Chapter 007: The Earth Tiger Clan

“Why?” Du Fan looked at the girl in front of him in confusion. Perhaps because of what she said, Du Fan became agitated and started coughing.
The other girl heard Du Fan’s coughing and came over as well, explaining to him, “You’re too badly injured. If you try to fight now, you’ll die.”
“Cough, cough.” Du Fan couldn’t help but cough twice. Only then did he realize just how weak his body was—far more than usual. His strengthened internal organs could barely hold up, and even breathing caused excruciating pain, as if needles were piercing his lungs.
“We’ll leave first. Rest by yourself.” Seeming to sense Du Fan’s state, the two girls left together.
“Domain-level magical beasts are indeed more powerful.” Du Fan slowly closed his eyes and channeled energy within his body to repair the damaged organs.
Du Fan truly lived up to his reputation as an immortal. His once-exhausted body gradually recovered thanks to the energy restoration, with his injured organs regenerating and functioning again.
Thinking about the domain power used by that man, even Du Fan had to admire the prowess of the Earth Tiger Clan. Just one clash had left him in such a terrible condition, and the opponent was merely a domain expert at the same level as him. What would happen if a swordsman or sword sage used a top-tier technique?
The more he thought about it, the more he realized just how dangerous his situation had been. If the opponent had been a secretly powerful sword sage, he wouldn’t be lying on the ground now—he would likely already be dead.
“Third brother, are you feeling any better?”
At that moment, Ba Sha walked in smiling, carrying several magic cores. He looked at Du Fan lying on the hospital bed, with golden coins constantly floating in his eyes. Ba Sha and the others weren’t at the center of the explosion, so they recovered faster than Du Fan. At this point, they had nothing much to do.
“How much did you make?” Du Fan joked, looking at Yan Tian. Although Ba Sha was his second brother, he already had a solid understanding of economics. Given more time, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to start his own merchant guild.

“A few thousand demon coresmerely.” An hour later, after speaking carelessly to Du Fan, Yan Tian approached him secretly and whispered, “Do you know? Count Wade has ordered his subordinates to start searching for your hiding place in the underground world among various races.”
“It’s already come to this?” Du Fan was genuinely surprised by Yan Tian’s words. He hadn’t expected Count Wade to start searching for his hideout so quickly. If it continued much longer, his location would surely be exposed.
“Hehe, I just came to warn you. We’re about to get rich, haha.” Ba Sha showed no restraint in his greed toward Du Fan, not even noticing saliva dripping from his mouth.
Du Fan, who was standing nearby, gradually calmed down. The previous battle had made him reflect deeply. Thanks to these reflections, some of his doubts, which had once been at the peak of domain power, were resolved. The energy flowing within him slowed down, and there seemed to be a hint of readiness for a breakthrough. If he could obtain a divine essence, Du Fan would instantly become a divine being.
The cave of the Earth Tiger clan remained as quiet as usual. Apparently because of Du Fan and the others, everyone returned to their dwellings to practice, aiming to make a stunning breakthrough at this moment. At the same time, they worked tirelessly to become strong members of the Earth Tiger clan.
“It’s not too late.” Out of breath, Du Fan found a deserted place and sat down, slowly releasing the suppressed energy.
The violent energy surged aimlessly through Du Fan’s meridians, causing some energy to leak out at times. However, with each breath, it was drawn back into his body.
Seemingly due to the power of his domain, the remaining energy in his body gradually resonated with the energy generated by the impending breakthrough. The two types of energy intertwined, flowing through his meridians repeatedly.
“Huh…” Sensing the fierce energy within him, Du Fan began to breathe rhythmically. This was a sign of his body gradually recovering. The new energy would assimilate the previous energy, turning it into purer energy. Yet at this moment, this energy became somewhat unusual.
Originally, Du Fan possessed mutated star power, and as a domain powerhouse, he could easily absorb any kind of energy. Unexpectedly, at this moment, his domain power and star power miraculously merged together.

Feeling various elements being drawn into his body continuously, Du Fan’s body began to swell slightly. At the same time, he waved his hand to create a barrier, and the Star Domain instantly activated. The originally pitch-black underground world was miraculously filled with stars due to Du Fan’s Star Domain. All members of the Earth Tiger clan sensed something unusual in the air and went outside to investigate.

“This kid,” Basha shook his head helplessly. He then led Nayixiu and the others to Du Fan’s location, only to find that Lan Bowen and Lan Xin had already arrived and were protecting Du Fan.

“Elder Lan, look…”

Before Basha could finish speaking, Lan Bowen stopped him and said carefully, “The energy inside this kid’s body is starting to merge. I think he’ll be able to create a new form of energy soon. By then, his power will be even greater than that of divine power.”

