You Can't Touch a Tiger's Butt

With the conclusion of the martial arts assembly, the Five Mountains Alliance once again bared its fangs to the outside world, and the calm of the jianghu began to churn with new storms.

However, none of this had anything to do with Li Mu. Genius disciples were always granted special treatment; even if they were to fight for the sect, it would only be after their martial arts had reached true mastery.

On this point, all major sects were the same. Cultivating a genius disciple was no easy task, and as the future of the sect, they could not be allowed to perish prematurely.

Even if they were sent out for experience, it would only be after they encountered a bottleneck. For a guy like Li Mu, who didn't even know what a bottleneck was, staying in the sect and diligently going into seclusion was the greatest contribution he could make, equivalent to freeing up a guardian elder.

As a large number of personnel were transferred to the front lines, the sect's manpower became strained. Even Li Mu, who had been in seclusion, was assigned an additional task: supervising the junior brothers and sisters in their martial arts training.

Looking at the square formation of hundreds of people below, Li Mu felt as if his life had reached its "peak."

One teacher leading hundreds of students, divided into four different grade levels—just thinking about it made him feel dizzy.

However, the order had been issued personally by the sect leader Ning Qingyu, with the excuse that the sect was short on manpower, leaving Li Mu no room to refuse.

The motive was very clear: to use this opportunity to strengthen communication between the disciples and hopefully eliminate the conflict between the Sword Sect and the Qi Sect among the younger generation.

Li Mu just couldn't understand why Ning Qingyu trusted him so much as to entrust him with this heavy responsibility, but there didn't seem to be a better choice at the moment.

It was said that regarding this issue, several elders of the Qi Sect had strongly opposed it. It wasn't that they were disregarding the big picture, but rather they were uneasy about Li Mu's background in the Sword Sect.

Although he didn't know what had happened behind the scenes, the Qi Sect elders were eventually persuaded by Ning Qingyu. If this heavy responsibility had been handed to a Qi Sect disciple, the elders of the Sword Sect would likely have gone on strike on the spot.

Leading such a large group of junior brothers and sisters, it was hard to avoid trouble. Fights and brawls broke out almost every day, giving Li Mu a massive headache.

Forced into a corner, he had no choice but to adopt the most primitive and brutal method—suppression through force.

Spoiled brats, if they didn't listen, a beating would fix it. If one wasn't enough, then two. Violence couldn't solve problems, but it could solve the people who created them.

In any case, the sect elders were all away, and the senior brothers left in charge didn't have fists hard enough to boss Li Mu around; even if someone wanted to complain, there was nowhere to go.

After countless "warriors" paid the price of being beaten black and blue, the Great Devil King Li finally brought the situation under control.

Much like sorting students into classes, the disciples who had joined at different times were divided into four square formations by Li Mu, resulting in the spectacular scene before him.

After practicing sword techniques, they practiced internal energy; after internal energy, they went back to sword techniques. Unless they were exhausted in body and mind, they were not allowed to leave the training grounds.

It wasn't that no one tried to slack off, but unfortunately, these little tricks couldn't escape Li Mu's eyes, and without exception, they were all dragged out.

The stragglers standing apart from the four square formations were all examples made of those caught, now facing the strange gazes of the crowd.

"Since you stand here, do not forget your identity. From the moment you stepped through the gates of Mount Hua, you have already placed half a foot into the jianghu."

"The jianghu is a place full of magic; it holds passion and righteousness, fame and fortune, but it also holds deceit, treachery, and blades in the shadows."

"To summarize it in one sentence: once in the jianghu, you are no longer the master of your own fate."

"Perhaps you don't understand yet, but when you truly step into this world, you will realize that the jianghu is far more cruel than you imagine."

"If you want to survive well in the jianghu, you must fight and seize. Every stitch of clothing on your backs and every meal you eat daily is something your elders and senior brothers have carved out with their swords."

"One day, the Mount Hua Sect will have to be guarded by you. Without strong martial arts, you will simply be the ones being slaughtered."

"Read fewer scripts and novels, and put more energy into your cultivation. Especially you junior sisters, stop reading romance biographies; tales of chivalry and tenderness are all lies. This jianghu is filled only with bleached bones."

Turning into a life mentor, Li Mu was also very helpless. Violence could only solve problems for a moment, and he didn't want to watch them every second of the day, so he had to find a way to mobilize everyone's initiative.

"Threats, intimidation, chicken soup for the soul"—Li Mu used a whole series of stimulating tactics.

Fortunately, these junior brothers and sisters were still naive and were bluffed by Li Mu's silver tongue; otherwise, he would have had even more to worry about.

"Senior Brother, you will protect us, right?"

The innocent question made Li Mu want to cry. Connections were the most troublesome existence everywhere, and the martial arts world was no exception.

Relatively speaking, the martial arts world was still better off, because practicing martial arts required talent, which naturally weeded out a large number of people relying on connections.

Moreover, many parents did not want their children to follow in their footsteps, crawling and rolling in this strife-ridden jianghu, so they didn't teach their descendants martial arts.

Of course, avoiding jianghu grudges was also an important reason. "Disaster does not reach the family" was just a slogan; in practice, when dealing with enemies, everyone wished they could wipe out the entire clan.

To avoid their own grudges from involving their children, many people in the jianghu would hide their descendants' identities to prevent disaster from reaching their families.

Doing this wasn't difficult. In fact, most disciples of the major sects came from wealthy families and prominent households. It was just that from the moment they stepped into the sect, both sides would sever their ties.

After all, blood is thicker than water; it wasn't something that could be cut off just like that. If they truly severed ties completely, no one would send their children to the sects.

In fact, this was also the survival strategy of local clans. Wealth also needed the protection of force; without backing, the lawless people of the jianghu would not be polite to them.

Except for a few large families that could train their own hired thugs, most families and wealthy clans chose to cooperate with the sects.

This cooperation was multifaceted; sending disciples was only one part, and they were also partners in business.

The trope that often popped up in novels—a certain wealthy man's family runs into trouble, and a hero jumps out to uphold justice—was exactly how it came to be.

Otherwise, for no reason at all, who would risk their life to meddle in the affairs of a stranger?

"A world without heroes" was no joke. This world was no longer suitable for the survival of pure knights-errant; the heroes who managed to survive in the jianghu had all passively learned to "adapt."

In the original story, the Mount Hua Sect had a difficult time, and one of the most important reasons was that the conflict between the Sword and Qi sects had been too brutal. It not only severed ties with local clans but also planted a thorn in everyone's hearts due to the casualties among their children.

"Ning Shimei, once you enter the jianghu, you must learn to protect yourself. Senior Brother has his own matters to attend to, and every Mount Hua disciple has their own tasks that they must complete themselves."

A tiger's backside could not be touched, and the sect leader's daughter could not be beaten either. Li Mu still had that much emotional intelligence.