his foundation had steadily strengthened. Against an opponent of the same rank, he had absolute confidence that he could win swiftly.

Boom!

All of this took longer to describe than to happen. In an instant, their fists collided, and a deafening, muffled boom reverberated in everyone's ears.

Su Tian snorted coldly. The Dou Qi within him surged like towering waves in a raging sea, rushing into his right fist.

In a flash, an unending torrent of powerful force struck Hei Man's fist. His expression changed drastically, turning dark in an instant.

Damn it! Isn't he a Nine-Star Dou Shi? But this aura...

Boom!

Su Tian drew his right fist back slightly, then hurled it at Hei Man again with tremendous force.

At the same time, an aura belonging to a One-Star Great Dou Master spread outward, enveloping everyone in the courtyard. Even at a cursory glance, it was no weaker than Hei Man's.

Upon sensing it more carefully, Base discovered, to his horror, that the aura erupting from Su Tian seemed faintly stronger than Hei Man's.

With Hei Man's strength, he already ranked among the very best of all the Snake-People Squad captains.

Yet compared with Su Tian now, he actually seemed to be getting suppressed.

That discovery instantly filled Base's heart with intense unease.

Hei Man naturally noticed it too. His expression was extremely grim, his dusky yellow eyes fixed on Su Tian as he struck, a flicker of fear flashing through their depths.

He's a One-Star Great Dou Master too? He broke through from Nine-Star Dou Shi in just a few days?

Sensing the aura Su Tian was giving off, Hei Man's mind churned with shock and doubt.

Had Base told him that Su Tian had already broken through to One-Star Great Dou Master, he would probably have been more cautious, making proper arrangements before attacking.

Instead, in a fit of anger, he had recklessly come charging straight to Su Tian's door.

"Hmph! So what if you're a One-Star Great Dou Master? Over the years, plenty of One-Star Great Dou Masters have died at my hands!"

Hei Man snorted, steadied himself, then spoke viciously, his eyes blazing with murderous intent.

Since things had already reached this point, Hei Man would not waste time regretting it. He would simply press forward in one furious rush and kill Su Tian on the spot.

But upon hearing those words, Su Tian merely smiled faintly, his face brimming with disdain.

"Anyone can talk big. If you've got the ability, let your fists do the talking."

As he spoke, Su Tian kept shifting his position. Dou Qi surged into his right fist, and he unleashed a thunderous punch.

"Come to think of it, I've never killed a Da Dou Shi before. Looks like you might be my first today!"

Bang!

As soon as the words left his mouth, Su Tian stamped down hard. His figure shot toward Hei Man like a cannonball, crossing the distance in an instant.

Fiery red Dou Qi gathered around Su Tian's right fist. Like a fist burning with searing flames, it crashed down with the momentum of a meteor.

"Don't dodge if you've got the guts!"

Su Tian shouted as he closed in on Hei Man, his flaming fist arriving right on cue.

Hei Man had been about to evade, but Su Tian's taunt made him stop. Intense murderous intent filled his darkened face as he gathered his own Dou Qi.

"Human, you're going to die an ugly death!"

Being taunted so brazenly by a human only intensified Hei Man's desire to kill. If he failed to kill Su Tian today, even his state of mind would suffer a considerable blow.

After all, the relationship between the Snake-People Tribe and humans was already irreconcilable.

"Yin Snake Poison-Devouring Palm!"

Hei Man clearly had no intention of showing mercy. His very first move was his strongest killing technique.

In an instant, extremely dense black Dou Qi gathered around Hei Man's right hand, forming what looked like a black stone palm imprint and emitting wisps of lethally poisonous energy.

"Die, you damned human!"

Hei Man growled and slammed his snake tail against the ground. Using that force, he closed the distance to Su Tian, swiftly raising his right palm and striking at Su Tian's chest.

Seeing Hei Man's killing strike approach, Su Tian reacted with remarkable speed.

Unfortunately, he had no Dou Technique to use. For the moment, he could only step back, taking the opportunity to open some distance between himself and Hei Man.

At the same time, his Dou Qi circulated rapidly, gathering entirely in his right fist within an instant.

Su Tian drew a deep breath. With a thought, he manifested his Dou Qi Armor, completely protecting his body.

Once everything was ready, Su Tian abruptly raised his head, his eyes likewise blazing with intense murderous intent.

"We haven't decided who's dying yet!"

Although Su Tian had no Dou Technique to unleash, this punch, charged with all his strength, could erupt with tremendous power.

Su Tian shouted and shifted his footing, abruptly halting his retreat.

The next moment, instead of withdrawing, Su Tian charged straight toward the oncoming Hei Man, without the slightest hesitation in his steps.

Bang!

In just a few short breaths, Su Tian and Hei Man closed in on one another.

Watching their fierce battle from nearby, Base couldn't help swallowing. With his strength as a Seven-Star Dou Shi, he would probably die on the spot within a few moves if he got involved.

At that thought, Base quietly retreated a little farther.

Looking at Su Tian's figure, which resembled a god of war, Base involuntarily recalled their earlier clash.

Thank goodness he wasn't intent on killing me back then. Otherwise, I'd probably have lost my life before the captain and the others arrived.

