Chapter 930: Entering Sal City

Lingyao gave a mischievous smile. "Wouldn't it have been easier if you'd just cooperated? You just had to endure some suffering. You really are asking for a beating, you ape!"

Releasing the ape's neck, Xu Yang and his companions, led by the Sky Devouring Python, soon arrived at a bar called Black Rose.

According to the little ape, the Black Rose bar was supposedly the only place in the entire city-state that didn't discriminate against unaffiliated individuals.

However, to Xu Yang's surprise, as soon as they stepped inside, several young men with dyed hair approached them with ill intentions.

There were two reasons for this. Firstly, neither Xu Yang nor Lingyao showed any spiritual power fluctuations, and neither did the saber-toothed tiger or the little ape accompanying them. People without spiritual power were, without a doubt, considered easy targets in this place.

The second, and most crucial, reason was Lingyao's exceptional beauty. It was only natural for someone with no apparent power to walk into a bar with such a stunning woman and attract the attention of the various shady characters present.

"Hehe, little lady, interested in joining our team? We can buy you drinks for free! And if you'd like something else, that's no problem either, brothers here will treat you very well," a few young men with brightly colored hair grinned maliciously at Lingyao.

However, the girl's only response was a cold, disdainful glance. She didn't even need to act herself. Xu Yang merely snapped his fingers, and the little ape and the saber-toothed tiger beside him pounced.

"Do as you please."

Xu Yang uttered these four words softly. The saber-toothed tiger, understanding him perfectly, naturally grasped the meaning behind his words. In no time at all, the saber-toothed tiger completely devoured the arrogant young men before them.

Undeniably, resolving the situation in such a manner was rather domineering.

As expected, after the saber-toothed tiger had completely devoured the initial group, the remaining dyed-hair individuals inside the bar, who were also spiritual cultivators from the same team as the previous unruly youths, surged forward with furious expressions, unhesitatingly attacking Xu Yang and his companions.

"Bastards! How dare you kill my teammates! Today, I'll skin you alive!"

The enraged young man standing before them was clearly the leader of the unruly youth's team. In an instant, before the man could even release his totem, Xu Yang transformed into a streak of light, appearing before him and kicking him into the air. The aura of primal power silently surged through Xu Yang's palm, and in no time, it completely shattered the meridians within the team leader's body. The man's pale yellow spiritual light began to violently leak outwards, and his incredibly powerful spiritual essence rapidly withered, like a punctured balloon deflating in moments.

"Folks, if you enjoy a spectacle, feel free to come closer. I don't mind if you claim the last remaining value from these wastes. In an instant, these teams were dissolved into nothingness." The Yellow-tier spiritual essence they had accumulated over decades of cultivation vanished in an instant, leaving behind only a few chilling white bones.

What slightly surprised Xu Yang was that such a significant incident within the Black Rose bar was cleaned up in a matter of minutes. It seemed the bar had several dedicated guard teams responsible for handling such conflicts.

"Oh? It seems we have two distinguished guests tonight! Karl, open two bottles of our finest brandy. I'd like to treat these two friends to a drink!"

The speaker was a middle-aged man in a luxurious robe, seated at the bar. He had a cigar in his mouth and was casually shuffling a very rare deck of cards, appearing quite content.

Xu Yang and Lingyao did not leave; instead, they calmly walked over and took seats beside the bar. The entire bar quickly returned to its previous boisterous atmosphere. No one seemed to care about the ignorant spiritual cultivators who had been instantly crushed.

"You're from out of town, aren't you? By your demeanor, I can tell you're formidable hidden experts. However, it seems you don't belong to the spiritual cultivation system, so you might find it a bit challenging to adapt to this Sar City-State."

The middle-aged man seemed very courteous, pouring wine for Xu Yang and Lingyao, and gently clinking glasses with them.

"To be honest, my friend, we came here hoping to form our own team and contribute to the Imperial Soul Warband."

The middle-aged man immediately perked up. "Hahaha, I've been waiting here for three full years, precisely to assemble a powerful and unique special team that can break the established mold of the Western Region's spiritual power cultivation system. Do you think I'd be worthy of joining your team?"

Xu Yang chuckled indifferently. "When I look for teammates, I never consider their strength, because no matter how strong they are, they can never be stronger than me. Therefore, my only criterion for choosing a teammate is that they must be interesting and unique!"

Xu Yang smiled, gently raising his glass to clink it with the middle-aged man's once more. The three chatted happily, feeling an instant camaraderie. They ended up drinking over a dozen bottles of the Black Rose bar's finest brandy, and the cost of the drinks alone was certainly no small sum.

"I say, you two can really hold your liquor! I need to excuse myself for a moment. When I get back, we'll continue our revelry. Tonight, we won't stop until we're drunk!" With that, the middle-aged man quickly left the bar counter.

However, they waited for a full half an hour, but it wasn't the middle-aged man who returned. Instead, it was two service staff holding menus.

"Excuse me, sir, please settle the bill first. That will be five thousand gold coins."

Xu Yang and Lingyao exchanged glances. "We haven't finished drinking yet. Why are we settling the bill? Our friend hasn't returned."

Unbeknownst to the staff, neither of them had any gold coins in their pockets. They were from outside this region, so how could they possibly possess the Western Region's exclusive currency?

"The friend you're referring to, would that happen to be that fellow Lister? Folks, you two have probably been scammed. That guy has conned dozens of people using the same trick; he comes here to get free drinks every time. So now, you two will have to pay for this round."

Xu Yang shook his head with a wry, helpless smile. "City life is full of tricks. I think I'll just go back to the countryside."

With that, Xu Yang stood up, gently took Lingyao's hand, and boldly walked towards the bar's exit. Unexpectedly, at almost the same instant, the Black Rose bar's dedicated guard team immediately took action. Nine handsome young waiters simultaneously sprang out, surrounding Xu Yang, Lingyao, the ape, and the mighty tiger.