CHAPTER 181: MAKE THEM CRY!

"Erm... I, a humble disciple, would like to say a few words."

Shi Qianzhang stood up, catching everyone's attention. Currently, he lacked some of his usual nonchalance since his Daoist robe made him look a bit more serious.

Adopting the demeanor of a reclusive expert, he calmly remarked, "As a bit of courtesy from the Hua Republic, the five of us are seated in an order that would allow you all to choose a suitable opponent according to your strength. We have organized ourselves from weakest to strongest. I am essentially the 'Easy' difficulty, and the exceedingly handsome young man next to me is 'Normal' difficulty.

"Meanwhile, the gentle-looking Buddhist master is 'Hard' difficulty, and that elegant and imposing sword cultivator, who had just fought, is 'Hell' difficulty. Finally, the fairy over there is the 'Godly' difficulty. She can easily send you straight to the heavens and probably beat even your masters to a pulp—ahem. Don't interpret the last two lines. That was a slip of the tongue."

After Shi Qianzhang's brief introduction, all that could be heard in the venue was the interpreters rapidly relaying his words in different languages. Soon, everyone began shifting their attention to Mu Wanxuan. After some hesitation, their attention turned to Wang Sheng, then gradually settled on Huai Jing.

Huai Jing maintained a calm expression, like Buddha smiling faintly at a flower. Deep down, though, he was already thinking about having a "friendly" exchange with Shi Qianzhang later.

With what Shi Qianzhang had just said, the younger generations of Sakura Island, Gelan, and Jinta would naturally aim for the middle ones like him and Liu Yunzhi. No one would be shameless enough to challenge the sly bastard Shi Qianzhang.

No, someone did challenge him.

A young man dressed in a suit and holding a katana stood up. He looked at Shi Qianzhang and then said a few words in his native language.

The interpreter nearby immediately relayed, "Very well. I am also the weakest member of our delegation. Why don't we have a spar? We can test each other's skills."

Shi Qianzhang frowned. Something didn't seem right with this turn of events.

Huai Jing chuckled. "Amitabha, Daoist Master Qianzhang. Good luck."

Liu Yunzhi frowned slightly, seemingly worried that Shi Qianzhang would embarrass the Hua Republic's cultivation world.

"Just give it your all," Wang Sheng remarked.

"Don't worry, Brother Sheng!" Shi Qianzhang grinned widely, then immediately reverted to his calm demeanor.

He stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked into the arena. Afterward, he bowed in all directions and casually stuck a few essential talismans on himself, including the Ape's Leap Talisman, the Godspeed Talisman, and the Vajra Talisman.

Inside his Daoist robe were countless more talismans. Over the years, though he hadn't mastered many profound skills, he had fully grasped the ability to use every part of his body to activate talismans.

The two stood at the ready. Shi Qianzhang remained still, hands behind his back, while the swordsman from Sakura Island let out a low shout, drew his blade, and charged forward.

Whoosh—!

A pair of radiant wings unfurled behind Shi Qianzhang. Streams of primal qi rapidly gathered at his back, and the black paper talisman on his spine flickered with complex patterns.

The swordsman from Sakura Island struck empty air, looked up, and saw Shi Qianzhang already twenty meters in the air. The swordsman's brow furrowed.

Shi Qianzhang breathed slowly. With his left knee bent to maintain balance, he tossed down over a dozen yellow talismans with his right hand. They transformed into half-meter-wide fireballs and rained down on the swordsman like concealed weapons.

Heavenly Fire Talisman!

Boom boom boom!

Explosions rang out all around. The swordsman defended with all his might, but the blasts still sent him flying and stumbling all over the arena.

Continuing his onslaught, Shi Qianzhang's sleeves flared again, and talismans shot out from his cuffs. With a dramatic gesture, he pointed downward, sending them speeding toward the ground once more.

Ice shards rained down, and blazing flames erupted.

"We surrender! We surrender!" someone from the Sakura Island delegation shouted.

Only then did Shi Qianzhang stop throwing talismans. He calmly descended from the air as the incongruous wings behind him slowly faded away.

With a regretful expression, he clasped his hands at the half-charred, half-frozen man. "I apologize for injuring you. My talismanic arts are hard to control, and I am much weaker than Brother Sheng. Unlike him, who can hold back when he has to, I can't really retract my moves. Anyway, victory and defeat are common in battle, and you can always try again. Since you can't even clear the 'Easy' difficulty, though, perhaps... you should start your life over."

He clasped his hands behind his back and strolled back to his seat, leaving the entire Sakura Island delegation looking like they had swallowed a fly. A medic immediately rushed to the arena and carried the man away.

Wang Sheng glanced at Huai Jing, who simply laughed in embarrassment. Ever since he introduced Shi Qianzhang and Huai Jing to each other, the two had clearly spent quite a bit of time studying matters outside of cultivation.

Once Shi Qianzhang had sat down, the atmosphere became rather awkward. How was this exchange meeting supposed to continue? They had already faced Wang Sheng's strength since he was the first to take the stage. The brilliance of his swordsmanship and the depth of his cultivation were undeniable. No one among the three foreign delegations—not even their masters—dared claim that they could defeat the young swordsman.

