Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique: "Army-Breaking Dragon Fist"

"Mmph... mmph..."

Su Tian's foot blocked Base's mouth. The agonizing pain from his damaged Dou Crystal left Base red-faced, panting rapidly through his muffled mouth.

Su Tian merely smiled coldly at Base's miserable state, without a trace of pity or sympathy in his eyes.

"Pfft..."

With one final faint, muffled sound, all the Dou Qi stored within Base's Dou Crystal dissipated completely.

That meant Base had now become a complete cripple, incapable of cultivating.

Such an enormous fall left Base feeling, for a moment, as though none of it were real.

"You want to pass out too?"

Seeing Base's vacant expression and the light gradually fading from his eyes as he was about to faint, Su Tian withdrew his right foot, then viciously kicked him in the abdomen.

In an instant, a tearing agony surged wildly through him.

"Aaah!!!"

Base, who had been on the verge of losing consciousness, snapped awake again and let out a heart-rending howl.

Su Tian frowned, displeasure flickering in his eyes.

"Too noisy! Shut your mouth!"

Bam!

As soon as the words left his mouth, Su Tian slammed a fist into Base's face, unleashing his strength without restraint.

Several yellowed teeth flew from Base's mouth, mingling with foul-smelling blood to trace a scarlet arc through the air.

"Cough... cough... you..."

Half of Base's face visibly swelled into something resembling a pig's head, making him look utterly ridiculous as he mumbled through his damaged mouth.

"You what? Listen carefully. I'm in a good mood today, so I've shown you great mercy and left you a way to live. Destroying your Dou Crystals was only a minor punishment. If there's a next time..."

As Su Tian spoke, a cold smile curled his lips. His right hand suddenly clenched into a fist and shot forward with furious force.

At the sight, Base's pupils contracted, and intense terror welled up inside him.

Bang!

But Su Tian's punch did not strike Base. It brushed past his face and crashed into the wall behind him.

"Do you understand?"

"Y-yes... I understand..."

Base swallowed with difficulty, his face filled with terror. He hurriedly nodded over and over like a chick pecking at grain, afraid Su Tian might change his mind.

Seeing that he had achieved the desired effect, Su Tian sneered and stood up. "Take that idiot captain of yours and get out of here. Don't let me see you again!"

"Yes! Yes!"

Base endured the pain throughout his body, especially the tearing agony that kept shooting through his abdomen. He bowed and nodded, forcing a smile uglier than a crying face.

With that, he hurriedly crawled toward Hei Man.

He reached out and carefully checked Hei Man's breathing. Only after discovering that he had merely passed out did Base finally breathe a sigh of relief.

If Hei Man had died at Su Tian's hands today...

And word of it reached the commander of the Snake-People Tribe, even Base could not escape responsibility.

If the matter were handled poorly, he might even lose his own life and end up buried alongside Hei Man.

At that thought, Base shuddered, and the terror in his gaze as he looked at Su Tian grew even deeper.

Rustle, rustle...

Base hoisted Hei Man onto his back and hurried away, stumbling as he fled.

Su Tian had left a deep, lasting shadow over Base's heart.

Watching their fleeing figures, Su Tian folded his arms and smiled coldly, yet a trace of worry rose within him.

"The tree longs for stillness, but the wind will not cease."

Perhaps, in Su Tian's eyes, sparing Hei Man and Base this time had already been the greatest mercy he could offer.

But to the Snake-People Tribe, Su Tian was merely a human, yet he had dared commit such an outrageous act on their territory.

In their eyes, Su Tian undoubtedly showed them no regard whatsoever. He had openly slapped them in the face.

That being the case, retaliation from the Snake-People Tribe would likely come again soon.

Before then, Su Tian needed to increase his ability to protect himself as much as possible. He dared not place his life entirely in the hands of the Snake-People Tribe's Great Elder and the others.

"Only with sufficient strength can I truly take control of my own life!"

