The mountain gate's bell rang again and again. On the training grounds, Li Mu's expression changed in an instant. Only one thought flashed through his mind: "We're under attack!"
The Daoists had long held that nine was the ultimate number, and that going beyond it was too much. Deeply influenced by Daoist culture, Mount Hua Sect upheld the same principle.
The enormous bronze bell before the mountain gate would toll nine times to sound the alarm only in the direst emergency. Within Mount Hua Sect, it had another name: "Nine Tolls of Sect Annihilation."
Without a moment's hesitation, Li Mu immediately ordered, "Stop! We're under attack! All disciples, follow me into the mountain!"
Though he had no idea what exactly was happening, the first thing to do was get his junior brothers and sisters to safety. They were the future of Mount Hua Sect. Protecting them would be a great contribution.
The rest was for the sect elders to worry about! Anyone who dared attack Mount Hua was no ordinary opponent. Li Mu didn't think his scrawny arms and legs could turn the tide.
Clearly, the Devil King Li had overestimated his own authority and forgotten that among these chuunibyou boys and girls were a few rebellious ones who weren't afraid of him.
Most of the disciples began to move, but a few, worked up by their chuunibyou spirit, charged over to Li Mu under Ning the Little Girl's lead. Their faces full of indignation, they demanded, "Senior Brother, shouldn't we go down the mountain and fight the enemy? Why are we running?"
Li Mu glared at them and barked, "Shut up! The enemy is coming in force. With your lousy skills, what use would you be besides getting in the way?
"Now follow my orders. Everyone, retreat into the mountain and use the terrain to fight together. Anyone who disobeys will be dealt with according to the sect rules!"
As Mount Hua Sect's stronghold, the mountain had been developed for hundreds of years. Naturally, it was riddled with traps and mechanisms.
Anyone charging straight in would pay a terrible price. The last ones to have been buried here were the former Ten Elders of the Demonic Cult, along with more than a thousand Demonic Cult followers. Together, they had made Mount Hua Sect's name.
As for the methods they used, who could worry about that when the sect's survival was at stake?
Just then, an old man with graying hair and blood covering his clothes leapt over and scolded them. "What are you young ones standing around for? Hurry up and save yourselves! The enemy is about to break through, and we can't hold out much longer!"
Li Mu was certain that this man wasn't among Mount Hua Sect's Clear-generation elders. Judging by his age, he had to belong to the generation before them—a grandmaster.
That made sense. The oldest Clear-generation elder in the sect was only in his sixties, while the youngest, Feng Qingyang, was just over twenty. It was perfectly normal for some elders of the previous generation to still be alive.
These old seniors had simply grown tired of life in the martial world. Gradually, they had faded from sight and stopped involving themselves in its conflicts.
This time, the stakes were high and Mount Hua Sect's main force had all been deployed. It was only reasonable to ask these seniors to secretly protect the mountain gate.
Still, high seniority and advanced age didn't necessarily mean greater strength. Mount Hua's techniques were good for preserving one's health, but they couldn't hold back the ravages of time.
From his appearance, the senior before them had already reached an advanced age. His actual years might have been even greater.
Though his cultivation was still at the peak of the first-rate realm, he could probably bring out no more than seventy or eighty percent of his fighting strength. His stamina was far worse than a young man's, too.
Seeing the old man's grave expression, Li Mu immediately called out, "Didn't you hear Grandmaster's orders? Get into the mountain at once!"
As he spoke, the battle had already spread to them. Looking around, Li Mu saw at least two or three hundred enemies, while Mount Hua Sect had only a few dozen men left to resist them.
Enough ants could kill an elephant, especially when the enemy's ranks included experts of their own. Mount Hua Sect could only rely on its familiarity with the terrain, resisting step by step to buy time.
At this point, Li Mu could escape on his own without trouble, but these junior brothers and sisters would be doomed.
After a rough comparison of both sides' strength, Li Mu decided they could still risk a fight. Gritting his teeth, he ordered, "There's no getting away now. New disciples, find somewhere to hide. Everyone else, pair up in groups of three and fight!"
His junior brothers and sisters were green as grass, but even green fighters were better than no fighters at all.
A few of the best had already reached the third-rate realm. They could at least hold off the enemy's underlings.
Li Mu couldn't help feeling relieved that he hadn't slacked off earlier, and had instead put them through grueling training. Otherwise, even organizing them would have been a problem.
The white-haired old man asked anxiously, "Young Li, can they do it?"
People in the martial world had to toughen themselves through trial and hardship, one step at a time. The old man had little faith in a group of sheltered flowers who had never weathered a storm.
Glancing at the battlefield ahead, Li Mu answered without sugarcoating it. "At this point, they have to manage it, or this time next year will be everyone's death anniversary.
"Grandmaster, enough talk. Our fellow disciples are about to fall. Let's take out the enemy's two leaders first."
With that, Li Mu charged forward, sword in hand. The old man froze for a moment, then stared in shock.
He had heard of Li Mu's reputation as a prodigy, but he hadn't expected his martial arts to have advanced so quickly. Still, this was a good thing. The stronger their side was, the better their odds of defeating the enemy.
Li Mu casually took down two underlings blocking his way, then went straight for the purple-clad man at the head of the enemy forces. He had spotted right away that this man was their strongest fighter.
On an ordinary day, Li Mu would never have chosen such a formidable opponent. But the situation was too dire for him to hold back.
A fellow disciple had already died trying to hold this man off. If Li Mu let him keep doing as he pleased, there was no way they could win this fight.
Li Mu leapt into the air and swung his sword, unleashing the move "I Cultivate Haoran." White light flashed, and a dense sword intent surged forth, poised to swallow the purple-clad man whole.
A veteran of the martial world, the purple-clad man reacted swiftly to the sudden sneak attack. He abandoned his opponent and retreated again and again. At the critical moment, he grabbed a Demonic Cult disciple, hurled him at Li Mu, and leapt out of the melee.
It was Li Mu's first time going all out, and all he had managed to kill was a lowly underling. He couldn't help regretting it.
If he'd known it would turn out like this, he would have picked a weaker opponent to ambush. At least then he could have taken out an ordinary first-rate expert.
Now that he'd shown his hand, everyone knew Mount Hua Sect had another expert. There was no chance of sneaking up on anyone again.
The purple-clad man had escaped by the skin of his teeth. Instead of rejoining the fight, he asked, "Who are you, kid? Since when has Mount Hua Sect had a young expert like you?"
The martial world was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, so a new expert appearing out of nowhere wasn't strange. But a martial artist this young was as rare as a phoenix feather.
"The dead don't need to know so much."
Before he'd even finished speaking, Li Mu's sword was out again. There was no point explaining. Since ancient times, villains had died from talking too much.
The battle was raging all around them. It was best to kill the enemy leader as quickly as possible.
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