The man glanced at Tang Yueyue, held in Wang Zhan's hand, then at Yang Qi, who had a hint of a smile on his honest face and had moved back to Wang Zhan's side, and helplessly shook his head.

"I wasn't expecting you to have a Dao Protector at the Grandmaster Realm by your side. Let me guess... he's from a certain family in Jing State, right? They are really putting their money where their mouth is. Aren't they afraid of suffering losses?"

Wang Zhan gave a slight laugh, and with a SMACK, slapped Tang Yueyue across the face, his eyes still sparkling brightly, completely disregarding the Grandmaster.

"Want to kill me? Your status must be quite decent. Not particularly high, but definitely not low either. Excellent. The higher your status, the higher your ransom."

Tang Yueyue's face filled with hatred, and she was about to spit on Wang Zhan's face. This cheap kind actually dared to hit me! Not only did he hit me, but he also slapped me several times in quick succession, and now he wants to ransom me for money? This is absolutely ridiculous! I, Tang Yueyue, will never let this go so easily. I will fight Wang Zhan to the death!

Little did she know what kind of person Wang Zhan was. Seeing that she had stopped talking, but her mouth was slightly moving, he immediately understood her intentions.

He grinned.

"Impressive, you have guts."

Tang Yueyue's heart skipped a beat, wondering why this cheap kind was smiling at her. The Grandmaster's expression tightened, and he was about to intervene when Tang Qi took a step forward, firmly blocking Wang Zhan.

THUD!

Wang Zhan threw Tang Yueyue back onto the ground, restraining her shoulder with one hand while swiftly striking her stomach with the other.

"PFFT... COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..."

Wang Zhan's punch, despite not being particularly sophisticated, still followed the method of the Military Killing Fist. The principle was to target the most vulnerable areas.

Moreover, Wang Zhan's punch was not just about inflicting physical pain on Tang Yueyue; it also disrupted the Essence Meridian in her body.

"Stop!"

The newcomer roared, lashing out with a kick aimed at Tang Qi's stomach, intending to send him flying.

However, Tang Qi neither dodged nor retreated. A grin spread across his lips as he sank his feet, rooting them to the ground. His two thick arms, like intertwined Coiling Dragons, crossed and then slammed downwards with immense force.

THUD! A hole nearly twenty centimeters deep appeared on the ground. Tang Qi didn't move an inch, while the newcomer staggered backward a few steps, his face darkening.

"Damn it! A high-level Grandmaster!"

He was more than just a high-level Grandmaster! Although Tang Qi hadn't seemed to notice his arrival, his reactions, speed, and strength were all perfectly balanced at their peak. His most prominent trait was stability. As stable as a boulder, as steadfast as the earth itself.

Tang Qi flashed his white teeth and said with a smile, "With me here, you probably won't get past. People like you should either stay hidden behind the scenes and never show yourselves, or, if you do come out, you wouldn't even be a match for a low-level Grandmaster."

The newcomer's gaze turned grim. Meanwhile, Wang Zhan landed several more punches on Tang Yueyue's stomach, beating her until she was like a limp dog. She lost control of her bodily functions and then fainted.

Glancing with disgust at the woman collapsed on the ground, Wang Zhan shot a cold glare at this Grandmaster.

Tang Qi's words had sparked a suspicion in him. Moreover, there were too many familiar aspects about this Grandmaster; he wasn't much different from those genetically modified losers from the Original Organization.

However, Wang Zhan kept a poker face. It wasn't the time for reckoning.

He himself was in a precarious situation, barely able to protect himself. The Original Organization had suffered a major loss at his hands last time and had subsequently shifted from overt to covert operations. He couldn't risk tipping them off.

"You are a member of the Tang Family, right? Can you make decisions on her behalf?"

"Yes."

The Grandmaster remained silent, his gaze fixed on Wang Zhan with a murderous glint. This kid has gone too far!

Wang Zhan, however, paid him no mind, instead pointing at Tang Yueyue on the ground and saying, "To get her back, bring out ten billion! If you're short even one cent, you can just let her die here!"

"What did you say?"

The newcomer was nearly driven mad. A worthless Martial Artist like Wang Zhan dares to demand ten billion for her! Does he even know how much ten billion is worth, or how many resources it could buy? If spent on me, it would be more than enough to train several Grandmasters, to say the least!

Wang Zhan didn't bother to answer, merely looked at him deeply.

"Is she really not worth that much?"

The newcomer's heart trembled. Does Wang Zhan actually know something? But he wasn't ready to give up.

"Ten billion is too much! The most the Tang Family can offer is one billion. Otherwise, if she dies, she dies!"

"Heh."

Wang Zhan simply turned around and left, only leaving an instruction for Yang Qi.

"Take her away. If she's not worth one billion, then let her earn a few million for me first. The red light district is a good place for steady, long-term income! Also… don't think I don't dare to kill you. Edward has given me strict orders: if anyone dares to provoke me again, while I might not kill them, I'll make sure they suffer so much they'll wish they were dead immediately."

Wang Zhan paused briefly, his back to the numerous buildings behind him, and added a seemingly random remark.

The Grandmaster's face immediately turned dark.

The red light district? What kind of lousy place is that? Are they going to let Miss Tang become one of those fallen women? This cheap kind, Wang Zhan, has gone too far! Or has he really found out something, which is why he dares to threaten me like this?

