By the time Hong Ying finished her arena match, it was already noon. The area around the Martial Arts Convention was teeming with vendors and stalls. After having lunch and resting for a bit, the group went to watch the Huajian Sect's matches in the afternoon.
The Huajian Sect was ranked eighty-second among the top one hundred jianghu sects. It was famous locally, but considered an obscure, minor sect outside its region. In the previous Martial Arts Convention, which had over two hundred participating sects, they had also ranked eighty-second. This time, the Huajian Sect had made thorough preparations; based on the performances of the various sects last time, they were confident they could climb two or three spots.
Ren Siyan was the sect's second senior sister. She had been away traveling and training for four and a half years, and her return now made her a main pillar of the sect.
At the referee's signal, the first combatant from each side took the stage. The Huojian Sect wore crimson robes with flame emblems embroidered on their cuffs, while the Huajian Sect wore yellow-and-white outfits with silver flowers embroidered on the chest. After exchanging names, the match began. The Huojian Sect claimed victory, causing the atmosphere on Huajian Sect's side to grow tense. The second disciple stepped up to the stage, clearly much stronger than the previous one, and defeated the Huojian Sect fighter.
The Huojian Sect sent another person onto the stage. By the time the opponent had only two fighters left, Ren Siyan stepped up. She easily defeated her challenger, letting the sect elder sigh with slight relief—it seemed her years of traveling and training had led to great progress.
With only one fighter remaining on the opponent's side, they conferred for a bit before sending someone up. Ren Siyan's expression turned serious. Right from the start of the fight, she was at a disadvantage. Her opponent's attacks were fierce, ruthless, and targeted vital areas, clearly intending to end the match quickly. Ren Siyan chose to defend, patiently waiting for a flaw to reveal itself.
As the fight went on, her opponent's onslaught slowed down. Ren Siyan launched her attack, her moves becoming aggressive and relentless, giving her opponent no room to breathe. Having survived the initial pressure, she turned the tables completely, securing the sect's first overall victory.
Since the Huajian Sect had to prepare for their next match, and Lin Yue's group were all independent attendees, they discussed it and decided to head over to Arena Stage One to watch the matches between top experts.
The area around Stage One was packed with people, mostly young juniors there to watch the excitement. There were only seven or eight actual contenders, most of them in their thirties or forties. Among them was a plainly dressed female warrior—tall and slender, sitting cross-legged on a futon with her eyes closed in deep concentration, a red-tasseled spear resting horizontally across her lap.
Surrounded by the crowd, these experts exuded a distinctive, dominant aura that could be felt at a glance. Some wore fierce, keep-out expressions, while others wore mild, gentle smiles. Most were clad in cotton or silk, save for an old man on stage who looked like Hong Qigong. Wearing coarse hemp robes, he sat cross-legged on the ground, resting his cheek in his hand as he watched the clear-eyed, chattering youths below with great amusement.
It looked like a match had just ended. Fang Heng and the others voiced their disappointment—these were top martial arts masters, after all, and real skills like this were rarely seen. Just as they were about to head around the stage toward Stage Two, Fang Yu suddenly called out in excitement:
“Hey, hey, hey! Someone's going up! Someone's going up!”
Hearing this, Lin Yue subconsciously turned back. The surrounding crowd instantly erupted as everyone focused their gaze on a single spot.
A young man in his twenties walked onto the stage. Dressed in white robes, he possessed striking, handsome features. His phoenix eyes in particular glistened with a starlike luster, bright and dazzling like gems. He smiled with pressed lips, his deportment relaxed and casual as he looked left and right like a tourist taking in the sights.
Walking to the center of the stage, he stopped and looked at the seated old man. The elder in hemp robes appraised him up and down, smiled at him, and praised:
“Heroes indeed come from the young!”
The young man raised an eyebrow, his tone lazy and his voice crisp as jade striking water. “Thank you for the compliment!”
Old Man Hemp stood up, dusted off his clothes, and casually cupped his hands. “This old man is Old Man Mo of Mount Yiyuan.”
The youth returned the greeting. “Guiwu Sect, Li Le.”
The moment the young man announced his sect, the Fang siblings excitedly tugged and patted at Lin Yue's clothes. A flurry of chatter immediately filled her ears.
“Lin Ze, he's your fellow disciple!” Fang Yu said, her voice chirping with excitement.
“Incredible! He's actually handsomer than me! I refuse to accept this—Brother Lin, you must take me to meet him so we can stand side by side and compare,” Fang Heng said indignantly, pulling at Lin Yue's sleeve.
“Lin Ze, why didn't you say earlier that you had a fellow disciple like this? That's not very loyal of you!”
“...”
“Stop, stop shaking me! Listen to me, listen to me,” Lin Yue raised her hand to stop the barrage of questions before explaining, “I don't know him. We aren't familiar with each other.”
Seeing the doubtful looks on their faces, Lin Yue had no choice but to explain in a low voice that she was just a nobody who didn't even know which way the sect gate opened: “I just registered my name. I've never actually been to the sect, nor have I formally taken a master.”
Seeing that they still hadn't snapped out of it, Lin Yue glanced at everyone, blinked, and gave a subtle hint: “You know how it is.”
After a moment's silence, the group dispersed with disappointed scoffs. Looking back toward the stage, they realized their excitement had been for nothing! Turns out she was a fake disciple; it was better to focus on watching the match.
On stage, the young man named Li Le glanced over in their direction, frowning slightly in thought for a second. Then he looked up at Old Man Mo, slid his left foot back, turned his body sideways with one hand behind his back, and assumed a fighting stance. With a reckless expression and an arrogant demeanor, he gestured with his hand toward his opponent, offering a “please.”
