Trouble Came Knocking

"Condense!"

A young man's sharp cry suddenly rang through the silent courtyard, followed by a graceful figure springing into the air.

Sunlight fell across his face. It was none other than Su Tian!

Although Su Tian's expression was solemn, it could not conceal his excitement, and an eager gleam appeared in his eyes.

On Su Tian's right fist, a mass of blazing flames was steadily condensing. An immensely powerful aura radiated from it, with faint pulses of violent power lurking beneath.

Then, suspended in midair, Su Tian hurled his flame-wreathed right fist toward an empty patch of the courtyard.

Army-Breaking Dragon Fist!

As Su Tian shouted inwardly, an enormous flaming dragon head erupted from his right fist. Its jaws spread wide, and a deep dragon roar reverberated through the surroundings.

Guided by Su Tian's will, the flaming dragon head charged toward its target without hesitation.

At the same time, the enormous flaming dragon head swelled rapidly in the wind.

In the blink of an eye, a gigantic Crimson Flame Dragon took shape in midair.

The Crimson Flame Dragon unleashed another deafening roar. With a lash of its tail, its speed surged, and it hurtled forward in fury.

The excitement on Su Tian's face intensified. "The Army-Breaking Dragon Fist unleashed after six compressions... I... I actually did it!"

Compared with before, the Crimson Flame Dragon Su Tian had conjured now looked far more solid.

Moreover, the aura emanating from its body was stronger than before, and the violent power within it far surpassed anything Su Tian's previous attempts had contained.

Clearly, the power of Su Tian's current Army-Breaking Dragon Fist had multiplied.

"Roar!"

In midair, the Crimson Flame Dragon opened its gaping, blood-red maw and let out a resounding roar. Two dense masses of crimson flame seemed to blaze within its eyes, exuding a savage intent.

Under Su Tian's gaze, the Crimson Flame Dragon slammed into its target in an instant.

Boom!

A deafening explosion erupted, echoing across the sky. Even the earth shook violently.

At the sight, a sharp gleam flashed through Su Tian's eyes. He stamped down hard and swiftly retreated.

Just then, a violent wave of residual energy swept rapidly outward.

"This... what incredible power!"

Feeling the might unleashed by this Dou Technique at such close range, Su Tian could not contain his wild delight and murmured to himself.

Compared with the Army-Breaking Dragon Fist unleashed after three compressions of Dou Qi, its power had increased by far more than a little.

He had only achieved six compressions, not the full eight.

Yet Su Tian knew perfectly well that even a five-star Da Dou Shi fighting him would not dare take this Dou Technique lightly.

If such an opponent grew careless, even a moment's lapse could leave them seriously injured-or dead on the spot.

This was the might of an Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique.

As long as it was unleashed at the right moment, fighting above one's level was not impossible.

Boom, boom, boom...

All these thoughts had flashed through Su Tian's mind in an instant. Now, a wave of residual energy brimming with violent power swept toward him.

Su Tian's eyes flashed, and a cold smile curled his lips, but he showed not the slightest panic.

"What can a mere shock wave do to me?"

Su Tian drew a deep breath, then abruptly raised both hands with a low shout.

An immense, invisible force surged from Su Tian's mind. In the blink of an eye, it formed a sturdy shield before him.

Practicing this Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique had gradually made Su Tian more adept at wielding soul power.

Now, Su Tian could even use soul power to carry out simple attacks or defenses.

Moreover, given the strength of Su Tian's soul power, its effects were sometimes considerably better than those of Dou Qi.

Bang, bang, bang!

Just after Su Tian had arranged his soul power into a defense, the violent energy wave struck. It slammed into the invisible shield formed from soul power, producing a series of heavy thuds.

Yet no matter how fiercely the energy wave battered it, it could not break through the shield of soul power.

"Disperse!"

Seeing the energy wave's force gradually wane, Su Tian's eyes flashed. With a cold sneer, he thrust both hands forward.

At the same time, all the soul power within Su Tian's mind surged outward.

Boom...

Under Su Tian's control, this vast torrent of soul power charged toward the spreading energy wave, intent on quelling it completely.

At that moment, the immense scale of Su Tian's soul power was plain to see.

In terms of sheer abundance, even a First-Rank Alchemist seemed to fall short of him.

However, Su Tian himself appeared unaware of this.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

With the addition of the soul power Su Tian released, the spreading energy wave began to dissipate visibly, like flames encountering ice water.

Within just a few breaths, calm returned.

Dust filled the courtyard, and broken stones and rubble lay scattered across the ground, leaving it in utter disarray.

As the dust gradually cleared, Su Tian hastily looked over.

A crater several meters across had appeared in the courtyard. It seemed extremely deep; all he could see inside was pitch-black darkness, with the bottom barely discernible.

At the sight, fierce exhilaration welled up within Su Tian. His face flushed slightly with excitement. "As expected of an Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique. This power is simply incredible!"

At that moment, Su Tian could hardly resist shouting inwardly:

Army-Breaking Dragon Fist! You're my god!

"If I completed all eight compressions of Dou Qi, wouldn't its power be enough to overturn mountains and seas, split mountains, and rend the earth?"

At that thought, Su Tian wished he could accomplish it immediately.

However, he could only dream of it for now. He had managed six compressions this time largely thanks to his soul power. Otherwise, he would probably have needed much longer.

Perhaps even the creator of the Army-Breaking Dragon Fist had never imagined that someone could use vast soul power to reach this stage in such a short time.

