Chapter 1201: Competing In Front of the Hall
Translator: Lordbluefire
The Nine Provinces’ banquets revolved around songs and dances, reciting poems, and other elegant stuff.
Even if the Great Xia’s princess hadn’t jumped out to ask Sun Mo to compose a poem, other people would bring it up too. There was no helping it. Sun Mo’s reputation was too great.
Therefore, cheers rose in the Taiji Palace and countless gazes landed on Sun Mo.
Many of them didn’t have any ill intent and just wanted to broaden their horizons. This was like how when people saw a singer when attending someone’s wedding, they’d want to get her to sing a song.
With that, everyone would have a reason to boast about after they went back.
Take today for example. If Sun Mo were to compose a famous poem here and it was spread far and wide, they’d be able to say a word or two when they heard the poem brought up in some other occasions.
(Oh, this poem? I was there when Great Teacher Sun composed it!)
“I’m sorry, I’m not good at composing poems!”
Sun Mo rejected.
“Teacher Sun can’t be scared of embarra.s.sing yourself, could you?”
The words said by the Great Xia’s little b*tch had a sting in them. “After all, there are many great masters in literature amongst the guests today.”
“Teacher, compose a famous poem and drive her to her death from embarra.s.sment!”
Qin Yaoguang chipped in. To think that this b*tch dared to doubt their teacher? That was unforgivable.
“Teacher Sun, given how your [Journey to the West] and [A Dream of Red Mansions] are extremely well-written, you probably won’t be bad in poetry. Why aren’t you willing to display your talent? Are we not worthy?”
The little b*tch continued.
“Beloved Subject Sun, why don’t you compose one?”
The Qi Emperor looked at Sun Mo.
If Sun Mo were to compose a famous poem in this event and it was pa.s.sed down in history, then his name would glow too.
When the time came, the records would write that the Qi Emperor admired Sun Mo and invited him to share a bed. Sun Mo was then elated and they had a long chat that night, becoming bosom friends.
The Qi Emperor knew that there was no way he could become a great ruler, so the only way for him to leave behind some good reputation was to rely on other people’s fame.
If Sun Mo were to become a Saint, then his image would also become lofty.
“Your Majesty, I’m not good at composing poems!”
Sun Mo rejected.
Although they said that plagiarism wasn’t considered stealing, Sun Mo didn’t wish to cite the poems composed by people from ancient times. Not even if people in this era wouldn’t be able to recognize them.
“Such a wet blanket!”
The little b*tch’s lips twitched.
Other people thought the same too.
“If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t step forth either. They say that there’s no first place in literature and no second place in martial arts. With there being so many people today, there are probably many who want to step onto Sun Mo to rise to fame!”
Grand Tutor Su chuckled.
If it was any other time, a poetry compet.i.tion would be able to reflect one’s true talent. But that wasn’t the case today.
These princes and princesses must have prepared many great poems from their respective countries for the Five Empires War Discussion. Moreover, the quality of these works would definitely be very high.
Taking one step back, the high-ranking officials in Qi Country also had high standards as advanced-scholars. Some of them might even want to jump out and compete with Sun Mo.
Clank!
Ying Baiwu shot up and stared at the little b*tch. “I don’t know how to compose poems, but I can battle. Why not have a life and death match to entertain everyone?”
Sssss!
Ying Baiwu’s words instantly brought about a series of surprised gasps.
Did she need to be so vicious?
The little b*tch instinctively wanted to say (Who do you think you are? There’s no way I’ll have a life and death battle with you.) However, Xia Taikang ordered in a soft voice.
“Agree to it!”
Xia Taikang had long since wanted to vent his fury after suffering repeatedly in the hands of the Great Tang. Now that they had sent themselves to his doorstep, they were simply courting death.
“I’m scared that I’ll end up killing you!” The little b*tch sneered, “But since you want to play, I’ll go along with you!”
