A single "Greetings, fellow senior disciples" snapped everyone out of their stunned silence, though the scene was a little awkward.
The older senior disciples in particular had worn the most exaggerated expressions just moments ago, so they looked even more awkward now.
There was no helping it. Li Mu hadn't deliberately hidden his cultivation. Breaking through to the Second-Class Realm at his age was already the mark of a genius, and yet in just half a year, he had reached the late stage of the Second-Class Realm.
The disciples with lower cultivation couldn't sense it clearly, but the older senior disciples were another matter. They could see Li Mu's realm at a glance. How could they not be shocked?
"Junior Brother Li, have you broken through again?"
Liu Bufan asked uncertainly.
As a disciple who had long followed Zhou Qingyun and handled miscellaneous affairs, Liu Bufan had spent the most time dealing with Li Mu and knew him better than most.
That was precisely why he wasn't sure. Li Mu had only broken through to the Second-Class Realm half a year ago, and now he had broken through again. It was simply a little too outrageous.
But the expressions on the senior disciples' faces couldn't lie. If Li Mu were only in the early stage of the Second-Class Realm, they might have paid attention, but they certainly wouldn't have lost their composure.
The Mount Hua Sect was now brimming with talent. In almost every generation, there were prodigies who broke through to the Second-Class Realm before the age of twenty. Having seen so many, everyone had grown more accustomed to it.
Under everyone's curious gaze, Li Mu answered with an awkward smile, "I happened to have a moment of enlightenment, and was lucky enough to break through."
He had clearly made up an excuse to sound "humble," but to everyone else, it somehow came across as a live display of humblebragging.
"Enlightenment" was what everyone in the jianghu dreamed of most, and it followed no discernible logic whatsoever.
Ninety-nine point nine nine... percent of people in the jianghu never encountered it even once in their entire lives. It was something they heard about but never saw.
Even those who had experienced it couldn't explain just how wondrous it was. All anyone could say for sure was that their cultivation made great strides.
Exactly how much their cultivation improved depended entirely on luck. Those with heaven-defying luck could even break through an entire major realm. Li Mu didn't know whether the stories were true, but he had heard plenty of such legends.
After a brief silence, Liu Bufan sighed, "Junior Brother, you truly are blessed with deep fortune!"
The others followed with a round of congratulations. There was no shortage of sourness in their voices, but Li Mu could still sense their sincerity.
They all belonged to the same master, which made them a natural faction within the sect. The stronger their faction, the greater their influence in the sect and the more resources they could receive. That meant a better life for everyone.
Calling someone "Master" wasn't an empty formality. Under the master-disciple tradition, a master was truly meant to be treated like a father.
As long as Zhou Qingyun remained, they were all bound together. Even if they wanted to switch sides, they couldn't; no faction would accept "traitors" like that.
In fact, Li Mu had initially planned to hide his cultivation and just go through the motions in the tournament. But the rewards offered by the sect were simply too generous.
No one would complain about cultivating too quickly, and Li Mu was no exception. With the Jade Disc's help, his cultivation was already advancing by leaps and bounds, but with enough resources to support him, he could progress even faster.
Especially now, with the "Sword-Qi Feud" still unresolved, strength was all the more precious. After all, the danger of the Sword-Qi Feud came not only from the two factions' bloody clashes, but even more from other jianghu forces taking advantage of their misfortune.
Even though it wasn't mentioned in the original story, Li Mu couldn't believe that one Sword-Qi Feud had left the Mount Hua Sect with only a handful of disciples from the Bu generation.
No matter how crazed the Sword and Qi Factions became, surely they wouldn't drag newly initiated children into their bloody clashes, would they?
Even if something went wrong and every disciple on the mountain was wiped out, there would still be survivors among those carrying out missions below.
As far as Li Mu knew, more than half of the Mount Hua Sect's disciples spent the entire year away from the mountain, either managing the sect's businesses or traveling alone in search of opportunities to break through.
These people were scattered far and wide. Even if someone wanted to gather them, it would be extremely difficult.
A bloody clash in which both sides suffered heavy losses clearly seemed more like an accident. Neither faction could have anticipated it beforehand, so there was no way they could have gathered their disciples at any cost.
People had to eat, after all. Unless it was absolutely necessary, they wouldn't willingly abandon their businesses outside the sect. If these people didn't die at the hands of their own, then they must have perished at the hands of outsiders.
The internal threat was obvious. As for who the outside enemies were, that was a muddled account. Li Mu couldn't make sense of it, anyway.
While they were exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Qingyun had already come out.
"This tournament is no ordinary one. Not a single thing must go wrong. You are all the Mount Hua Sect's elites, and you must show our guests the might of the Mount Hua Sect.
"If you have any questions about your cultivation, you can ask me, or discuss them with your fellow disciples."
After a brief pause, Zhou Qingyun said with a hint of exasperation, "Especially you few—put some spirit into it. Make the most of this opportunity and strive to break through to the Second-Class Realm."
As he spoke, his gaze swept over Li Mu.
Without comparison, there was no hurt.
There were plenty of Mount Hua disciples stuck at the peak of the Third-Class Realm. They hadn't thought much of it before, but having a genius junior disciple beside them threw everything into a different light.
But bottlenecks were different for everyone, and outsiders could do little to help. If you grasped the insight, you passed through in an instant. If you didn't, you could only grind away at it slowly.
Zhou Qingyun was a good master and held nothing back when sharing his experience, but that didn't mean his experience applied to everyone.
Be that as it may, having someone guide you was better than having no guidance at all. Even if it couldn't guarantee a breakthrough, at least it could help you avoid a few pitfalls.
The disciples came forward in twos and threes to ask for guidance, while Li Mu sat as steadily as a rock. There was no helping it: when it came to understanding the Mount Hua Mental Method, even Zhou Qingyun might not match him.
With no questions to ask and no way to leave, he could only find himself a spot to drink tea and watch the excitement.
Seeing this, Liu Bufan came over too. He had followed Zhou Qingyun for years and never lacked opportunities to ask for guidance, so he naturally wouldn't compete with his fellow disciples for one. Now, instead, he had some time to spare.
"Junior Brother Li, you really are taking it easy!"
His tone carried a hint of "envy," along with a touch of jealousy. The feeling wasn't strong, though. All in all, Liu Bufan had a pretty good disposition and knew how to keep his emotions in check.
"Senior Brother, that's not a very funny joke. I'm so worried about the tournament that I'm practically going gray. How could I be taking it easy?"
That explanation only made Liu Bufan feel worse. He studied Li Mu from head to toe and didn't see the slightest trace of nervousness.
"Going gray" was an even bigger joke. With Li Mu's head of jet-black hair, there wasn't a single silver strand in sight.
"Junior Brother, you're the one joking. Among your fellow disciples, your cultivation is the highest. Unless you plan to challenge the senior disciples above you, there's no challenge at all."
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