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Chapter 993: Odds of Victory
Chapter 993: Odds of Victory
In the Grand Hall of Tai Xu, the three lineages were gathered for their regular meeting.
He never expected that someone would insist on adding a member to Mo Hua's team.
With this, the plan became even more chaotic.
More importantly, he was unsure of Mo Hua's intentions.
If Mo Hua's team was already set and full, forcing someone into it might upset him.
Mo Hua always had a method to his actions, and he had the backing of the Lao Zu.
As the Sect Leader, he had to consider Mo Hua's feelings when making decisions occasionally.
"When the three lineages unite, we rise and fall together."
"How can it be acceptable for there to be no disciples from Ta'a Mountain at the Swordsman Competition?"
In this team, Mo Hua wasn't the issue, but Linghu Xiao was.
He was the only "Heavenly Talented Singleton" among the combined three lineages of Tai Xu, making it essential to include a disciple from the Ta'a Gate in this team.
Only then could they be considered as grasshoppers on the same rope.
If they were to be tied, they would be tied tightly.
Naturally, the Swordsman Competition was a matter that required careful consideration and a cautious approach.
With that, the meeting dispersed, and the three lineages returned to their respective mountains.
"The original arrangement has been disrupted. Xiao'er might have to participate in the Swordsman Competition with the 'Array Demonic Genius' from the Tai Xu Gate."
His Chong Xu Gate's "treasure" had been lured away by the Tai Xu Gate.
And it was voluntary.
Although the three lineages were united, and the three tribes were considered one, each lineage secretly competed with the others.
If the Chong Xu Gate's disciples excelled at the Swordsman Competition, the status of the Chong Xu lineage within the Tai Xu Gate would also rise.
As the Sect Leader, even with the unification of the three tribes, it was his duty to prioritize the interests and status of his own lineage.
But after some thought, he shook his head, "Xiao'er is a proud child. If you let him have some freedom, he will appreciate your kindness. If you force him, no matter how well you explain it, he will harbor resentment in his heart."
"Don't treat him as a child and bind him with moral obligations."
"His thoughts may be simple, but his instincts are sharp."
"He knows in his heart who truly cares for him."
He didn't want to be the "villain" in this situation.
However, due to his position, he sometimes had to consider such matters.
"Then, regarding this matter..."
Since he hadn't met Mo Hua in person, he could only make a general assumption.
"Once the Sect becomes stronger, we can then fight for benefits. If the Sect fails, no matter how much we fight, it will only be a few trifles, and it won't be meaningful."
The Grand Hall fell into a temporary silence.
There was something he didn't say because it wasn't very auspicious.
But as the Lao Zu, he had a broader perspective and understood the situation clearly.
"If the three tribes unite and still lose, there might not even be a 'Chong Xu Gate' in the future..."
...
"Add someone?" Mo Hua was a bit surprised.
Upon hearing the praise, Mo Hua's face lit up with joy.
"What's his name?"
"Ouyang Xuan..."
Mo Hua pondered for a moment.
The name seemed unfamiliar, as if they hadn't interacted much before.
This was understandable since he wasn't very familiar with the disciples from the Ta'a Gate.
Although the three tribes had united, and thousands of disciples called him "Little Senior Brother," the number was too large for him to remember them all.
Moreover, many only did so superficially, and their hearts were likely unconvinced, so they kept their distance.
"Okay, I'll take him under my wing," Mo Hua agreed.
He wanted Mo Hua to be prepared and avoid any disharmony.
"Sect Leader, rest assured," Mo Hua said.
I have a bit of a temper and a rebellious streak, so we should get along well."
The Tai Xu Sect Leader: "..."
"Are you... sure about this?" The Tai Xu Sect Leader asked slowly.
"It's fine," Mo Hua nodded, "I like people who are 'rebellious'."
The Tai Xu Sect Leader fell silent for a moment before sighing, "Alright then..."
And so, the decision was made.
With the addition of Ouyang Xuan from the Tai A Gate, Mo Hua's team was complete.
However, Mo Hua had yet to meet this "Ouyang Xuan" and didn't know his temperament or cultivation level, so he couldn't plan accordingly. He could only wait to meet him in person and then consider this matter.
In front of Mo Hua, surrounded by disciples, were piles of books.
The books depicted various landscapes: mountains, rivers, swamps, dangerous peaks, ruins, caves, and more.
These were all given to him by Senior Sister Murong.
These landscapes were all potential settings for the Swordsman Competition Congress.
