Chapter 255: Chapter 252: Dragging Someone Down

"Believe it or not, those are the facts. Qin Daye is Miss Ruyan’s brother, which makes him the future brother-in-law of one of you."

"How you choose to challenge him is your own business."

Liu Hui’s words left the crowd deeply uncertain.

’Should they believe him? Or not?’

"Then who are you? And how do you know so much?" someone asked.

Liu Hui gestured to himself and Jin Sanpang. "We’re both sworn brothers of Qin Daye, and we know Miss Ruyan quite well."

"So you know her just because you say so? Who can prove you aren’t lying?"

"I can!"

Just then, Niu Kexin emerged from inside.

"I am Niu Kexin, Qin Daye’s woman. I can prove it. Is that enough?"

What a power move! Absolutely commanding!

The entire venue fell deathly silent. Everyone wore the same expression: mouths slightly agape, eyes fixed on Niu Kexin.

As the adopted daughter of Mu Kongfu, her personal admission of her relationship with Qin Daye made her one hundred percent credible.

Furthermore, given Liu Ruyan’s status, she would never agree to share a husband with another woman. This meant what Liu Hui had said was true.

"Enough, enough! It was all a misunderstanding, haha."

"Exactly! As they say, you don’t get to know someone until you fight them. A true brother of our brother-in-law! I’m impressed by your tactics!"

"I say, how can you be so shameless? He’s clearly *my* brother-in-law, what gives you the right to call him that?"

"Bullshit! Nothing’s even close to being decided and you’re already calling him ’brother-in-law’? Can you stop being so embarrassing? With a bunch of useless sacks like you, and with *my* brother-in-law’s skills, he could snap your legs in a heartbeat!"

The crowd, which had just been hostile toward Mo Qi, was now all calling out "brother-in-law."

Even Liu Hui and Jin Sanpang became the focus of their fawning.

’Didn’t you hear him? He said they know Liu Ruyan very well!’

Thus, calls of "Brother Hui" and "Brother Pang" echoed incessantly.

"All right, stop wasting your efforts on us. Qin Daye said that given your sheer numbers and the... let’s say, mixed quality of the group, anyone who wants to challenge him must first pass a certain threshold. Otherwise, if every Tom, Dick, and Harry could issue a challenge, wouldn’t things descend into chaos?"

Seeing that the time was ripe, Liu Hui got to the main point.

"What our brother-in-law says makes sense."

"That’s right. If everyone was eligible to challenge him, how long would the fighting go on?"

"I, for one, wholeheartedly support our brother-in-law’s decision."

"We do too!"

The crowd chimed in with their agreement.

"I just wonder, what kind of threshold has our brother-in-law set?"

Liu Hui said, "It’s simple. Whoever can offer a Spiritual Object that satisfies him will earn the right to challenge him."

No one had any objections to this. Paying respects to their future brother-in-law was only natural, after all.

"So, you’d all better hurry up and prepare your Spiritual Objects. Whether you can impress Qin Daye, and how much you can impress him, is entirely up to you."

"And one more reminder for you all: compared to Grandmaster Liu Hong, Liu Ruyan is far more willing to listen to Qin Daye." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

As he said this, Liu Hui deliberately let a meaningful smile spread across his face.

The crowd was stunned. ’Could it be... there’s some shady business at play here?’

’As long as we can satisfy Qin Daye, not only will he go easy on us during the challenge, but he might even be able to influence the final result?’

"Qin Daye is right inside. You’re all welcome to visit anytime."

After throwing out that last sentence, Liu Hui and the others turned and left.

As reality sank in, the crowd erupted into a frenzy.

"Dammit, I don’t care anymore! I’m going home right now to steal that treasure my old man keeps locked up!"

"I originally just came to try my luck, but I didn’t expect to see a real path to victory. It’s just a Spiritual Object, right? As if this young master can’t win over our brother-in-law."

