Chapter 161: Highly Satisfying

The sound of rushing fist wind howled, and this punch was even fiercer than the previous one.

Since you refuse to be obedient, I will beat you until you are. Early stage of the Spirit Opening Realm? Your bones are quite stubborn? Let me see just how tough they really are!

Zhang Xiaofan muttered inwardly. This punch fully unleashed the boundless spiritual energy of his late Spirit Opening Realm cultivation.

As for Wu Qiang, who was at the early stage of the Spirit Opening Realm, he naturally could not discern Zhang Xiaofan's exact cultivation level; he only knew that Zhang Xiaofan was far stronger than them!

It was just like the experts Zhang Xiaofan had seen back in the Dragon Soul Palace—the exact same logic applied.

Feeling the formidable aura emanating from this incoming punch, Wu Qiang was struck with terror once again, and his heart turned cold. It was clear that his threats had failed to work; instead, they had completely enraged his opponent.

Thinking about it now, it made sense. Even the Feng family, which had the powerful Qin family backing them, had been subdued by this person. Why would he ever fear their Dong family?

Regret was already too late, for he could already feel the murderous intent radiating from Zhang Xiaofan.

The speed of the punch was terrifyingly fast. Wu Qiang hurriedly retreated while simultaneously throwing out his palms to meet the blow.

The roaring impact arrived in an instant. Wu Qiang's outstretched palm managed to intercept Zhang Xiaofan's fist, but at the very same moment, the crisp sound of wrist bones shattering echoed through the air.

Like a decaying tree swept by a mighty gale, the force broke through Wu Qiang's defense and slammed squarely into his chest.

One punch was followed by another, and then a third. Three consecutive punches landed on the exact same spot, descending like a sudden and violent storm!

"Puff!"

Wu Qiang spewed a mouthful of blood, his face turning deathly pale. His body collapsed heavily to the ground, curling up in excruciating agony. Those three strikes had not only severely injured his internal organs, but they had also thrown the spiritual Qi inside his body into a wild frenzy, raging unchecked like a wild horse without a bridle.

These three punches had essentially cost Wu Qiang half his life.

"Baozi, come over here."

Zhang Xiaofan did not feel that his actions were overly ruthless, because if he had lacked this level of strength, the one lying on the ground right now would have been him.

Hearing the call, Baozi looked over and finally stopped beating Dong Hua. When Baozi stood up, Zhang Xiaofan saw that Dong Hua's face now looked even more swollen and battered than a pig's head.

"Brother Fan, what's up? I was just getting into the groove of beating this guy," Baozi walked over, looking as though he hadn't had his fill yet.

"Didn't he slap you across the face earlier? Go on, return the favor. If ten times isn't enough, hit him a hundred times. If a hundred isn't enough, make it a thousand. Keep going until you're satisfied. Anyone who dares to hit my brother needs to learn a lesson they'll never forget," Zhang Xiaofan said.

Seeing Wu Qiang curled up on the ground, Baozi wasn't too surprised; his boss was simply too badass.

Even though he hadn't defeated the man himself, Baozi didn't feel any shame in beating a defenseless Wu Qiang right now. Having an awesome boss was just part of one's own strength, after all.

He flashed a grin at Zhang Xiaofan and then walked over to Wu Qiang. Squatting down, he looked at Wu Qiang, whose face was pale and stained with blood, and said indifferently, "Weren't you acting all high and mighty just a moment ago? Why are you acting like a stray dog now? I told you that once my boss arrived, you'd regret it. You bloody refused to believe me, but do you believe it now?"

"Slap..."

With that, Baozi delivered a resounding backhand across Wu Qiang's face.

"I'll teach you to act arrogant, I'll teach you to lay a hand on me!"

Baozi barked out in a low voice, landing heavy slaps one after another. He slapped Wu Qiang's head back and forth until a dignified martial cultivator of the early Spirit Opening Realm was being batted around like a toy.

The underlings of the Dong family stared in utter disbelief as the person who usually held such a lofty and revered status among them was being beaten like this. Their jaws dropped wide open, yet no one dared to step forward, and certainly no one wanted to be the first bird to stick its neck out.

Are you kidding me? Even someone as monstrously powerful as Wu Qiang had been beaten to this state; if any of them tried to act as a hero, a single punch would likely cost them their miserable lives.

Meanwhile, the underlings on Baozi's side all wore expressions of unadulterated excitement. It was too awesome! Their gazes towards Zhang Xiaofan were filled with boundless worship and reverence.

After venting for a while, Baozi seemed to have grown tired. With one final vicious slap, he stood up.

Whether Wu Qiang had been knocked unconscious by the blows or had fainted purely from the overwhelming humiliation was unclear, but the other two martial cultivators at the early Spirit Opening Realm managed to struggle to their feet with great difficulty.

