Chapter 67: The Art Face slapping
Chapter 67: The Art Face slapping
Chapter 67
Meanwhile, Li Yuexin, Li Feng, and the two brothers, Jie and Xie, stood outside a large hall; they were all gathered before the door, worried expressions plastered across their faces.
Of course, the four of them were now standing before the biggest and most magnificent compound, one reserved only for the clan’s top experts such as the elders, the higher cultivators, and especially the Clan Leader himself... and right at this moment, they were here because they had been summoned.
"We should go in," Li Feng finally spoke. The reason why all four of them had been standing here for the past twenty minutes without doing a single thing was rather simple: they were scared.
After all, every one of them could be considered a top-notch sinner and rule breaker. Leaving the cultivation chamber and entering the Beast Forest without receiving any permission was already worthy enough of severe punishment
Yet, as if that alone wasn’t enough, they had even spent over two weeks inside the Beast Forest, wasting all that precious time that they were supposed to be using to cultivate and prepare for the Grand Tournament, an event that held immense importance to the Li Clan itself.
So yeah... they were really, really scared to see what kind of expression the Clan Leader would make the moment they stepped through those doors and faced him.
"Yes, Brother Feng, you should go first. We shall be right behind you," Li Xie said as he pushed Li Feng toward the doorknob. Li Feng stopped just shy of it, however, and shot Li Xie a dangerous glare, as if the latter was pushing him toward death’s door.
"And why should I be the first to go?" he asked, his tone annoyed and slightly wary. Li Xie thought for only half a second before an answer formed in his mind; he immediately raised an eyebrow before replying, "Because you are his son..." Li Jie and Yuexin both nodded as they pushed Feng even closer to the door.
Li Feng quickly stopped them, however, shaking his head as he spoke, "No. I might be his son, but I’m not his favorite. We all know how much he dotes on Yuexin. She should go first. Jie and Xie can go second. I’ll stay at the back."
The three of them gave him a dubious look. "And why would you stay at the back while the rest of us are at the front?" Li Xie asked. Li Feng let out a slight sigh before giving his answer: "Because this is the first time I’ve broken a rule this serious, and you guys are the ones who forced me into it.
If Father sees me standing at the front, I fear I might need to visit the infirmary soon." The group thought about it for a while before nodding.
One must know that Li Feng had always been an extremely reasonable person ever since he was young and had rarely broken any rules, if at all; yet this time, he had broken one of the clan’s strictest rules, one deserving of severe punishment. "Okay... but I disagree. What do you mean by you were forced?" Li Xie said with narrowed eyes.
"Weren’t you the one who forced us to come along? And I believe you decided to follow Sister Yuexin out of your own accord." Li Feng looked away, deciding not to respond to that accusation.
Li Jie spoke next: "We shouldn’t be arguing. Let Junior Sister Yuexin go first. She is the one the Clan Leader likes the most, after all. I also advise you all to put on your cutest and most innocent expressions so that he might pity us." The others all nodded in agreement, except Li Yuexin.
She looked at the three of them as if they had just betrayed her. "And why should I go first?"
"Many, many reasons really," Li Jie was the one to answer before she had even finished asking the question. "One... you are the strongest among us. You can take a beating better than all of us." The other three immediately turned to look at him.
Li Jie quickly shook his head: "Sorry... that came out wrong. What I meant is... after all, you are far sturdier than any of us and can serve as a shield against the Clan Leader’s rage."
The three looked at him once again; Li Jie immediately closed his mouth and looked away. His point had already been made. Li Xie quickly stepped in to continue explaining: "What Brother means is that you are the strongest, smartest, and most beautiful among all of us."
"You are like our leader, and so you should take the helm. Through danger or peace... through rain or drought... through difficult situations and easy ones... you should lead." Xie said while nodding rapidly, the smile on his face making Li Yuexin feel as though she was being completely scammed.
Still... she couldn’t help but think that she might really need to take the helm once again. After all, it seemed that if she didn’t move, then none of them was willing to step forward, and the more they wasted time like this, the harsher their punishment might become.
She took in a very deep breath, steadying her racing heart; then she slowly exhaled and opened her eyes, her gaze as steady as the surface of a calm lake.
She walked forward and grabbed the doorknob, ready to twist it open and step inside, prepared to face whatever danger awaited her.
But the moment her hand wrapped around the doorknob, her mind couldn’t help but wander to the Clan Lord’s expression, the one he might make the instant he saw her.
He must really be furious, and she of all people knew that just as gentle as the Clan Lord was, he was equally strict.
