"Did you all treat my words as though they’re just wind in your ears?" At this moment, Tang Zhong’s voice was icy cold to the extreme.
On the side of the Southern Border, the Village Heads of the Seventy-Two Villages all wore grim expressions, realizing that if the opponent was truly at the peak of martial arts, things would indeed take a dire turn.
Some of their faces grew even darker—so young, and already at the Martial Arts Peak? The force behind him must be genuinely formidable.
"Could he be someone from Kunlun? Or perhaps he’s from the Heavenly Mountain Wu-Tang sect?"
"Heavenly Mountain only has Xiang Kunlun as a young powerhouse. Could this person be Xiang Kunlun?"
"Impossible! According to rumors, Xiang Kunlun has the frame of a tiger and the strength of a bear. There’s no way he’d appear so thin and frail!"
Everyone was staring at Tang Zhong, waiting for his response.
Yet one of the Village Heads, at this very moment, looked at Tang Zhong and recalled some news he’d recently seen on a forum.
The forum was called the Black List. This Village Head remembered clearly that the number one figure on the Black List was, in fact, a young man. And his age seemed to align perfectly with the youth before him. The Black List was a global ranking of lethal threats, with the first position standing unrivaled above all others.
Furthermore, wasn’t it rumored that person was also the first on Xuan Country’s Grandmaster List?
Could it be this young man?
He vaguely remembered the name—Tang Zhong, right?
But as he thought about it further, he shook his head in disbelief. There was no way it could be that guy. Someone of that level of strength, how could they possibly take a liking to the women of the Southern Border?
Miao Jingtian, though extremely frightened, still mustered the courage to take a step forward. He pointed at Tang Zhong and cursed, "Kid, what do you think you are? This is our Southern Border! Who gave you the guts to act wild here!"
"Seems you have a death wish." Tang Zhong’s voice was cold.
This time, he wouldn’t show mercy to anyone.
"I’m standing right here. Come on, kill me then!" Miao Jingtian sneered. With the surrounding forces of the Seventy-Two Villages backing him, he felt no fear at all.
He simply couldn’t believe that this youth would dare to kill him in front of so many people.
Tang Zhong squinted his eyes. Suddenly, his gaze shifted slightly, but his body didn’t move an inch from where he stood.
Then, all at once, Miao Jingtian, who had just moments ago been full of bravado, abruptly froze on the spot. His entire body stiffened, and his pupils began to tremble uncontrollably.
"You... you... what did you do?" Miao Jingtian stammered in horror.
Tang Zhong smiled brightly. "What else? Killed you, of course."
Since Tang Zhong had begun cultivating Soul Transformation, he’d never used it to kill anyone. Now was the perfect time to test its power.
A person’s body contained a soul.
In ancient times, kings could use their sheer presence to suppress ordinary people, forcing them to submit. A commanding aura was, at its core, the strength of one’s soul.
When one’s soul reached true power, it was entirely possible to obliterate someone with just a single glance.
Miao Jingtian now found himself victim to exactly that.
"You... you better let me go, or I’ll make you pay with your life!" Miao Jingtian shouted in terror.
This time, he truly felt the specter of death enveloping him. It was so close, as if it could consume him at any moment.
Miao Jingtian was so frightened that cold sweat poured from his forehead. He could no longer hold on and turned to the people nearby, shouting, "You... quickly, help me!"
The Village Heads of the Seventy-Two Villages, though also terrified themselves, began to prepare to act upon hearing the plea for help.
"Too late." Tang Zhong sneered. With that, he unleashed a soul tremor, his eyes narrowing sharply.
In an instant, Miao Jingtian’s expression grew one of utter horror. He looked grotesquely contorted, as though an invisible force was tearing him apart from the inside. His skin began to rip, and blood and flesh exploded outward!
"Ahhh..." An anguished scream filled the air.
The sound reached the ears of the others, and paired with Miao Jingtian’s gruesome end, left everyone petrified in horror.
"This... how is this possible?"
"What... what is even happening?"
Miao Jingtian howled, veins bulging, pain etched into every fiber of his being.
Without exception, all eyes turned toward the young man standing in the distance. A chilling realization dawned in their hearts.
Then, the scene grew even more horrifying. Miao Jingtian’s body began to rupture from the inside, spilling blood everywhere. Blood streamed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He collapsed to his knees, as if struck by a massive internal blow.
"This can’t be..." someone stammered.
"Impossible!" Miao Qing, trembling uncontrollably, felt his legs nearly give out from fear.
Then, turning to Tang Zhong, he yelled, "You killed my father! I’ll kill you!"
But just as he was about to lunge forward, Tang Zhong gave him a mere glance. Miao Qing froze on the spot, and with a sickening thud, one of his knees hit the ground.
A sharp scream echoed as the bones in his kneecap cracked apart.
Sweat poured from his forehead like a rushing stream.
"You want to kill me?" Tang Zhong asked coldly.
"N-no... I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare!" Miao Qing’s voice trembled with utter despair.
"But you just said it, didn’t you?" Tang Zhong’s eyes narrowed again.
He had once given someone a chance. There would never be a second time.
His hand clenched into a tight fist, and with a sudden motion, exerted terrifying force.
In a split second, Miao Qing’s head burst apart, destroyed utterly by soul disintegration.
At that moment, the surrounding crowd erupted in screams of panic.
Ordinary people had long since collapsed to the ground in terror. Some were so frightened, they even wet themselves where they stood.
Li Chuwen’s parents were the most terrified of all. They clung to each other, shaking uncontrollably.
Li Chuwen herself stood paralyzed, unable to comprehend that Tang Zhong was this powerful.
The Village Heads of the Seventy-Two Villages began retreating one by one.
But Tang Zhong’s gaze had already shifted to them, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
With just a look, the Village Heads began to cry out in panic, "What... what are you planning to do?"
"I warn you, this is the Southern Border. If you dare to massacre our people, you’re courting certain death!"
"Who are you? Don’t think that being at the Martial Arts Peak gives you free reign. The Southern Border has Martial Arts Peak experts to protect it too! Boy, do you dare give us your name?"
Tang Zhong flashed a chilling smile. "My name is Tang Zhong. You heard it loud and clear, didn’t you?"
"Tang Zhong, huh? Just wait and see—our Southern Border won’t let you off the hook!" someone immediately snarled upon hearing his name.
Yet, one of the Village Heads—someone who had previously browsed the Black List Forum—felt a growing sense of familiarity upon hearing that name.
Especially the Village Head who had seen the news on the forum. When he finally connected the dots, his entire body began quaking. The number one figure on the Black List was indeed named Tang Zhong—and he hailed from Xuan Country.
Could it really be him? The man standing before him, unrivaled as Black List Number One?
Unable to control himself, the Village Head dropped to his knees with a loud thud. Bowing low, he begged, "Great Tang—Grandmaster Peak—please spare me!"
Seeing this, the other Village Heads were left in utter confusion. "What... what are you doing? Why are you begging for mercy from an enemy!?"
The kneeling Village Head didn’t dare say a word.
"Get up, stop embarrassing us!"
But the kneeling man, without raising his head, shouted desperately, "He’s Tang Zhong! The Grim Reaper Tang Tiansha! Number One on the Grandmaster List and Black List!"
At this revelation, all the other Village Heads paled, their faces twisting with shock. When they looked back at Tang Zhong, their terror grew boundless.