Now, the sharp-tongued guy had thoroughly demonstrated the might of the Hua Republic's talismanic arts. His talismans allowed him to soar through the air, burrow underground, and unleash spells of every element...

The three delegations conferred for a while, eventually deciding that Shi Qianzhang couldn't be fully trusted. Almost unanimously, they agreed to test the remaining three. To that end, a handsome young knight from Gelan stood up and chose Mu Wanxuan as his opponent.

Mu Wanuan, who had been waiting for quite a while, gracefully rose to her feet and walked into the arena. She didn't give her name or make any extra movements; she simply raised her right hand toward her opponent.

The young knight looked a little baffled.

Wang Sheng stood up. "Please, begin whenever you're ready. My senior sister isn't fond of speaking."

The handsome knight raised an eyebrow. He gave Mu Wanxuan a courteous knight's salute, gripped his longsword with both hands, and then smiled at her gently.

In response, Mu Wanxuan clenched her right hand into a fist. She then lightly shook it at the knight.

Seemingly taking a heavy blow out of nowhere, an unseen force hit the knight in the stomach, forcibly bending him at the waist and blasting him into the air. He tumbled past the Sakura Island delegation before crashing into the screen behind them.

Not even sparing the knight a glance, Wang Sheng turned to give Qing Yanzi a Daoist salute. She then lightly and gracefully walked back to Wang Sheng's side, then playfully winked at him.

Meanwhile, the Gelan delegation had already stood up. A few couldn't help but rush to their fallen companion.

Wang Sheng stated, "No need to worry. My senior sister didn't injure that man. She simply used a technique that 'strikes cows through the mountain.'"

Sure enough, the man who had been knocked away stood up behind the Sakura Island delegation. Though he looked disheveled and his face was covered in dust, he was otherwise unharmed.

The foreign cultivators couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

The blonde girl from Gelan, the one whom Qing Yanzi had recorded the previous day for Wang Sheng to watch, suddenly asked in fluent Chinese, "Why strike cows through the mountain? Why not just strike the cow?"

"It's just a metaphor," Wang Sheng replied with a smile. He clasped his hands to the crowd before sitting back down beside his senior sister.

A burst of warm applause followed. Mu Wanxuan's celestial beauty only added to the admiration she received. Now, the foreign cultivators fully believed Shi Qianzhang's earlier claims.

The exchange continued. The fourth to fight was Liu Yunzhi, who summoned lightning from the heavens to defeat a young cultivator from Sakura Island and then another from Jinta in succession.

Afterward, Huai Jing took the field. With his Buddhist arts, he shattered an illusion spell from Jinta and then used his devil-subduing staff to clash head-on with Gelan's strongest young cultivator. He won both bouts decisively.

By now, the Jinta and Gelan delegations had lost the will to continue.

Wang Sheng's group had thoroughly suppressed Gelan's younger generation. Wang Sheng and Huai Jing had won through sheer strength, while Mu Wanxuan only needed one punch to completely subdue the three foreign delegations. Their only weakness was Shi Qianzhang, who had the lowest cultivation realm, but he proved even harder to deal with than Liu Yunzhi.

Nevertheless, it was clear that Sakura Island still had something up its sleeve. Their cultivators now looked at the Hua Republic with clear defiance and frustration, as if the Hua Republic had somehow cheated.

Finally, after a brief lull with no one stepping forward, a middle-aged man from Sakura Island rose and spoke in his native tongue.

The interpreter faithfully conveyed, "We have a rather presumptuous request, Daoist Master Qing Yanzi. It may go against some of our customs, but getting to face such outstanding young cultivators is a rare opportunity. We would like to ask the sword cultivator to take the field again and face two of our participants who specialize in unique arts.

"We are not concerned with victory or defeat. Even if we win, it won't be an honorable victory. We simply wish to test whether our special arts can be advantageous against a sword cultivator like him."

The other three delegations frowned.

A young man from Gelan immediately said something. Relaying his statement, the interpreter said, "All bouts are mere sparring matches. Overwhelming your opponent with numbers is hardly gentlemanly."

The blonde girl who could speak fluent Chinese added, "Our delegations came here with the goal of learning and mutual exchange. We condemn this kind of approach."

The rest of the Gelan delegation nodded in agreement.

"It's fine," Qing Yanzi calmly said from the side. "Since Sakura Island is so eager, I shall allow my disciple to spar with them a little more. It'll be a good experience for him."

Heeding his master's call, Wang Sheng stood up, his expression as calm as it had been earlier. However, it was clear that he had already decided to act swiftly and end things cleanly.

Qing Yanzi then telepathically instructed Wang Sheng, "Little Sheng, assess how many of their members you can handle in one go, then challenge them to fight you all at once. If they want to embarrass themselves, then so be it. Don't hold back; use the Heavenly Ziwei Sword Intent and teach them a lesson."

Wang Sheng nodded slightly. He tapped his chest with his left hand, and a flying sword slowly coalesced into form.

Upon reaching the center of the field, he faced the Sakura Island delegation. He looked at each of their members as the corners of his mouth curled into a faintly dismissive smile.

There weren't many chances in life to act a little arrogant. Besides, his master had ordered him to.

"Please do not worry about seniority or rank. Since we're only sparring, we shouldn't get too hung up on formality." After a brief pause, he challenged, "I'll face your entire delegation at once."