Chapter 1814: Split Me

A slap?

In broad daylight, Hua Zhiyao, the envoy from Cloud Mountain, slapped Yue Gongli, the successor of the Cold Palace Imperial Realm?

"He's absolutely audacious!"

The reception hall immediately fell into an uproar. The maids were terrified; some dropped the jade plates of pastries they were carrying, while others couldn't even hold onto their pipas, which clattered to the floor.

It was clearly just a simple, unadorned slap. It carried no hint of Saint Force fluctuation, yet it landed squarely on the unsuspecting Young Master Li's cheek, successfully sending him reeling back. Its force and impact didn't seem that strong, yet it caused everyone in the hall to retreat more than ten steps.

The only one who didn't retreat was Yue Gungui. He stood frozen in place, gazing at the incredulous Young Master Li, who was still clutching his face, and then at the still-calm Hua Zhiyao after delivering the slap.

Yue Gungui was petrified. At that moment, his mind replayed Brother Zhiyao's "facing death calmly" expression and his plea to "grant him death." He finally understood. Some things, he shouldn't listen to, because he couldn't handle them. And some people, even if he wanted to protect them, he probably couldn't, even risking his life.

"So this is how he wanted to die..." Yue Gungui's head buzzed. If Young Master Li had asked him to go as an envoy to the Cloud Mountain Imperial Realm, trick Hua Changdeng off his main seat, and slap him in front of everyone... He couldn't even imagine it further. He was already shuddering, wondering how much courage Hua Zhiyao must have had to deliver that slap.

Yue Gungui's Saint Sense swept over those around him. He desperately wanted to, like the guards and maids, retreat from the dangerous vortex of the reception hall, just draw his sword and prepare, feigning protection, but he trembled and stood his ground. He couldn't retreat. He was the one who had brought this man to the Cold Palace Imperial Realm. His friendship with Hua Zhiyao wouldn't allow him to retreat either—yes, there was a friendship just moments ago, but after this slap, that friendship was reset to zero.

"Guards!" Yue Gungui shrieked desperately. Like a furious, enraged beast, he slashed his hand through the air and roared, "Seize this old bastard! Seize him! I will personally execute him! I will drag him to the Cloud Mountain Imperial Realm and behead him in public!"

A subject dies if their lord is humiliated. On their own territory, Young Master Li being slapped by an envoy from another clan truly could no longer be explained away as a "mission." Hua Zhiyao must die! If he didn't die, and if Hua Changdeng of Cloud Mountain made no gesture, the Cold Palace Imperial Realm would mobilize its entire clan, slaughter Cloud Mountain, and wash away today's disgrace!

Clatter... Outside the hall, a group of Grand Void guards heard the commotion, drew their gleaming, cold swords, and rushed into the reception hall, bracing themselves. More than ten people surged in.

But Hua Zhiyao was a Half-Saint; how could mere Grand Void guards apprehend him? As the guards charged, they hoped Hua Zhiyao would show mercy, leaving behind a few wisps of their souls so that their clan could revive them later.

But unexpectedly... A dozen or so people charged forward, and more than ten swords crisscrossed, swiftly placed against Hua Zhiyao's neck, cutting his skin and drawing blood. Until the very end, Hua Zhiyao did not resist. He simply gazed impassively at Young Master Li, who was slumped in a maid's arms in front of him, still clutching his face, looking as if he had been dazed by the slap.

"He deserves to die!" Rage surged from within. The more Hua Zhiyao displayed such a "facing death calmly" demeanor, the more it ignited a furious rage in those watching. A guard kicked out, intending to break Hua Zhiyao's knees and make him kneel before Young Master Li to repent. The guard captain kicked away the young man's foot in time, simultaneously warning him with a cold glare:

This is a Half-Saint! A major principle dictates that, no matter when or where, a Saint must not be humiliated. This rule was originally established by the Five Great Saint Emperor Clans and later adopted throughout the Saint God Continent, widely accepted by all Half-Saints. Hua Zhiyao today might be a Half-Saint, whether from their own clan or another, tomorrow. The consequences of Hua Zhiyao slapping Yue Gongli need no further explanation. But if a guard dared to break a Half-Saint's leg and force a Saint-ranked individual to kneel, the Cold Palace Imperial Realm's actions would surely draw condemnation from all clans.

"Captain..." The young guard was stunned. A Saint cannot be humiliated, so Young Master Li can be humiliated? Indeed, there was no written rule stating that a Young Clan Master couldn't be slapped, but did unwritten rules not count as rules? Did Young Master Li just deserve to take this slap for nothing?

