Martial Hall Grand Competition

"Truly unexpected—Li City has produced someone like you!" Min Tie couldn't help but praise.

Lin Mu's expression remained calm, as if he didn't take it seriously at all.

"I originally planned to give you some pointers, but now it seems unnecessary," Min Tie said.

"I still need to thank you, Hall Master," Lin Mu replied.

"You're too polite!" A hint of thought crossed Min Tie's face as he looked at Lin Mu and broke into a smile.

"Speaking of which, if you have time, I'd like to ask for your help."

A trace of confusion appeared on Lin Mu's face. "What is it?"

"It's like this: in a couple of days, the martial arts halls here in Li City will hold a competition. Both sides will fight using Virtual Machines, meant to test each hall's level. The first-place winner gets a prize of one million."

"If you're interested, I hope you can represent our hall and participate."

"If you make it into the top ten, I'll give you a Second-Stage Cultivation Method. If you take first place... one million plus a Third-Stage Cultivation Method," Min Tie said.

Lin Mu's expression shifted slightly. "The prize money is only one million, and you're throwing in a Third-Stage Cultivation Method—doesn't that mean you'll take a loss?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Just participate," Min Tie said.

A flicker of thought crossed Lin Mu's face.

He still had plenty of time for now.

The Training Camp was still a while away, so he could indeed take part in the competition Min Tie mentioned.

Besides, they had helped him quite a bit.

Getting rewards while repaying a favor—it was really a good deal.

"Alright. But I don't have much time—at most three hours a day," Lin Mu said.

"No problem. It's just a match between a few halls; it won't take long," Min Tie replied.

Lei He stood to the side, a helpless look on his face.

He understood what Min Tie was thinking.

Lin Mu had extraordinary talent. If he could represent the hall in battle, win or lose, it would boost the hall's reputation.

And if Lin Mu took first place, the hall's name would be thoroughly established outside.

For the hall, that was a huge gain.

Of course, Min Tie hadn't shortchanged Lin Mu either.

A Third-Stage Cultivation Method!

Given Lin Mu's personality, he would definitely choose the hardest one.

Its price would be at least five million or more.

After all, cultivation methods were far more expensive than Martial Skills.

After a few more words with Lin Mu, Min Tie left with Lei He.

Lin Mu, on the other hand, exchanged for several B-grade Potions and threw himself back into training.

His Movement Technique was like thunder, a wild aura surging forth with it.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Lin Mu had been immersed in training the Thunder-Slaying Three Blades the entire time.

He found this Martial Skill to be astonishing.

The more he trained, the stronger his body became.

Acupoints in various positions were forced open.

His agility also became extremely sharp.

Lin Mu let out a light breath. His figure moved, and the blade shadow in his hand was as solid as reality.

As he swung it, crackling thunderclaps rang out.

Moreover, the blade in Lin Mu's hand seemed capable of tearing the air apart.

Waves of intimidating force radiated from him, making him seem like a blade god.

As he finished one cycle of the blade technique.

The technique had successfully reached Minor Mastery.

In two days, bringing such a difficult blade technique to Minor Mastery (1%)—that speed was terrifying.

Of course, this was also thanks to the B-grade Potions.

With their help, Lin Mu felt as if he had activated berserk mode.

No fatigue!

No soreness!

The blood and qi within his body were extremely abundant.

Almost every time he executed a blade technique, he could clearly feel the rapid circulation of blood and qi within him.

At this moment, Lin Mu finally understood just how much high-grade medicine could aid in cultivation.

And this was only B-grade supplies.

If it were A-grade or S-grade, how powerful the effects would be, Lin Mu dared not even imagine.

"Some people from well-off families are born with the best resources, their strength growing rapidly. Some even have secret arts used on them in the womb to open their meridians, giving them immense power from birth!"

"Compared to them, I'm still far from enough!"

Lin Mu thought to himself.

His figure walked outside, where Min Tie and Lei He were waiting. Seeing him, they both stood up with smiles on their faces.

"Done cultivating?" Min Tie asked with a grin.

If anyone else in the martial hall saw this scene, they would be shocked.

This was the iron-faced Hall Master, usually stern and unsmiling.

Yet he treated Lin Mu like this.

"En!" Lin Mu nodded.

"Let's go!" Min Tie said.

Lin Mu followed him outside.

They got into a small car, and the vehicle drove forward.

Min Tie also explained some rules to Lin Mu.

The entire competition rules were fairly simple.

It used an elimination and points-based format.

Completing one match earned ten points. After five matches, the bottom fifty percent in points were eliminated.

Then the matches continued until the champion was decided.

"So that means, even if I don't win the final match, as long as I've earned enough points before, I can still take first place?" Lin Mu asked.

"Not so!" Min Tie shook his head.

"The final match's points are multiplied by ten. Usually, by the time both sides reach the end, their points aren't far apart. Losing that one match basically makes it impossible to claim first!" Min Tie explained.

Lin Mu nodded: "Understood!"

"Do your best! If you can take first this time, I'll take you out for a good meal!" Min Tie smiled.

"I'll try my best!" Lin Mu said.

They chatted a few more lines before arriving at the Virtual Duel Hall.

Several dozen figures were already waiting there.

As soon as Min Tie and the others got out of the car, a few people walked over.

"Hall Master Min, long time no see!" a burly, tiger-backed man said with a smile.

"Hall Master Li! Long time no see!" Min Tie smiled.

But from their eyes, it was clear these two weren't familiar with each other.

"Hall Master Min is still as spirited as ever, and your people look full of energy too!" Li Guangzhu said.

"You flatter me. Our hall is small, can't compare to yours!" Min Tie replied.

"That's true. Barring any surprises, we'll probably only get third place again this year. Still far behind the top two!" Li Guangzhu shook his head slightly.

Lin Mu's expression remained calm, but he could hear the sense of superiority in Li Guangzhu's words.

"Top three is already quite good!" Min Tie said.

"Being suppressed by them every year is pretty rough! But don't say I didn't warn you—if you still can't even make the top ten this year, Li Wu probably won't let you off easy!" Li Guangzhu shifted the topic and said slowly.

Min Tie's expression wasn't great.

He knew what Li Guangzhu meant.

If the competition results were still poor this year, the martial hall's investors would reconsider their investment.

After all, those people were capital.

They cared a lot about returns.

If the martial hall couldn't place in the competition, it meant the hall wasn't up to par.

That would naturally affect student enrollment.

"And I've also heard that those few from Augu Martial Hall have been getting very close to Li Wu lately. You'd better be careful!" Li Guangzhu said with a hint of a smile, lightly patting Min Tie's shoulder.