198: Chapter 198 A Verbal Battle Between Two Nations Should Be Refined! [Bonus Chapter! Have a Happy May Day Holiday!]

"Revered Master Brother! You can't say she's good-looking! Am I not good-looking?"

Yue Shiyun's red eyes grew round, her small hands let go of his lapel, and she crossed her short arms over her chest, puffing out her cheeks.

Lu Chen looked down at her.

Her chubby little face, silver hair tied in a crooked little braid, and the collar of her light blue short jacket pulled askew by her, revealing a neck so white and tender it seemed to glow.

The cinnabar mole between her brows shimmered slightly in the sunlight.

She was indeed good-looking.

Lu Chen reached out and pinched her cheek.

"You're the best-looking, alright?"

Yue Shiyun's cheeks deflated, her red eyes curved into two crescents, and she nuzzled her small head into his chest.

"That's more like it."

Lu Chen shook his head, took another sip of spiritual tea, and turned his gaze back to the main hall downstairs.

The woman in the pale gold palace dress, seated at the head of the Great Xia delegation, was leaning slightly to the side, talking in a low voice with a young female Cultivator beside her.

When she spoke, her teeth and lips didn't open wide; only her lips moved slightly. Anyone more than two steps away wouldn't be able to hear her.

Princess of the Great Xia Dynasty, Princess Xia Qingyue.

Lu Chen had heard the name of the Great Xia Dynasty before.

The Great Xia Dynasty's foundation as a hegemon was no less than that of the Wushuang Immortal Dynasty, having also operated in Zhongzhou for tens of thousands of years.

The fact that his "pearl in the palm" could represent Great Xia on a diplomatic mission spoke volumes about this woman's importance.

Lu Chen's attention didn't linger on her for long.

He was more interested in the scene downstairs, where the art style felt completely out of place.

The seats on the east side for the Wushuang Immortal Dynasty.

Yue Yihao sat in the main seat, with seven or eight young Wushuang Prodigies beside him. Each looked like a military general, sitting behind exquisite white jade tables, appearing entirely uncomfortable.

Someone sent a voice transmission to Yue Yihao's ear.

"Young Marquis, these Great Xia people are all so pedantic. If we have to compare poetry later, what do we do? The poem I wrote last time was cursed at for three days by the old scholar in the army."

Another burly youth looked nervous.

"I can't even write characters well, and you want me to discuss the Dao? I don't even understand the Dao. Last time I spent three days in seclusion and came up with 'The Great Dao is simple, just fight,' and the Chancellor made me copy it five hundred times as punishment."

Yue Yihao turned his head and scanned the crowd.

"Don't fucking panic."

He slapped his large hand on the table, causing the teacup to jump half an inch high.

"A battle of tongues between two nations, an elegant exchange between young people—isn't it just a competition of who can talk better? Words, to put it simply, are just talking!"

He stood up, flicked the hem of his gold-patterned brocade robe, and tucked it into his waist.

"We must be naturally elegant! Show the backbone of our Wushuang Immortal Dynasty! Be neither humble nor arrogant, and respond calmly. Only then can we display the magnanimity of a great nation!"

The Prodigies all nodded, their chests puffing out a bit.

Yue Yihao cleared his throat and faced the Great Xia delegation to the west.

He took a breath.

"Oh! I defile the mothers of all you dog officials in Great Xia!"

"Oh, look at your weak physiques! You're as pathetic as the men in your Imperial Dynasty's Chengdu!"

"I'm certain that if we met on the battlefield, I would use my size 45 feet to kick your asses hard!"

The entire room was shocked.

They watched as Yue Yihao stiffened his neck and stepped forward, pointing his finger toward the Great Xia seats, beginning the battle of tongues.

"How does your Great Xia manage public security? Not long ago, a demonic Cultivator named Blood Rakshasa in the Northern Border killed people in three of your cities. Your suppression was ineffective, letting that beast run to my Wushuang Immortal Dynasty to recover through blood sacrifice!"

His voice grew louder and louder.

"He almost slaughtered my Beiyang City! Three hundred and six thousand lives! Who in Great Xia will take responsibility for this?"

The hall was silent for three breaths.

Then, from the Great Xia delegation, a burst of restrained laughter rang out.

It wasn't mocking laughter; they were genuinely amused.

Several Great Xia Prodigies covered their mouths with fans, their shoulders shaking slightly.

Princess Xia Qingyue sat at the head table, her slender fingers resting on the edge of her teacup, slightly turning the rim.

She didn't look up from beginning to end.

But a blue-robed scholar beside her stood up, bowed with his hands clasped, and spoke unhurriedly.

