Six thousand funeral flowers

As the martial arts tournament drew closer, people from all walks of life gathered together. Even the people of the capital felt that the atmosphere was different from usual. The streets seemed more lively than usual, but there were also more patrolling soldiers. Whether they were officially employed or not, they were all much more careful and obedient. After all, if any side caused them trouble, it would be fatal for them.

The situation in the palace was becoming increasingly tense. The crown prince's serious illness and the arrival of a turbulent time had made the monarch, who was originally in relatively good condition, somewhat tired.

As the chief steward reported on the recent movements of the princes, especially Gu Yulin's major actions, the emperor's nerves pounded faster and faster. He knew that if he didn't take action soon, the balance he had maintained would be completely broken, which was definitely not the situation he wanted to see.

"In the next two days, have the Imperial Medical Academy submit all the treatment plans. Once I have finalized them, I will personally accompany the Crown Prince during his treatment."

The steward lowered his gaze to the ground and respectfully replied.

Mid-Autumn Festival is here, and the moon is full.

Mi Yun had already seen it yesterday; the moon had been large and round these past few nights. Presumably, the followers in the southern border region had also seen it. These days were their sacrificial days. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon worshippers would perform rituals and practices for three days—the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth—without doing anything else. After the full moon, they would take a seven-day rest to thank the moon for its blessings, hold banquets and dances, exchange their experiences with the techniques, or simply do their own thing, eating, drinking, and having fun, prioritizing comfort and freedom.

Normally, this time of year is the happiest time for the Moon Worship Cult members, and people from the Central Plains would also reunite with their families, sharing this moment across the world. Even Mi Yun, when traveling, would prepare sacrificial offerings and gifts in advance to celebrate. But she didn't understand why this year, all these troubles were concentrated during what should have been a time for rest. A perfectly good martial arts tournament had to be held during the Mid-Autumn Festival, leaving people with no time to rest. And they even called them a demonic cult. She thought the Martial Alliance was truly unreasonable.

"Miss Lin."

The people sent by Gu Jiuyu met up with Mi Yun. This man and woman came from a small, relatively unknown sect. Mi Yun was to pretend to be someone who had come with them and sneak into the martial arts tournament.

These two seemed to just want to broaden their horizons. Their sects had no status, and they only obtained their passes to the capital through connections. They were only qualified to make up the numbers at the banquet on the first day and did not have the qualifications to officially participate in the martial arts competition. So, when someone else offered to bring another person in, they agreed.

“My name is Zhang Qi, his name is Zhang Ba, you can call me Xiao Qi, and he can just call me Zhang Lang.”

One of the girls spoke enthusiastically to Mi Yun.

Mi Yun nodded slightly, noticing that they were all carrying long swords, and asked, "Your weapons are Miao swords, do you have any more?"

Zhang Bayi was taken aback: "The young lady doesn't have a weapon?"

Zhang Qi tapped him on the head: "Idiot, we're in the same sect now, but I still thought the person who paid for it was already prepared."

Mi Yun paused for a moment: "She said that your weapons were made by yourselves, and to avoid being exposed, she asked you to bring an extra one to the capital. I can just ask you for it."

As if waking from a dream, the two of them simultaneously slapped their foreheads, as if remembering something.

"Oh no! We were worried about forgetting it when we went out, so we each carried an extra one, but I thought it was too heavy and forgot it at home." Zhang Qi turned to Zhang Ba: "Zhang Lang, where's your extra one?"

After pondering for a long time, Zhang Ba finally came up with an answer: "It seems like they didn't take it with them when they ate the noodles."

Mi Jun closed her eyes, unwilling to face it.

"Never mind, I'll just play a random one."

"Hey, no, no, we're from the same sect, we can't let this slip." Zhang Qi frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "Hey! Since you don't have one, why don't the three of us go buy a new one?"

Mi Yun: "..."

She's starting to have doubts about whether she'll be able to get into the martial arts tournament tomorrow. Maybe she should just go herself; it feels safer that way.

But since things had come to this, Mi Yun resigned himself to his fate.

The next day, the martial arts tournament finally began. From morning onwards, the martial arts alliance was bustling with activity. Mi Yun walked behind Zhang Qi and watched as Zhang Qi handed over the invitation. The inspector's gaze swept across their faces, but Mi Yun, now wearing the face of "Lin Zhu," did not attract much attention.

To be honest, it wouldn't matter if she used her real face, since no one has ever seen her before. But out of Baiyue's habit, she still had to disguise herself when going out.

The morning session was for registering and opening ceremony for representatives from various sects who had traveled from afar. Once everyone was present, the banquet and exchange began. There might also be some performances to add to the festivities. The arena was ready, and those who wanted to try their skills beforehand, or those who hadn't been selected for the official competition, could also test their abilities here.

These two, Zhang Qi and Zhang Ba, were indeed there to broaden their horizons. They had absolutely no interest in martial arts competitions and were focused on enjoying fine wine, meat, food, and entertainment. They would occasionally watch others spar, but they showed no desire for the highest level of martial arts; their only interest was in the feast.

No wonder they were chosen. Although they lacked ambition, they were indeed not very conspicuous. Even those distinctive figures in the martial arts world were not very interested in these small fry and could not find fault with them.

