Immortal Sword Master

Chapter 372: Chapter 368: Tea Duel Competition

Drunken Cloud Cold Plum was a rare and precious tea. Not many people ever had the opportunity to taste it.

However, for a tea party such as this, Drunken Cloud Cold Plum was merely an accompaniment, not the main event.

At that moment, Lan Nongyu stood up. Everyone put down their teacups, a hint of excitement showing in their eyes.

"We gather today to meet as friends over tea. For all of you to be here, I, Nongyu, thank you."

Lan Nongyu gave a graceful bow, her demeanor poised and elegant. She quickly got to the point. "As for the rules of Liang Province’s tea parties, I’m sure you are all aware of them, so I will dispense with the unnecessary pleasantries."

"Let the Tea Duel Competition begin!"

As her voice fell, the atmosphere instantly ignited. A powerful fighting spirit flared in everyone’s eyes.

The Tea Duel Competition. This was the true purpose of the tea party.

The Great Thousand Realms was, after all, a world of Martial Arts. The warrior ethos was prevalent, and everyone cultivated the martial path. So many young Martial Artists had not gathered here simply to drink tea. Their true purpose was to spar, exchange knowledge, and improve their strength.

At every tea party, anyone who performed outstandingly would see their name spread far and wide. And for the young, who didn’t have a bit of vanity?

The one who took first place, in particular, could make three demands of the three great Upper Grade Sects.

For example, they could request Magical Treasures, Cultivation Techniques, Elixirs, or all sorts of other Heavenly and Earthly Treasures from an Upper Grade Sect.

In the past, there was even a disciple from a Low Grade Sect who took first place at the tea party and requested to be taken as an apprentice by an Earth Martial Realm expert from an Upper Grade Sect. His request was granted.

Of course, such cases were rare.

"Who will be first?"

Lan Nongyu’s gaze swept over the crowd. There were over thirty members of the younger generation present who had received invitations, each a remarkable talent of extraordinary strength.

In truth, not all the geniuses of Liang Province had been invited to this tea party. Only about a fifth of them were here.

One would only be able to see all of Liang Province’s geniuses at the grand event held by the Extreme Heaven Sect in a few days.

"I’ll be so bold as to go first!"

Just then, a young man in blue robes stood up. His gaze shifted and landed directly on a tall, thin man. He snorted coldly. "Song Tao, I suffered a small loss at your hands during the last Tea Duel Competition. This time, we’ll settle both old and new scores. Let’s end this!"

"Hmph. A defeated foe."

The man named Song Tao stood up.

The rules of the Tea Duel Competition were simple. One could challenge anyone they wished, and the challenged party could, of course, refuse.

But everyone here was a prodigy, proud and arrogant. Wouldn’t refusing be a disgrace?

The fighting spirit between the two was intense as they walked out.

Outside the main hall, a dueling ring had already been prepared. The two clearly had some old grievances between them, so without any nonsense, they got on the stage and started fighting, launching fierce attacks.

BOOM.

A tyrannical shockwave swept out in all directions.

PFFT.

After about a hundred moves, Song Tao spat out a mouthful of blood, knocked clean out of the ring by a punch.

"Song Tao, it seems your strength hasn’t improved at all!"

The blue-robed youth laughed heartily, a clear sense of vindication on his face.

"Don’t get cocky. I lost to you by one move this time. Next time, I’ll pay you back a hundredfold!" Song Tao said through gritted teeth.

"Is that so? I’ll be waiting," the blue-robed youth said arrogantly.

Everyone could feel the mutual defiance between them; they would certainly fight again in the future.

The reason this Tea Duel Competition was so popular was precisely that it ignited one’s competitive spirit. Those who were defeated would turn shame into courage, striving to improve their strength and waiting for the next chance to reclaim their honor.

And the winners wouldn’t slack off either. They too would desperately cultivate, lest they lose to someone they had previously defeated.

One could say that the Tea Duel Competition played a significant role in making the younger generation of Liang Province far stronger than those from places like Qing Province and Lei Province.

After the blue-robed youth won, a Maid immediately came forward to present the prize.

The prize was prepared by the three great Upper Grade Sects and consisted of some Drunken Cloud Cold Plum tea leaves and a few precious Healing Elixirs.

Both of these items would cause a frenzy if taken outside the tea party, but here they were merely used as rewards. This was enough to show the immense wealth of the three great Upper Grade Sects.

"Next, who would like to come up?"

Lan Nongyu asked.

"I’ll go."

Someone immediately stood up, unable to wait. He addressed another person, "Li Tang, I have long heard that your Great Stele Destruction Palm is unstoppable, even more ferocious than any Fist Technique. Today, I’d like to experience for myself whether my Fist Technique is stronger, or your Palm Technique is fiercer."

"Fine."

There was no grudge between these two. It was a pure contest of Martial Arts, of Fist Technique versus Palm Technique, so their words were much more polite and lacked any animosity.

Of course, even a pure contest like this would still ignite the competitive spirit of both parties.

Fist Technique or Palm Technique—who was fiercer? Both wanted to prove themselves.

"Take my fist!"

"Petty tricks!"

On the dueling ring, the two went all out. Their attacks were both ferocious in nature. They stood their ground, trading fists and palms, and every collision produced a tremendous sound.

"Kid, who do you think will win?" Fang Heng of the Nine Profound Sect glanced at Ning Jiang and asked.

Ning Jiang only spared it a glance before saying flatly, "Li Tang."

"Is that so? Then I’ll bet on Li Tang to lose. For ten thousand Spirit Stones. Do you dare?"

Fang Heng gave a cold smile. Ten thousand Spirit Stones was a huge sum; he only received a little over that in a whole year at the Nine Profound Sect.

"I don’t need Spirit Stones. I just need you to shut your mouth," Ning Jiang said without even lifting his eyes.

"You..." Fang Heng was furious.

Just then, voices arose from the crowd.

"I’m afraid Li Tang is going to lose."

"Indeed. Li Tang is already on the defensive and has no strength to fight back."

The crowd chattered, all of them seeing who had the upper hand.

On the ring, countless fist shadows flew, so dense they left no room to breathe. Li Tang was completely suppressed amidst this storm of fists.

"Hahaha, it looks like I’m going to win! I know a bit about the Great Stele Destruction Palm myself. That attack relies on momentum. It only reveals its true power when you have the upper hand. But now Li Tang is suppressed. His defeat is certain."

Fang Heng looked smugly at Ning Jiang, but Ning Jiang’s expression remained unchanged.

’Hmph. Let’s see what kind of face you make when you lose...’

Suddenly!

Gasps of surprise erupted from the crowd. Before Fang Heng’s shocked eyes, Li Tang let out a long roar and unleashed his Great Stele Destruction Palm.

BOOM.

The sky full of fist shadows was shattered in an instant. His opponent also spat up blood from the blow and was sent flying backward, off the dueling ring.

"How is that possible?"

The crowd exclaimed in confusion.

"He retreated to advance. It looked like he was defending, but he was actually gathering power the whole time," Lan Nongyu said, glancing at Ning Jiang.

Like Ning Jiang, she had also thought Li Tang would win.

"How could this happen?" Fang Heng’s face turned ugly.

"Now shut your mouth and don’t disturb my peace," Ning Jiang said with his eyes closed, not even looking at him, as if he had no interest in anything.

After that, several more matches were held, with various wins and losses.

It wasn’t until the tenth match that a figure stood up, startling the crowd.

Gu Feng!

His gaze shifted and landed on Ning Jiang.

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