"My family’s heirloom Spiritual Object can finally be put to good use! As long as I can become Liu Ruyan’s husband, it’ll all be worth it!"

Many of them, believing they had finally seen a true path to success, decided to stake it all, stopping at nothing to obtain the rarest and most precious Spiritual Objects.

All for the sole purpose of earning Mo Qi’s satisfaction.

In their eyes, compared to the distant and uncertain future of the Martial Dao, latching onto a powerful patron was a far more practical path.

Although everyone knew the odds of success were low, even low odds were better than the perilous journey of the Martial Dao.

At the very least, no one’s life was on the line!

Later, Liu Hui himself would never have imagined what a massive, pleasant surprise his spur-of-the-moment smile would bring to Mo Qi.

The original instigator, Liu Hong, could not have foreseen that Mo Qi would exploit the loopholes of the situation, turning a crisis into a personal treasure-gathering basin.

And the issuer of the imperial edict, His Holiness Li Shimu, was even more oblivious to the profound impact this event would have on the future of the Mountain and Sea Empire.

「...」

In a room thick with the smell of medicine, Mu He lay on a bed, his body completely covered in bandages.

Mu Xue sat beside him, her face a mask of indecision.

"Tell me, do you like Qin Daye?" Mu He asked.

Mu Xue nodded, then shook her head.

"So which is it? Do you like him or not?" Mu He pressed, frowning.

"I wouldn’t say I like him, but I wouldn’t say I dislike him, either."

"So you have feelings for him?" Mu He asked again.

Mu Xue didn’t answer, which was an admission in itself.

Seeing this, Mu He looked puzzled. "You’ve heard the contents of the imperial edict. He’s at the lowest point of his life right now; the pressure on him must be immense. Since you have feelings for him, why not take this opportunity to get close to him, comfort him, help him, and stay by his side to win his heart?"

Mu Xue’s expression was awkward for a moment, but it quickly shifted to one of firm resolve.

"Brother, you know me. I despise the weak and the defeated. I worship and am drawn to the strong! Qin Daye defeated Li Yuanhao in the Cultivation Room, and he defeated me, too. I admit it—for a moment, I was genuinely moved."

"But now, he’s offended Grandmaster Liu Hong! That imperial edict was obviously issued by His Holiness because the Grandmaster wanted to punish him. Do you think he has any future left?"

"Do you think there’s any reason for me to like him anymore?"

Mu He couldn’t believe Mu Xue would say something like that.

"You! When did you become like this? Liking someone... shouldn’t it mean being ready to throw caution to the wind, to risk everything for them?"

If Niu Kexin had been in Mo Qi’s place, it wouldn’t matter if she’d only offended Liu Hong—even if she’d angered the Jade Emperor himself, Mu He would have stood firmly by her side.

Mu Xue gave a bitter smile. "Risk everything? Brother, how can you be even more naive than your own little sister? The Martial Arts World is cruel and pragmatic."

"Forget about us who walk the Martial Dao. Even ordinary people in mortal towns and cities have to consider a person’s status when getting married. They want a match between families of equal standing."

"To put it bluntly, in my eyes, he’s a failure right now. Even if I did like him, I wouldn’t choose him."

Mu He was speechless, feeling as if his entire worldview had just been shattered.

If Mu Xue weren’t his own sister, he would have ordered her to get out of his sight.

After a long silence, Mu He sighed. "So this is your ambition?"

"That’s right. I am pursuing the very pinnacle of the Martial Dao. I will not allow my partner to be a burden who holds me back."

"But what if there is no pinnacle to the Martial Dao? What if the person you believe would hold you back is, in fact, far stronger and more outstanding than you? What if you’re the one who would be the burden?"

Mu Xue was stunned. She shook her head and said, "I don’t know, and I don’t want to think about that right now. I’ll just follow my heart and my instincts."

For the first time, Mu He felt a profound sense of alienation from his sister.

"I hope you won’t regret this."