Chapter 332: Lin Jue of Mount Yishan has come to seek instruction

"How shall the rules be discussed?" the Crown Prince asked.

"We leave it entirely to His Majesty and Your Highness to decide," the Great Zu envoy replied indifferently.

It is funny to note that since this banquet began, the only person to mention both the Emperor and the Crown Prince without mentioning the Imperial Consort was this foreign envoy.

The Crown Prince went to seek the Emperor's instructions.

A moment later, he spoke:

"Those from Great Zu are our guests, and Great Jiang is a celestial empire; we shall not bully our guests. Let the guests speak first, and then we shall deliberate."

"Shall we discuss magical arts first, or martial prowess?"

"Today is not a day for martial contests; let us begin with magical arts."

"Although we are comparing our abilities to subdue demons and pacify the world, since this is a civil contest, it is not appropriate to fight too fiercely. It is better to pose problems and solve them, breaking magic with magic. Why don't we use the great hall as our stage? Each side shall send one person, and each person shall use only one magical art. We shall compete, attacking and defending against each other. Let us see who can overcome the other and who can withstand the other. The winner stays, and the loser must leave the stage. How does that sound?"

"And what of the person who remains on the stage?"

"Naturally, they shall continue to stay on the stage. The losing side shall continue to send people up, still using only one skill. However, the newcomer has the advantage. For the sake of fairness, if the winner on the stage is defeated by the second person, they may switch to a different skill. If they win, they may remain on the stage; if they lose, they must leave," the Great Zu envoy said. "In this way, we can exchange methods for subduing demons and aiding the world without it becoming bloody, which would disturb the joy and celebration of His Majesty's birthday today. How about it?"

"Hmph..."

The Crown Prince let out a cold laugh.

The officials also looked on with cold eyes.

The Crown Prince turned back to consult with the Emperor. Seeming to find it fair, he nodded and agreed.

The mages brought by the Great Zu envoy were just outside the palace and were quickly called in. The Crown Prince also ordered for the extraordinary people and recluses of the Ju Xian Fu to be invited, frequently casting glances toward Master Fan Tian, Lin Jue, and Daoist Yushan.

Master Fan Tian turned to look at Lin Jue, the meaning in his eyes clear—

Perhaps the "good method" was already here.

Lin Jue, however, looked straight ahead, his eyes thoughtful.

This method of magical competition was not rare.

In many friendly Daoist temples, disciples often exchanged magical arts using similar methods.

According to his Third Shixiong, the Great Rite at Mount Qiyun, which he had not attended, had also set up a stage for Daoists and extraordinary people from the martial world to compete and exchange arts, and it was the same method.

The magical arts of the world are incomparably profound, yet they also generate and restrain one another. If each person uses only one art, it is actually a battle of heart and wit as much as magic, and it can indeed be considered a civil contest.

If one wins and stays on the stage, the next challenger can target the specific art to break it. While the person on the stage can use one more move, it tests the diversity of their skills.

However, Lin Jue knew that in this day and age, because of the stability of the Central Plains, the imperial court was stable, leading to the decline of martial arts and soldiers. With the Nine Heavens divine system stable, Daoists were also in decline, and the Lingfa Sect had also fallen. Although there was no shortage of extraordinary people in the Ju Xian Fu, and many masters had learned one skill to the extreme, most only knew one.

In such a competition, they would inevitably be at a disadvantage.

While he was thinking, the Great Zu envoy had already invited someone onto the stage.

The person who went up was a burly man in gray clothes.

The extraordinary people of the Ju Xian Fu looked at each other before the Crown Prince, and finally, another burly man bowed to the Crown Prince and stepped onto the stage.

The Great Zu envoy knew that coming here today was not just about winning or losing, but about national dignity and the rise and fall of strength in the eyes of these small nations. Thus, he was very generous and explained first:

"This mage is named Mu Lantuo. He possesses infinite strength in the mountains and has helped Great Zu eliminate many mountain demons, keeping the region peaceful. He has a magical art that can turn his body into solid stone, even harder than gold or iron; not even the sharpest chisel can leave a mark on it. If Great Jiang has an extraordinary person who can break this, then you shall be considered superior."

The burly man stood in the middle of the great hall, saying nothing, looking around.

"Mountain God Protection Art?" Master Pan asked Lin Jue, lowering his head.

"Something like that."

Lin Jue answered, looking ahead.

