Ungrateful

Seeing someone come to help, the four youths all showed joy, but when they sensed that Zhou Heng's aura hadn't even reached the Bone Refining Realm, their expressions shifted to disappointment.

Zhou Heng swept in with a single leap, unleashing the Flying Waterfall Sword Technique. Countless sword shadows fanned out, each like a cascading waterfall, and faintly, even the roaring crash of falling water could be heard!

This showed that his comprehension of the Flying Waterfall Sword Technique had reached an extremely high level—he had nearly fully grasped the essence of this sword art!

Amid the dancing sword shadows, even the Golden-Crowned Snake dared not meet his edge head-on. It coiled its thick, long body, raised its head high, and struck down from above.

Zhou Heng's thoughts expanded. Though he wasn't using the Heaven-Soaring Sword Technique, he naturally wove a thread of sword intent into his movements, exerting an invisible pressure on the Golden-Crowned Snake. Combined with his ability to predict the flow of battle and the wonder of the Flying Cloud Steps, he repeatedly turned danger into safety.

Seeing this, the four youths all showed looks of shock!

Although one among them could barely contend with the Golden-Crowned Snake, that was Shi Gang, who was at the Eighth Layer of Body Refining! This kid was only at the Sixth Layer of Body Refining, yet he could also achieve this—it was simply hard to accept.

"Divine sword!"

"Bizarre footwork!"

The four exchanged glances and quickly reached their conclusion, but they would never know that Zhou Heng possessed an even more heaven-defying grasp of battle situations—that was the key factor allowing him, at the Sixth Layer of Body Refining, to fight a Ninth Layer Body Refining demon beast!

"Brother Gang, what do we do?" one youth asked Shi Gang.

Shi Gang frowned, hesitated for a moment, then said, "Even with him added, we still can't take down this Golden-Crowned Snake! While this demon beast is tied up with that kid, we leave immediately!"

"Brother Gang, he came to help us—isn't it a bit shady to do this?"

"Hmph, then you stay and die with him!" Shi Gang said coldly.

"That's not what I meant—"

"Staying means we all die together. Better to keep our precious lives, and when our cultivation is great in the future, come back and kill this stinking snake—that counts as avenging him too! Otherwise, dying here together—what's the point?" Another youth found a justification for their shamelessness.

"Right, we're the future hope of the Shi Family. We absolutely can't die here! Let's go!"

"Brother Gang, that kid's weapon is a divine weapon. Wouldn't it be a waste to let it be buried with him?" a third youth said reluctantly, his gaze on the Frost Cold Sword filled with greed.

"Are you a pig?" Shi Gang snorted coldly. "Do demon beasts use weapons? Once this kid is eaten by the Golden-Crowned Snake, we just come back and pick up the sword!"

"Right!"

The other three's eyes lit up. The four retreated together, then suddenly turned around. Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—they quickly vanished from sight.

Zhou Heng knew the evil of human hearts, but he still believed everyone had some bottom line within them. The actions of these four, however, left him stunned and speechless. He finally realized he had overestimated the shamelessness of some people.

No wonder there were no good people left in this world!

He snorted inwardly but didn't take it to heart, because he hadn't counted on their help anyway. With them gone, he could unleash the Heaven-Soaring Second Style without any restraint!

Finish this quickly!

After a while, these four would surely come back to check. He had to kill this Golden-Crowned Snake as fast as possible and leave immediately. Once he recovered his strength, he would have nothing to fear.

Heaven-Soaring Second Style!

Zhou Heng's figure paused, his long sword extended horizontally. A terrifying aura erupted from his body, forming a shockwave that slammed fiercely toward the Golden-Crowned Snake.

The Golden-Crowned Snake's movements froze for an instant—its mind was crushed under an indescribable, immense pressure!

Demon beasts were savage, but this mental hold would only last a very short time!

Zhou Heng seized that instant. Slash—his long sword flew out!

Boom, boom, boom—the power within him poured out without reserve. The sword blade spun, heaven and earth resonating. Countless forces not belonging to Zhou Heng converged onto the blade, continuously amplifying the might of this strike.

The Golden-Crowned Snake was, after all, a Ninth Layer Body Refining demon beast. The moment the sword was upon it, it finally reacted. Slash—it swung its tail, whipping it viciously toward Zhou Heng.

Sever!

Zhou Heng roared, the Frost Cold Sword sweeping down. Driven by berserk power, the sharp blade tore through the Golden-Crowned Snake's scales without pause, cut through its tough, dense flesh, and snapped bones harder than tempered steel!

Whoosh—a massive snake head flew through the air.

The tail struck!

Flying Cloud Steps!

Zhou Heng forced himself to draw a breath, his body making an impossible twist in midair. Swoosh—he forcibly slid more than ten meters to the left, crashing heavily into the ground. He spat out a mouthful of blood, a wave of intense weakness washing over him.

The Heaven-Soaring Second Style had drained all his strength, and forcing the Flying Cloud Steps on top of that had dealt him severe damage!

Now, he couldn't even move a single finger!

—This was only because his body had already weathered the impact of the Heaven-Soaring Second Style once and gained some adaptability. Otherwise, the injury would have been far worse.

The headless corpse of the Golden-Crowned Snake thrashed wildly, its tail lashing like a steel whip, leaving deep gouges in the ground with every strike! If that tail hit him, every bone in his body would be shattered in an instant!