The group, all of them such as Yuexin and the others, loved him just as much as they feared him. *Keep your calm, Yuexin... you can do this. You broke the rules, but you can escape this with only a few punishments...*
As she thought that, one certain punishment that truly terrified her flashed through her mind as she imagined the Clan Lord saying, "Because of this, you are sentenced to house arrest with five days of reciting the Raging Dove Sutra."
Her heart raced; any punishment but that... she would lose her mind if that ended up being her punishment.
The group that had been waiting for Yuexin to enter first and serve as a shield against whatever came next couldn’t help but raise their eyebrows when they saw that she wasn’t moving at all. Instead, she seemed completely frozen at the doorstep. "Wait... is she alright?" Li Jie asked as he looked toward Yuexin.
At that moment, Yuexin slowly turned toward the group with a calm yet terrified expression on her face before saying, "Sorry, guys... I don’t think I can do this..."
Inside the large hall, seated upon the highest seat, a middle-aged man couldn’t help but wear a faint smile on his face. He could clearly see and hear everything Yuexin and the others were saying; their fear was practically palpable.
He couldn’t help but find their reactions amusing.
They had all been brave enough to break the rules and even knock out some of the guards during their little rebellious adventure; yet now, when they were supposed to use that same courage to receive their punishment, they were acting like frightened little chickens.
Li San’s smile slowly faded as a serious expression replaced it. He spoke, his voice calm, yet it reverberated throughout the entire hall and reached the four youths who were still arguing among themselves over who should go in first: "All four of you... come in and face your trial."
The moment Yuexin and the others heard those words, they all froze, their faces stiffening instantly. Li Xie rubbed his face, looking like someone barely holding back tears. "Guys... I think we’re cooked," Li Xie finally said.
Meanwhile, back at the training ground, Liyu stood calmly upon the battlefield, his expression completely relaxed as he looked toward his supposed opponent, none other than Li Zhu.
The bastard was grinning wickedly as he stared at Liyu, believing in his delusional mind that he was about to beat the living hell out of him.
Li Zhu was one of the many disciples who had always taken every opportunity they got to beat Liyu up, especially during training sessions... they beat him simply to boost their own egos and feel superior to the so-called failure heir.
And today, Li Zhu believed it would be no different from all those previous times. Unfortunately for him... Liyu was no longer the Liyu of the past; he was about to experience a rather painful defeat.
After seeing that his opponent was all pumped up, Liyu slowly raised a hand. Li Zhu raised an eyebrow: *Is this bastard trying to back out of the fight already?* He couldn’t help but think that, but Liyu didn’t admit defeat.
Instead, he calmly spoke, "Why don’t we make this really interesting? Let’s make a bet. Whoever defeats their opponent in a single attack wins the bet."
Li Zhu raised an eyebrow once more: "Is this guy really that hell-bent on losing both his face and his money?"
"Okay. I’m in," Li Zhu said without the slightest hesitation. After all, in his mind, this was nothing more than free money. "How much are you betting?" Liyu thought for a while before replying, "What about one gold coin?" "Deal."
Without hesitating, Li Zhu picked out a gold coin and placed it on a nearby table. "That is mine. Where is yours?" Liyu shook his head. "I don’t have any money on me."
Li Zhu frowned slightly, feeling offended. "Are you messing with me, Brother Yu?" "No, I am not. I have something I can use as the stake though."
As he spoke, he reached inside his clothes and, as if pulling out something completely insignificant, took out three beast cores, each belonging to a beast at the peak of the Qi Gathering Realm.
The moment everyone sensed the purity and the terrifying aura radiating from those beast cores, every disciple present, including Li Zhu, became completely entranced.
Those cores had to be from late or even peak Level Two beasts; they would sell for well over one gold coin, perhaps even two gold coins each... and he was using three of them as a bet. "He really is a failure..."
Some of the disciples couldn’t help but flash Liyu disdainful looks after their initial admiration for the beast cores disappeared; in their eyes, Liyu was only throwing those precious beast cores away by using them as stakes in a battle that he was surely going to lose.
But as if that wasn’t enough to shock the people present, Liyu brought out more than twelve additional beast cores and placed them on the table.
Then he took out a sheet of paper along with a quill before speaking with a warm smile, "Anyone who wants to bet that they can defeat me in a single attack is free to write their name down after my battle with him. Then you can come and face me one by one."
"And if it happens that I’m totally defeated in a single strike, then everyone whose name is written here will get to share these beast cores." The moment those words left his lips, the entire place erupted into chaos.
