Chapter 141: How??????
Chapter 141
A loud PAH! echoed outward in all directions as Liyu’s slap connected with Shi Mo’s face without any ceremony whatsoever, and Shi Mo had been unable to react fast enough.
And even if he had managed to sense the attack, it would have already been too late, as he had been yanked forward by his shirt, and before he could even process how Liyu had managed to cross so many metres of distance with what seemed like a single step, he felt a force even greater than the ones he had been struck with before slam into the side of his cheek.
His head swung violently to the right, and the force behind the slap was so devastating that the very air itself seemed to crackle or perhaps even break.
PAH!
The loud sound reverberated outward once more, as if the very laws of sound themselves were supporting the slap, and the sharp echo reached every single corner of the arena. The reaction was instantaneous.
Everyone watching became stiff, their eyes widened in pure, unbridled shock as they stared at the scene unfolding before them, and Shi Mo had been slapped again.
And he had been completely powerless, too slow to even think of dodging or evading the slap as it struck him directly across the face right in front of everyone once more.
And this time, the way Liyu had grabbed him by his shirt, violently yanked him forward, and then slapped him directly across the face was so... so shocking, and even more disgraceful.
Shocked gasps echoed throughout the arena as all the spectators witnessing this madness were genuinely taken aback, and the murmurs and whispers of the crowd soon broke loose as they began speaking among themselves in voices filled with shock.
"Wait... he slapped him again?"
"Yes... and did you see how he did it?"
"It was almost as if he was disciplining a younger brother of his."
"And also... that makes it twice, right?"
"Yes... that is twice."
"Twice in such a short amount of time, he slapped the Shi Giant directly across the face."
"Two dirty slaps in less than ten minutes... almost back-to-back."
"And the disgrace..."
"Yes... this scene is completely shocking."
More and more whispers and murmurs filled every section of the crowd as they stared at the scene unfolding before them, with some pointing toward the stage while others simply stood there with their mouths hanging open, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.
Shi Mo’s mind soon caught up with reality, and slowly... he raised a hand and touched his cheek. His cheek wasn’t swollen, neither was the cheekbone beneath it broken... at least not yet.
However, the pain radiating from his cheek was nothing small. In fact, it was extraordinary, far beyond being small, and it was almost as if he hadn’t been slapped across the face at all, but rather, his cheek had been slammed into by an enormous mountain.
The amount of tremors and pain ravaging his cheek was simply that terrible, causing his eyes to flicker with several emotions: confusion, disbelief, and an expression of pure impossibility.
Shi Mo slowly turned his head back to face Liyu. Liyu was still smiling at him, almost as if Liyu had merely given him a gentle pat and hadn’t just slapped him directly across the face, and his hand was still casually raised in the air as if he was itching to deliver even more slaps to Shi Mo’s face.
Shi Mo’s expression darkened as he stared at Liyu with cold and gloomy eyes, wondering really... how could a single slap hurt him this much? How could one slap possibly carry such an overwhelming amount of force? It made no sense, no sense at all.
How? Shi Mo wondered, his eyes shaking with deep and primal confusion as he looked at Liyu, measuring him and trying to see if there was something he was truly missing. But there was nothing.
Instead, Liyu still looked like the same Liyu who had arrogantly entered the tournament and announced that he would defeat every genius standing against the Li Clan and emerge as the sole winner of the tournament.
Just like back then, the pride and arrogance within him had not disappeared, but instead, they seemed to have grown even greater, and that smile on his face was making Shi Mo’s entire body twitch.
*This guy is clearly looking down on me...*
Shi Mo rubbed his cheek, which was still burning from the slap. He was no fool, and he knew for certain that he had been disgraced twice in less than ten minutes by this guy... not once, but twice.
If he wanted to regain his honor, then he needed to take Liyu down, and he needed to do it quickly before Liyu completely adapted to the increased gravity. Of course, Shi Mo refused to believe that Liyu had already adapted completely; maybe he was able to stand and act as if he had adapted, but that had to be all it was... an act.
There was no one Shi Mo had ever known who could adapt that quickly, as it shattered common sense.
His senses told him that Liyu was probably only putting on a strong front and was still being slowed down by the overwhelming rise in gravity, and if that was the case, then he needed to take him down now, fast, before Liyu fully adapted.
With that thought, Shi Mo took in a deep breath before slowly and calmly exhaling.
His Qi steadied, his breathing fell into place, and his gaze sharpened into a narrow and predatory glare as he locked onto Liyu, who was standing there calmly while looking at him with that same irritating smile still resting on his face.
Shi Mo moved, launching through the air and crossing the distance between them within the blink of an eye, and then he appeared directly before Liyu. His fist was charged with Qi and amplified even further by his Gravity Qi as it shot forward toward Liyu’s head.
