A Beauty Brings Calamity

Since ancient times, profit had moved people's hearts. Even though Li Mu had lived two lives, he was still only human.

He coveted the rewards the sect was offering, of course, but making a name for himself was another reason. Compared with slowly building a reputation through bloody battles in the jianghu, earning one through the tournament was much easier—and much safer.

The ordinary Mount Hua disciples needed no explanation. They were in the throes of youthful restlessness, each hoping to make a name for himself in the tournament and catch the attention of the "female heroes."

The clash of blades and the flash of swords was, after all, a man's world. Aside from a handful of women's sects, most jianghu groups were made up primarily of male disciples. It was, in the end, a world with "too many wolves and too little meat."

After seeing so many female heroes in all their dashing glory, ordinary women had a hard time catching anyone's eye. Of course, a big part of that was simply that they were out of reach; what you couldn't have was always the best.

Maybe it was because of their internal energy, but the women in this martial-arts world really were beautiful. If not for the "Sword of Damocles" that was the Sword and Qi Factions dispute, hanging overhead and liable to fall at any moment, Li Mu might have been tempted to go out of his way to court them.

Perhaps it was because there was a beauty nearby and everyone wanted to show off, but the tournament was progressing even faster than Li Mu had expected. Cai Buli and Yao Buzhou, the two rising stars, were especially formidable. Few opponents could last ten moves against either of them.

They were basking in the glory, but their senior brothers were the ones who suffered. Losing face was a small matter; if they were slow to admit defeat, they might even get hurt.

Their injuries were only minor, but the bouts between fellow disciples had become far too fierce. Many of the sect's elders were frowning. If they hadn't been mindful of the outsiders present, they would probably have stepped in.

Even from far away, Li Mu could smell the tension. The two seemed to be trying to outdo each other, unwilling to let the other steal the limelight.

The atmosphere of friendly sparring had been ruined, and Li Mu's opinion of the two had plummeted. He didn't know what had happened, but judging by the way they were carrying themselves now, they were hardly fit to shoulder the responsibility of becoming Mount Hua Sect's senior disciple, let alone inherit the sect.

"A beauty brings calamity!"

Seeing another senior brother kicked off the platform, Zhou Qingyun couldn't help sighing.

So there was a story behind it. If nothing had happened and they had always been like this, they wouldn't have won the support of so many fellow disciples.

"High martial arts skill, a genius"—how did he compare with Feng Qingyang?

In this world, people only remembered the first. The second and third were destined to play supporting roles. When Mount Hua Sect raised the next generation, it considered not only martial arts skill, but also temperament and character.

Li Mu's curiosity was stirred. If the occasion had been more suitable, he would have loved to ask what had happened.

A man in his mid-to-late twenties, dressed in blue, drifted down onto the platform.

"Sword Saint!"

"Sword Saint!"

The crowd's calls rang out. The newcomer was none other than Mount Hua Sect's legendary figure, Feng Qingyang.

It seemed that the sect's senior leaders were troubled by the earlier bouts and worried things might get out of hand. They had even brought out Feng Qingyang, who rarely showed his face.

It made sense. Judging by Cai Buli and Yao Buzhou's bearing, the two would probably face off next. They were both formidable first-rate experts. If they let their tempers flare, an ordinary elder might not be able to rein them in—and someone could even die.

No matter what, the two had been raised at great expense by Mount Hua Sect. They absolutely could not be allowed to fall in a tournament bout.

Only a top expert could be certain of separating them at a critical moment. Mount Hua Sect's top experts were Feng Qingyang and Sect Leader Ning Qingyu. Surely they couldn't have the sect leader personally oversee the matches?

Perhaps Cai Buli and Yao Buzhou's behavior had angered him. Feng Qingyang's expression was grim, and his voice was icy.

"The open challenge matches begin now!"

"As before, the disciples who placed in the top ten last time will defend their platforms. You may choose your opponents and challenge them freely, but each person gets only one chance.

"Hidden weapons are forbidden during the matches, as is deliberately injuring your opponent..."

Without a doubt, Feng Qingyang was emphasizing the rules again with Cai Buli and Yao Buzhou in mind. As he spoke, he glanced toward where they stood, his warning unmistakable.

They said the previous tournament's top ten would defend their platforms, but in reality, only five had taken the stage. Three senior brothers had been injured in earlier bouts and were forced to withdraw from the rest of the tournament.

You could only say that luck was part of strength. With so many guests watching, they obviously couldn't wait for the injured disciples to recover before continuing.

The other two were easy to explain. The jianghu was always full of unexpected turns, and Mount Hua disciples weren't completely safe either. Those two were examples of "misfortune."

That worked out just fine: there were five platforms, one for each defender, so no one had to wait in line.

Choosing your own opponent for a challenge match also came with plenty of unspoken rules. They were, after all, a righteous sect, so they had to uphold dignity and propriety, not pursue victory at any cost.

For example, the challenges began with the senior brothers who had ranked higher. Junior brothers who ranked lower could watch first and look for weaknesses. After each bout, the fighters rested for a quarter of an hour to recover their strength.

There could be no endless gauntlet. If Li Mu, the top-ranked disciple among the fifth cohort to enter the sect, challenged a senior brother and lost, the junior brothers ranked below him couldn't challenge that same senior brother afterward.

They couldn't take advantage of opponents who had fought to a standstill and were now exhausted, especially when their own abilities were far inferior.

All in all, these unwritten rules mostly favored disciples who had joined the sect later.

Those allowed to enter the challenge matches were no ordinary disciples. Most of the time, a quarter of an hour wasn't enough to recover, which was unfair to the senior brothers who had gone first.

But from the sect's perspective, that was the greatest fairness of all. Disciples who entered earlier had trained longer and already held an advantage. Without some limits, the tournament would be meaningless.

Of course, that advantage only applied during the challenges. Once they claimed a place in the top ten and became platform defenders, they no longer received any special treatment.

That was only right. Making the top ten meant receiving the sect's focused support, and the higher your ranking, the more resources you got—far more than an ordinary disciple could hope for. If you couldn't hold on to your place three years later, you deserved to lose it.

The challenge matches were nothing like the earlier bouts. The difference in strength among the five platform defenders was simply too great.

Cai Buli was at the mid-stage of the first-rate realm, Yao Buzhou at the late stage, while the other three senior brothers were still at the peak of the second-rate realm.

Their aptitudes weren't all that different, and they had trained in the same internal cultivation method. With such a wide gap in their current cultivation, there had to be a story behind it.

If nothing unexpected had happened, Cai Buli and Yao Buzhou had probably received special training from the Sword and Qi Factions since childhood, with the goal of gaining an edge over the other side.

Perhaps their elders had placed too much importance on them and shielded them too well, leaving them without enough steadiness of character.