Extraordinary Realm from Persuasion System-Chapter 400 - 172: The only Great Grandmaster of Great Xia in 700 years makes a dazzling appearance_5
Their Martial Arts were, to a large extent, an extension of Great Xia’s. Therefore, their understanding of Great Xia’s Martial Arts was actually quite profound. All the other Great Xia Martial Artists present clearly understood this, so they furrowed their brows, cautiously pondering counter-strategies.
They were cautious because this was their home turf in Great Xia, and they were being challenged on their own doorstep. Losing would be a massive embarrassment. The challengers, however, bore no such psychological burden—they could simply leave if defeated. Thus, psychologically, the Great Xia Martial Arts community was even more circumspect.
In fact, the simplest solution was to hand Liu Yi, the "instigator," over to settle the matter peacefully. This, naturally, could have easily resolved this crisis on an Asia-wide scale. But that was clearly not an option.
The very act of these people coming to cause trouble was somewhat reminiscent of the Eight-Nation Alliance. If they were to yield, how would they differ from those who lost power and shamed the nation during the Qing era? What others might say about it was secondary. Even they themselves could not endure it!
The Great Xia Martial Artists indeed enjoyed their internal conflicts. But no matter how intense their infighting, or how great their internal contradictions were, it wasn’t for outsiders to interfere. Not to mention, these troubles had been deliberately stirred up by those same outsiders. Behind closed doors, we can fight amongst ourselves however we please, but it’s not up to a bunch of Barbarians to come looking for trouble.
Meanwhile, as everyone pondered, the significant online publicity surrounding the matter had attracted journalists, who seized the chance to conduct interviews. The first person they approached was the Master of Wudang Mountain, Master Qingwei, who was seated solemnly, his eyes closed in meditation.
"Hello, Master Qingwei, I am from Yingtian News Station. What are your thoughts on these foreign challengers?"
Hearing this, Master Qingwei slowly opened his eyes and exhaled. He glanced at the foreign Martial Artists seated opposite, his face showing unabashed contempt, his proud disposition unchanged. "Mere Barbarians. Why should they be taken seriously?"
The journalist’s eyes lit up instantly at his words, and he pressed on, "But I’ve heard these individuals are renowned Martial Artists abroad. Are you not even a little nervous now?"
"Would fireflies dare to compete with the bright moon?" Master Qingwei retorted, his usual pretentious dignity intact. Even having been beaten by Zhang Beixing hadn’t diminished it; he remained too high-minded to regard anyone else highly.
The journalist nodded. "Alright, I understand. Thank you for your cooperation." With that, he moved on to interview others.
Scenes like this were common around the training grounds.
A journalist approached Grandmaster Wan Mingde and asked, "Grandmaster Wan, I heard you previously had a serious conflict with Liu Yi’s disciple, Zhang Beixing. What has compelled you to come here today and choose to help the teacher of your adversary?"
Hearing this, Wan Mingde shot him a look and said, "Does this need a reason? I admit, Grandmaster Zhang and I have had our issues, true. But no matter how big our conflicts, they were matters between us two. When faced with issues of great principle and national interest, do you think I, Wan Mingde, having lived for half a century, can’t distinguish what’s primary from what’s secondary?!"
"I see! Truly worthy of being Grandmaster Wan—such magnanimity!" the journalist praised sincerely, then moved on to find others.
The venue buzzed with anticipation. Today’s conference was already significant, as it involved the election for the President of the Great Xia Martial Arts Association. Now, with the appearance of the Barbarian challengers, the atmosphere grew even more charged. If they could drive away these Barbarians, the election would proceed as planned. But if they lost, they would naturally be too ashamed to continue with the election. Yet, despite their caution, everyone remained quite confident.
Witnessing this, Lin Pengfei and Chen Rourou, seated beside Liu Yi, felt a whirlwind of emotions. Even now, they couldn’t believe that what had started as merely following Liu Yi to rough up that Korean celebrity could have snowballed into so much trouble. We’re like the spark that ignited World War II! Who would have thought it would escalate to this magnitude, directly rising to the level of a Martial Arts contest across Asia?
However, they had made their decision. Since they were the ones who had caused this situation, when the time came, they absolutely would not back down. These foreigners wanted to demand an explanation and challenge them to a spar. Then fight! Even if we can’t win, we absolutely will not be cowed! Chen Rourou and Lin Pengfei resolved themselves; they were ready for a fight to the death. No Great Xia Martial Artist was a coward!
...
「Meanwhile, on the side of the foreign Martial Artists.」
They too were giving interviews and preparing for the upcoming battle. Although they were quite familiar with Great Xia’s Martial Arts, and their own skill levels were not low, this didn’t mean victory was assured. Facing Great Xia’s Martial Arts, developed over thousands of years, and its vast heritage and resources, they had to remain cautious.
Their plan and objective for this trip were already well-established. They intended to use the incident involving the Korean celebrity, in conjunction with other Asian nations, to collectively apply pressure during this Martial Arts Association election, all to sideline Great Xia. They had initiated this affair, but they had no intention of letting Great Xia reap the rewards.
Amidst their whispered discussions and deliberations, time quietly passed. Once their pre-battle preparations were complete and the appointed time drew near, the sparring contest officially began.
