"Ding, congratulations to the host 'Xu Que' for killing Pang Bao, successfully showing off, and earning ten show-off points."

"Ding, recycling the 'Dark Fire Sword Technique' was successful, gaining eight points of cultivation essence."

"Ding, recycling..."

"Ding, congratulations to the host 'Xu Que' for killing Pang Bao, earning four hundred experience points."

The system notification sounded in his mind.

Xu Que was stunned.

Oh my god, did I... kill someone?

Xu Que was somewhat stunned. He had only wanted to test the power of the Nine Transformations of the Dragon, but he hadn't expected that just the first transformation, a single punch, would obliterate the naturally powerful Pang Bao.

"A dragon... this... this is a dragon!"

Suddenly, a voice filled with fear trembled through the air.

Immediately, the group from Bèishuǐ Village fell to their knees in unison, their faces filled with terror. Trembling all over, they cried out to the heavens and kowtowed to Xu Que, begging for mercy

"Ah! Immortal, Immortal, spare my life!"

"It was our fault for being blind, we beg the immortal to spare our worthless lives..."

Huh? What's going on now?

Xu Que was taken aback.

"Plop!" "Plop!"

Before he could figure out what was happening, a few muffled sounds came from behind him.

Xu Que turned his head and was stunned.

Several villagers from Panshan Village, despite their injuries, knelt before him and begged for mercy, their faces equally filled with panic.

Looking at Xiao Rou again, she was also frozen in place, her eyes filled with sheer terror.

How could this happen?

Xu Que found it a bit hard to accept all at once. The people of Bèishuǐ Village kneeling and worshiping him didn't really bother him.

But when the simple villagers of Keshan Village knelt before him, he couldn't bear it.

Especially when he saw the look of fear in Xiao Rou's eyes, Xu Que felt as if his heart had been fiercely twisted.

"Fellow villagers, what are you doing? Get up quickly! I only deal with these bad people, I won't harm you!"

He quickly dispersed his spiritual energy, and the dragon-shaped radiance on his body suddenly vanished. He shouted to the villagers of Panshan Village.

But the villagers' faces were still filled with fear, kneeling on the ground, not daring to utter a single word.

Xu Que panicked and looked at Xiao Rou, saying, "Xiao Rou, what... what's going on? Quickly, tell the villagers to get up! I mean no harm."

Xiao Rou finally came to her senses and looked at Xu Que in a panic, saying, "You... you are an immortal..."

"What immortal! I'm just like you, we're all human!"

Xu Que was very surprised. Are cultivators really that terrifying? Why do they all seem to revere them as if they were seeing deities?

"Xiao Rou, don't be afraid. I really won't hurt you. Just tell me what's going on here?"

"Really?" Xiao Rou said timidly.

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"Of course it's true!" Xu Que nodded emphatically.

Xiao Rou saw this and finally regained a bit of color, forcing herself to calm down.

Afterwards, she told Xu Que about the immortals.

It turns out that to the east of Panshan Village and Beishui Village, there is a sect of immortal cultivators, and it is none other than the Tianwu Sect.

And Panshan Village and Beishui Village, along with other villages within a hundred-mile radius, have always been under the protection of the Tianwu Sect.

However, every month, each village needs to offer grain to the Tianwu Sect. If a village manages to kill a wild beast, they can use the beast's demon core as a substitute for the grain.

But once there is no demon core and the food is insufficient, the village will be punished.

The people of Tianwu Sect would capture some able-bodied men from the village and take them up the mountain. From then on, those men would vanish without a trace, their fate unknown.

That's why the villagers are so afraid of the cultivators.

After hearing this, Xu Que's heart was instantly ablaze with anger.

Emperor Tianwu is simply too much, relying on his cultivation success to oppress ordinary people, causing the villagers to be so anxious and fearful.

"Have you never resisted?"

Xu Que couldn't help but ask.

But as soon as he asked, he wanted to slap himself.

Because the question was so foolish, even if the people of Tianwu Sect were weak, they were at least at the Qi Refining stage, possessing magical techniques. How could these villagers possibly be their match?

