Deun Yu ran away from home because he didn't like martial arts, so...

[Ken Cheng]

At the beginning of DEMIGODS & SEMIDEVILS, Deun Yu ran away from home in the Dali Royal Palace because he hated to practice martial arts, and his father and uncle were going to force him to do just that. It's strange, then, that after Deun Yu ran away, he hooked up with some wulin people and went with them to attend a wulin tournament (the Mo Leung Sword Tournament). I would have expected Deun Yu to end up at some literature or art fair.

Although Deun Yu hated to practice martial arts himself, did he enjoy it as a spectator?

[Ardor]

I smell a plot device. How would he enjoy watching killing and hurting people, when the very reason he did not want to learn martial arts was not to hurt and kill people in the first place?

[WuxiaMaster]

Well, he learnt martial arts as soon as "sister fairy" aka shen xian jie jie told him to...

[yittz]

He went to Wu Liang for the scenery not the martial arts competition. No plot device.

He got uncomfortable when people started hurting each other in fights, and they got annoyed at this sissy for coming.

[CC]

, he hooks up with some wulin people and goes with them to attend a wulin tournament (the Mo Leung Sword Tournament). I would have expected Deun Yu to end up at some literature or art fair.

Although Deun Yu hated to practice martial arts himself, did he enjoy it as a spectator?

IIRC, he hooked up with a merchant, not some wulin person. The merchant brought him along.

[HuangYushi]

At the beginning of DEMIGODS & SEMIDEVILS, Deun Yu runs away from home in the Deun Royal Palace because he hated to practice martial arts, and his father and uncle were going to force him to do just that. It's strange, then, that after Deun Yu runs away, he hooks up with some wulin people and goes with them to attend a wulin tournament (the Mo Leung Sword Tournament). I would have expected Deun Yu to end up at some literature or art fair.

Although Deun Yu hated to practice martial arts himself, did he enjoy it as a spectator?

Duan Yu wandered into the home of a tea merchant, who was also incidentally a minor wulin person in that area, in search of a free meal! The merchant was on his way to the Boundless Mountain for the competition, so Duan Yu tagged along, especially when he thought he could enjoy the scenery there.
Read about it here: http://wuxiapedia.com/novels/jin_yon...ok_1/chapter_1

[Ken Cheng]

How would he enjoy watching killing and hurting people, when the very reason he did not want to learn martial arts was not to hurt and kill people in the first place?

Later, he seemed to enjoy watching Kiu Fung beating up two of Mo Yung F'uk's henchmen (Pau and Fung), but that might just have been because Deun Yu wanted a little payback against Pau, who had repeatedly belittled him.

[Ardor]

Well, even kind people who cherish life enjoy action movies.