Demon Sword Sect's Undercover-Chapter 749 - 748: Undercurrents Surge

Watching Yu Zhengxing depart, the two Masters exchanged a glance, both shaking their heads, their faces showing helplessness.

Yu Zhengxing was a junior disciple they highly regarded, with boundless prospects at the Golden Core level; but now, it seemed his resolve was not firm enough, and he had his flaws, such as being too soft-hearted over a minor cultivator in this plan, which was quite inappropriate.

Having trained outside for decades and completed many difficult missions, he should have been as resolute as iron by now.

"Let it be, let him go. He will gradually come to accept it. We too have come through this phase. One day he will understand that soft-heartedness is a severe hidden injury in the Cultivation World. Over time, what can’t one let go of?"

Master Yuan sighed, thus consoling himself.

Master Wei bypassed this topic, "I’m not so worried about that. Zhengxing is reliable in his work, which I trust; what I am curious about is how they will respond. It’s not possible that they’ll just accept things as they are and allow us to raise a storm without a fight, is it? That’s not the style of those few."

Among the thirteen Nascent Transformation Masters, the four of them prided themselves on the heritage of Ancient Sword Cultivation. This wasn’t referring to the Skills or Daoist traditions, but the philosophy of their character. However, precisely because of their lone-wolf, free-spirited, and disdain for factional politics, they often failed to join forces, instead fighting individually and consequently being excluded by other united groups.

This was the consequence they had to bear for their philosophy. Over the centuries, their influence within the sect gradually declined, suppressed by the power of the three Manors and the two Prince Manors, unable to turn the situation around.

But under the anticipation of cosmic changes, they also saw both danger and opportunity. Thus, unusually, they united, hoping to present the Shan Sect with a better prospect before the shackles of Heaven and Earth were cast off.

After centuries of coexistence, they knew that the other nine Nascent Transformation Masters were not a monolith. The three Masters from Sima Manor and the two from the Prince Manors were the most obstinate opposing forces, while the four Masters from Situ and Sikong Manors had always been wavering, with no one able to predict how they would react when faced with great cosmic changes.

The current situation was clear yet shrouded in mist, four against five, with them at a slight disadvantage. But with the uncertain factors from the Situ and Sikong Masters, they had hope!

The Quanzhen Sect did not have a Sect Leader position. All major decisions were made joint consultation among the thirteen of them. Put simply, the majority opinion prevailed. For those like them, not adept at political maneuvering, this was a predicament, utterly outmatched by other more politically savvy Masters, rendered ineffectual in most important sect affairs, only given a modicum of face in minor matters by the others.

This was the current situation at the upper echelons of the Quanzhen Sect’s power. If one of them could break through the Nascent Transformation Realm, then naturally, there would be a Sect Leader. But on the Jinxiu Continent, the Nascent Transformation Realm was the ceiling, not just for the Shan Sect, but for all Daoist traditions, with no path forward in cultivation.

Now it seemed the opportunity lay in breaking the Heaven and Earth Chains. Once the gates to the universe were opened, it was foreseeable that many Nascent Transformation Masters would surge upwards. This was why the cosmic shift was said to be the dawn of a New Era for the Continent’s Cultivation.

All were anticipating, with the most direct beneficiaries being none other than these Nascent Transformation Masters.

Master Wei’s concern was that he couldn’t ascertain the true intentions of the four Sikong and Situ Mansion brothers. After a long time traveling and cultivating outside, their acquaintanceship had cooled, impossible to pick back up.

"Why not send them gifts?"

Master Yuan was somewhat speechless, "Elder brother, have you ever sent gifts in your life? Do you know what to send? Understand the rules of social engagements? Know how to speak pleasantly? Willing to bow and scrape, demean yourself? If not, it’s better not to go. I fear your visit might turn strangers into enemies..."

Master Wei had no answer to that; frankly speaking, none of the four of them possessed such a talent. If they had, they wouldn’t be in the situation they were in now.

Master Yuan pondered deeply, "One thing to be wary of is their method of using their trump cards."

Although he didn’t say it outright, Master Wei understood perfectly well what he meant. What was their trump card?

It was Sirius’s Duan Wuqian!

Some things were truly unpredictable, the arrangement of fate so contradictory. A world-shaking genius emerged amongst the conservative forces of tradition, astonishingly within the oldest family lineage of the Shan Sect’s Quanzhen System.

The Shan Sect had three lineages. Hai Wei Quan Yuan belonged to the free-spirited ancient Sword Cultivation lineage, the Manor Masters to the orderly institutional lineage, and the two Prince Manors to the oldest, a family lineage gradually retiring from the history of the Continent. Yet the favored son of heaven happened to emerge from the Duan Prince Manor. It was unclear what the heavens were thinking.

Did it signify the family system’s resurgence to glory, or was it a dying glow before the end?

They all knew that the in-sect competition at the Shan Sect’s annual meeting would only occur on two levels. The decisive factor would be the battles between the Nascent Transformation Masters. But if there was a draw at the Nascent Transformation level, it would depend on another level – the disciples themselves within the Tongtian three Realms!

And Sirius’s Duan Wuqian was the biggest card in their adversaries’ hands, an unbeatable trump. Whether in terms of charisma or overwhelming personal strength, he was unreachable to the other disciples.

The rules of the Continent forbade overpowering one’s Realm, let alone within the Sect. If the opponents pulled out Duan Wuqian as their ultimate weapon, how would they counter it?

As the four Masters with the most ancient demeanor in the Quanzhen Sect, even though they were cold-hearted, they certainly could not stoop to harming this favored son of heaven in secret. By the same logic, that would be digging their own grave!

There must be limits within the sect factions; no measure was considered too extreme.

"Let’s take it one step at a time. Our first priority is to try to keep the victory within the Master level. As for Duan Wuqian, he may be a disciple of the Duan family, but he is also a disciple of the Quanzhen Sect. Having come this far, I believe he has his own philosophies and judgments. You don’t have to underestimate him so much.

Just like there are plenty of cultivators from humble backgrounds who aspire to restore their family’s glory, there are also many outstanding family cultivators who give up their status in pursuit of freedom.

Yuan junior brother, aren’t you the most notorious example of a family renegade?"

Master Yuan couldn’t help but smile wryly at that; he truly was a bona fide deserter. If you go back five hundred years, there was a very famous Prince Manor in Yujing, even before the presence of Duan and Wu Prince Manors, it was Yuan Manor.

At that time, Yuan Manor was thriving, with two Masters in one Manor, peerless in Yujing.

Master Yuan was the younger of the two Masters from Yuan Manor.

Later on, he left home, defected from Yuan Manor, playing a decisive role in its downfall.

Having cultivated to his level, his way of looking at problems was completely different from ordinary people. If he could do it, why couldn’t Duan Wuqian?

It’s just the later waves of the river surging past the earlier ones.