Yu Zhenzi, after leaving Shenxiao Mountain, did not immediately return, instead, he chose to hide in a certain place.
He knew that this mission had failed and he had exposed many secrets of the Shenxiao Sect. Not to mention, he still had a sense of Pei Xuanjing's sword intention in him. It was an absolute failure.
Back on Shenxiao Mountain, he was constrained and helpless. With the odds against him, he had to bow down and yield to Pei Xuanjing, agreeing to be his inside connection.
However, in Yu Zhenzi's eyes, this was all done out of desperation. He was only trying to save himself, stooping low and bearing heavy burdens. His loyalty was still with Shenxiao Sect, with whom he'd spent many years.
Therefore, he wanted to find a place for self-cultivation first and try to drive out Pei Xuanjing's residual sword intention in him, thus freeing himself of the other's control before returning.
Regrettably, despite Yu Zhenzi's many efforts, Pei Xuanjing's residual sword intention appeared to be a bone-deep affliction, almost impossible to eradicate. Moreover, every time he tried to eliminate it, the normally stable sword intention would counterattack, making Yu Zhenzi miserable.
After more than a month's struggle, Yu Zhenzi reluctantly discovered that because of his insufficient strength he was helpless against Pei Xuanjing's sword intention and had to confront reality.
On his way back to the master , he often thought about whether to confess everything that happened on Shenxiao Mountain to the master.
However, in the end, when he arrived, the fear of death suppressed his apprehension of the master.
"He refused and wounded me. I was lucky to escape with my life or I would have died in his custody." Yu Zhenzi, with a face full of grief and indignation, complained to the Lord of Shenxiao Gate about his experience on Shenxiao Mountain.
Of course, he omitted a lot of things and instead claimed that he was severely injured because of a direct confrontation with Pei Xuanjing due to Pei's rudeness.
This explained why there had been no news from him for the past month – he was healing.
The two were in a dim secret room, illuminated by a faint flickering candlelight.
Yu Zhenzi respectfully stood about thirty feet away from the Lord of Shenxiao Gate. The lord was wrapped in a black robe and wore a wide-brimmed hat that covered his face with a thin mesh.
"So, this guy is adamant about opposing me?" The voice of the Lord of Shenxiao Gate was low-pitched and hoarse.
Yu Zhenzi nodded repeatedly: "Yes!"
"If that's the case, he is an enemy." The Lord of Shenxiao Gate's aura flared up, destabilizing the already weak candlelight.
Witnessing the master's anger, Yuzhenzi bent even lower, his back drenched with cold sweat.
"Yu Zhenzi."
"For your failure on this mission, you deserve to be punished," the Lord of Shenxiao Gate stated.
"Master," Yu Zhenzi's countenance drastically changed.
"However, considering your past merits, I will let this slide for now. Hereafter, I will entrust you with a task. If you fail this time, you should find a place to commit suicide out of guilt!" The Lord of Shenxiao Gate raised his voice slightly, warning Yu Zhenzi before assigning him a new task.
A look of joy crossed Yu Zhenzi's face: "Thank you master. I vow to walk through fire and water, and not retreat even faced with death."
He immediately pledged his loyalty.
His face was not visible behind the wide-brimmed hat, but he didn't soften his tone: "Take this token and go to the capital city of the Northwest Dao. Once you are there, someone will contact you." Whoosh!
In the midst of talking, he swung his hand, a Dark Iron Thunder Pattern Token flew out.
With a claw-like grip, Yu Zhenzi caught the token and said, "Your will be done."
Only after Yu Zhenzi had left, in the empty secret room, did the low voice of the Lord of Shenxiao Gate slowly murmur:
"Pei Xuanjing…"
"Yu Zhenzi? Claiming to be a senior member of the Shenxiao Sect?" Upon hearing Pei Xuanjing's inquiry, Bai Xiaosheng mused.
Pei Xuanjing nodded: "Correct!"
Even though he had already received some answers from Yu Zhenzi and had already made his judgement based on what he knew.
However, Pei Xuanjing still wanted to see their reactions and hear their responses.
Bai Xiaosheng and Taoist Qingxu exchanged glances and could roughly guess Pei Xuanjing's intentions.
'You should speak, as you are most knowledgeable about this matter," Taoist Qingxu suggested to Bai Xiaosheng.
Bai Xiaosheng didn't refuse. He was heavily involved in these matters and he would have to speak about it at some point anyway.
