Snake-People Commander, Mo Bass

"Hmph! In my eyes, you're nothing but a worthless dog borrowing its master's might!"

Watching Su Tian's arrogant demeanor, Hei Meng made no attempt to conceal the cold killing intent in his eyes. He spat toward Su Tian and cursed with a snort.

"Without Master Qing Mu protecting you, killing you would be easier than crushing an ant!"

"Right, right, right. You're absolutely right. What a brilliant point."

Su Tian paid no mind to Hei Meng's mocking curses. He merely grinned and shook his head. "Unfortunately, those hypothetical situations of yours don't seem to apply right now."

"You..."

Hei Meng's expression darkened. He was just about to speak when his pupils abruptly contracted. A powerful fist came hurtling straight toward his face.

"Bam!"

In the next instant, Su Tian appeared before Hei Meng like a phantom. He gathered strength in his right fist and smashed it forward without hesitation.

Hei Meng's expression changed drastically. He instinctively tried to block, but under the pressure of Qing Mu's aura, he could not move a muscle.

He could only watch helplessly as Su Tian's fist slammed into his face.

"Thud..."

A dull impact rang out. A bright red fist mark slowly emerged on Hei Meng's cheek, and his face began swelling before their eyes.

From a distance, half his face looked like a pig's head.

"Cough... cough... Damn it, isn't he only a One-Star Great Dou Master? How could he unleash so much strength?"

With his Dou Qi suppressed inside his body by Qing Mu, Hei Meng could only endure Su Tian's punch without defending himself. Su Tian had not held back in the slightest, striking with nearly all his strength.

Besides, in terms of physical strength alone, Su Tian was already no weaker than members of the Snake-People Tribe.

Thus, Hei Meng had relied entirely on the toughness of his body to withstand that punch.

But the force unleashed by Su Tian's punch far exceeded his expectations.

"Pfft!"

Under that tremendous impact, Hei Meng's face flushed crimson, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Before he could recover, however, a strange smile curled across Su Tian's lips again.

"Whoosh!"

Su Tian abruptly shifted his feet, and his figure vanished once more.

When he reappeared, he was already behind Hei Meng. With a mocking look on his face, he immediately raised his right foot.

"So you're the bastard who wants to kill me!"

Su Tian snorted coldly. Dou Qi instantly gathered in his right foot, and without hesitation, he drove a vicious kick into Hei Meng's back. An immense force surged through the kick and poured into Hei Meng's body without restraint.

"Boom!!!"

In an instant, Hei Meng was sent flying like a sandbag by Su Tian's kick.

Under Qing Mu's gaze, Hei Meng slammed into the wall and dropped to the floor, struggling to get up.

But as he felt the immense force pouring into his body, his expression changed drastically.

No matter how tough Hei Meng's body was, its interior was ultimately its most vulnerable part.

If he allowed that force to wreak havoc inside him, once it reached his Dou Crystal, he would likely follow in Hei Man's footsteps.

At that thought, a powerful sense of panic finally rose in Hei Meng's heart.

"No! I can't! That absolutely cannot happen!"

Hei Meng had faced countless dangers on his climb to becoming deputy commander of the Snake-People Squad.

If his Dou Crystal was destroyed, his strength as a Three-Star Dou Ling would vanish in an instant.

How could he remain deputy commander of the Snake-People Squad then?

Moreover, the three deputy commanders were far from harmonious. Their covert struggles were exceedingly complicated.

Once Hei Meng lost his strength, he would effectively be handing the other two deputy commanders an opportunity to eliminate him.

The thought of those consequences filled his heart with terror.

Yet under Qing Mu's oppressive aura, he could not circulate even a trace of Dou Qi, much less rise up and resist.

Such was the vast gulf between a Dou Ling and a Dou Wang.

"Bang, bang, bang!!!"

Unable to accept his impending fate, Hei Meng strained with all his might to mobilize his Dou Qi and break free of Qing Mu's suppression.

