The Emperor of Cultivation Prediction

Chapter 3: The First Slap: Humiliating Lian Xing

The sun began to slip toward the west, casting a burning orange light across the roofs of the Heavenly Sword Sect's Main Hall. On the hall's steps, dozens of disciples gathered, surrounding Lian Xing, who was laughing arrogantly while playing with his expensive fan.

"Didn't I tell you? That trash will never return. The Snake Poison Cave is no place for a loser whose cultivation is stuck at the first layer!" Lian Xing exclaimed with a disdainful tone.

"Young Master Lian is truly wise. Sending him there is the same as cleaning up trash without having to get one's own hands dirty," one of his followers chimed in, triggering boisterous laughter from the other disciples.

"Quite pitiful, isn't it? Dying swallowed by a snake with no one to mourn him. But at least he's useful as fertilizer inside that cave," another disciple added cynically.

Lian Xing glanced toward Elder Gao, who stood at the hall's threshold, appearing calm but with eyes constantly monitoring the path leading to the mountain gate. "Well, Elder Gao? Isn't it time we closed the outer disciple records for the name Dexa?"

Elder Gao stroked his beard, a thin, meaningful smile playing on his lips. "According to sect rules, if a disciple does not return from a mission within the designated time, they are considered fallen. I will immediately strike his name from the ledger."

"Ah, what a shame. And here I wanted to see his terrified face one more time before he died," Lian Xing sighed with feigned sadness.

"Whose fear do you want to see, Lian Xing?"

The voice was calm, cold, and vibrated with an unfamiliar authority. The crowd of disciples fell silent instantly. They all turned toward the lower stairs. There, a young man in tattered clothes stained with dried blood walked slowly. His face was pale, his steps looked heavy, yet his eyes stared straight ahead with a sharpness that made anyone who looked at him feel suffocated.

"Dexa?!" Lian Xing screamed, the fan in his hand nearly dropping. "How is it possible... you're still alive?!"

"You sound very disappointed, Young Master Lian. Did your scenario not go according to plan?" Dexa stopped right in front of Lian Xing, ignoring the incredulous stares from everyone.

"You... you must have run away! You coward! There's no way you entered that cave!" Lian Xing accused, his face flushing with shame and anger.

"Run away?" Dexa lifted a cloth bag soaked in dark fluid. "Elder Gao asked me to bring ten Red Dew Flowers. But because I feel indebted for this 'opportunity,' I brought something more."

Thud!

Dexa threw the bag into the middle of the crowd. As the bag opened, the head of a massive Black Poison Snake rolled out, its fangs still oozing remnants of deadly green venom.

"The head of a Black Poison Snake?! That's a level two monster!" a senior disciple shouted, his face turning pale.

"Impossible! Trash like him couldn't possibly kill a level two monster!" Lian Xing took a step back, his breathing becoming irregular.

"Dexa... how did you do it?" Elder Gao stepped forward, his aura pressing down, trying to figure out what had happened. "Don't tell me you stole someone else's hunt?"

Dexa stared at Elder Gao without the slightest hint of fear. "Stole? In the Snake Poison Cave that you claimed was 'empty' but turned out to be filled with level two monsters? Who would be crazy enough to hunt there besides someone forced to die?"

"Watch your tongue, Dexa!" Elder Gao snapped. "You are just an outer disciple! How dare you accuse a Sect Elder!"

"I am not accusing, Elder. I am merely stating facts," Dexa reached into his torn pocket and pulled out a small crystal stone—a Recording Stone commonly used to record transactions or important events. "System, activate the audio simulation extracted to this crystal," he whispered very softly.

[Beep! Activating Destiny Simulation Voice Projection.]

A very familiar voice suddenly rang out from the crystal, echoing throughout the hall.

"Elder Gao, here are 500 spirit stones. Make sure that trash never returns from the Snake Poison Cave."

Everyone froze. It was Lian Xing's voice.

"Don't worry, Young Master Lian. The mission has been arranged so he has no chance of survival. The map I gave him will lead him directly to the main snake nest."

And that... was Elder Gao's voice.

The Main Hall fell into a deathly silence, as if time had stopped turning. Lian Xing's face turned from red to a ghostly white, while Elder Gao looked as if he had just swallowed a live fly.

"That... that's fake! You forged my voice!" Lian Xing screamed hysterically. "Elder Gao, he's slandering us! Kill him right now!"

"Enough!" a voice thundered from inside the hall.

The Sect Master, a middle-aged man with an incredibly powerful aura, walked out with a very dark expression. Beside him, several other Elders followed with serious looks.

"Sect... Sect Master!" Elder Gao knelt, trembling. "This... this is a trap! This disciple used a forbidden technique to slander me!"

Dexa remained standing tall, his arms crossed over his chest. "Honorable Sect Master, if that voice is considered fake, perhaps you could check Elder Gao's spatial ring. Inside, there should be a purple silk pouch containing exactly 500 spirit stones with the Lian family seal, which he just received last night at the Black Willow Pavilion."

Elder Gao flinched. How could Dexa know such details? That meeting was held in a very secret location!

"Gao, hand over your ring," the Sect Master commanded coldly.

"But... but Sect Master..."

"NOW!"