Since Pei Xuanjing asked him now, he didn't withhold any information and told him everything in detail.
After a long time, Bai Xiaosheng finished talking: "That's basically everything. Does Grandmaster Pei have any doubts?"
Actually, what Bai Xiaosheng narrated was similar to what Yu Zhenzi had said, Bai Xiaosheng only had more detailed information.
As Pei Xuanjing had deduced, this 'Shenxiao Sect' was the fallback that the original Shenxiao Sect had left behind.
However, the fact that they grew so smoothly to the level they are at now was due to the implicit support and tolerance of Bai Xiaosheng and the True Martial Sect.
When Bai Xiaosheng and the others later discovered that the new Shenxiao Sect had grown too powerful to suppress, they wanted to eliminate this trouble. This was why the new Shenxiao Sect was attacked by the imperial court as Yu Zhenzi said. It resulted in a heavy blow to the new Shenxiao Sect.
However, there are always unexpected developments.
Even when Bai Xiaosheng and the others had decided to handle these troubles, it was too late.
During that incident, although they used the imperial court to deal a heavy blow to the new Shenxiao Sect, they still could not fully succeed.
The Lord of Shenxiao Gate was indeed a hero. Not only did he take this opportunity to eliminate dissent and pit his equals to death, taking full control of the new Shenxiao Sect.
But he also managed to evade Bai Xiaosheng and the True Martial Sect's influence, gaining independence, and no longer being ruled by others.
After understanding these, Pei Xuanjing asked Bai Xiaosheng: "How strong is the Lord of Shenxiao
Gate?"
Based on the information he now knew, this hidden lord of Shenxiao Gate was indeed powerful. So naturally, he had to be cautious and it was only right to understand the other's strength.
"That person is very powerful. Even if I take the initiative to attack, I can't be absolutely sure of killing him," Taoist Priest Qingxu slowly said.
If these words were uttered by someone else, Pei Xuanjing might not pay attention.
But when the current Taoist Priest Qingxu says it, Pei Xuanjing has no choice but to take it seriously.
You must know, the headmaster of the True Martial Sect, Qingxu Zi, is a peak figure in the martial arts world of Great Ming. There are fewer than ten people who can make him tread carefully.
His words are sufficient to prove the might of the Lord of Shenxiao Gate..
"But rest assured, Taoist friend, we stand by your side. Since you've trained the Shenxiao Jade Book, you naturally have to be the lord of the Shenxiao Sect," Taoist Priest Qingxu said to Pei Xuanjing.
Bai Xiaosheng also expressed the same sentiment.
Actually, it's easy to imagine. Both men have longstanding grudges against the Lord of Shenxiao Gate, so how could they let him grow unchecked?
Even if Pei Xuanjing had not brought it up, they would still have taken the initiative to support Pei Xuanjing in reestablishing the Shenxiao Mountain Gate and inheriting the orthodoxy of the Shenxiao Sect.
Such action not only strikes against the Lord of Shenxiao Gate but also binds the powerful Pei Xuanjing to their camp.
Pei Xuanjing also understood the meaning behind their stance. He was clear about the reasons for the two supporting him, one of which was to use him against the Lord of Shenxiao Gate.
However, for Pei Xuanjing, this was a mutually beneficial situation.
After all, under the current circumstances, he had become a competitor, with both sides standing on opposite sides.
So long as Pei Xuanjing was unwilling to give up the identity of Shenxiao's orthodoxy, a fight to the death between the two sides was inevitable.
Along the way, Pei Xuanjing inadvertently caused trouble for many forces.
The Great Ming imperial court, the underworld, Mire Sect, 'Lord of Shenxiao gate,' any of these four parties would cause quite a stir in the martial world.
The fact that Pei Xuanjing was able to rise to power despite making many enemies naturally drew many admiring glances. This was also a reason why Zhenwu Sect and Bai Xiaosheng were willing to extend olive branches.
Even if Pei Xuanjing wasn't afraid of those people, he wasn't so arrogant as to think that he could remain unharmed if those forces joined hands against him one day.
Of course, those forces had many grudges among themselves, and it would be near impossible for them to unite. Even he found the idea laughable.
However, Pei Xuanjing still had to make some preparations.
So, he gladly accepted the goodwill extended by these two sides.