But no matter how he tried, he could not overcome Qing Mu's pressure.

Just then, Su Tian began walking slowly toward him again.

"Damn it, you really gave me a fright just now. I thought you actually had some ability."

Su Tian stopped beside Hei Meng. Looking down at the humiliation written across his face as he lay on the floor, Su Tian could not resist mocking him.

Truthfully, the violent surges of aura Hei Meng had unleashed while desperately mobilizing his Dou Qi had startled Su Tian.

After all, Su Tian was only a One-Star Great Dou Master. The difference between his strength and Hei Meng's as a Three-Star Dou Ling was enormous.

If Hei Meng broke free of Qing Mu's suppression, Su Tian might very well be no match for him in a direct fight.

Only when he saw Hei Meng still lying motionless on the floor, his face flushed red, did Su Tian breathe a sigh of relief.

"You want to mobilize your Dou Qi?"

Su Tian gave a cold smile as he looked down at Hei Meng. "As you wish!"

"Bam!"

The instant those words left his mouth, before Hei Meng could react, Su Tian raised his foot and delivered another vicious kick to his abdomen.

A powerful, sharp force invaded his body, violently scattering his Dou Qi before unleashing a raging shock within him.

"You... Pfft!"

Hei Meng keenly felt the violent upheaval inside his body. His expression changed drastically, and he was about to curse when he spat out a mouthful of foul-smelling blood instead, pain spreading across his face.

Despite Hei Meng's wretched state, Su Tian felt not the slightest pity.

"Elder Qing, may I cripple him?"

Turning around, Su Tian looked at Qing Mu, who stood quietly a short distance away. After a moment's hesitation, he asked softly.

Qing Mu was initially taken aback by Su Tian's words. Then he glanced at Hei Meng, who lay on the floor in agony. After a brief consideration, he seemed to reach a decision.

Under Su Tian's gaze, Qing Mu gave a slight nod.

"As long as you spare his life, do as you please."

Qing Mu naturally understood what this decision meant. But in his view, as long as no one died, his standing might keep the Snake-People Tribe from making too much of it.

At most, they would probably impose a minor punishment as a warning to others.

Besides, Hei Meng had been the one to lead his men here to cause trouble and attempt to kill Su Tian.

If Su Tian crippled him, it would merely be the price Hei Meng paid for his own actions.

"My medicine boy is not someone you can bully at will!"

Qing Mu looked indifferently at Hei Meng on the floor. A sinister chill crossed his aged face as he snorted.

Those words were naturally intended for the Snake-People Tribe. Even if they pursued the matter later, Qing Mu would have a defensible position from which to argue his case.

"Thank you for your permission, Elder Qing!"

A cold smile immediately appeared on Su Tian's face. He cupped his hands toward Qing Mu and respectfully thanked him.

With Qing Mu's permission secured, Su Tian turned back around, feeling more confident.

After all, Hei Meng was a Three-Star Dou Ling and a deputy commander of the Snake-People Squad.

Even if Su Tian wanted to cut down the grass and tear out its roots, he would not have dared go too far.

But with Qing Mu backing him now, things were naturally different.

This undoubtedly gave Su Tian a perfect opportunity to cripple Hei Meng.

Even if he lost Qing Mu's protection in the future, Hei Meng would no longer pose much of a threat to him.

"No! I'm a deputy commander of the Snake-People Squad! If you dare cripple me, you'll be digging your own grave!"

Hearing Su Tian and Qing Mu's exchange, then watching Su Tian approach, Hei Meng's face filled with fear.

At that moment, Hei Meng was truly frightened to the depths of his heart.

"What, were you planning to spare me?"

Su Tian scoffed at Hei Meng's threat and sneered contemptuously.

He knew perfectly well that the hatred between them was already irreconcilable. Whether he crippled Hei Meng today or not, Hei Meng would never let him off.

Since that was the case, Su Tian naturally would not spare his enemy so easily.

"I..."

