CHAPTER 30: SLAP SOME SENSE INTO HIM

"Hmm. Now it’s time to deal with these clowns..." Wang Chen’s voice was a low rumble, as calm and inevitable as distant thunder.

Vice-Head Zhang stepped forward, chin raised, the swagger of a man used to making others crawl. "So you’re that shameless bastard who forcibly took over our property and refused to pay rent?"

His words were meant to provoke; his posture to intimidate. When Zhang’s sharp eyes registered Wang Chen’s cultivation—only Qi Refining—his momentary caution dissolved into contempt. A sneer curled his lip. A mere Qi Refining trash dares to posture? He tasted the victory in the air already.

Wang Chen gave no outward reaction. He didn’t need bluster. He scanned the alley with marrow eyes, clinical scrutiny that made the blood in the veins of lesser men run thin. Around him, fifty or so Blood Fang operatives shifted and bristled—most ordinary Qi Refiners, a handful tougher. All of them smelled of fear masked by bravado.

At last his gaze settled on Vice-Head Zhang, and the alley seemed to tighten around the two of them.

"I am not a petty man," Wang Chen said, his voice clear and crisp, carrying like a blade. Every syllable landed on the damp air. "Although you have hurt my disciples—whom I value more than my own life—and even damaged my dojo, I will give you a way out."

Silence fell like a heavy stone. The rats in the alleys quieted; even the stale scent of blood and sweat seemed to hold its breath.

Wang Chen’s eyes grew colder, sharper. "Each and every one of you present will slap this man once—hard. A slap that wakes the fool from his arrogance."

The reaction was immediate and volcanic. Although Wang Chen made them feel threatened but his words wer so absurd that they forgot about everything, Over fifty throats exploded with derisive laughter that echoed off walls and tin roofs. The sound was animal, boisterous and obscene. Men clutched their bellies and doubled over, tears of mirth cutting tracks through oil and dirt. A few spat insults, a couple of them even mimicked slaps in the air, revelling in the absurdity.

"Look at this clown! Even I have never seen a man more retarded than that!"

"Just how did this clown manage to get such two outstanding disciples?"

"When he first appeared, I thought he was reasonable!"

They laughed until their necks reddened.

Wang Chen watched the spectacle without expression. The tiny movements around his eyes were the only sign of interest—an almost imperceptible tightening, like a bow being drawn.

"You," he said at last, and his voice dropped to ice, directed at Zhang alone, "there is a special option for you. If you kill all of these lowlives... I can let you go."

The courtyard’s mirth cracked like thin glass. Some faces froze mid-laugh. Others sneered, thinking it a joke. A few of the harder men exchanged glances—this was a knife held very close to their throats.

Li Mei, crouched in the shadow tending to Lin Huang, flinched at the words. Her hands paused over torn cloth and bloodied flesh, her brow knitting into a tight frown. Isn’t this being reckless? She bit down on the worry flowering in her chest. Wang Chen could have handled this quietly; he could have struck and ended them. Why provoke a gamble that could cascade into slaughter?

Her heart hammered. Master... what are you doing? The thought burned in her like an ember.

Meanwhile, Vice Head Zhang didn’t laugh like the others. Instead, he observed Wang Chen with an unreadable, almost amused gaze.

"Your proposal is... very interesting," he said at last, voice calm and level, carrying a faint trace of curiosity.

The moment those words left his lips, the laughter of the Blood Fang members died instantly. A suffocating silence descended upon the alley, broken only by the faint sound of ragged breathing. Cold sweat appeared on more than one forehead. They all knew that when Vice Head Zhang used that tone, blood was bound to follow.

Zhang ignored their fear completely. A faint chuckle escaped his lips as he continued, "But tell me, what if I refuse?"

As his final word fell, an unstoppable surge of power erupted from his body. The air itself trembled under the weight of his Foundation Building aura. It descended like a mountain, pressing down on every living being within reach.

The ground cracked; dust swirled violently. Even Wang Chen’s robes fluttered under the crushing force.

For a brief moment, the entire world seemed to slow.

Yet Wang Chen stood firm.

He had faced horrors inside the tower—monsters that could erase mountains with a breath, creatures far beyond the comprehension of this small city. Though his strength had faded, his will had long since been tempered in endless death.

The pressure was real—but not enough.

He steadied his breathing and met Zhang’s gaze head-on.

However, the same could not be said for the Blood Fang members behind him. The weakest among them—a Qi Refining rank three cultivator—let out a strangled cry before collapsing to the ground, blood trickling from his lips.

Vice Head Zhang’s eyes narrowed slightly as he noticed Wang Chen still standing, unbowed beneath the crushing aura. Then, a slow, sinister smile spread across his face.

"Interesting..." he murmured, his tone deepening, laced with the promise of violence. "Very interesting, little—"

Although it looked as if Wang Chen entire focus was on the Blood fang gang members and Vice Head Zhang but in reality his gaze was on the number of increasing cultivators watching from the distance, some even had aura similar to this so called Vice Head Zhang.

"It appers I have put quiet the show..." Wang Chen internally chuckled feeling a little pleased as this was exactly what he wanted.

This terrible situation where his disciples were in danger might have occurred today, Wang Chen wanted to make sure such a things never happen again, for this he had to put on a show, a very interesting show.