The disciples all rushed forward one after another, placing a gold coin onto the table while hurriedly writing down their names; after all, in the eyes of every disciple present, this was practically free money.
They all believed that Li Zhu would defeat Liyu in a single move, and those who were quick enough to write their names down would be the lucky ones to obtain the beast cores. Soon, more than a hundred names had been written on the paper.
Seeing this, Liyu couldn’t help but grin; they had all fallen into his trap, and those fools had no idea that they had already lost. "I have to admit, you are far more stupid and irresponsible than the last time I met you," Li Zhu said as he looked at Liyu as though he were completely insane.
In Li Zhu’s mind, those beast cores had probably been given to Liyu by Li Feng or Li Yuexin, and here he was... betting them all away. He had truly become far more shameless than Li Zhu remembered him to be.
Still, Li Zhu wasn’t about to let an opportunity to both disgrace Liyu and earn valuable beast cores pass him by. "I’ll give you the chance to attack first. That will make this fair," Li Zhu said, beckoning Liyu forward.
Liyu merely raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. "No. You should attack first. If I attack you first... trust me, surviving a move from me isn’t certain. Who knows? You might go under from just one attack. So... you attack first."
Li Zhu’s expression instantly darkened as annoyance surged through him. *Arrogant bastard...* He couldn’t help but curse inwardly. "Have it your way then. Don’t say I didn’t warn you if you end up breaking a few ribs."
With that, Li Zhu assumed a battle stance before using one of the special battle arts of the Li Clan, the very one he had recently learned and used to defeat Li Gong earlier. "Rushing Art... Gale Whip!" Li Zhu shouted as he dashed forward at incredible speed.
Within only a few seconds, he had already reached Liyu; his body rolled flashily through the air before his leg whipped toward Liyu’s neck. A loud "Bang!" echoed across the training ground.
Li Zhu immediately landed before taking several steps backward, a confident smile appearing on his face as he slowly opened his eyes; he already believed that Liyu had fainted from that single attack.
But to his utter disbelief... Liyu was still standing exactly where he had been, a faint smile resting upon his face. Liyu merely raised an eyebrow as though asking... "Is that all?"
Seeing that expression, Li Zhu felt as though his pride had been severely bruised. Determined to restore it, he immediately assumed his strongest defensive stance before beckoning Liyu forward. "Come on... it’s your turn."
Liyu nodded calmly. "Put up your best defense... for this art is unlike anything you have ever seen before." Li Zhu raised an eyebrow. "And what art would that be?"
Liyu smiled before releasing the aura that had been suppressed by his system. Li Zhu’s expression changed instantly as he sensed that Liyu was no longer a mere mortal but a cultivator standing at the Peak Body Refinement Realm. "
How had that happened?" His mind was filled with countless questions, but those could wait; right now, he needed to take this battle seriously. With that thought, he adjusted his stance once more, taking on the strongest defensive posture he knew, shielding every vital part of his body.
Liyu’s eyes narrowed slightly as he slowly took a single step forward. "This battle art... I call... The Art of Face Slapping." "The Art of Face Slapping?" Li Zhu frowned. Liyu took another step; then... right before Li Zhu’s very eyes... he vanished.
Appearing directly in front of him an instant later with a terrifying grin spread across his face, Liyu said, "First slap." His hand connected cleanly with Li Zhu’s face.
"PAH!" A deafening slap echoed throughout the entire training ground. Li Zhu was lifted completely off his feet before being hurled through the air like a cannonball.
He smashed through one wall... then a second... then a third... before finally stopping only after crashing into the fourth wall. A deathly silence instantly enveloped the training ground; everyone held their breath, unable to comprehend what in the world had just happened.
Still, one of the disciples, acting as a referee of sorts, hurriedly rushed toward the collapsed walls. After a few moments, he reached the pile of rubble where Li Zhu’s body had been buried; he quickly pushed aside the broken stones, only to discover Li Zhu lying beneath them.
His face had swollen beyond recognition, looking so horrifying that he almost resembled a corpse. The disciple’s eyes widened in horror as he hurriedly checked Li Zhu’s pulse. There wasn’t one.
He remained rooted to the spot for several long seconds before slowly standing back up to face everyone else; his legs trembled violently, his face was deathly pale with terror and disbelief, and his lips quivered as he forced the words out.
"Everyone... I... I... I think Brother Zhu is dead... He... he has stopped breathing..."
He swallowed deeply before finally managing to finish his sentence: "I... I think Brother Yu killed him... with a single slap."