Slap Education, Specializing in Curing Defiance

"Kill him!!!"

He let out a beast-like roar and charged out first without a care, Primal Energy surging wildly within him as a bloody aura spread. His very first move was a killing technique—Blood Wolf Devours Heaven!

The phantom of a blood-colored giant wolf appeared again, more solid than it had been three months ago, roaring as it pounced at Luo Heng!

The Late Heaven Yuan Realm old man behind him changed expression. It was already too late to stop him, so he could only shout, "Protect the Young Master!"

At the same time, he sprang forward, his withered palms gleaming black as they swept toward Luo Heng from the side with a foul wind. They were clearly poisonous claw techniques!

The other Blood Wolf Gang experts also drew their weapons and charged in with shouts.

"Brother Luo Heng, be careful!" Lin Dong's expression changed drastically as he moved to help.

"Don't move. Watch Little Yan." Luo Heng's calm voice reached him.

At the same time, he moved.

Facing Yue Feng's all-out Blood Wolf Devours Heaven and the old man's vicious claw strike from the side, Luo Heng showed no fear. Instead, a trace of... excitement flashed through his eyes?

"Just what I wanted!"

Flowing Cloud and Soaring Goose Steps—Soaring Goose Style!

His figure blurred instantly, leaving an afterimage where he stood. His true body had already slipped like a ghost through the pincer attack of the blood wolf and poisonous claws, moving at an unbelievable speed!

The old man only saw a blur before his target vanished. Terror filled his heart. "What swift footwork!"

And Luo Heng had already appeared at Yue Feng's side!

Yue Feng's strike had missed, and just as he prepared to change moves, he suddenly heard a rush of wind beside his cheek!

"Slap!"

A crisp, resounding slap echoed throughout the entire Ancient Market street!

Yue Feng's head snapped to one side. A distinct handprint instantly appeared on his left cheek as searing pain and powerful dizziness struck him!

The blow left him completely stunned.

Yet before he could react...

"Slap!"

Another backhanded slap landed viciously on his right cheek!

This strike was even heavier. Yue Feng spun around on the spot, seeing stars as blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Both cheeks swelled red at a visible rate, the symmetrical palm prints glaringly clear!

The entire place fell deathly silent!

Everyone stared at the scene in disbelief.

Yue Feng, the Young Master of the Blood Wolf Gang and a Middle Heaven Yuan Realm expert, had actually... been publicly slapped twice without any ability to fight back?

That was a hundred times more humiliating than being defeated outright!

The Late Heaven Yuan Realm old man's eyes nearly split with rage as he roared, "How dare you, brat!" His black claws tore through the air with piercing shrieks as they frantically clawed at Luo Heng's back, determined to rip him apart!

It was as though Luo Heng had eyes on the back of his head. His body twisted strangely again and slipped away like a fish. At the same time, he struck back with his sword!

The Silver Feather Sword remained sheathed as he tapped the old man's wrist with its scabbard!

The Rudimentary Tai Xu Sword Intent was contained within it. Though it had not fully erupted, that supremely sharp "intent" alone sent bone-piercing coldness through the old man's wrist, as if it would be pierced through the very next instant!

Alarmed, he hastily withdrew his claws and changed his move, violently retreating.

Luo Heng did not pursue. He merely stood there with his sword in hand, his gaze sweeping across the Blood Wolf Gang experts who had intended to rush forward.

His gaze was calm, yet it carried an invisible pressure and icy killing intent. The Blood Wolf Gang experts, who were at most in the Earthen Yuan Stage, felt as though they had fallen into an icy abyss and forcibly stopped in their tracks.

Only then did Luo Heng slowly turn around and look at Yue Feng, who was clutching his face with unfocused eyes, humiliated and furious to the point of wanting to die.

"Yue Feng, it seems I've won our third clash as well." Luo Heng's tone remained calm, as if he had merely swatted away two flies.

"But remember this: those two slaps were for the innocent people of Qingyang Town who might be implicated by the Blood Wolf Gang's schemes. If you dare reach for Qingyang Town again, or the people around me..."

He paused, feeling that it was a little unfair to pin everything on them. Ahem.

Then the scabbard of the Silver Feather Sword lightly tapped the ground with a soft sound.

"Next time, it won't be as simple as a slap."

With that, he no longer looked at the awful expressions on Yue Feng and the others' faces. He said to Lin Dong, "Let's go. The air here isn't very good."

Suppressing his laughter, Lin Dong hurriedly picked up the equally dumbfounded Little Yan and followed him.

Under countless complicated gazes, the two left calmly.

Only after their figures disappeared around the corner did the Ancient Market street erupt in uproar!

"My heavens! Luo Heng is insane! He slapped Yue Feng right across the face!"

