Chapter 3: Face Slapping the Bullies

Every word felt like a slap.

A wave of satisfaction washed over him. Crushing the bully beneath his foot while holding a beautiful girl’s hand, what man wouldn’t enjoy this? It felt like all the humiliation of the past ten years had been washed away in one moment.

Li Yujing gritted his teeth and hissed, “You… you’re dead. Our Seventh Young Master won’t let you go.”

Ryan tilted his head. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“The Seventh Young Master? Don’t worry,” he said lightly, “he’ll join you soon.”

Then he shifted his weight.

A sharp crack sounded.

“Ugh, ”

Li Yujing spat blood, eyes widening in horror. His head tilted, his body twitched once… and then his eyes remained open, lifeless.

He died staring at Ryan, unwilling, shocked, and full of regret.

Ryan sighed, mildly annoyed. “Don’t stare at me like that.”

He nudged the corpse with his foot, flipping it over so the dead eyes faced the ground.

“That’s better. Look at the floor. Much more polite.”

He dusted his foot off against the ground, completely unbothered.

Li Xue stood behind him in shock, pale and trembling, not out of fear of Ryan, but because she had never seen him so powerful, so decisive, so cold.

And for some reason… her heartbeat quickened.

The moment Li Yujing’s breath finally stilled, the system chimed again inside Ryan’s mind.

Ding! Congratulations, player Ryan, for killing six-star warrior Li Yujing. Gained 300 experience.

Before Ryan could react, another notification followed:

Ding! Side mission activated: “Send Seventh Young Master Li Meiran to Hell.”

A third chime dropped in immediately after.

Ding! As this is the first side mission activated, reward: Sky Eye Technique.

And then,

Ding! Congratulations, player Ryan, for successful face-slapping. Awakened the heart of the strong. Gained skill: Three Thousand Flames.

The continuous stream of rewards made Ryan feel like he was floating. He had never been this happy, not even when he got rare drops in online games. This system was better than games. Better than money. Better than lotteries. It gave him strength, missions, skills… even favorability with the beauty beside him.

He felt like hugging the system and kissing it.

“I wonder what these two new skills actually do,” he muttered, opening the first description.

*

Sky Eye Technique

A divine technique said to belong to heavenly gods, capable of seeing through all things in the world.

Effect:

Identify any item.

View information on monsters or characters up to 30 levels higher (Upgradable)

*

Ryan’s eyes lit up. “Amazing. Absolutely amazing.”

“With this, I’ll never step on a landmine again,” he said proudly.

Then he coughed, correcting himself. “No, never hit an iron plate again. Rob the rich and help the poor… that’s what I meant.”

He quickly shifted to the next reward, “Three Thousand Flames.”

*

Three Thousand Flames

A purple-black flame born in the starry sky, capable of swallowing starlight. Ancient texts say that when it appears, the sun hides.

Passive effect: Recovery ability +100%

Active effect: A destructive flame that burns anything it touches into absolute nothingness. Even water cannot extinguish it.

*

Ryan could barely contain himself.

“Good Good GOOD”

This skill wasn’t just powerful, it was perfect. A flame that could erase bodies without a trace? Combined with Sky Eye to avoid trouble?

The perfect setup for…

Justice.

Yes. Justice.

(Definitely not erasing evidence for personal murder. No, of course not.)

He imagined being slashed in battle, bleeding everywhere, then healing twice as fast while the enemy stared in despair.

Too cool.

Way too cool.

Behind him, Li Xue finally found her voice.

“B-Brother Wei… you killed them…”

Ryan turned around immediately, softening his expression. “Xue’er, did I scare you? You saw it, they started it. I didn’t kill them on purpose.”

He paused, then said more quietly, “Also… I didn’t expect them to be so weak.”

Li Xue’s lips twitched before she let out a small giggle.

“Xue’er isn’t so timid. And I don’t blame Brother Wei. They came here to bully you, of course, it was their fault. I was just… worried you’d be punished.”

Hearing that, Ryan felt a wave of warmth in his chest.

This girl… even now, she was thinking about him.

“Don’t worry.” Ryan smiled, raised his hand, and a purple-black flame flickered to life in his palm. “Your brother will handle everything.”

He flicked his wrist, sending four small flames toward the corpses on the ground.

The flames landed silently.

Three Thousand Flames.

“Boom, ”

A flash of purple-black light swallowed the bodies. In the blink of an eye, they were gone. Not burned. Not charred. Simply erased from the world.

Ryan closed his hand, drawing the fire back. The courtyard returned to its peaceful silence as if nothing had happened.

He turned and gave Li Xue a proud smile. “See? Problem solved.”

Li Xue stared, spellbound.

His control of the strange flame, the calmness in his eyes, the way he seemed so confident now, it was all too different from the timid Ryan she had known.

And… she liked this version even more.

When did he become so strong?

So determined?

So dependable?

She sneaked a shy glance at him, and her cheeks warmed again.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?” Ryan asked, noticing her blush. He was about to step closer to check if she was hurt…

Ding Favorability +5. Current favorability: 75.

Li Xue has secretly promised you.

Ryan nearly choked from excitement.

Seventy-five

Another favorability increase?

Ryan blinked in surprise when the notification popped up. Then he turned to look at Li Xue’s rosy cheeks, and suddenly everything made sense.

Ah.

He hadn’t expected that reaction from her.

“It’s getting late…” Li Xue murmured softly, lowering her head even more. “Brother Wei must be tired. You should rest. Xue’er… will go back first.”

She looked so shy that Ryan couldn’t help but smile. He reached out and gently patted her head.

“Alright. Go back, Xue’er. We’ll see each other tomorrow.”

Her face instantly turned bright red. Li Xue practically jumped away from his hand and hurried toward the door like a flustered little rabbit. But before she left, she paused and spoke without looking back:

“Xue’er won’t tell anyone what happened today… But Brother Wei, please hide your strength for now. Keep working hard and climbing higher. In the future, Xue’er… will entrust herself to you.”

She didn’t wait for his answer. She simply ran off, leaving behind a trail of perfume and a fluttering purple dress.

Ryan chuckled to himself, his chest warm.

This girl really was too sweet.

Fighting monsters, leveling up, flirting with beautiful girls… This new life was getting better by the minute.

Just then,

“Wei’er?”

A deep, familiar voice echoed from nearby.

Ryan froze. He hadn’t sensed anyone. Heart tightening, he looked around cautiously.

The branches of a tall tree swayed, and a moment later, a middle-aged man landed lightly on the ground beside him.

“Father?” Ryan’s eyes widened.

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