At that thought, complicated emotions filled Su Tian's heart. He drew a deep breath, and determination surfaced in his eyes.

Ding!

Successfully defeated Hei Man within ten exchanges. Check-In Task completed!

Check-In Reward obtained: Low-tier Low-grade Dou Technique, "Army-Breaking Dragon Fist"!

Just then, the system's voice suddenly sounded inside Su Tian's head.

Only then did Su Tian remember that defeating Hei Man had naturally completed the Check-In Task issued by the system. Now it was time to reap his reward.

Claim reward?

Claim it!

Su Tian did not hesitate at all. He did not even bother reading the Dou Technique's introduction before silently giving the command.

Hum...

A dazzling mass of golden light appeared before Su Tian's eyes, as brilliant as a blazing sun.

When the light dimmed slightly, Su Tian hurriedly looked over and saw several lines of small golden text appear before him.

"So this is the Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique, Army-Breaking Dragon Fist?"

Above those lines of small golden text, four large golden characters slowly appeared. Su Tian narrowed his eyes slightly and murmured to himself.

Army-Breaking Dragon Fist: A heavenly dragon that shatters armies, a single punch powerful enough to rival ten thousand! Across the eight wildernesses, who dares contend with it?

Reading the introduction before him, Su Tian's expression turned somewhat strange. "Who created this martial technique? Why does it feel a little like the embarrassing fantasies of some melodramatic teenager?"

Su Tian stared oddly at the golden text, unable to stop himself from inwardly complaining.

Still, he naturally had no reason to reject an Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique. Taking a deep breath, he slowly raised his right hand and touched the lines of golden text with his index finger.

Boom!

The instant Su Tian's fingertip touched the golden text, it transformed into a golden torrent and rushed straight into his body through his finger.

A violent wave of dizziness immediately swept over Su Tian. Through the haze, illusory scenes seemed to appear before his eyes.

As Su Tian looked, they appeared to be demonstrations of how to cultivate the Army-Breaking Dragon Fist.

Understanding at once, Su Tian hurriedly focused his attention, fixing his eyes on the movements demonstrated by the illusory figure within those scenes.

After entering Su Tian's body, the golden text followed the demonstrations in those illusory scenes and reached certain meridians through which the Dou Technique needed to flow.

Hiss, hiss...

Faintly, the golden torrent seemed to be strengthening those meridians, ensuring that Su Tian would not damage them when using this Dou Technique in the future.

Su Tian, however, noticed none of this.

At that moment, all his attention was focused on the illusory scenes before him.

"So that's how it works..."

After a long while, Su Tian finally exhaled slowly and closed his eyes, a Flash of Inspiration passing through his mind.

At last, he had gained some understanding and insight into the Army-Breaking Dragon Fist.

"As expected of an Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique. Without these scenes of a senior personally demonstrating it, getting even a foot through the door this quickly would have been impossible."

Su Tian had never imagined that cultivating an Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique would be so difficult.

Even with all this help, he had spent nearly two hours before gaining any insight. As for whether he could actually execute it right now, he could not be certain.

He shook his head vigorously and finally felt a little more clearheaded.

Then Su Tian cast a lingering glance in the direction Base and Hei Man had left. With a cold smile, he turned and walked into the courtyard.

Pfft...

As his Dou Qi circulated again, a mass of scorching flame formed within the Medicine Cauldron.

Rather than rushing to practice the technique, Su Tian continued refining iron jade leaf.

He wanted to use alchemy to bring himself into peak condition. That way, when he practiced the Dou Technique, he might achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Then Su Tian moved his right hand, and an iron jade leaf plant appeared in it. With a gentle toss, he sent it accurately into the Medicine Cauldron.

The dancing flames immediately surged forward, enveloping the iron jade leaf and beginning to roast it continuously.

Su Tian's spiritual perception flowed into the Medicine Cauldron as well, strictly controlling the heat released by the flames.

