"Are they valuable or something?" Ming Dandan asked seeing Lu Xu's reaction.
"The opposite." Qian Wen shook his head. "They grow everywhere in the territory of the Iridescence Peak."
"Hahaha, yeah. They are sold for quite cheap. Even here, you can get them for a few low grade Immortal stones." Lu Xu said, still laughing. "How many of them did she give you?" he asked next.
"Four." Lin Mu answered, an expression of incredulity appearing on his face slowly.
"HAAAH!" Lu Xu laughed even more loudly. "What's the estimate for the food that she ate, Luo Liqin?" he asked the man next to him.
"About thirty Mid Grade Immortal stones, I say." He quickly answered.
"She really did dine and dash!" Ming Aolian exclaimed.
~Sigh~
Lin Mu just let out a sigh and shook his head. "It's fine."
Seeing that the person paying for it all didn't have a problem with it, the others also didn't see a reason to complain.
Though that didn't mean that, they didn't question it.
"Why would she… do this though?" Ming Dandan couldn't help but wonder.
"Yeah… the Mei Clan is rather affluent among the powers of Iridescence Peak." Qian Wen stroked his chink in wonder. "And being the representative of her clan this time for the Tournament, she should not have a lack of money."
"I guess I'll just ask him if I meet her again." Lin Mu said before sitting back down.
While the situation was strange, it did help Lin Mu and his companions to destress and calm down.
~HUMM~
And just a minute after that though, everyone felt their identity token's hum.
Lin Mu quickly took hold of his, token and checked the message that had just arrived.
"The Match orders are out…" Luo Liqin spoke before switching on the formation screen.
It updated the information and showed all the contestants names.
"So first is going to be Feng Baxing against Su Zian… Guess I won't get to fight Su Zian this time." Lin Mu was a bit disappointed since he wanted to test his sword skills against someone orthodox like Su Zian.
But once the next match order came up, everyone's eyes went wide.
"Brother… you're up against Dugu Shanhe." They all saw the names flickering in red.
Lin Mu narrowed his eyes, unknown thoughts going through his mind.
After that, the names changed again, showing the third match-up which was Childe Wildfire against Daoist Broken Dust.
"I'm surprised he actually managed to come this far." Lu Xu spoke, seeing the name.
"Who? Daoist Broken Dust?" Lin Mu asked.
"Yeah… he's probably the oldest contestant in this tournament." Lu Xu nodded.
Lin Mu looked at the man's portrait and indeed confirmed that he was rather old looking. While there were many that were thousands of years old in the tournament, not everyone looked 'thousand years old'.
Daoist Stardust though, looked like he had half a foot in the coffin.
The man was bald and had a long white beard. His face was covered in wrinkles, while age spots were clear on his hands.
He used a cane to walk and even had a hunched back!
Lin Mu had seen one of his matches before, but it didn't catch his eye. Daoist Stardust was stronger compared to the rest, but he wasn't strong enough for even the top 20 if one considered the other opponents.
"Rumor has it that he has always been late to a breakthrough." Lu Xu informed.
"Yeah, for some reason, luck doesn't favor him much. Whenever he manages to break through, it's always at the end of his lifespan. Its also why he's probably desperate for the rewards." Qian Wen chimed in.
"Is he well known?" Lin Mu wondered.
"Somewhat. He's almost always present in tournaments. And not just the Tournament of the Four Guardian beasts, but also other smaller tournaments. Of course, as long as he is eligible to enter them, which he often falls short due to his old age." Qian Wen answered.
"Even his Daoist Title was obtained due to that too. Albeit it is a bit mocking in nature." Lu Xu recalled.
"Does he not use his own name?" Lin Mu asked feeling curious. "If the title is mocking like that?"
"I think it's been far too long since he used his name… I believe he's also given up on it… or maybe just forgotten it at this point." Qian Wen replied. "If I recall correctly, he should be around sixteen thousand years old at this point"
"Hmm… interesting." Lin Mu muttered, finding the man a bit unfortunate.
"Though I think this is the farthest he's come so far, right?" Lu Xu asked.
"Yeah. He's never gone past the top 32 before." Luo Liqin checked and answered.
Hearing that, Lin Mu couldn't help but wonder if his interference had resulted in this as well.
~shua~
The names changed on the formation screen again, showing the fourth and final match up which was something they had already figured out.
"Time to face Yao Changying myself." Lu Xu said with a slight smile on his face.
It didn't seem like he was intimidated at all. Instead, he seemed to be looking forward to it.
"I'll be sure to weaken her, Brother Mu Lin." Lu Xu stated.
"Mmhmm, it won't be an issue this time. With your match being the last, I'll have plenty of time to infiltrate the arrays." Lin Mu replied.
The fights being in order instead of simultaneously made things a lot easier for Lin Mu.
Though there was still the question of whether Lin Mu would be in the condition to do that.
'Depending on how things go with Dugu Shanhe, I shouldn't have any physical injuries. It is just the mental part I'll need to deal with.' Lin Mu thought to himself.
He hoped that his mentality was strong enough to face the man, but it would only be understood when he finally came face to face with him.
With the matches known, Lin Mu and his companions only had to wait till the morning before the first one started.