Ptoo! Yue Gongli spat a mouthful of bloody froth onto the ground, his eyes seeing stars. His skin was fair, and his physical body was quite remarkable, yet even so, the immense force of Hua Zhiyao's slap still left several red marks on his face. Hua Zhiyao cultivated his physical body too? This question was completely irrelevant. Yue Gongli's mind was now consumed by a single thought:

"From childhood until now, only my sister dared to hit me like that. How dare he? How could he dare?" If it had been a heavy punch, even one that pierced his heart, or a powerful sword strike that split half his body... That would be nothing. It would be a matter of tit-for-tat, just hit back. But a slap, delivered in front of so many people, and purely without Saint Force... This was humiliation! This was a blatant, undisguised provocation!

"Interesting, you are very interesting..." Yue Gongli struggled free from the maid's embrace, looking as if he had been driven mad, mumbling deliriously, "Cloud Mountain Imperial Realm, Hua Changdeng, how amusing, you are truly amusing..." He bent down, as if searching for something. But after searching for a long time and finding nothing, the image of himself being slapped still replayed in his mind, until his foot kicked something, making a "clang" sound.

"Yes, the sword..." He bent down and picked up the long sword that Hua Zhiyao had offered earlier, only for it to be knocked away by the slap. Gripping the first-grade spirit sword, his hair disheveled, he walked step by step back to Hua Zhiyao.

He said nothing, raising the sword, pointing its tip at Hua Zhiyao's chest, right over his heart, and slowly, little by little, began to pierce it. "Grant me death?" "Good, as you wish, I will grant you death." In that moment, Yue Gongli didn't want to ask anything else; he only wanted to slowly plunge the long sword into Hua Zhiyao's heart, vigorously twisting and tearing his body to shreds.

The sword tip seemed to hit something hard. Hua Zhiyao's skin was easily cut, yet his body was as hard as rock. Yue Gongli pushed harder and harder, even bending the first-grade spirit sword. With only his physical strength, he couldn't break through Hua Zhiyao's defense!

"Hiss, hehe..." Yue Gongli laughed in exasperation. Was even heaven conspiring against him? Someone utterly defenseless, yet he, with a first-grade spirit sword, couldn't pierce his physical body, while this person could slap him and leave a mark...

"You're very tough." Yue Gongli stabbed again with force. Hua Zhiyao remained impassive, truly like a deathsworn. This further agitated Yue Gongli's sensitive nerves. "You're not afraid of death, you are indeed tough." "Young Master Li, this old man cultivates the 'Dragon Bell Technique.' If you don't use Saint Force, you won't be able to pierce my defenses," Hua Zhiyao calmly replied.

Dragon Bell Technique? Yue Gungui was slightly bewildered; he hadn't heard of Brother Zhiyao cultivating such a spirit art. But that seemed irrelevant; what mattered was that Young Master Li seemed to be losing his mind...

Yue Gongli truly had gone mad. What Dragon Bell Technique? It's all nonsense! He had no interest whatsoever in Hua Zhiyao's physical cultivation technique, nor any desire to understand it. He stabbed with all his might, gritting his teeth. But heaven itself seemed to be against him; his physical strength was actually inferior to Hua Zhiyao's, and the sword wouldn't pierce!

"Ah, ha ha..." Yue Gongli turned his head to look at the surrounding guards and maids. The guards and maids, one by one, lowered their heads, focusing on their noses and hearts, no one daring to look at him. His face burned with a fiery sensation; he felt as if all the gazes of the entire Cold Palace Imperial Realm were fixed on him today. Tomorrow, the news that "Young Master Li was casually slapped at home by a Cloud Mountain envoy" would spread among the great Saint Emperor Clans, becoming a laughingstock.

Saint Force surged. The first-grade spirit sword hummed, and Yue Gongli's single thrust pierced through Hua Zhiyao's rock-solid defense. The entire blade of the long sword plunged in. The hilt, pushed with force, caused Hua Zhiyao to stumble back, its sharp tip, amidst the splashing blood, lunging directly towards the guard behind him. The guard's hand trembled in fear. He was almost impaled too, becoming a human skewer with Hua Zhiyao.

Yue Gongli thrust the sword into Hua Zhiyao's body, only to feel the blade's resistance, as if caught by solid rock and hard bone. His eyes slightly reddened. He twisted forcefully, relentlessly churning the sword in Hua Zhiyao's heart, widening the bloody wound. Only then did his emotions find some release, and he quietly asked: "Why?" Why, why did you slap me? You're making me lose so much face.

Hua Zhiyao's expression twitched, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, as he faced death calmly: "A task assigned by my Clan Master." Clan Master? His clan is... Oh, a person from Cloud Mountain, Hua Changdeng's task?