In addition, there were various tactical plans, battle formations, and spiritual equipment forging diagrams.
These were tactical processes he had envisioned and simulated for himself.
Despite all these preparations, Mo Hua still felt uneasy.
The Swordsman Competition was different from the Battle Formation Competition.
Battle formations were his area of expertise, and regardless of his opponent, he never felt nervous, especially when compared to the disciples in Qian Xue Prefecture.
However, when it came to swordsmanship, he had zero real-life experience.
Without practical experience, merely observing wasn't enough.
Even if he had watched, he had only witnessed one congress—and that was before the reforms.
After the reforms, the Swordsman Competition's rules and format had changed.
At the time, Mo Hua was preparing for the Battle Formation Competition, so his focus was entirely on battle formations, and he didn't attend the congress in person.
He had only heard about the changes and hadn't witnessed them firsthand.
As a result, his plan lacked validation, and he wasn't sure if it would work. He didn't feel confident about it.
The Swordsman Competition had many participants, complex terrains, and ever-changing formats, which meant more variables.
Moreover, there were too many Celestial Geniuses. Even with him and Xiao Xiao, achieving first place seemed like an impossible task.
"The situation doesn't look good. Should I... calculate it?"
Mo Hua hesitated for a moment, took out a copper coin, and began to deduce. Soon, his brows furrowed.
The Tian Ji Divination calculated the causes and effects.
In the current situation, all his planning and preparation, combined with the advantages of time, location, and people, couldn't lead to the desired effect of winning first place.
The cause and effect were too far apart.
This meant that winning first place in the Swordsman Competition was a distant dream.
Mo Hua's eyes flickered with contemplation.
This was a sign from Tian Ji, a judgment of cause and effect.
To outsiders, Tian Ji might seem vague and elusive.
But the more Mo Hua studied it, the more he felt that Tian Ji's essence was the accumulation of vast cause and effect, and cause and effect were the principles of all things.
However, Tian Ji was profound, cause and effect were ever-changing, and variables were abundant, making it seem elusive.
Yet, the underlying patterns could be discerned.
Only with sufficient objective causes could the desired effect be achieved.
This was a kind of intuition similar to Tian Ji's, which Mo Hua, a master of Tian Ji Divination, Tian Ji Calculation, and Return to Origin Algorithm, had developed through his exceptional divine sense and cultivation.
It was a simple intuition.
However, Mo Hua's divine sense was so powerful, and his divine consciousness so profound, that this intuition seemed like an innate insight.
He didn't need to calculate or deduce; a brief contemplation was enough for him to realize that this path wouldn't lead to success.
He wanted to win first place in the Swordsman Competition.
But this goal seemed out of reach, like a fruit hanging high in the sky.
Mo Hua sighed softly.
"It's still not possible..."
"What does it take to win first place in the Battle Formation Competition?"
This question had been bothering Mo Hua for days, and he had been thinking about it even while eating and walking.
But the more he thought, the more he felt trapped.
His own strength was limited.
Xiao Xiao was strong, but she was only one person.
The top Celestial Geniuses from the four major sects were numerous.
On their way, they chatted, and the conversation turned to the Swordsman Competition Congress that would take place in a few months. Xie Ling's words were filled with envy.
Mo Hua was curious, "Aren't you participating?"
Xie Ling nodded.
"Why not?" Mo Hua asked.
Xie Ling explained, "I'm self-aware. The family legacy I've learned since childhood is about feng shui and burial practices, and I'm not skilled in direct combat with others."
"With my upper-middle-grade Spiritual Root, I might have been able to rank in my family back in Genzhou. But here in Qian Xue Prefecture, I can only be considered among the lowest tier."
"My Spiritual Root is only middle-low grade," Mo Hua said.
Xie Ling chuckled, "Little Senior Brother, you're different. Although your Spiritual Root isn't the best, your battle formation skills are exceptional. As for me..."
Xie Ling sighed, "I'm inferior to others in every way. Going there would only make me cannon fodder, embarrassing our sect."
Mo Hua looked at Xie Ling, his expression slightly hesitant, and asked, "Do you still want to participate in the Swordsman Competition?"
Xie Ling fell silent.
After a moment, he calmly sighed, "Little Senior Brother, in this world, some people are destined to be mere spectators."
As spectators, they could only stand by and watch the "protagonists" shine on the stage.
They could only cheer from the sidelines.
Xie Ling's tone was calm as he spoke these words.
Since arriving in Qian Xue Prefecture, he had come to understand this reality, gradually accepting this cold truth.
