Making a Move

Seeing the thick wad of cash being handed over, Guang Long's eyes lit up.

He raised a hand and quickly counted it. There seemed to be a little over five thousand.

"Not bad, Li. You've got money now, so you should've paid up sooner."

"Now that you've paid for protection, your business is under your big brother Guang's protection. Nobody will come around to give you a hard time."

Guang Long spoke with a smile on his face.

With these five thousand in hand, he could spend another carefree day at the club.

As he spoke, he turned and started to leave.

But seeing how badly the boss had been beaten, Xie Xie couldn't hold back any longer.

A flicker passed through his eyes. He stepped forward and called out to Guang Long.

"Stop right there!"

Xie Xie's voice wasn't loud, and it even carried a hint of youthful uncertainty, but his tone was firm.

Hearing him, Guang Long stopped just as he was about to walk out the door.

He turned his head slightly toward Xie Xie, curiosity and mockery in his eyes.

"Who are you, you little brat?"

"You've got the nerve to stick your nose in my business? A young calf really doesn't fear the tiger. Now get lost, right this second."

Guang Long spoke with disdain. He had the money, so he wasn't particularly interested in Xie Xie. He turned around, ready to leave.

But the next moment, Xie Xie charged straight at him.

Li Ang watched Xie Xie too. He had no comment on Xie Xie's rather foolish behavior.

Still, he quickly thought things through. Guang Long's older brother, Guang Biao, was a Soul Master at the Soul Emperor level.

Wu Zhangkong was a top-tier Soul Emperor, far beyond his ability to defeat. But Guang Long's brother didn't seem like a problem. And with his own identity, this was something he could probably handle.

As Li Ang considered this, his gaze briefly grew distant.

Once he was sure he could take care of the matter, he calmly stood up.

Guang Long watched Xie Xie charge at him with disdain on his face.

Two Soul Rings appeared around him, and he kicked straight at Xie Xie.

In truth, Xie Xie wasn't much weaker than him. The gap between them came down to their Soul Rings.

But there was one fundamental difference between them: one was a student, while the other was an adult.

Aside from their physical strength, Xie Xie couldn't match him in either combat skill or experience.

Just as Xie Xie summoned the Twin Dragon Daggers, ready to show what he could do, Guang Long's gaze sharpened. A white and a yellow Soul Ring appeared around him.

He clenched his fist and unleashed a terrifying punch. Before Xie Xie could react, it smashed into his face and knocked him to the ground.

It all happened so suddenly. Seeing the other man's two Soul Rings, Tang Wulin stood up too, panic in his eyes.

This was a Soul Grandmaster with two Soul Rings, a Soul Master whose Soul Power exceeded level twenty!

At that moment, Guang Long rolled his shoulders. Two small Soul Spirits appeared beside them: one a yellow-brown lizard, the other an iron-gray lizard.

A Soul Master's strength differed greatly with every Soul Ring between them. This was true of both Soul Power and Soul Skills.

But when Li Ang saw Guang Long's white and yellow Soul Rings, he suddenly fell silent.

Xie Xie only had one Soul Ring for now, but he had Twin Martial Souls. Shouldn't he normally be about as strong as Guang Long?

Why did it look as if he couldn't fight back at all?

As Xie Xie got unsteadily to his feet, holding his face, Uncle Li stepped in front of him and blocked Guang Long's way.

"Brother Guang Long, we've already given you the money. Please let the boy go. He's innocent."

Uncle Li spoke with heartfelt sincerity, but Guang Long was glaring at him—or rather, at Xie Xie.

"Too late. This kid might've been fine if he hadn't laid a hand on me. But now that he dared to hit me, how could I possibly let him off?"

As he spoke, Guang Long stepped forward, his fighting spirit plain on his face.

He hadn't planned to kill Xie Xie, but he was going to cripple the boy and make him pay.

Seeing Guang Long refuse to back down even when he was clearly in the wrong, Li Ang's expression went still for a moment. Then he slowly stepped forward.

When Xie Xie saw Li Ang approaching, he looked at him, ready to stop him. But remembering that Li Ang was far stronger than he was, he ultimately kept quiet.

Li Ang, however, wasn't going to waste time with him.

He stopped in front of Guang Long, his expression calm, and thrust out a pale hand. A terrifying punch landed in an instant.

His fist struck Guang Long in the abdomen. The impact shook him violently, and his body flew through the air.

The force of the blow sent blood spraying in every direction.

Guang Long was hurled seven or eight meters before crashing hard to the ground.

Everyone froze at the sight of Guang Long, who had been beaten half to death.

The onlookers nearby screamed and ran.

"Someone's been killed! Someone's been killed!" people shouted as they rushed away.

At that moment, Xie Xie, Tang Wulin, and the shopkeeper named Li all stared at Li Ang, stunned.

Li Ang, however, remained calm. He took out his phone and sent Ming Yue a message, then waited quietly where he was.

Less than five minutes later, Federation police arrived.

After a quick check, they took away the critically wounded Guang Long without making any attempt to treat him.

Uncle Li was confused by what he saw.

Before he could say anything, Li Ang calmly stood up.

A piece of information containing an address had appeared on his phone, along with a message from Ming Yue:

"Young Pagoda Master, would you like us to send people to help you take him down?"

"No need." Li Ang silently typed out the three characters, then looked at Xie Xie and Tang Wulin.

"I have something to take care of. Go with this shopkeeper to the police station, get the money back, and explain what happened. Collecting protection money is illegal under Federation law. You can go straight there."

After speaking, Li Ang turned and left in silence.

The two watched Li Ang's retreating figure and stood there in a daze.

Xie Xie parted his lips, wanting to ask him something, but after thinking it over, he eventually said nothing.

Meanwhile, Li Ang remained calm.

Following the address on his phone, he headed straight for the Eastsea Mecha Brigade's base.

He didn't plan to go inside. He intended to wait at the entrance.

Once Guang Biao learned that his younger brother had been badly wounded, the Six-Ring Soul Emperor would surely go to the hospital to see him. Then Li Ang could ambush and kill him on the way.

And why not ask the Spirit Pagoda to handle Guang Biao?

That would be a joke.

Even if the Spirit Pagoda captured him, it couldn't just kill a Six-Ring Soul Master.

After all, he was a genuine local strongman in Eastsea City. Even the Spirit Pagoda couldn't deal with him lightly.

So rather than leave himself an enemy, it was better to wipe him out completely.

With a new identity, he could kill Guang Biao when he came to see his younger brother, erasing the threat once and for all.

If he was going to do it, he had to do it thoroughly and leave his enemy no chance to strike back.

As for Guang Long, he was already dead.

Without treatment, there was no way he'd survive the night.

If his brother had gone to him, he might have lived. But now, he was as good as dead.