The Fossilization Art must be practiced to a very profound level to achieve the effect the envoy boasted about—that "not even the sharpest chisel can leave a mark." However, the Fossilization Art itself is also a profound Five Elements magical art. If practiced to this level, not to mention turning into a small mountain, turning into a giant rock as big as this great hall would be no problem.

If the envoy wasn't bragging, then the art must be different.

The magical arts from outside the territory were a bit more petty.

At this moment, he heard another person reply:

"My name is An Boxi. I possess Five Elements Fire Arts and am skilled in subduing demons. I just returned from the northwest after defeating a demon king. I cannot stand you barbarians acting against the heavens. I will come to break your stone! I will teach you a lesson!"

The man did not understand what he was saying.

At this time, the Emperor, the Imperial Consort, and the Crown Prince in the hall had all stood a little closer. The civil and military officials and the envoys from various countries also stretched their necks to look. Some shouted things like "Don't block Master Lin," while Lin Jue looked at Master Yun Chan, whom he respected quite a bit.

"Please!"

In the middle of the great hall, the two men said nothing more and each used their skills.

The burly man in gray closed his eyes and changed, suddenly turning into a solid rock as tall as a person. It was impossible to tell what kind of stone it was; the color was neither green, black, nor yellow, and the surface was smooth, faintly acting as a mirror.

The people in the hall were astonished.

An Boxi, who had just returned from the northwest, looked him over, formed a seal, focused his mind, and pointed at his brow, seemingly driving his magical power to the limit, and suddenly opened his mouth to spit:

"Whoosh!"

A stream of red flame shot out like a dragon, continuously striking the rock.

The officials and envoys, who had just walked closer to see more clearly, were shocked and retreated one after another. They felt a wave of heat rushing toward them; even from so far away, it felt like boiling water splashed on their faces, making their faces ache and their whole bodies feel scorching hot.

This man's fire art was already quite accomplished.

However, the flames continued for a long time, yet the rock remained unmoved.

It did not turn red, nor did it crack.

There wasn't even a sound of pain.

Gradually, An Boxi's face turned redder and redder, then from red to white. It was clear he was using all his strength to squeeze out every breath and every burst of fire.

But the fire slowly grew smaller.

"Cough, cough!"

The flames cut off, and An Boxi coughed.

After coughing, he opened his mouth to inhale and spat out another burst of fire.

But the rock, apart from being slightly damp on the surface and emitting water droplets, remained motionless, as if it were not something fire could burn.

An Boxi did not want to give up, but he had no other way.

"Good skill!"

The Great Zu envoy praised him sincerely.

This time, it was Great Zu posing the problem and Great Jiang solving it. If they couldn't solve it, it was naturally considered a loss.

Only then did the rock turn back into a human.

It was still the same burly man in gray, but the skin all over his body was red, he was covered in sweat, and there were even blisters from the heat in some places.

And he was clearly not without pain; he was just gritting his teeth and saying nothing.

"A pity. If he had persisted for a moment longer, perhaps he wouldn't have been able to endure it," Master Pan shook his head with regret. "But who could have known?"

Lin Jue suddenly fell silent.

Beside him, Master Fan Tian was also looking ahead.

Although it was called a civil contest and was indeed restrained, just this first round—with An Boxi, who wouldn't give up even after spitting his last breath, and the burly man, who didn't make a sound even after being burned red and blistered—seemed to tell everyone present that no matter how much they used words like "exchange" to gloss over today's competition, it was still a competition, and no matter how restrained, it was still a struggle between two countries.

It was even more a contest between the Central Plains and foreign lands.

Just like this Master An.

Among the people in the Ju Xian Fu, those who were greedy for fame and fortune or had no ability stayed in the capital. Those who went to the northwest were all capable and willing to take risks for the world. This Master An was definitely not on stage for fame or reward; just as he said, he couldn't stand these barbarians.

However, Master Fan Tian was much calmer.

"Daoist friend Lin."

"Yes."

"It is rumored that Yanluan Incense has the effect of prolonging life. I imagine His Majesty will not give it up easily."

"Do you have a way, Daoist friend?"

"If Daoist friend Lin is interested in taking it today, you can give me a signal. I am confident I can persuade His Majesty for you."

"Let us wait and see."

The two continued to look ahead.

According to the rules, since the burly man in gray won, he could stay on the stage, and Master An had to leave.

