World’s No. 1 Swordsman

As Wang Sheng sat down, Qing Yanzi pulled out a bottle of alchemical pills and walked into the arena to deliver an official apology from the Hua Republic to the older, somewhat disheveled cultivators of Sakura Island.

"I apologize, everyone. Please don't take it to heart; youngsters these days just don't know any better. Clearly, my disciple lacked restraint in his strikes. Due to his lack of understanding of worldly affairs, that sword maniac went overboard with his attacks. He didn't hurt you too badly, did he? Your injuries don't look serious, at least. One of my Overnight Vitality-Restoring Pills will heal it overnight."

The young female interpreter walking beside Qing Yanzi couldn't help but secretly roll her eyes, but as a professional, she still interpreted with vivid expression and sincerity. When it came to rubbing salt in wounds, Wang Sheng still had a long way to go compared to his master.

The venue quickly became a bit chaotic, with people slowly settling down. Yet the gazes focused on Wang Sheng never wavered.

The five young representatives from the Hua Republic sat upright with immaculate posture. Once Wang Sheng had sat down, his phone began vibrating nonstop. Upon checking it, he saw a string of laughing memes that his senior sister had sent, along with a flood of new messages in the group chat.

The original group chat between him, his senior sister, and Huai Jing had now expanded to five members.

Huai Jing: Amitabha. The younger generation of Sakura Island who fought Fei Yu today are doomed. I fear they'll be left with psychological trauma.

Shi Qianzhang: Brother Sheng might've dug the pit, but no one pushed them in. They chose to jump twenty against one. Why feel sorry for them?

Liu Yunzhi: That makes sense. The Sakura Island cultivators are already our sworn enemies. No need to show mercy.

Wang Sheng simply replied with an ellipsis.

Shi Qianzhang: Brother Sheng, you're incredible!

Shi Qianzhang: Brother Sheng, you're awesome!

Shi Qianzhang: I want to have your babies!

Liu Yunzhi: Medicine God Valley supposedly holds a technique that can reverse Yin and Yang. Might be worth looking into.

Huai Jing smiled faintly at Wang Sheng, who had a serious expression.

Huai Jing: Why did you target the Sakura Island delegation so intensely today, Daoist Master Wang?

Wang Sheng snapped his fingers, signaling the others to look at their phones. He then sent two messages in the group chat.

Wang Sheng: I suspect they're connected to the Yin-Yang All Creation Sect.

Wang Sheng: Qianzhang, do you still remember that night?

Shi Qianzhang's face turned solemn as he nodded.

Shi Qianzhang: That night? Did you hurt me, or was it the mistake we made in the flower field[1]?

Mu Wanxuan stifled a laugh while Liu Yunzhi simply looked exasperated.

Wang Sheng shot Shi Qianzhang a glare, and the latter quickly grinned and ducked his head.

Wang Sheng: I'm serious. The night you came to the hospital to find me, remember that nurse who couldn't break through your Vajra Talisman?

"What the hell!"

Shi Qianzhang suddenly stood up, staring at the Sakura Island delegation.

Huai Jing raised a hand and pressed down gently, forcing Shi Qianzhang back into his seat. But Shi Qianzhang's eyes were already ablaze, and he had pulled several golden talismans from his robes.

Wang Sheng transmitted, "Don't make a scene. If we alert the enemy, all our efforts will be for nothing. I intentionally injured them all just now and informed my master on the way back. He's now using the excuse of helping them recover to probe the nature of their cultivation methods and see if they resemble those of the corrupt cultivators in the Hua Republic.

"The connection between the Yin-Yang All-Creation Sect and Sakura Island's cultivation world may be even deeper than we imagined. Regardless, even if we have to cross the sea later, we must uproot the Yin-Yang All Creation Sect completely."

The others nodded subtly. Mu Wanxuan pondered for a moment.

Mu Wanxuan: If that's the case, shouldn't we just capture them and whip them with tiny whips? Why go through all this roundabout nonsense?

Wang Sheng: ...

What the hell is a tiny whip? What kind of comics has she been reading?

Huai Jing: It's not that simple, Fairy Bu Yu. They are now part of Sakura Island's official delegation. If we detain them by force, we'll lose the moral high ground and damage the Hua Republic's international reputation. It would also definitely alert them.

Liu Yunzhi: Considering they dared come here, they must have prepared in advance. They won't be easily exposed.

Shi Qianzhang: Envoys aren't killed even in war. Not to mention, there are two other delegations involved.

Mu Wanxuan gently nodded. Though she didn't really understand what they were talking about, after exchanging a glance with her junior brother, she decided to let Wang Sheng handle it all. She could just leave everything that required critical thinking to him.

Wang Sheng's battle against the Sakura Island delegation had put a complete stop to the sparring session between the four factions. Fortunately, the Hua Republic had prepared a lineup of cultural performances, such as ethnic songs and dances, to pass the time until lunch. Once they were done eating, the official itinerary would come to an end, and the three foreign delegations would begin preparing to return.

Qing Yanzi was still busy with the Sakura Island delegation, distributing a few alchemical pills. Once he gracefully returned, he used voice transmission to tell Wang Sheng, "That man named Okamoto Nichikawa has practiced some fragmented techniques from the Yin-Yang Secret Scrolls. He concealed it very well, but not well enough to hide it from me."

