Under Zhao Hao's command, more than a hundred warriors stood in neat rows. Except for Paben and Nashan, who were still sleeping in their rooms, and Kankanqi, who was with the leader of the Bobo Association and had not yet returned, the other great warriors stood at the front of the line.
Zhao Hao wasn't sure what his master wanted to do, but he figured maybe he wanted to show the newcomers the skills of these warriors. He shouted, "Everyone, open your armor and be ready to draw your weapons!"
The courtyard began to brighten, the fire armor gleaming with a dark red halo, while the water armor emitted a soft blue light. The warriors felt a surge of pride, and as the protective gear was activated, an eerie pressure slowly built up in the entire formation. Hong Qian, Kubo, and Nanzi Dong also stood at the front of the formation.
Kubo was even more astonished. The Sha Qi emanating from the entire group both surprised and delighted him. These warriors were far superior in skill to the Grand Alliance's armed forces. He glanced discreetly at Nanzi Dong and saw that he was also full of surprise.
Nanzi Dong understood that these warriors had a very good foundation in cultivation. He wouldn't be surprised if there were only a few such people, but the fact that there were over a hundred of them all made him extremely surprised.
Li Qiang that two small teams should stand in a line at the entrance of the compound, while he, along with Zhao Hao, Han Jin, Hong Qian, and others, waited at the gate.
In a short while, Divine Envoy Kaben and Chairman Siting accompanied two strangers as they slowly walked into the courtyard, followed closely by seven or eight other people.
As soon as the group entered, the entire queue focused their attention on them. As if a string had been plucked, all the warriors in the queue suddenly unleashed their aura. This intangible yet tangible Sha Qi surged and roared like a raging torrent, and the people at the entrance immediately displayed their different levels of cultivation.
Envoy Divine Envoy Kaben Chairman Siting stood smiling, while the two strangers remained motionless, their long robes billowing even without wind. The people behind them were forced back and pushed out the door.
Divine Envoy Kaben chuckled, "Boss, hehe, there's no need to put on such a show of power."
Li Qiang found it amusing. He hadn't intended to show off; he simply didn't want them to see his group as a disorganized mess, which was why he'd gathered together. He gave Zhao Hao a subtle wink, and Zhao Hao immediately understood, directing the group to step aside. Li Qiang chuckled, "Hehe, Divine Envoy, it's just to welcome you all, please!"
The two strangers stood motionless. Divine Envoy Kaben chuckled, "Oh, let me introduce our two guests first. This is Bazhong Dekong, the head of the Banshou Trading House, and this is Master Kong Hou, a renowned cultivation master from the Tanbang Continent."
Ba Zhong Zhongxing and Kong Hou stared at Li Qiang expressionlessly.
Divine Envoy Kaben then said, "This is Li Qiang, a cultivation master from the Chongxuan Sect, Hong Qian's senior uncle."
Ba Zhong Chongxing remained silent. Kong Hou's lips twitched slightly; he knew in his heart that he was in trouble this time. He knew a little about the background of the Chongxuan Sect, because the sect's experts rarely came to the Tanbang Continent, so their influence here was not great. However, he knew Hong Qian. Although they had never fought, his strength was definitely not weak. How much weaker could his uncle be?
Li Qiang also calmly observed the two men.
Bazhong Dekong gave the impression of an ordinary mortal, nothing special. He was extremely thin and a white demon. People who came out of the Black Prison usually called the Tante Kingdom white demons. His face was covered with wrinkles, layer upon layer, which was very unsettling to look at. In particular, his eyes were constantly squinting, making it difficult to guess his thoughts.
When Li Qiang first saw Kong Hou, a strange thought arose in his mind. The man's attire reminded Li Qiang of the temple in his hometown. Kong Hou was dressed as a monk. He was bald, wearing a gray robe, with prayer beads around his neck and a string of beads in one hand. He was barefoot, and his feet were spotless. He looked very young, but he had a pair of white eyebrows with slanted ends, resembling a soaring eagle—typical eagle eyebrows.
