Struggle

Wang Buyao's expression was extremely grim. Although he had known from the start that Li Mu would be difficult to deal with, now that he had truly lost, he still found it hard to accept.

Wang Buyao had occupied the third position in the inner sect for six years. To hand it over now, and to a junior brother with a lower cultivation level than his own, was naturally a blow to his pride.

"This senior brother's skills were lacking; I have let you see a joke, Junior Brother!"

He was an adult, after all, and knew how to weigh the pros and cons. No matter how unwilling he felt inside, in front of the many sect elders and fellow martial artists, Wang Buyao still forced a smile.

However, his intense self-esteem would not allow him to speak insincere words, so he chose a form of "self-deprecating" reply.

As the victor, Li Mu naturally would not seize upon his words. He smiled calmly and said:

"Senior Brother Wang is joking. You are on the verge of breaking through to the First-Rate realm and becoming a pillar of the Mount Hua Sect; how can you speak of lacking skills? Let me be the first to congratulate you on your breakthrough."

This was not a deliberate flattery; Wang Buyao had indeed touched the threshold of the First-Rate realm and could break through at any moment.

In truth, Wang Buyao had gained some insight during the duel just now, but he had been too preoccupied with winning and losing to grasp the opportunity.

Although he had missed it, he had found the window of opportunity. As long as he settled his heart and polished his skills, a breakthrough was only a matter of a year or two.

Li Mu could see it, and the elders of the sect could see it just as well. Rather than waiting for the elders to point it out later, it was better to offer a favor himself.

"Breakthrough?"

Wang Buyao was slightly stunned, and after realizing the implication, he felt a wave of chagrin. Compared to a breakthrough in realm, the win or loss on the arena stage really didn't amount to much.

"Many thanks for the guidance, Junior Brother. This senior brother will head down to enter seclusion now."

As soon as the words fell, Wang Buyao leaped off the arena as if his hair were on fire. He left Chaoyang Peak immediately, disregarding even the rest of the grand competition.

Li Mu was left stunned. Since he had already missed the moment, he would have to rely on time to slowly bridge the gap; why be in such a rush?

Wouldn't it have been better to wait until the competition ended and collect the sect's rewards before leaving?

In the end, Li Mu did not speak to stop him. He and Wang Buyao had just fought, and they had little friendship to speak of—certainly not enough to interfere in another man's private affairs.

Wang Buyao's reaction also made Li Mu understand the thirst martial artists had for their own cultivation. Once the opportunity for a breakthrough appeared, they dared not delay for even a moment, fearing that some change might occur.

Having defeated Wang Buyao, Li Mu automatically obtained the third position in the competition. Many junior and senior brothers below were restless, but in the end, they held back.

This scene left Li Mu deeply impressed. Unspoken rules were just that—unspoken—and they lacked the force of written regulations.

He had just deliberately acted as if he had won with great difficulty; even if the Sword Sect disciples were reluctant to strike, surely the Qi Sect disciples could have taken advantage of this opening?

If he were in their shoes, Li Mu didn't know if he could control his own desires, especially since the rewards offered by the sect this time were truly substantial.

In the face of profit, what was face worth? Yet, in the end, to avoid being a laughingstock to their peers, everyone held back, fully demonstrating the bearing expected of disciples from a prestigious sect.

Influenced by this, even the negative impact caused by the earlier incident with Cai and Yao was somewhat diluted.

As expected, there was nothing simple about a major power with an ancient heritage. Even the Mount Hua Sect, riddled with internal conflicts, had its own unique strengths in cultivating disciples.

This was actually reflected in the original work as well. Feng Qingyang chose to guard in silence, Yue Buqun took the revival of Mount Hua as his own responsibility, and the Sword Sect disciples drifting outside still held the "Mount Hua Sect" in their hearts.

It was precisely this kind of "centripetal force" and "sense of belonging" that had forged the glory of the Mount Hua Sect.

Inadvertently, Li Mu discovered that he, too, had been influenced, identifying with this sect from the depths of his heart.

In the evening, Zhou Qingyun's small courtyard was brightly lit, and everyone's faces were filled with joy.

Although it was not first place in the competition, for Li Mu's age, taking third was equally worth celebrating.

This meant he had the chance to become a core member of the Mount Hua Sect's "Bu" generation. When one person achieves the Dao, it does not necessarily mean their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven, but those who follow are bound to benefit.

If Li Mu became the core of the next generation of the Sword Sect, the influence of Zhou Qingyun's lineage within the sect would inevitably rise, and everyone would be a beneficiary.

If the grand competition hadn't been ongoing, they would likely have started pouring wine and hosting a grand banquet for guests already.

At the head of the table, Zhou Qingyun said with a glowing face: "Bumu, you performed well today and made a contribution to our Sword Sect, but you must not become arrogant.

Originally, I intended for you to hide your edge and slowly accumulate prestige, but the situation has changed.

The farce between Cai Buli and Yao Buzhou is deeply disappointing. As the next generation of leaders for the Mount Hua Sect, they actually disregarded the overall interests of the sect for the sake of a woman.

I do not know what plans the Qi Sect has, but there are already elders in the Sword Sect proposing to replace Cai Buli and cultivate a new successor.

This is an opportunity. With your talent, if you can receive the tilt of resources from the Sword Sect lineage, you will soon be able to surpass them and stand out."

A lack of strong desire for power did not mean Zhou Qingyun was unwilling to act. Especially with the intensifying Sword-Qi conflict, Zhou Qingyun was filled with worry.

However, the Mount Hua Sect was heavily cliquish, and the peers under Zhou Qingyun's master had all stalled at the Second-Rate level, with no chance of entering the decision-making layer.

Without staunch supporters in the Council of Elders, if not for Zhou Qingyun's own formidable cultivation, which ranked him in the top five of the sect, he might have been relegated to a marginal figure.

Although he hadn't been marginalized, Zhou Qingyun's influence in the sect was still not particularly high.

If he wanted to sway the sect's decisions, he would have to reach the Supreme realm first! Perhaps then, when he made a proposal, everyone would be able to calm down and give it serious thought.

Unfortunately, Zhou Qingyun had no clue how to reach the Supreme realm; even though the sect had recorded a pile of experiences, none of them had been of any use.

The situation was different now. The status of the Sword Sect's next-generation core disciple, Cai Buli, was unstable, and his own disciple, Li Mu, had become the most favorable challenger.

Once Li Mu could become the core of the Sword Sect's "Bu" generation, the situation would be vastly different. At the very least, within the Sword Sect, the influence of his lineage would increase significantly.

"Master, this won't be easy, will it? Although Senior Brother Cai has performed poorly, he hasn't committed any major errors, after all. I fear the sect elders won't abandon him so easily."

Li Mu asked with a furrowed brow.

Whichever lineage's disciple became the next-generation leader meant that lineage would become the future master of the Mount Hua Sect.

Power struggles were never easy, and since they involved personal interests, few people could be fair and objective.

Cultivating an expert was not easy; unless forced by necessity, the elders who had placed heavy bets on Cai Buli would not give up easily.