Just a moment ago, the Duo Huang powerhouse Green Python had been brimming with arrogance and a terrifying aura. Yet now, like a bird with broken wings, she plummeted helplessly from the sky.
Her body, wrapped in a green robe, was stained with blood. Her pale face had lost all color, her aura faint and weak.
Just one strike.
With a single blow, Green Python, a Seven-Star Duo Huang, had nearly lost the ability to fight.
"H-How could this be…?"
Lv Yi stood dumbfounded, staring at the unfolding scene in the sky. Just a moment ago, she had been anxiously worried for Lin Ran's safety. Yet in the blink of an eye, he had defeated Green Python with a wave of his hand.
"You… you're actually a Dou Zong!"
Someone so young… not only a sixth-grade Alchemist but also a Dou Zong? How was that even possible?!
Could it be that Lord Lin Ran wasn't actually a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old youth, but some old monster with a fetish for youth?
A wild guess popped into Lv Yi's mind, and her gaze toward Lin Ran became slightly strange.
Unlike Lv Yi, who was lost in her ridiculous thoughts, Green Python, still falling from the air, was filled with a mix of panic and disbelief.
Lin Ran's Dou Technique had directly detonated the Dou Qi in the surrounding space. The explosive force had left her completely stunned.
Now, her robe was tattered, revealing patches of snow-white skin marked by fine, bloody cuts. Blood dripped and stained the green fabric.
Her beautiful face was pale, blood still clinging to the corner of her lips.
Her internal meridians were damaged, her organs displaced, and her Dou Qi was in chaos!
Thankfully, the girl in her arms—Qing Lin—remained unharmed.
Looking at the unconscious girl sleeping peacefully in her arms, Green Python gritted her teeth and quickly took out a Pill from her storage ring, swallowing it to stabilize her condition.
With effort, she steadied her Dou Qi, and the wings of Dou Qi on her back fluttered, barely allowing her to hover in midair once more.
"How… how could this boy be a Dou Zong… How is this possible?!"
She stared at Lin Ran, his calm and collected demeanor, then glanced toward Lv Yi below. Taking a deep breath, she said coldly, "Lv Yi, how interesting. A freshly advanced Duo Huang, yet you're willing to risk your life to protect a Dou Zong whose power is unfathomable."
"Looks like you've already betrayed the Sky Serpent Sect and thrown yourself under his banner!"
"N-No, I haven't!"
Lv Yi was flustered. She had no idea Lin Ran's strength was so terrifying. Her only reason for shielding him earlier had been his identity as a sixth-grade Alchemist.
If Lin Ran died, it would bring immense disaster upon the Sky Serpent Sect—that had been her sole concern.
But she hadn't expected Green Python to be so vicious… nor Lin Ran to be so powerful. Everything had far exceeded her expectations.
"Traitor!" Green Python spat, her gaze snapping back to Lin Ran.
A moment later, she slipped her slender fingers into her green scarf and brought a whistle to her lips. A sharp sound, carrying a strange wave, echoed into the sky.
Hummm...
Not long after the whistle sounded, a roar boomed from the distant forest. A black figure shot through the sky like a bolt of lightning.
It was a serpentine figure—hulking in build, its entire body dark brown. Strange, vibrant markings covered its chest and arms. Along its spine, eight symbols resembling wings were tattooed on either side of its vertebrae.
On its head, a black, spiral-patterned horn glinted with a faint purple hue at the tip—clearly laced with deadly poison. Near the crown of its head, a faint design outlined the shape of a crown.
"Green Python, hahaha, can't believe you're the one being chased like a dog today. If word of this gets out, we're both going to be a laughingstock!"
Before the figure even arrived, its booming laughter rang out. The eight markings behind it transformed into dark wings of Dou Qi, propelling it toward Green Python's side.
"Shut up, Bai Ya! Know the situation before you start talking!"
Green Python snapped angrily. "Lv Yi's betrayed us, and we're facing a Dou Zong-level enemy. If you keep wasting time, we're both going to die here!"
