Chapter 995: The Odds

In the Grand Void Great Hall, during the three branches' regular meeting.

After the Tai'e sect leader finished speaking, the Grand Void sect leader was taken aback.

He never imagined anyone would voluntarily push people into Mo Hua's team.

"This... isn't quite appropriate..." the Grand Void sect leader frowned.

This would make the plan even more chaotic.

More importantly, he didn't know Mo Hua's intentions.

If Mo Hua's team was already fully staffed and finalized, forcing more people in might upset Mo Hua.

Mo Hua always acts with clear method, and has the old ancestor's backing.

Even as sect leader, he occasionally had to consider Mo Hua's feelings.

But the Tai'e sect leader firmly insisted:

"This is my only condition—if you agree, my Tai'e branch has no further objections; the Sword Debate will be entirely under your control."

"The three branches flow together; one prospers, all prosper; one suffers, all suffer."

"How can the Sword Debate proceed without any disciples from Tai'e Mountain?"

In this team, Mo Hua himself wasn't the issue—it was Linghu Xiao.

He was the sole "heavenly prodigy" among all three branches combined, so at least one Tai'e disciple had to be inserted into this team.

That's what it meant to be on the same rope.

Even if you had to tie them tight.

The Grand Void sect leader fell silent, pondered for a moment, then slowly said: "This matter… I'll consider it."

"Naturally."

The Tai'e sect leader didn't press further.

Matters concerning the Sword Debate must be carefully considered and decided with caution.

Thus, the meeting disbanded.

The three branches returned to their respective mountains.

At Chongxu Mountain, in the back hall.

The Chongxu sect leader told everything to Linghu the Ancestor.

"The original arrangement has been disrupted. Xiao'er may have to join the Sword Debate alongside that 'prodigy of formation arts' from Grand Void."

Linghu the Ancestor frowned. "What did Xiao'er say? Did you ask him?"

The Chongxu sect leader nodded and sighed. "I asked. He only said one thing—he wants to team up with Mo Hua."

Linghu the Ancestor suddenly felt a pang of bitterness.

His Chongxu sect's "treasure" had been lured away by Grand Void.

And willingly.

The Chongxu sect leader sensed the old ancestor's unease and said: "Perhaps I should try to persuade Xiao'er to form a team with our Chongxu branch disciples."

Though the Sword Debate was framed as the three branches merging into one, each branch was secretly vying for advantage.

If Chongxu disciples performed excellently in the Sword Debate, Chongxu's status within Grand Void would rise accordingly.

As sect leader, even after the three sects merged, prioritizing his own branch's interests and status was his duty.

The Chongxu sect leader continued: "…Though Xiao'er is cold-natured, he's not heartless or unfeeling. If I appeal to reason, stir his emotions, and invoke the righteous legacy of Chongxu, he should agree…"

Linghu the Ancestor was somewhat swayed.

But after thinking it over, he shook his head. "This boy is proud and aloof. Let him go freely—he'll remember your kindness. If you force him, even with the most eloquent arguments, he'll harbor resentment."

"Don't think he's just a child and treat him like a fool, binding him with moral doctrines."

"His mind may be simple, but his intuition is sharp."

"He knows who truly cares for him."

The Chongxu sect leader thought for a moment, then nodded. "The old ancestor speaks wisely."

He didn't want to be the villain either.

But his position sometimes forced him to consider such things.

"Then what of this matter…"

"Let it be," Linghu the Ancestor sighed. "Mo Hua of Grand Void is at least the master of formation arts; pairing him with Xiao'er isn't unreasonable. And…"

Linghu the Ancestor paused, frowned. "That boy Mo Hua is clever and unpredictable, and even Master Xun regards him as a 'precious gem'—he must have some real ability, at least he won't drag Xiao'er down…"

He had never seen Mo Hua with his own eyes, so he could only infer from general knowledge.

"Understood," said the Chongxu sect leader.

Linghu the Ancestor glanced at the Chongxu sect leader again, then spoke slowly:

"Since the three branches have merged, the immediate priority is to sail together."

"When the sect grows strong, then fight for advantages. If the sect falls, all the squabbles over petty gains mean nothing."

The Chongxu sect leader understood the old ancestor's meaning and immediately bowed. "The old ancestor speaks wisely."

Linghu the Ancestor waved his hand lightly.

The Chongxu sect leader withdrew.

The great hall grew cold and still.