At that moment, Base couldn't help feeling grateful that he hadn't taken it upon himself to seek revenge after discovering Su Tian's whereabouts.

Had Base been the one fighting Su Tian today, Hei Man might only have found his severed head.

Boom!

Meanwhile, Hei Man and Su Tian collided fiercely in the blink of an eye.

Dust and smoke billowed up at once, spreading through the air.

Although Su Tian hadn't used a Dou Technique, the punch he had charged with his own formidable strength erupted with power no weaker than Hei Man's.

Hei Man clearly hadn't expected Su Tian to match his killing technique with nothing but his own strength.

He could even sense that Su Tian's ability to unleash such a powerful punch was inseparable from the strength of his physical body. Without a sturdy physique, even Su Tian would have suffered some backlash from the force of that strike.

Yet when Hei Man looked at Su Tian's expression, he found nothing unusual.

That was enough to prove that Su Tian's body was every bit as strong as Hei Man's, despite Hei Man being a member of the Snake-People Tribe.

Naturally, Su Tian knew nothing of Hei Man's thoughts and speculation.

Perhaps all these transformations could only be credited to the emperor clan bloodline within Su Tian.

Despite the shock and doubt in his heart, Hei Man's attacks never paused.

Boom!

As Hei Man thrust his right palm forward, the black Dou Qi gathered around it instantly transformed into small, lethally venomous snakes. Hissing incessantly, they lunged toward Su Tian's right fist.

Clearly, if these snakes formed from Dou Qi touched Su Tian, their potent venom would cause him some trouble.

Ding!

Check-In Task triggered!

Defeat Hei Man within ten exchanges to receive a Check-In Reward!

Accept?

Just then, the system's voice suddenly rang out in Su Tian's mind, making him pause for a moment.

Once he recovered, Su Tian didn't hesitate in the slightest, immediately answering in his mind, Accept!

For Su Tian, this was practically a meat pie falling straight out of the sky.

Even without the system's check-in task, Su Tian was eager to kill Hei Man on the spot. Now that a Check-In Reward was on offer too, he naturally had no reason to refuse.

Hei Man, was it? You can't blame me for killing you. I'm an honest man. If you want to blame someone, blame the system for not liking the sight of you either!

Su Tian sneered inwardly. His Dou Qi surged into his right fist like water bursting through a broken dam.

In an instant, fiery red Dou Qi completely covered Su Tian's right fist once more. Under that searing heat, the little black snakes about to touch him turned into wisps of black smoke in the blink of an eye, dissipating in midair.

"Damn it! I nearly forgot-he has a fire attribute. It counters this move of mine!"

Seeing this, Hei Man couldn't help cursing under his breath. His attack had failed to have its intended effect on Su Tian, leaving him furious and indignant.

Su Tian hadn't even used a Dou Technique, yet Hei Man was already faintly being suppressed.

If Su Tian did unleash a Dou Technique, wouldn't that mean defeating Hei Man would be as easy as turning over his hand?

At that thought, a trace of fear rose in Hei Man's heart.

He felt as though he could no longer see through Su Tian's strength.

They were clearly both One-Star Great Dou Masters, yet from the very beginning of their battle, Hei Man had inexplicably fallen into a disadvantage.

For the ever-arrogant Hei Man, this was undoubtedly a devastating blow.

Influenced by those thoughts, Hei Man gradually began to feel unable to keep up as he fought Su Tian.

Su Tian naturally had no idea what Hei Man was thinking.

All Su Tian knew was that the longer he fought, the more fired up he became. It was as though a hunger for battle kept growing within him, and every exchange filled him with exhilaration.

Bang!

Su Tian kept leaping and shifting, dense, fiery red Dou Qi gathered around his right fist as he hammered Hei Man's body without restraint.

Hei Man tried to counterattack, but before the little black snakes formed from his Dou Qi could touch Su Tian, the searing heat vaporized them into dissipating trails of black smoke.

Boom!

Caught off guard, Hei Man took a vicious punch to the back as Su Tian suddenly appeared behind him. Searing energy surged into him, leaving a charred black mark.

Just as Hei Man prepared to turn and retaliate, Su Tian abruptly stepped back, opening the distance between them.

Boom!

Another punch came flying in. Already agitated, Hei Man couldn't react in time and took another ferocious punch from Su Tian squarely in the face. A mouthful of foul-smelling blood gushed out.

Su Tian pressed his advantage without mercy. Grinning, he planted his foot and shot straight toward Hei Man's abdomen like a cannonball.

From a distance, it looked as though Su Tian was willingly throwing himself into Hei Man's embrace.

Seeing Su Tian charge toward him, Hei Man threw his head back and roared in fury. He brought his palms together, then struck viciously toward Su Tian.

"Yin Snake Poison-Devouring Palm!"

Hei Man roared as black Dou Qi instantly gathered around his hands, forming a pitch-black, snake-shaped blade before him.

Yet Su Tian didn't slow down in the slightest.

Instead, he accelerated!

A strange smile curved Su Tian's lips. Just as he was about to touch the snake-shaped blade, his figure abruptly vanished.

At the sight, Hei Man's pupils contracted sharply, and an overwhelming sense of unease instantly flooded his heart.

No! I've fallen for his trick!