CHAPTER 539: CHAPTER 534: WHO ARE YOU TO XIA CHANGFENG?_1

A moment later.

The three of them entered the forest.

Seeing that there was no one around, the youth in black turned to face Qin Feiyang and Fatty, extended his hand, and said, "Take it out and let me see."

Qin Feiyang immediately took two steps back, crossed his arms, a playful smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Fatty, on the other hand, rubbed his hands together and walked towards the youth in black, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Hmm?"

Upon seeing this, the youth in black raised an eyebrow and asked coldly, "What do you think you’re doing?"

"Guess," Fatty snickered.

"No matter what you’re planning, I advise you to apologize to me immediately. Otherwise, you won’t find anywhere to stand in this State City!" the youth in black warned icily.

Fatty let out a strange cry, lunged forward, and slapped the youth in black across the face.

"ARGH!"

With a pained scream, the youth in black flew backward like a meteorite and crashed into the trunk of a large tree, instantly spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Fatty walked over, slammed his foot onto the youth’s face, and said contemptuously, "A mere War King dares to act so arrogantly before us? Are you tired of living?"

The youth in black instantly realized he had picked a fight with the wrong people.

But the thought of his status as a Holy Temple Disciple emboldened him. He snarled, "You scum! Get your filthy foot off me right now! Otherwise, not even begging on your knees will save you later!"

"Still acting tough?" Fatty laughed, his anger palpable. He pressed down harder with his foot, and the youth’s face began to contort. "You dared to crush the pill Boss gave you? Are you courting death?"

CRACK!

As Fatty finished speaking, the youth’s nasal bone snapped, and blood gushed out.

"We don’t even bat an eye at Mo Wushen, Yan Tianfeng, or Pan Wuyan. Who the hell do you think you are to us?" Fatty continued, the pressure from his foot increasing.

Accompanied by a sickening crunch, the bones in the youth’s face began to shatter.

Hearing this, the youth in black’s heart pounded with terror. They don’t even care about the three great Kings? Who on earth are these two, to dare say such outrageous things? Whether it was true or not, he was terrified. His skull felt like it was about to crack. If this continued, his head would surely burst. Death was closing in.

He hurriedly stammered, "Brothers..."

"Who’s your brother? Are you worthy of calling us that?" Fatty sneered.

"No, no, I’m not worthy! Sirs, I was blind! I beg you, please be merciful and spare me this once! Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you everything, honestly!" the youth in black pleaded, having quickly changed his form of address.

Fatty taunted, "Alright then, tell me: how much is a Holy Temple Disciple like yourself actually worth?"

The youth in black said, "As much as that Healing Pill."

"Bullshit!" Fatty moved his foot, then immediately slapped the youth across the face again. "Someone like you?" he scoffed. "You’re not worth one-ten-thousandth of that Healing Pill."

The youth in black nodded frantically. "Yes, yes! I’m worthless! I’m less than a pile of dog shit!"

"Then why did you dare crush it?" Fatty slapped him again. "So, tell me, what should be done now?"

"Please, stop hitting me! I’ll do whatever you say, okay?" The youth in black clutched his swollen face, pleading desperately.

His heart was filled with overwhelming regret. Why was I so stupid? Why did I have to provoke these two devils? Wasn’t this just asking for misery?

Fatty’s eyes darted around; he was clearly devising some cruel new torment.

Qin Feiyang shook his head resignedly and waved his hand. "Stop wasting time."

"You’re lucky this time," Fatty snorted, getting up. "Alright, talk. Why are the inspections so strict today?"

The youth in black replied, "It’s because of Ma San and Zhang Six."

Qin Feiyang and Fatty exchanged a look of surprise.

"Not long ago, Ma San and Zhang Six killed Commander Nie and the Guard Commander in the prison and escaped. That’s why the Prefectural Lord ordered a strict city-wide search," the youth in black explained.

"Then why wasn’t it made public?" Fatty frowned.

"Word is, the Prefectural Lord considered it a great humiliation for Yun State that a Commander was killed by two Inner Disciples. So, he kept it quiet. Only a few people know," the youth in black added.

"He’s not wrong about that. A useless Commander like him... if word got out, it would just make Yun State a laughingstock," Fatty chuckled.

A useless Commander! The youth in black trembled. Just who were these two to dare say such things?

Qin Feiyang asked, "And how did you find this out?"

The youth in black didn’t dare hide anything. "I have a cousin who’s an Inner Disciple. He told me."

Fatty paused, then asked, "So that’s the reason for your arrogance?"

"I was wrong! I’ll never be arrogant again! Sirs, I’ve told you everything you wanted to know! Please, let me go!" The youth in black knelt, kowtowing repeatedly until his forehead was bloody and the ground was dented. Blood streamed down his face.

"Too late for regrets now," Fatty’s eyes glinted with killing intent.

Just then, Qin Feiyang reached out and stopped Fatty. Looking at the youth in black, he asked, "What’s your cousin’s name?"

The youth in black answered, "Xia Hai."

Qin Feiyang asked, "Is he an Alchemist?"

"Yes," the youth in black nodded.

A glint flashed in Qin Feiyang’s eyes. This Xia Hai could be useful. He said, "Get your cousin here at once. Cooperate, and I guarantee neither of you will die."

"This..." The youth in black hesitated.

Fatty barked, "If you want to die, I can oblige you right now!"