And yet... Liyu did not move. He did not even flinch as the punch came spiraling toward him, and just when it seemed that the attack would strike him squarely in the face, Liyu took a single step and moved his body slightly to the side, causing the attack to completely miss.
The movement was so calm, so simple, and so effortless that it almost looked as if a seasoned soldier had casually dodged the attack of a clueless, helpless, and completely untrained mob.
Shi Mo’s gaze darkened, and he regained his footing in the middle of his strike before immediately pressing forward with his offense. Both of his fists became charged with Qi, and then he began to strike again, and again, and again.
His fists shot toward every part of Liyu’s body as he launched one attack after another without giving him even the slightest chance to recover.
Liyu, however, moved with an ease and calmness that almost bordered on silliness, twisting his body here, moving his head slightly there, taking a small step to the side, and then leaning backward, ensuring every one of Shi Mo’s attacks missed.
His smile remained present as he continued looking at Shi Mo, seemingly amused by the fact that the big guy had absolutely no idea what kind of danger he was currently in.
Shi Mo attacked again, and Liyu dodged. Shi Mo threw another punch, and Liyu casually moved his head to the side. Another attack came toward his chest, and Liyu twisted his body, allowing the attack to pass harmlessly beside him while his gaze remained locked onto Shi Mo’s face.
The big guy’s eyes were burning with determination and the resolve to defeat him, prompting Liyu to shake his head, and then, while calmly dodging another powerful blow that struck the ground and completely caved in the area beneath it, causing the white marble on that part of the stage to be utterly shattered, he finally spoke.
"So tell me..." Liyu tilted his head with a small smile. "Do you want the slow beating or the hard and fast beating?"
Shi Mo’s expression stiffened.
"You see, I really have no idea where to start your beating from," Liyu continued as a slow smirk spread across the side of his face.
Those words caused Shi Mo’s heart to tighten.
He turned his head slightly, and then, he saw it... the gaze Liyu was looking at him with. He knew that gaze, knowing it so well that he could never mistake it for anything else, as it was the gaze of someone silently saying, *You are weak. Too weak.*
This Liyu was looking down on him. Shi Mo had already known that, but merely thinking that Liyu was looking down on him and now confirming without any doubt that he was truly being belittled by this piece of shit were two completely different things.
Shi Mo’s anger burned even hotter, and he attacked once more, this time unleashing a Gravi Punch.
However, it was no longer amplified by a tenfold increase in gravity, but rather amplified by fifteenfold gravity as if that was nothing, and his fist shot forward with every intention of crushing that irritating smile right off Liyu’s face.
But Liyu’s expression did not change. Instead, he twisted one of his legs in a spiraling motion, his entire body following the same pattern as he moved in a manner that seemed to defy every kind of common sense, and then... he appeared directly beside Shi Mo.
Liyu raised his hand once more, and then...
Pah!
Once again, he delivered a dirty slap directly across Shi Mo’s face, causing Shi Mo’s eyes to widen as he knew that if the slap landed, his already bruised ego would be damaged even further.
He could not allow that, so he tried to move, tried to dodge, tried to evade anything
.. he needed to do something.
But he was still in the middle of punching the empty air where Liyu had been standing only a moment ago, while at the same time, Liyu’s hand was moving at a terrifying speed.
If it were not for the fact that Shi Mo’s perception was already incredibly high, he would not have even been able to see the incoming slap, and his body screamed at him to do something, even though he did not know what he was supposed to do.
Then his eyes shifted, and Shi Mo suddenly lowered the gravity around his second hand so that his arm became incredibly light, using that sudden increase in speed to guard against Liyu’s slap.
It connected cleanly with the guard. The moment Liyu’s slap struck Shi Mo’s raised hand, waves upon waves of pain surged violently through his nerves, causing Shi Mo’s mind to churn.
*The slap is actually far stronger than the force that can be generated by a hammer...*
He had not been thinking rubbish before, had he? Liyu’s slap was far stronger than a powerful cultivator swinging a massive warhammer with all of his strength.
The moment Liyu’s palm connected with his guard, Shi Mo felt as if he had been struck by an immense and overwhelming force, and the force behind the slap lifted him off his feet and launched him backward as if he had been hit by a massive warhammer rather than a simple slap.
However, Shi Mo managed to steady himself in the air, his feet striking the ground as he forcefully regained his balance without falling onto his butt... at least he had not been sent rolling across the stage in an even more embarrassing manner.
But there was something else, something far more shocking, and Shi Mo stood there in pure disbelief. He had thought about it before, but now, he had received confirmation: Liyu’s slaps carried an insane amount of force, enough force to completely numb his hand the moment they made contact.
Shi Mo slowly looked down at his own hand, which was still numb, leaving him barely able to feel it as his eyes widened more and more with each passing second.
*How...? Just how...? This is not possible...*