"Please, calm down," Jin Wanshan said.
"He's Lian Feng, ranked seventeenth. Lin Wan'er is ninety-seventh. They met on the magical flying boat and fell in love at first sight," Qu Qingge whispered, as if he knew everything about the situation.
Qin Yang asked, "Did you try contacting Martial Heaven?"
"I did, but he's not at the inn!" Lian Feng looked at Qin Yang for help.
"Take me to the shop!" Qin Yang ordered.
Lian Feng felt relieved. With Martial Heaven absent, Qin Yang was the one they could rely on among all the students!
The group hurried to the shop where Lin Wan'er had disappeared. Other students who heard the news also rushed over.
Some had already been searching the area since earlier.
"Guiyan Magical Artifact Shop?" Qin Yang looked at the sign above the door, frowned, and stopped. He was actually using his divine sense to investigate, as he noticed the people nearby were sharing useful information.
"Could it really be the Guiyan Gang? They're the biggest gang in Fanxing City!"
"I heard they have dirty methods and often do shady things!"
"Especially fond of abducting talented young women and selling them to various places..."
"They even raise them as slave concubines, make them bear children here first, then release them. The real purpose is to let them return to their clans and gather resources. Since their children remain here, they'll come back."
"That's why they're called the Guiyan Gang - utterly revolting!"
"I never thought they'd dare provoke someone from Celestial Academy?"
"Truly audacious. But I fear the talented young women of Celestial Academy would be even more enticing to the Guiyan Gang..."
Watching Qin Yang's expression darken and his fists clench, Lian Feng paced like an ant on a hot stove.
"What's wrong?" Lou Mengyu asked.
Qin Yang glanced at Lian Feng, unwilling to further agitate him. Softly, he replied, "Nothing."
The commotion drew a crowd of onlookers. Naturally, the staff of the Guiyan Treasure Shop were alarmed and promptly notified their superiors.
Soon, a group pushed through the crowd. Leading them was a burly man with a full beard, his single remaining eye radiating a ferocious light that made others recoil in fear.
"Li Dulong? It's actually him? He's the third strongest cultivator in Fanxing City, a late-stage Zongshi Realm expert!"
"Who dares to oppose the Guiyan Gang?" Li Dulong roared, causing the crowd to retreat in unison.
Li Dulong scanned Qin Yang's group, his gaze settling on Qin Yang at the forefront. He sneered, "A bunch of snot-nosed brats. What? Want to spar with the grown-ups?"
His eye bulged as it fell upon Lou Mengyu beside Qin Yang, hissing with lustful intent. Saliva dripped from his mouth as malicious intent surfaced, though he restrained himself in this public setting.
Qin Yang observed every subtle shift in expression, confirming the truth of his earlier divine sense investigation.
"Hand over the girl," Qin Yang commanded coldly.
The Guiyan Treasure Shop employee chuckled, "Hand over who?"
Qin Yang's hand gestured, summoning a massive ice hand that instantly gripped the shop assistant.
The Qi Sea Realm expert stood no chance against this attack.
With a crushing motion, the assistant disintegrated into icy shards across the ground.
"Hand over the person," Qin Yang said, his gaze fixed on Li Dulong, his voice growing even more menacing.
All spectators gasped, and even Li Dulong jumped in fright.
"Good boy, you do have some skill," Li Dulong sneered. "But do you really think this level of skill is enough to oppose the Guiyan Gang?"
Qin Yang flicked his finger, and one of Li Dulong's subordinates beside him exploded in a shower of blood - a direct headshot.
Shocking Sword Finger!
Li Dulong hadn't even seen the trajectory of that true energy sword!
Li Dulong's face paled. This was far beyond "some skill"! This brat's strength actually surpassed his own!
"Hmph, don't you know the saying 'A strong dragon doesn't suppress local tyrants'? What's so special about Celestial Academy? Opposing the Guiyan Gang? Even if your teacher is Stellar Realm, can he protect you forever? And even if he could, it wouldn't matter! If there's one of you, there will be more!"
Li Dulong gritted his teeth and ordered his subordinates to hurry back and call for reinforcements. Forget that Stellar Realm teacher - even this single brat was more than enough trouble!
Qin Yang let the subordinate escape to bring reinforcements, then repeated in a low voice, "Hand over the person."