Zhou Heng could only pray that the tail wouldn't land on him, while simultaneously activating the Moon Shadow Heart Art to recover his mobility as quickly as possible.

His luck wasn't bad. The Golden-Crowned Snake, having lost its head, thrashed about with no aim at all. But snake vitality was tenacious—it took nearly ten minutes of convulsing before it finally went still, its slightly green-tinted blood pooling on the ground.

Zhou Heng seized the time to recover his strength. He knew the four from the Shi Family would definitely return.

One minute, two minutes... ten minutes... fifteen minutes!

Zhou Heng stood up. Though he had only recovered about twenty percent of his strength, he couldn't afford to wait any longer.

The Frost Cold Sword swept down, cutting into the Golden-Crowned Snake's body bit by bit. Zhou Heng panted heavily. Without enough power, even a divine weapon struggled to break through the tough hide and flesh of a demon beast.

He didn't know exactly where the gall bladder was, so he had to cut from head to tail, slicing open three meters before he finally found the Golden-Crowned Snake's gall. It was only half the size of a fist, entirely emerald green.

Every part of a demonic beast was extremely tough, and this snake gall was no exception—full of elasticity. Pressing it with a finger only deformed it without showing the slightest sign of rupture. Zhou Heng safely tucked the snake gall close to his body, then pulled out the snake's fangs. These too could fetch a high price, though far from comparable to the gall.

Just as he was about to skin it, a wave of unease washed over him, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, stirring countless ripples. He immediately turned his head toward the source of the disturbance and saw the four members of the Shi family emerging from the forest.

In the imagination of the four Shi family members, Zhou Heng should have long been devoured alive by the Golden-Crowned Snake. All they needed to do was come pick up the sword he had dropped. But the scene before them left them utterly stunned!

The Golden-Crowned Snake was dead!

How was that possible!

When they saw Zhou Heng's icy, indifferent gaze, their first thought was to flee—to run far away!

"Hmph, a spent force!" Shi Gang sneered instead, looking at Zhou Heng with a slight curl of his lips. "Put down your sword, leave behind what you got from the Golden-Crowned Snake, and I'll spare your life."

Reminded by him, the other three Shi family members suddenly understood—Zhou Heng was only at the Sixth Layer of Body Refining. Killing the Golden-Crowned Snake was incredible, but it couldn't be due to his own ability. He must have paid a terrifying price!

This kid was just putting up a front. Otherwise, why would he be so still in the face of the four of them, who had repaid kindness with ingratitude?

Bah, they weren't ungrateful—none of them had asked this kid for help, had they?

Zhou Heng smiled faintly. Getting angry at such petty people? Not worth it! He raised the Frost Cold Sword and said, "I did save your lives once, and I killed this Golden-Crowned Snake alone. Why should I hand it over to you?"

"Without us wearing down most of this beast's strength earlier, could you have killed it?" Shi Gang sneered disdainfully. "Don't waste time trying to recover. Killing a Ninth Layer of Body Refining beast with the Sixth Layer of Body Refining isn't something you can recover from in a moment!"

"Brother Gang, why not just kill him?" one of them asked in a low voice. If they let this kid leave alive, wouldn't their evil deeds be exposed?

"You idiot! This kid killed the Golden-Crowned Snake—who knows how terrifying he'd be if he fought to the death. If you want to die, go ahead!" another scolded in the same hushed tone.

Shi Gang sneered. He wasn't letting Zhou Heng go out of kindness. Since he had made a move, there would be no mercy. If he weren't worried about what other trump cards Zhou Heng might have, he certainly wouldn't let such a genius—one who could kill a Bone Refining Realm beast at the Sixth Layer of Body Refining—slip away!

Fickle and shameless!

Zhou Heng smiled coldly, shook his longsword, and swept his icy gaze over the four men closing in. He declared resolutely, "I swear here and now that I will kill the four of you. If I break this oath, may I be worse than a beast!"

The four Shi family members all changed expression. They could hear the undisguised killing intent in Zhou Heng's words! Somehow, it sent a chill down their spines!

"Then you must die!" Shi Gang leaped forward, his Green Blade slashing out, scattering a sheet of cold light.

"Clean your necks and wait for death!" Zhou Heng did not parry. Instead, he activated Flying Cloud Steps, darting away with graceful twists and turns, easily breaking through the four's encirclement and vanishing a hundred meters away in an instant.

Shi Gang gave chase. As a Bone Refining Realm expert, his absolute speed surpassed Zhou Heng's. But just as he lunged forward, Zhou Heng, who had been running straight ahead, suddenly and bizarrely changed direction!

By the time Shi Gang stopped and turned around, Zhou Heng was already over a hundred meters away, disappearing into the forest with a whoosh.

There was no way to catch up now!

"Brother Gang, what do we do?"

"Pack up the Golden-Crowned Snake and head back to the family! With this snake, we'll definitely outshine Shi Qingfeng this time!"

"Yes!"

The other three agreed, their faces lighting up with excitement. Shi Qingfeng was another genius of the Shi family, even more talented than Shi Gang. The next family head would likely be chosen between these two. As Shi Gang's followers, they naturally wanted him to overpower Shi Qingfeng.

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