Upon hearing those words, fury flashed across the faces of the three male ability users!
They pointed straight at Liu Yang and started cursing.
"You brat, you're way too arrogant, daring to talk to our captain like that?"
"Do you really think our Hidden Dragon Organization is a pushover?"
"Do you have any idea how strong the Hidden Dragon Organization is?"
"In the Dragon Empire, we are the absolute peak of ability user organizations!"
"Our leader is honoring you by offering you a spot, yet you dare to disrespect her? You're literally asking for a death wish!"
Another brawny man chimed in, "Kid, you've got a death wish! Our Hidden Dragon Organization is packed with powerhouses. Don't think you're invincible just because you've got a few tricks up your sleeve. Sure, you might be a big fish in this little pond where nobody can touch you, but once you deal with official organizations, you're nothing more than a small fry!"
"Time for you to learn that there's always someone better, and the sky goes on forever above the clouds. We're going to teach you a lesson today so you understand the gap between us!"
Exchanging a quick glance, the three of them lunged straight at Liu Yang.
Yet Liu Yang merely gave them a single look.
"Buzz!"
Three razor-sharp ice needles hovered dead-stop right in front of their foreheads.
Feeling the bone-chilling frost grazing their skin, the three men froze instantly. Their entire bodies trembled as goosebumps erupted across their skin.
Th-that was a hair's breadth away from death!
If they hadn't slammed the brakes the absolute second they did, they would have impaled themselves on those needles! Given how razor-sharp they were, those spikes would have punched straight through their skulls without a second thought.
As elite veterans of the Hidden Dragon Organization, they were all Earth Ranking ability users, and their female captain was even a top-100 powerhouse on the Earth Ranking list!
That kind of lineup was devastatingly powerful; they had expected to steamroll any civilian survivor base they came across.
They never dreamed they would crash straight into an immovable wall of steel here at Liu Yang's place!
A single exchange. A single look from the man, and they were completely neutralized.
They knew that if he so much as flicked a thought, those ice needles would punch right through their brains.
Their female captain's face contorted in shock for a split second before she quickly smoothed it over into an awkward smile, looking up at Liu Yang.
"Handsome, let's tone down the heat, shall we? We can talk things out like civilized people... no need to resort to brute force."
"We're all fellow citizens of the Dragon Empire; there's no reason for us to turn our weapons on each other."
"You probably haven't heard yet, but foreign ability users have already been moving in the shadows across the Dragon Empire right now.
"Our Hidden Dragon Organization has already wiped out two strike teams from the Island Empire. We need to stand united against external threats!"
"That's not what you were shouting a second ago. Didn't you say I was asking for a death wish?" Liu Yang stepped closer to the two men, one stride at a time, and then...
"Slap!"
He cracked a clean backhand across the first man's face. "Come on, teach me that lesson again?"
Clenching his jaw, the big man could only force a greasy, flattering smile. "Bro... c-come on, just joking around."
Liu Yang pivoted to the next man and delivered another crisp blow.
Slap!
"Didn't you say you wanted to show me the gap between us? Why don't you update me on how wide that gap is right now?"
The guy's face swelled up instantly from the strike, yet he could only nod eagerly. "It's a gap between heaven and earth! Big Brother, you're the heavens and we're just the dirt under your feet!"
Liu Yang stepped up to the third man and let loose a third smack.
"Slap!"
Beaming with a forced, painful smile, the man nodded profusely. "Big Brother, let's talk this out. Everything's negotiable!"
Seeing how pragmatic these three thugs were, Liu Yang let them off the hook and turned his attention toward the female leader.
He reached out, pinched her delicate, silky chin, and stared down at her alluring red lips, opening his mouth to speak-when suddenly, a miniature dagger materialized right at his throat.
The blade seemed to materialize out of thin air, hovering motionless just like his own ice needles.
For a split second, Liu Yang figured she shared his control-type ability, except focused purely on metal.
Then, a voice materialized out of the empty air right beside his ear: "Take your filthy hands off, or I'll slice your throat open in the next second!"
It was a young woman's voice. Liu Yang could literally feel the warmth of her breath against his skin.
She was right beside him!
Liu Yang's thoughts snapped into focus. Could it be an invisibility ability?
That hovering blade was actually clutched right in her hand!
Liu Yang hadn't expected a stealth operative to be lurking in his immediate blind spot.
And she clearly had specialized military training; she hadn't leaked a single shred of presence!
Looks like the Dragon Empire's official organization actually had some teeth.
That kind of skill made her a tailor-made assassin!
Yet Liu Yang merely chuckled coldly. "Heh, go ahead and try."
Instead of backing off, he used two fingers to pinch her silky cheek just like a baby's, shaking her face around with playful dominance.
"You little-!" A frustrated, furious shriek echoed from empty air as she violently thrust the miniature blade forward, trying to draw a bit of blood to force him back.
Yet she never expected...
"Clang!"
The moment the blade kissed Liu Yang's skin, it sounded like it struck a solid block of high-grade steel!
His neck remained completely unblemished. Forget drawing blood; it didn't even leave a white mark.
"What the hell? Are you made of iron? Why is your skin so tough?!" A voice of pure disbelief echoed from empty air.
Immediately following:
"Crack, crack, crack!"
Frost surged upward along the floorboards, and in the blink of an eye, a transparent human-shaped ice sculpture materialized right in front of Liu Yang.
Ice encased her entire form, but because she was invisible, it looked like an empty, hollow ice sculpture molded around thin air.
Liu Yang could finally make out her general silhouette.
She stood around 165 centimeters tall, and she was completely stark naked.
Her ability could render her flesh and blood invisible, but it couldn't cloak fabric!
Which meant she had to operate completely bare.
She had a slender waist, a remarkably ample chest that immediately drew the eye, a high-bridged nose, and exceptionally delicate facial features. To top it all off, she possessed an absurd, gravity-defying waist-to-hip ratio.
She looked like the textbook definition of a premier-grade woman!
Judging by her voice, she couldn't even be twenty yet-a stunning, crystal-clear teenage beauty!
A grin of pure amusement spread across Liu Yang's face. "A transparent woman? Interesting. But now, you're entirely exposed..."
She stammered in absolute indignation, "D-dammit! Why are you so unyielding? My blade couldn't even scratch you! That makes zero sense!"
Liu Yang chuckled smoothly. "Oh, I've got plenty of other hard assets. Stick around and I'll let you experience them properly later!"
"As if! You jerk, I can't move! Let me go right now, you total pervert!" The frozen transparent girl writhed helplessly inside her icy prison.
Liu Yang flashed a light, teasing grin. "Heh, the five of you kicked in my front door looking to raid my base, and you've got the nerve to call me a pervert?
"Right now, your lives are sitting right in the palm of my hand. Beg nicely, and maybe I'll think about cutting you loose."
The female captain called out, "Xue'er, what's the layout inside the base?"
The transparent girl replied, "It's full of women-dozens of them! Every single one is an absolute stunner, and aside from this guy, there isn't a single male in sight! He's a total lunatic!"
"Huh?" The female captain's jaw dropped in shock before she pressed further. "Did he lock all these gorgeous girls up, torturing them daily and treating them like slaves?"
Lin Xue'er snapped back, "Not even close. They're all chatting and laughing inside, having the time of their lives."
"Uh... wait, what?" Tong Bingjie stalled out completely.
Listening in on their banter, Liu Yang finally realized that this transparent girl had slipped right past him while he was opening the front door!
Thank goodness this was just a simulation run.
Running simulations beforehand really was the ultimate meta move!