Fate was sometimes some curious thing, as while the two men that rebuked and with one even laughing at the new tax had different reasons and they had never met before, they had suddenly encountered each other before the gates of the same city now.
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While Bai Qi would have usually ignored the extreme price of entering a simple and small city as [Dongpo], he was now returning to his original idea of making a name for himself - as a way to attract the attention of one of the Overlord powers and move towards the objective he had promised to complete before leaving his own, as one could say origin [Seven Islands] plane.
Having visited most of his original companions, the two remaining two too low-key, and his new ones powerful or protected enough, there would be no need to fear retribution against anyone but himself.
Thus, he had decided to make a scene, not only to use it as a way to introduce himself in this plane gathering of low-level cultivators but also to test the few higher-realm cultivators he had sensed following him since his show. To lure the tigers, as one could say. And to discover which of them was an actual ally.
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On the other hand, Pan Feng, the current young head of the [Pan Trade Company], had arrived to do the usual small business conducted with the city by the branch his father had given him as a test.
Being well informed, he had actually expected something of a special tax to raise resources for the [Gongpo Clan] tithes, knowing well that the latter had already used up all of their available funds and hadn't paid them.
And he had been ready to pay when required, while not using the name of the company, after all, it was far beneath their winnings and would not be seen as an abuse of his position. Still, hearing the young Warrior Lord rebuke the taxes and even mention that cities far above their level, such as [Baoshi Hua] or [Shoumen], hardly taxed more than five low-grade spirit stones for crossing the gate, Pan Feng played along.
All while considering that some fun and the renown of their company were worth far more than the few profits of the now almost impoverished city. This latter, especially when considering the future implications of the [Eastern Inscription] city failing their duties towards the Overlord.
Thus he voiced his own opinion, even if as a murmur, and commanded his caravan to turn around.
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Dongpo Qingqiu wasn't blessed with either cultivation talent or looks, with a prominent belly and looking almost middle-aged while being just 28 years old and with a 5th level Warrior Lord cultivation forcefully instilled into him by his mother, as inherently, he had not even managed to reach the peak of the Yellow Realm. And yet, With his upbringing of being allowed everything by his mother, the 3rd-tier power behind him, and so on, he had developed an arrogance comparable to any supergenius.
Though assigned by his mother as the guardian of the gates, he had not spent a single moment of his supervising or acting in any way. From dawn to night, he spent the time drinking with his buddies in the guard tower near the gates, only exiting it to rest or take funds for his continuous partying from the collected taxes.
Now with dusk already setting over the city, Dongpo Qingqiu had left the tower to go and find some more crystals and send someone to buy him more [Fire Breath Spiritual Wine], the 12 jars from the previous party already finished. And with a single jar costing no less than eight small spirit crystals, he had moved towards the gate to commandeer both a soldier and the funds.
Hearing the last words of the soldier at the guard, as well the surprised shouts from a few merchants as the biggest caravan began to turn around, Dongpo Qingqiu walked towards the gates, his belly and golden robes flapping and fluttering.
"Interesting, just what beggar dares to create a ruckus outside the gates of this, my, city?! And what merchant dares to turn around with merchandise meant for my clan?!" As if he were the city lord himself, Dongpo Qingqiu arrogantly shouted and forcefully expanded his aura in a suppressive manner, not caring about who would be impacted, even the city's soldiers.
***
Bai Qi had a plan - to stir up a little fuss at the entrance to turn heads. From there, with a few choice reactions, he'd get folks all worked up before calming things down. In the process, he'd introduce himself to the crowd and spread a few rumors about his own mysterious self.
It was a surefire way to get someone to start snooping around. And who knows, if the chaos played out just right, he might even pick up some intel on those Warrior Kings hot on his trail. Plus, it was a clever way to catch wind of what people were saying about him after all the recent incidents he'd been mixed up in.
While the appearance of some uptight nobleman was a bit unexpected, Bai Qi didn't consider it much as he heard the words said by this new arrival. Such people would usually be moronic enough to provoke a lot of people, and if they hadn't a superb status, would serve as nothing but a springboard for such a plan.
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What Bai Qi couldn't have expected, though, was that the newly arrived nobleman would directly expand his aura right after shouting. And expanding it offensively without any control, involving almost all of the 100 people around, including merchants, commoners, workers, cultivators who had decided to enter on foot, and even the soldiers of his city!
