Zhou Fan casually tossed the hammer in his hand aside and began checking the system panel.
The interface was very simple—there were only two options: **Attributes** and **System Shop**.
"Let's see what good stuff the shop has."
He opened the System Shop, and three options immediately popped up: **Beginner Shop**, **Intermediate Shop**, and **Advanced Shop**.
The Intermediate and Advanced shops were locked. Only the Beginner Shop was available.
Upon entering the Beginner Shop, all kinds of items instantly came into view.
"**Swift Talisman**: Allows instantaneous lateral movement of one hundred meters, costs ten Emotion Points.
**Concealment Pill**: Hides one's aura for half an hour, costs twenty Emotion Points.
**Heavenly Thunder Talisman (Beginner)**: Can directly bombard soul beasts of the thousand-year level into a near-death state; ineffective against ten-thousand-year soul beasts, costs twenty Emotion Points…"
Zhou Fan kept scrolling. Most of the items after that were various enhancement-type goods. They looked impressive, but for his current situation, they were completely useless.
However, when he reached the final item, his eyes lit up.
"**Transformation Pill**: After consumption, allows a soul beast to directly transform into a human! (Requires a human body as a medium.)"
"As long as I take this pill, I can immediately turn back into a human. A human body… my external avatar works perfectly as the medium. I didn't expect something this good and affordable to be in the Beginner Shop."
Zhou Fan's eyes shone as he kept reading.
But when his gaze shifted to the required Emotion Points, that long string of zeros instantly silenced him.
"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands… one hundred thousand?! This thing costs **100,000 Emotion Points**?! Is this really Beginner Shop pricing?! System, be careful—I'll report you to the price bureau!"
"Ding—The Transformation Pill is originally an Advanced Shop item. In order to boost the host's motivation, the system has adjusted it to appear in the Beginner Shop. You're welcome."
"I really thank you so damn much."
Zhou Fan felt miserable.
Although he had no idea how hard it was to earn Emotion Points, gaining a hundred thousand of them was obviously not going to be easy.
"Sigh, forget it. Turning back into a human clearly won't happen in a day or two. I'd better think about how to farm Emotion Points."
Shaking off his messy thoughts, Zhou Fan turned his attention to the external avatar.
"A Titled Douluo… that must be really strong, right?"
Full of anticipation, Zhou Fan opened the attribute description of the external avatar.
**[External Avatar: Human form, possessing level 91 soul power, optimal soul ring configuration. Martial Soul: Blue Silver Emperor (Awakened).]**
The description was brief but crystal clear.
"The system finally did something decent. With this, I can slaughter whoever I don't like—and making Tang San generate negative emotions will be insanely satisfying."
Zhou Fan happily waved his two tentacles.
"Let's summon the avatar and take a look."
With a thought, a small map appeared in his mind.
The external avatar could appear anywhere on the map.
However, the map only covered a radius of one thousand meters.
"A Titled Douluo's soul power fluctuation is too eye-catching. I should pick a more secluded spot."
After scanning the map, Zhou Fan selected an empty patch of land.
The next moment, on an open field outside Notting City—
A young man wearing a white robe, with a handsome face, appeared out of thin air.
At the same time, a figure a thousand meters away suddenly sensed something, scanned the surroundings, and then rushed straight toward the young man's location.
Meanwhile, after appearing, the young man curiously looked around, then stiffly raised his hand and cautiously took a couple of steps forward.
"This external avatar is great and all, but it's hard to control. Even walking feels awkward—like piloting a Gundam."
Zhou Fan was still inside Tang San's body.
However, a light screen now floated before his eyes, showing the avatar's point of view.
After complaining, he refocused and controlled the avatar again.
"Let's test how strong this avatar really is."
In the next instant, soul power surged around the young man.
Blue light erupted from his right hand. Bathed in that glow, a three-leafed grass—crystal-clear, marked with blue patterns, and emitting a faint cyan radiance—leapt out joyfully.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, red, red—nine soul rings rose from beneath his feet.
Then, the third soul ring suddenly lit up.
With anticipation on his face, the young man stared at the open ground not far away.
"I can't make too big of a disturbance. I'll just try the third soul skill."
As he spoke, brilliant light burst from his right hand.
A powerful soul power fluctuation spread outward, and a cyan-blue sphere of light rapidly condensed and expanded.
Just as the light sphere was about to shoot forward, a black figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Holy shit!"
Zhou Fan jumped in fright and immediately redirected the light sphere.
A dazzling blue orb streaked into the sky.
**Boom—**
The sphere exploded instantly, turning into countless points of starlight that drifted down.
"That was close!"
Zhou Fan let out a long breath and then looked toward the sudden intruder.
Judging by the burly build, it was a man. His entire body was hidden beneath a black robe, making his face impossible to see.
At that moment, the man's gaze was fixed tightly on Zhou Fan, his eyes terrifyingly deep.
The aura emanating from him even made the external avatar feel a hint of danger.
After observing him for a couple of seconds, Zhou Fan immediately matched the image with someone from his memories.
"Black robe, Titled Douluo, hanging around outside Notting City at this time… If it's not Tang Hao, then who?"
"Did my soul power fluctuation attract him?"
That's right—the newcomer was Tang Hao.
Tang Hao was feeling both shocked and ecstatic.
"This person carries the same aura as Ah Yin. Could he be the Blue Silver Emperor of this era?!"
"He shares the same origin as Ah Yin. If I use him to provide soul power for Ah Yin…"
As the thought formed, Tang Hao's gaze grew even deeper, a trace of red flashing in his eyes.
"You—"
Tang Hao had just opened his mouth.
The external avatar's hair stood on end as killing intent surged forward.
"Danger! Run!"
Zhou Fan sensed the threat as well and decisively recalled the external avatar without hesitation.
Tang Hao stood there with his mouth open, completely stunned.
Where did he go?!
Did he sense my intentions?
Worthy of being the Blue Silver Emperor—such sharp perception!
But Tang Hao quickly regained his composure and immediately spread his spiritual power across a three-hundred-meter radius.
"He couldn't have just vanished. He must be hiding underground. He can't have gone far."
After a sweep with his spiritual sense, Tang Hao dashed toward the most likely direction.
…
"Phew, Tang Big Hammer really lives up to his reputation. That aura was terrifying."
"Looks like I can't casually summon the external avatar near Notting City. Tang Hao is level ninety-six, while my avatar is only ninety-one. I can't afford to provoke him."
Zhou Fan wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead and plopped down on the ground.
This incident made him realize that his external avatar wasn't invincible.
Suddenly—
Voices reached Zhou Fan's ears again.
"Xiao San, you're still growing. Eat up. Afterward, I have something to talk to you about."
"Okay, teacher."
This time, the person talking to Tang San was a middle-aged man, not Old Jack.
Hearing this, Zhou Fan immediately shifted his attention to the light screen.
Although the external avatar had been recalled, he could still see the outside world—only now from Tang San's perspective.
On the screen, a man of average height and slightly thin build, around forty or fifty years old, sat behind a desk.
He had short black hair parted in a three-seven split, an ordinary-looking face, but carried a peculiar temperament. His eyes, opening and closing, revealed a hint of laziness and decadence.
The moment Zhou Fan saw him, he recognized him.
"With that look and outfit, who else could it be but that hypocrite Yu Xiaogang?"
*(End of Chapter)*