"We don't dare..." Xiao Rou didn't think Xu Que was an idiot, she shook her head and replied.

Xu Que was silent for a moment, leaned towards Xiao Rou, and whispered, "Xiao Rou, I'll go home first. You explain to the villagers that I'm different from those people from the Tianwu Sect. Tell them not to kneel, and not to be afraid of me. I won't harm anyone in our village."

"Yes, I believe you!" Xiao Rou nodded emphatically, finally not feeling so scared.

This made Xu Que breathe a sigh of relief. He looked up and glanced at the group from Beishui Village, then said, "By the way, Xiao Rou, let those people from Beishui Village keep kneeling. Tell them they can't leave until the sun sets."

After giving the instructions, Xu Que then stepped towards the village.

On the way, he encountered Dazhuang and others, arriving late with the other villagers.

When everyone saw him, they hurriedly asked, "Little brother, are you hurt? What about Pang Bao and his gang?"

Xu Que quickly stopped them and said, "Villagers, there's no need to go. I've already taught Pang Bao and his men a lesson. They're kneeling at the village entrance reflecting on their actions now."

"Ah! Really?" everyone exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course it's true. I can take down beasts, let alone a big leopard!" Xu Que said with a smile.

The villagers were instantly overjoyed and shouted, "Well done, young man!"

"Oh, you're too kind, too kind," Xu Que said with a smile, his eyes narrowing. He loved this subtle sense of showing off.

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Returning to Xiao Rou's home, Xu Que lay directly on the small wooden bed and let out a long sigh towards the sky.

He knew that once Dazhuang and the others learned about his identity, there would probably be nothing left but fear. Even if there wasn't fear, they certainly wouldn't chat with him so easily and happily as they just did.

"Sigh, forget it. Anyway, it's impossible to stay here forever. After helping them resolve the tribute issue, I should leave. The world is so big, I have to go see it."

Xu Que perked up and sat up from the bed.

His eyes darted, and he summoned the system with a thought.

Immediately, a personal information interface popped up in front of him:

"Host: Xu Que

Realm: Foundation Establishment Stage, Level One (Slightly Accomplished)

Experience Points: 600/2000

Pretentiousness Level: 15 points

Cultivation Technique: "Ancient Five Elements Art" Beginner Chapter

Skill: Dragon Soars Nine Transformations (Progress 01, First Transformation Mastered)

Occupation: None

Status: Prince Consort of the Fire Yuan Kingdom in the Eastern Wilderness Continent

I'm sorry, but it seems like the source text you provided is incomplete. Could you please provide the full text you would like translated?

"Huh, the progress of Dragon Soaring Nine Transformations has become 01? Is it because I just used it once?"

Xu Que let out a surprised sound, as if the incantation could also increase its progress through repeated use, though this method seemed a bit slow.

He was very dissatisfied with this speed. After pondering for a moment, he directly opened the storage space, his gaze sweeping over the pile of magical treasures and techniques stolen from the Treasure Pavilion of the Tianwu Sect.

"Perfect, let's first try that recycling function."

Xu Que muttered to himself and began to examine the descriptions of those techniques.

"Light Body Technique, hmm, it seems I can use it myself. I'll keep it for now." The first technique he saw was the foundational technique of the Tianwu Sect, the "Light Body Technique." Xu Que realized he hadn't yet practiced any body movement techniques and immediately became interested.

Subsequently, his gaze continued to sweep across, and various Tianwu Sect techniques came into view.

"Fire Cloud Fist, Blazing Flame Saber Technique, Dark Fire Sword Art... none of them are any use!"

A series of dozens of spell books passed by, and Xu Que shook his head at each one, finding none of them satisfactory.

After all, this was the Fire Origin Country, where almost all cultivators possessed fire-attribute spiritual roots and practiced techniques related to flames.

However, Xu Que felt that these techniques seemed a bit too ordinary and were not the truly precious skills of the Tianwu Sect. He decided to keep only a book on agility techniques and let the system recycle the rest.

"Ding, successfully recycled 'Fire Cloud Fist', gained three points of cultivation essence."

"Ding, successfully recycled 'Liyan Sword Technique,' gained five points of cultivation essence."