Annexation

"Xiaoshan, come on! Knock the boss down!"

A group of youths watched the two towering figures in the training ground with excitement.

Qin Yan and Zong Xiaoshan traded blows, constantly probing each other.

Both were fearsome men with the strength to lift a thousand jin, and their knotted muscles bulged.

They grappled like the most ferocious beasts.

They unleashed fighting techniques, throws, and takedowns in rapid succession!

"Good! You've recovered well."

Qin Yan gave a savage grin, swept low, and caught his opponent's arm before slamming him hard into the ground.

[Continuous combat training: Unlimited Combat proficiency increased by 1%]

[Continuous combat training: strength limit increased by 0.3]

[Continuous combat training: speed limit increased by 0.2]

[Combat training: Dragon Wandering Step proficiency increased by 4%.]

With Zong Xiaoshan as his super experience pack, Qin Yan's stats were rising like crazy across the board.

[Qin Yan]

[Talent: Infinite Physique]

Strength: 9.6 → 9.9

Speed: 9.4 → 9.6

Spirit: 9.1 → 9.1

With his strength about to break through 10, Qin Yan could feel that his body was in unimaginably good condition.

Every day, he was unimaginably full of vigor, like a tireless machine.

Zong Xiaoshan, meanwhile, wore a bitter expression.

Running into a monster like Qin Yan had brought him endless suffering. Every day, he had to train with him.

The worst thing about this guy was that he seemed to have inexhaustible strength.

Every time Qin Yan beat him up, he ended up exhausted as a dead dog.

"Boss, how about you beat up a different group of people every day? I only just recovered!"

Zong Xiaoshan's broad-browed, wide-eyed face was full of grievance, and his gaze turned to Song Bao and the others at the side.

He flashed a guileless grin. "Boss, let these guys play with you.

They've got plenty of time on their hands every day."

At those words, Song Bao and the others couldn't help silently cursing the broad-browed, wide-eyed fellow.

He looked honest and dependable, but his belly was full of dirty tricks.

"Boss, you know we haven't been slacking in our training."

"Boss, you know me. When have I ever been lazy since I started following you?"

"Boss, you know me. I'm frail and can't take that kind of punishment."

The group hurriedly came up with excuses.

Qin Yan didn't let them change the subject. He bared a set of gleaming white teeth. "I've seen how hard you've worked. Come and spar with me.

Let's test the results of your training."

"Ah!"

Song Bao and the others were nearly dumbstruck. Each of them wore the expression of a man facing death without flinching.

All eleven of them charged Qin Yan at once, unleashing every dirty move aimed below the belt without restraint.

"Come on!"

Qin Yan chuckled.

Half a shichen later, the group lay on the ground groaning, every face twisted into a mask of pain.

They felt as though every bone in their bodies was about to fall apart.

"Boss, we're almost out of grain."

During their break, Zong Xiaoshan finally spoke, his face full of worry.

He and Qin Yan were both rare big eaters, and both ate by the basinful.

The grain at home simply couldn't withstand them eating like this.

"I wonder how things are outside?"

Qin Yan frowned slightly at this. Ever since the man-eating monsters appeared in Qinghe Town, the army had sealed off the main roads.

Outsiders couldn't get in at all, and the people inside couldn't get out.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. If there's really no other choice, we'll go hunting in the mountains."

Qin Yan spoke calmly.

He had made quite a few trips into the mountains lately to treat himself to meat, and had hunted quite a few wild boars weighing over a hundred jin.

There had been no shortage of meat at home.

But the other people in the village didn't have that ability. Some had even knelt before him and begged for a little food.

Qin Yan could only help as much as he was able, but for a village of over a hundred households, his little supply of grain was nowhere near enough!

In the end, he had no choice but to harden his heart and refuse.

In this world, being able to keep himself alive was good enough. He wasn't saintly enough to help others regardless of the cost.

At least, his moral standards hadn't reached that level.

"Brother Yan! A group of strangers has come to the village. They look like those big shots from outside."

Just then, a group of little children came scampering over. Qin Yan was now the king of the kids.

These little rascals were his eyes and ears, too.

Naturally, he could quickly learn of anything that happened here.

Qin Yan gave each child a piece of dried meat, immediately making the whole group beam with delight.

Meat was a rarity these days; only Qin Yan was so generous.

It could probably be considered an indirect way of helping the village.

"You're going too far! All our fields here are prime farmland, yet you're only willing to pay five taels of silver per mu."

A man glared angrily at the middle-aged man in blue before him.

"You think that's too little? There's famine everywhere now, and man-eating monsters are wreaking havoc outside.

Do you know how much risk our Mu Lineage is taking by coming out to buy farmland?"

Mu Feng looked impatient.

"If you've made up your mind, sign. If you won't sell, plenty of others will!"

The man's anger instantly gave way at those words. His voice held a note of pleading. "Steward Mu, that price is too low. This is prime farmland. Normally, it would easily sell for more than twenty taels.

You've slashed the price so...!"

"Enough. Since you don't want to sell, I won't force you."

Mu Feng gave a meaningful look to the household servants beside him, and two burly figures stepped forward and dragged the man away.

"Steward Mu, add a little more. Just a little more and I'll sell."

Li You pleaded.

In the crowd, Qin Yan couldn't help frowning at the sight.

"This is going too far. They're forcing the price of prime farmland down to five taels of silver.

Why don't these guys just rob people?"

Zong Xiaoshan spoke with some resentment.

"Aren't they robbing people right now?"

Qin Yan's tone was quiet. Those wealthy and powerful great lineages wanted to use this disaster to swallow up land.

And those five taels of silver might not last long, either.

Grain prices were frighteningly high now, and farmers without land could only become tenant farmers, working like oxen and horses for others their entire lives.

The normal division of rent was thirty to seventy.

The landlord took seventy percent, and the tenant took thirty.

If they ended up with a black-hearted landlord, they were lucky to have enough to eat by the end of the year.

Tenant farmers could even be called the landlord's slaves. Even if a landlord beat one to death, he only had to pay a little compensation.

Mu Feng looked at the farmers, who were angry but dared not speak, and a trace of smugness appeared on his face.

"Anyone who wants to sell their fields, line up properly. Look at the way every one of you is standing, you lowly things."

Mu Feng looked disdainful and brushed off his clothes, made from fine fabric, as though something filthy had gotten on them.

The people in line were angry but dared not speak, their dark faces flushed red.

But thinking of their wives and children at home, they ultimately held it in.

Qin Yan's eyes flickered. He had over a thousand taels of silver himself. Why not take this opportunity to buy some good farmland and become a landlord?

At the thought, the corners of his mouth rose!

"Li You, I'll buy your fields for ten taels of silver per mu. What do you say?"

"How dare you! Who dares oppose my Mu Lineage?"

Mu Feng's smug face instantly turned vicious, and his gaze locked onto the towering figure in the crowd.

"Brat, were you the one who just said that?"

Mu Feng's expression was hostile. Several guards who had come with him took up their clubs and surrounded Qin Yan and the others.

"It's Qin Yan. Now there'll be a good show."

"The Mu Lineage!"

Qin Yan sized up the pompous-looking Mu Feng, who was tall and fat, with a face full of coarse flesh.

He walked up to him and looked down at him from a position of absolute superiority.

A brilliant smile appeared on his face.

His huge palm struck Mu Feng hard across the face. The crisp smack echoed through the entire village, and Mu Feng was sent flying.

Blood mixed with teeth sprayed from his mouth.

Qin Yan stared coldly at him.

"Is the Mu Lineage so impressive?"