Disputes Within the Sect

"Brother Zhou, you are truly blessed; Nephew Bu Mu is about to win."

"Brother Liu is right. With Nephew Bu Mu's lightness skills, he is already invincible among those of the same realm. Coupled with the ethereal Thirteen Styles of Gentle Breeze, most first-rate martial artists are no match for him."

The battle on the ring was ethereal, and the view from below was spectacular. As the competition continued, Zhou Qingyun had become the object of everyone's envy.

Wherever there are people, there is a pugilistic world, especially in the Mount Hua Sect, which is plagued by severe internal strife. Having just been reprimanded by the Sect Leader, the elders of the Sword Sect were plotting how to strike back.

This competition provided the perfect opportunity. The elders of the Sword Sect appeared to be praising Li Mu and his master, but in reality, they were mocking the Qi Sect, attempting to score a point.

Although they were only competing for third place, it was still an advantage. Especially with Cai and Yao performing poorly, this advantage was further magnified.

Such petty maneuvers naturally could not escape Ning Qingyu. However, he was not only the head of the Qi Sect but also the Sect Leader of the Mount Hua Sect; it was a good thing for talented disciples to emerge, and he could not lash out over such trivial matters.

Ning Qingyu laughed heartily: "You are all right, brothers. We should indeed focus on cultivating talents like Nephew Bu Mu."

"Brother Zhou, you have taught your disciple well, and talents are emerging from your lineage. I wonder what the secret is? Perhaps we should sit down and exchange ideas later."

Having seen his fair share of storms, Ning Qingyu defused the awkwardness in a few words. It seemed like a promise of "focused cultivation," but in reality, it was just a polite, cost-free remark.

The rules of the game had long been set: the top ten disciples of the grand competition would receive focused cultivation from the sect. Unless Li Mu failed to even make the top ten, Ning Qingyu's promise was nothing but empty talk.

Zhou Qingyun feigned humility and said: "The Sect Leader is too kind. How could I dare to show off my meager abilities? Although Bu Mu is decent, his cultivation is still too low after all. If the sect could provide a certain amount of resource allocation..."

If Li Mu were here, he would surely be shocked; his master, who usually had a detached temperament, was actually seizing the opportunity to climb higher.

However, Zhou Qingyun had chosen a good time. Since Ning Qingyu had already praised him, even if the Qi Sect elders wanted to object, they could not slap their own leader in the face.

As for the elders of the Sword Sect, it was even more impossible for them to object.

The position of Sect Leader had always been held by the Qi Sect, and the Sword Sect was already at a disadvantage in resource allocation. Now that there was a chance to squeeze some out, they would not let it go. Even the smallest mosquito has meat.

As soon as he finished speaking, the elders of the Sword Sect voiced their support:

"Brother Zhou is right. Nephew Bu Mu is exceptionally gifted, and the sect's resources should indeed be tilted toward him."

"Indeed, Brother Liu makes a valid point..."

Ning Qingyu's expression was slightly solemn. Being a Sect Leader is not easy, especially for a sect like Mount Hua, where internal strife is intense.

He not only had to look after the interests of the Qi Sect but also had to take the Sword Sect into account, balancing the scales as much as possible—or at least making them appear balanced.

If he were unfair, and they collectively went on strike, the operation of the Mount Hua Sect would immediately run into trouble.

After a moment of contemplation, as if he had thought of something, Ning Qingyu's grim expression relaxed.

"The sect has established rules for resource allocation, and breaking them without cause would inevitably lead to dissatisfaction. However, considering that talent is hard to come by, we will give Nephew Bu Mu an extra opportunity."

"After the grand competition concludes, there will be sparring with fellow martial artists from the pugilistic world. As long as Nephew Bu Mu can defeat any three people on the list, the reward for the grand competition will be doubled to the share of the first-place winner!"

"This rule also applies to other second-rate disciples in the sect."

As a righteous sect, the Mount Hua Sect naturally could not play the game of "those who submit prosper, those who resist perish." Although the essence was the same, it had to be masked.

Making this grand competition a high-profile event was a warning to the many martial arts factions, while also raising their own status in the pugilistic world.

Relying solely on showing off martial power was not enough; they had to engage in personal sparring to deepen the impression.

Clearly, it was more effective for disciples to step forward than for elders to do so themselves. If they couldn't even beat a disciple of the 'Bu' generation, they would naturally know what to do when conflicts of interest arose with the Mount Hua Sect in the future.

Of course, such tricks could only be used against "soft persimmons"; otherwise, if they failed to establish authority and were pushed back, it would be embarrassing.

To ensure foolproof results, the Mount Hua Sect had collected information in advance, selecting a group of "soft persimmons" who did not have good relations with Mount Hua to serve as the objects for killing the chicken to scare the monkey.

"Soft persimmons" are also relative. Everyone on the list was a famous figure in the pugilistic world, with a cultivation level of at least the first-rate.

Originally, these were prepared for "Cai and Yao" as stepping stones for them to make a name for themselves; now, other disciples had the opportunity as well.

Unfortunately, these "soft persimmons" were still a bit too strong for ordinary Mount Hua disciples. It would be more appropriate to squeeze them in three to five years, once everyone had broken through their cultivation bottlenecks.

They were hard to deal with individually, let alone winning three matches. Since they couldn't win anyway, giving out extra rewards didn't matter.

If someone really managed to win three matches by overcoming the strong with the weak, that would be even better. It would mean another genius had risen in the Mount Hua Sect, and a few rewards would be nothing.

Ning Qingyu was quite confident in his methods. Just look at Feng Qingyang; although he was from the Sword Sect, after being cultivated, he was still very respectful toward him.

Every time a conflict between the Sword and Qi Factions erupted, Feng Qingyang stood by his side, playing the role of a mediator.

The reason for this was that during Feng Qingyang's growth, Ning Qingyu had defied public opinion and provided him with strong support.

If not for this grace, Feng Qingyang, as a Sword Sect disciple, would never have been able to let go of his hatred and silently guard the Mount Hua Sect for so many years after the Sword-Qi conflict.

It was precisely because he was fair and his methods were strong enough that Ning Qingyu was able to integrate the contradictory Sword and Qi Factions, leading Mount Hua to become the third-largest righteous sect, with a momentum approaching that of Shaolin and Wudang.

As if struggling internally, after a long silence, Zhou Qingyun slowly said: "The Sect Leader is right. It was my rashness."

"One should not accept rewards without merit. The Mount Hua Sect has its own rules and regulations; it is indeed inappropriate to seek special treatment."

Yet, that calm expression made it hard to believe that his proposal had just been "thwarted."

Doubts aside, since the master of the protagonist did not object, others naturally had no opinion.

Li Mu, on the ring, could never have dreamed that because of him, the Sword and Qi Factions had nearly erupted into another conflict.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Li Mu cupped his hands and said: "Many thanks to you, Senior Brother, for letting me win!"

It was as if the battle had been won with great difficulty.

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