Linghu the Ancestor sat motionless for a long time, his expression growing ever more solemn.

There was one thing he didn't say—it was too ill-omened.

But as an ancestor, standing high and seeing far, he knew clearly.

"If the three sects merge and still fail, there may not even be a 'Chongxu Sect' left…"

……

On the other side, the Grand Void Gate's sect leader also found Mo Hua.

"Add someone?" Mo Hua was slightly surprised.

"A prodigy from the Tai'e lineage," said the Grand Void Gate's sect leader. "The Tai'e sect leader values you greatly and insists you guide his disciple."

The Grand Void Gate's sect leader phrased it well, to avoid making Mo Hua resentful.

Flattered, Mo Hua's face brightened noticeably.

"What's his name?"

"Ouyang Xuan," said the Grand Void Gate's sect leader.

"Ouyang Xuan..."

Mo Hua fell into thought for a moment.

The name felt unfamiliar; he seemed to have had no prior contact with him.

But that was normal—he wasn't familiar with any of the Tai'e disciples.

Even though the three sects had merged and thousands of disciples across the three lineages called him "Little Senior Brother," there were too many—he couldn't possibly remember them all.

Besides, many only called him that outwardly; inwardly, they resented him and kept their distance.

"Fine, I'll guide him," said Mo Hua.

Regardless of anything else, he had to honor the Tai'e sect leader's face.

The Grand Void Gate's sect leader paused, then added:

"This Ouyang Xuan is the most talented and strongest disciple of the Tai'e lineage this generation, but his temper seems poor, and his disposition is rather defiant..."

He wanted Mo Hua to be mentally prepared, to avoid conflict.

Mo Hua said: "Sect leader, rest assured. My temper isn't good either—I'm just as defiant. We'll probably get along."

The Grand Void Gate's sect leader: "..."

"Really... no problem?" the Grand Void Gate's sect leader said slowly.

"No problem," Mo Hua nodded. "I like 'defiant' people."

The Grand Void Gate's sect leader fell silent for a long while, then sighed: "Alright..."

The matter was settled.

With the addition of the Tai'e disciple Ouyang Xuan, Mo Hua's group was now complete.

But Mo Hua had not yet seen Ouyang Xuan—he didn't know his temperament or cultivation level, or whether he'd cooperate well—so he couldn't make arrangements yet. He'd have to wait until they met to consider the matter.

In the disciples' quarters, before Mo Hua lay spread out a pile of scrolls.

The scrolls depicted mountains, rivers, swamps, treacherous ridges, ruins, caves, and other terrains.

These had been given to him by Elder Murong.

These terrains might all appear in the Sword Debate.

In addition, there were various tactical planning maps, formation diagrams, and spirit weapon blueprints.

These were tactics Mo Hua had imagined himself during simulated combat.

Yet despite all this preparation, Mo Hua still felt uneasy.

The Sword Debate differs from the Formation Debate.

Formation was his most expert field—he felt no anxiety whatsoever, no matter the opponent, especially within Qianxue Province, compared to sect disciples.

But the Sword Debate? He had zero real combat experience.

Watching alone wasn't enough.

Besides, even what he'd watched was only one edition of the event—and it was before the reform.

After the sect's reform, the Sword Debate's system and format had changed.

At the time, Mo Hua had been preparing for the Formation Debate, so all his focus had been on formations—he hadn't attended in person.

He'd only heard briefly about the changes; he'd never seen them firsthand.

Thus, his plans lacked verification—he had no certainty whether they would work.

The Sword Debate had many competitors, complex terrains, and ever-changing formats, bringing many natural variables.

Moreover, there were too many prodigies—even with him, plus Xiao Xiao and the others, winning first place was as hard as climbing to heaven.

"The situation isn't good. Should I... calculate it?"

Mo Hua hesitated, took out a copper coin, and performed a slight divination—then immediately frowned.

Heavenly Mechanism Divination traces "cause" to "effect."

Under the current circumstances, all his planning, all his preparations, combined with celestial timing, geographical advantage, human harmony, and all other factors forming the "cause," could not lead to the "effect" he desired: first place in the Sword Debate.

Indeed, the distance between this cause and this effect was vast.

This meant first place in the Sword Debate was utterly hopeless.

Mo Hua's eyes narrowed in thought.

This was a sign from the "Heavenly Mechanism," a judgment of cause and effect.

To outsiders, "Heavenly Mechanism" might seem ethereal and elusive.

