[I don’t know him at all. I also only found out about him today through the ‘divinity show’.] Song Shuhang sighed, then continued to write. [However, during the ‘Profound Sage Speech’, he suddenly called me out. He said ‘no one has ever claimed to be first in literature, just as no one has ever been willing to be second in military power’.]

　　Venerable White quickly replied, [Did you agree to his challenge?]

　　Song Shuhang’s heart was stifled as he replied, [How could I possibly do so? I’m not like Senior Thrice Reckless, who has the hobby of seeking death. Sage Monarch Winter Melon was in the ‘Profound Sage Speech’ state when he suddenly announced that he was going to fight me. Contrary to what the practitioners in the universe might expect, I want to refuse the challenge, but I don’t seem to have the ability to do so.]

　　Venerable White replied, [I see, so he wants to challenge you due to your title of ‘first Sage in a thousand years’. Have you figured a way to deal with him? If you can’t think of anything, then just bring out the nuclear bombs. I’m grinding hydrogen bombs as we speak, and I would like to find out if there’s still any weapon after the hydrogen bomb. If there’s an even more powerful weapon, I’ll see if I can collect it.]

　　Using the nuclear bombs? Senior White really had the same idea as him. But, it would be better to use those nuclear bombs as a last resort… After all, their power was quite devastating.

　　Song Shuhang then replied, [Senior White, that’s what I thought as well, but I’m a little worried whether the hydrogen bomb’s power could cause irreparable damage to the Earth.]

　　The power of the heavenly tribulation hydrogen bomb was way higher than hydrogen bombs made by humans. It not only had the characteristics of normal hydrogen bombs, but possessed the power of the heavenly tribulation on top of it.

　　The power of the heavenly tribulation of the Eighth Stage was so great that it could cause irreparable damage to the Earth. It was exactly for this reason that Seventh Stage Venerables were sent to the Heavenly Tribulation Realm when transcending their tribulation.

　　Besides obtaining a source of formidable power, Song Shuhang was worried about something else as well… because Sage Monarch Winter Melon had said that he would come to China on the night of the next full moon.

　　As such, assuming nothing went wrong, the duel would definitely take place in China.

　　If so, what would end up happening if he were to use the hydrogen bomb?

　　If a hydrogen bomb were to suddenly explode in China, what would the officials think of it?

　　[F*ck, we only promised that we wouldn’t be using nuclear weapons first, but not that we wouldn’t ever use them. Who is so crazy to detonate a nuclear bomb in our territory? Do you really think that the nuclear weapons we’ve accumulated are only for show?]

　　The other party had already launched a nuclear bomb into their territory, so why would they still dare be cowards?

　　If they dared stay cowardly, there was only a single path, one that led to death!

　　And so… The Third World War began.

　　Song Shuhang would have become a sinner, condemned by all history books.

　　The thought alone left him terrified.

　　“Heavens~ If I’m really forced to use nuclear bombs, I would have to ask Senior White or Pavilion Master Chu for some assistance, asking them to use their spatial abilities to bring us to space for the duel.”

　　As Song Shuhang was still in thought, Venerable White quickly replied, [Honestly, I don’t think it’s necessary for you to detonate the hydrogen bombs. I believe that the greatest advantage of nuclear weapons isn’t their destructive power. Instead, you only have to bring out the hydrogen bombs when you are about to duel on the night of the next full moon. Once Sage Monarch Winter Melon senses their power, he will be deterred. Well, a single hydrogen bomb should still be manageable for Sage Monarch Winter Melon as he’s quite good at defending… So, before the night of the next full moon, I’ll collect a lot of hydrogen bombs. It would be best if I could get over 100 hydrogen bombs and about 1000 nuclear bombs. That should be enough to deter Sage Monarch Winter Melon.]

　　When Song Shuhang saw the reply, his eyes brightened more and more.

　　Nuclear deterrence! Yes, that was it!

　　Destruction wasn’t the only way to solve problems—deterrence had a similar effect.

　　Especially that last sentence, it was really Senior White’s style––100 hydrogen bombs, 1000 nuclear bombs!

　　Song Shuhang subconsciously imagined the scene in his head.

　　On the night of the next full moon, somewhere in China.

　　Sage Monarch Winter Melon trod in the air, with the Sage Seal making him look more dignified.

　　And Song Shuhang, with his arms crossed, stood in place as he waited for his arrival.

　　Then…

　　The duel between the two Profound Sages began.

　　Sage Monarch Winter Melon would have brought out his golden battle armor as he held his golden sword, ready for battle.

　　At that point, Song Shuhang only needed to exhibit the posture of an expert and open his Inner World, slowly bringing out 1000 nuclear bombs and 100 hydrogen bombs. It would be better if he didn’t bring them out all at once, and instead let half of the nuclear weapons stay in the Inner World, only allowing the warheads to be only faintly discernible in the main world.

　　Song Shuhang was even thinking about what lines would be good to say that would go well with his posture.

　　For example, he could cross his arms while wearing a light smile. “Sage Monarch Winter Melon… do you really want to fight me?”

　　This was the bearing of a master.

　　Or, perhaps he could look cold and say, “This is my power, Fellow Daoist Winter Melon. Can your path of defense defend against my art of explosion?”

