"Why did you choose to end it in a draw?" Little Shrubby asked after Lin Mu was in his seat.
"I think it'll be a lot more interesting this way." Lin Mu replied honestly. "Besides, I think I have more to learn from the man."
"Couldn't you have learned it back on the ring, too?" Little Shrubby knew his master's strength and skills well enough.
"I would have been sure… But I would have to expose more of my strength. If I continued to limit myself, I think I might have actually been pushed off." Lin Mu replied.
"Really?" Little Shrubby was surprised.
"It might not seem like it, but Chang Fa was decently strong. His strength should at least compare to that of a newly progressed Third Tribulation Stage immortal." Lin Mu answered. "Also, his body cultivation technique interests me. It is a balance between both Qi and body cultivation, which I think I can adapt into my own style." He added.
This was the truth, as Lin Mu could see himself utilizing his hair like this. While it might not be as good in an open fight like Chang Fa, since Lin Mu had his greater raw strength, it could still serve as a good way to sneak attack.
'I wonder if I can toughen my hair directly…' Lin Mu hadn't thought much about his hair before this.
It's characteristics were rather good though, as it grew fast and Lin Mu could somewhat control its growth too. He could slow it down or speed it up, though there were limits to this as well.
But from what he had seen Chang Fa do, the control needed to use his techniques was on a different level.
'The circulation of Immortal Essence was very streamlined too…' Lin Mu had been able to glance into the man's technique and analyzed a bit.
While he was unable to probe directly, the surface level information he could obtain was still enough to make him understand.
'I'll have to look into it later. Though it doesn't seem like it should be too hard. After all, controlling every part of your body is the basis of the Body cultivation path.' Lin Mu pondered on it.
And while he thought of all this, the next match had already started.
It was between two first tribulation stage immortals and was a straightforward fight. Unlike Lin Mu and Chang Fa's fight, which brought a twist at the end, this could be considered rather boring.
The techniques used by the contestants were also simple and common, making Lin Mu not care as much. Of course, he still tried to learn from the fight, but found it to be almost juvenile.
'These are just some young immortals sent by their families, aren't they?' Lin Mu guessed.
And sure enough, once Lin Mu took a look into the information booklet, he confirmed it.
The two contestants were from two expansive clans of the Dao Wind Empire. The Green Cloud Clan and the Ba De Clan. Though considering the cultivation base of the contestants, Lin Mu reckoned they were just from some branch.
In the end, the contestant from the Ba De clan won and progressed to the next round.
'Since I tied in the earlier round, I still need to win five more rounds. Hmm… Hopefully, they schedule it soon.' Lin Mu thought to himself.
He took a look at his tournament token and saw that there was still no match for information on it yet.
"Since it was a draw, they shouldn't delay it too much." Lin Mu muttered.
He couldn't do much other than just sit and watch the other matches. Unfortunately, the more he watched, the more he felt like the matches were getting mediocre. No more interesting contests appeared, eventually forcing him to take a look elsewhere.
~SHUA~
His immortal sense spread and reached the other rings nearby, trying to see if there was anything interesting going on. At that moment, there wasn't much, but after a couple more rounds, he saw or rather heard, a familiar name.
"Luo Liqin versus Yao Changying!"
As soon as Lin Mu heard that, he wished to directly head to the ring where the fight was about to happen.
Luo Liqin was an acquaintance while Yao Changying was someone he had been asked to defeat. The mission was given to them in common, though Lin Mu had not thought they would really be facing someone like her this quickly.
'I need to learn more…' Lin Mu focused his immortal sense on hearing the conversations of the audience.
"That was fast. Didn't Luo Liqin fight just five matches ago?"
"Yeah, never thought his next fight would arrive this quick."
"Pfft!~ Don't worry, he won't have to fight for long. He'll be knocked out quick enough."
"Why do you say that? His last fight was quite good and he defeated his opponent in a decent time too."
"HAH! Do you not know who his opponent is?" someone asked in a mocking tone.
"No… is she someone big?" The other person denied.
"You must not be from the empires, are you?"
"I'm from the Eight Kingdom alliance."
"No wonder. If you are from the backward place, it makes sense." The man mocked. "Listen closely. Yao Changying is the niece of the Holy Topaz Emperor!"
"What!?" Hearing this, the other man was stunned.
"She's ranked in the top five. There is no way she'd delay in the fight."
~SHUA~
Just as they were speaking, the fight started. Lin Mu turned his focus to the ring too, and saw a massive change.
~WHOOSH~
~Flutter~
Tens of thousands of flower petals descended upon the ring and creating a beautiful scene. And in it stood Yao Changying in a graceful posture.
Her right hand was extended outwards with a single figure making a sword gesture. Her left hand was wrapped around her waist, while a cold yet beautiful expression was on her face.
"Flourishing Flower Sword Art: First Flourish, Thousand Petal bloom!"