Wang Sheng quickly asked, "Should we detain him, Master?"

"No need. Just make sure they return to Sakura Island safely," Qing Yanzi replied calmly, his gaze serene and his smile gentle as he faced away from Wang Sheng.

However, his words had a subtle chill to them.

"Let your mistress arrange for someone to gather intel first. We never fight unprepared battles. Once we're done with our little 'performance' here, we can organize a return exchange delegation to Sakura Island, bring along more righteous path experts, enjoy the cherry blossoms, and admire the snow on Mount Fudo. If they don't let us fly back afterward, swimming home will be fine too."

Wang Sheng was filled with anticipation. He was already starting to look forward to it.

He repeated what his master had said in the group chat and told everyone to keep it strictly confidential. Aside from Mu Wanxuan, the other three were visibly excited.

Huai Jing: There's no way I'm missing something like this. Even if their competitive gaming scene has been slipping these past couple of years, Sakura Island's ACG culture[2] is still worth experiencing.

Liu Yunzhi: They've got some interesting historical architecture too. Wouldn't hurt to look around while we're there.

Shi Qianzhang sent a meme of wide, shining eyes, then followed it up with four words in bold.

Shi Qianzhang: Slaughter Thousands of Men!

Wang Sheng, the chat admin, has removed Shi Qianzhang of Longhu Mountains from the group.

Huai Jing and Liu Yunzhi burst out laughing. Meanwhile, Mu Wanxuan responded in the group chat with two confused emojis.

On the side, Shi Qianzhang looked pitifully at Wang Sheng, sending wave after wave of private messages apologizing. Eventually, he managed to secure a spot back in the group.

After spending a while watching a rather dull performance, the four young men chatted away enthusiastically in their private five-person group chat. Mu Wanxuan occasionally popped in to drop a meme of her own.

Finally, at lunchtime, a few large buses arrived to take them to the next location.

***

At a fancy buffet restaurant in the three foreign delegations' luxurious hotel.

The exchange meeting in a private garden in the morning and the reserved luxury buffet at noon made even Wang Sheng wonder if the Special Investigation Unit was bending the rules a bit too far. When he asked his master, Qing Yanzi revealed that the mistress's father owned the private garden, the stables, and the hotel. The Special Investigation Unit had only paid a symbolic one-yuan venue fee.

Wang Sheng was rendered speechless. Naturally, it also raised a new question in his mind, but he asked the one that had been nagging at him for some time instead. "Mistress had been a rich young lady back in the day. How did she end up falling for a poor Daoist priest like you?"

"Because I'm handsome, of course." Qing Yanzi gave a casual wave, then walked off with a plate of pastries, heading toward the foreign delegation leaders to chat.

Perhaps this is what it means to be a winner in life.

Wang Sheng shook his head. He shouldered his sword case, helped his senior sister carry two plates of desserts, and walked toward a quiet corner of the restaurant.

"Daoist Master Fei Yu!" someone called from behind. Instantly, several nearby gazes turned toward him.

The name "Fei Yu" had already drawn quite a bit of attention that day.

Wang Sheng turned around and saw two young women from the Gelan delegation walking toward him. The one in front, dressed in armor, was the knight he had sparred with that morning.

The one who had called out in flawless Mandarin—far better than most Daoist masters—was the robed girl who had garnered quite a bit of attention and whose photo his master had shown him earlier. She was known as the beauty of the Gelan delegation.

Holding his tray, Wang Sheng politely nodded and asked, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Greetings, Daoist Master Fei Yu," the girl in white robes said with a smile. Her pale blue eyes were strikingly clear. "We'd like to invite you to join us for lunch, if you'd be so kind."

"I have friends waiting for me. I'm sorry," Wang Sheng declined politely.

The armored knight said a few words in her own language, her tone a little hesitant.

The robed girl interpreted, "Miss Shelley says she deeply admires your swordsmanship and hopes to have more exchanges with you. If it's possible, could you leave her a way to contact you directly?"

Wang Sheng blinked, unsure of how to reject the request without being rude.

Just then, Shi Qianzhang's laughter rang out beside him. "Give them mine! Brother Sheng's not good with this stuff. So, what's your preference? Facepage, Bluebird, or email? If you need to reach Brother Sheng, I'll pass the message along."

The two girls exchanged skeptical glances.

The robed girl chuckled. "I didn't realize before that you had such a close relationship with Daoist Master Fei Yu, Daoist Master Shi."

"Of course," Shi Qianzhang said solemnly, hands behind his back. "Brother Sheng is my lifelong confidant and friend."

Wang Sheng laughed softly but didn't say anything. Oddly enough, the female knight really did give her contact info to Shi Qianzhang. Meanwhile, the robed girl pulled out her phone, opened YouChat, and presented a QR code to Wang Sheng.

"Daoist Master Fei Yu, I'll be living in the Hua Republic for some time. May I add you as a friend?"

Wang Sheng didn't know what to say.

Shi Qianzhang gave him a helpless look. Clearly, this was beyond his ability to handle. Right now, they might even require Mu Wanxuan to step in personally.

1. refers to Wang Leehom's 2003 songFlower Field Mistake(花田错), a melancholic ballad about romantic regret. The phrase became an internet meme mocking overdramatic confrontations. ☜

2. The combined subculture of Anime, Comics, and Gaming. ☜