"W-w-w…Whoa, h-h-h…How is it so quiet here?"
Suddenly, a voice caught Qin Shu's attention.
He hadn't noticed anything before, but following the sound, he spotted a figure not far away.
An expert. That was his first reaction.
But upon getting a clear look at the figure, Qin Shu froze.
The guy's appearance was truly mind-boggling.
He was shirtless, his upper body completely bare, yet he was scrawny as a stick — not a shred of muscle, looking like he hadn't eaten in days and was on the verge of starving to death. His physique gave absolutely no reason to bare it.
As for his lower half, he was wearing something, but it was a pair of oversized shorts. The green shorts were embroidered all over with gaudy flowers, so tacky they practically shed flakes.
This getup was a direct assault on Qin Shu's aesthetic sensibilities.
Having recovered from his shock, Qin Shu was about to let loose a string of curses — he felt his eyes had been defiled.
But in the next instant, his nerves went taut.
He noticed that the nameplate on Wang Qiang's residence had gone dark.
Putting that together with the fact that this man stood right before him and he couldn't detect even a trace of the other's aura, a certain possibility flashed through Qin Shu's mind.
Despite his shock, he walked over and politely bowed.
"Senior brother, are you Wang Qiang from the Divine Body Heavenly River?"
"Wh-wh-wh…Who are you?" Wang Qiang asked.
"Are you Wang Qiang?" Qin Shu asked again.
"Y-y-y-Yes, I am. Wh-what…what's wrong?" Wang Qiang asked.
"Senior brother Wang, my name is Qin Shu, a disciple of the Firmament Immortal Sect. Qin Xuan is my brother — my own blood brother." Qin Shu hastened to introduce himself.
"Oh, Qin Xuan. I've h-h-h…heard of him."
"D-d-d…Do you need something?" Wang Qiang asked.
"Senior brother Wang, here's the thing — since you've come to the Nine Heavens Summit in response to the invitation, you must be eager to make a name for yourself. But now…"
Qin Shu not only stepped closer, but repeated the same pitch he had earlier made to Feng Ling, this time directing it at Wang Qiang.
"Chu Feng is here?" Wang Qiang's face lit up with wild delight.
"That's right, he's already arrived." Qin Shu nodded.
"N-n-n…No."
"W-what did you just say? You want to team up with m-m…me to deal with Chu F-f-f…Feng?" Wang Qiang asked.
"Yes. That Chu Feng is cunning and treacherous, shameless and despicable — a rotten seed through and through. I had dealings with him before in the Ancient Realm, where he used me, framed me, and nearly got me killed. But this man…"
Before Qin Shu could finish, Wang Qiang threw an arm around his shoulder. "S-s-s…Stop talking. C-come here."
With that, Wang Qiang grabbed Qin Shu and started dragging him toward his residence.
Seeing how enthusiastic Wang Qiang's attitude was, Qin Shu was overjoyed inside. Clearly, compared to Feng Ling, this Wang Qiang was far more interested in cooperation. He was even inviting him into his living quarters for a visit.
Sure, Wang Qiang's look was bizarre, but Qin Shu figured Wang Qiang must have some real skill. Besides, he suspected Wang Qiang wasn't particularly bright — no smart person dressed like that. So not only could they team up, Wang Qiang would probably be easy to manipulate. That would mean more than just dealing with Chu Feng.
Gaining such a fierce fighter would be a massive help for his trip to the Nine Heavens Summit.
While Qin Shu was fantasizing about his bright future, Wang Qiang had already dragged him to his place.
There was a barrier here — once activated, nobody outside could hear a thing.
"Come, come…"
"St-st-stand right there." Wang Qiang pointed at Qin Shu.
"Senior brother Wang, are you verifying the sincerity of my offer?"
"Don't worry, my sincerity is more than enough." As Qin Shu spoke, he reached toward his Universe Bag, intending to offer the impoverished-looking Wang Qiang some benefits.
"Screw your mother." Wang Qiang raised his leg and kicked Qin Shu flying.
If the barrier hadn't been there to block it, that kick might have sent him clear out of the Nine Heavens Summit.
The kick left Qin Shu thoroughly stunned. He lay crumpled in the corner of the barrier, still dazed and unable to recover.
Wang Qiang was already upon him, delivering a barrage of sole-of-the-shoe beatings to the Qin Shu sprawled in the corner. Despite wearing straw sandals, the quality was surprisingly excellent — not just his face, but Qin Shu's entire body was covered in shoe-print welts.
"You…you d-d-dare hit me?" When Qin Shu finally came to his senses, he looked up at Wang Qiang. His eyes held a mix of fury, shock, and bewilderment — but above all, a deep sense of grievance.
"You d-d-d…dare imitate me?" Wang Qiang grabbed Qin Shu by the hair and slapped him across the face repeatedly, all the while shouting: "I'll teach you to copy me, I'll teach you to copy me!"
After the slapping, Qin Shu's face was swollen like a pig's head.
"Senior brother Wang, I… I was wrong." Qin Shu was beaten to the point of tears streaming down his cheeks.
Though his brother had his back, his brother wasn't here. He was genuinely afraid that Wang Qiang might be crazy enough to beat him to death on the spot. Setting everything else aside, Wang Qiang's appearance alone screamed "not right in the head." And now Wang Qiang's behavior was only confirming that fact.
"W-w-wrong…wrong how?" Wang Qiang asked.
"I… I… I don't know either." Qin Shu thought about it and truly had no idea.
"Don't know? Then why the h-h-h…hell were you copying me?" Wang Qiang flicked his wrist, and a leather whip materialized in his hand.
Looking at the whip, Qin Shu's mouth dropped open in terror: