Zhang Peng's expression shifted, and he said coldly, "This ring is my family heirloom. How could I possibly give it to you!"

"In that case, I'll just have to take it myself." Tang Yan moved, once again executing the Divine Capture Art.

At this moment, Zhang Peng finally understood why his two companions had been utterly helpless earlier.

This youth seemed capable of executing mental attacks.

Fortunately, he had kept his nerves taut and prepared ample defenses, so Tang Yan's strike didn't affect him too severely.

Having successfully withstood this mental attack, Zhang Peng felt greatly reassured. He shook his longsword and charged at Tang Yan.

"Endless Snow!"

With a fierce shout, Zhang Peng's longsword flashed with blue light, and the surrounding temperature instantly dropped by several degrees.

A Black Rank high-grade martial technique!

Sensing the power of this move, Tang Yan's heart tightened. His Vortex Dantian spun rapidly, and instead of retreating, he advanced quickly forward.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Seven dull sounds rang out. With each step Tang Yan took forward, his aura surged significantly. By the time he reached Zhang Peng's side, his momentum had become almost tangible.

"This... is also a Black Rank high-grade martial technique?" Seeing the move Tang Yan displayed, someone in the crowd exclaimed in shock.

"Even among Black Rank high-grade techniques, this is top-tier. No wonder he is so confident. Someone possessing such a technique must come from an extraordinary background."

"The technique is impressive, but Zhang Peng holds a weapon while that youth is bare-handed. He's likely going to suffer a great loss!"

Almost everyone in the area had gathered here, watching the field intently.

Regardless of whether Tang Yan won or lost, he had already set an example for them of fighting above one's rank.

"Let's see if your fist is harder than my sword!" A cold gleam, like a beast in the night, howled as it slashed toward Tang Yan.

Looking at the grim-faced Zhang Peng, Tang Yan's lips curled slightly.

"What?!"

The onlookers' pupils contracted. Tang Yan's fist, which was about to collide with the sword blade, suddenly altered its trajectory, sliding along the flat of the blade and continuing forward.

How was this possible!

A flicker of panic also appeared in Zhang Peng's eyes. How could this guy change the trajectory of his attack at will?

But no one was there to explain it to them.

"Boom!"

With a loud crash, Tang Yan's fist struck Zhang Peng's right arm solidly.

"Crack!" A crisp sound of bone breaking made everyone's heart tremble.

"Ah!" Excruciating pain surged through him, and Zhang Peng couldn't help but let out a miserable scream. Tang Yan gave him no chance to rest, using his body's momentum to slam heavily into Zhang Peng.

Under the unstoppable impact, Zhang Peng's body arced through the air and flew toward a large tree behind him.

"Pfft!" His body slammed violently into the tree. Zhang Peng could no longer hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the front of his robes red.

"If you'd just given it to me earlier, you wouldn't have had to suffer this beating." Tang Yan walked over with a smile, skillfully pulled off the Storage Ring, and swept it with his divine sense. He couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.

Zhang Peng's assets were truly abundant. Inside were quite a few pills, spiritual herbs, beast cores, and other items.

"This is some of the property of my Raging Wave Gang. If you take it today, the Raging Wave Gang will never let you off! Return the ring to me now, and I'll pretend today never happened. I won't come after you in the future either. How about it?" Suppressing the churning blood and Qi in his body, Zhang Peng said with reddened eyes.

Tang Yan's lips curled slightly. "Even if I return it, you won't let me go. I'll accept this grand gift!"

"Do you dare leave your name?" Zhang Peng said coldly.

Tang Yan crouched down and patted Zhang Peng's face. "Want revenge?"

Zhang Peng's eyes burned with hatred.

"I'll tell you anyway. Remember my name-Tang Yan. Come find me for revenge anytime, but make sure to bring enough assets. I have no interest in battles without benefits." Tang Yan smiled as he took out Zhang Peng's Star Token and, under Zhang Peng's murderous gaze, transferred all the Star Value to himself.

"Now get lost!"

"Mountains may not turn, but waters will. We'll see each other again!" The three struggled to their feet, spat out a harsh threat, and helped each other as they walked away.

"Say one more useless word, and I won't mind crushing your Star Tokens," Tang Yan said flatly.

The three shuddered at his words. Star Value could be earned again, but if they lost their Star Tokens, they would directly lose their qualification to enter the Azure Dragon Academy.

Watching the three slink away, the crowd felt dazed. Those who had originally shared the same thoughts as Zhang Peng's group-wanting to use force to seize Tang Yan's pills-also restrained those intentions.

It was better to avoid this god of slaughter.

"I still have some pills left. Anyone interested can continue trading," Tang Yan called out to the crowd.

"Brother, I have a hundred Third Rank Beast Cores and eighty Fourth Rank Beast Cores here. Can you take them all?" A tall young man walked over and asked.

Tang Yan counted the pills in his hand and found he didn't have enough High Spirit Pills. He also checked the spoils he had seized and asked, "I have forty-six High Spirit Pills left, and some Second Rank middle-grade Spirit-Increasing Pills. One pill for three Third Rank Beast Cores. Is that acceptable?"

"No problem!" The tall young man nodded repeatedly.

"Brother, do you have any pills left?" others asked hopefully.

"No more pills," Tang Yan shook his head.

Just as everyone was feeling quite disappointed, Tang Yan's eyes suddenly lit up, and he added:

"Although the pills are gone, I wonder if anyone is interested in Star Value.

If you don't have enough Star Value, you can exchange some with me to avoid failing to enter the Azure Dragon Academy. Even if you have enough, you can buy some. I believe the Azure Dragon Academy's cultivation resources will be tilted toward students with better results."

The people around were startled. This was outrageous. Everyone was fighting tooth and nail to get Star Value, and Tang Yan was thinking of selling such a precious thing?

Judging by his tone, he didn't even mind selling it all!

Are you that obsessed with wealth?

"Young Master Tang, how do you sell Star Value?" There were more than a few tempted people in the crowd.

"Six Third Rank Beast Cores, or two Fourth Rank Beast Cores. Some spiritual herbs can also be exchanged."

Hearing Tang Yan's price, many people's eyes lit up. This price was also fair!

"Young Master Tang, how much can these spiritual herbs be exchanged for?" As soon as Tang Yan announced the price, someone immediately came over to ask.

"Flame Fragrance Grass. Not bad. This bundle for three Star Value." Tang Yan offered a price that satisfied the other party.

"I have beast cores here..."

A quarter of an hour later, Tang Yan finally exchanged all his Star Value.

Taking leave of the crowd, Tang Yan leaped away into the distance.

Finding a secluded spot, Tang Yan released a strand of divine sense and scanned the beast cores in his Storage Ring.

This glance was startling. Tang Yan couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.

Between the exchanges of pills and Star Value, plus the spoils he had seized, he now had over four thousand Third Rank Beast Cores and as many as eight hundred Fourth Rank Beast Cores.

There were also piles of spiritual herbs, enough for him to refine quite a few pills!

Taking a deep breath, Tang Yan didn't hesitate. With a thought, thousands of beast cores were all absorbed into the Heaven and Earth Creation Cauldron!