But the longer Mo Hua studied, the more he felt the essence of Heavenly Mechanism was the convergence of vast cause-and-effect, and that cause-and-effect was the principle of all things.

Only because Heavenly Mechanism was profound, cause-and-effect mutable, and full of variables, did it appear elusive.

But its internal logic could be discerned.

Only with sufficient objective "causes" could the desired "effect" ultimately emerge.

This was a kind of "Heavenly Mechanism intuition" Mo Hua had distilled through constant exposure to objective facts and study of cause-and-effect laws, as one who possessed Heavenly Mechanism Divination, Heavenly Mechanism Deception, and Return-to-Source Algorithm, with extraordinary spiritual insight and who had cultivated the Dao through spiritual consciousness.

It was a simple intuition.

But because Mo Hua's spiritual sense was too strong and his spiritual perception too profound, this intuition became more like a "primordial" insight. He didn't even need to calculate or analyze in detail—just a moment of reflection was enough for him to sense that this path would not work.

He wanted to win first place in the Sword Debate.

But this "fruit" hung in the sky, utterly unreachable.

Mo Hua sighed faintly.

"Still no good…"

"Exactly how can I win first place in the Array Debate?"

This question had plagued Mo Hua for days—he even thought about it while eating and walking.

But the more he thought, the deeper he sank into a dead end.

His own strength was heavily constrained.

Xiao Xiao was strong, but she was only one person.

Among the Sida Sect's top prodigies, there was a whole group.

As long as he wasn't blindly confident and looked objectively, he realized he had almost no chance of winning first place in the Sword Debate.

Unless his luck was truly extraordinary.

But luck was inherently elusive and could not be relied upon.

Outside the disciples' quarters, in a small grove, Mo Hua walked along a path after class, still pondering this question as he walked.

Even when someone greeted him, he didn't hear.

"Little Senior Brother…"

"Little Senior Brother?"

Mo Hua startled, snapped back to awareness, and realized it was Xie Ling calling him.

Xie Ling handed him several jade slips. "Little Senior Brother, you said you were interested in cultivator 'tombs' and yin-zhai arrays—I gathered some for you to look at."

"Oh…" Mo Hua's expression cleared.

After the Gushan tomb expedition, he felt that tomb-related arrays and their associated knowledge were a weakness in his Dao cultivation experience.

Although he had passed through the tomb, many details still eluded him.

He had sought out Xie Ling, who came from Genzhou Qiongyin Province and inherited fengshui secrets from his family, asked him some questions, and asked him to help find materials.

The cultivation world was boundless, cultivators had limited lifespans, and their knowledge and experience were limited.

Therefore, they needed to exchange and verify with each other, so their horizons could gradually expand and their understanding could gradually improve.

Mo Hua had learned much from Xie Ling; now that Xie Ling had specially prepared some jade slips and texts for him, Mo Hua was even more grateful.

"If anyone in the Grand Void Gate bullies you, just come find me…"

Mo Hua promised.

Elsewhere, he couldn't boast.

But within the Grand Void Gate's territory, his word still carried weight.

Xie Ling was half-amused, half-grateful. "Thank you, Little Senior Brother."

Mo Hua stored the jade slips, planning to read them later, then walked back to the disciples' quarters with Xie Ling.

On the way, they chatted a while; when the topic turned to the Sword Conference months away, Xie Ling's tone was full of envy.

Mo Hua was curious. "Aren't you participating?"

Xie Ling nodded.

"Why?" Mo Hua asked.

Xie Ling replied, "I know my limits. My family's inherited teachings are fengshui and tomb arrays—I'm not skilled in direct combat."

"My middling-to-low spiritual roots might rank me somewhere in the Xie family of Genzhou, but here in Qianxue Province, I'm at the bottom."

"My spiritual roots are only middling-low too," Mo Hua said.

Xie Ling laughed. "Little Senior Brother, you're different. Your spiritual roots may be poor, but your arrays are incredible. As for me…"

Xie Ling sighed. "I'm worse than everyone else. If I went, I'd just be cannon fodder and bring shame to our sect."

Mo Hua looked at Xie Ling, his expression pausing, then asked:

"Do you want to participate in the Sword Debate?"

Xie Ling fell silent.

After a moment, he sighed calmly:

"Little Senior Brother, some people are destined to be mere spectators."

As spectators, they could only stand aside and watch the "main characters" shine on stage.