"No, no, no! I’ll call him! I’ll call him right away!" The youth in black trembled, body and soul. He quickly took out an Image Crystal Stone and activated it.

At the same time, Qin Feiyang and Fatty stepped aside.

Soon, an illusory figure materialized. It was a young man in white, about 1.75 meters tall. His long, waterfall-like hair was messily draped over his shoulders, and he possessed an extraordinary aura. This was Xia Hai.

Qin Feiyang had seen him on the plains outside the Spirit Cloud Mountain Range, but the memory was faint.

The moment Xia Hai appeared and saw the youth in black’s face, swollen like a pig’s head, he frowned and demanded, "Who beat you into this state?"

The youth in black lowered his head, silent, unsure how to answer.

Xia Hai raised an eyebrow and barked, "Speak!"

The youth in black flinched, clearly terrified of Xia Hai. He looked up towards Qin Feiyang and Fatty.

"Is someone there with you?" This movement immediately aroused Xia Hai’s suspicion.

Fatty paused, looked at Qin Feiyang, and said, "He found out already?"

"It doesn’t matter if he did." Qin Feiyang stepped forward beside the youth in black, looked up at Xia Hai, and said, "Your dear cousin owes me a significant amount of money. I’ve given him plenty of extensions, but if he doesn’t pay up today, I’ll have no choice but to dig a hole and bury him."

"Owes money?" Xia Hai raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "Are you mistaken? My Xia Family is prominent and powerful in the State City. How could he possibly owe you money?"

"What does being rich have to do with it? The debt is real," Qin Feiyang stated calmly.

Xia Hai frowned. "How much does he owe?"

"Five hundred million Gold Coins," Qin Feiyang said casually. Five hundred million Gold Coins wasn’t an exorbitant sum for an Inner Disciple.

Xia Hai frowned again, looked at the youth in black, and asked, "Is this true?"

The youth in black nodded.

Xia Hai instantly flew into a towering rage and roared, "You worthless bastard! How did you manage to rack up such a debt?"

"I..." The youth in black stammered, utterly flustered.

Qin Feiyang said coolly, "I don’t have time for your nonsense. Send the money over, quickly."

Xia Hai’s expression darkened. "Give me the coordinates. I’ll send it immediately. But don’t harm him any further."

"Alright. I’ll be waiting. But remember, no tricks." A cold light flickered in Qin Feiyang’s eyes. After speaking, he gave Xia Hai the coordinates.

"A mere five hundred million Gold Coins isn’t worth me resorting to trickery," Xia Hai snorted coldly and deactivated the Image Crystal Stone.

Fatty asked in confusion, "Boss, why didn’t you demand more?"

Qin Feiyang put away the Image Crystal Stone and smiled faintly. "If I’d said too much, Xia Hai wouldn’t be coming to repay a debt; he’d be coming to kill us."

Fatty thought for a moment, then nodded with a smile. "True enough."

Their only goal was to lure Xia Hai over. If the amount demanded had exceeded what Xia Hai could bear, he would undoubtedly have decided to kill them and brought reinforcements. After all, Xia Hai himself had said that the Xia Family was very powerful.

The Xia Family of State City? Xia Hai? But suddenly, Fatty paused, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes.

SWOOSH!

Just then, a figure in white descended from above, appearing out of thin air above the three of them. It was Xia Hai.

Xia Hai looked down at Qin Feiyang and Fatty, produced a Qiankun Bag, and said, "Here are five hundred million Gold Coins. Count them yourself." With that, he tossed the Qiankun Bag down.

Qin Feiyang caught the Qiankun Bag, glanced inside briefly, and then put it away.

Xia Hai asked, "Can you release him now?"

"Of course." Qin Feiyang smiled faintly and nodded at Fatty.

However, Fatty kept his head down, seemingly oblivious.

"Hmm?" Qin Feiyang looked puzzled but didn’t press the issue. The might of an Eight-star War Emperor erupted, rushing towards Xia Hai like a tidal wave. Instantly, Xia Hai was immobilized in mid-air.

So strong? Xia Hai’s heart clenched. He fumed, "I’ve given you the Gold Coins! What more do you want?"

Qin Feiyang smiled faintly. "The debt was just a pretext to lure you here. What I truly need are the coordinates to the Inner Temple."

"A pretext?" Xia Hai was stunned.

The youth in black, however, stared at Qin Feiyang in bewildered suspicion. What does he want with the Inner Temple’s coordinates?

Qin Feiyang stated, "You have no choice. Either give me the coordinates, or you and your cousin will both die here."

Xia Hai shot a fierce glare at the youth in black before turning back to Qin Feiyang. "Who on earth are you?"

"I told you, I don’t want to waste time on pointless talk." Qin Feiyang’s expression darkened slightly; he was clearly losing patience.

After a brief silence, Xia Hai said gravely, "Fine, I’ll tell you. But I expect you to keep your word."

Qin Feiyang nodded.

Once Xia Hai revealed the coordinates, Qin Feiyang kept his end of the bargain. He said to Fatty, "Knock them out and take their Image Crystal Stones."

But Fatty remained silent, as if he hadn’t heard a word.

"What’s wrong?" Qin Feiyang paused, turning to look at Fatty with a puzzled expression.

Just then, Fatty abruptly looked up. His gaze swept over Xia Hai and the youth in black as he asked, "What is Xia Changfeng to you two?"