Healing System

"Where have you been, Master Mujin?" Hu Rong's puzzled voice rang out from the side as Michael made his way through the sect courtyard.

"Busy. Is everything set up?" Michael questioned, receiving a curt nod in response.

"Yes... we only need Elder Li to announce the participants, and we can start at a moment's notice."

"I see... Also, why did no one inform me that there would be other competitions aside from this duel?" Michael asked, narrowing his eyes.

On his way down, he'd decided to snoop a little, and what he found out was that, apart from his sect, the other sects had a tournament format of their own.

Better yet, it seemed Elder Li was aware of this as he was in the midst of discussing it with them as well.

'Is he a traitor?' Michael couldn't help but think.

Alas, it was too late to worry about it now—he just had to deal with it head-on.

And the first step was simply to win this dueling tournament.

Michael went with Hu Rong, and soon, they arrived at the platform, where each contestant was seated in their respective places.

"Welcome, everyone!" Elder Li's voice rang out, and before long, every person present turned their attention to him.

"This year is special, as it marks 500 years since the formation of our sects," he stated in a proud tone before continuing.

"We do not keep track of those who win or lose. Yet in the very end, our main goal is to have a fun time and teach our disciples something new!"

As his words hung in the air, rather than sounding dramatic, Elder Li sounded like an idiot.

''No one keeps track of losses?' Michael scoffed and looked around, watching as the other sects snickered to themselves.

'Sure looks like it,' he thought sarcastically, earning a chuckle from the system.

If they didn't want to be made fun of, they shouldn't have placed an idiot at the helm. It was impossible they weren't aware that their sect leader was a chronic gambler.

Michael shrugged and returned his gaze to Elder Li, who continued his introduction.

"The Golden Dragon trial opened not too long ago... and someone finally cleared it!"

At the mention of the trial, the sects seemed unamused, but the moment Elder Li stated it was cleared, most of the other elders stood up in alarm.

"What!" one of them shouted.

"How is that possible, old coot? Do you think we would believe that a dying sect managed to clear a trial even we, the elders, could not?"

Elder Li narrowed his eyes at the comment and sent a glare in the elder's direction.

"Do you think I would lie about something like this? Do you take me for a fool, Chu Dong?"

"Ha! You have some nerve using my name with that traitorous mouth of yours! If you'd stepped up when your sect really needed you, it never would have fallen!" Chu Dong exclaimed in an infuriated tone.

But that only seemed to irritate Elder Li further. Without a moment's notice, he stretched out his hands, a faint orange glow emitting outward.

'Dantian core stuff?' Michael mused.

Yeah, it's the same as that other time. They just use their mana—or Qi, in this instance—to severely enhance their body. If done well, their mana core tiers can jump by leaps and bounds.

'Sounds pretty troublesome. But definitely not something I need to care about. After all, there's a downside to such power gain, right?' Michael stated confidently.

Not quite the case, the system replied, making his brow rise.

Oftentimes, such limits only exist if you're weak. And weak is considered anyone below Tier 3.

'That sounds awfully convenient,' Michael scoffed.

"Old coot, do you dare to fight me right here and now? Do you wish to be embarrassed in front of all your disciples?" Chu Dong taunted.

The taunt seemed successful, as in the next moment, Elder Li's body lit up, his muscles contracting, seemingly about to dash forward.

But before he could, Michael stopped him.

He merely used a small strand of mana, but it was enough to cancel out the effects of Elder Li's Qi.

As that happened, Elder Li froze and turned his head toward Michael.

'Don't do that,' Michael mouthed, receiving a startled nod in response as Elder Li took a couple of deep breaths.

"I shall not fall for your taunts," he stated before continuing in a sly tone. "This is a joyous occasion, and what better way to pass the time than gambling?"

Just as his words fell, a few women appeared—four, to be exact.

Each one carried a sect symbol representing one of the four sects present.

Noticing the confusion on everyone's faces, Elder Li spoke up.

"Since we, the Golden Dragon Sect, are hosting the first part of the tournament, we naturally have first dibs on the bid."

'There it is,' Michael nodded along as a massive grin appeared on his face.

"I am starting the betting off with this." Elder Li took out a scroll from his pocket and quickly unfolded it.

"I bet the Golden Dragon Sect's name, title, and all in favor of us winning. Those who wish to participate in this bet must provide something of equal or greater value."

Just as his words fell, each of the elders nearby shot out of their seats, pointing at Elder Li in an accusatory fashion.

"You don't have the authority to make such a decision, you old coot! That's something only the sect master can do, and you are obviously not him," Chu Dong said.

'It's this guy again...' Michael noted Chu Dong's face and strength before focusing back on Elder Li's next words.

So far, everything was going to plan.

"I'll have you know, I am now the Golden Dragon Sect's sect leader," Elder Li stated before pulling a plaque from his Daoist robes.

It was the same one each sect leader had, and the elders were well aware of its authenticity.

If someone impersonating a sect leader was caught, they were to be executed on the spot.

And that's exactly what Michael was going for—a small boon from their not-so-big plan that he hoped would come to fruition.

Yet as the seconds of shock passed, none of the elders budged.

'Guess I need to give them a little nudge.' Michael whistled inwardly when, suddenly, his eyes met Chu Dong's.

And like any person trying his best to be civil, Michael used Charm.

The drain was massive—the side effect of using it on an opponent technically higher tier than him.

Even if he was generally stronger, some limitations couldn't be avoided.

However, even for a moment, it was enough to set their plan in motion without a hitch.

Chu Dong's eyes blurred, and in the next instant, he struck downward.

It resembled a magic attack, but in this case, it was called a Qi attack.

The basics were the same, except that this attack lost power the further it traveled—a downside of having a dantian core.

But it was enough, maybe even more than enough.

Elder Li shot Michael a glance and faked a panicked look before being hit by the attack head-on.

His shields managed to negate the attack completely, but he still had to make it look real.

Therefore, he created an extremely small sword of light and sent it toward Elder Li. Without hesitation, it cut a hole clean through his upper body.

Obviously, Michael knew what he was doing—narrowly avoiding the vitals until the blood spurted out like a waterfall.

Just as that happened, Chu Dong regained his composure. Looking down at the bleeding Elder Li, he realized a terrible mistake had occurred.

That was when Michael finally decided to make his move, dashing toward the platform at a much slower speed than usual.

Yet barely anyone paid attention to him, as they all knew the consequences of Chu Dong's actions.

But just in case they forgot, Michael would be the one to remind them.

Walking up to the bleeding Elder Li, who had put on a perfect act of passing out, Michael sent a glare toward Chu Dong and said,

"Do you know what you've done...?"

Chu Dong didn't respond, only stepping back in silence.

But it was already too late. The damage couldn't be undone. The very moment Chu Dong stepped into the sect's grounds, it was over.

'And the same goes for the others too.' he grinned before going coming back on topic.

Michael cleared his throat before reciting one of the ancient rules—the same ones Elder Li had preached to him annoyingly.

"In the off chance that Party A makes a bet and Party B injures Party A, Party B is held liable and must match the terms of the bet with an amount of equal or greater value."

As his words hovered in the air, Chu Dong's expression visibly faltered, causing a small grin to appear on Michael's face.

'Checkmate.'