On the Swordsman Competition stage, the glory was boundless.
But most people could only sit below as spectators.
And for most of their lives, they would remain mere spectators, blending into the crowd.
Just like Xie Ling.
Xie Ling's expression grew somber.
Mo Hua was momentarily stunned, unsure of how to comfort him.
He could offer kind words, but these empty platitudes held no meaning.
The two arrived at the disciples' residence and parted ways.
Xie Ling's mood quickly recovered.
It was just a bit of envy, a bit of disappointment, a bit of defeat, a bit of reluctance, and a bit of helplessness.
As an ordinary "low-tier" disciple, he was already accustomed to such feelings.
"Little Senior Brother, good luck at the Swordsman Competition!" Xie Ling sincerely wished Mo Hua well.
Mo Hua nodded with a complex expression.
But inside, he felt a mix of emotions.
As he returned to the disciples' residence, Mo Hua felt a tinge of bitterness.
In this world, everyone wanted to be the protagonist.
No one willingly accepted obscurity.
But disciples like Xie Ling couldn't even form a team, and he didn't know how to compete with others.
They were all from influential families.
However, in Qian Xue Prefecture, they were undoubtedly considered "lower-tier" disciples.
And as "lower-tier" disciples, there were surely many more like them...
Mo Hua's expression turned solemn.
He sat at his desk, staring at the tactical diagram he had drawn, lost in thought. He didn't know how much time had passed when a flash of inspiration struck him.
Mo Hua was suddenly startled.
He realized that his previous thoughts were somewhat misguided.
He had been thinking about how he should plan to win the Swordsman Competition.
But this idea was inherently flawed.
It wasn't about him winning first place.
An individual's strength was limited.
No matter how powerful he was, he couldn't truly compete with the top Celestial Geniuses from the four major sects.
What he should do was rally all the Tai Xu Gate disciples, encouraging them to strive for victory.
It wasn't about his team winning first place.
It was about Tai Xu Gate claiming the top spot.
If Tai Xu Gate won, the "Yi Mu Hui Chun Formation" would fall into their hands, which was equivalent to it being in his possession.
Whether he was first or not didn't matter at all.
His goal was solely the battle formation.
"If Tai Xu Gate is to win..."
Mo Hua's eyes narrowed in deep thought.
The Swordsman Competition Congress was a cumulative victory system, where each win earned a certain number of victory points, and the sect with the highest points was declared the winner.
Therefore, the essence of the Swordsman Competition Congress was actually a "Sect Competition."
It was about selecting the sect that excelled in educating its disciples.
It wasn't about choosing the strongest disciple within a sect.
For this reason, the Swordsman Competition was a team-based event, and victory points were awarded to sects based on their team's performance.
The ancestors of Qian Xue Prefecture might have had this intention when they first initiated the Swordsman Competition.
They wanted the disciples to collaborate and contribute to the sect's development, using it as a standard to measure the sect's progress.
This was the essence of the Swordsman Competition for the sects.
However, as the cultivation world evolved and the Swordsman Competition system changed, this initial intention was gradually forgotten.
Nowadays, the Swordsman Competition was about whose disciples were the most outstanding.
While the two concepts seemed similar, their implications were worlds apart.
Currently, although Tai Xu Gate didn't have exceptionally outstanding disciples, after the merger of the three sects, they had a more substantial disciple base.
If the lower-tier disciples could win enough, Tai Xu Gate would accumulate more victory points, increasing their chances of success.
Mo Hua recalled his master's instructions.
His master wanted him to be an "assistant" in combat, reducing conflicts and ensuring his invincibility.
But his master only mentioned assisting; he didn't specify how many people to assist.
Assisting one person is assistance.
Assisting a team is assistance.
But assisting an entire generation or even the entire sect's disciples is also a form of "assistance."
"Assisting" the entire Tai Xu Gate disciples, rallying the greatest power, and striving for the top spot!
Leaving the junior disciples behind was not an option.
Strength was not just about personal prowess; it was about the strength of the entire sect.
Only then could he truly be considered Tai Xu Gate's "Little Senior Brother"! Mo Hua's eyes lit up with determination.
Before him, a path filled with divine opportunities and interconnected causes and effects became increasingly clear.
After careful consideration, Mo Hua immediately began preparations.
He redesigned and improved every tactic, battle formation, and spiritual equipment proposal.
The next day, Mo Hua found Cheng Mo:
"Gather the junior disciples; I have something to tell them."
(End of Chapter)
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