Chapter 8: Chapter 8: I’m Really Pissed Off Right Now

Fang Li’s face was a mask of terror. She trembled uncontrollably, her spirit utterly broken.

Ever since she was born, she had always been the center of attention, adored and surrounded by admirers.

On the path of cultivation, she was considered a young Martial Arts prodigy.

In her early twenties, she had already cultivated Dark Energy.

She had come to stand up for her brother, but instead, some country bumpkin had grabbed her by the hair and beaten her senseless. He’d knocked out a mouthful of her teeth and shoved her face into horse manure, forcing her to eat it. The humiliation made her want to die.

"Worthless trash! Is this your so-called pride? Is this what you rely on?"

Chen Xuan grabbed Fang Li and slammed her onto the ground.

With another dull THUD, she cried out miserably and curled into a pained heap on the ground.

Then, Chen Xuan planted his foot on her face.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? You show up here acting all high and mighty. Do I fucking owe you money? What the hell are you? Do you have any idea what I’d do to a piece of trash like you on the outside? I’d chop you to bits in a heartbeat. Now, tell me, have you learned your lesson?!"

He ground his sole forcefully into Fang Li’s face.

"I’ve learned... I’ve learned my lesson!"

Fang Li cried out in pain and humiliation.

Her spirit was broken, her emotions in complete disarray.

The surrounding crowd was in an uproar, their faces etched with shock.

By now, some had already recognized Fang Li.

It was as if they had all been hit by a magnitude-eight earthquake.

What were they witnessing?

"Learned your lesson? I’m still pissed off!"

Chen Xuan once again yanked Fang Li up by her hair.

Shuddering, Fang Li seemed to understand what he wanted. Her hands moved subconsciously toward Chen Xuan’s belt.

SLAP!

A single slap from Chen Xuan sent her flying.

"You were actually going to do it?"

"Waaah..."

Fang Li crashed into the ground some distance away. She couldn’t take it anymore. She collapsed, sobbing. She had never felt so wronged in her life.

She was having a complete mental breakdown.

[You acted brilliantly. A gratifying vengeance, utterly satisfying. Retribution points +400!]

A line of text appeared.

The points she provided alone were even higher than what Chen Xuan had gotten from beating an entire group.

This made Chen Xuan furrow his brow.

’Could it be that the stronger the person, the more points they provide?’

"Chen Xuan, don’t kill her! That’s enough!"

Elder Ge rushed over, shouting hastily.

He was genuinely afraid that Chen Xuan might carelessly kill Fang Li.

If that happened, Fang Li’s overprotective father would surely retaliate, no matter the cost.

"Useless! You’re completely useless!"

Chen Xuan pointed at Fang Li’s body and cursed her without reservation. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

[Fang Li’s spirit has been detected as completely broken. Retribution points +400!]

Another line of text appeared.

Chen Xuan’s eyes widened in surprise.

’It works like this, too?’

It was only then that he felt a sharp, stabbing pain radiating from every part of his body.

His meridians, muscles, and internal organs all ached with a deep soreness.

It felt like someone who hadn’t exercised in a long time suddenly undergoing an extremely intense workout, only to wake up the next morning sore and aching all over, an unbearable feeling.

But he knew this pain had been inflicted by Fang Li’s power.

Those who had cultivated Dark Energy truly lived up to their reputation.

Even when he blocked her fists, the powerful Dark Energy had torn through his defenses, surged into his body, and wreaked havoc on his muscles and meridians.

Only someone with his physique could have withstood it.

Any other Bright Energy expert would have died a hundred times over.

"Hurry and carry Fang Li back for treatment! Stop this embarrassing spectacle!"

Elder Ge immediately ordered his men to action.

Several gang members quickly ran out, carried Fang Li away, and left.

"Chen Xuan, didn’t you say you’ve never practiced Martial Arts? What about that Tongbei Fist?"

Elder Ge’s brow furrowed as he turned to look at Chen Xuan.

"I really hadn’t practiced before. I just casually glanced through the manual in my room a little while ago."

Chen Xuan replied nonchalantly.

"You just glanced through it once, and you can already fight so proficiently, even achieving the resonance of sinew and bone?"

Elder Ge’s pupils contracted, and he spoke in a choked voice.

"I suppose so."

Chen Xuan simply nodded.

Elder Ge’s mind churned like a stormy sea. He suddenly recalled the scene from Chen Xuan’s arena fight.

Back then, Chen Xuan indeed hadn’t shown any signs of this resonance of sinew and bone...

But now...

A prodigy!

This was a fucking prodigy!

"Excellent, Chen Xuan! You magnificent bastard, you’re a true genius! Don’t you worry. First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll recommend you. I’ll absolutely make sure you get that Squad Leader position!"

Elder Ge laughed with delight.

"Thank you, Elder Ge!"

Chen Xuan expressed his gratitude.

"However, there are times when you must endure. Take today, for instance. That Fang Li’s status is extraordinary. I can smooth things over for you this time, but you can’t be so impulsive again."

Elder Ge said.