"Hua Changdeng has a grudge against me?" Yue Gongli's thoughts briefly froze. He searched his past, but found no instance where he had offended Hua Changdeng. He then considered the ongoing conflicts between the Cold Palace and Cloud Mountain. There were always conflicts, but they never escalated to a life-or-death struggle, let alone a "slap."

"Did I offend him when I was a child?" Yue Gongli even began to ponder if, at some point in his life, he had inadvertently caused Hua Changdeng some irreparable harm. So much so that he would use such an extreme method to retaliate against him. The answer was "no." Neither he and Hua Changdeng, nor the Cold Palace Imperial Realm and the Cloud Mountain Imperial Realm, had reached a point of such extreme animosity. Then this person wasn't from Cloud Mountain; it was Dao Qiongcang, who had someone transform to stir up trouble... Hah, it wouldn't be so paranoid. This was the Cold Palace Imperial Realm!

Yue Gongli knew Dao Qiongcang's personality too well. At this critical juncture, that flashy old Daoist would absolutely not jump out. Even if someone stabbed a sword through his chest and vigorously churned his heart, he would only smile and say, "Didn't you eat enough?"

"Ah, ha ha..." Thinking of this, Yue Gongli felt like going mad with rage again, sensing that Hua Zhiyao's current expression was telling him, "Didn't you eat enough?" He pressed harder with his hand. He drew the long sword out, thrust it in, twisted, ground it. He wanted to crush Hua Zhiyao's heart; he wanted Hua Zhiyao to die! But before he died, he wanted a clear answer: "Why!"

This second "why" was clearly different from the first. Hua Zhiyao's expression twitched, blood oozing from his seven orifices, and he trembled, "The Clan Master said, 'You know what you've done.'"

I don't know! I don't know anything! Yue Gongli roared internally, too furious to think anymore. There was no need to think; he had already considered all that needed considering. He violently pulled out the long sword, raised it high, and was about to cut off Hua Zhiyao's head, which was as arrogantly defiant and as detestable as Xu Xiaoshou's...

"Young Master Li!" Yue Gungui could no longer restrain himself from speaking out. He was also going mad, not just because of Hua Zhiyao. He admitted he had been reckless, having boasted wildly before, but when things actually happened, he couldn't protect Brother Zhiyao at all. But... Young Master Li was too out of control. Was he provoked today? Even if he was slapped, he shouldn't be acting like this, should he?

With a whoosh. Yue Gungui's intervention was timely. The sword ultimately stopped at Hua Zhiyao's neck. Yue Gongli suddenly regained his composure. He reached up and smoothed his disheveled hair, his expression becoming gentle again, and patted Hua Zhiyao's face, saying: "You will die." "I know," Hua Zhiyao replied, like a dead fish. "But first, tell me, what else did Hua Changdeng tell you when he assigned this task?"

"The Clan Master said that my slapping the Young Clan Master of the Cold Palace Imperial Realm is a great disrespect, and I should suffer humiliation and death. He asked Young Master Li to first grant me thirteen sword strikes to destroy my Saintly body, and then expose my true status, as a warning to others."

Yue Gongli burst into laughter. He laughed until tears streamed down his face, finding the words utterly absurd and incomprehensible. You clearly know it's a great disrespect, why would you still dare? You clearly know it's a provocation, why would you still dare? If it's for humiliation, how could merely destroying a Saintly body appease the hatred in people's hearts? And to destroy a Saintly body, why thirteen swords? What's the significance of the number "thirteen"?... It's not important!

Yue Gongli had no desire to understand why it was thirteen, not twelve or fourteen, or why a mere Half-Saint's Saintly body should be destroyed instead of Hua Changdeng's. He said coldly, "I will deliver these thirteen sword strikes to your clan master's face, in front of the Cloud Mountain clansmen, but not to you." "Please, strike me first," Hua Zhiyao earnestly requested execution. "Why should I listen to your dog-like words?" Yue Gongli raised his sword, smirked, and was about to lower it. He was being rebellious; he suddenly didn't want to kill Hua Zhiyao anymore. He wanted to apprehend Hua Zhiyao, bring him before Hua Changdeng, and make Hua Changdeng judge this fellow in front of him, striking him with one hundred and thirty swords.

Hua Zhiyao calmly gazed at the elegant young master. After a brief pause for thought, he opened his lips and spoke, his words like pearls: "Young Master Li, please offend me."

As these words left his mouth, the reception hall fell into absolute silence. The guards and maids throughout the hall, no longer able to keep their heads bowed to the ground, abruptly looked up, incredulous. Even Yue Gungui's eyes widened as if they would pop out, as if he had heard something utterly heretical. Offend... Brother Zhiyao, how dare you use that word again?