All they could do was cheer.

As Xie Ling spoke, his expression was utterly calm.

It was a truth he had understood since arriving in Qianxue Province, and he had gradually begun to accept this cold reality.

On the Sword Debate stage, glory was boundless.

But most people could only sit below as spectators.

And most people, all their lives, remained such anonymous observers.

Like him.

Xie Ling's expression grew somber.

Mo Hua's gaze froze; for a moment, he didn't know how to comfort him.

He could say pretty words, but such hollow, empty platitudes had no meaning at all.

They reached the disciples' quarters and parted ways.

Xie Ling's mindset recovered quickly.

Just a little envy, a little disappointment, a little defeat, a little resentment, a little helplessness.

He, as an ordinary "low-tier" disciple, had long grown accustomed to this taste.

"Little Brother, good luck in the Sword Debate!" Xie Ling sincerely said to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua nodded, his expression complex.

But inside, he felt a sour bitterness.

Even after returning to the disciple quarters, Mo Hua still felt a lingering ache.

In this world, everyone wants to be the protagonist.

No one is willing to remain obscure.

But disciples like Xie Ling couldn't even form a team, and had no idea how to compete with others.

They were all scions of noble families.

Yet within Qianxue Province, they were unquestionably "low-tier" disciples.

And since they were "low-tier," there must be many more such disciples…

Mo Hua fell silent.

He sat before the table, staring blankly at the tactical diagrams he had drawn, lost in thought for a long while—until suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

Mo Hua jolted awake.

He suddenly realized his previous thinking was wrong.

He had been thinking about how to plan so he could win "Sword Debate Champion."

That idea, fundamentally, was incorrect.

It wasn't about him going for first place.

One person's strength is limited.

No matter how strong he was, he could never truly compete with the top prodigies of the Sida Sect.

What he should do was rally all the disciples of the Grand Void Gate, and make them all strive.

It wasn't about his own team winning first.

It was about the Grand Void Gate winning first.

As long as the Grand Void Gate won first, the "Yi Mu Hui Chun Array" would fall into its hands—and that was as good as falling into his own.

Whether he himself was first or not was utterly irrelevant.

His goal was only the array.

"If the Grand Void Gate is to win first…"

Mo Hua's expression grew focused as he pondered deeply.

The Sword Debate was a "cumulative win system": each victory earned a set number of win points; the sect with the highest total win points became Sword Debate Champion.

Thus, the true nature of the Sword Debate was in fact "Sect-Level Sword Debate."

It was meant to select the sect with the strongest disciple cultivation.

Not the sect's single strongest "disciple."

That's why the Sword Debate used team formats and awarded win points to sects based on match victories.

The ancestors of Qianxue Province likely had this very intention when they first established the Sword Debate.

They wanted disciples to cooperate fully, contribute to their sect, and use this as a standard to measure sect development.

This was what "Sword Debate" truly meant for a sect.

But as the cultivation world evolved and the Sword Debate system changed, this original intent was gradually forgotten.

Now, the Sword Debate was simply about whose disciples were the most outstanding.

The two may seem similar, but their implications were worlds apart.

The Grand Void Gate currently had no exceptionally outstanding disciples, but after the merger of the three sects, it possessed a far larger base of disciples.

If the low-tier disciples won enough matches, the Grand Void Gate's accumulated win points would grow—and its chances of victory would naturally increase.

Mo Hua recalled his master's earlier advice.

His master had told him to become a cultivator who supported and eliminated foes—this would reduce conflict and keep him invincible.

But his master only said "support," without specifying how many to support.

Supporting one person was support.

Supporting a team was support.

But supporting an entire cohort—or even the whole sect—was still "support."

"Support" all the disciples of the Grand Void Gate, mobilize the greatest possible strength, and rally the entire sect to fight for this first place!

He couldn't abandon his little brothers.

Being strong himself wasn't strength; true strength was when everyone was strong, and the sect was strong.

Only then could he truly be the Grand Void Gate's real "Little Brother!"

Mo Hua's gaze grew brighter and brighter.

Before his eyes, a path veiled with heavenly principles and connected to cause and effect became clearer and clearer.

Having finished his contemplation, Mo Hua immediately began preparing.

One by one, tactical plans, array formations, and spirit weapon designs were redesigned and improved.

The next day, Mo Hua found Cheng Mo:

"Gather all the little brothers—I have something to tell them."

(End of Chapter)