Running a hand over his beard, Zhou Qingyun said thoughtfully, "Mm, now's the time to wait and see. You're still young, after all. There's no need to fight them for temporary gains or losses.
"But we should teach them a lesson, too, lest they think that with the sect leader in seclusion, they can do whatever they please in Mount Hua Sect.
"They have time to scheme because they're too idle. Looks like I'll have to find them something to do, so everyone's kept busy."
Hearing Zhou Qingyun's words, Li Mu felt a strange sense of déjà vu. He had been the first to suggest that they were "too idle," though back then, the disciples had often gotten into fights.
The circumstances were clearly different, but he had to admit that being "too idle" was indeed one of the major reasons for the fierce infighting within Mount Hua Sect.
But keeping everyone busy wouldn't be easy.
With Ning Qingyu in seclusion, Mount Hua Sect's expansion had all but ground to a halt. The elders were all holed up on the mountain, and there simply wasn't enough work to go around.
Half a year later, in a secret chamber on Chaoyang Peak.
A middle-aged man wiped the congealed blood from the corner of his mouth and snarled, "Damn bald donkey! He sure hit hard!"
Any Mount Hua disciple who saw this would be utterly astonished. They would never have dreamed their own refined, mild-mannered sect leader could have such a side to him.
But put yourself in his shoes, and it was hardly surprising. Anyone at the pinnacle of life, holding the position of Five Mountains Alliance Leader, who'd been beaten within an inch of his life wouldn't be in a good mood.
By comparison, Ning Qingyu had kept his composure. At least in front of others, he had managed to maintain his radiant image.
But not now. After repeated attempts to heal his injuries had failed, he knew he didn't have long to live. Even his usual self-restraint could no longer hold.
His hatred for Shaolin had now burned to its peak. If not for the ties that still bound him and the last shred of reason he clung to, he would have led Mount Hua Sect into battle against Shaolin already.
After venting his pent-up frustration, he straightened his clothes and restored his usual refined demeanor before dragging his broken body out of seclusion.
The moment he stepped out of the secret chamber, the lively Ning the Little Girl came bounding over like a rabbit.
"Father, you're finally out of seclusion! All you ever do is go into seclusion, go into seclusion. It's been so long since you and your daughter—"
Clearly, Ning Qingyu's injuries had been classified as a strictly guarded sect secret. Even his own daughter, Ning Zhongze, knew nothing about them.
He affectionately patted his daughter's forehead. "Ze'er, you're a grown-up now. Don't spend every day playing around. You need to practice your martial arts properly."
Ning the Little Girl grumbled, "I know, I know. You're so naggy. All you do is stay in seclusion every day. Senior Brother Li is in seclusion all the time, too. There's no one—"
Ning Qingyu's face fell at once. Clearly, he found his daughter's "Senior Brother Li" a real headache.
If he were still in good health, with decades to make arrangements, he would have been delighted to see Mount Hua Sect full of talented people.
But things were different now. He had returned to the mountain and gone into seclusion for over half a year. They had tried every healing medicine Mount Hua Sect could get its hands on, but none had made the slightest difference.
Knowing he didn't have long to live, Ning Qingyu had no choice but to consider what would happen after his death. He felt a deep sense of belonging to the sect that had raised him and for which he had devoted his life. He didn't want to leave his successors with a mess.
The sect was already torn by such fierce infighting. If he didn't make proper arrangements in advance, who knew what might happen in the future?
The most pressing issue was the succession to the position of sect leader.
He had originally thought that by putting Li Mu forward and sowing discord within the Sword Sect, the Qi Sect would gain the upper hand in the competition to come.
Unfortunately, plans never kept pace with changes. The infighting he had expected within the Sword Sect never broke out. Instead, discord arose within the Qi Sect.
The most direct reason was that Li Mu hadn't taken the bait. Not only had he refused to swallow the lure Ning Qingyu had dangled before him, he had gone into seclusion and withdrawn from the sect's power struggle altogether.
Righteous sects were different from the Demonic Cult, where it was a fight to the death. In a struggle for power, once one side withdrew, there was no way to wipe them out completely.
No one wanted to accept a sect leader who couldn't tolerate others. Li Mu had chosen to step back of his own accord. If Cai Buli's faction kept pressing him, they would only drive the elders in the neutral camp into the opposing camp.
No matter what, Li Mu was one of their own in the eyes of the Sword Sect disciples. Rather than make trouble for their junior brother, they were more than happy to take it out on the Qi Sect.
Cai Buli had never been much of a mastermind. Seeing that Li Mu still hadn't shown his face, he was soon goaded by his subordinates into clashing with his old rival, Yao Buzhou.
Yao Buzhou should have had the upper hand, but at that very moment, Wang Buyao of the Qi Sect broke through.
Wang Buyao had been stuck at the peak of the second-rate realm for years. Having broken through through his own efforts, he had long resented Yao Buzhou for monopolizing so many resources.
With greater strength came greater influence within the sect.
Unwilling to keep waving the flag for Yao Buzhou, Wang Buyao gathered a group of fellow disciples who were likewise dissatisfied with him and formed a small faction within the Qi Sect.
This shift among their disciples naturally affected the positions of some elders. If they couldn't even sort out their own relationships within the Qi Sect, how could they lead Mount Hua Sect?
Many began to doubt Yao Buzhou's abilities, and his standing within the Qi Sect plummeted.
Under the influence of Li Mu, the great butterfly whose wings had stirred the winds, Mount Hua Sect's internal balance had been torn to shreds. What had once been two major factions—the Sword Sect and the Qi Sect—had now split into three smaller factions apiece.
Set aside the neutral factions on both sides, and there were still four smaller factions. The situation had grown ever more tangled.
Ning Qingyu had a feeling that this was only the beginning. As more of the younger disciples of the Bu generation broke through, the number of these little factions would keep growing.
For the sect as a whole, dividing the Sword and Qi Factions was undoubtedly a good thing. But for Ning Qingyu, who had to choose a successor, it was a terrible ordeal.
The more factions there were within the sect, the harder it was to unite their positions.
Deep down, he naturally favored his own disciple, Yao Buzhou. But given the current state of affairs within the sect, even if he forced Yao Buzhou into the position, he wouldn't be able to hold on to it.
It wasn't just that his own disciple lacked the support. No one in all of Mount Hua Sect could garner the backing of more than half the sect.
"You don't know how to practice properly. You're a girl, yet all you ever do is talk about Senior Brother Li. What kind of behavior is that?"
With the sect's affairs still unresolved and the little cabbage he'd raised for over a decade about to be stolen away, how could Ning Qingyu possibly be in a good mood?
Unfortunately, Ning the Little Girl was already immune to scoldings like this.
"Who says I haven't been practicing properly? Look, I broke through ages ago. It's clearly because you're a bad teacher. If Senior Brother Li had taught me, I'd have broken through long ago."
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