“Greater than divine power?” Basha was puzzled, looking at Lan Bowen. Divine power was currently the strongest force on the continent, and it could only be obtained through worship of the supreme god. If there was a force even stronger than divine power, even Basha couldn’t imagine what kind of energy it would be.

“Huh.” At that moment, Du Fan strangely opened his eyes and looked at the people before him, saying calmly, “I feel my Domain Power is different from before.”

“Mm,” hearing Du Fan’s words, Nayixiu nodded at him and said, “I don’t know why, but I feel like I’m seeing a nature goddess when I look at you.”

“Yes,” Basha also nodded, frowning as he looked at Du Fan. “I think you also resemble the Fire God.”

“Haha, Du Fan, do you want to know how far you’ve recovered?” Hearing their conversation, Lan Bowen laughed loudly.

“I feel like I can already use Domain Power,” Du Fan replied quickly upon Lan Bowen’s question.

“Domain Power? That’s great. How about this, Du Fan? I’ll have one of our experts fight against you to test your abilities?” Lan Bowen suggested.

“Sure! I was afraid they’d be worried I’d get hurt and hold back in attacking. If your clan has experts, I’d be thrilled!” Du Fan replied immediately.

“Haha, fine then. Follow me. Our Earth Tiger clan has our own arena! Let’s go there,” said Lambowan with a smile.
…
By now, many strong members of the Earth Tiger clan had gathered. Naixiu and the others watched the man not far away with concern.
“Du Fan,” called out an elder of the Earth Tiger clan standing aside. Du Fan slowly stepped onto the arena, while the man on the other side also entered slowly.
Feeling the intense heat around him, Du Fan looked up at the man standing across from him.
Clad in fiery red armor, with three-inch-long hair standing upright on his head, the man glared fiercely at Du Fan.
Sensing the man’s gaze, Du Fan returned the stare defiantly.
“Start.”
As soon as the referee spoke, the man attacked Du Fan first, his fist charged with immense energy rushing toward him.
Boom…
The deafening explosion caught everyone’s attention. On the arena, the two fists collided violently.
“Huh…”
Du Fan looked at the man in front of him, took a deep breath with a smile, and slowly retracted his fist.
At that critical moment, seeing the man swinging at him, Du Fan sensed the enormous energy surrounding him. He quickly activated the energy within his body and countered with his own fist. It was the collision of these two energies that created such tremendous force.
“Hehe.” The man gave Du Fan a mysterious smile before disappearing from the arena.
“So fast?” Du Fan, who had initially been relaxed, grew nervous as black shadows flashed before his eyes.
“Break through!”
Du Fan roared. The energy of a domain master gathered in his hand in an instant, and he swung his right fist violently.
A burst of white light rushed toward the flashing black shadows. With a bang, the man’s figure reappeared on the arena.
“Break through!”
Using the same combat technique, Du Fan hesitated not at all. His arm moved swiftly, sending waves of white light at the man.
“Earth… Tiger… Fist.”
Fragments of words came from the man’s mouth. His fiery red armor emitted a blinding light, and his slowly raised fist seemed on fire, with flames flickering across it as it gradually formed into a more powerful energy fist.

Feeling the opponent’s immense energy, Du Fan’s pupils contracted sharply. This energy was even stronger than his own peak power, and the arena had sunk considerably as well. Seizing Du Fan’s change, the fist formed purely from energy slowly drifted toward him, a scorching heat instantly filling the area. “Break through!” With a roar like that of a tiger, Du Fan struck again at the approaching fist, but this time, his Dragon Soar Break was not as simple as before. After further refining the energy through his domain, the originally scattered domain power converged into a single point, unleashing an overwhelming force. Boom… The two energies finally collided, repelling each other, and the chain reaction caused by them was even more intense than before. After the energy dissipated, both men were injured to varying degrees by the residual energy. The man lying unconscious had his armor in tatters, while Du Fan, kneeling on the ground, was not in much better condition either, his uncontrollable bleeding making his state even more dire. “These two are likely not ordinary,” Lan Bowen said, looking at the two on the arena, and turned to the three elders behind him. “Can you tell what’s different about them?” Hearing Lan Bowen’s words, the elders shook their heads for a moment. Only Lan Xiner’s already furrowed brows deepened as she slowly replied, “It seems to be the difference in energy.” “Exactly,” Yuwen Zhe said, looking at his daughter with approval before addressing the two elders behind him. “Du Fan’s energy has reached the level of a strong domain, but his injuries haven’t healed yet.”