Kong Hou's sharp gaze pierced Li Qiang, and the two stared at each other, neither willing to yield. The air grew tense.
The little Sea Demon let out a low cry and flew into the air; it too felt uneasy.
His grey robe fluttered in the Kong Hou, and the air around him seemed to ripple. A rainbow-like light shone behind him. Kong Hou held one palm upright, the string of beads on his hand resting on the web of his thumb. His head was slightly lowered, and his fingertips were directly above his nose. Li Qiang immediately understood; this was a monk's greeting gesture.
To Li Qiang's surprise, Kong Hou emitted a ring of seven-colored light. He muttered to himself, "How can a monk emit Buddha light?" Since leaving Earth, Li Qiang had never seen a temple or a monk. Suddenly seeing a monk on the Tanbang Continent was really strange to him. "Damn it! Maybe I'm just imagining things. He's not a monk at all."
An invisible pressure tightly enveloped Li Qiang. Kong Hou smiled slightly, feeling that he had Li Qiang under control. Gradually, the seven-colored light emanating from Kong Hou's body grew even brighter.
Li Qiang was momentarily distracted, giving Kong Hou the opportunity to enter. However, Li Qiang had too many things on him, so he silently activated the Shadow Dream Armor to protect his true body. As the master, he was definitely too embarrassed to make the first move; Li Qiang still had that much courtesy.
The people in the courtyard gradually realized that Kong Hou and Li Qiang were locked in a silent battle, and no one could get within five meters of where the two stood. Kong Hou was still exchanging greetings, but the smile on his face had vanished, and his two eagle-like eyebrows were almost vertical. He secretly groaned in his heart. Li Qiang had hardly moved, and he hadn't even seen him wearing armor, yet he was able to withstand such immense pressure, making it impossible for him to get to the bottom of things.
Giving up would be too embarrassing, so Kong Hou reluctantly said, "Please teach me!" He began to twist his hands, and instantly his palms left countless colorful shadows in the air. The shadows converged like blooming flowers, and he shouted, " Thousand Homage Lotus!"
Li Qiang was almost immediately certain that this guy was a monk, or at least related to Buddhism, because there couldn't possibly be lotus flowers on the Tanbang Continent. He also shouted, "You're too kind!" The Cold Spirit Giant Palm responded and struck out.
A giant, purplish-gold phantom palm formed on his hand, making a series of " Bobo " sounds even before it left his grasp. Li Qiang's Cold Spirit Giant Palm was quite different from Hou Pijing's; his True Essence Power contained immense fire element, making it more like Purple Flame Giant Palm.
Not only Zhao Hao, Nanzi Dong, and Hong Qian, but even the Divine Envoy Kaben was at a loss. There was no way to stop them at this point; once a contest between cultivators began, it was extremely dangerous, and everyone could only watch helplessly.
Divine Envoy Kaben gestured for everyone to step back, and at the same time, he raised his hand and cast a green shield, covering Kong Hou and Li Qiang.
The Thousand Homage Lotus spun and slowly flew towards Li Qiang, with strands of silver light scattering from its petals.
The Purple Flame Giant Palm swelled to the size of a washbasin before Li Qiang released it. As soon as it left his hand, a great sound of wind and thunder arose.
This is a head-on battle, a test of skill and technique.
The Purple Flame Giant Palm pressed down on the Thousand Homage Lotus, instantly illuminating a blinding white light. Everyone in the courtyard squinted. Although it was only for a moment, it felt like an eternity to them.
"Crackling... bang... bang... boom..."
Everyone felt the earth tremble; the explosion was so loud that it reverberated in everyone's ears. Divine Envoy Kaben silently prayed to the divine; injuring either of these two would be a terrible disaster, and they absolutely could not afford to have anything happen now!