"Twice! Perfectly symmetrical, one on each side! Just watching it felt satisfying!"

"Yue Feng's face is swollen like a pig's head! The Blood Wolf Gang has really lost face this time!"

"But Luo Heng has completely offended the Blood Wolf Gang now..."

"What's there to fear? Didn't you see that he wasn't afraid at all? That footwork, that speed... Yue Feng and that Late Heaven Yuan Realm retainer of his couldn't even touch his clothes!"

The discussions surged like a tide, with no one caring that the Blood Wolf Gang members were still present.

The Late Heaven Yuan Realm old man from the Blood Wolf Gang had a livid expression. He glanced at the mocking crowd, then stepped forward to support Yue Feng, who was swaying unsteadily with eyes so venomous they seemed ready to drip blood.

"Young Master, we should not stay here long..." he said quietly. Today's humiliation was already a foregone conclusion. Remaining would only make them into a laughingstock.

Yue Feng stared fixedly in the direction Luo Heng had left, a beast-like growl rumbling from his throat. "Luo Heng... I want you dead! I will make sure you die!!!"

On the way back to the Symbol Master Association, Lin Dong was excited but also somewhat worried.

"Brother Luo Heng, you humiliated Yue Feng so publicly today. The Blood Wolf Gang definitely won't let this go."

"When have they ever let anything go?" Luo Heng replied indifferently, playing with the grayish-brown metal fragment in his hand. He continued calmly, "Since we're destined to be enemies, why should I save them any face? Sometimes, slapping them hard hurts them more than killing them."

"But," he changed the subject, a chill flashing through his eyes, "Yue Shan will probably make a move soon. Before the Tower Battle, we must make every possible preparation."

Still, saying it like that made him feel as though he had become the villain. But whatever.

Lin Dong nodded heavily. Today's battle had given him a clearer understanding of Luo Heng's strength, and it also made him realize that he needed to grow stronger faster!

After returning to the Symbol Master Association, Luo Heng told Lin Dong to cultivate on his own while he returned to the Quiet Room in the Bamboo House.

He took out the grayish-brown metal fragment he had picked up at the Ancient Market. Primal Energy flowed around his fingertips as he gently wiped away the rust on its surface.

As the rust fell away, the metal fragment revealed a trace of its original color: a dark silver-gray. It also felt even colder to the touch.

Luo Heng gathered a thread of Tai Xu Sword Intent at his fingertip and gently stabbed it at the edge of the metal fragment.

"Hiss—!"

With an exceptionally faint sound, the Sword Intent only left a shallow white mark on its surface. Then, the mark slowly disappeared.

"It really is tough." Surprise flashed through Luo Heng's eyes. Even a casual strike from his current Rudimentary Sword Intent was enough to cut through Mortal Grade Top Quality metal, yet this fragment could withstand it, leaving only a mark that rapidly recovered?

He tried increasing the output of his Sword Intent. The mark on the metal fragment deepened, but it still did not break. Moreover, that pure aura of "sharpness" seemed to have been stirred, faintly resonating with his Sword Intent.

"Could this be some kind of special metal that can carry or amplify Sword Intent?" Luo Heng guessed inwardly.

He tried injecting a thread of Sword Intent into it.

Buzz!

The metal fragment trembled lightly, and an extremely faint silver-gray glow appeared on its surface. The white mark left by the Sword Intent vanished instantly.

At the same time, Luo Heng sensed that the thread of Sword Intent he had injected became slightly more condensed and sharper after circulating through the fragment's interior. The change was minuscule, but it truly existed!

"Good stuff!" Luo Heng's eyes lit up.

A material capable of tempering Sword Intent was a treasure that could only be found by chance! If he could fuse it into the Silver Feather Sword, perhaps it could improve the sword's quality and even turn it into the embryonic form of an Intent Weapon capable of carrying Sword Intent!

However, this metal fragment was too small, and it seemed to be only a piece of some larger component.

"Looks like I'll need to keep an eye out and see if I can find other fragments, or learn where it came from." Luo Heng carefully put away the metal fragment. This unexpected gain put him in a good mood.

As for the threat from Yue Feng and the Blood Wolf Gang... he did not take it to heart.

Soldiers came, generals stopped them; water came, earth blocked it.

If they truly dared to play dirty during the Tower Battle, he would not mind letting everyone know what true despair was.

In the days that followed, Luo Heng entered seclusion once more. This time, however, he remained in the Quiet Room of his Bamboo House, improving his Late Heaven Yuan Realm and Three-Mark Rune Master cultivation while continuing to comprehend the Tai Xu Swordplay and using the Strange Metal Fragment to assist in tempering his Sword Intent.