The snake-shaped blade slashed down.
Yet the anticipated spray of blood never came.
The unease in Hei Man's heart suddenly intensified. He watched helplessly as Su Tian's figure vanished, and a bone-piercing chill shot up from the soles of his feet.
Clearly, just as Hei Man had suspected, this was a trap Su Tian had laid!
Whoosh!
Hei Man had no time to think. Almost instinctively, he whipped his snake tail around and turned toward his rear, bringing the snake-shaped blade condensed above his palms slashing down with savage force.
Hiss...
The snake-shaped blade tore through the air as it slashed down.
But contrary to Hei Man's expectations, Su Tian's figure did not appear before him.
The keen attack of that snake-shaped blade struck nothing but air.
"Heh heh heh. An idiot through and through. Looks like that brain of yours really doesn't work too well. You fell for that so easily."
Just then, Su Tian's voice suddenly came from behind Hei Man, tinged with mocking laughter. Hei Man's expression darkened further, becoming as ugly as a pool of thick black ink.
Strike while he was weakened; take his life.
Repeated battles had enriched Su Tian's combat experience, and he naturally would not let such a fine opportunity slip away.
Bang!
An explosive sound rang out as Su Tian shot toward Hei Man's back like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Fiery-red Dou Qi danced over his right fist.
Hei Man sensed an immensely powerful force erupting behind him.
"Damn it! This is bad..."
"Only realizing it now? Sorry, you're already too late!"
Just as Hei Man swung his snake tail and tried to turn back, Su Tian's cold shout rang out. Without the slightest hesitation, his right fist slammed toward the center of Hei Man's back.
Seeing Su Tian's attack closing in, Hei Man wanted to block it, but everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Boom!
At that critical moment, Hei Man hastily willed his Dou Qi Armor into existence, instantly covering his body.
Now, Hei Man could only pin his hopes on his Dou Qi Armor.
Seeing the Dou Qi Armor suddenly form over Hei Man's body, Su Tian narrowed his eyes, but not a trace of panic appeared on his face.
"Watch me shatter that turtle shell of yours with one punch!"
Su Tian snorted coldly, feeling no surprise at all.
As a One-Star Great Dou Master, Hei Man could summon Dou Qi Armor. Su Tian had expected that all along.
But in Su Tian's eyes, even Dou Qi Armor could not stop the might unleashed by this punch.
Though lengthy to describe, all this happened within only a few breaths.
In an instant, Su Tian was upon him, his right fist carrying tremendous force as it smashed toward the center of Hei Man's back.
Boom!
With a deep, muffled crash, Su Tian's fist slammed into Hei Man's back. Hei Man's expression changed instantly, his face turning pale.
Then Hei Man's throat convulsed, and a mouthful of foul-smelling blood gushed out.
Pfft...
"Get the hell out!"
It was not over yet. Su Tian stamped down hard, lending his right fist another surge of force. With a fierce shout, he hurled Hei Man's body through the damaged courtyard entrance.
Hei Man's burly body flew out like a cannonball at tremendous speed.
In the distance, Base saw Hei Man flying toward him. After a brief hesitation, he swung his snake tail and hurried forward, hoping to catch him.
But Base had clearly underestimated the force Su Tian had unleashed.
"This... pfft..."
The moment Base touched Hei Man's body, his expression changed drastically. An enormous force struck him, and in the blink of an eye, he flew out through the courtyard entrance along with Hei Man.
Thud!
A heavy impact rang out as Hei Man and Base crashed onto the ground like dead dogs.
Base's head immediately lolled to one side, and he passed out.
Though pain wracked Hei Man's entire body, with a particularly searing agony in the center of his back, he still clung to his last shred of consciousness. His snake tail twitched as he endured the pain and struggled repeatedly, trying to rise from the ground.
Su Tian, however, gave Hei Man no such chance.
"You dare call yourself my daddy? Lie down and behave for your father!"
Moving with incredible speed, Su Tian appeared before Hei Man in an instant and slammed another heavy punch into his face.
Pfft!
Hei Man spat out a mouthful of blood as a burst of agony mixed with a stinging numbness assailed him. Blood immediately streamed from his nose like a gushing spring.
One punch settled the fight!
That punch shattered Hei Man's final shred of consciousness. His vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground with a thump, unconscious.
Only then did Su Tian take a deep breath, calming the violently fluctuating energy within his body a little.
Why did I feel as though my strength surpassed even the Snake-People Tribe's during that fight?
Su Tian lowered his head and looked at his hands in confusion, seemingly only now recognizing the issue.
It was common knowledge that members of the Snake-People Tribe possessed far greater physical strength than humans.
Yet the strength Su Tian had displayed in that battle seemed greater still.
That was precisely what puzzled Su Tian.
Could this be a benefit of that so-called emperor clan bloodline?
A flash of inspiration suddenly struck Su Tian, and he vaguely felt he had found a lead.
Still, Su Tian could not be entirely certain of this conjecture, so he could only bury it in his heart.
Perhaps one day in the future, Su Tian would find a true answer to this question.
For now, Su Tian glanced at Hei Man and Base lying unconscious on the ground, and a cold smile curled his lips.
These two had come knocking of their own accord and had even tried to kill Su Tian on the spot.
For that reason alone, Su Tian could never let them off so easily.
Though Su Tian was somewhat immature compared with those crafty old foxes, he understood one principle.
Whenever an enemy bared their fangs at him, he had to nip the threat in the bud if the opportunity arose.