"Ah!" A sudden roar erupted in the reception hall. Immediately, sword light flashed in all directions, and a chilling aura permeated the air. In an instant, Hua Zhiyao's body was torn open, his arms severed and legs broken by Yue Gongli's thirteen sword strikes, his belly ripped open, a gruesome sight. Blood, intestines, severed limbs... spilled across the floor.

Yue Gongli's eyes blazed with fury, blood splattered across his fair face. Holding his sword at an angle, he looked like a demon, his mood exhilarated. He couldn't be bothered to consider the stances of the two clans anymore. For grudges, retribution; for grievances, revenge. An overnight grudge was like overnight food; tasting it later would no longer be the same. He reveled and immersed himself in the present moment.

It wasn't until his murderous intent subsided that he felt something was wrong. From beginning to end, Hua Zhiyao seemed to be simply provoking, rather than discussing matters. His mission was outrageous, as if he had merely come to incite a war between the two clans... So what? The one who should be afraid was Hua Changdeng, not all the clansmen of my Cold Palace Imperial Realm!

"Do you have any other wishes?" Yue Gongli didn't intend to keep him alive; merely taking a wisp of his residual soul to Hua Changdeng would suffice. Hua Zhiyao didn't think much. He simply smiled, a hint of disdain at the corner of his lips, and mimicking Yue Gongli's tone from earlier, he jested: "Young Master Li, cleave me."

Yue Gongli brought his sword down, erupting in speed as swiftly as he had been slapped moments before. Saint Force and sword light blazed in the reception hall. No one could react in time; even Yue Gungui's single word "No!" was still caught in his throat when Hua Zhiyao was cleaved in two from head to toe.

"He's... he's dead..." The maid holding the pipa, who usually only played music and danced, had never witnessed such a horrifying scene before. The maids hastily retreated, some even losing their footing and falling to the ground. Hua Zhiyao, cleaved in two, had his two half-bodies violently flung to the sides. When they crashed to the ground, there was no splattering of flesh and blood; instead, they transformed into... two halves of stone?

Two greenish-gray stone tablets, taller than a person, lay on either side of the reception hall, one to the left and one to the right. The limbs, intestines, and blood that had previously scattered across the floor also turned into stone blocks, fragments, and gravel. The entire hall was silent.

Clang. The spirit sword clattered from Yue Gongli's hand to the ground. He finally realized what that strange feeling was: he seemed to have been guided by someone? But how could that be? Under heaven, not even an Ancestral God could guide him. Was this a person or a stone tablet? Was he blind that he couldn't tell?

Yue Gongli's eyelids drooped. His expression was blank, terrifyingly somber. Soon, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and with a dull gaze, he pointed at the stone tablet and asked in a strange voice: "What is this thing?"

No one answered, trembling with fear. Yue Gongli's voice returned to calm, and he asked again, "Yue Gungui, what is this thing?"

Yue Gungui's hands and feet felt ice-cold. Half an hour ago, he thought this was Brother Zhiyao. He had confided in Brother Zhiyao, discussed the allocation of resources with him, and Brother Zhiyao could speak. Now, after Young Master Li cleaved Brother Zhiyao, Brother Zhiyao turned into stone... Yes, what is this thing? Having lived his entire life, Yue Gungui had seen all sorts of bizarre and absurd things, even terrifying vengeful spirits. But he had never seen a stone tablet transform into a person, provoke a clan, and then invite its own demise by being slain by another clan. This wasn't terrifying at all. It was just absurd, contrary to common sense. This event itself shouldn't even exist in this world, within the cognitive scope of "humans." The key was, even if this stone tablet spirit had somehow deceived his and Young Master Li's eyes, what did it gain by seeking death?

Yue Gungui, stunned, stepped forward and examined the stone tablet on the left. This half of the stone tablet bore several deep scratches... or rather, sword marks, left by Young Master Li's recent strike. Below the sword marks, were there words? Yue Gungui frowned slightly and read aloud softly: "Endless?"

The entire hall was astonished. No one knew what was written, but it seemed full of sword intent? "Here's another 'Dao'..." Yue Gungui pointed to a scattered stone piece that had moments ago been a severed limb; it also had words on it.

Yue Gongli's expression turned grim as he walked towards the other stone tablet. This stone tablet, besides the sword marks, also had a large hole that went straight through its back, from the recent impalement. It also had words. At first glance, nothing seemed amiss. But reading them together with the words on the previous piece and those on the ground, things suddenly seemed to escalate: "Dao... endless, know when to... stop?"