As soon as Li Qiang unleashed his Purple Flame Giant Palm, he immediately began to form hand seals. Kong Hou gritted his teeth and resisted. With a loud explosion, both of them were affected. The Kong Hou Hou's feet immediately collapsed, and he was forced to retreat. Li Qiang was sent flying into the air by this unparalleled force, slamming heavily into the green protective shield. This impact immediately triggered the Supreme Radiance Shuttle, and golden light suddenly flashed. "Thump!" With a muffled sound, the hand seals he was forming immediately dissipated. The green protective shield also instantly turned into green smoke and vanished without a trace.
Kong Hou was also affected; the power of Supreme Radiance Shuttle was definitely beyond his ability to withstand. Fortunately, it wasn't aimed at him, and he only suffered minor injuries.
He raised his hand and sent the string of beads flying. A brown bead flew into the air, and just as he was about to exert his strength, an unexpected Blue Light flashed. It was the little Sea Demon! Its whole body was flashing Blue Light, and it was faster than an arrow, snatching the string of beads away.
Kong Hou was startled. His string of beads contained true essence, yet a little Sea Demon had snatched it away out of thin air. He was stunned. In that short delay, the opportunity had already been missed.
Li Qiang also got angry. He was clearly no match for Kong Hou's skill level, and he shouted, "Good heavens, watch this!"
Having learned his lesson from the previous experience of stacking five layers of talismans, Li Qiang was smarter this time. He drew the talismans continuously with both hands, layering them one by one. When he reached the fourth layer, his body was surrounded by light, and countless golden ribbons floated around him. Small silver sparks crackled and popped incessantly. He slightly turned his hand, and the golden ribbons transformed into a rainbow, passing through his palm. He was about to strike...
Divine Envoy Kaben shouted repeatedly, "Boss, stop... stop..."
Kong Hou's expression changed drastically, and he cried out, "Buddha... it's the Eighteen Demon-Extinguishing Hands... stop!"
None of the people in the courtyard quite understood what Kong Hou was saying, but everyone knew he had already lost.
Li Qiang also wanted to stop, but the force had already been fully charged, and if he didn't act, it would immediately backfire. He couldn't care less about that anymore, so he raised his hand and pushed out, causing everyone to turn pale with fright.
In an instant, the wind and clouds changed color, and the world was plunged into darkness.
The courtyard was in complete chaos, and everyone scrambled backward.
Li Qiang didn't have time to change direction with his palm strike; he only had time to raise his hand, the force sweeping diagonally across Kong Hou's head. The rainbow-like force traveled towards the courtyard gate, its unparalleled power sweeping out like a devastating force, creating a series of booming sounds.
Kong Hou, in despair, thought he was doomed. A seven-colored radiance rapidly enveloped him. The rainbow's force slightly touched him; he knew full well the power of the Eighteen Demon-Extinguishing Hands and flew rapidly to the side. Even so, he couldn't completely evade it, and his protective divine light shattered. He knelt on the ground, panting heavily, utterly bewildered: How could Li Qiang possess the legendary divine skill of his sect?
Kubo and the Nanzi Dong all knew what Li Qiang had unleashed, and they simply couldn't believe how powerful it was.
"Crackling and popping..." Rocks flew everywhere, dust billowed, and the courtyard gate and the sealed roof were blasted open by this palm strike. The roof made an unpleasant creaking and cracking sound, and the gale outside the hole immediately howled in.
Li Qiang remained in the same position as before, while Kong Hou was half-squatting on the ground with his head bowed low. The raging wind swept away the dust in the air, and the cracking sound from the ceiling became even more terrifying.
Zhao Hao shouted, "All brothers, activate your defenses to maximum! Prepare your weapons! The roof is about to collapse! Watch out for large chunks falling; destroy them immediately! All teams, assemble! Quickly!"
Divine Envoy Kaben even more nervous. He didn't even have time to feel sorry for Li Qiang breaking his " Green Hidden Abode ". Looking at the collapsing ceiling, he protected Chairman Siting and Chief Ba Zhong with one hand each. He was really powerless to help the others.
Li Qiang's attack just now had used up almost half of his True Essence Power, and he also felt a little tired.
The little Sea Demon landed in his arms from the air, let out a few boastful cries, and then released the string of beads.
