"Alright," Wei Jingzhi nodded. He had heard of this Guang Peng before — a man who got excited at the sight of blood.
Even when facing opponents stronger than himself, he felt no fear at all.
Among the younger generation, they called him the Little Madman.
As for the Old Madman, that title was already taken — after all, the saying "One mad, two crippled" had long been etched into everyone's minds.
Jiang Huihui's heart was pounding. It wasn't the outcome she worried about, but Xu Mu's safety.
Getting Guang Peng to surrender was impossible — the only way to stop him was to beat him until he physically couldn't stand.
Facing someone like that, she had no idea what would happen to Xu Mu.
She even felt a bit of regret — maybe she shouldn't have let him participate at all.
Jiang Sheng sighed deeply from the platform.
It seemed Xu Mu's journey had come to an end.
"Kid," he murmured, "I just hope you can hold out a little longer."
Guang Peng was a short-haired, broad-shouldered man, about the same height as Xu Mu — around 1.85 meters — but far more muscular.
As the match began, Guang Peng let out a loud, carefree laugh.
Boom!
The ground beneath his feet cracked apart as his figure blurred — in the blink of an eye, he appeared before Xu Mu.
Then he froze. "What the—? Where is he?!"
Bang!
Xu Mu appeared right in front of him, striking upward with the back of the wood-chopping blade, smashing Guang Peng square on the jaw.
Guang Peng was sent flying.
He hit the ground hard, groaning, then propped himself up on trembling arms, shaking his head before trying to stand.
He took one step — and immediately stumbled like a drunk, collapsing again.
Xu Mu, a doctor by profession, knew exactly what had happened.
The jaw was connected to the trigeminal nerve — a dislocation there could cause cranial shock and destroy one's sense of balance.
That's why in boxing or UFC, fighters always target the jaw first.
Everyone — both in the stands and on the high platform — was dumbfounded.
"Damn it! Rigged Brother! You shameless bastard!"
"That Guang Peng — can't he at least pretend to fight?! The guy was right in front of you, and you say you couldn't see him? Do you take us for idiots?"
…
Xue Dongsheng's face turned red with fury.
He had pinned great hopes on Guang Peng, even boasting about him earlier — and now this? Utter humiliation.
He couldn't understand what kind of deal Xu Mu had made that would make Guang Peng throw the match like this.
Jiang Huihui scratched her head awkwardly.
Is this how Xu Mu wins?
By bribing everyone along the way?
Shameless, yes — but undeniably effective.
With this win, Xu Mu had advanced to the finals.
Xue Dongsheng leapt down from the platform, grabbed Guang Peng by the collar, and jumped back up.
"Guang Peng! You insolent fool! What did he give you to make you go along with his act?!"
He threw Guang Peng to the ground. "Hand it over!"
"Elder Xue, I'm innocent! I don't even know him — why would I take anything from him?" Guang Peng cried, clutching his jaw. "When I got close, he just… disappeared!"
"Bullshit! You think we're all blind?! Get out! I'll deal with you later!"
Xue Dongsheng's roar shook the platform.
Wei Jingzhi, however, smiled faintly.
Perhaps Guang Peng wasn't lying.
Because, just like the previous matches, Xu Mu must have activated a certain technique — the Veil Technique.
Jiang Sheng was completely speechless. He had no idea what Xu Mu was doing — yet somehow, this kid had fought his way to the finals.
Xu Mu returned to sit beside Chen Xuan, smiling as he handed back the chopper.
"Mu, things seem to be going well. Looks like we've both made it another round."
Chen Xuan chuckled. "Though, it seems everyone's cursing you."
Xu Mu grinned, completely unfazed. As long as he won, nothing else mattered.
The match resumed.
This time, it was Cui Yu's turn.
He was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, clean-cut, upright, with the sharp air of a soldier.
A single black earring glinted in his left ear, and his calm eyes betrayed no emotion.
Like the others, he had been one-shotting every opponent since the start.
Now, facing another Mystic Art Realm expert, he sent the man flying with a single punch — blood gushing from his mouth as he hit the ground, unconscious.
Cui Yu's expression didn't waver as he calmly stepped off the stage.
On the platform, Lü Chuan asked curiously, "Old Jiang, who's that man?"
"He's from the Black Mountain Sect," Jiang Sheng replied. "They helped me back in the day."
"Wasn't the Black Mountain Sect wiped out? Their sect lands abandoned?" Guo Wenmo frowned.
"I'm not sure," Jiang Sheng said. "But that's what he claims to be. I'll ask him after the tournament."
Xu Mu watched Cui Yu return to the front row, where a man in a black robe was seated.
He quietly activated his Divine Eye to examine him.
Name: Cui Yu
Affiliation: Disciplinary Division, Eternal Life Research Institute, Second Captain
Favorability: 0
Fate Level: 4 (Max 10)
Xu Mu's face immediately turned cold.
Good grief. Even members of the Eternal Life Research Institute had infiltrated the Marriage Tournament.
How bold could they get?
Two Senior Cleaners were on the platform, and they still dared to come.
They must have come disguised.
The battles continued.
Lü Pinlong and Xue Kaixuan also won easily, advancing further.
At this point, Xu Mu and the others had entered the Top 16 — the finals.
Only those in this bracket would be ranked; everyone else was out.
Even if those eliminated scored full marks in the remaining two contests, without the 80 battle points, they couldn't win.
The tournament went on.
Next up was the Top 8.
Xu Mu did the math — if he landed 8th place, he'd score 73 points, seven points behind first place.
If he later earned the full 10 in painting but his opponent got even 3 or 4, he could be overtaken.
The safest path was to reach the Top 4, scoring 77 points.
"In other words, I need to win at least two more rounds," Xu Mu muttered softly.
The round began.
First was Lü Pinlong — he again drew a low-tier Mystic Art opponent and breezed through to the Top 8.
Next was Xue Kaixuan, equally lucky.
Then came the third match — and Xu Mu froze when he saw the names on the screen:
Xu Mu vs. Chen Xuanxuan.
He cursed under his breath. Of all times, now?
If he'd faced a weaker opponent first and met Chen Xuan later, it would've been perfect.
But meeting now meant the next round would be against an actual powerhouse.
Xu Mu and Chen Xuan stepped onto the stage together.
Chen Xuan gripped the chopper tightly and said, "Sorry, Mu — I won't hold back!"
The spectators roared in excitement.
"Go, Chen Xuanxuan! Beat that rigged bastard to a pulp!"
"Don't show mercy! Smash him flat!"
Everyone was rooting for Chen Xuan — eager to see Xu Mu finally get taught a lesson.
Boom!
Chen Xuan dashed forward in a blur, appearing before Xu Mu, swinging the chopper toward his arm.
Xu Mu moved instantly —
But before the blade even reached him, half a meter away, Chen Xuan's body froze—
"Ah!"
He cried out, his whole body thrown backward, crashing into the ground.
Gasping, he looked up in shock.
"What powerful gang qi… I surrender!"