But facing this solid rock, which was claimed to be something "not even the sharpest chisel could leave a mark on," and which even the fire of Master An, who dared to deal with demon kings in the northwest, couldn't burn, the many extraordinary people in the Ju Xian Fu could only look at each other, either shaking their heads or feeling unsure.

Suddenly, a voice rang out in the great hall:

"I'll do it!"

Everyone looked and found it was the one who had performed magic tricks earlier, cutting cups and dividing wine for everyone.

"The envoy keeps claiming he has no intention of looking down on us, yet he uses this to make trouble. Today, I shall go up and exchange with the mage sent by the envoy, so that the envoy knows that magical arts used to amaze people and entertain can also be used to subdue demons. I shall solve this problem."

That Daoist walked out from the table at the very bottom.

The two stood opposite each other. The burly man in gray turned into a solid rock again, and the Daoist just walked over casually. Just like when he divided the wine earlier, he put his hands together in a sword finger, passing over the rock from an inch away.

Just a few moments ago, he had done the same, passing his fingers over the wine cup. When he picked up the wine, the cup was already in two halves, the cut was flat, and the wine was also divided in two without spilling. At this moment, however, a cry of pain was heard:

"Ah!"

The burly man in gray suddenly turned back into a human, clutching his chest.

And everyone clearly saw that there was already a flat cut on his clothes, and beneath the clothes, blood was gushing out like a spring.

In an instant, half of his gray clothes were dyed red.

The burly man in gray clutched his chest and hurriedly stepped down.

"Daoist Liu has great skill!"

The officials were astonished and did not stint on their praise.

However, they hadn't been happy for long before the Great Zu envoy immediately invited an old man out.

This old man bowed to Daoist Liu, but he didn't talk about posing or solving problems anymore. He just spread his arms, and amidst a sharp whistle, he suddenly turned into a giant eagle, flying into the air. The wind he fanned made it almost impossible for people in the great hall to open their eyes.

The giant eagle swooped straight at the Daoist.

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Although the Daoist had the skill to cut gold and break jade, how could he fight such a giant eagle?

More bloodstains were added to the great hall.

He had barely managed to save his life.

Another extraordinary person from the Ju Xian Fu went on stage.

This extraordinary person was also in a coarse robe. After going up, facing the giant eagle, he waved his sleeve, and a sky full of arrows shot out.

"Thwack, thwack, thwack!"

In the blink of an eye, a row of arrows was stuck in the rafters of the great hall, and roof tiles fell one after another.

The giant eagle was hit by a few arrows, but it wasn't afraid. Instead, it landed on the rafters, turned back into a human, switched to a different skill, and chanted at the person below.

As soon as the incantation was uttered, the extraordinary person waved his sleeve again, and the arrows he waved out were no longer arrows, but a pile of mice as soon as they flew out, crawling around on the ground after landing, scaring the palace maids until their faces turned pale.

The extraordinary person waved his sleeve several times, but they all turned into mice. Although he had other skills, he had to swallow his pride.

The Emperor and the Crown Prince did not look good.

Great Jiang had already sent three people, while Great Zu had only sent two.

Great Jiang had already lost three rounds, while Great Zu had only lost one.

And this was in the imperial palace of Great Jiang's capital, in front of so many foreign envoys; it was simply a loss of face.

Lin Jue saw the Crown Prince's attendant looking anxious, going one by one to ask the extraordinary people of the Ju Xian Fu. He couldn't hear what was being said, but he could guess a few things.

Finally, the man surnamed Lei, who had gone to Jinping County with Lin Jue, weighed the height of the rafters, gritted his teeth, and went up.

Halfway there, he crawled down.

"Roar!"

With an angry roar, a fierce tiger immediately appeared in the great hall, jumping directly to the entrance of the great hall.

Although the people in the hall were prepared, they were instinctively panicked.

"Don't be afraid! It's Master Lei of the Ju Xian Fu!"

Someone shouted, putting everyone's hearts at ease.

The fierce tiger looked up at the figure on the rafters, ran for a while, and jumped with all its might, actually jumping much higher than an ordinary fierce tiger.

The rafters of the palace were so high, yet they were reached by its claws, and it used one claw to grab the rafters and the other to grab at the figure on the pillar.

How could a human withstand the strength of a fierce tiger?

The old man was immediately slapped down.

Halfway down, he turned into a giant eagle.

Tiger roars and eagle cries!

