At dawn, when only a faint glow had appeared along the eastern horizon, Chaoyang Peak was already packed with people.
For the past few days, the Mount Hua Sect had been putting on a show all by itself. Now, at last, it was time for everyone to take part. Whatever the reason for holding a martial arts assembly, there was no doing without a few fights.
Feuds and clashes of interest could all be settled at the assembly. If the parties could reach an agreement, they talked; if not, they met on the arena to see who was stronger.
Compared with two factions clashing head-on, their disciples slaughtering one another until the ground ran red, deciding the winner in a match on the arena was obviously the gentler option.
With so many fellow martial artists watching, unless they were bound by an unresolvable blood feud, people generally held back.
Whether they would strike in secret afterward was another matter. In any case, the "upright and respectable sects" kept to the rules of the martial world in public.
"Gao Jun'an, you bastard, get out here! You stole White Cloud Mountain's foundation from me twenty years ago. Today, I'm going to settle things with you once and for all!"
A man with a white cloth wrapped around his head, a slightly stooped figure, and an age somewhere around fifty or sixty leaped onto the arena, cursing as he strode across it.
From a distance, the scars on his face were still faintly visible. Coupled with his savage expression, he was a truly frightening sight.
"Chen Jihua, I, Iron-Armed Divine Dragon, have a clear conscience. Back then, White Cloud Mountain acted against the natural order. I was merely acting on Heaven's behalf. Many fellow martial artists and respected elders of the martial world witnessed it.
"I was too softhearted for a moment and let you slip through the net. You hid for all these years, yet instead of being grateful to Heaven for sparing your life, you've come out again to stir up trouble.
"Fine. Since you're in such a hurry to die, I'll grant your wish."
Though he seemed to dismiss it lightly, as if he didn't care at all, Li Mu's keen eyes still caught the alarm in the Iron-Armed Divine Dragon's expression.
After all, this was an enemy who had been lying low for twenty years. Now he had come knocking so brazenly. It was hard to believe he hadn't made preparations.
If this had been anywhere else, the Iron-Armed Divine Dragon would probably have called his disciples together to surround him. Unfortunately, this was a martial arts assembly. For the sake of his reputation, he had no choice but to face him himself.
"White Crane Spreads Its Wings!"
"Subdue the World, Settle Qiankun!"
"Crane Cries to the Nine Heavens!"
"Fists Rule the World!"
Both men were first-rate experts. Iron-Armed Divine Dragon Gao Jun'an even had the edge of a minor realm, but Chen Jihua didn't care if he lived or died. He fought by trading wounds for wounds, life for life.
The battle was ferocious. Even the arena, built from bluestone, was now pitted and uneven, with cracks appearing along its edges.
If the matches to come were all this intense, Li Mu suspected the arena wouldn't last until the assembly was over. It would be forced into early retirement.
Suddenly, Chen Jihua's aura surged. His strength rose straight from the middle stage of the first-rate realm to its peak, almost touching the realm of the supreme experts.
"Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique!"
A cry of alarm rang out from the crowd. The entire scene fell utterly silent, as if something momentous had happened.
Though Li Mu had no idea what the "Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique" was, he could tell from everyone's expressions that it was an extraordinary art.
With almost no experience in the martial world, Li Mu could only turn to Zhou Qingyun, hoping to get an answer from his master.
"The Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique is a secret art of the Western Demonic Cult. It gathers the body's vital essence and raises one's power for a short time. After using it, whether or not the enemy is killed, the practitioner will die without fail after a quarter of an hour.
"But this art was lost a century ago. I never expected it to appear in the martial world again today. It seems the martial world is in for another turbulent time."
The moment he heard "die without fail," Li Mu lost all interest in the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique. No matter how powerful it was, he wanted no part of a suicidal martial art.
As for his master's lament that "the martial world is in for another turbulent time," Li Mu didn't take it seriously at all. When the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up first. At its height, the Mount Hua Sect could deal with any upheaval in the martial world.
After a pause, Li Mu asked in confusion, "Master, what sort of faction is the Western Demonic Cult? How have I never heard of it?"
The martial world was vast. Naturally, it couldn't consist only of the few factions described in the original story. Just because they had no presence in Smiling Proud Wanderer didn't mean they didn't exist.
For example, there were Emei, the Tang Sect, Dragon Sect, and Four Directions Hall in Shuzhong; and Kongtong, Kunlun, Tianshan, and the Blood Blade Sect in the Western Regions...
Li Mu had heard of more than forty first-rate factions in the martial world alone. Though their strength didn't match the Mount Hua Sect's, they were no weaker than the other four major sects.
Glancing toward the arena, Zhou Qingyun explained calmly, "It's normal that you haven't heard of them. The Western Demonic Cult is mainly active in the Western Regions and rarely ventures into the Central Plains Martial Arts Alliance.
"Thirty years ago, a catastrophe struck the Western Regions and sparked a war between the righteous and the wicked. The Western Demonic Cult was nearly wiped out, and the few who escaped went into hiding."
The martial world was forgetful. Anyone who stayed away from it for several decades was naturally forgotten. Besides, the Western Demonic Cult had only been a local tyrant in the Western Regions, so it had never been well known in the Central Plains.
Li Mu didn't press for more details. A faction that had nearly been wiped out didn't interest him, even if it had once been powerful.
After dodging and evading, buying time for a quarter of an hour, Chen Jihua spat out a mouthful of blood essence and collapsed to the ground, unable to get back up.
The victorious Iron-Armed Divine Dragon was in bad shape too. Blood flowed from multiple wounds, and he swayed as if he might fall at any moment.
"In the end, I still won!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Gao Jun'an suddenly felt dizzy. Summoning all his strength, he managed to say, "Poison... You're despicable!"
The instant the words fell, he collapsed.
"Master!"
"Master!"
Amid the sobbing and shouts from below the arena, Iron-Armed Divine Dragon Gao Jun'an's glorious life came to an end. Chen Jihua, the victor, somehow found the strength to spring to his feet and burst into loud laughter, repeatedly muttering:
"Despicable!"
"Hahahaha..."
A shout of vengeance could be heard faintly from the crowd, probably from one of Gao Jun'an's disciples, but someone held him back.
The many respected elders of the martial world present said nothing. Even Gao Jun'an's closest friends could only let out a quiet sigh, as if everything had been only to be expected.
There was no talk of revenge. Everyone could see that Chen Jihua was already at death's door. Charging up to fight a dying man would be a sure sign that they'd lost their minds.
This was only the beginning. As the arena matches continued, people kept falling on the arena, while others kept leaping up to take their place.
Grudges went unresolved, and the fighting went on.
The brutal arena matches left many of the Mount Hua Sect's younger disciples pale. One female disciple even burst into tears right then and there.
At that moment, Li Mu suddenly understood the Sect's painstaking efforts. If they wanted to survive better in this cruel world, they first had to understand just how cruel the martial world was, and then learn to adapt.
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