"Young master... the sun is quite harsh, so I... I prepared a cup of cool tea for you. Please accept it."
The female cultivator's eyes were filled with affection, and her naturally beautiful face, without makeup, was tinged with a hint of blush.
Yu Mu was a benchmark among the younger generation of Yunhe Sect! He was an idol in the hearts of many disciples! Previously, when he was under Elder Zi Li and heard about his admiration for the talented Xiao Yu, it had caused many female cultivators to feel disheartened.
But now... they had fallen out! An opportunity had come!!
Yu Mu: "..."
"Ah, thank you."
He sat up straight and accepted the cup of cool tea from the female cultivator's hands. His smile was warm and gentle, and under the sunlight, his handsome face showed no flaws. His charming smile left the female cultivator momentarily dazed.
"The young master is too polite!"
The female cultivator beamed like a flower and shyly ran away.
Yu Mu took a light sip of the tea, watching the delicate figure of the female cultivator as she moved gracefully like a little deer. Being young... was truly wonderful.
However, a hint of ambiguous meaning flowed through Yu Mu's clear eyes.
This girl... wasn't familiar with him; she shouldn't have any grudges, right?
So why could this tea taste so terrible?
Just this thing! Even if given to a dog... no, even Ye Tian wouldn't be able to drink it.
"The young master drank my tea!! He even smiled at me! You all didn't see it; the young master's smile was so beautiful!"
After returning, the female cultivator hopped around proudly. In no time, what had been a peaceful atmosphere around Yu Mu became lively as many female cultivators came either to offer small snacks or gifts like fragrant sachets or handkerchiefs...
It truly made others envious. However, there wasn't much jealousy; after all... Yu Mu's character and strength were evident; they couldn't compare.
Only Liu He had a strong sense of bitterness in her eyes. She sulked close to Ye Tian, almost curling up into his embrace, and even Ye Tian's restless hand didn't stop her.
Xiao Yu's icy beautiful eyes also dropped in temperature.
Her hand hidden in her sleeve clenched into a fist for some unknown reason, her nails digging painfully into her palm.
He had clearly been fond of her before! Not to mention how he had severely injured her during the sect competition; now he was acting indifferent? Not even looking at her?
It seemed he was indeed a heartless person.
Soon enough, under Hall Master Chu's announcement, the martial arts demonstration officially began! Meanwhile, Yu Mu approached Hall Master Chu's true disciple. The burly body cultivator looked like he was about to cry...
Yu Mu: "Is it good?"
"Y-yes! It's delicious! Thank you, young master!" The man's mouth was stuffed full of snacks, but inside he felt cold. He thought he hadn't done anything wrong to the young master; why treat him like this?
Those female cultivators in the sect! The snacks they made! Each one worse than the last!
It seemed today would not end well.
Just then, Hall Master Chu announced loudly: "First match! Xingyun Hall's Yu Mu against Ziyun Hall's Liu He!"
"Well then, junior brother, take your time eating; I'm going to compete next." Yu Mu kindly patted the burly man's shoulder. A gentle breeze swept past as his figure appeared on the martial arts platform.
The burly man let out a sigh of relief as he held his arms full of snacks and grinned at an inner disciple who had been holding back laughter beside him.
"Junior brother, have some snacks; they taste amazing."
The other person: "?????"
...
On the other side, Liu He's heart stopped for a moment! How could this be... her first match... against senior brother??
In this martial arts demonstration, losing just one match would mean losing eligibility to continue! Why did she have to face senior brother? If only she could face any other true disciple as an opponent; she could win!
"Senior sister... I..."
Tears filled her beautiful eyes with mist. Before Xiao Yu and Ye Tian could say anything, Yu Mu on the martial arts platform called out loudly: "Does junior sister want to concede?"
"I concede..."
Liu He instinctively wanted to concede but remembered her master's sternness. Seeing Xiao Yu's already cold gaze made her grit her teeth and slowly step onto the stage.
Senior brother's tone seemed nice... what if... what if he would let her win like before? Yes! He had always cared for her most!
As she reached the martial arts platform and heard Hall Master Chu announce the start of the match, Liu He looked up and saw a smile at the corner of Yu Mu's mouth. His eyes also sparkled with some little stars.
At this moment, the vast arena fell silent.
All disciples knew that Yu Mu treated this junior sister well; he had even risked his life for her! But now... it seemed things had changed; they didn't know how Yu Mu would choose.
Many disciples who didn't like Liu He were eagerly watching. Even though Liu He hadn't caused trouble recently...
"Senior brother..."
"Bang!!!"
Before Liu He could finish speaking, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen as everything spun around her head filled with emptiness. By the time she realized what happened, she found herself kicked off the martial arts platform by Yu Mu...
"Xingyun Hall's Yu Mu wins!"
Before she could cry out, Hall Master Chu had already announced the result. At that same moment, while still standing on the martial arts platform, Yu Mu spoke again with some displeasure in his voice:
"Next match: Ziyun Hall's Xiao Yu against Xingyun Hall's Yu Mu!"
Everyone: "???????"
This seemed off! Their expressions grew serious as they realized that... Young Master Yu Mu was targeting Ziyun Hall? But Xiao Yu had been his beloved for ten years!
Wasn't this too harsh?
"Hmph, small tricks are utterly boring."
Xiao Yu snorted coldly and glanced again at Liu He who was crying in Ye Tian's arms. So what if she was being targeted? The consciousness orb in Hall Master Chu's hand could be manipulated; as long as one was at Nascent Soul level, detailed control could be exercised.
It seemed this person had also been bought off by Yu Mu!
Even though she thought about asking her master for justice later on, but now that her master was in seclusion too—she could only brace herself!
"The match begins!"
"Junior brother, please give me guidance."
Xiao Yu drew her long sword as if facing a formidable enemy. At that moment… being able to confront Yu Mu face-to-face brought an indescribable feeling within her heart.
"Alright."
Yu Mu nodded. In an instant! A dark light flashed! Xiao Yu at mid Golden Core stage was directly swept away by Yu Mu—who had reached peak Golden Core—with a single thrust!
He showed no mercy; even as blood sprayed from Xiao Yu's mouth leaving a bright red arc in mid-air.
Xiao Yu was stunned. She had clearly prepared thoroughly! She had been fully focused on defense! How could he… be so overwhelmingly powerful now? She had clearly entered Golden Core before him; he had even gone through dispersing his energy!
"Next match: Ziyun Hall's Ye Tian against Xingyun Hall's Yu Mu!"
With Hall Master Chu's voice echoing across the martial arts arena again, everyone confirmed that Young Master Yu Mu indeed targeted Ziyun Hall.
This move was ruthless! Directly knocking out three prodigies from true disciples—essentially slapping the faces of all sect elders in front of everyone!
Yet… there were no flaws to exploit! The worst that would happen would be some reprimands from the sect leader; he hadn't seriously injured anyone or taken anyone's life—so what punishment could there be