Dou Zong!
A powerhouse of this level had not appeared in the Jia Ma Empire for many years.
It was rather embarrassing, really. The three surrounding empires—Izumo, Mulan, and Luoyan—all possessed Dou Zong experts or combatants of a comparable level. The Jia Ma Empire was relatively weak in this regard, which was precisely why the royal family had placed such immense importance on him.
The Jia Ma Empire, especially the royal family, desperately needed a Dou Zong of its own.
Under normal circumstances, if Chen Guan encountered a Hall of Souls guardian at full strength, he would flee without a second thought. Even the lowest-ranking guardians possessed the strength of a Dou Zong.
However, the current situation in the Magical Beast Mountain Range presented him with a golden opportunity.
The guardian was seriously injured. While Chen Guan couldn't be certain of the exact extent of their remaining power, based on the suicide note, he could boldly guess that they could only exert the combat power of a Dou Huang at most.
Otherwise, there would be no need to hide and wait in the wings. They could have simply suppressed both him and Medusa. Even Medusa in her prime would be unable to resist a healthy Dou Zong.
Chen Guan carefully considered the prospect of eliminating this hidden danger for himself and for the royal family. The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. There was room to maneuver.
However, relying on himself alone was still far too risky. Even if his iron puppet could exert the strength of a Dou Huang, its shoddy workmanship meant it was comparable to Yun Yun at best. Combined with his soul skills, he would have a fifty percent chance of success at most.
A success rate below fifty percent was too low. A chance of winning less than eighty percent was not worth the risk of offending the Hall of Souls at this stage.
Therefore, to hunt this shadowy guardian, he needed to call for help.
After careful consideration, Chen Guan temporarily set aside the idea of confronting Medusa. He opened the stone door from the inside, put away the shattered snake puppet, and rushed out from the bottom of the lake.
To prevent Queen Medusa from taking direct action, Chen Guan deliberately used the Heavenly Flame to demonstrate his value, steaming his body dry before heading to Qingshan Town as if nothing had happened.
The suicide note was correct. Queen Medusa was indeed hiding in the dark and only appeared after he had left.
After looking at the lake, which had returned to its calm state, Medusa thought for a few moments and gave up the idea of taking the opportunity to break down the door. She followed in the direction the young man had gone.
At this stage, finding the Heavenly Flame to help her evolve was the top priority. There was no need to offend the other party out of simple curiosity.
Like the Jia Ma Empire, the Snake-People also urgently needed a Dou Zong powerhouse. The situation of the Snake-People seemed prestigious and notorious, but in fact, it was even more precarious than that of the Jia Ma royal family. If not for this, Pill-King Gu He would never have dared to gather a group of experts to go to Medusa for a "negotiation" in the original story.
Therefore, being promoted to Dou Zong was the most important thing on Medusa's mind.
She had found some clues about the boy's identity these past few days and had some concerns in her heart, but she had not yet considered how to make him cooperate with her. However, given the choice, simply kidnapping him was obviously not a wise approach.
In Qingshan Town, Chen Guan once again arrived at the small town filled with the aroma of roasted Fire Fox. But this time he had important business to attend to, so he could only leave that particular pleasure for later.
Following a signal left by the Wang brothers, Chen Guan soon found the three of them in an inn.
"Master!"
With a cry, the girl rushed over.
They had only been together for a little over ten days, but she already had such a strong sense of dependence. It's no wonder people say such innocence is so precious.
"Be good," Chen Guan said, catching the girl whose cheeks were flushed with happiness. "I need to speak with Brother Wang and the others first."
He was preoccupied and didn't immediately notice that she had already entered the Dou Zhi Qi stage, her progress much faster than his own had been.
Qing Lin had wanted to share her happy news immediately, but seeing his serious expression, she swallowed her words. After a moment of disappointment, her spirits quickly lifted. She pulled up a chair, served tea and water, and stood behind the boy to massage his shoulders, busy and happy.
Chen Guan ignored her for the time being. He asked the two brothers to sit opposite him, sealed the room with his spiritual power, and then began to discuss business with a serious face.
"Brother Wang, I need you to leave immediately. Rush back to the Imperial Capital as quickly as possible, find Sister Yao Ye, and secretly invite Jia Lao here. Actually, I'll write a letter. You can give it to Sister Yao Ye in person, and she will make the arrangements."
After thinking about it, Chen Guan felt it would be safer to explain in a letter.
He immediately took out a pen and paper. After finishing, he checked it twice to make sure nothing was missing before packing it up and handing it to Wang Yan.
In the letter, he apologized for not replying for more than a month and explained the plan in detail, assuring her it was safe and that there was no need to cause a stir by bringing a large group like last time. This time, they had to hunt the Hall of Souls guardian in secret. Otherwise, once the news leaked, they would all have to pack up their families and run.
Originally, he had wanted to invite Fa Ma as well, and he was certain the old man wouldn't refuse. However, when he thought of Fa Ma's actual fighting ability, he gave up the idea. He had a better candidate in mind.
"Master, won't you come with us?"
From his words and expressions, the two brothers realized the matter was extremely serious and were worried about his safety. After all, if a Dou Huang powerhouse was needed, this was definitely not something the group of Dou Ling-level puppets they had seen could handle.
Chen Guan realized he was being too serious and had caused a misunderstanding. He immediately explained with a smile.
"Don't worry, this time I'm the one causing trouble for someone else. Although that person is strong, they don't know I'm targeting them, so there's no need to worry about my safety."
The two brothers finally breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, they were filled with curiosity. Which unlucky soul deserved such a grand mobilization?
"I understand. Do not worry, Young Master. I will personally deliver the letter to the princess," Wang Yan promised, standing up decisively.
After Qing Lin was settled in the inn, Chen Guan personally escorted the brothers out of Qingshan Town. Only when they were out of sight did he take out the iron puppet to stand guard by his side.
"You have been with me for so long, you shouldn't be idle, right? Why don't you come out and chat?"
With Jia Xing Tian and this puppet, two Dou Huang-level fighters, cooperating with his soul skills, Chen Guan had at least a seventy percent chance of hunting down a seriously injured Hall of Souls guardian.
But in this kind of situation, seventy percent certainty was not enough.
And Queen Medusa was a ready-made fighting force that could be won over. With her joining, their chances of winning could be increased by another ten percent.
Jia Xing Tian once said something that Chen Guan deeply agreed with: only with strength as a foundation can you truly negotiate. Without strength to back it up, it is just unilateral exploitation.
In order to prevent unpleasant things from happening, Chen Guan took out the puppet first to show his strength, putting both parties on a barely equal footing. It would also make it easier for Medusa to join. As for exposing the trump card of the Dou Huang-level puppet in front of her, Chen Guan had no choice at the moment. It would definitely be used when hunting the guardian anyway. Besides, trump cards were relative. Only those that could truly threaten others were worthy of the name.
While Chen Guan was making his plans, far away in the Misty Cloud Sect, Yun Shan was still waiting anxiously.
(End of Chapter)
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