They stared at Zhang Xiaofan with eyes full of lingering fear and suppressed resentment, yet even if they were given a hundred guts, they wouldn't dare to make another move.

At that moment, Zhang Xiaofan turned his gaze toward the two of them. Uninvoluntarily, both men trembled with fright, thinking to themselves that this young man wouldn't decide to beat them up as well, would he?

"We'll call it a day here. If you ever dare to come to the North District to poach territory again, this will be your fate. Go back and tell the Dong family: if you dare to step foot here again, I will kill every single one of you who comes. I mean what I say." Zhang Xiaofan's voice was not loud, and it sounded quite calm, but it carried an overwhelming dominance and deterrent force.

"Get lost," Zhang Xiaofan commanded coldly.

Only then did the Dong family's thugs scramble into action, some lifting Dong Hua and others carrying Wu Qiang, fleeing in a sorry and pathetic state under the leadership of Wu Jun and Fu Yuntao.

Before leaving, neither Wu Jun nor Fu Yuntao dared to utter a single word.

"Damn it, my hand actually hurts from hitting him," Baozi rubbed his palm, looking rather aggrieved.

"Did that vent your anger?" Zhang Xiaofan asked with a smile.

"Of course it did! You have no idea how arrogant these bastards were before you arrived..." Baozi said.

"Baozi, you really need to work on improving your strength. I can't stay by your side forever," Zhang Xiaofan said with profound meaning.

Indeed, his ambitions did not lie in this place. Even if he were to conquer the territories of all the aristocratic families in the capital, it would hold very little significance for him.

"I'm currently stuck in a bottleneck. Breaking through to the Spirit Opening Realm is really difficult..." Baozi said helplessly.

"Go and finish handling things first. I'll wait for you in the car; I have a way," Zhang Xiaofan said. He still had two Spirit Gathering Stones obtained from slaying the Nether Messenger last time. Just one of them would be enough to push Baozi into the Spirit Opening Realm.

Spirit Gathering Stones were incomparably precious, serving as supreme treasures for martial cultivation, but for the sake of his brother, Zhang Xiaofan did not hesitate to part with one.

"Brother Fan, do you really have a way to help him enter the Spirit Opening Realm? I want to as well..." Yue Hen looked at Zhang Xiaofan, anticipation clearly written across her face.

"If you want to, I can grant your wish as well... But I have a condition. I'm just not sure if you'd agree to it," Zhang Xiaofan said.

"Really?" Joy instantly bloomed on Yue Hen's face as she asked, "Brother Fan, what is your condition?"

Zhang Xiaofan smiled and said, "The condition is very simple. I hope you can date this brother of mine. To be honest, Baozi is a genuinely good guy, and your cultivation levels are quite similar. You two would make a great match, wouldn't you?"

Hearing Zhang Xiaofan's words, the joyful expression on Yue Hen's face faded back into silence. She replied, "If that's the condition, then forget it. I still prefer to stay by Brother Fan's side."

Zhang Xiaofan couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Baozi, my man, it's not that your brother isn't trying to help you, it's just that she simply doesn't fancy you...

"Look, you can't possibly follow me around forever, right? As long as you agree to my terms, I'll give you an additional perk. This perk is extremely tempting, I assure you. I can take you along to explore the ancient sect ruins in the Kunlun Mountains. That's an opportunity countless people would kill for, and the minimum qualification to even be considered is the Spirit Opening Realm."

Still, Zhang Xiaofan refused to give up.

"Brother Fan, is this what you were talking about inside the grand hall today? Ancient sect ruins... I really want to go in, but Brother Fan, this condition, I..." Yue Hen hesitated.

Zhang Xiaofan thought to himself that there was still hope. He really didn't want to take in this beauty named Yue Hen; to be frank, he didn't feel that kind of spark with her, so fulfilling Baozi's wish would be the best possible outcome.

Feelings could always be cultivated slowly over time, and once Yue Hen gave her word, she would undoubtedly honor the agreement.

"Yue'er, let me put it this way: if you follow me, you won't be able to keep up with my pace. Besides, I already have a woman, and having you around would only complicate things for me, right? Baozi is genuinely a great catch. Even if you don't have feelings for him right now, you can get to know each other gradually. For a woman, finding someone who genuinely likes you and treats you well is the best path, isn't it? Furthermore, you're both martial cultivators, so you can walk this path together for a long time."

Zhang Xiaofan had officially switched on his matchmaker mode. He had to admit, even he was impressed by his own eloquence; it was truly a crime that he wasn't working as a professional matchmaker.

"Besides, I'm planning to take Baozi with me this time as well to help elevate his strength, so you don't have to worry about the cultivation gap," Zhang Xiaofan continued.

"The world is fair, you know. To gain something, you naturally have to give up something in return. Think it over yourself. Either way, I'll be honest with you—if you insist on following me, I'm not particularly willing to accept you."