There was a fierce battle between the tiger and the eagle in the hall, overturning who knows how many tables, breaking how many cups and bowls, and dropping how many feathers.

The fierce tiger, covered in bloodstains, pinned down the giant eagle.

The old man turned into a human figure and had to admit defeat.

Immediately, the Great Zu envoy sent another person up, but this person didn't come to the great hall; only a head came. That head had large ears, using its ears as wings, and could fly nimbly and spit fire from its mouth, reportedly able to fly dozens of miles away.

If Master Lei hadn't been injured, he could have fought a bit, but he was injured and had just finished a fight, his energy was depleted, so he had no way to deal with it.

"I, Wan, will go!"

Wan Xinrong, who was also from the Ju Xian Fu and had been to Jinping County, couldn't stand Master Lei's failure. He bowed to the Crown Prince and walked into the great hall.

He pointed his hand, and the mountain pressed down; the flying head immediately fell to the ground.

Unexpectedly, the Great Zu side immediately had a counter.

Not long after, there were more than a dozen fights, with both sides winning and losing.

But Great Jiang lost more, and Great Zu lost less.

In a trance, it seemed as if Great Jiang had really declined, and it gave people the feeling that the magical arts of the Central Plains were inferior to those of foreign lands.

And at this time, the Ju Xian Fu had almost no one left to use.

The Crown Prince had no choice but to invite Daoist Yushan.

Yushan sent two middle-aged Daoists. After observing enough and being invited by the Crown Prince, they didn't hesitate and walked straight up.

This Daoist Yushan knew a few magical arts, and they were quite powerful, actually defeating three mages from the Great Zu side in a row.

After the three, another middle-aged man who was tall and fat walked out.

This person swayed as he walked into the hall, chanted a few incantations that no one could understand, stood in place, and seemed to become a bit blurry, and slowly floated into the air.

"Daoist, you said the precious sword in your hand is unstoppable! Then I will come and try to stop it!"

"Good!"

Daoist Yushan held a long sword, the sword attached with thunder and fire, and flew out, the long sword aiming at his neck and slashing down.

Swish!

Unexpectedly, the long sword slashed across his neck, but it was like slashing through air; there wasn't even a scratch.

Daoist Yushan frowned and stopped, pondered for a long time, then turned and pointed, sending out a line of fire.

Even more unexpectedly, the line of fire hit this person, but it also passed through his body, still not hurting him in the slightest, instead hitting a hole in the roof of the palace, breaking a few tiles.

Daoist Yushan's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

He didn't know what kind of magical art this was.

Perhaps with more time and more attempts, he could find a way to break it, but unfortunately, such were the rules, and he had to step down unwillingly.

"Does Great Jiang have any other extraordinary people or masters?" The Great Zu envoy sat in place, smiling and saying, "I wonder if His Majesty is satisfied with this performance? If you are satisfied, and we have won again, I wonder if His Majesty can bestow that Yanluan Incense upon us?"

The Emperor sat on the dragon throne with a gloomy face.

The historian lowered his head, writing furiously.

But now, among the extraordinary people in the Ju Xian Fu, either they had already been on stage, or they had no confidence to go up and compete again. For a moment, everyone looked at each other, and no one could respond.

The Crown Prince had no choice but to cast his gaze toward Master Fan Tian, Lin Jue, and Master Pan.

Master Pan was a Water God and would not compete on land.

Master Fan Tian went without saying.

"Just let me go; I'll bite them all to death!" The fox stood on Lin Jue's shoulder watching the show. Although it was a fox, it could distinguish between the Central Plains and foreign lands, so it spoke up.

"..."

Lin Jue ignored it, but looked down, watching the shadow under that person's feet, which was clearly darker, and suddenly turned his head, his gaze meeting Master Fan Tian's.

Master Fan Tian understood immediately and got up, quietly walking toward the hall.

It was just that at this moment, everyone's eyes were here, so no matter how quietly he walked, it attracted the attention of most people in the hall.

Not long after, Master Fan Tian returned.

"His Majesty has agreed."

Master Fan Tian said to Lin Jue.

"Yes."

Lin Jue put the fox away and then stood up.

"I am a Daoist from Mount Yishan, surnamed Lin, given name Jue, affiliated with the Ju Xian Fu, and I have come to seek instruction."

The Daoist took out his lantern staff and carried it into the hall.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 333 =====