"The matter the Young Marquis speaks of is indeed heartbreaking. Regarding the Wei Rakshasa case, our Great Xia already dealt with the three border generals who were negligent last year, and the compensation has been paid to Wushuang."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.

"Today's elegant gathering is to discuss insights into Daoist methods and literary backbone. If the Young Marquis is dissatisfied, he may formally submit it in a diplomatic note, and Great Xia will handle it."

Yue Yihao was choked up, opening his mouth, "You..."

The other party had already sat down and taken a sip of tea to moisten his throat.

Yue Yihao smashed his fist onto the table; the white jade teacup bounced up, fell to the floor, and shattered.

Over the next fifteen minutes, the Great Xia Prodigies, under Princess Xia Qingyue's subtle direction, began an all-around cultural crushing.

First was the discussion of the Dao.

A young Great Xia Cultivator took "The Dao of Heaven and Earth lies in governing through inaction" as his theme. He cited classics, moving from the governing philosophy of ancient sage emperors to the concept of following nature in cultivation, quoting extensively and with clear logic.

A Prodigy sent out by the Wushuang Immortal Dynasty struggled for a long time before blurting out:

"The Dao follows nature; winning is the Dao."

"The winner is king, the loser is... what's it called..."

The Great Xia side laughed again, and then came the poetry composition.

The Wushuang Immortal Dynasty side looked at each other, and for a long time, no one came forward.

In every round, Great Xia won decisively.

The Wushuang Immortal Dynasty Prodigies sat in their seats, their faces turning redder and redder, wishing they could stuff their heads under the tables.

Yue Yihao had already crushed three wine cups.

He stood up, his neck stiff as an iron pillar, his voice reaching its maximum volume.

"Pedantic! It's all fucking pedantic writing!"

He kicked over the white jade table in front of him and stood in the middle of the hall, pointing his finger at the sky.

"For us Cultivators, high cultivation and hard fists are the true logic! Can your ten thousand shitty poems stop a single punch from me?"

"Have the guts to draw your swords for a duel!"

As soon as these words came out, the Great Xia delegation burst into laughter.

It was no longer restrained laughter, but genuine, roaring laughter that filled the room.

The third floor of Wangyue Tower.

Lu Chen held his teacup, watching the scenes downstairs, the corners of his mouth curled up and never coming down.

"This is interesting. It's like meeting family!"

Yue Shiyun lay in his arms looking down, muttering:

"Our Wushuang Immortal Dynasty is so pitiful!"

Lu Chen rubbed her silver hair and replied:

"Those who prove their Dao through literature have been few and far between over the tens of thousands of years. It's not the main trend. This world still prioritizes cultivation. Your sister understands this very clearly!"

Just as Yue Yihao was surrounded by laughter and unable to advance or retreat, a person stood up from the Great Xia delegation's seats.

Dressed in clothes as white as snow, holding a folding fan.

His face was handsome, with an extremely subtle smile in his eyes.

That smile wasn't friendly; it was a sense of superiority oozing from his bones, as if everyone present were just dust beneath his feet.

This person was tall, and the cultivation fluctuations of the first level of the Xiantai Realm were not hidden.

His cultivation wasn't high, but with every step he took, the surrounding Great Xia Prodigies instinctively made way for him.

Not because they were afraid of him, but because they admired him.

In every part of the tea-tasting, Dao-discussing, and poetry-writing sessions just now, more than half of the poems that crushed the Wushuang Immortal Dynasty had come from this man's hand.

Chu Wushuang.

A literary Genius of the Great Xia Dynasty who had recently burst onto the scene, and his own cultivation was not low either!

Rumor had it he came from a humble background but, by virtue of his talent, was personally appointed by Emperor Xia Wuji as the Chief of the Hanlin Academy, accompanying the princess on the mission specifically to handle literary confrontations.

He rose from his seat and snapped open his folding fan. Four characters were written on the fan's surface:

Literature Carries the Dao.

He walked slowly to the center of the hall, standing ten yards away from Yue Yihao.

He gently shook the folding fan twice, then snapped it shut with a "shua."

The ribs of the fan tapped against his palm twice.

Chu Wushuang raised his chin and looked at Yue Yihao.

That look was not a level gaze, but one from above looking down.

"The Young Marquis's words are incorrect."

His voice wasn't loud, but it spread clearly throughout the entire Wangyue Tower.

"Does high cultivation and big fists mean one is right? That is violence, not reason!"

PS:

Thank you all for your continued support. Please give a free gift! I wish you all a happy May Day holiday!

This humble author isn't happy at all! As expected, Labor Day is for laboring. Sigh!