Little Sword Immortal

"Li Bumu of the Mount Hua Sect requests Senior Liu Gongju, the Cangshan Swordsman, to grant me a lesson!"

As his voice rang out, Li Mu drifted gracefully onto the arena. With spirited confidence, he cupped his hands toward the crowd, offering the customary salute of a junior to his elders.

An elderly man with white hair and the face of a child stepped out from the crowd. He was suffused with an otherworldly air and looked quite the part of an immortal. He was none other than Liu Gongju, the Cangshan Swordsman.

"Youngster, get down. You're no match for me. Have your master come up instead—that might be worth my time. With your level of skill, you'd need another twenty years of practice!"

At those arrogant words, all the goodwill Li Mu had felt toward the man vanished. Now he finally understood why the Cangshan Swordsman, who lived far away in Yungui, had appeared on the list.

Fortunately, Liu Gongju had always made his living in Yungui. If he'd traveled through the Central Plains with that foul mouth, even ten lives wouldn't have been enough.

"Fortune and misfortune have no gates; people bring them upon themselves."

The greatest taboo for anyone who roamed the martial world was arrogance. This was Mount Hua, after all. Though Li Mu was merely an ordinary disciple, he still represented the face of the Mount Hua Sect.

Liu Gongju was making such a spectacle of himself. If Li Mu didn't teach him a lesson, where would that leave the Mount Hua Sect's dignity?

Li Mu only smiled faintly. Liu Gongju could trade on his seniority, but Li Mu couldn't afford to act like a fool too. He stepped forward and gave another slight bow before saying:

"Today, my Mount Hua Sect has set up this arena to make friends through martial arts. It's an honor for this junior to receive Senior Liu's instruction. There's no need for you to take the outcome to heart."

There was nothing wrong with that. The arena really had been set up to "make friends through martial arts." Although dozens had already been killed or injured here, both sides had signed death contracts.

By the rules of the martial world, once a death contract had been signed and the contestants stepped onto the arena, life and death were left to fate. No one else was allowed to interfere, so the Mount Hua Sect couldn't be held responsible.

But Li Mu's challenge was purely a sparring match, not a fight to the death. Either side could end it by admitting defeat.

Of course, since it was a martial contest, injuries and fatalities were always possible. If tempers flared, someone could lose a limb—or even their life.

"Good, good, good!"

"Youngster, since you insist on bringing humiliation upon yourself, don't blame me for taking advantage of my seniority!"

With that, Liu Gongju, the Cangshan Swordsman, leaped onto the arena, drew his sword, and immediately launched a surprise attack, showing not the slightest bearing of an elder master.

Li Mu was used to elders behaving with dignity. When he suddenly encountered a scoundrel who didn't play by the rules, he was utterly bewildered.

Arrogant or not, Liu Gongju had real skill. Li Mu hadn't expected the Cangshan Swordsman to launch a surprise attack, and his reaction came a beat too late. He was thrown into disarray, dodging again and again for dozens of moves before finally steadying his footing.

To the spectators below, Liu Gongju's fierce attacks were all for naught against Li Mu's graceful, immortal-like footwork.

To those with shallow knowledge, it looked as if Li Mu were deliberately toying with Liu Gongju. Only true experts could tell that Li Mu had been on the defensive from the very start.

With no time to keep hiding his strength, Li Mu sent sword shadows flying. A flash of white light streaked across the arena, and an immense wave of sword qi engulfed Liu Gongju, turning the tide in an instant.

The Mount Hua Sword Technique was renowned for its "unorthodox" moves. And with Li Mu's momentum building to its peak, his Life-Taking Three Immortals Sword carried a force that could scatter an army of thousands, an attack no one could withstand.

At the critical moment, Liu Gongju finally sensed that Li Mu's sword intent was aimed straight at him—not some risky feint. But he realized it a fraction too late. Even if he managed to block it by sheer effort—

with the tide turning against him, defeat was inevitable, and the next sword strike would be even harder to stop.

Just as the sword's edge was about to reach him, Liu Gongju retreated again and again. Throwing all dignity aside, he rolled like a donkey and only just managed to evade the killing blow.

Seeing Li Mu about to attack again, Liu Gongju hurriedly shouted, "Stop! I surrender!"

He had no choice but to give up. He could see that his opponent had not only superb footwork but peerless swordsmanship—and, most importantly, little experience in fighting others.

In a fight to the death, an opponent like that would be ideal. But to encounter such an inexperienced martial-world novice, fresh out of the mountains and backed by a powerful faction, in an arena was to be cursed by every misfortune under heaven.

He couldn't use underhanded tricks, and he couldn't strike too hard. But his opponent was going all out, with no idea how to hold back. One wrong move could easily end in death.

Liu Gongju might be arrogant, but he wasn't stupid. His own martial skills were inferior, so he had no chance of winning a fair duel. He might even lose his life.

After all, the rules of the martial world only restrained the weak. Li Mu was a genius disciple of the Mount Hua Sect. Even if he accidentally killed Liu Gongju, the worst he'd suffer would be damage to his reputation.

As for punishment, at most he'd be ordered to meditate in seclusion on the mountain for a few years. That hardly counted for anything. Whether even that punishment would be carried out was an open question.

Expecting his fellow martial artists to uphold justice would be a joke. Who would be bored enough to offend the Mount Hua Sect, now riding high, on his behalf?

Having heard the answer he wanted, Li Mu immediately stopped attacking. He cupped his hands and bowed.

"Thank you for yielding, Senior!"

From the moment he issued his challenge to the end of the match, Li Mu had displayed the bearing of a gentleman to perfection. No one could find fault with him.

The splendid contest came to an end, and a burst of cheers rose from below. Perhaps someone from the sect had arranged for plants in the crowd, but someone had already shouted, "Little Sword Immortal!"

Li Mu was quite pleased with the nickname. It would have been even more perfect if they could drop the "Little."

The uninitiated watched for the spectacle; the experts watched for the technique. At that moment, Feng Qingyang, who was presiding over the tournament, grew solemn. He murmured in a voice only he could hear:

"I never imagined someone in my Mount Hua Sect would comprehend sword intent. What a pity it's the Qi of Haoran. If only it had been..."

On the dais, Ning Qingyu still wore a faint smile, but the slight trembling of the teacup in his hand betrayed his inner turmoil.

He concealed it well, though. On the surface, it looked as if the tea were too hot and he was shaking the cup to cool it.

"First Feng Qingyang appeared, and now Li Bumu. Heaven must have destined my Mount Hua Sect for greatness!"

"Pity he's another Sword Sect disciple. But since he's comprehended the intent of righteousness, it shouldn't be a problem. If the plan succeeds, Mount Hua will truly stand on equal footing with Shaolin and Wudang!"

Clearly, Ning Qingyu wasn't truly impartial. He was the Mount Hua Sect's leader as well as the head of the Qi Sect, and his feelings still leaned toward the Qi Sect.

His support for Feng Qingyang's rise might have looked impartial, but it was really because Feng Qingyang posed no threat to him.

After all, people could put on an act, but their martial intent couldn't lie. Feng Qingyang's comprehension of the unworldly Dugu Sword Intent meant he was bound to be someone who hated trouble and had no interest in worldly affairs.

A superb fighter who neither craved power nor contested for it was naturally all the better in greater numbers.

If Feng Qingyang had comprehended the aura of a ruler, Ning Qingyu would probably have been far less accommodating. He might not have offered his full support; if he refrained from striking Feng Qingyang down, that alone would have shown admirable restraint.