"Debating the Dao?"
Master Artisan Yu asked in surprise, "Wouldn't it be enough to simply ignore him?"
Ding Xuanshu did not speak.
Master Artisan Yu looked at him and frowned. "What, is that not possible?"
Ding Xuanshu explained as best he could, "We cultivators believe that battle is itself a debate of the Dao. If one refuses to answer the challenge, then what one says is likely without reason, and it will be difficult to convince anyone."
Master Artisan Yu found this unbelievable, but he truly did not understand cultivators' affairs. He said, "Then answer the challenge. Can Ding Xuanshu defeat him?"
Ding Xuanshu said ashamedly, "This man is a Turbid Canon cultivator of the Fourth Chapter Book. Judging by his talismans and seals, he has rendered quite a few meritorious services in the past. Moreover, he has spent a long time in the Outer Layer recently, so he must have undergone many trials. I fear it will be difficult for me to defeat him..."
Master Artisan Yu said as if it were only natural, "Then find someone else. There must be someone who can defeat him, right?"
Ding Xuanshu did not answer for a moment.
Master Artisan Yu stared at him with widened eyes. "Don't tell me there isn't a single person who can win?"
Ding Xuanshu did not know how to explain it.
He could not say that most of the profound cultivators the Celestial Mechanism Institute could recruit were those who had failed to prosper, and their combat abilities were generally weak. The reasoning was simple: if I am capable, why should I bow to the Celestial Mechanism Institute's whims? It would be more fitting for you to court me.
Seeing that he remained silent, Master Artisan Yu's expression immediately darkened. Suppressing his displeasure, he asked, "Is