The sound of slaps rang through the great hall like firecrackers.
Anyone who had just arrived and didn't understand the situation would certainly be shocked to witness this scene.
Yuwen Hualong, a sixth-grade True Immortal, was actually kneeling before a first-grade True Immortal, letting the man slap him repeatedly without saying a single word. It was truly baffling.
However, in reality, even if Li Xiang, the first-grade True Immortal, used all his strength, he posed absolutely no threat to Yuwen Hualong.
Such was the profound mystery of the martial cultivation realms. When the gap in strength was this vast, you simply had no ability to harm the other party at all.
It was precisely because of this enormous gap that cultivators pursued higher realms at any cost.
Yet, although Yuwen Hualong couldn't feel the slightest bit of pain, his cheeks must have felt like they were burning.
What he lost today was his dignity.
For him, this was a humiliating disgrace.
A full ten thousand slaps was no small number.
Fortunately, Li Xiang's hands moved incredibly fast, so in a mere instant, all ten thousand slaps had landed on Yuwen Hualong's face.
And after those ten thousand slaps, Yuwen Hualong's face showed nothing but rage — not a single mark remained.
Li Xiang's palms, on the other hand, had turned bright red and swollen like steamed buns.
But at this moment, Li Xiang felt incredibly satisfied.
Written across his face were two words: *catharsis*.
Once the ten thousand slaps were finished, the elder of the Ancient Snake Clan released Yuwen Hualong.
At this moment, Yuwen Hualong was like a volcano on the verge of eruption. The way he stared at Li Xiang, he looked as though he wished he could tear the man to shreds with his bare hands.
But he had to hold back, because he knew perfectly well that if he made a move against Li Xiang here, that elder of the Ancient Snake Clan would make sure he paid dearly.
After all, the moment the Ancient Snake Clan's elder had stepped forward to serve as judge, it was clear where his allegiances lay — he was siding with Chu Feng and the others.
It was precisely because his rage had nowhere to go that Yuwen Hualong felt so suffocatingly humiliated.
"Kid, you remember this — you did something today you shouldn't have."
"There will come a day when you regret it."
Yuwen Hualong pointed at Li Xiang and snarled viciously.
"Hmph." But Li Xiang merely let out a mocking laugh, then spoke with full confidence: "And you remember this too — what I did today was the most satisfying damn thing I've ever done. I will absolutely not regret it."
"Fine."
After grinding out those words through clenched teeth, Yuwen Hualong shot Li Xiang one final, murderous glare filled with threats.
But he said nothing more, turning around to stand alongside Yuwen Tingyi and Han Yu.
At this moment, both Yuwen Hualong and Yuwen Tingyi wore expressions of twisted, terrifying fury — they looked less like humans and more like wild beasts ready to devour people whole.
Rage radiated from their eyes. Anyone could see just how furious and unwilling they were.
Because of this, even though many people wanted to mock Yuwen Hualong and Yuwen Tingyi, few dared say it aloud. They communicated privately through secret voice transmission, whispering among themselves.
However, just because most people feared Yuwen Hualong and Yuwen Tingyi didn't mean everyone present was afraid of them.
The Chu Heavenly Clan, for instance, feared them not. They made absolutely no effort to hide their words, openly hurling insults at Yuwen Hualong and Yuwen Tingyi with mocking, contemptuous tones right in front of everyone.
They mocked the pair for overestimating themselves, for bringing shame upon their own heads.
And this was hardly surprising — after all, it was Yuwen Tingyi who had proposed the chess match, Yuwen Tingyi who had suggested the wager, and even Yuwen Tingyi who had set slapping as the stake.
The humiliation they suffered now was entirely of their own making.
Faced with the insults of the Chu Heavenly Clan's members, let alone Yuwen Hualong and Yuwen Tingyi — even someone like Han Yu, one of the rare prodigies of the Upper Realm, could do nothing to retort.
And so they seethed, growing more resentful the more they thought about it.
"Young Master Han Yu."
Just then, a gentle voice rang out.
The moment that voice sounded, Han Yu's spirit was instantly revitalized, his mood lifting at once.
That voice belonged to Xia Yun'er, the Holy Maiden of the Starfall Sacred Ground.
"Miss Xia, is something the matter?" A courteous smile had already spread across Han Yu's face.
"I've heard that Young Master Han Yu is also quite skilled in chess, and we've all had the chance to witness Young Master Chu Feng's chess abilities as well. Why don't you challenge Young Master Chu Feng to a friendly match?"