Yi Chen's gaze reached several kilometers into the distance, where a tall, burly old man stood, his entire body brimming with explosive strength.
Another man was lean, the muscles in his wrists and arms as hard as rock. As he threw a punch, the air around him faintly whistled.
There was a third man, shrouded in a white cloak like a ghost. Only the occasional flash of cold light revealed that he was male.
His speed was bizarre. Each flicker carried him three or four hundred meters away, and his movements could only be called ghostlike. Every time, he evaded the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's guards, casually struck at them, then swiftly fled into the distance.
Yi Chen chuckled. "All right, that's settled. I've already offered generous enough terms. The rest is your choice... do you want to live, or do you want to perish? If you'd rather be wiped out, hehe, then I'll take your clansmen away immediately. They're all ordinary people anyway." Yi Chen deliberately gave a sinister smile. "I wonder, when your descendants learn that the foundation they worked so hard to build has been destroyed, will they be so grief-stricken they'd rather die?"
The old man knelt trembling on the ground, great beads of sweat rolling down his body. He prayed in a low voice, "Honored sovereign, our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is willing to submit to you. Everything we have, including the fate of our families, is yours to decide."
He bowed his head deeply to the ground and said earnestly, "Please spare us this once. We truly have no power to resist you. Only our clan's Peak Douluo experts are qualified to negotiate with you..."
Yi Chen smiled easily, casually drawing a talisman in the air with one hand. "Very well. I won't harm anyone in your clan. Even if I wanted to act, you'd probably resist, wouldn't you? I can't be bothered to waste the effort."
"Go. Tell your clan leader that if he wants to negotiate with me, he must come in person. If he doesn't, hmph... I guarantee I can kill every last one of you."
The old man respectfully agreed. He turned and entered the dark alley, his figure disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Yi Chen rose, stepping lightly over flowers, grass, and trees as he slowly walked forward.
Footsteps sounded, and a pretty maid in lavish clothing hurried over. Her face was pale, and fine beads of sweat trickled down her forehead and neck.
She panted, "Something terrible has happened! I just encountered a mysterious man outside. He... he..."
Yi Chen frowned and asked calmly, "Oh? What did he do?"
The maid hesitated, then gritted her teeth and said, "He's attacking our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!"
"But I'm not a member of your clan. Why should I care?" Yi Chen smiled contemptuously.
The maid froze. She stared blankly at Yi Chen, speechless for a long time. At last, she shrieked, "You... you're not a member of our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan? Heavens, our clan actually entertained an outsider!"
Just then, two figures suddenly darted out, and two metal daggers whistled toward Yi Chen.
Smiling, Yi Chen casually raised his right leg. With a sharp crack, he kicked the small dagger to pieces.
He caught one of the throwing knives in his left hand and coldly stared at the other person.
Two girls watched Yi Chen nervously and demanded in low voices, "You... who are you? How dare you run wild on our doorstep?"
Yi Chen shrugged. "Your clan struck first, yet you're questioning me? Hmm, I saved you, you know."
One girl snapped, "Nonsense! You're the one who killed our clansmen. You outsiders invaded our clan's territory, and before we could even settle accounts with you, you wounded our guards!"
She growled low in her throat, the metallic sheen surrounding her gradually intensifying.
Her hands had even turned into silvery steel. Tiny serpents of lightning issued from them, winding endlessly around her arms with low hisses.
Yi Chen laughed softly and flicked his right hand. With a sharp rip, the metal dagger in his hand tore through the clothing over the girl's chest like a keen blade piercing thin paper, leaving several bloody cuts.
Yi Chen smiled at the girl and praised her. "A splendid soul skill, very pretty... not bad. Keep going."
Yi Chen gave her a gentle push. The girl staggered backward, a trace of blood appearing at the corner of her mouth. She stared in shock at her wounded chest and murmured, "How could... how is this possible?"
Yi Chen smiled. "As expected of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Your soul skills really are unique..."
Yi Chen raised a crystal core and released a green flame, burning it to powder.
He smiled at the girl. "All right, this is the price you've paid. Now it's your turn to decide. Either behave and obey, or die. Don't make me say it again."
The girl bit her lip and glared furiously at Yi Chen. A ring of strange ripples slowly emerged around her body, and an invisible pressure spread outward.
Yi Chen murmured, "Oh? You're actually a Peak Douluo? Could you be the leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?"
Wisps of golden mist seeped in through the girl's skin. A sense of extreme danger rose in Yi Chen's heart. He watched the golden mist in surprise and murmured, "Hmm, this is interesting. This is the first time I've encountered such a strange ability. Interesting, very interesting."
The girl suddenly threw her head back and let out a piercing, anguished howl. Every bone in her body rattled, groaning like a pane of glass unable to bear its burden.
She began struggling madly. Faint streams of golden light surged from her body, spreading outward like ripples on water. A pure white lotus silently bloomed in the air, and a trace of red mingled with the golden light, as though reminding Yi Chen of the formidable power hidden within this girl's body.
Yi Chen gave a flippant laugh and flicked his finger. A silver needle shot through the air and plunged viciously into the Shanzhong acupoint in the center of the girl's chest. An intensely cool breath flowed along the needle into her body, sealing the surging power within her dantian.
Yi Chen smiled and said, "All right, quiet down. I'm not interested in you. What do your clan's recent troubles have to do with me?"
The girl sat blankly where she was. Wisps of pale red flame drifted out of her body, fine traces of ash flaked from her skin, and her muscles gradually returned to their normal color.