Li Qiang laughed, "Since you snatched it, it's yours." He then casually put the little Sea Demon around its neck.
Kong Hou was both amused and exasperated. This guy was too wicked. He had given the bead to this hairy beast, and even with his thick skin, he was too embarrassed to ask for it back.
"Crack!" "Squeak..." The sounds were terrifying, and everyone stared intently at the ceiling, too scared to even breathe.
"Bang... Crack... Crash..." The ceiling finally gave way and collapsed.
Almost simultaneously with the massive debris falling from the sky, Li Qiang, Hong Qian, Ku Kong Hou, Kubo, and the Divine Envoy Kaben their move. At Zhao Hao's command, the warriors raised their spears and fired countless orbs of light upwards.
Li Qiang had experience from the Frozen Plain before, so he didn't dare use the Purple Flame Giant Palm. He gritted his teeth and cast the talisman spell again, this time using three layers of superposition. He shouted, "Break!" The five-colored arrow rain flew out in response, aiming at the largest fragment. The arrow rain immediately sank into the large fragment, and the enormous force actually pushed the fragment upwards!
With a muffled thud, the huge chunk of rock scattered, and the falling fragments rained down like hailstones.
With a wave of his hand, Divine Envoy Kaben a small umbrella that resembled a common umbrella on Earth. The umbrella spun rapidly, its delicate shape shimmering with rings of reddish-brown light as it flew out, tightly protecting himself and the leaders of the two major merchant guilds.
Hong Qian drew his flying sword.
Nanzi Dong's Law Treasure was quite interesting; it was actually the white robe he was wearing. He grabbed the robe and casually tossed it into the air. A faint white light emanated from the robe, enveloping everyone around him. Stone fragments that touched the robe were bounced far away, and he handled it with ease.
Finally, the rain of stones stopped, revealing a gray sky above the courtyard. A large, broken hole appeared before everyone's eyes, and a howling wind rushed in, whipping up dust that flew everywhere. Only a few people suffered minor injuries; the rest were all unharmed, though most were covered in dust and dirt.
"Boss, what happened?... Ouch..." Nashan, still half asleep, rushed out of the room. He was only wearing a pair of shorts, shirtless and barefoot, carrying Azure Shadow Binding. As soon as he stepped out of the door, he tripped over a pile of stones on the ground and fell flat on his face. He roared angrily, "Who... who's so wicked... who put so many stones on the ground?! It's dangerous!"
The group, still shaken, burst into laughter at Nashan's antics.
Sitingdan and Divine Envoy Kaben discussed the matter for a few moments, after Kaben laughed and said, "Boss, look at this... it's a complete mess. Should we find another place to talk?"
Kubo added, "Yes, let's find somewhere else. It's too chaotic here."
Li Qiang dusted himself off and said, "No need, let's talk here. I find this place comfortable. Zhao Hao, arrange for the brothers to go inside and avoid the wind; it's too windy here. Old Beetle, don't leave yet. I'm going to forge weapons for Hong Qian and the others later, and you can join me."
Nanzi Dong excitedly agreed, laughing, "I'll wait, hehe, there are still some armors that need to be modified, no rush." He then immediately went into the room to begin his work.
Under Zhao Hao's command, the warriors in the courtyard returned to their rooms, and the courtyard immediately fell silent, with only the sharp whistling of the wind audible.
After a long pause, Ba Zhong could no longer contain himself. He slowly said, "The Divine Envoy has already explained what happened. I think there might be some misunderstanding... I checked before I came out, and our Banshou Trading House doesn't have a person Bu Jigong. Could it be that you've made a mistake?"
Tange Ge exclaimed, "What... this..."
Li Qiang tilted his head, remaining silent, while simultaneously stopping Tange from speaking.
Ba Zhong continued, "But my men reported that you not only injured our Banshou Trading House's swordsman, but also captured three of our Great Venerables... Shouldn't you give us an explanation?" After saying that, he blinked his triangular eyes and looked at Li Qiang nonchalantly.
