Lin Mu looked at the earthen qi pill for a bit and deliberated on it before finally consuming it. As soon as the pill touched his tongue, it released its medicinal properties and melted. Lin Mu swallowed the medicinal liquid and felt it spreading in his stomach.

The earth elemental spirit qi traveled through his meridians before reaching the surface of his skin and settling there. Lin Mu then saw it forming a thin brown layer of light before it faded away.

"Is that it?" Lin Mu said feeling the same as before.

"The armor will activate when you take an attack." Xukong explained.

"Oh, I understand Senior." Lin Mu said before leaving the room.

Today was going to be a big day, and it was better if he was at the manor earlier than the reported time. Lin Mu saw that there was already a carriage waiting for him outside the courtyard.

"Lord Mu Lin, please." The carriage driver was standing beside the door of the carriage waiting for him.

Lin Mu entered the carriage and it started moving. He peeked out of the window and could see fewer people on the streets. But the number of guards had increased instead.

"Hmm, did Wu Hei do this or is this just the normal procedure?" Lin Mu muttered to himself.

Thankfully, because the streets were rather vacant, the carriage was able to reach the manor rather swiftly. Lin Mu alighted from the carriage and saw the other carriages that were parked there. More of them were also arriving and he could see the neatly dressed aristocrats.

Some of the people looked at him for a bit before going on their way. Because of how simply Lin Mu was dressed compared to others, the aristocrats didn't pay much attention to him. Lin Mu was thankful for this and liked it better than being stared at all the time.

"Lord Mu Lin!" Someone suddenly spoke.

Lin Mu looked at the source of the voice and found that it was the steward old Lao.

"Young master Wu Hei is waiting for you inside." The steward spoke.

"Alright, take me to him." Lin Mu said.

The two of them entered the manor and this time Lin Mu could see the changes in the decorations. Everything was much more opulent than before and there were more servants than before as well.

"Where is the martial competition going to be held?" Lin Mu asked seeing that it was unsuitable to hold it inside the house as it could be easily damaged.

"We have set up the stage in the grounds behind the manor and the seating arrangements have been made as well." Old Lao answered.

Lin Mu nodded his head as that did seem to be more appropriate. The two of them reached a room that Lin Mu had not been to before. 

"Young master, Lord Mu Lin is here." Old Lao announced.

"Come in!" Wu Hei said from inside.

Old Lao opened the door and Lin Mu could see Wu Hei sorting through a pile of papers. He didn't know what he was doing, but it certainly seemed to be important.

"I'll take my leave." The Steward said before closing the door behind him.

"So what's happening?" Lin Mu questioned.

~sigh~

"Just the usual workload. Brother messed up some of the tasks that were assigned to him… as usual. And now I have to fix them quickly before all the guests arrive." Wu Hei answered.

Lin Mu could sense the frustration in his voice and knew that it would be better to not speak about his elder brother more. 

"When is the tournament starting then?" Lin Mu finally asked.

Wu Hei stacked the pile of papers neatly before looking up at Lin Mu.

"It should be starting in about fifteen minutes. Most of the participants have already arrive, anyway." Wu Hei replied. "Though, there are only two that you need to look out for." He added.

"Oh? And who are they?" Lin Mu questioned.

"Both of them are core condensation realm cultivators. One of them is an aristocrat from the Xiangwei city called Enlai Lan and the other one is a core disciple from the Autumn valley sect, called Qing Yuan Tiu." Wu Hei informed.

Lin Mu remembered the carriage he had seen before and realized that it was the same person he had seen back then. But then after hearing the name he was a bit confused before speaking.

"Qing Yuan Tiu? It's a woman?" Lin Mu asked.

"Yes, but how did you know?" Wu Hei questioned.

"I don't know if this is the same person or not, but I heard that a while ago a core condensation realm elder of the Autumn valley sect had appeared in the city. I wonder if they are the same person as both of them are women?" Lin Mu questioned.

Lin Mu had this doubt because from what he had heard and the information he had seen, the autumn valley sect was rather small and only had a single nascent soul realm cultivator that was their sect head. The core condensation realm disciples were enough to be worthy of becoming elders in that sect.

For a small sect as this, he doubted whether there could even be a core disciple with that cultivation base as they would have just become an elder.

Wu Hei furrowed his brows too after hearing Lin Mu's words. He himself was unaware that this had happened, and no reports were ever given to him about this. While he also knew about the Autumn valley sect he had not known about the woman.

"Hmm… I do not know if it's the same person or not. But we do have an official letter stating that Qing Yuan Tiu is a core disciple of the Autumn valley sect that has been sent to participate in the Tournament. Even the Peak master Yi Deng confirmed it." Wu Hei stated.

Lin Mu nodded his head and wondered if it was just a coincidence.

"I guess we'll just see to it when it comes to it." Wu Hei said seeing that Lin Mu was fine with it.

"Oh yes, what's are their cultivation bases?" Lin Mu questioned.

"Enlai Lan is at the early stage of the core condensation realm while I do not know exactly about Qing Yuan Tiu. There was no mention of it in the letter and neither could we ask her directly as it would go against the etiquette.

But I've seen her and she shouldn't be that strong, at most at the mid stage of the core condensation realm." Wu Hei answered.

"I see." Lin Mu responded. "And how is the tournament going to happen?" 

"There will be random lots drawn and match sets will be made. The winner of every match will move up to the next set and it will continue till we have our final winner. As of now, we have sixteen match sets and thirty three contestants." Wu Hei explained.

"Thirty three contestants? Is there one person less or extra?" Lin Mu curiously asked.

"Actually, it's three people more than we expected. They came four days ago and joined at the last moment. Qing Yuan Tiu is one of them and the other two are some cultivators from nearby clans of the neighboring cities. They are not really on good terms with the mayor, yet they chose to come so as to pay respects to the Tri cauldron peony sect." Wu Hei stated.

"So Qing Yuan Tiu is alone here?" Lin Mu picked up.

"Yeah, she's come here alone." Wu Hei stated.

Lin Mu was now feeling even more suspicious of Qing Yuan Tiu and wondered what was going on with the Autumn valley sect. Still, he thought that it would just be better to wait and see how everything progresses. 

"What match am I in?" Lin Mu questioned.

"You are in the last one, oh and you will also be fighting with one of the two aristocrats that came at the last moment." Wu Hei answered.

"Alright, let's go there then if you are done." Lin Mu said.

And just as he said this, a knock on the door was heard.

"Brother! What are you doing here all cooped up? Let's go the tournament is gonna start anytime now." The door suddenly opened and in walked Wu Teng.

~Sigh~

A sigh escaped Wu Hei's lips as he saw that his brother was already a bit drunk. It was only ten am in the morning and this was never good for him, as Wu Hei knew that his elder brother would be causing problems soon.

"May as well leave now." Wu Hei agreed.

"Ah! I see brother Mu Lin is here too!" Wu Teng greeted.

"Good morning Lord Wu Teng." Lin Mu greeted as well.

The three of them then left the room and walked towards the backyard of the manor. The distance was rather large, and it took them about five minutes to reach the stage area. 

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