He smiled and asked, "Are you not worried about being questioned by the Great Ming court and provoking the Emperor's wrath by supporting me in reestablishing the Shenxiao Sect?"
Though he meant it as a joke, Bai Xiaosheng somberly replied, "The Emperor probably won't have the energy to provoke you for many years to come."
Hearing this, Pei Xuanjing couldn't help but remember some events from his life simulation and asked with interest, "It seems the Mister has kept a lot of things from me, hasn't he?"
Taoist Priest Qingxu turned to look at Bai Xiaosheng with interest.
It should be noted that even if Zhenwu Sect collaborated with the Shenxiao Sect, it couldn't change its close relationship with the royal family and the Great Ming court.
His previous declaration of support was intended to serve as a middleman, extract Bai Xiaosheng, whitewash Pei Xuanjing's identity, and sever the connection between him and the Shenxiao Sect.
He aimed to fabricate a story of a genius who had accidentally inherited the Shenxiao Sect's legacy but was misunderstood by the court and forced to grow into a formidable force through persecution.
This would provide a way for both sides to save face and reinstate the Shenxiao Sect.
However, Bai Xiaosheng's words indicated that he knew some secrets that were related to the whole Great Ming court and the Emperor.
"Are you implying that there's a secret behind the Tartar tribe's recent raid on our borders?" asked Taoist Priest Qingxu.
Bai Xiaosheng nodded, then shook his head.
"That's just one part of it," he replied casually.
Pei Xuanjing laughed, "If there's one part, there must be another part, and maybe even a third part, right?"
Bai Xiaosheng nodded and laughed, "Let's start with the first part: The Great Ming Empire was established after the founding Emperor drove out the previous dynasty's foreign tribes, i.e., the ancestors of the Tartar tribe. Then, the second Emperor led an army to sweep across the north and crushed the Tartars, creating an unparalleled feats. It can be said that there's been constant conflict and a deep hatred between the Great Ming and these barbarians.
The Tartar tribe's raid, in fact, was a frequent occurrence, given the barrenness of the foreign lands and their reliance on the resources provided by the Great Ming. Moreover, the Tartars live by the water, and naturally resort to looting the borders when they run out of food in winter.
But why has there been such an unprecedented number of Tartar raids this time around, enough to draw the attention of the Great Ming court and the Emperor?"
Pei Xuanjing knew the answer to this, "Because of the Martial Classics?"
"Exactly!" Bai Xiaosheng gave Pei Xuanjing a satisfied expression and continued, "The Emperor's purpose behind compiling the Martial Classics could not be kept from the discerning. Plus, due to his past actions, almost everyone knows he is biding his time to strike outside the border, just like the second Emperor. Hence, this is undoubtedly the Tartars' counterattack since they aren't willing to sit still and wait for death.
Besides, if it were just a counterattack from the Tartars, it would still be just a minor nuisance to the flourishing Great Ming. Even if they dragged it out, they could last till the day their forces were ready.
But given the precedent of the incident at the Tumu Fortress, how many officials in the Great Ming court would want another Emperor who fell from a horse? The civil officials who've suppressed the noble officials for many years, would they willingly relinquish their power and let the noble warriors rise again?
Moreover, the spread of the Martial Classics undoubtedly annoyed many powerful forces. Are they willing for more and more martial artists to appear, competing for the benefits that they think are rightfully theirs?"
As he said the last sentence, Bai Xiaosheng looked at Taoist Priest Qingxu with a teasing smile.
Bearing in mind, Zhenwu Sect was also part of those powerful forces.
Taoist Priest Qingxu remained silent, evidently Bai Xiaosheng's words have hit home.
If he looked at it from the perspective of a pure martial artist, Qingxu, standing at the pinnacle of martial arts, would naturally not care about these issues. He even wished for more and more talents to appear and explore the ultimate realm of martial arts with him.
But if viewed from the standpoint of the leader of Zhenwu Sect, after more than six hundred years of development, the Zhenwu Sect had transformed from being the persecuted to the beneficiaries of unwritten rules.
The dissemination of the Martial Classics and the increasing number of martial artists will inevitably affect the interests of the Zhenwu Sect and encroach on certain aspects they value.
Pei Xuanjing thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "So you mean the recent attack on the
Martial Academy was a joint effort by several forces, and even the Tartars were secretly supporting
In response to Pei Xuanjing's query, while Qingxu remained silent, Bai Xiaosheng simply laughed and said, "Who knows?"