Most of the people around, including half of the guards, were in the Yellow Realm, and so a suppressive aura from the nobleman's 5th Warrior Lord cultivation made them swagger on their feet or even directly fall to the ground, there were experts among the caravan guards and the merchants, not to say about cultivators daring to journey on foot alone.
Thus, in place of the absolute submission that Dongpo Qingqiu intended, he simply provoked close to twenty people to glare at him, each one of them releasing a small degree of Warrior Lord aura to protect themselves, just enough to not be suppressed. No one cursed or released more than the bare amount necessary as if acting in caution before they confirmed just who was in front of them.
"I am the heir to the [Dongpo Clan] and this entire city, do you dare to stare at me?! You must greet me by kneeling!" Dongpo Qingqiu had been too protected and had never experienced a setback, and he considered the glares to be an unimaginable offense towards him. Seeing that his title made some of the glares waver, he fortified his aura, even making a few commoners bleed from their noses, and expected that now everyone would kneel as it had always happened, but the truth would be far different.
*Laughter* *Laughter*
As if the puffed-up nobleman had told the funniest joke of all, at least six people burst into laughter, all of them guards of the [Pan Trade Company], with the young master of the latter also chuckling while raising his hand, commanding to move out.
*Shatter*
With Pan Feng's command, the guards released their auras to the maximum, easily shattering Dongpo Qingqiu's suppression and surrounding the twenty-and-something workers of their caravan, as well as the four beasts that pulled their two carts, even if the latter did not need protection, being 1-st level Saint Beasts of the [Red Eyed Bull] race, with a strength comparable to a peak 3-rd level Warrior Lord.
*Drip*
The force released by the six guards, all of them between the 4th and the 8th level Warrior Lords, was so grand that it not only smashed Dongpo Qingqiu's aura but also dealt him a small degree of internal damage, making a few drops of blood drip from his nose and mouth.
"...YOU!!" Roaring out, being wounded for the first time in his life, Dongpo Qingqiu almost launched himself against the guards, but stopped in time to turn around while shouting like crazy, "What are you looking at! They dared to wound me, go kill them!!" But against his expectations, not even a single soldier moved.
Not even the captain of the guard who had arrived after hearing about a budding incident dared to release his aura. After all, even if he was a peak Warrior Lord and one of the best fighters in town, he would never dare to even look bad at the [Pan Trade Company], and while before neither the guards nor the merchant in command had flashed any badges, they did so now, as the caravan reorganized itself and began to move towards the city and not around as one could have expected from the previous command.
"Masters of the [Pan Trade Company], please stop, allow me to clear this misunderstanding." As the entire caravan moved towards the city, everyone opening a path for them and Dongpo Qingqiu being dragged back by a few soldiers, the captain of the guard, Dongpo Gengxin bowed respectfully as he stood in the arch of the gates.
"Misunderstanding? Oh, don't worry. We had initially planned to pass by, then recalled something, but now that we saw that the [Dongpo Clan] successor is so welcoming, how could we not pay a visit to the City's Lady?" Neither the caravan nor Pan Tong, who surprisingly was also traveling on foot, stopped, and while his words were almost friendly, it was clear that he would have many things to say to the City Lord, even from the fact that he did know the latter banned everyone from calling her Lady.
"Heavens..." Pan Tong had always been low-key since the examination of his capacity to lead the [Pan Trade Company] had started, but connected people like the guard's captain of the [Eastern Inscription City] didn't have a hard time identifying the former. Regretfully, by this moment, there was no doubt that the young heir of the company was thoroughly offended, and that was a man that not even the City Lord could offend!
Suddenly, as if hearing him, Pan Tong stopped, before taking out a pile of medium spirit crystals from his storage ring and throwing it towards the now shuddering Dongpo Qingqiu, who as soon as he heard the name of the company had gone pale and nearly fainted.
"There should be enough to cover the taxes of everyone." Pan Tong suddenly laughed, as he saw the greedy glint in Dongpo Qingqiu's eyes and the one of a sure death in the ones of the captain.
"Young friend, you should be Bai Qi, the late conqueror of the beginner Warrior Lord arena in [Zihoadao], is that right?" A man that had neither acted nor spoken out before, but had been unaffected by all of the events happening before the gates, suddenly approached Bai Qi. And after receiving the latter cautious nod, quickly continued, "My young master would very much like to meet you, would it be possible for you to accompany me inside the city?"