Martial Arts Contest to Choose a Bride Such a Retro Term

“Senior, you’ve misunderstood. Jiang Huihui and I have never even met. How could I be dissatisfied with her? It’s just that I think this marriage is absurd.”

Chen Xuan shook his head lightly. “Besides, I already have someone I like.”

“This was arranged between your master and me!”

Jiang Sheng snorted coldly. “Your master is no longer around. I’m your elder now!”

Xu Mu was quietly surprised, unsure if Jiang Sheng was bluffing.

If he was serious, then backing out of this marriage wouldn’t be easy for Chen Xuan.

“Senior, I think we should bring Huihui out. It’s better if the people involved talk this through directly,” Xu Mu said with a smile.

“Dad! He’s right. Let Huihui come out,” Zhou Shui nodded in agreement.

Hearing this, Jiang Sheng turned and waved toward a distant building.

Bang!

A burst of radiant light suddenly exploded from the high-rise.

Xu Mu looked up, guessing it must be some kind of formation.

This Jiang Sheng was definitely not an ordinary person.

The door of the distant building slid open, and Jiang Huihui stepped out. She immediately jumped toward Xu Mu, landing beside him after a few leaps.

She hadn’t expected Xu Mu to arrive so quickly.

[Affinity +20]

“Huihui, this is Chen Xuan, your fiancé. But today, he’s here to break off the engagement.”

Jiang Sheng stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm as he asked, “What do you think?”

“Break off the engagement? Of course I agree!” Jiang Huihui glanced at Chen Xuan.

She hadn’t met her fiancé before and had thought it was Xu Mu himself coming to propose.

[Affinity +10]

“Senior, since she feels the same way, you shouldn’t insist anymore.”

Chen Xuan said to Jiang Sheng, “If we’re forced together, neither of us will be happy.”

Jiang Sheng glanced toward Jiang Xingjun. “What’s your opinion?”

“I’ve said it many times before—I’ll listen to Huihui.”

Even faced with his father, Jiang Xingjun showed no expression.

“Sigh, in the end, I’m the one who’s become the villain.”

Jiang Sheng sat down on a small wooden stool in the distance and pulled out a tobacco pouch from behind his baggy shorts.

He took out some tobacco from a round tin in his pocket and sighed deeply.

“Dad! What’s going on with you? Why do you insist so much? If she doesn’t want it, what’s the point?”

Zhou Shui voiced the question burning in her heart.

She hadn’t known Chen Xuan’s feelings before, but now that he came to break off the engagement, and Huihui was willing to marry him, did he really want to send his daughter away?

“What happened back then caused the Jiang family to decline, and Huihui has been eyed by many.”

Jiang Sheng took a few deep drags from his tobacco pouch and tapped out the ashes.

“Before, when those people came to propose, I always had one excuse—that Huihui was already promised, and Chen Xuan’s master was a renowned figure. Everyone would show respect.”

Xu Mu and the others listened and roughly understood the reason.

“Now that Chen Xuan has broken off the engagement and Huihui is single again, they’ll definitely come rushing in.”

Jiang Sheng continued, “One thing I’m sure of is that compared to those other sons, Chen Xuan is far better.”

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.

Master Chen Xuan is dead. If these two get married, it’s basically no different from him marrying into the family.

The Jiang family would gain another promising young talent.

“Old Sheng! I just don’t get it—what does my being single have to do with them?”

Jiang Huihui stood with her hands in her pockets, glaring coldly at Jiang Sheng.

“Ah, what a curse.”

Jiang Sheng sighed, pinching some tobacco and stuffing it into his pipe. “Xingjun, why don’t you explain?”

Everyone turned to look at Jiang Xingjun, who stood straight and tall nearby.

His eyes fixed on the distance, his tone calm. “My older brother made a lot of mistakes back then, offended many people. In the end, the government and several sects stepped in to settle the matter.”

Zhou Shui looked at Jiang Xingjun, aware that her husband had an elder brother.

When she married Jiang Xingjun, his brother even came to offer congratulations.

Later, she asked why he never came home, and Jiang Xingjun simply said his brother was dead.

“Ah, that’s how favors work!”

Jiang Sheng stood up from the small stool. “If they hadn’t stepped in, our whole family would have been targeted by countless experts. It would’ve been chaos. Now that they’re making a proposal, how can I possibly refuse?”

Xu Mu stood quietly to the side, listening.

He had guessed that Chen Xuan’s marriage wouldn’t be so easy to back out of.

If he weren’t around, and it was just Chen Xuan alone, maybe this matter could’ve been dropped.

Jiang Huihui was also surprised—she hadn’t expected this hidden past in her family.

Zhou Shui finally understood why her father-in-law was so adamant.

At that moment, Chen Xuan spoke up. “Senior, so you mean as long as there’s a marriage contract, that’s enough? Then let Mu-ge marry her!”

“Ah?”

Xu Mu was a bit taken aback by Chen Xuan’s straightforwardness.

“My medical skills surpass his, and I’m better looking too. Why not consider me?”

Chen Xuan looked at Jiang Sheng as he spoke.

Jiang Huihui immediately lowered her head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

She had been so composed just moments ago, but this sudden shift caught everyone in the Jiang family’s attention.

“No.”

Jiang Sheng shook his head gently. “I’m interested in Xu Mu, but unfortunately, his strength isn’t enough. He’d be targeted.”

“Besides, I already have a wife.”

Xu Mu said calmly.

He was starting to lose interest in the matter. He had thought it would be simple, but it dragged in the previous generation.

“That’s not the main point.”

Jiang Sheng glanced at Xu Mu.

Most of those interested in Jiang Huihui were disciples from various sects.

People choose based on status. Knowing the Jiang family owed them favors, most wouldn’t allow a genius like her to marry into their ranks.

Instead, they’d send some relatively mediocre candidate to marry her.

Of course, there were geniuses among them, but most were already married.

Xu Mu was speechless—even having a wife wasn’t the main issue.

“Huihui! Don’t blame your grandfather. I have to make decisions for you.”

Jiang Sheng looked at Jiang Huihui. “I’m giving you two choices. First, marry Chen Xuan. Second, if you don’t want to be with Chen Xuan, then I’ll have no choice but to hold a martial contest to find a husband!”

Xu Mu couldn’t help but sigh—such an old-fashioned phrase.

“What? A martial contest to find a husband? I don’t want that!”

Jiang Huihui snapped angrily, "Old Deng! Are you saying that if the winner is an old man, I have to marry him?"

"That definitely won't happen. I'll set an age range—no old folks will qualify, but there might be some uglier ones," Jiang Sheng replied awkwardly.

"Mu, should we just call it quits?" Chen Xuan asked.

Chen Xuan wasn’t very close to Jiang Huihui. His goal had been to break off the engagement, and now that was accomplished. What the Jiang family decided afterward was no longer his concern.

Xu Mu shook his head at Chen Xuan, then turned to Jiang Sheng. "I have something to say; please hear me out."

Jiang Sheng glanced at Xu Mu. "What high-minded advice do you have?"

"A simple martial arts contest for marriage doesn’t really fit modern society," Xu Mu said with a smile. "I hope the elders will consider multiple aspects."

"Combat can account for a large part, but personal cultivation and other skills must also be up to par."

"I see what you mean—you want to add tests like painting and other activities to cultivate the mind and spirit, right?" Jiang Sheng narrowed his eyes.

Could it be that Xu Mu has his eye on my granddaughter?