　　Or he could even be a little bit chuuni, and put one hand on his forehead as he laughed wildly. “Hahaha, have you seen enough, Fellow Daoist Winter Melon? Surrender to my power. This is the gap between the first Sage in a thousand years and the fifth Sage!”

　　The more he thought about the scene, the more he found it cool!

　　Song Shuhang quickly replied, [Thank you for showing me the light, Senior White. This plan should work out just fine. I now have the confidence to face Sage Monarch Winter Melon.]

　　Sage Monarch Winter Melon, 100 hydrogen bombs and 1000 nuclear bombs. Are you afraid?!

　　Venerable White replied, [Hm… by the way, I’m hungry. When are you going to send me food? I’ve consumed quite a bit of power.]

　　Song Shuhang quickly replied, [Right away! I’m going to look for Immortal Fairy Bie Xue.]

　　Senior White had worked hard grinding the heavenly tribulation, so he felt that he had to reward him with food and drink.

　　With a reliable plan to deal with Sage Monarch Winter Melon in hand, Song Shuhang was now at ease.

　　Song Shuhang said, “Senior White Crane, could you please take Shi and Little Cai home first?”

　　“No problem.” True Monarch White Crane was unexpectedly very cooperative––also, when it replied to Song Shuhang’s question, it quietly picked up the pieces of paper beside Song Shuhang.

　　Those were the pieces of paper with Song Shuhang and Venerable White’s conversation.

　　The words above were personally written by Senior White!

　　True Monarch White Crane carefully stored them away… Of course, it didn’t forget to use a pair of small scissors to cut out Song Shuhang’s replies.

　　On some of the pieces of paper, Song Shuhang’s replies were on the back. As such, True Monarch White Crane used sword qi to cut the pieces of paper into two thin pieces. It then kept the side with Venerable White’s writing while discarding the side with Song Shuhang’s writing.

　　After collecting the ones with Venerable White’s writings, True monarch White Crane looked at Song Shuhang vigilantly. “These pieces of paper… Can you give them to me?”

　　Song Shuhang: “…”

　　If I don’t give them to you, will you take them from me without killing me?

　　Looking at Senior White Crane’s posture, it seemed that if Song Shuhang were to say no, he wouldn’t be able to leave the classroom unscathed.

　　Shi then asked, “Senior Brother Song, will you be home for dinner tonight?”

　　Song Shuhang replied, “Tonight, I’ll be going to Immortal Fairy Bie Xue’s place. You and Little Cai wait for me at home. I’ll bring you some delicious food when I get back.”

　　The crocodile leg was very big. He and Immortal Fairy Bie Xue had made a deal: two-thirds of the crocodile leg would be Immortal Fairy’s payment, while she would cook the remaining one-third and give it to Song Shuhang.

　　“Ok,” Shi said as she nodded cutely.

　　…She suddenly felt that choosing Senior Brother Song’s location to experience the world of mortals had been the best choice. In just a few days, she was able to get a taste of Immortal Fairy Bie Xue’s cooking several times.

　　How wonderful would it be to be able to eat Immortal Fairy Bie Xue’s delicacies every day!

　　Unfortunately, ‘Zhu’ wasn’t strong enough yet.

　　If Zhu were with her, she would definitely be very happy, right?

　　❄️❄️❄️

　　Song Shuhang and Sixteen walked side by side towards Jiangnan University Town’s East gate.

　　Su Clan’s Sixteen then asked, “Where’s Immortal Fairy Bie Xue?”

　　“The coordinates of her residence are recorded on my phone. In a while, we can directly fly there on our sabers.” After saying that, he prepared to bring out his phone… but then he immediately remembered that he had lent it to Venerable White so that he could play games in the Heavenly Tribulation Realm.

　　“I’m no longer used to not having my phone when I go out,” Song Shuhang said.

　　Fortunately, he still had a rough impression of where Immortal Fairy Bie Xue lived.

　　As the two walked together, some students of Jiangnan University Town glanced at them curiously.

　　The height difference between Shuhang and Sixteen was rather cute. Adding Su Clan’s Sixteen’s beauty on top of that, they naturally stood out as they walked together.

　　However, the specific reason as to why the students were looking at them was neither of those.

　　Song Shuhang found that the students were all looking at him regardless of whether they were male or female.

　　Nobody was looking at the beautiful Su Clan’s Sixteen right beside him, yet they were all looking at him, a grown man, instead?

　　Wait… I’ve already shown my divinity in front of the masses, so maybe the talisman from Scholar Tyrant Star no longer works. This isn’t good… These students haven’t recognized me as ‘Senior Brother Gao Sheng’, right?

　　Song Shuhang’s heart was filled with uneasiness.

　　But at this moment, the gazes of the students changed into one of respect.

　　“Hello, Mister Tyrannical Song.” A student who was a complete stranger to Song Shuhang and Su Clan’s Sixteen greeted them of his own volition as he passed by them.

　　This student’s action seemed to have caused a chain reaction.

　　Everyone who passed by or got close to Song Shuhang, no matter whether male or female, started greeting him. “Hello, Mister Tyrannical Song.”

　　What Tyrannical Song?!

　　At the same time, Song Shuhang understood that this was the terrifying effect drawn out by the Sage Seal in his body.

　　“Let’s go faster.” Song Shuhang pulled Su Clan’s Sixteen as he quickly ran away.