Chapter 902: Fear of Battle

From within the ship's cabin, Wei Jie stood respectfully in front of Pang Jie. "Ancestor, these newly recruited disciples don't look like they are willing to obey or comply with Mo Wuji. From the looks of it, it seemed like they're going to fight. Should I go ahead and berate them?"

Pang Jie replied faintly, "Previously, the group of disciples at our sect were all amiable with each other because our sect was still rather obscured. Now that our sect is going to expand, there had to be competition. As long as nobody dies, we shouldn't need to intervene when disciples have disputes. A sect like a pool of stagnant water would never progress far."

"But Mo Wuji would at most be in the Nascent God Stage Level 3 and with very poor aptitude. That Pu Yin is a talented boy and is already in the Nascent God Stage Level 9. If they really fought, Mo Wuji might not be his match ah..." Wei Jie answered anxiously. Up till now, he was still very satisfied with Mo Wuji's performance in the sect. It wasn't just because Mo Wuji was personally recruited by him. More importantly, Mo Wuji's handling of the sect's guest reception didn't lose the aura of a great sect which the Heavenly Mortal Sect used to have.

Pang Jie shook his hand, "I hold Mo Wuji's ability in high regard and I know he is definitely not a match for Pu Yin. However, he and Pu Yin are both in the Nascent God Stage. While one of them is in Level 1 and the other in Level 9, they are after all, still in the same stage. If he wasn't able to convince Pu Yin, who was in the same stage as himself, he shall remain as just an External Affairs Hall Lord forever."

"Yes, Ancestor." Wei Jie answered promptly but his heart was still feeling uneasy. This dispute appeared like it had to be settled with a battle but how was Mo Wuji supposed to convince Pu Yin and co. if he can't fight?

Even Wei Jie, a talent at speaking and reasoning, wouldn't be able to convince them if he were in Mo Wuji's shoes.

...

Because of Mo Wuji's question as to who else was also unsatisfied with him being the Da Shixiong, Dan Ya and Jiao Xiangqi stood out in support of Pu Yin. Following which, a lot more people stood out to Pu Yin's side. Evidently, Mo Wuji's words had seemingly lifted a rock off everyone's feet.

Eventually, only about nine people remained on Mo Wuji's side. These nine people included Ku Cai, Di Butong, Yin Lin and Mo Wuji himself.

In other words, among the newly recruited disciples, only 5 of them agreed for Mo Wuji to be their Da Shixiong. Out of the 5 disciples, four were already on Mo Wuji's side as they came over to greet Mo Wuji initially. If they knew that Mo Wuji would have so little votes, they might be regretful about coming over from the start."

Pu Yin turned to the 30 plus people behind him as he clasped his fists and said, "Many thanks fellow junior brothers and sisters for supporting me, Pu Yin. I will definitely not let everyone down."

Having said that, Pu Yin turned back to face Mo Wuji. "Hall Lord Mo, if we are going to play, I wouldn't fight with Hall Lord Mo for the opportunity to lead everyone. However, we're going to the God Domain Nest and it concerns the future of our Heavenly Mortal Sect so I, Pu Yin, have no choice but to fight. This is because I am a member of the Heavenly Mortal Sect. Even if Elder Wei Jie came down to blame me, I will admit what I've done. When we are back from the God Domain Nest, I will naturally return this position back to Hall Lord Mo."

If Pu Yin didn't mention the last sentence, Mo Wuji wouldn't mind everything that he had said. With might comes respect, Mo Wuji was already used to this logic. However, by adding that last sentence, Mo Wuji knew instantly that this Pu Yin is a hypocrite. He sneered in his heart because now that this matter had been blown up, how could Elder Wei Jie not know about it? Unless Elder Wei Jie was an idiot of course.

The reason why Pu Yin's tone could become stricter was because he already knew of Elder Wei Jie's tacit approval. Who would actually believe that he would give up on the Da Shixiong's title when they returned?

"Senior Brother Pu Yin is certainly noble and benevolent that Junior Sister Dan Ya is full of admiration." After that speech by Pu Yin, Dan Ya's clear and crisp voice could be heard once more. Following Dan Ya's praise was the compliments of the other disciples.

Pu Yin had already said everything he needed to say so everyone was basically staring at Mo Wuji now. As long as Mo Wuji agreed to the battle against Pu Yin, the outcome wouldn't change.

If Mo Wuji fought against Pu Yin and Mo Wuji lost, Pu Yin would be the legitimate Da Shixiong. If Pu Yin lost... Ah, Senior Brother Pu Yin was in the Nascent God Stage Level 9 and also a peak grade genius so how could he lose?

Mo Wuji replied faintly, "Junior Brother Pu Yin, I will not fight against you. My Heavenly Mortal Sect emphasise on love and respect between members. My blade is only meant for enemies, not for my sect mate..."

The instant Mo Wuji's words were heard, everyone started discussing as disdainful eyes fell onto Mo Wuji's body.

Not pointing of the blade towards sect mates? He must have known that he wasn't a match for Pu Yin which was why he decided to avoid the battle.

Even more people shook their heads because the sect actually recruited a coward to be their Da Shixiong? If Senior Brother Pu Yin didn't step out, how many people were they going to lose in the God Domain Nest?

Everyone standing behind Mo Wuji except Ku Cai were all disappointed at Mo Wuji's lack of courage to accept a fight.

Even if Mo Wuji were to lose, it would be better than avoiding a fight altogether. At least he had the courage to stand up against a fight instead of acting like a coward.

Only Ku Cai knew how powerful Big Brother Wuji was. For whatever reason Mo Wuji was avoiding the fight, she was convinced that Mo Wuji was not a coward.

