Nine Star Hegemon Body Art (WN)
chapter-568

Long Chen looked at that person. He had only reached the late Meridian Opening realm. His aura was condensed, but he was no Celestial.

Furthermore, he might have shouted for a deathmatch, but there was not the slightest killing intent coming from him. He was clearly just trying to intimidate him. Most likely, he was someone who had gotten used to using his status to suppress others.

“Do you recognize this child?” Long Chen asked Mo Nian.

“No. I’d guess that he comes from another prefecture and was drawn here because of its fame. How could I possibly know such a character?” Mo Nian shook his head.

“Oh.”

Long Chen nodded and then continued eating.

“You… you coward! I want a deathmatch with you! Do you dare?!” raged that person upon seeing Long Chen give him the cold shoulder.

“Forget about it. I’m afraid of you, okay?” Long Chen answered vaguely, too lazy to compete with such a person.

With a single glance, it was obvious that this person was a pampered child in his family. He was a greenhouse flower who had never had to suffer. For Long Chen to compete against him was bullying a child.

“Hmph, count yourself smart.” Seeing Long Chen ‘retreat’, that person snorted and sat back down, beginning to once more calmly sip his wine.

However, this flashy display of his didn’t draw any beauties to his side. He could only continue calmly sitting there.

After that small disturbance, Mo Nian hastily apologized to the three women. But the three of them were very amiable and were unconcerned.

Two of them began to quietly converse with Mo Nian and Mu Xue. Long Chen was surprised to realize that their conversation was about martial arts.

They discussed things relating to Battle Skills, martial arts, and related topics. Only then did Long Chen realize that he really had misjudged this place.

One woman was talking with Mo Nian, while the other woman was talking with Mu Xue. Only Yu Tong hadn’t said a single word, just watching Long Chen devouring his food.

“How about you eat as well?” said Long Chen awkwardly.

“It’s fine, you can eat first. Once you’re full, I have some questions and I’d like to ask for your guidance.” Yu Tong smiled slightly.

“Then you’ll have to wait for a while. I’m very hungry.” Long Chen truly was hungry. But at the same time, he also wanted to hear what Mo Nian and Mu Xue were saying.

As for the mercenaries, they could only watch. Even though they could eat, they didn’t dare to. It was like eating in front of these women was a blasphemy.

Listening to Mo Nian’s discussion, Long Chen was startled that although these women’s cultivation bases weren’t apparent, their comprehension of the Martial Dao was frighteningly high.

That woman asked Mo Nian several questions, and Mo Nian also asked her several questions pertaining to cultivation and how to handle bottlenecks. That woman demonstrated an extremely high level of understanding, and some of her methods were so incredible that it would make a person slap the table and shout with praise.

Long Chen finally understood why those men whom these women sat next to would seem like they were sitting on pins and needles.

These women asked very profound questions. If you replied wrongly, they would leave you.

Their conversation was very fair. They would ask one question, and then they would answer one question.

However, Mu Xue only exchanged three questions with her woman when the woman stopped asking any questions. Mu Xue was slightly ashamed. She had been unable to reply to that woman’s question. It was evident that their realms were not on the same level.

But Mo Nian did have some skills. He conversed for a long time with his woman. It seemed he gained great benefits from this trip.

However, the two of them only talked for two incense sticks’ worth of time before that woman paused and looked at Long Chen.

With everyone looking at him, Long Chen didn’t have the nerve to keep eating. Rubbing his mouth, he expressed that he had finished eating.

But before Yu Tong could ask him a question, he bashfully asked, “Miss Yu Tong, is it alright if I ask you a question first?”

“Of course.” Yu Tong smiled.

“Do you like me?” asked Long Chen ‘uneasily’.

Everyone was struck dumb. Mo Nian glared at Long Chen. Wasn’t this a bit too vicious? How could he be so direct?

Yu Tong was also startled. She shook her head. “No.”

“Ah, then I can teach you^[1]. In truth liking a person is very simple…” Long Chen’s eyes lit up.

“Pfft, Long Chen, how can you be so shameless!” Even Mo Nian was unable to bear it, and he almost coughed up blood.

“Isn’t this just a joke? Don’t take it so seriously. The main thing was that the atmosphere was just too tense.” Long Chen laughed.

Yu Tong was somewhat speechless, shaking her head. “Mister Long Chen really is different from others. However, there’s really no need for everyone to be like that. We’re all cultivators, and on the cultivation path, we are all a bunch of children. There are no such things as high-class and low-class!”

Her words were received very gratefully by the mercenaries, as that was a recognition and comfort to them. In her eyes, everyone was the same.

What did it mean to be high-class? It meant possessing a noble character and having high personal accomplishments. Being high-class didn’t mean discriminating and trampling over others in order to find a meaning for your own existence.

As for those people outside, they fundamentally didn’t know what it meant to be high-class. It was just like Long Chen said: they were just a bunch of acting playboys.

“Miss Yu Tong, let me offer you a cup. Your magnanimity is truly admirable.” This was Long Chen’s first time having a favorable opinion of these women. He sensed that Yu Tong’s words weren’t the slightest bit artificial, so she truly viewed everyone equally.

“Long Chen, they…” Mo Nian was about to say that these women didn’t drink wine.