With trembling hands, Elder Gao handed over his ring. The Sect Master inspected it for a moment, and his face darkened further as he pulled out a purple silk pouch exactly as Dexa had described.

"Kneel, Gao!" the Sect Master barked. An overwhelming spiritual pressure slammed Elder Gao to the floor, rendering him unable to move.

"This isn't fair! This must be sorcery!" Lian Xing tried to flee, but Dexa moved faster.

In the blink of an eye, Dexa was in front of Lian Xing. His movements were so smooth and fast they were almost invisible to the naked eye.

"Where are you going, Young Master Lian? Didn't you want to see my terrified face?" Dexa whispered into Lian Xing's ear.

"You... you trash! How dare you block my path!" Lian Xing threw a punch filled with Qi energy toward Dexa's face.

Dexa did not dodge. He simply raised his right hand with a casual motion.

Smack!

Dexa's hand caught Lian Xing's fist with ease. Lian Xing's Qi energy, which should have crushed Dexa's bones, was instead absorbed and simply vanished.

"Is this all the strength of the Lian family's 'elite disciple'?" Dexa stared at Lian Xing with a look of contempt. "Even the snakes in that cave have a stronger bite than you."

"Let go! Damn it, let me go!" Lian Xing struggled, but Dexa's grip was like an iron vice.

"You like humiliating people in public, don't you? You like seeing people kneeling in the dust?" Dexa took a short breath. "Now, it's your turn."

SLAP!

A powerful slap landed on Lian Xing's left cheek. The sound was so loud it echoed against the hall's pillars. Lian Xing was sent flying sideways, his body spinning in the air before hitting the floor hard. Three of his teeth were knocked out, and his handsome face immediately swelled up.

"That was for the insults over these past three years," Dexa said coldly.

"You... you dare hit me?! My father will kill you! This sect will destroy you!" Lian Xing screamed while clutching his ruined cheek.

"Your father? He'll be too busy saving his family's reputation once this bribery scandal is exposed," Dexa walked closer, each step feeling like a death knell to Lian Xing. "And the sect? The sect has no need for trash who can only use bribes to get rid of opponents they deem weak."

"Dexa, enough," the Sect Master intervened, but there was no tone of anger in his voice, only a great sense of curiosity. "Explain to me, how can a first-layer disciple kill a Black Poison Snake and know secrets that were tightly locked away?"

Dexa turned and bowed slightly, yet maintained his dominant aura. "Sect Master, inside the Snake Poison Cave, I found the legacy of a fallen senior. Through his remaining guidance, I managed to achieve a breakthrough. As for the information... let's just say, the heavens always have eyes to see injustice."

The Sect Master stared deep into Dexa's eyes, trying to pierce the mysterious fog surrounding the young man. However, he only found a bottomless depth.

"Elder Gao, you will be confined in the Ice Peak Prison to await further investigation. Lian Xing, you will be stripped of your elite disciple status and receive one hundred energy lashes for acts of conspiracy and bribery," the Sect Master commanded firmly.

"No! This is impossible! I am Lian Xing! I cannot be punished!" Lian Xing screamed as the sect guards dragged him away.

Dexa just stood there, watching the scene with a thin, cold smile. Inside his head, the system's voice rang out again.

[Beep! Scenario 'The First Slap' completed perfectly.]

[You have significantly altered destiny. Destroyed Lian Xing's reputation and brought down Elder Gao.]

[Rewards: 1000 Destiny Points, Increased comprehension of 'Shadow Step' technique to Intermediate Level, and Unlocked 'Relationship Simulation' function.]

"Only a thousand points? That's a good start," Dexa thought.

The other disciples who had previously mocked him now lowered their heads, not daring to meet Dexa's eyes. Fear and admiration began to spread among them. The Dexa they knew as trash had died in that cave, and what returned was a monster capable of overturning destiny with just words and a single slap.

"Dexa, follow me to the inner hall. I want to talk more about the 'legacy' you found," the Sect Master said in a tone much more polite than before.

"Of course, Sect Master. But before that..." Dexa glanced toward the disciples who had laughed at him earlier. "...I hope this hall floor is cleaned. I don't like stepping on ground that has been dirtied by the spit of insolent people."

Those disciples immediately grabbed brooms and mops, working tremblingly under Dexa's cold gaze.

"Incredible," muttered a Holy Elder who had been observing from the shadows. "That boy... he hasn't just become strong. It's as if he already knew what would happen before anyone else acted. His precision... is terrifying."

Dexa walked behind the Sect Master, his steps steady and full of authority. In his heart, he was already running a simulation for his next move.

"System, simulate the Lian family's reaction after this news reaches their ears."

[Starting Simulation...]

[Result: The Lian family will attempt to send high-level assassins within the next three days. It is recommended to retrieve the 'Forbidden Treasure' at the Hidden Peak before that happens.]

"Three days? Too long," Dexa smiled coldly. "I will take that treasure tonight. And when those assassins come, they will only find their own graves."

That day, the Heavenly Sword Sect recorded a new history. Not about the death of a trash disciple, but about the rise of a Destiny Architect who would shake the entire cultivation world. The first slap had just been delivered, and the echo of that slap would be heard to the ends of the universe.

Dexa stared at the sky, which was now beginning to darken, but his eyes radiated a light brighter than any star.

"World... get ready. Because I have only just begun to write my story."