"That Fang Li is a lunatic—arrogant, domineering, and utterly condescending. It’s one thing for her to look down on me, but she didn’t even show you any respect, Elder Ge. She comes and goes as she pleases. As your subordinate, I truly couldn’t stand for it!"

Chen Xuan said with a frown.

[You speak directly, without mincing words or hiding your true thoughts. Retribution points +30!]

"You are still too hot-headed!"

Elder Ge smiled faintly and shook his head.

However, on second thought, if a young man wasn’t hot-headed, could he still be called young?

This Chen Xuan was very much to his liking!

’He dared to stand up for me at our very first meeting. A truly loyal and righteous man.’

"Alright, this bottle of pills can strengthen your constitution and replenish your vitality. Take it and focus on healing. Try to be fully recovered by tomorrow morning!"

With a broad smile, Elder Ge handed a bottle of pills to Chen Xuan.

"Thank you, Elder Ge!"

Chen Xuan cupped his fist again.

The two of them quickly departed.

Back in his room, Chen Xuan first poured out the pills and examined them closely.

There were four in total.

Each was the size of a longan fruit, dark brown in color, with the strong aroma of medicinal herbs.

He tossed one directly into his mouth.

Then, he looked at the panel again.

Retribution points: 885.

"Good. I can use the deduction function again!"

Chen Xuan’s eyes glinted as he stared at the panel.

"Retribution points, deduce Martial Arts!"

[Ding! You have consumed 800 retribution points. Your Tongbei Fist Cultivation Speed is now eight times that of an ordinary person. Through your diligent efforts, your understanding of Tongbei Fist has deepened. Every move you make now contains the art’s profound meaning. Combined with your Innate Divine Strength, your comprehension of Bright Energy is advancing by leaps and bounds!]

[Congratulations, Host. Your Tongbei Fist has reached the Great Success Realm, and you have comprehended the Sixth Layer of Bright Energy!]

[Evaluation: This training session is equivalent to four years of effort for an ordinary person!]

A massive influx of knowledge and theory flooded his mind.

At the same time, a series of CRACKLING sounds echoed from his entire body.

’Tongbei Fist reached the Great Success Realm this quickly?’

Chen Xuan was skeptical.

’It seems this Martial Art isn’t all that impressive.’

’Once I’m in the Red Sand Gang, I should be able to get my hands on stronger techniques, right?’

Beyond that, Chen Xuan also noticed something else.

His realm.

Before, 1,100 points had raised him four layers. Now, 800 points only raised him two.

’It seems the further I go, the slower the progress will be.’

’Retribution points are never enough...’

He sighed to himself.

...

Red Sand Gang Headquarters.

Within the Fang family estate.

Outside a quiet room, a crowd of Red Sand Gang higher-ups had gathered.

There were old and young, men and women, all of them with expressions of shocked fury, their bodies trembling with rage.

One middle-aged man, in particular, had a grim expression, pacing back and forth restlessly.

CREAK!

The door opened, and a maidservant walked out. She bowed respectfully to the middle-aged man.

"Is Fang Li still refusing to see anyone?"

"Yes, the young miss has locked herself in her room. She just keeps crying and hasn’t eaten a thing."

the maidservant said.

"I see. You may go."

The middle-aged man, Fang Tingyun, waved a dismissive, somber hand.

The maidservant quickly departed.

The crowd erupted in fury.

They were practically jumping out of their skin with rage.

"Dammit, which bastard dared to injure Squad Leader Fang so badly?"

"It must be someone from the Left Protector’s faction! We can’t let this go!"

"Elder Fang, we’ll go settle the score with him right now!"

...

"Enough!"

Fang Tingyun’s voice was ice-cold. His gaze swept over the crowd. "This time, it was Fang Li who barged into someone else’s territory and tried to injure him. And her opponent was just some nobody who had barely cultivated Bright Energy, yet he beat her into this state. Do you think we haven’t been embarrassed enough already?"

"But... that kid was too vicious, wasn’t he?" a young man said, shocked and furious. "He covered Squad Leader Fang’s face in horse manure! Even in a fight to the death, there’s a line you don’t cross. This was pure humiliation!"

"Exactly, Father! If you feel it’s inappropriate for you to act, you can have them do it!"

another young man said through gritted teeth.

It was none other than Fang Li’s younger brother, Fang Zheng.

He was the very reason Fang Li had gone looking for trouble with Chen Xuan in the first place.

"I know!"

Fang Tingyun’s eyes were cold as he spoke. "Don’t touch this person for the time being. This incident has most likely already reached the Gang Leader’s ears, and he will definitely be paying close attention to this Chen Xuan. If you make a move against him now, are you trying to make things difficult for the Gang Leader?"

The faces of the crowd changed slightly.

"However,"

Fang Tingyun said grimly, "while we can’t make a move on him, we can make him come and apologize to Fang Li in person. Let her recover from this first. We can find an opportunity to get rid of him later. If we can make him resign from the Squad Leader position on his own accord, that would be even better!"

’Make him resign on his own?’

An idea sparked in everyone’s mind.