Li Qiang's mind raced. This guy was denying everything and shifting all the blame—playing the rogue? Anyone could do that. Li Qiang laughed loudly and said, "Oh dear, I'm so sorry, haha, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding..."
Tange and the others could hardly believe what their boss was saying. What misunderstanding was this? But what Li Qiang said next shocked them.
"The head of the Ba Zhong Company, the one who was hit was just like the sparring with Master Kong Hou earlier, it was just a small misunderstanding. As for the three great masters of the Banshou Trading House... Hey, did any of you see it? I certainly didn't. Haha, sorry, I can't accept that accusation." Li Qiang said nonchalantly.
Tange quickly chimed in, "I didn't see it. What's this 'Great Venerable' or 'Little Venerable' thing?"
"You... you..." Ba Zhong was so enraged by Li Qiang that he lost his composure and roared in a hoarse voice, "We have evidence! You captured the three Great Venerables! Divine Envoy, please uphold justice!"
The Divine Envoy Kaben, was in a dilemma. He said, "By the will of the Great God, I hope that both sides can maintain peace." He was also inwardly blaming Ba Zhong, the head of the sect. "That old fellow is used to having the upper hand; he doesn't even know who he's negotiating with!"
Ba Zhong was taken aback, feeling both angry and anxious. The Divine Envoy had always spoken up for him, so why had his attitude changed so drastically this time?
Seeing that his attempt to renege failed, he said again, "Alas, we dare not disobey the Great God's will. I truly do not know anyone named Bu Jigong. Please allow me to go back and investigate personally. However, please release our Great Lord first."
Li Qiang's face began to contort with rage, and he coldly chuckled, "Fine, I'll go check it out too. See which brother captured some high-ranking or low-ranking official. Just you wait."
Kong Hou was secretly transmitting his voice, seemingly urging Bazhong Dekong. He was anxious, unable to understand why the head of the Bu Jigong. Ba Zhong shook his head slightly and said coldly, "I am only following the will of the Great God and do not wish to bully you. Hmph, actually we have been very polite."
The moment these threatening words were uttered, not only Kong Hou felt it was inappropriate, but even the Divine Envoy Kaben sensed something was wrong.
Li Qiang scratched his head and asked the Divine Envoy Kaben, "Hey... Divine Envoy, is he trying to scare me?"
Divine Envoy Kaben a wry smile, "Please calm down, everyone, and don't act impulsively!"
Ba Zhong Chongxing continued, "If you release the Great Venerable, everything is negotiable; otherwise..."
Li Qiang replied with bone-chilling coldness, "Bite me? I think you've lost your mind, too old to speak like a human. You think you're some kind of god? I have to listen to everything you say. How could someone like you become the head of the Banshou Trading House? I'm surprised that someone like you in charge hasn't been wiped out."
Ba Zhong had never been mocked like this in his entire life. He was so angry that he trembled all over, only able to point at Li Qiang, but unable to utter a single word. Tange and the others secretly cheered with satisfaction.
Li Qiang continued, "I know everything. That Bu Jigong colluded with the Tante Kingdom, deliberately selling off merchants from the Western Continent and seizing other people's property. Hmph, unfortunately for him, he just happened to run into me..."
Ba Zhong jumped up and roared, "You're talking nonsense... you're spreading rumors... what makes you think you know...?" Despite his age, he jumped quite high.
Li Qiang suddenly roared, "Listen up, old man! I'm Li Qiang, who fought my way out of the Black Prison in the Tante Kingdom! All my brothers are prisoners in that Black Prison, there are people like this who were captured there. Look at what's on my forehead!"
The courtyard was completely silent.
Bazhong Dekong. Of course he knew about the Black Prison, but he didn't expect this group of people to be here.
Divine Envoy Kaben was also startled. He knew a little about this matter, but he didn't know it was Li Qiang and his group. The slave symbols of the Black Prison were unknown to the outside world because before Li Qiang went in, no one had ever been able to escape.
Kong Hou opened his mouth in surprise; he was also dumbfounded.