Mount Hua Mental Method

"Master, the atmosphere on the mountain has been tense lately. I fear someone might use this upcoming sect tournament to stir up trouble. I have only just made a breakthrough..."

Although he knew there was no avoiding it, Li Mu still struggled as much as he could.

Zhou Qingyun gave him a reassuring look and said with a smile, "You and your restless mind. Set your heart at ease. The martial arts world is not peaceful right now, and the sect plans to use this opportunity to keep some of the more restless factions in check.

Therefore, this tournament will not just be for you; the Five Mountains Alliance will also be sending disciples to participate. There will be friends from all walks of life present to observe, so no one will dare to cause trouble on such an occasion.

There may be sparring and challenges after the tournament. This is the best opportunity for you to make a name for yourself, so do not waste it."

Hearing this explanation, Li Mu let out a deep sigh of relief. Despite the fierce infighting between the Sword and Qi Factions, everyone remained one family when facing outsiders.

Since outsiders would be present, this competition would not turn into a bloody clash between the Sword and Qi Factions.

Thinking about it, that made sense. Although the original work did not mention the specific timing of the Sword and Qi conflict, one could roughly deduce it by working backward from the ages of the main characters.

Yue Buqun had entered the sect at the same time as him, so the age gap should not be too large; he was likely in his early twenties.

Considering that Yue Buqun succeeded as sect leader shortly after the Sword and Qi conflict, it could be inferred that his martial arts had already achieved some success by then.

At the very least, he must have broken through to the first-rate level; otherwise, there would be no way to uphold the Mount Hua Sect in this world where the strong prey on the weak.

Mount Hua martial arts focused on foundations, so they were not particularly fast in terms of cultivation speed. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to go from second-rate to first-rate in less than eight to ten years.

However, considering the critical situation of Mount Hua at the time, the sect leader's lineage likely exhausted the sect's reserves, which might have halved that time.

It could not be any faster. Heavenly treasures capable of significantly boosting cultivation were rare and hard to come by, and those that could be stored long-term were even rarer. Furthermore, one had to consider the potential of one's foundation, leaving even less room for choice.

One must remember that the Mount Hua Sect's reserves had already been depleted once during the previous invasion by the Ten Elders of the Demonic Cult. In recent years, the sect had been mired in the Sword and Qi conflict, leaving little opportunity for replenishment.

With a buffer of four or five years, the heart that had been hanging in Li Mu's chest finally settled. It was unrealistic to eliminate the Sword and Qi conflict, but he was confident in his ability to protect himself.

"Rest assured, Master. This disciple will not let you down."

Since he could not avoid it, he would face it calmly. In any case, the Mount Hua Sect had many talented disciples; as long as he didn't show off too excessively, even a little bit of spotlight wouldn't be too eye-catching.

Moreover, with Li Mu's current strength, he was likely only slightly stronger than the Four Beauties of Qingcheng at the start of the Smiling Proud Wanderer. In the martial arts world, he was a nobody; even if he wanted to make a scene, he wouldn't be able to stir up any waves.

The platform the sect was building this time was not meant for him anyway. The ones who could truly seize the opportunity to make a name for themselves were the senior brothers who had entered the sect earlier.

The best among them had already broken through to the first-rate realm, not much inferior to the older generation; these people were the true protagonists of this grand drama.

"Hmm."

Seemingly satisfied with Li Mu's reaction, Zhou Qingyun paused slightly before adding:

"With the tournament imminent, Bufan's cultivation has just broken through, and he needs to consolidate his realm; he cannot be distracted by other matters. Bufan, inform the Internal Affairs Hall to exempt your junior brother from sect missions for three years."

Undoubtedly, the "tournament" was merely a pretext; Zhou Qingyun's true intention was to take the opportunity to secure benefits for his disciple.

Without rules, there is no order. As a major martial arts sect with a history of hundreds of years, the Mount Hua Sect naturally had its own operating system.

According to sect rules, new disciples were required to begin taking on sect missions ten years after entering the sect.

Elite disciples received preferential treatment, but this was limited to being assigned easier tasks and having more time for cultivation.

Not working was impossible; that was the sect's rule. After all, people in the martial arts world had to eat. If everyone were a parasite, what would these thousands of people eat?

Like Li Mu's previous task of leading the new junior brothers and sisters in sword practice, it was a relatively easy sect mission. Not only was the mission time short, but he could also stay on the mountain and consult his master at any time if he encountered cultivation problems.

Of course, there was a reason why this "good mission" fell to Li Mu. If the progress of the junior brothers and sisters did not meet the standard, he, as the leader, would also be punished.

He wouldn't refuse a benefit delivered to his doorstep, so Li Mu hurriedly said gratefully, "Thank you for your care, Master. This disciple is truly..."

These were sincere words. Although Zhou Qingyun was somewhat rigid and formal, he was truly good to his disciples.

Zhou Qingyun interrupted, "Enough, Bufan. Between master and disciple, there is no need to say such things.

Since you have already broken through, you should consider the matter of switching your internal energy cultivation method.

The Mount Hua Mental Method is indeed a top-tier internal energy technique. Theoretically, it can even be cultivated until the innate realm; it is one of the techniques with the highest potential in the Mount Hua Sect.

Looking at the entire world, the Mount Hua Mental Method is among the very best foundation-building techniques. Not only can it solidify one's foundation, but it also has a certain weakening effect when breaking through realms.

The only problem is that the cultivation speed is too slow."

"Master, if it is only slow, but it has the effect of weakening bottlenecks, can that not compensate for it?"

Li Mu asked, puzzled.

One had to know that the most important reason why experts were rare in the martial arts world was the "bottleneck." And the further one progressed, the harder the realms were to break through.

Zhou Qingyun laughed and explained, "If it were just generally slow, it would naturally not be a problem. Heavenly treasures are rare, but the Mount Hua Sect is not lacking in ordinary auxiliary resources.

The problem is that the Mount Hua Mental Method is unusually slow, especially after the fourth level, where it is less than one-third the speed of ordinary internal energy techniques. Even if it can weaken cultivation bottlenecks, that only means weakening, not that a breakthrough is guaranteed.

You are exceptionally gifted, and your cultivation has been smooth sailing, so perhaps you do not feel it deeply. Look at your senior brother Bufan; his cultivation reached the peak of the third-rate two years ago, and he is still stuck there now.

If he is lucky, he might break through tomorrow; if he is unlucky, being stuck for another three to five years is normal. Most of our Mount Hua inner disciples only break through to the second-rate realm around the age of thirty.

With your aptitude, if you switched to another internal energy technique, you would likely reach the peak of the second-rate in seven or eight years. If you are lucky, you might even break through to the first-rate before the age of thirty, and in the future, you might even have a chance to glimpse the mysteries of the supreme realm.

If you continue to toil away at the Mount Hua Mental Method, it will take at least thirty years to even touch the threshold of the first-rate. Even if you break through smoothly afterward, your age will already be there; how many years of your peak period would be left?

This is the experience and lesson summarized by our predecessors through their own lives, which is why Mount Hua disciples switch to a new internal energy technique after breaking through the fourth level."