The little b*tch was 19 years old this year and had inherited the skills of a great teacher. Furthermore, her soft armor had extremely high defense stats, and her longsword was a peerless-grade heaven-tier item that could slice through metal as if they were mud.
Of course, the cultivation art she practiced was peerless-grade saint-tier one!
“Baiwu, be careful! The Great Xia’s Limitless Immortal Suppression Art is extremely strong!”
Li Ziqi reminded her.
“Eldest Martial Sister, you’re worrying too much. How could Junior Martial Sister Baiwu lose?”
Lu Zhiruo was very confident in her iron-headed junior martial sister. She swung her fist and wore a fierce expression. “Bash her up!”
“En!”
Ying Baiwu hated people who were disrespectful to her teacher the most.
Very soon, a young eunuch brought over their weapons.
As they were attending an imperial banquet, guests weren’t allowed to bring along their weapons to ensure the safety of the emperor and the various countries’ princes and princesses.
“The sparring will be held in front of the hall, but take care not to overdo things! Don’t bring up a life or death match anymore!
Grand Tutor Su stood up. Although the Xia Princess was mean and up to no good, she was a princess and nothing must happen to her. As for Ying Baiwu, although she was just a commoner, her personal teacher was Sun Mo and therefore nothing must happen to her either.
Grand Tutor Su instructed while releasing a great teacher halo.
Swoos.h.!.+
A golden halo landed on the square in front of the hall and then expanded out in all directions, covering a 50-yard range.
Circle Confinement!
Sun Mo’s brows twitched. This halo was a punishment-type one and its purpose was to act as a cage to lock up students who had committed wrongdoings.
Right now, its effect was to prevent sword qis and arrows from darting out and hurting the guests.
“I want that!”
Sun Mo could afford to buy Circle Confinement with the favorable impression points he had. But how could it be as good as one that was free? Therefore, he decided to wait a little longer. One might just pop out from the treasure chests.
Ying Baiwu hung her quiver at her waist and said confidently, “I’ll let you move first!”
Hua!
The iron-headed young girl’s words caused many people to let out surprised gasps.
Wasn’t she being too proud?
Everyone knew that an archer’s advantage was in their long-range attacks, but Ying Baiwu was going to let her opponent have the first move?
“Arrogant!”
The Xia Princess lashed out, drawing her longsword and pouncing over. “I don’t want you to give in to me!”
“Ahh! This person is so sly!”
Qin Yaoguang seemed fl.u.s.tered. Even though the Xia Princess said that she didn’t need it, she still went charging out at full speed, not wanting to give Ying Baiwu a chance to draw her bow.
“It’ll be considered my loss if you can shoot three arrows!”
The Xia Princess swung her sword.
Limitless Sword Shadows
Pffft! Pffft! Pffft!
Before she reached Ying Baiwu, eight sword qi had shot out straight for Ying Baiwu.
Ah!
Many people let out surprised gasps. They didn’t expect the Xia Princess to have a long-range attack. This was trouble for Sun Mo’s disciple.
Ying Baiwu didn’t budge. She looked at the sword qi that was slas.h.i.+ng at her. She then raised her bow with her left hand, and her right hand’s index and middle fingers strummed the bowstring at great speed.
Beng! Beng! Beng!
The bowstring trembled and streams of spirit qi quickly condensed into arrows that shot out. They accurately hit those sword qis, shooting them down.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The spirit qi arrows and sword qi collided, creating many explosions that weren’t too loud.
At this moment, the Xia Princess got close and swung her blade at Ying Baiwu.
Ying Baiwu turned her body and dodged the attack with ease. Her movement was very light and at ease, as if she was dancing.
The guests were all stunned.
Wasn’t this young lady’s archery skills too accurate?
They’d be able to understand if she had struck down one or two of the sword qi, but there were eight of them! Moreover, she had accomplished this feat in less than three seconds.
Xia Taikang’s countenance sank. He didn’t expect the opponent to be so strong!
To think that his younger sister who excelled in fighting and killing wasn’t her match?