After all, not everyone possessed such abundant soul power.

"One day, I'll unleash the full power of this Dou Technique!"

Su Tian drew a deep breath, anticipation filling his eyes.

He shook his head lightly and stretched his body a little. Seven days had already passed, and he could not help recalling the instructions the Great Elder had left before departing.

"How strange. It's already been a week, so why hasn't there been any word from the Great Elder?"

By now, Su Tian no longer felt any resistance to marrying Queen Medusa.

However, the continued lack of news from the Great Elder left him feeling uncertain.

"Forget it. No news is the best news. The Great Elder certainly has to consult Queen Medusa about something like this. There's no rushing it."

Unable to find an answer, Su Tian could only purse his lips and offer himself a casual excuse for comfort.

Just as Su Tian stretched and prepared to return to his room, recover, and continue studying alchemy, a blurry black shape suddenly shot toward him from beyond the courtyard gate.

"Who's there?"

Su Tian's senses were exceptionally keen. He instantly went on guard and gave a cold shout. Moving his feet, he spun around as Dou Qi gathered on his right fist.

Then the Dou Qi transformed into blazing flames that covered Su Tian's right fist, and he smashed it toward the approaching black shape.

Bang...

With a muffled impact, the black shape proved to be a sharp arrow glinting with an eerie light. Under Su Tian's punch, it turned into a heap of charred ash.

"Who's attacking me from hiding? If you've got any guts, come out instead of skulking around like a rat!"

Su Tian withdrew his right fist and surveyed his surroundings with an icy gaze, sneering, "What's wrong? You dare do it, but won't own up to it? If you're scared, crawl out here, get on your knees, and beg for mercy!"

"You aren't worth my fear!"

The moment Su Tian finished speaking, a figure brimming with explosive strength slowly entered through the courtyard gate.

The newcomer had merely draped a thin garment over himself. Strange black tattoos covered his arms, with two vicious black snake heads visible on his palms.

It was none other than Mo Bass, the commander of the Snake-People Tribe who already had a grudge against Su Tian!

"Well, what wind blew our Commander Mo Bass all the way to my doorstep today? I was wondering why I kept smelling something foul."

At the sight of Mo Bass, Su Tian narrowed his eyes and immediately heightened his guard, though he let out a cold, mocking laugh.

"Coming to trouble me again? Didn't you learn your lesson last time?"

"Are you looking to die?"

At Su Tian's taunts, Mo Bass's expression turned exceedingly dark, and killing intent filled his yellow eyes.

Su Tian was not frightened by Mo Bass's threat. With the Great Elder backing him now, he was not worried about what Mo Bass could do to him, and immediately sneered.

"Do you dare kill me?"

"Don't think the Great Elder's presence means I won't lay a hand on you. This time, I've come to take your life!"

At those words, fury churned within Mo Bass. He snorted coldly and spoke in a grim voice.

"Boy, I truly don't know why the Great Elder would choose someone like you to marry Her Majesty. But it doesn't matter. Once I kill you, this marriage will naturally come to nothing!"

Looking at Su Tian, Mo Bass could no longer suppress his surging killing intent. "And then the Great Elder will understand who truly deserves Her Majesty!"

"Even if the Great Elder hadn't chosen me, a brute like you would hardly get a turn to marry Her Majesty!"

After hearing Mo Bass's words, the mockery on Su Tian's face only deepened.

Just as Su Tian had said, according to the original course of events, the one who ultimately married Queen Medusa was Xiao Yan, not Mo Bass.

Unfortunately, Mo Bass knew nothing of that outcome.

"Wretch, you're courting death!"

Clearly, Su Tian's words had thoroughly enraged Mo Bass. No longer able to suppress his fury and killing intent, he slammed his snake tail against the ground and shot toward Su Tian like lightning.

Su Tian had been watching Mo Bass's every movement all along. Seeing him suddenly attack, he likewise snorted coldly, his figure instantly blurring into an afterimage as he tried to put distance between them.

"Hahahahaha! You still think you can dodge?"

At the sight, Mo Bass sneered repeatedly, a savage killing intent flashing through his yellow eyes.

"Yin-Devouring Rakshasa Palm!"

In an instant, Mo Bass unleashed a vicious killing move, with no intention of leaving Su Tian any chance of survival.

Mo Bass intended to kill Su Tian in a single blow before the Great Elder noticed. That way, even if the Great Elder arrived, she could only accept what had happened.

After all, as a commander of the Snake-People Tribe, Mo Bass would at most receive a punishment from the Great Elder.

As for his life, Mo Bass was not worried in the slightest.

Mo Bass did not believe the Great Elder would make him accompany a human into the grave.

At that thought, the killing intent behind Mo Bass's attack intensified.

Hiss, hiss, hiss...

In an instant, small, pitch-black venomous snakes shot toward Su Tian in a seemingly endless stream.

Seeing that every move Mo Bass made was meant to kill, Su Tian's face turned icy. The killing intent in his heart was no weaker than Mo Bass's.

"You want to kill me? You're not qualified!"

Su Tian abruptly halted his constant weaving and dodging. With a cold shout, he clenched his right hand into a fist, and a mass of fiercely burning flames engulfed it.

In an instant, a powerful force spread from Su Tian's right fist.

Faintly, a violent power seemed to lurk within it, quietly awaiting the moment it could burst free.

Su Tian drew a deep breath, and a burning will to battle flashed in his eyes.

"Army-Breaking Dragon Fist!"