Many peopleâs thoughts have changed, shifting the blame for their inability to comprehend the True Martial Sword Stele onto Inquiring Sword Pavilion.
There was certainly some degree of guiding influence behind this.
But in actuality, the comparison is clear.
Inquiring Sword Pavilion has the Inheritance Sword Tower. Originally, no one could fault you for not making your own sectâs inheritance public, but the problem lies in the comparison. The True Martial Sect also has a Sword Enlightenment Holy Land, the True Martial Sword Stele, yet they are generous in sharing it with swordsmen everywhere.
In comparison, the difference in approach is obvious.
During this time, some swordsmen also brought up this issue, comparing the True Martial Sect with Inquiring Sword Pavilion. At most, they merely praised the True Martial Sectâs open-mindedness without blaming or demeaning Inquiring Sword Pavilion.
But now.
Because of Inquiring Sword Pavilion, I canât comprehend the True Martial Sword Stele?
The surging anger exploded instantly.
You donât want to share your own things, fine, but now someone kindly offers theirs to share, and you still want to take it by force?
This made all the swordsmen furious.
Plus, a small number of people harbored âenvy of wealthâ sentiments, having previously criticized the Inheritance Sword Tower of Inquiring Sword Pavilion, and now even more so.
"What does Inquiring Sword Pavilion intend to do? Cut off everyoneâs path to advancement?"
As soon as such voices emerged.
Many swordsmen reached a consensus.
The animosity among swordsmen against Inquiring Sword Pavilion quickly reached a peak.
This sentiment spread even faster than Luo Wentian imagined and quickly spread across the land, fueled by some, with shadows of some blademen involved. Last time, they took a major hit on the side of the True Martial Sect during the sword versus blade conflict, and now they are eager to see the True Martial Sect and Inquiring Sword Pavilion potentially go at each other.
They were even more enthusiastic than Luo Wentian.
Thinking of witnessing a fight between two Celestial Being List swordsmen, regardless of who won or lost, they would not be at a loss.
Under this momentum.
Near the gate of Inquiring Sword Pavilion, more and more swordsmen gathered.
If it werenât for Inquiring Sword Pavilionâs substantial strength, with a fourteenth-ranked unparalleled swordsman on the Celestial Being List, someone might have already gone up to question them.
But even so.
Inquiring Sword Pavilion was not faring well.
On the surface, they couldnât go too far, but they could engage in minor actions.
If your Inquiring Sword Pavilion disciples went out for training, surely it wouldnât be too much to invite you for tea for half a month?
Your Inquiring Sword Pavilionâs industries spread throughout Chu State, so surely itâs normal for some of them to be annexed?
No one paid attention to your Inquiring Sword Pavilion disciples at the Sword Convention, surely thatâs reasonable?
Were it only a few swordsmen doing this, Inquiring Sword Pavilion could naturally retaliate with thunderous force as a warning.
But now the vast majority of swordsmen were acting this way.
Among them were not only swordsmen in the Celestial Human Realm, but some actions also had the backing of a few Celestial Being List swordsmen. They themselves might not appear, but ambiguous instructions were no issue.
If Inquiring Sword Pavilion dared to retaliate, it would only lead to more intense conflicts.
This was the grand trend.
These swordsmen might very well have sensed the True Martial Sectâs intentions, but being swept along by emotions, indebted to others, and seeing Inquiring Sword Pavilion genuinely infringing on their interests, they couldnât care less. They acted not just for the True Martial Sect, but for themselves.
For a time.
Inside Inquiring Sword Pavilion.
The atmosphere was extremely oppressive.
They didnât expect that in just a month or two, they would be forced into such a passive situation by the True Martial Sect.
...
True Martial Mountain.
Luo Wentian handed the intelligence reports from the foot of the mountain to Taoist Longshan and Ning Qi, smiling with great pleasure:
"This method had an even faster effect than we imagined. These blademen were really helpful."
Taoist Longshan shook his head and chuckled:
"In the Martial Realm, people chase after fame and fortune. Even Celestial Being List experts cannot fully comprehend it. In reality, what difference is there between sword and blade? Fighting over it is truly unwise."
Ning Qi took a sip of tea and said:
"But this is to our advantage. I imagine Inquiring Sword Pavilion canât sit still now."
Luo Wentian gave a thumbs-up in praise:
"Jiu, you truly can predict accurately. Half a month ago, Inquiring Sword Pavilion started sending frequent letters. Although they still havenât admitted to the affair of the spies, their words are now less persistent. They mentioned that someone impersonating Inquiring Sword Pavilion was partly due to their oversight, and they are willing to offer some compensation."
He clicked his tongue twice, disapproving of the compensation, and then took out several letters.
"It seems Inquiring Sword Pavilion is somewhat desperate, their words hinting at us not fixating on the affair of the spies and hoping we reopen our mountain gates." His face held a bit of mockery.
Taoist Longshan sighed:
"I suppose they also realized, Inquiring Sword Pavilionâs current situation is fundamentally about the True Martial Sword Stele. Once the True Martial Sword Stele is reopened, everything will be resolved. Unfortunately, they donât realize that they themselves hold the key to solving this issue."
Luo Wentian nodded in agreement:
"Thatâs right. If Inquiring Sword Pavilion is willing to seize this opportunity to open the Inheritance Sword Tower and counter us, not only would they resolve the crisis, but they could also gain a great deal of prestige, putting us at a disadvantage."
"Unfortunately, they wonât. Not everyone is as open-minded as Jiu."
"If Inquiring Sword Pavilion had such intentions, they wouldnât have been narrow-minded enough to send people to infiltrate our True Martial Sect. With their ways of doing things, they certainly wouldnât open the Inheritance Sword Tower."
Ning Qi simply smiled faintly.
"Elder brother, what do you plan to do, watch and wait?"
Luo Wentianâs expression turned solemn:
"We canât end things so anticlimactically. Even now, when they talk about compensation, itâs just a few trifles. It seems they think having that Heart Inquiry Sword means they donât have to fear anything. In that case, they need to understand, our True Martial Sect is not to be trifled with!"