The Xia Princess wore a solemn expression and gave it her all. However, the other party’s agile movements were like a slippery fish and her attack couldn’t hit her.
“This is the so-called Limitless Immortal Suppression Art? There’s nothing to it.”
After saying that, Ying Baiwu started to retaliate.
Her fingers strummed the bowstring!
Beng! Beng! Beng!
Each time the bowstring trembled, an arrow would shoot out. Their angle was done with great precision, sometimes even drawing out an arch, shooting toward the back of the Xia Princess’s head
“Junior Martial Sister, go for it!”
Lu Zhiruo couldn’t hold it in anymore and cheered loudly.
The moment Ying Baiwu started to launch her arrows, they came down like a raging tempest, drowning the Xia Princess.
The little b*tch was exhausted from dealing with the arrows and had no choice but to pull her distance away.
Standing further away could allow her to block the arrows accordingly based on the arrows’ trajectories. If the distance was too close, it’d be like a flying dragon was riding on one’s face, giving her no chance to make any adjustments.
“We’ve lost!”
The countenances of the people from the Great Xia turned very grim.
“A chance!”
The Xia Princess immediately dashed forth when she noticed that Ying Baiwu’s attacks had slowed down. However, before she got close, she was forced back by her opponent’s sudden eruptive wave of arrows.
This carried on for three times before the Xia Princess understood that her opponent was toying with her.
“This isn’t fair!”
One of the Great Xia’s princes bellowed, “Her longbow is at least a peerless-grade heaven-tier item and can condense spirit qi into arrows! This is too great of an advantage! How are others supposed to win against her?”
“You’re saying as though the longsword your side is using isn’t an amazing weapon!”
Tantai Yutang mocked.
Ying Baiwu suddenly stopped and looked toward the prince who had spoken up. “Then you’ll have no issues if I change my weapon, right?”
Pa!
Ying Baiwu tossed her longbow to Lu Zhiruo and then looked toward an imperial guard on duty. “Brother, I’d like to borrow your long saber.”
“Huh?”
The imperial guard looked a little stunned and subconsciously looked toward his leader. After his leader nodded, he tossed his long blade to Ying Baiwu.
The iron-headed young girl swung the blade a little and then pounced toward the Xia Princess.
“Things won’t go wrong, right?”
Xianyu Wei was worried.
“Baiwu clearly doesn’t feel that it’s exhilarating enough to just shoot the little la.s.s down. She plans on beating her up personally!”
Qin Yaoguang guessed.
“Even if there are two more of such opponents, Baiwu won’t lose!”
Helian Beifang smiled. Amongst their martial siblings, the most hardworking ones were Xuanyuan Po and Ying Baiwu. They had devoted almost all their time to cultivation and would have a ‘death battle’ every day. In addition to the tremendous amount of experience they had acc.u.mulated from the darkness illusion dojo, there was no way that Ying Baiwu would lose.
As expected, the moment they clashed, the Xia Princess felt a tremendous sense of pressure. Ying Baiwu’s attack was like a furious turbulence or a volcanic eruption that gushed out.
Ding!
The Xia Princess’s longsword was pushed away and she was open.
“This is bad!”
The Xia Princess wanted to dodge, but it was too late.
Ying Baiwu’s fist was smas.h.i.+ng over rapidly, hitting her opponent heavily in the face.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Blood splashed out from the nose!
The Xia Princess was in a stunned state, her body bending back from the impact. However, before she fell, Ying Baiwu grabbed her hair and tugged her back.
The iron-headed young girl leaped, bent her right leg, and dealt a knee attack toward the Xia Princess’s mouth and nose.
Bang!
The loud sound caused the guests to subconsciously turn their heads away, unable to look at the scene.
Splas.h.!.+
A large pool of blood gushed out from the Xia Princess’s mouth and nose. Her mouth had swelled up, and she had lost many teeth that gaps could be seen between them.
“Who told you to be disrespectful toward my teacher! This is a lesson!”
Ying Baiwu didn’t stop and continued to deal ferocious attacks.