Old Man Mo took no offense, chuckling heartily as he assumed the Twin Snakes Emerging from Sleeves posture. The “snake heads” even gestured downward, inviting the young man to strike first.
The smile in Li Le's eyes hardened. Pushing off his back foot, he charged forward. The wind from his palm swept out, sending dust flying along with the force of his strike. Old Man Mo raised an eyebrow and leaned back like a snake to dodge the blow, while his hand slithered up the youth's arm like a serpent...
The onlookers below gasped repeatedly in awe. Although the two moved so fast it dazzled the eyes, listening closely revealed clear patterns in their technique—they were undoubtedly top-tier experts.
Lin Yue observed the young man's footwork. It was indeed the Guiwu Technique—nimble, light, and effortless. When he moved, his entire body seemed weightless, floating like falling leaves; he had already reached great perfection.
She had trained for over ten years just to reach grand mastery, and even after more than twenty, she was still one step short of great perfection. She had considered herself quite proficient, but judging by his age, he was simply extraordinarily gifted!
Lin Yue sighed in admiration. There was always a higher mountain, and along the same path, there would always be someone who went further. Remaining humble and steadfast, avoiding haste and impatience—only then could one travel further on the path of martial arts.
“Young man, not bad,” Old Man Mo said, an appreciative look in his eyes.
“Old Man Mo, you're still a bit lacking,” the youth said, raising his chin toward him without a shred of modesty.
“Hahaha!” Old Man Mo let out three hearty laughs, his face glowing with energy. “Pretty arrogant for a young man! But young people ought to be confident and bold—that's what keeps the jianghu vibrant.”
With that, he charged forward once more, and the young man stepped up to meet him.
The sand in the hourglass had completely run out, marking the passage of time it took for a stick of incense to burn, yet they were still fighting. The referee did not rush them either, watching with keen interest.
The rules were meant for the ordinary competitors; most of these martial arts masters were invited to put on an exhibition. It gave the youth a chance to watch and learn, stirring their longing and passion for martial arts and giving them a goal so they could go further on their path.
In the end, the two did not fight to a decisive conclusion. But between masters, a single exchange was enough to gauge the gap; the outcome was already clear, and they stopped before going too far. Old Man Mo's eyes shone brightly as he looked up and laughed:
“I'm old now! This jianghu will have to be left to the youth!”
With that, he executed a lightness technique, flying down from the arena stage, and departed laughing under the gaze of the crowd.
Watching Old Man Mo's departing back, Lin Yue could not help but sigh. This Old Man Mo had a great mindset—open-minded and transparent.
Li Le gave a light chuckle, swept his gaze over the crowd below, stepped off the arena stage, and departed.
With the stage cleared, after a brief wait, a fierce-looking saber-wielder leaped onto the platform. He glanced at the people below and called out to a seated man resting with a broadsword strapped to his back and eyes closed:
“Saber Li, get up here and fight a round!”
The man with the broadsword opened his eyes, his gaze fierce. He stood up and flew onto the stage, and the two clashed. Hearing the loud booms of weapons colliding and feeling the impact of brute strength, it was clear both were fighting for real. Below the stage, the eyes of the young onlookers shone brightly, watching intently.
“Let's go.”
Wu Yan called to the others to go watch different matches. Although the fight between the two was thrilling, it was clearly beyond what they could follow with clarity.
“Lin Ze?”
Lin Yue looked over at them, and Fang Heng said, “We're leaving.”
“I'll watch a bit more. You guys go ahead.”
“You can actually understand it?”
“A little, but not much,” Lin Yue said.
Ordinary martial artists could not understand the duels between top experts for a few reasons. First was speed—matches between masters took place at rapid speeds, their stances and footwork changing in an instant, making it difficult to catch the detailed techniques.
Second, top experts possessed profound inner energy cultivation. Their duels often involved the contest and control of inner energy; ordinary martial artists, lacking sufficient inner energy, could hardly sense its flow and shifts between experts.
Furthermore, masters were rich in experience. A duel was not merely a simple exchange of moves. Due to limitations in experience and vision, ordinary martial artists could not grasp the deeper intent behind those moves. There was also a realm of perception—a master's realm of martial cultivation far exceeded the comprehension of ordinary martial artists, making it impossible for them to understand a top-level fight on that level.
She possessed deep inner energy, and having studied both martial arts and medicine, she had researched the human body's bones, tendons, and meridians. With her solid understanding of joint leverage and power generation, she could keep up with their speed and comprehend some of their moves and tactical strategies.
However, she lacked vision and combat experience—the very experience these experts possessed. If she could learn new ways of striking, that too would be progress.
“Alright then.” Fang Heng waved his hand and led the others away.
The two on stage fought for half an hour before both stepped down. After a while, another pair took the stage to duel. Lin Yue watched for the whole day, gaining a wealth of insights.
The second day was the competition for the Wu siblings. Wu Yan successfully advanced, while Wu Nian failed to defend her stage and did not make it to the next round.
The third day was the match for Lin Yue and Fang Yu. The group first went to watch Fang Yu's match. Meanwhile, Lin Yue waited for an opportunity below Arena Stage Seven, where two Second-Rate experts were currently fighting. Having spent the entire previous day watching top experts duel, their movements now seemed rather slow by comparison.
She evaluated her own strength: her inner energy was likely around First-Rate level, her weapon was a long staff, she had learned a few martial techniques, and her skill was half a step into Second-Rate. Factoring in her medical knowledge, overall, handling a Second-Rate fighter shouldn't be a problem.
Rate on N.U.