“In respect to mister Long Chen’s admiration, Yu Tong can only accept.” Yu Tong smiled and shockingly raised her cup, touching it to Long Chen’s.

This action made Mo Nian dumbfounded. And it wasn’t just Mo Nian. Everyone was flabbergasted.

The Immortal Intoxication Building’s ladies never drank wine. But Yu Tong had made an exception for Long Chen. Furthermore, Yu Tong was not an ordinary lady.

With her looks, other than the queen flower, no one could suppress her. She rarely appeared within the Immortal Intoxication Building.

But this time, not only had she revealed herself, but she had drunk a cup of wine with someone else. That made everyone feel intensely envious of Long Chen.

“I’m glad mister Long Chen thought highly enough of Yu Tong to drink a cup. I trust that when you converse with me, you definitely won’t hold anything back,” said Yu Tong.

Ah, I got duped. With a single cup of alcohol, Yu Tong made it so that Long Chen would have to respond sincerely, or he would become an untrustworthy, petty person.

“Don’t worry, you can ask what you want as long as it doesn’t involve my personal secrets.” Long Chen patted himself on the chest.

Long Chen also gave himself a way out. Some things had to be kept private. It wasn’t as if he could respond if she asked what cultivation technique he trained in. This was self-protection, and it wouldn’t count as breaking a promise.

“Don’t worry, we only discuss the Dao. So you don’t have to have any misgivings and can argue your point as boldly as you please.” Yu Tong seemed to see straight through Long Chen’s intentions.

That made Long Chen much more at ease. He thought that Yu Tong would directly ask him a question, but surprisingly, she first asked Mu Xue, “Junior sister Mu Xue, what is the Dao?”

Mu Xue was startled, not expecting Yu Tong to ask her such a profound question immediately. For a moment, she had no idea what to reply.

After thinking about it, she replied, “In my opinion, this so-called Dao should be a kind of truth. Or perhaps it is the highest embodiment of a kind of concept. But to the current me, it is too distant. This reply will probably cause you to laugh at me.”

Mu Xue was somewhat embarrassed. She had cultivated for this long and had already reached the Xiantian realm, but she had never thought of such a profound question, as she had felt that topic to be too far away from her.

“Miss Mu Xue doesn’t need to be modest. We also don’t know what the Dao is. That is why we need to search for our own answer within the mundane world. You don’t know the answer, but we also don’t know. We’re all searching for the answer on the same level. There’s nothing to laugh at.” Yu Tong smiled. Her words were very comforting, and Mu Xue nodded gratefully towards her.

The Immortal Intoxication Building’s ladies all possessed a high-class charm. But it wasn’t the kind of fake high-class act that came from being arrogant. It was extremely comforting, and it made people feel great respect for them.

“Mister Mo Nian, what is the Dao?” Yu Tong asked Mo Nian the same question.

“In my opinion, the Dao is a concept when something is taken to the peak, when truth reaches a pinnacle. It is the law of behaviors that encompasses everything within heaven and earth,” said Mo Nian.

“Oh? Can you explain it in more detail?” Yu Tong’s eyes brightened slightly.

“The word known as the Dao is a set of laws. According to my understanding, the Dao is a kind of truth.

“This truth contains two sides, which is why the Dao can be split into Yin and Yang. Everything within this world has two opposing sides. If there is a high, there is a low. If there is an up, there is a down.

“For example, let us say one side is Yin and one side is Yang. Then this so-called Yang Dao is the hard side of cultivators. When brute strength is taken to the peak, it is so fierce that others are helpless. It is filled with the courage to charge forward despite all obstacles. That is the Yang Dao. Now, about the Yin Dao. The Yin Dao is-”^[2]

“Pfft!”

Long Chen was in the midst of drinking when he suddenly spat it out below the table. It was lucky his reaction had been quick enough, or it would have spurted all over the table.

Mo Nian immediately realized what he had said and rephrased, “This Yin side of the Dao is to use soft force. Like the water the wood floats on, the waves of the water can also snap the wood and devour ships. Although it is not an explosive power, its power is still limitless, possessing no beginning and no end.

“If you have too much Yang force, it’ll be easy for you to snap. If you have too much Yin force, you’ll have no sharpness. The two of them are not true strength. True strength is a combination of Yin and Yang, the two of them complementing and making up for the other’s flaws.

“This is my comprehension of this so-called Dao. In my opinion, nothing is absolute. Whether you reach the pinnacle of Yang or the pinnacle of Yin, they are both dead paths. Only when the two combine will there be life.”

The three women couldn’t help but clap. Yu Tong said, “Mister Mo Nian’s knowledge and experience truly is amazing. It has let me see an even vaster world. I have benefited immensely.”

“You’re too kind. I was the one who benefited more. The things I’ve learned today are enough for me to use for a lifetime,” said Mo Nian courteously.

Yu Tong nodded and then solemnly asked, “Mister Mo Nian, what is the King Dao?”

^[1] Long Chen asks her if she likes him like this: 你会喜欢我吗? This can be taken literally as ‘do you know how to like me’. Yu Tong replies 不会 as in she doesn’t know.

^[2] When he says the Yin Dao, he says 阴经道, which would sound the same as 阴茎道, meaning Penis Dao.