" Pang Liu, what are you trying to do now!"
In the small village, at this very moment, a large group of ordinary-looking villagers were surrounding several figures. The leader of the villagers, a burly young man, glared angrily at a sinister-looking young man with a roguish air, and shouted angrily.
"Hmph, Zhu Qiang, your voice has gotten louder in just a few days. How dare you yell at me like that?"
Upon hearing the young, burly man's roar, the sinister youth reached out his little finger and lightly picked at his ear, a cold smile on his face.
"Hmph, we've already paid last month's taxes, what are you doing here?"
Zhu Qiang glanced warily at the people behind Pang Liu and said in a deep voice with displeasure.
"Hehe, yes, yes, you're right. You did pay last month's taxes, of course I wouldn't forget that..."
Pang Liu chuckled, a laugh that seemed rather eerie.
"However... you haven't paid your taxes for this month yet!"
However, in the next instant, Pang Liu suddenly changed his tone, staring at Zhu Qiang with a pair of eyes full of sarcasm, and the words he uttered made the group of villagers in front of him turn pale.
" Pang Liu, what do you mean by this? Taxes are always due at the end of the month, and you're already demanding them after only half a month has passed. What are we supposed to give you?!"
"Hehe, that's none of my business. I'm only responsible for collecting taxes. Remember, one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stone, not a single one less. Otherwise, I'll send you all to the Bear Iron Mercenary Group. Hmph, you all know what will happen inside, right?"
Hearing Zhu Qiang's angry shout, Pang Liu sneered, looking completely unconcerned. He didn't care at all about the lives of these people in front of him. What mattered to him was the Spirit Stone. As long as he got the Spirit Stone, it wouldn't matter if these people in front of him died.
" Pang Liu! You're making things difficult for us. In the past, it would take us at least a month to produce one hundred Spirit Stone from Ji Mountain. It's only been half a month. How could we possibly produce enough? Are you trying to drive us to our deaths?!"
Zhu Qiang roared. He naturally knew the consequences of being sent to Bear Iron Mercenary Group: none of the people in their entire village would survive. He knew that Pang Liu must still have other plans. The latter knew them too well. The fact that he was forcing them like this meant that he definitely had his own purpose.
"Hehehe, Zhu Qiang, you're wrong about that. Even if you really die, the person who forced you to your deaths wasn't me, but the Northern Wasteland Hall. Collecting taxes early is an order from above; I'm just following orders. You just need to pay your taxes; whether you can pay them or not is none of my business."
With a cold remark, Pang Liu turned to leave with his men, but as he turned, he seemed to remember something, slightly turning his head to stare at Zhu Qiang, and said:
"However, it's not that I can't help you, but that depends on whether you're willing to seize this opportunity, hehehehe..."
What do you want?
Zhu Qiang's face darkened, as if he had thought of something. As his expression changed, the Dou Qi within his body unconsciously began to circulate.
"Hehe, if you're willing to give your sister..."
"Laugh!"
Before Pang Liu could finish speaking, Zhu Qiang suddenly charged forward, unleashing the overwhelming aura of Eight-Star Half-Emperor. The powerful pressure immediately surged towards Pang Liu.
His sister was his only taboo; anyone who dared to cross that line, no matter who they were, would die!
However, Pang Liu was not afraid of Zhu Qiang's aggressive approach. A cold smile appeared on her lips as she calmly raised her palm and then suddenly brought it down.
"Whoosh!"
Almost simultaneously, a middle-aged man beside him launched a swift attack, instantly colliding fiercely with Zhu Qiang!
"Bang!"
With a single blow, the middle-aged man Mount Tai, while Zhu Qiang was knocked back by the middle-aged man's attack, falling directly into the crowd and crushing a group of people.
"Hmph, you're just an Eight-Heart Half-Emperor, yet you dare to try and kill me. I kept you alive before because you could lead this group and bring me benefits, but it seems you're planning to rebel against me today!"
Pang Liu smiled coldly, stepped forward, and looked at Zhu Qiang, who was getting up in a disheveled state, with a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
"Since keeping you around will only make you a menace sooner or later, I'll take this opportunity to send you on your final journey!"
The moment he finished speaking, Pang Liu waved his sleeve, and instantly, an extremely powerful aura emanated from his body.
Under this oppressive aura, even the Nine-Star Half-Emperor behind him instantly showed expressions of terror on their faces.
Dou Di!
A One-Star Dou Di!
Even though such strength is nothing compared to that of Dou Di expert, here, a One-Star Dou Di is enough to crush everyone present!
"Battle... Dou Di..."
At this moment, even Zhu Qiang was extremely shocked. He never expected that the seemingly roguish guy in front of him had actually reached the Dou Di level!
"Hehe, surprised, aren't you? I've never revealed my true strength to anyone all these years. But since you want to kill me today, I'll make an exception and deal with you personally!"
Pang Liu smiled coldly, raised his hand, and surging Dou Qi instantly condensed in the void in front of him, transforming into a giant hand, which then slammed down hard on Zhu Qiang.
And then, in the very next moment...
"Buzz!"
The massive energy hand that had been crashing down suddenly stopped in mid-air, and then two figures slowly emerged from the void.
The two people, a man and a woman, were at that moment. The man was extending a finger and gently touching the energy hand in front of him.
"Break."
He uttered a single, soft word, and at the same time, the enormous energy palm in front of the man shattered and quickly dissipated into the world.
At this moment, everyone present froze in place, their gazes involuntarily falling on the young man in the black robe. It wasn't until a long while later that they seemed to come back to their senses, their expressions gradually replaced by shock, especially Pang Liu, whose shock was indescribable.
At this moment, standing in the void, the young man in black robes who shattered Pang Liu's energy hand with a single finger was none other than Xiao Yan, who should have been in the Heavenly Severing Ancient Tomb but was submerged when the tomb collapsed!