Mo Wuji sneered in his heart because he really didn't bother about what these people had to say. Even though he was in the Nascent God Stage Level 1 and Pu Yin was in the Nascent God Stage Level 9, Mo Wuji was confident he could get rid of Pu Yin. This was entirely based on the confidence he had of himself.

But killing Pu Yin was simply too unrealistic.

His Spiritual Will Arrow, Wheel of Life and Death and Seven World Fingers were all peak grade sacred arts. Why would he execute these sacred arts if he had no intention to kill someone?

Moreover, he noticed that Pu Yin was in the Great Circle of the Nascent God Stage Level 9 and was already near a breakthrough in terms of his understanding of the laws of Heaven and Earth.

If he were to fight Pu Yin and executed these sacred arts, he had 60% confidence that he could let Pu Yin gain new enlightenment from the realms of life and death on new laws of sacred arts. This was, of course, if Mo Wuji doesn't kill off Pu Yin.

Why should he help Pu Yin for no apparent reasons? If not for the fact that executing his peak grade sacred arts or the Four Halberd Strikes would help Pu Yin gain new enlightenment on sacred art dao spirituality, Mo Wuji would have accepted his challenge. Even though the Four Halberd Strikes were slightly weaker, Mo Wuji was still unwilling to help Pu Yin.

Because he wasn't going to kill Pu Yin, there would be loopholes in his sacred art. With loopholes like that, Pu Yin would definitely be able to grasp it. The closer he is to death, the easier it would be for Pu Yin to gain enlightenment. Mo Wuji was different from others because his sacred arts were self-created. Now that he had entered the Nascent God Stage Level 1, all sorts of dao spirituality would be the clearest if he attacked.

"Hall Lord Mo really knows how to disappoint me." Pu Yin shook his head as his tone brought along a strong sense of disappointment.

Mo Wuji didn't mind as he turned to the people behind him, "If the few of you are willing to trust Junior Brother Pu Yin, you can head over there too."

Even though two of them hesitated for a while, but all eight of them remained where they were. None of these recruited disciples were foolish. If they were to stand on the other side from the very beginning, nobody would complain. If they were to switch places now, they would offend both Mo Wuji and the future Da Shixiong Pu Yin. After all, they didn't choose Senior Brother Pu Yin from the start.

Noticing that nobody went over, Mo Wuji said with a clear voice. "From today onwards, I will bring the eight of you along with me while Junior Brother Pu Yin can lead the people behind him. As for whether we would be able to obtain opportunities in the God Domain Nest, we would have to depend on everyone's ability. After the God Domain Nest concluded, I would welcome those who want to join my Mortal Mountain. Alright, this matter has come to an end. Everyone, please rest well in your cabins."

By saying such words, Mo Wuji was equivalent to admitting that Pu Yin's snatch of leadership was half completed. Many of the disciples could imagine that the Head Disciple of the sect after returning from the God Domain Nest would be Pu Yin.

Pu Yin smiled faintly as he said to Mo Wuji. "Hall Lord Mo is indeed capable. Since that is the case, I shall not accept this responsibility willingly."

After saying that, he turned to the crowd of disciples behind him once more. "Thank you, everyone for having faith in me. We would definitely need some luck and fate in the God Domain Nest but I believe strength is more important."

He acted as though Mo Wuji had agreed to hand over the responsibility of a Da Shixiong.

"We support Senior Brother Pu!" The cheers of the crowd were twice as loud. Mo Wuji's backing down allowed Pu Yin to gain everyone's approval.

...

"Senior Brother Mo, why didn't you fight with him? At the very most, you could still afford to lose." After entering the cabin, Yin Lin was still slightly unhappy with the outcome.

She was full of admiration for Mo Wuji. Despite Mo Wuji's lack of courage to fight, she had personally witnessed Mo Wuji's ability. Pu Yin might be stronger than Mo Wuji but if Pu Yin were to host the guest reception, she was confident that Pu Yin wouldn't be able to do what Mo Wuji did.

'Indeed, I really can't wait to teach that fella a lesson. The pity was that I am also not a match for him." Di Butong also commented unhappily.

Mo Wuji chuckled as his eyes landed on that slightly fatter young man. "What is your name?"

"In reply to Da Shixiong, my name is Zhu[1]." The slightly fatter man bowed.

Pig? Fortunately, Mo Wuji reacted quickly and realised that his name was Zhu, not pig. This person named Zhu was the only person who walked through the crowd of people to support Mo Wuji. This was during the period when support for Pu Yin was unrivaled.

Mo Wuji didn't question why Zhu wasn't like the rest as he simply said. "There are still a few more months before our destination. Everyone, focus on your cultivation and I shall head back in to cultivate too."

...

Wei Jie returned back to the Ancestor's room as he bowed. "Ancestor, do you think we made a mistake? That Mo Wuji actually backed out from a fight. Even though he didn't directly say that he had given up on the position of a Da Shixiong, his performance somehow implied that."

Pang Jie revealed a slight smile as he shook his hand, "Don't worry about this. Go back and cultivate because your cultivation level is still too poor."

"Yes." Wei Jie didn't dare to speak much as he hurried away.

Pang Jie's eyes landed on Pu Yin, who was addressing the crowd of disciples. He shook his head because he felt that Pu Yin was far too obsessive with utilising people.

While Pang Jie was also slightly disappointed at how Mo Wuji chose to resolve this dispute, he knew that Mo Wuji only did that because he was helpless. In his eyes, Mo Wuji would at most be only in the Nascent God Stage Level 1 and was definitely not in Level 3. For an ordinary disciple to fight against a Nascent God Stage Level 9 genius disciple, it was simply asking too much of Mo Wuji.

However, he wasn't convinced that Mo Wuji backed out because he was scared. Mo Wuji had even stood up for Ku Cai in front of him so why would he be afraid of one Pu Yin?