Hei Meng still wanted to persuade Su Tian, but he saw Su Tian curl his right hand into a claw. Dou Qi instantly gathered around it, releasing an exceedingly sharp aura.

Clearly, Su Tian had no intention of sparing him.

With the crisis upon him, Hei Meng could no longer afford to worry about anything else. His expression shifted darkly before he gritted his teeth and exhausted every means at his disposal, barely loosening Qing Mu's suppression by a fraction.

Immediately afterward, a faint light flashed from Hei Meng's Storage Ring, and an oddly shaped jade pendant appeared in his hand.

"A Communication Token!"

The instant the pendant appeared, Hei Meng crushed it without hesitation.

In a flash, the jade pendant became a stream of green light, swiftly rising into the air and shooting off in a certain direction. It soon vanished without a trace.

This sudden turn of events stunned Su Tian.

But in the next instant, Qing Mu's anxious voice rang out in his ears.

"Not good! Things have changed! Su Tian, act now!"

At Qing Mu's urgent prompting, Su Tian's eyes flickered. He guessed it might have something to do with what had just happened.

But there was no time for further thought.

Su Tian immediately took a deep breath, resolve appearing on his face. Like sharp spikes, his fingers pierced Hei Meng's abdomen in the blink of an eye.

"Found it!"

With a slight movement of his right hand, Su Tian felt the Dou Crystal inside Hei Meng. Without hesitation, he seized it and crushed it.

Suffering such a devastating attack, Hei Meng's face immediately filled with despair and agony.

As the Dou Crystal shattered inside him, his abundant Dou Qi seemed to lose its foundation, rapidly dissipating at a nearly visible pace.

At that moment, Hei Meng was like a deflated balloon, his aura instantly weakening.

"No... Don't! My Dou Qi... This is impossible!"

Hei Meng's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, filled with despair and madness. He muttered incessantly, unable to believe what had happened.

He had sacrificed far too much to reach his position.

Yet a single mistaken decision had buried everything here.

It was easy to imagine that even if Hei Meng survived this time, his fate would be little better than Hei Man's.

"It was you! This is all your fault! I'll kill you!!!"

At that moment, Hei Meng seemed to lose all reason. His eyes were crimson, and killing intent erupted from him as he tried to rise and lunge at Su Tian.

But under Qing Mu's oppressive aura, even in his frenzied state, Hei Meng still could not break free, much less kill Su Tian himself.

"Now, who's the worthless one?"

Watching Hei Meng's madness, Su Tian sneered repeatedly and rolled his neck. A powerful killing intent rose in his eyes as well.

"Bam!"

In the next instant, Su Tian moved, vanishing from Hei Meng's sight.

"Get the hell away from me!"

Su Tian shouted fiercely. When he reappeared, he was already behind Hei Meng. He gathered his strength and lashed out with a kick.

He poured almost all his strength into that kick.

"Crack!"

Even in his frenzied state, Hei Meng could not help letting out a piercing scream. A crisp snapping sound then echoed through the air.

Su Tian had kicked Hei Meng's lumbar spine into several broken sections. Even if medicinal pills healed him in the future, he would likely suffer severe lasting damage.

This act undoubtedly cut off every path Hei Meng had left.

As far as Su Tian was concerned, Hei Meng no longer posed any threat at all.

But just as Su Tian prepared to move forward and deliver another blow, an aura somewhat stronger than Qing Mu's suddenly rose from a certain direction in the distance.

Sensing that powerful aura, Su Tian's expression involuntarily changed.

Even Qing Mu narrowed his eyes, a grave look emerging on his aged face.

"This aura..."

Qing Mu took a deep breath, and a familiar name immediately surfaced in his mind.

"Snake-People Commander, Mo Bass!"

"Boom!"

Just then, a figure brimming with explosive power appeared in the distant sky and sped toward Su Tian and the others.

An ear-splitting roar of displaced air erupted along his path!

That figure was none other than the Snake-People commander, Mo Bass!