"Found it!"
On a worn-out shelf in the corner, Xiao Bai picked up a palm-sized fragment of a tattered map from a pile of failed, discarded ones. Its material was identical to the piece he had found in the cave.
"Are you looking to buy a map of the Tagor Desert?" A hoarse voice echoed inside the shop.
Turning around, he saw an old man who had already stopped drawing, though his head remained lowered as he continued examining the map on the table.
Xiao Bai slowly walked to the desk, holding up the tattered fragment of the Purifying Lotus Demonic Flame map. He gently shook it and asked with a smile, "Sir, do you happen to have any more of these maps?"
Hearing this, the old man's withered hand trembled slightly. He slowly raised his head, glanced at the fragment in Xiao Bai's hand, and narrowed his eyes, a strange look flashing across them.
"You've seen this type of fragment before?"
Now, Xiao Bai could finally see the old man's face clearly. His features were aged, his gaze calm, but a horrifying scar stretched from his left cheek to the corner of his eye, adding a hint of ferocity to his appearance.
Xiao Bai shook his head and said, "Never seen it before, but I feel like this item and I are fated to meet!"
"Fated? Now that's an interesting way to put it." The old man glanced at him. "But this map is not for sale. Seems like fate isn't in your favor after all."
"If you're here to buy a map, go pick one from the counter. If not, put the fragment down and leave." With that, he lowered his head again, focusing on the unfinished map on the table.
"Oh? What if I say I'm determined to take this map?" Xiao Bai asked with a smile.
He wasn't particularly interested in the Purifying Lotus Demonic Flame, but he was intrigued by the old man in front of him. This person would be quite useful for some of his future plans.
Besides, there was one undeniable truth—this old man was a man of his word. Most importantly, when it came down to it, he would actually step up and fight. His character was solid!
"Kid, don't bother trying to take this map. I don't care about money, and don't even think about using force—it won't end well for you." The old man cast Xiao Bai a glance and spoke calmly.
"Not bad. A former Dou Huang who isn't interested in money? That makes sense. But saying that force won't get me anywhere… I wouldn't be so sure." Xiao Bai nodded and chuckled softly.
"Crack!"
The drawing pen in the old man's hand snapped in half. A ripple of shock surged through his heart as he slowly lifted his gaze, locking his sharp eyes onto Xiao Bai. A faint chill started to spread around him.
"Who… exactly are you?"
Initially, he had assumed this gray-haired young man was just an ordinary person with a unique temperament, as he sensed no Dou Qi fluctuations from him. But now, it was clear he had misjudged.
Anyone who knew his strength and still remained so composed was certainly no ordinary person.
"Boom!"
The old man lightly tapped the table, and the open doors of the shop instantly slammed shut.
His gaze turned piercing as he stared at Xiao Bai, and an icy, formidable aura pressed down on him with crushing intensity.
However, to his astonishment, the black-robed young man before him remained utterly unfazed, his expression as calm as ever.
"Kid, I didn't expect you to have some real skill."
"Haha, you're too kind, sir."
"But if you think that alone is enough to take the map, you're mistaken." The old man said flatly.
As soon as he finished speaking, his white hair stirred despite the still air. Ice-cold Dou Qi coiled around him, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes. His scar twisted, making him look even fiercer. With a heavy stomp, he shot toward Xiao Bai like a bolt of lightning.
As he moved, a frigid aura rapidly spread throughout the shop. A dense, icy mist filled the air, and Xiao Bai felt his body grow stiff and cold.
Sensing his condition, the little Bing inside him stirred. A faint, crimson glow emerged from within his body, rapidly raising the surrounding temperature. The icy mist that had engulfed him instantly began to evaporate.
Ever since arriving in Mo City, Little Bing had become increasingly active, no longer as sluggish as he had been in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
"Hmm?"
A surprised exclamation echoed within the white mist. The old man saw the crimson glow radiating from Xiao Bai's body. Though he didn't know what it was, a faint sense of danger lingered in his heart as he gazed at the red light.
Xiao Bai was speechless. This old man called himself the Ice Emperor, not the Fire Emperor—why was he so aggressive?
Just as he was about to speak, his Soul Force suddenly detected several ice shards shooting toward him from the front right. Xiao Bai flicked his fingers, and streaks of crimson lightning shot toward the incoming ice shards, instantly shattering and vaporizing them.
Now, the old man finally understood what that red glow was—it was a special type of crimson Thunderfire, possessing both the ferocity of thunder and the intensity of fire. Truly remarkable!
Since the old man had made his move, Xiao Bai took the initiative to strike back. Taking hits passively was never his style.
This was also a good opportunity to test the limits of his physical body. With his Soul Force, he locked onto the old man's position, and with a flash of lightning beneath his feet, he appeared right in front of him—his fist clenched, delivering a serious punch.
The old man was shocked to see that his ice-attribute Dou Qi hadn't slowed Xiao Bai's speed at all. However, noticing that the black-clothed young man's punch carried no Dou Qi, he felt insulted—who did this kid think he was looking down on?
"Ice Spirit Palm!"
A thick layer of frost coated the old man's palm as he forcefully met Xiao Bai's punch.
"Boom!"
The impact sent the old man two steps back, while Xiao Bai slid several meters across the ground, plowing through the dirt. A layer of frost covered his right arm, and he could feel a bone-chilling energy slowly creeping through his arm, trying to invade his body.
With a single thought, a streak of crimson light appeared at his shoulder, surging down his arm, instantly consuming all the ice-attribute energy.
After flexing his arm and confirming that he was fine, Xiao Bai felt relieved.
"Looks like just my physical body alone isn't enough to fight a Dou Ling."
This exchange made him acutely aware of his physical limits. Even with Little Bing's natural suppression over ice-attribute energy, it was still difficult. If it had been another attribute, clearing out the invading energy wouldn't have been this easy.
While Xiao Bai was deep in thought, the old man was even more shocked. He stared at Xiao Bai, who was now casually moving his right hand as if nothing had happened. He knew very well—he hadn't held back in that previous attack.
And yet, this kid had taken it head-on with nothing but his physical body, without using a single trace of Dou Qi, and was completely unharmed. What kind of monster was this?
That crimson Thunderfire, his freakish physical body, and a cultivation level that remained unknown—the old man's expression grew more serious.
"Could someone like this really exist in the Jia Ma Empire?"
Though he couldn't determine Xiao Bai's exact cultivation, he was certain of one thing—Xiao Bai hadn't reached the Dou Ling level yet. Otherwise, with those abilities, he would have already been defeated.
The old man had traveled extensively in his younger years and knew that the Dou Qi Continent was home to superpowers and supreme experts. Compared to them, the Jia Ma Empire, where Dou Huang experts could dominate, was nothing but a joke.
"Could this white-haired, black-robed kid be from one of those superpowers?"
A chilling thought crossed the old man's mind. The sheer shock of this idea made it impossible for him to remain calm.
"Who exactly are you? In the Jia Ma Empire, neither the Yun Lan Sect nor the imperial family could have possibly raised someone like you!"