Jiang Heng looked relaxed and casual, as if he was looking down at ants on the ground, completely ignoring any threat.
This high and mighty attitude completely infuriated Gu Zhengming.
"Arrogant brat!"
Gu Zhengming moved swiftly, closing the distance between them in almost an instant.
His long sword was enveloped in a dense red True Qi, piercing out with unmatched momentum like lightning.
Meanwhile, Jiang Heng casually raised his left hand.
Index and middle fingers together.
A movement, a flick!
The Heaven-grade initial level [Sky Break Fist], under his perfect control as he advanced through levels, effortlessly erupted between his two fingers.
"Clang!"
This finger landed precisely on the sword tip.
Under Jiang Heng's perfect control, the terrifying force instantly spread through every part of the long sword.
The tip, the blade, the hilt, the guard—even every inch inside the long sword.
In a blink.
The precious weapon-grade long sword shattered, turning into numerous nail-sized shards that scattered through the air.
This scene beyond imagination left Gu Zhengming completely stunned.
Under the intense sunlight, the countless shattered blade edges looked like splendid crystals, rushing toward him.
Fortunately, the blade edges at this moment had lost most of their force, and Gu Zhengming immediately activated his True Qi to protect himself, avoiding injury.
But what horrified him was this.
After Jiang Heng shattered the precious weapon-grade long sword with a flick of his finger, his movements didn't pause. He elegantly extended his left hand forward, as graceful as plucking flowers and picking leaves.
Having witnessed the previous scene, Gu Zhengming didn't dare to underestimate him and instead faced the situation as if confronting a formidable enemy, his expression filled with fear.
Being able to shatter a precious weapon-grade long sword with a flick of his finger, such a terrifying attack was something he couldn't handle.
Yet Jiang Heng's movements were too fast, and he couldn't dodge in time!
On the side, Bu Hanyi and the other were also thoroughly stunned by this scene. Seeing Jiang Heng preparing to continue his attack, in their horror and lack of time for deep thought, they instinctively thought Jiang Heng was about to strike lethally.
"Don't kill..."
Bu Hanyi exclaimed.
Before the words could finish.
Jiang Heng's two fingers, seemingly slow yet incredibly fast, touched Gu Zhengming's chest.
For a moment.
Gu Zhengming's mind went blank, feeling an endless force erupting all over his body.
Limbs, organs, brain—every tendon, every flesh, simultaneously screaming in pain.
His body involuntarily flew backward, a long arc of blood spraying from his mouth in mid-air.
Jiang Heng withdrew and stood still.
"This time, just a little lesson for you."
"People with weak strength should not provoke others recklessly, otherwise, one day, they might lose their life."
Immediately, another youth ran to Gu Zhengming's side, checking his breath. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"I thought you were going to kill him, and it startled me," Bu Hanyi said, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Don't worry about it. Even though our sect rules prohibit killing fellow disciples, Gu Zhengming's uncle is one of the elders of the sect. Beating him up a bit is one thing, but if we were to kill him, it would be a big problem," Jiang Heng said calmly.
"Rest assured! I'm not that impulsive. If I were to kill someone, I wouldn't do it openly within the sect."
Gu Zhengming shivered involuntarily.
Bu Hanyi rolled her eyes and continued, "Since you've given him a good lesson, you don't need to dwell on what happened earlier. Gu Senior Brother does have a bit of an irritating mouth, but there wasn't too much malice behind it. Let's just leave it at that."
Gu Zhengming, standing nearby, twitched at the corner of his mouth, his face looking unpleasant.
In fact, Jiang Heng wasn't the type to be reckless either. The strike he had just delivered was controlled in such a way that, considering they were fellow disciples and Gu Zhengming had only provoked him verbally, there was no need to seriously injure him.
"Don't worry! I just administered a slight punishment. With his cultivation, he shouldn't be seriously injured," Jiang Heng glanced at the now-assisted Gu Zhengming.
"By the way, Brother Jiang, where are you heading?" Bu Hanyi changed the subject as she saw that Jiang Heng didn't intend to pursue the matter further.
"I'm going to the mission hall to find some suitable tasks and earn some contribution points."
"Great, I was thinking of taking on some tasks too. Let's go together," Bu Hanyi said, then turned to Gu Zhengming and the other person, saying, "I'll take my leave for now!"
Jiang Heng glanced at the two of them and walked alongside Bu Hanyi as they departed.
Behind them, Gu Zhengming's face displayed mixed emotions.
...
"We both study under Elder Gu, so we often take on tasks together. But this Gu Zhengming fancies himself quite charming and often pesters me, which I find rather annoying," Bu Hanyi explained, shaking her head.
"As martial artists, not pursuing immortality and the ultimate martial path, and instead indulging in beauty and desire, it's a waste of their natural talents," she continued, expressing a somewhat strange sentiment.
Hearing this, Jiang Heng found it a bit peculiar but couldn't pinpoint what exactly was odd. He observed Bu Hanyi for a moment and commented, "With your beauty, it's normal for someone to be infatuated with you."
Although Bu Hanyi had a straightforward and carefree personality, being praised like this face-to-face made her blush momentarily.
She pretended to be angry and said, "You're so vulgar!"
But it was just for an instant, and her face returned to normal as she continued chatting with Jiang Heng.
The two of them arrived at the mission hall and began to browse through the numerous available tasks.
Soon, Jiang Heng took an interest in two long-term missions.
"Collect hides and fur from ferocious beasts, pricing based on their condition and fur grade, no time limit, no quantity limit."
"Collect various spirit herbs and medicinal plants, pricing based on quality, no time limit, no quantity limit."
Among the other missions, the most common were guarding, escorting, and hunting, which, while straightforward, required a significant amount of time and were not very cost-effective for him.
These two long-term missions, on the other hand, offered great flexibility as he could control the time and undertake both simultaneously.
They had the highest cost-effectiveness relative to the others.
For ordinary individuals, these two tasks involved venturing deep into the West Luo Mountains and carried extreme danger.
But for Jiang Heng, as long as he didn't act recklessly, the danger was virtually nonexistent. Even if there were any risks, he was confident in escaping. After all, his Earth-grade perfection in body technique already surpassed the majority of those in the Innate Realm.
In Jiang Heng's view, the only problem was that he couldn't identify the value of medicinal herbs and ferocious beasts.
No matter how strong he was, he couldn't just kill every ferocious beast he came across or pluck every peculiar herb he found. If they turned out to be worthless, it would be a wasted trip.
At this moment, Bu Hanyi, who had come with him, seemed to sense his dilemma and asked, "Are you thinking of taking those two collection tasks?"
Jiang Heng nodded and said, "Unfortunately..."
"You can't distinguish between medicinal herbs and ferocious beasts?" Bu Hanyi immediately interjected.
"How did you know?" Jiang Heng looked at her in surprise.
"You're just a reckless brute who likes to charge ahead. I knew you hadn't studied any of these subjects," Bu Hanyi replied, seemingly recalling some unpleasant memories. She rolled her eyes and continued, "And I heard that your cultivation has been improving rapidly. I doubt you've spent any time studying anything outside of martial arts, right?"