"Dou Zong?!"
The serpent-like man—now fully transformed into a half-beast after consuming the Beastfication Pill—was none other than the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor. His serpentine tail flicked, and his triangular pupils fixated on Lin Ran walking through the air. The pupils contracted sharply.
"Void Stride… he's really a Dou Zong? Are you insane, Green Python?! How are two Duo Huangs supposed to fight a Dou Zong? …Where is the Green Snake Three Flower Pupil?"
"Right here."
His triangular pupils shifted, locking on the unconscious Qing Lin in Green Python's arms. His thunderous voice turned serious. "It's really the Green Snake Three Flower Pupil?"
"Mm. Your sensing was right. It's her." Green Python's brows softened with joy, but she immediately sighed. "If not for that, this Dou Zong wouldn't have become our enemy."
"This is troublesome…"
The Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor's expression grew grave.
His strength was on par with Green Python's, perhaps even a bit weaker—just a Six-Star Duo Huang. Even after consuming the Beastfication Pill and strengthening significantly, he was still just a Duo Huang.
Two Duo Huangs combined could never match a Dou Zong.
Yet the Green Snake Three Flower Pupil was simply too valuable.
With this girl, the Sky Serpent Sect's future would be unimaginable. They could dominate not just the Northwest Region but even step into the Central Plains.
They couldn't afford to give her up!
His gaze fell on Lv Yi below, now pale and uncertain. A look of disgust flashed in his eyes.
Traitors were hated no matter where they went.
Feeling the Serpent Emperor's gaze, Lv Yi trembled. She wanted to explain, but no words came out. She considered joining Green Python and Bai Ya in the fight, but…
First, she simply couldn't muster the courage to fight against Lin Ran.
Second… even if she helped them, would they trust her again?
"Green Python, take the girl and go. I'll hold this one off!"
The Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor locked his gaze on Lin Ran.
Taking a deep breath, his chest expanded. Tilting his head back, he opened his jaws wide. Black flames erupted from his mouth, pouring toward Lin Ran like a flood.
"Another beast flame?"
Lin Ran glanced at Green Python, who had already begun fleeing. His Dou Qi-covered palm casually reached into the black flames, calmly feeling the energy within.
He recognized the fire—it was called the Black Hell Flame, a beast flame unique to the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor.
This flame wasn't particularly hot nor lethal. Its strength lay in confusing the mind and restraining movement. It was a control-type auxiliary flame.
Normally, the Serpent Emperor used it to immobilize his prey before delivering a fatal strike with his potent venom.
"Not a bad magical beast. Might be fun for Qing Lin to play with."
Lin Ran's right hand slowly extended from his robe. Slender and pale like a woman's, his hand seemed to possess no strength at all.
His palm spread slightly. Crimson-gold Dou Qi surged out, swallowing the surrounding black flames like a devouring whale—completely absorbing and extinguishing them in an instant.
"What?!"
The Serpent Emperor froze. Though he had known there was a gap between himself and a Dou Zong, he hadn't expected it to be this vast.
In that case… he could only go all out!
Thick Dou Qi surged from his body, condensing into a dark glow that rushed toward the spiral horn on his snake-like head.
"No! That's Bai Ya's innate Dou Technique! That poison… even a Dou Zong might not withstand it!"
Lv Yi's expression shifted drastically. She instinctively wanted to warn Lin Ran, but remembering her position, she could only hold her tongue and remain silent.
"Die!!"
The twisted horn gleamed with black-violet light, a foul stench of toxic miasma filling the air.
With a roar, the Serpent Emperor prepared to release the venom that had been building for so long…
Then—hm?!
Suddenly, the torrent of Dou Qi within his body halted—as if a mighty river had been severed.
The toxin at his horn dimmed, his aura plummeting.
His face paled in shock. Even the Dou Qi wings behind him collapsed. He plunged like a stone from the sky, kicking up a cloud of dust upon impact.
His Dou Qi…
Had vanished!
(End of Chapter)