「…」

Behind them, all the buildings fell into a hush.

Tang Yueyue had fallen into Wang Zhan's hands. He was demanding ten billion from the Tang Family, or he would sell her into prostitution. This kid is too ruthless! With this, never mind the Tang Family, even the Royal Martial Arts Academy would lose all face, thoroughly trampled underfoot by Wang Zhan. It seemed he truly wasn't afraid of death; offending the Royal Martial Arts Academy wasn't enough for him—he wanted to offend them to the bitter end.

"Tang Yueyue, that loser! She's not capable enough to accomplish anything but more than capable of ruining things. I wonder what Senior Brother Li ever saw in her!"

"...Enough with the nonsense. If she's really sent to one of those lousy places, when our senior brothers return and find out, we'll be skinned alive, even if we aren't killed outright."

"What on earth is the Dean thinking? Why hasn't he intervened yet? Is it really enough that she just doesn't die? If Wang Zhan actually does this, it would be a fate worse than death for Tang Yueyue!"

And not just for Tang Yueyue, either.

But what was the use of questioning it? Now, in the Royal Martial Arts Academy, with Li Shiji's departure, they could all clearly sense that some inexplicable changes had begun.

The most obvious sign was that none of the usual protective mentors or senior brothers and sisters had appeared, not even Tang Yueyue's close friends.

「…」

「Above the Jinhan Palace.」

Edward still maintained his usual aged appearance. Even after witnessing Wang Zhan openly leave with Tang Yueyue, and after hearing him utter harsh words guaranteed to offend many, his expression remained unchanged.

The mentors behind him had also stopped talking. Even the one who had declared that the Royal Martial Arts Academy was on the decline now wore a frosty expression.

Wang Zhan's actions were too outrageous. If they hadn't restrained their students, and themselves, how could they have allowed this kid to act so arrogantly within the Royal Martial Arts Academy?

After watching for a while, Edward finally looked tired.

"You may all leave. That's all for today."

"Yes."

They left, leaving Edward alone to experience the solitude of his office, like tea growing cold after guests depart. After a long while, he finally chuckled.

"Very good. The more he's hated, the better. Wang Zhan, oh Wang Zhan, I hope this pressure doesn't crush you. Otherwise, I will become the last straw that breaks you."

Of course, if the pressure doesn't crush him… Edward mused. Perhaps if he's truly nurtured, he could be used to mend relations with the Federation's Four Great Powers. That wouldn't be bad either.

「…」

Wang Zhan couldn't care less about any of that.

As far as he was concerned, he'd inexplicably gotten into a whole mess of fights recently. If it hadn't been for the generous harvest of attribute points and the surge in his realm, he would have lost everything, down to his last coin.

So, he really hadn't been joking. If she wasn't worth one billion, then he'd just have her earn him a few million. A small, steady stream of income.

Besides, this kind of trash, despite her delicate skin and hailing from a prominent family, would surely be coveted by many of their rivals. They say the enemy of one's enemy is a friend. Gaining a friend by 'exchanging' someone supposedly worth ten billion wouldn't be a bad deal either.

"Um… Young Master Wang, are you very short on money? If you are, I can report back to the Young Master about it," Tang Qi hesitated, wanting to say more but stopping himself.

He had never encountered someone like Wang Zhan before—someone who not only beat women but also planned to send them to a brothel. He was ruthless to an extreme, a path that seemed to offer no benefit to anyone, himself included, and practically forced people to their doom. As a subordinate of Yang Zecheng and part of the Yang family's secret forces, he knew Wang Zhan had already allied with Yang Zecheng. A single misstep could implicate him, so how could he not be concerned?

Wang Zhan turned his head to glance at him with a teasing smile. "You'd best not interfere in my affairs. Otherwise, I'll start to seriously doubt the sincerity of his cooperation with me. You're here to be my bodyguard, not my prison guard."

Tang Qi chuckled awkwardly. He laughed, unsure what to say. There was definitely an undertone to Wang Zhan's words. Who knew what kind of backing Wang Zhan truly had? One of the missions the Yang family had given him was precisely to investigate Wang Zhan's background. But this kid seemed incredibly sharp; he had apparently seen through him in an instant. What should I do? I know how to fight, but I'm not very good at deceiving or trapping people...

As Tang Qi was lost in thought, Wang Zhan paid him no further attention, merely slowing his pace slightly, apparently pondering something.

This continued until a faint, somewhat inexplicable aura entered Wang Zhan's perception. Wang Zhan looked up and saw the figure standing on the street before him. He immediately chuckled and said, "Is the Tang Family ready for the trade?"

The man in front of him was the same Grandmaster from before.

With a blank expression, he tossed a card from his hand to Wang Zhan, apparently unafraid that Wang Zhan would go back on his word, and said coldly, "Kid, you're already in deep enough trouble for offending the Royal Martial Arts Academy. Do you really want to offend several more families? Aren't you afraid you'll die without even a place to be buried?"

Wang Zhan took the card and remarked noncommittally, "Is there really ten billion in there?"

The Grandmaster had no intention of humoring this madman and said in a grim voice, "Hand her over."

Wang Zhan smiled faintly and said, "Give her to him. If there isn't ten billion in there, then it's best the Tang Family doesn't let me run into any of them next time. My life is cheap. I didn't want to offend anyone in the past, but I ended up offending them anyway, which led to me becoming homeless."

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