Crack, crack...

Under the constant heat, visible cracks gradually appeared across the iron jade leaf's surface, exposing the dark green core hidden within.

Seeing everything gradually fall into place, Su Tian finally let out a long breath, delight appearing on his face.

"It seems that battle made my control over Dou Qi much more refined. It also indirectly improved my ability to control the flame's temperature while refining medicine."

Sensing these changes in himself, Su Tian naturally felt overjoyed.

Elsewhere, however, Base's heart was exceptionally heavy.

Carrying Hei Man on his back, he had hurried nonstop to their squad's camp. After settling Hei Man in, he looked at his barely breathing form and knew all too well what kind of torment he had suffered.

His Dou Crystal had likewise been mercilessly destroyed by Su Tian.

At that thought, Base could not help clenching his fists. Fierce killing intent and rage surged abruptly from his heart.

"That damned human! How dare he..."

Sensing that not a trace of Dou Qi remained within him, Base's face filled with deep bitterness.

And this only intensified his hatred for Su Tian!

"A human brat has climbed onto our heads and bullied us! If we don't avenge this humiliation, wouldn't we be casting aside the dignity of our Snake-People Tribe?"

Yet from beginning to end, Base never considered that, had he and Hei Man not provoked Su Tian first, they would never have met such a miserable end.

Those who humiliate others will always be humiliated in turn.

Base, however, did not understand that principle.

Looking at Hei Man, who still lay unconscious on the bed, Base remained silent for a long time. His eyes narrowed slightly, as though he had made some decision.

Then, without even tending to his own injuries first, Base turned and left the tent, walking swiftly toward a certain spot deep within the camp.

A towering tent stood there, conspicuous as a crane among chickens.

Pfft... pfft...

A faint, muffled sound occasionally broke the courtyard's silence. A large, imposing Medicine Cauldron stood at its center, with a young figure seated cross-legged before it in complete concentration. His eyes were lightly closed, both hands touching the cauldron as he controlled the flames dancing within.

Judging by his face, it was none other than Su Tian.

Hiss, hiss!

Just then, a faint sound of melting came from inside the Medicine Cauldron.

Su Tian instantly opened his eyes, anticipation and delight appearing on his face as he stared unblinkingly at the iron jade leaf within.

He dared not allow any violent fluctuations in his spiritual perception, doing his utmost to control the temperature of the flames inside the Medicine Cauldron.

By now, the iron jade leaf's dark green core had been roasted down to the size of a fingernail. Enveloped in the flames and heated continuously, it seemed to have become a small lump of viscous liquid, gently churning in the fire.

At the sight of that small lump of viscous liquid, Su Tian looked excited.

This was precisely the substance that could be used in alchemy only after the iron jade leaf had been refined to its final stage.

Even some First-Rank Alchemists would likely find it taxing to refine iron jade leaf to this degree.

Yet after more than a dozen failures, Su Tian had miraculously accomplished it, filling him with excitement.

"Hehe, not bad. With your current alchemy skills, refining iron jade leaf to this degree is truly remarkable."

Without Su Tian noticing, Qing Mu had quietly appeared. Looking at the small lump of viscous liquid gently churning inside the Medicine Cauldron, he nodded and smiled faintly.

"From the looks of it, as long as you persevere, you should truly reach the level of a First-Rank Alchemist before long."

"Senior Qing Mu, you're here!"

Hearing this, Su Tian hurriedly looked back and found Qing Mu standing behind him with a kindly smile.

Bam!

Just then, the small lump of viscous liquid within the Medicine Cauldron had been heated into a paste. Su Tian turned to look and, without the slightest hesitation, struck the cauldron, sending its lid flying up.

His spiritual perception immediately surged outward, lifting the small lump of paste-like substance from the Medicine Cauldron.

Looking at the small lump of paste in his hand, Su Tian's smile grew even brighter.