"Heh heh, what people? I don't understand," Li Dulong, a fierce character, said while glaring at Qin Yang with his remaining eye. "If you're so capable, why don't you kill us all?"
"Uh... ah!" Li Dulong suddenly cried out in pain, his body curling up like a shrimp as Qin Yang kicked him away.
All his subordinates turned pale with fear, and even the bystanders couldn't help but gasp repeatedly.
Is this Celestial Academy brat truly so ferocious? His methods are downright brutal!
Qin Yang scanned the crowd, noticing not a single person dared to meet his gaze.
"Hand over the person. This is my last warning," Qin Yang said, his face completely expressionless.
Lian Feng was stunned. Qin Yang is actually this powerful? All the classmates were equally shocked. This domineering Qin Yang made them feel completely reassured.
"Pah!" Li Dulong spat out a mouthful of blood-laced saliva, glaring coldly at Qin Yang. "I won't hand her over. You dare kill me? The initiative lies with our Guiyan Gang! That classmate of yours might already be..."
Qin Yang's figure suddenly vanished from his original position, reappearing directly beside Li Dulong.
Looking down at the fallen Li Dulong, Qin Yang said softly, "So, I don't have time to listen to your nonsense."
He lifted his foot and brought it crashing down.
Li Dulong mobilized all his true qi to block, but how could he possibly withstand Qin Yang - a man who could kill even a Warrior Grandmaster in a single move?
Boom!
A deafening explosion shook the air as Qin Yang's kick reduced Li Dulong to minced flesh. The impact carved a massive crater into the ground.
Palm blades slicing through the air, Qin Yang whirled around with a sweeping crescent strike that engulfed all of Li Dulong's subordinates.
Lowering his angle, those closest to Qin Yang were bisected at the waist, their deaths instantaneous. Those further away merely lost their legs.
The brutal display made onlookers avert their eyes, their hearts quivering.
Even Qin Yang's classmates felt fear welling up within them.
"My apologies for the inconvenience," Qin Yang said with a bow to the crowd. "I must ask for your assistance in finding someone."
Though the spectators trembled at Qin Yang's display of power, they showed no inclination to help. They were merely here for the spectacle.
"Why should we help you?" one bystander sneered. "A strong dragon can't suppress a local tyrant. You'll just dust your hands and leave after we find your person. What about us? We'll have to bear the Guiyan Gang's retaliation!"
"Exactly! Finding people is your own responsibility. Who told you to lose sight of your own?"
"Don't you have a teacher leading you? A Stellar Realm expert?"
"Just a bunch of brats with empty strength. You're too inexperienced. This is just to teach you a lesson so you don't end up in the same situation! Maybe soon..."
The crowd watched coldly, some even mocking them openly.
Some were even discussing what might be happening to the girl the Guiyan Gang had kidnapped...
Lian Feng's heart turned to ice as he heard those obscene words.
Qin Yang's voice suddenly rang out again: "Cold observation and mocking words make you no different from the perpetrators. I hereby judge you guilty!"
"Find her immediately, or..." Qin Yang gently set the panda on his shoulder down.
"Or what?"
"Your judgment means nothing to me. You think Celestial Academy's reputation will protect you? What can you do?"
"Cross the Guiyan Gang and they'll snatch you all up! The men will be sold into slavery, and the women? Heh heh, they'll become Guiyan themselves!"
The group burst into raucous laughter.
The students' faces paled, especially after learning the true meaning of "Guiyan." Their anger burned as hot as their fear.
Lian Feng's face twisted with despair. If anything happened to Wan'er, he'd take his own life!
"What's your alternative?" Qin Yang chuckled darkly, enunciating each word. "Since you're guilty, you all deserve death!"
Divine swords materialized behind him like spectral blades.
With a thought, he loosed the holy weapons. They arced through the air like reapers' scythes, slaughtering dozens in an instant. None escaped the slaughter - the victims didn't even have time to scream.
The survivors' faces twisted in horror. "You... you murderous demon!"
"The Celestial Academy has always been clear about debts and grudges..."
"Those who dare cross the Celestial Academy will be eradicated! None shall remain!" At Qin Yang's command, the Panda transformed into its true form. The Tian Swallowing Beast's fist, as large as a house, crushed a dozen more into bloody paste.
"W-we'll find them! Right now!"
"Immediately! We'll find them immediately!"
The students fled in terror. This wasn't a student - this was a tyrant incarnate!