My husband Can Cultivate-Chapter 176: Five Independents

"Is that so?"

Yang Qi no longer wasted words with him and suddenly lunged forward, his figure moving like a raging wind. In an instant, he was right in front of Liang Changshan.

He then thrust a palm forward, unleashing the Fierce Tiger Palm. At the Foundation Establishment Stage, its power had become even more terrifying. When he attacked, the tiger’s roar grew louder, and a faint, spectral image of a fierce tiger even appeared.

"What!" Liang Changshan felt an unprecedented pressure and hurriedly swung his fists to defend himself.

BOOM!

Their attacks collided. Liang Changshan stumbled back repeatedly, spitting out a mouthful of blood as his face turned pale.

Ignoring him, Yang Qi pressed his assault.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

They exchanged over a dozen moves, with Liang Changshan completely on the defensive and thoroughly suppressed. Finally, on the fifteenth move, Yang Qi stomped his foot onto the Dantian in Liang Changshan’s abdomen.

Liang Changshan let out a wretched scream. His Dantian shattered, and his martial arts were completely crippled.

"You! You’ve crippled me!" Liang Changshan roared with rage and terror, lying on the ground like a dead dog. He had never imagined Yang Qi could be so powerful, able to defeat him so effortlessly and even cripple his martial arts. It had taken him so long to cultivate to the rank of Great Grandmaster. Even with the best talent, it would be nearly impossible to reach this level again unless he had some kind of miraculous encounter. This was utterly tragic.

"So what if I crippled you?" Yang Qi said coldly. "Not killing you is already merciful. Get lost!"

"You’ve got guts!" Liang Changshan roared. "My Liang Family is setting up an arena. Do you dare to challenge it?"

"Heh, why should I challenge your Liang Family’s arena?" Yang Qi scoffed.

"I lost to you today, and I am thoroughly convinced," Liang Changshan conceded. "But you know the power of my Liang Family. Even if we can’t handle you, we can still go after your friends and family. If you agree to face the challenge at our arena, I promise not to harm them. If you win, I will give you your choice of any of my century-old medicinal materials. How about it?"

Liang Changshan already had a malicious plan in mind. Yang Qi was too strong to be dealt with by just one or two people. He would use a battle of attrition to wear him down and kill him, eliminating a future threat. He was confident Yang Qi would agree. Yang Qi was a man who valued his relationships and wouldn’t risk the safety of his loved ones. Moreover, he had already figured out that Yang Qi needed medicinal herbs.

"One type isn’t enough. I want three!" Yang Qi said, naming the three ingredients required to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill. From now on, he would need Foundation Establishment Pills; Qi Cultivation Pills were useless to him.

"Fine, no problem!" Liang Changshan struggled to his feet. "In seven days, I’ll have everything ready and will be waiting for your challenge. If you don’t show up, I guarantee I will devote all my resources to dealing with your friends and family!"

"You’re offering me such fine gifts. Why wouldn’t I go?" Yang Qi said with a faint smile.

Now that he had advanced to the Foundation Establishment Stage, his strength had surged. He no longer feared Great Grandmasters. Furthermore, when he had attacked Liang Changshan just now, he had intentionally used only fifty percent of his power. Otherwise, he could have killed him in a single move. He did this precisely to mislead Liang Changshan.

"However, there should be a limit on the number of challengers, right?" Yang Qi said. "If you call in thousands of experts, how could I possibly win?"

"Don’t worry, there will be five people at most!" Liang Changshan declared. "As long as you can defeat all five in a row, I’ll keep my promise!"

Hearing this, Wolf King’s expression changed. "Boss, don’t fall for it!"

Yang Qi shook his head and smiled. "Fine, I agree. As long as it’s no more than five opponents, I accept!"

"We’re leaving!" Liang Changshan said, turning to go, but he was suddenly stopped by Yang Qi.

"Thinking of leaving so soon?" Yang Qi sneered. "Did you think this place was somewhere you could come and go as you please?"

"What exactly do you want?" Liang Changshan demanded. "You’ve already crippled me. Isn’t that enough?"

"Of course not! Call your father right now and have him transfer one hundred million Dragon Coins to pay for my brothers’ medical treatment. If you don’t, you’re not leaving here today!" Yang Qi ordered.

"Don’t you be so damned excessive!" Liang Changshan seethed with fury. But what could he do? He was no match for Yang Qi. If he refused, this madman might just kill him on the spot.

"Excessive? Let me show you what’s truly excessive!" Yang Qi suddenly lunged forward, slamming a palm into one of Liang Changshan’s bodyguards. The man was struck square in the chest. He cried out once, then collapsed to the ground, no longer breathing.

"Want to continue?" Yang Qi asked with a cold smile.

"I’ll transfer the money!" Liang Changshan relented. The most important thing now was to get back alive. On the day of the arena challenge, he would make sure Yang Qi died without a proper burial.

Soon, the money arrived in the account. Yang Qi smiled as he watched Liang Changshan and his men leave with the two bodies.

After they departed, Yang Qi tended to the Wolf Guards’ injuries. He worked for most of the day, yet he was still brimming with energy. This was one of the benefits of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage. It was incredibly exhilarating.

The others had no serious issues, but Wolf King was severely injured. Even so, he was now out of critical danger and should recover in a few days. After all, he was a Martial Artist, and a Martial Arts Grandmaster at that. His recovery rate was far faster than an ordinary person’s.

"Boss, I’m sorry to have troubled you," Wolf King said with a rueful smile. "I wasn’t much help and only ended up causing problems."

"Don’t say that. From this day forward, you are no longer my subordinates, but my brothers," Yang Qi declared. "I will never mistreat those who are willing to risk life and limb for me. From now on, call me Big Brother. You don’t have to call me ’Boss’ anymore."

"Big... Big Brother!" Wolf King was deeply moved. With his actions, he had finally earned Yang Qi’s genuine trust and affection.

"You shouldn’t have agreed to the arena challenge!" he sighed. "The Liang Family’s arena is infamous throughout Jingnan Prefecture. Many experts have fallen there!"

"Tell me about it," Yang Qi said with a smile. Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will be victorious in a hundred battles. Although he wasn’t worried, it was always better to have a clear understanding of the situation.

"The Kang City commercial alliance is so formidable not just because of their business tactics, but because they foster retainers—Guest Martial Artists being the most important among them! The Liang Family’s most famous retainers are five monsters known as the ’Five Independents.’ Each one excels in a unique form of martial arts, and in specific environments, their effectiveness can increase tenfold, making them practically invincible.

"Although the Five Independents are only at the level of entry-level Great Grandmasters, the power they can unleash in those special environments is ten times stronger than that of other Martial Artists at the same rank. They must not be underestimated. No one has ever managed to defeat all five in a row. The most anyone has ever beaten is three consecutively. Each of the Five Independents is more formidable than the last."

As someone who moved through the Jianghu, Wolf King was naturally well-informed on such matters. He was telling Yang Qi all this, worried that his new big brother would suffer a great loss.

"So, if I’m hearing you correctly, once I defeat the Five Independents, I’ll have no more rivals in Kang City?" Yang Qi asked with a laugh.

Wolf King was left speechless.