Mi Yun chewed on beef and looked around at the situation, while Zhang Qi and Zhang Ba chattered on the side:

"I'll show you!" Zhang Ba slammed his hand on the table, and a peanut jumped into his mouth. "Impressive, right?" Zhang Ba said.

Zhang Qi scoffed and said dismissively, "That's nothing, just a bit stronger. Watch this!"

With that, she tossed a peanut with two fingers. The peanut spun halfway through its flight and then flew back, landing steadily in her mouth. Zhang Qi opened and closed his mouth wide and said smugly, "How about that? Any other tricks up your sleeve?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she heard a whoosh of wind beside her ear, and as her hair swayed slightly, the sound of a wine jar shattering rang out not far away.

Mi Yun quickly withdrew the peanuts she had thrown, pretended to take a sip of wine as if nothing had happened, leaving Zhang Qi and Zhang Ba still in shock.

“That wine jar just suddenly came crashing down.” Zhang Qi turned to look at Mi Yun: “Miss Lin, you were quick.”

Mi Yun waved his hand, indicating it was a trivial matter.

However, her small matter triggered a major event among the martial arts community.

"Who! Who smashed my wine jar with peanuts? Impressive skill! Come out and show me!"

Mi Yun took a step back, and then noticed that Zhang Qi and Zhang Ba had taken two steps back.

Mi Yun: "..."

Seeing the burly man carrying a weapon striding towards her, Mi Yun pretended to look around, then took a step back as if nothing had happened. The next moment, she was precisely targeted by the burly man, who raised his hand to place it on her shoulder.

Mi Yun deftly sidestepped the challenge, and the next moment, when the burly man turned around, he was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh? Where is everyone?"

Zhang Qi and Zhang Ba exchanged a glance with the burly man who had turned back, and awkwardly took a step back.

The next moment, Zhang Qi stood on the arena.

Why, why were we suddenly dragged into a fight while we were eating?

Zhang Ba raised both hands for Zhang Qi from below, signaling her to cheer him on.

"Brother...we have an agreement, right? We'll stop when we've reached a point. I'm new to the martial arts world and haven't really put my sect's moves into practice yet. Brother, let's both hold back a bit."

Zhang Qi made a friendly request for a sparring match, and the older man readily agreed, "Don't worry! Anyone who comes to participate in the martial arts tournament naturally understands the rules of the martial world. Girl, come on, make your move!"

Since that's the case, Zhang Qi held the knife in one hand, and the next moment, he kicked the knife and flew forward, slashing with both hands. The Miao knife was long and slender, and it came down with the force of splitting bamboo.

The opponent did not sit idly by and wait to be killed. Holding two hammers, he brought his hands together, brought the hammers close together, and took the blow head-on.

The moment the weapons clashed, Zhang Qi immediately turned around, gripped the knife in his backhand, and quickly moved behind the burly man. He slammed the back of the knife into the man's back, causing the man to stumble. However, the man managed to regain his balance and quickly adjusted his body to block Zhang Qi's next attack.

"Young lady, your kung fu is not as modest as you were just now."

Taking advantage of the retreat of both sides, the big man even gave a halftime consolation.

Zhang Qi, carrying his sword, said with a smile, "Although our Miao Miao Sword Sect isn't a major sect, and I'm not a particularly powerful figure, I still have some confidence in exchanging a few blows. Let's go again!"

The fight on the arena was in full swing when Mi Yun moved to a secluded spot, but after searching for a long time, he still couldn't find Immortal Yu Yang.

It's strange. The performance is about to start, but Yu Yangxian isn't in her room. Where did she go?

Regardless of her absence, it doesn't mean Mi Yun has no way to make a move. Bai Yue's methods are not as simple as just throwing poison powder in front of people.

With preparations made everywhere, by the time Mi Yun returned to the venue, the fight was over and everyone had arrived. Su Yuanshan was standing at the top, overseeing the situation.

"Miss Lin, you're finally back! Your demonstration just now almost exposed us."

As soon as Zhang Qi saw Mi Yun, he started chattering and reporting on the progress: "Look, the martial arts alliance leader is giving a speech now, saying that whoever defeats him this time will become the new martial arts alliance leader. Do you think becoming the martial arts alliance leader will be of any help to the sect?"

Mi Yun also thought about it seriously for a while: "Perhaps, it can give the sect more freedom to do some things."

Zhang Ba said, "But can the alliance leader alone defeat all the martial arts practitioners? No matter how high their martial arts skills are, they are still afraid of being overwhelmed by a series of attacks. I think the sect itself needs to have a large number of people. Of course, if another master emerges, wouldn't they be invincible?"

“You’re so stupid,” Zhang Qi retorted. “Do you think the martial arts world is just about the Jianghu? Becoming the leader of the martial arts alliance means you can stay in the capital. In other words, once you’ve been officially recognized by the higher-ups, it’s not just about who has the strongest martial arts skills; there are other factors to consider as well.”

Mi Yun pondered along with them. It seemed that although these two were a bit silly, they weren't completely clueless. No wonder Gu Jiuyu chose them; perhaps she had acted rashly.

"Something else... Oh, I see!"

Zhang Ba said, "Besides martial arts skills, you also need treasures, right?"