Discord Within the Sect

"Senior Brother Zhou, you're blessed indeed. Your nephew-disciple Bu Mu is about to win."

"Junior Brother Liu is right. With Bu Mu's lightness skills, he's already invincible among those of the same cultivation level. Add the ethereal Thirteen Styles of Gentle Breeze, and even ordinary first-rate martial artists are no match for him."

The duel on the platform was elusive, and the spectacle below was thrilling. The fight continued, and Zhou Qingyun had already become the envy of everyone.

Wherever there were people, there was jianghu—let alone the Mount Hua Sect, where infighting ran rampant. The Sword Sect elders, having just been reprimanded by the leader, were now plotting how to strike back.

This duel had given them the perfect opportunity. The Sword Sect elders seemed to be praising Li Mu and his disciple, but in truth they were mocking the Qi Sect, hoping to claw back some ground.

They were only fighting for third place, but even that gave them an advantage. With Cai and Yao performing poorly, that advantage loomed all the larger.

Naturally, Ning Qingyu saw through these little tricks. But he was not only the head of the Qi Sect—he was also the leader of the Mount Hua Sect. Having talented disciples emerge from the sect was a good thing; he couldn't blow up over something so trivial.

Ning Qingyu laughed heartily. "My junior brothers are right. A prodigy like Bu Mu certainly deserves to be nurtured.

"Junior Brother Zhou, you've done an excellent job teaching your disciples, and your school is full of talent. I wonder what your secret is. We should get together sometime and learn from you."

Having weathered countless storms, Ning Qingyu dispelled the awkwardness in just a few words. He seemed to promise that Bu Mu would be "nurtured," but it was really just a polite offer that cost him nothing.

The rules of the competition had been set long ago: the top ten disciples would receive special attention from the sect. Unless Li Mu failed to make the top ten, Ning Qingyu's promise was nothing but empty words.

Zhou Qingyun replied with feigned humility, "You flatter me, Senior Brother. My meager abilities are hardly worth showing off. Bu Mu is quite good, but his cultivation is still too low. If the sect could allocate some additional resources to him..."

If Li Mu had been there, he would have been astonished. His mild-mannered master had actually seized the opportunity to push for more.

But Zhou Qingyun had picked the perfect moment. Ning Qingyu had already praised Bu Mu, so even if the Qi Sect elders wanted to object, they couldn't slap their own leader in the face.

And the Sword Sect elders were even less likely to object.

The leader's seat had always been held by the Qi Sect. The Sword Sect was already at a disadvantage when resources were divided. Now that they had a chance to squeeze out a little more, they couldn't let it pass. Even the smallest mosquito still had meat on it.

As soon as Zhou Qingyun finished speaking, the Sword Sect elders voiced their support:

"Senior Brother Zhou is right. Nephew-disciple Bu Mu has extraordinary talent. The sect really should allocate more resources to him."

"Mm, Junior Brother Liu makes a good point..."

Ning Qingyu's expression grew slightly grave. Being a sect leader was no easy task—especially in a sect like Mount Hua, where internal strife ran deep.

He had to look after the Qi Sect's interests, while also accounting for the Sword Sect's, doing his best to keep the scales balanced—or at least make them look balanced.

If he handled things unfairly and they all went on strike, the Mount Hua Sect's operations would immediately grind to a halt.

He thought for a moment, then seemed to hit upon something. The grim expression on his face soon eased.

"The sect has its own established rules for allocating resources. If we break them without cause, some people will inevitably object. But talent is hard to come by, so I'll give nephew-disciple Bu Mu an extra opportunity.

"After the competition ends, our fellow jianghu practitioners will have their friendly matches. If Bu Mu can defeat any three people on the list, he'll receive double the first-place prize!"

"This rule will apply equally to the sect's other disciples at the second-rate level."

As a reputable and righteous sect, Mount Hua naturally couldn't play at "those who follow us prosper, those who oppose us perish." The essence might be the same, but they had to keep up appearances.

Making this competition such a grand affair was a warning to the many jianghu factions, while also raising Mount Hua's standing in the martial world.

Showing off their martial prowess wasn't enough. They had to personally fight friendly matches as well to leave a deeper impression.

Clearly, in a situation like this, having disciples step forward would be more effective than having the elders take the field themselves. If even disciples of the Bu generation couldn't be beaten, then when others clashed with the Mount Hua Sect over their interests in the future, they would know what to do.

Of course, this trick only worked against soft targets. If they tried to establish their authority and got turned around and beaten instead, things would get awkward.

To ensure everything went smoothly, the Mount Hua Sect had gathered information in advance and selected a group of soft targets who usually had poor relations with the sect. They were meant to be made an example of—to kill the chicken and scare the monkeys.

"Soft targets" was only a relative term. Everyone on the list was famous throughout the jianghu, and the weakest among them had at least first-rate cultivation.

Originally, they had all been selected for Cai and Yao, as stepping stones to fame in the martial world. Now the other disciples had their chance, too.

Unfortunately, these "soft targets" were still a little too strong for ordinary Mount Hua disciples. It might have been feasible to take them on after three or five years, once everyone had broken through to a higher level.

Even defeating one would be difficult, let alone winning three matches. Since no one was likely to claim the reward anyway, there was no harm in offering a little more.

If someone really did overcome the odds and win three matches, all the better. It would mean that another genius had emerged from Mount Hua, and a few rewards would be nothing to fret over.

Ning Qingyu had great confidence in his own methods. Feng Qingyang was proof of that. Though he came from the Sword Sect, after Ning Qingyu helped raise him, Feng Qingyang still treated him with great respect.

Whenever conflict broke out between the Sword and Qi factions, Feng Qingyang stood with him, playing the role of mediator.

And why was that? Because while Feng Qingyang was growing up, Ning Qingyu had gone against everyone's objections and given him great support.

Without that debt of gratitude, Feng Qingyang—though a Sword Sect disciple—would never have let go of his hatred after the Sword-Qi feud and silently guarded the Mount Hua Sect for so many years.

It was precisely because Ning Qingyu was fair in his dealings and iron-fisted in his methods that he had been able to unite the deeply divided Sword and Qi factions, leading Mount Hua to become the third-largest orthodox sect, its reputation rivaling Shaolin and Wudang.

As if wrestling with himself, Zhou Qingyun remained silent for a good while before finally saying, "Senior Brother is right. I was too rash.

"One shouldn't accept rewards without earning them. The Mount Hua Sect has its own rules and regulations; it really isn't appropriate to make special exceptions."

Yet his expression was so calm that it was hard to believe his proposal had just been "rejected."

Though they were puzzled, the master in question had raised no objection, so naturally the others had none either.

Li Mu, on the dueling platform, never would have dreamed that because of him, the Sword and Qi factions had nearly clashed all over again.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Li Mu cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for going easy on me, Senior Brother!"

He made it seem as though he'd won the duel with great difficulty.

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