If You're Not Arrogant, People Will Feel Uncomfortable Slapping You in the Face

After Li Siyi left, Su Luo and the others continued hunting demonic beasts in the forest.

Su Luo acted as if Li Siyi had never come, carrying on as usual.

However, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky, making their journey through the forest even more arduous.

The young masters were growing impatient, but they endured it for the sake of humiliating Lin Xuan later.

"I see someone who's severely injured," one of them said.

"Let's hope you really found someone injured," another replied, skeptical after what had happened with Li Siyi.

But it turned out to be true.

The person lying on the ground was covered in mud, making it hard to discern their features.

They were thin and malnourished, clearly younger than the group.

Judging by their clothing, they seemed to be from an ordinary family.

They were likely a commoner who had come to participate in the trial but, without any protection, ended up in such a state.

"Let's bury them. They look beyond saving," someone suggested.

"Indeed. It's better to give them peace than let them suffer," another agreed.

The young masters had some conscience, but not much.

Meanwhile, the person on the ground, Little Yu, realized there were people nearby. She tried to move her lips, pleading for help, but no words came out.

Little Yu hadn't come to the forest for the trial; she was just searching for food to bring home. Unfortunately, she had encountered a demonic beast.

Though she had managed to escape with her life, she couldn't make it out of the forest and had ended up in this dire state.

Su Luo walked over and glanced at her. In that brief moment, he saw the strong will to survive in her eyes.

"Save her," he said.

Su Luo considered himself to have some conscience, though not much.

"Are you serious? Using healing pills on someone like this is a waste," someone protested.

"I'm in a good mood," Su Luo replied casually, without offering further explanation.

The others naturally assumed his good mood was due to Li Siyi's earlier visit.

Of course, Su Luo wasn't saving Little Yu because of Li Siyi; it just happened to be a convenient excuse.

Su Luo fed some of his healing pills to the severely injured Little Yu and then called over members of the Su family to take her back.

This small incident wasn't significant; their main task was still hunting demonic beasts.

...

Time passed quickly, and the seven-day trial came to an end in the blink of an eye.

The participants began to emerge from the forest one after another.

The most arrogant among them was Su Luo's group, walking with their heads held high, exuding confidence.

They would have looked even more impressive if they had changed into fresh clothes.

After days of hard work, they were finally ready to humiliate Lin Xuan, and they were already brainstorming insults in their heads.

Lin Xuan emerged and saw the young masters provoking him, but he paid them no mind.

He didn't even consider these spoiled brats worth his attention.

The city lord and others began their work, tallying the scores and announcing the rankings.

The process didn't take long, as this wasn't the first time the trial had been held.

"Tenth place, 13 points, goes to..."

"Ninth place, 17 points, goes to..."

Before the rankings were fully announced, the young masters couldn't wait and started congratulating each other in advance.

"Congratulations, Brother Wang Mo! First place is well-deserved."

"The city lord's voice carries far. Brother Wang Mo, you'll be a celebrity in Autumn Wind City from now on."

"Brother Wang Mo was already a celebrity in Autumn Wind City. You'll have to take care of us in the future."

Wang Mo was genuinely pleased to have secured first place, and the congratulations only added to his joy.

However, he maintained a facade of humility.

"No, no, it's all thanks to everyone. I'm just the representative," he said.

"Hahaha," the group laughed.

"Without all of you, I wouldn't have been able to achieve this score," Wang Mo added.

"Hahaha," they laughed again.

Despite his words, Wang Mo's expression and tone betrayed his true feelings.

He alternated between feigned humility and unrestrained laughter, making it hard for others to tell whether he was being modest or simply gloating.

Even Wang Mo himself was confused. Why couldn't he stop laughing?

The city lord continued announcing the rankings: "Fifth place, 20 points..."

"Ahahaha," Wang Mo burst out laughing again.

The young masters fell silent, and everyone around them stared.

Every time a ranking was announced, Wang Mo laughed, making it seem like he was mocking the others for their low scores.

The once-confident young masters lowered their heads, too embarrassed to look around.

What had started as an attempt to humiliate Lin Xuan had now turned into a mockery of everyone else.

"Fourth place, 27 points..."

"Hahaha," Wang Mo laughed again.