But Su Tian was currently in Temple City, the heart of the Snake-People Tribe's territory.
Taking Hei Man's and Base's lives would undoubtedly put Su Tian in an extremely unfavorable position.
Yet if Su Tian let Hei Man and Base off this easily, they would likely never feel pain that penetrated their very marrow. That would be nowhere near enough to make them fear and respect him.
If that happened, once Hei Man and Base recovered, learned more about Su Tian, and made thorough preparations before attacking again, Su Tian would effectively have placed himself in a life-and-death predicament.
Naturally, Su Tian did not want such a thing to happen to him.
"Since I can't take your lives, I'll simply choose a punishment that'll make you wish you were dead."
Looking at the unconscious Hei Man and Base, Su Tian's lips gradually curved into a cold, ruthless smile.
How should he punish an enemy?
Su Tian had seen plenty of examples in novels.
For cultivators, something far more terrifying than death was losing the ability to cultivate.
After all, in a world where strength reigned supreme, being unable to cultivate meant having neither status nor a voice.
If they met such a fate, the pain they would face or endure would be far beyond merely losing their lives.
Pfft!
Su Tian hesitated no longer. With a thought, he instantly condensed fiery-red Dou Qi over his right hand.
Then Su Tian crouched down. Looking at the unconscious Hei Man before him, he curled his right hand into a claw. His Dou Qi abruptly transformed into sharp spikes that pierced Hei Man's dantian without resistance in the blink of an eye.
Pfft!
The next moment, a faint, muffled sound rang out, followed by a noise from Hei Man's dantian like air leaking from a balloon. A powerful aura of energy seemed to be rapidly dissipating into the air.
Hei Man, who had still been unconscious, suddenly felt a bone-deep agony rip through his dantian.
"Aah!!! My Dou Crystal... you... how vicious..."
Hei Man's eyes snapped open. Almost instantly, he clearly sensed the Dou Qi stored in the crystalline Dou Crystal within his dantian dissipating at a visibly rapid rate.
Hei Man naturally understood exactly what this meant.
"Am I vicious? Perhaps."
Su Tian gave a cold laugh, a clear flash of killing intent crossing his eyes as he spoke softly.
Su Tian did not consider himself cruel. All of this was merely the consequence of Hei Man's own actions.
Enduring the intense pain in his dantian, Hei Man willed his energy to stop the Dou Qi from dissipating out of his Dou Crystal.
But no matter what methods Hei Man tried, none had the slightest effect.
Hei Man could only watch helplessly as all the Dou Qi he had painstakingly cultivated vanished into nothing.
Pfft!
Under this devastating blow, Hei Man suffered a crushing injury to both body and mind. Another mouthful of blood gushed out, and he sank into complete unconsciousness.
Watching Hei Man's every move, Su Tian merely stood to one side, looking on coldly.
Su Tian saw nothing wrong with his methods.
He had not taken Hei Man's life. To Hei Man, that was already an immense blessing.
If Su Tian had lost today's battle against Hei Man, the one lying on the ground as a corpse now would surely have been Su Tian.
Thus, Su Tian would naturally show no mercy toward an enemy who wanted to take his life.
Mercy toward an enemy was the greatest cruelty toward oneself.
Su Tian had long since learned that principle by heart.
Looking at the unconscious Hei Man, Su Tian snorted coldly, rose to his feet, and delivered a heavy kick to Base beside him.
Bang!
Su Tian held nothing back with that kick, sending Base's body straight into a distant wall.
Then he crashed heavily onto the ground again.
Pfft...
The intense pain jolted Base awake. Unable to hold it back, he instantly spat out a mouthful of blood.
At that moment, however, he suddenly noticed a pair of feet before him.
Base raised his head and found Su Tian standing before him, silently watching him with a bone-chilling coldness in his eyes.
"You... what are you going to do? I'm... warning you, this is... the Snake-People Tribe's territory. If you dare kill me... you won't get away either!"
Base seemed to expend every ounce of his strength on those words. Cold sweat covered his face, and his body retreated involuntarily, trying to put distance between himself and Su Tian.
At this moment, Su Tian seemed like a vicious demon in Base's eyes.
To Base, his life and death seemed to hinge on a single word from Su Tian.
Thus, to survive, Base could only invoke the Snake-People Tribe, hoping to preserve his life.
"Relax. I won't kill you. Alive, you pose no threat to me."
Su Tian stopped and folded his arms, a look of deep mockery appearing on his face. Seeing Base cowering, he could not help but sneer.
Hearing Su Tian's words, Base froze, seemingly unable to believe them. Could Su Tian really let him off so easily?
Pfft!
Before Base could react, however, Su Tian suddenly seemed to draw closer, appearing right before him, his figure looming larger.
Then, with a low, muffled sound, Base struggled to lower his head.
To his horror, he discovered that Su Tian's right hand was buried in his dantian, seemingly gripping something vital to him.
"Dou... Crystal!"
Base abruptly came to his senses, but everything was already too late.
As Su Tian tightened his right hand, a crisp crack rang out inside Base's body.
At that moment, Base clearly sensed an invisible energy rapidly draining from within him.
Base understood perfectly what that meant.
"No..."
Feeling the excruciating pain coming from his dantian, Base wanted to scream, but Su Tian raised his foot and shoved it directly into his mouth.
"Shh. Keep quiet."
In Base's eyes, the icy curve of Su Tian's lips resembled the smile of the god of death, sending a hellish chill through his entire body.
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