Chapter 442: Chapter 357: Tier 4?
"When is your leader coming back?"
As he spoke, the powerful aura of a Tier Three Evolver unconsciously emanated from the cold-faced man, pressing down on Tong Chang until he could barely breathe.
Tong Chang was filled with helplessness and bitterness. He had only been Guard Captain for a day.
To run into this kind of trouble already... he was so frustrated he could have wept.
"Th-this... he... he didn’t give me a specific time, but it should be soon..."
Tong Chang stammered, his forehead covered in beads of sweat.
Hearing this, the cold-faced man’s brow furrowed, a hint of impatience revealing itself between his brows.
With his strength as a Tier Three Evolver, bringing two Tier Two Evolver teammates to capture a target who was Tier Two at best should have been a simple matter.
But in reality, they hadn’t even seen a shadow of their target so far.
’Could someone have tipped him off and let him get away?’
At this thought, his expression grew even colder.
Just then, Tong Chang, who had been kneeling aside in fear and trepidation, looked as if he had seen something. His terrified expression instantly melted into ecstatic joy.
"Sir, you’re back!"
Tong Chang cried out excitedly.
Everyone in the room was startled and followed Tong Chang’s gaze.
There, to one side, a tall figure with white hair and blue eyes had appeared without anyone noticing.
He stood there like an iron tower, casting a large shadow.
Hu Qi’s physique had changed noticeably, but his face still retained some of its former features.
Although Tong Chang was very surprised by Hu Qi’s change, he still recognized him at a glance.
The cold-faced man frowned slightly; despite his strength as a Tier Three Evolver, he hadn’t even noticed when this person appeared in the room.
"Sir, these people are looking for you!"
Tong Chang hurriedly explained, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"Oh? Looking for me?"
Hu Qi’s gaze slowly swept over the three men in the room, finally landing on the one-eyed man in bloody clothes standing to the side.
"Who are you, and where’s Iron Bear?"
The one-eyed man in bloody clothes barked the question.
However, the moment the words left his mouth, a terrifyingly immense pressure crashed down on them like a tidal wave.
It wasn’t just him; the other three, including the cold-faced man, instantly turned pale as paper, and then each coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Their bodies flew backward as if they’d taken a heavy blow, slamming into the surrounding walls with a series of dull thuds.
Then they slid down the walls to the floor, collapsing onto all fours as if an invisible mountain was pressing down on their backs, pinning them to the ground.
"Y-You... You’re a Tier Four Celestial King?!"
Unlike the others who couldn’t even speak, the cold-faced man, being a Tier Three Evolver, managed to raise his head. With his gums bleeding and a terrified expression, he stared at Hu Qi.
He looked as if he had seen a ghost.
When the others heard this, their expressions instantly became filled with shock and disbelief.
A Tier Four Celestial King?
Was this some kind of joke!?
Even the great leader of their own Pan Mountain Gathering Place had only just reached this Realm.
"Sir, we... we came looking for the leader of the Rotten Leaf Gathering Place. There must be some kind of misunderstanding. We’re... from the Pan Mountain Gathering Place."
After his initial panic, the cold-faced man forced himself to calm down and spoke with great caution.
He then revealed where they were from.
He hoped that this unknown powerhouse, a Celestial King Level expert, would show them mercy for the sake of the Pan Mountain Gathering Place.
"I am the leader of the Rotten Leaf Gathering Place."
Hu Qi’s expression was calm as he spoke.
"B-But... isn’t the leader of the Rotten Leaf... Gathering Place... Iron Bear?"
The man in bloody clothes, sprawled on the ground like a half-dead dog, asked with a trembling voice, his face etched with terror.
"The former one was killed by our leader yesterday. This is our new leader."
Watching this scene from the side, Tong Chang felt his mouth go dry and his throat burn as if scorched by fire.
’This new boss is on another level. He hasn’t even made a move, yet he suppressed four Evolvers with ease.’
When the four men heard this, they fixed Tong Chang with a death glare.
’You motherfucker, you wait until now to tell us something so important?’
If Hu Qi released them now, they would probably flay Tong Chang alive.
’If he’d told us sooner, we never would have dared to act this way!’
However, then again, even if he had told them earlier, they probably wouldn’t have believed him.
After all, the notion of a Celestial King Level expert leading a small gathering of 3,000 people in some backwater corner was as absurd as a billionaire shunning a luxury mansion to live crammed in with homeless people.
And yet, this absurd thing had actually happened, leaving them so frustrated they could have vomited blood.
"Well then, since you’ve come all this way, it must be fate. You can stay here. As it happens, I have some matters that require your assistance. I imagine you won’t refuse."
Hu Qi said with a smile.
His voice had barely faded, giving the four no chance to refuse.
In an instant, a chill spread out, expanding rapidly like ripples on water.
Immediately after, a thick, crystalline layer of ice covered them, turning each into a lifelike ice sculpture, frozen firmly in place.
After doing all this, Hu Qi turned his gaze to Tong Chang at the side.
"Alright, you can go."
"Yes, yes, Sir..."
Standing to the side, Tong Chang subconsciously swallowed, nodded vigorously, and quickly departed.
His awe and fear for this new leader had reached their peak.
He had never even heard of such bizarre techniques.