The city lord couldn't take it anymore. "Have you laughed enough?"

"No," Wang Mo replied, trying to say he didn't mean to laugh but failing to suppress another chuckle.

The city lord's face darkened.

Su Luo hadn't expected Wang Mo to even mock the city lord. "You really have the makings of a villain when you laugh like that," Su Luo thought, though Wang Mo was already a villain in his eyes.

"Sorry, I don't know what's going on. I just can't stop laughing," Wang Mo said, unable to explain his behavior.

Of course, this was Su Luo's doing. He had secretly used the "Joy of the Trickster" on Wang Mo.

"Why act so humble during a face-slapping scene?" Su Luo thought.

"Since you're representing me, you should be more arrogant and domineering.

Being so humble ruins the fun.

If Lin Xuan sees this, he'll think we can't even slap properly."

"Third place, 36 points. Li Siyi."

Wow!

No one had expected Li Siyi to only take third place. She was the most powerful participant in the trial and a top contender for first place.

Was there someone even stronger?

"Second place, 159 points. Wang Mo."

"Hahaha," Wang Mo laughed again, but this time the young masters didn't join in. Instead, they were stunned. How could Wang Mo only be in second place?

Wang Mo's laughter stopped abruptly as he froze in shock. He hadn't expected to be in second place either.

Su Luo nodded in satisfaction. This was more like it—laughter cut short, followed by a look of surprise, creating a stark contrast to his earlier demeanor.

This was the kind of reaction that would make Lin Xuan feel triumphant.

Sure enough, Lin Xuan's lips curled into a slight smirk.

"First place, 177 points. Lin Xuan."

Lin Xuan: √

The young masters couldn't believe it and began to protest.

"This can't be! How did he get such a high score?"

"All of us combined couldn't beat him?"

"City lord, are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"

"Silence," the city lord said calmly, and the young masters immediately fell quiet.

The aura of a Golden Core expert was too overwhelming for those in the Qi Cultivation Period to resist.

"Lin Xuan's score is absolutely correct, and his strength justifies it," the city lord continued.

"Instead of doubting me, take a look at yourselves. So many of you couldn't even match Lin Xuan alone. And you call yourselves the future of Autumn Wind City? All you know is how to eat, drink, and have fun."

“Since you're so dissatisfied, I have another announcement to make.”

You should all be grateful to Lin Xuan. It was he who uncovered the demonic beasts' conspiracy in the forest.

Su Luo was baffled. Wasn't it Li Siyi? Why was the credit going to Lin Xuan now?

He glanced at Li Siyi, trying to gauge her reaction.

But Li Siyi stood there calmly, showing no particular emotion.

Su Luo couldn't figure out why Li Siyi would give the credit to Lin Xuan.

In truth, Li Siyi had no ulterior motive. She simply thought that since Su Luo was so obsessed with progressing the plot, she might as well play along.

By following Su Luo's lead, she hoped he would be happier.

It also spared her from being accused of derailing the plot in his diary.

...

The city lord continued, "None of us knew that there was a cave full of insect eggs in the forest. If those eggs had hatched and invaded Autumn Wind City, it would have been like a swarm of locusts descending upon us. At worst, the entire city could have been destroyed."

"But don't worry. Since the eggs have been discovered, they've all been eradicated. However, you must remember that it was Lin Xuan who saved Autumn Wind City from this disaster."

"Lin Xuan is the hero of Autumn Wind City!"

The news was shocking. Autumn Wind City, which had enjoyed peace for so long, was suddenly faced with the possibility of destruction. No one could believe it.

But since it was the city lord speaking, at least half of it had to be true.

"Lin Xuan!"

Someone started chanting his name, and soon others joined in.

"Lin Xuan!"

"Lin Xuan!"

"Lin Xuan!"

The entire city echoed with Lin Xuan's name.

Meanwhile, Lin Xuan basked in his glory, having earned both fame and the rewards for being first in the trial.

Seeing that the plot had progressed as expected, Su Luo quietly left.

Though he didn't understand why Li Siyi had given the credit to Lin Xuan, this was the kind of treatment a protagonist like Lin Xuan deserved.

Noticing Su Luo's departure, Li Siyi also slipped away unnoticed and followed him.