Chapter 144 (2/2)

Hua scowled right back at him and said, ”w.a.n.g Jinglue of our great Tang Empire is currently serving under the Defender General, and his t.i.tle is merely that of a bodyguard due to restrictions of the Imperial Center Administration. In that sense he's certainly not a big name, even though no one to date has been able to s.n.a.t.c.h the t.i.tle of 'Invincible prior to Knowing Destiny' from him!”

These words. .h.i.t the crowd really hard. Tang's w.a.n.g Jinglue didn't come from West-Hill, and he had nothing to do with Buddhism either. He ascended to his current level solely relying on himself, and he was known to be 'Invincible prior to Knowing Destiny'. Even though Prince Long Qing came from the Divine Palace and claimed to be an extraordinary cultivation genius, there was no way he could claim to be unparalleled before he really entered the Knowing Destiny state, or defeated w.a.n.g.

The placed succ.u.mbed to a brief silence which was quickly interrupted by a very calm voice, which belonged to Prince Long Qing who kept quiet throughout the banquet until now.

He raised his drink and looked at Hua Shanyue quietly, though it felt like he was gazing towards someplace really faraway, in the midst of the military camp by the ma.s.sive swamp. Then he said coolly, ”Invincible prior to Knowing Destiny...I've been wanting to change his t.i.tle for a long time, unfortunately I haven't come upon the chance to do so.”

”General Hua, I would much appreciate it if you could relay my message to w.a.n.g Jinglue, that I look forwards to seeing him in Chang'an.”

”You must understand that, I am not at liberty to leave Chang'an right now.”

Prince Long Qing withdrew his gaze and looked into Hua's eyes impa.s.sively, then he said, ”if he couldn't make it on time, then I won't have the chance to change his t.i.tle for him.”

Gazing back at those calm and expressionless eyes, Hua felt a s.h.i.+ver deep down and decided to hold back what he was about to say. In the eyes of the Prince, he saw not the fury upon being challenged, but calm and confidence just like before.

Everyone present understood what he meant: if w.a.n.g Jinglue failed to make it on time, he'd not have the chance to change his t.i.tle for him, not because he couldn't fight against w.a.n.g, nor because he thought he could lose, but because...

He was firmly confident that he would enter the Knowing Destiny state in the near future, and if he fought w.a.n.g then, the latter would still be able to maintain the t.i.tle of ”Invincible prior to Knowing Destiny”. The sense of such certainty in making it to Knowing Destiny state, and the subtle disappointment he expressed about perhaps not being able to defeat w.a.n.g Jingyue...it was a kind of self-confidence and composure that required unimaginable experience, toughening and strength in life.

Seeing how everyone present was impressed by a prince of Yan Kingdom and enemy from the Judicial Department, Lee Yu looked obviously displeased and slowly frowned her brows. Thinking about the old men at the Imperial Center Administration, and thinking about all the young and powerful talents who gradually emerged over the past few years throughout the neighboring nations, it made her feel rather helpless.

For centuries, Tang had been a powerful empire with unrivaled military strength. Still and all, without the intervention of those at the back mountain of the Academy, it was extremely difficult to find anyone to counter external enemies at the individual level. Needless to say, such situation was utterly unfortunate.

She glanced over the Academy students who were present and thought to herself angrily, -if you really were the cultivation genius that Master Lv Qingchen placed such high hopes on, I wouldn't need to undergo such awkward circ.u.mstances seeing my dignity being challenged by this prince! - As she immersed in her thoughts, she still failed to find Ning Que amongst the crowd, and this made her even more frustrated.

At the alley beside Victory House, Ning Que stood by the horse carriage and as he waved impatiently at Sangsang he said, ”Hurry up! Didn't you make a great fuss at home about wanting to see that Prince Long Qing up close?”

Sangsang went on to explain with a serious face, ” Young master, I only mentioned it once and never made a fuss about it.”

Ning Que spread his palms and said, ”Fine then, would you like to see him or not?”

Upon getting a positive response, Ning Que took Sangsang to the Victory House and felt slightly sore for having to pay the attendant a piece of silver. Then they walked through the terrace which was no longer noisy, approaching the nice and quiet house. He was thinking to himself that, if Sangsang wanted to see him then he will take her to see him. He was now pretty familiar with Lee Yu, and there shouldn't be any problem anyway.

Having grown up together and relied on one another for so long, the two of them have developed the habit of always keeping an eye on whatever the other person liked and saving it for one another, such as fried-egg noodles or hot and sour shredded noodles, such as Lu Xue, or money, or even a prince.

In the midst of the quiet courtyard, everyone's attention was on the debate that took place earlier, and they were then so impressed by the powerful self-confidence in the calm words of Prince Long Qing that no one noticed how Ning Que brought Sangsang in.

As the music played and people whispered, Priest Moli sat there arrogantly as the princ.i.p.al guest, and Zeng Jing looked expressionless. The atmosphere was starting to feel tense.

Xie Chengyun stared at his cup and suddenly shook his head and smiled. He took a deep breath and stood up swiftly. He greeted Prince Long Qing and said to him, ”I beg to be enlightened.”

The courtyard suddenly quieted down, and the instruments stopped playing in the background. Lee Yu looked at Xie who stood there solemnly, and she showed him some respect and appreciation. But she couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed as she remembered that he wasn't one of Tang's own.

Half-kneeling on the floor, Prince Long Qing tidied his outfit and looked at Xie Chengyun straight in the eyes, finally showing a serious expression for the first time tonight, and he said: ”After you, Brother Xie.”

At the corner of the courtyard.

Sangsang half-kneeled behind Ning Que and carefully peeked at the front, then she whispered in disappointment, ”Young master, we are too far away, even further than the other day out on the street, I can't even see his face clearly.”

”Shush...don't interrupt.” said Ning Que as he chewed a mouthful of pickled fish skin, ”Didn't you see the show is about to start? It's a rare opportunity to witness a debate between two great intellectuals!”

Sangsang obviously had no idea of what the debate was, and she continued to peek with great wonder, asking, ”Who do you think will win then?”

Ning Que took a sip and shook his head,” I just hope Xie Chengyun won't lose too badly.”

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