Chapter 504: 503
"You two joined forces and still didn’t have full confidence to eliminate that group of secular soldiers guarding outside?"
Hidden Sect, Ouyang He looked at Wang Chunyang and Helian Zhan with a solemn expression and asked.
After the two had left, everyone had been waiting here.
The others were very focused on the ’results of the tests’ performed by these two super-powerful practitioners of the Hidden Sect.
As everyone had imagined, both of them had returned unscathed.
Not only had they safely returned, but they had also brought back two members of the Military Department from the outside world.
Initially, everyone thought they had brought hostages.
Later, when it was known that these two were here to ’work,’ many cursed out loud, clamoring to kill them and throw their bodies out.
It was not easy to calm everyone’s emotions. Only then did several Divine Travel Realm elders gather around Helian Zhan and Wang Chunyang to inquire about their detailed experiences during the outing.
Helian Zhan slightly pondered with a frown and shook his head, "I don’t know."
Ouyang He was startled, "You don’t know?"
Helian Zhan gave a bitter smile and said, "We were confident about escaping back here, but to say we could defeat that troop, indeed, we weren’t sure."
Everyone was shocked, and many turned their gazes towards Wang Chunyang.
Wang Chunyang nodded solemnly and said, "Brother Helian is right, we were not sure if we could defeat that troop. The secular world has developed extremely powerful weapons, not only targeting the body but also capable of disrupting Divine Soul Thought Power, truly terrifying."
These words coming from Wang Chunyang, known as Sword Obsession, were clearly more convincing to the Hidden Sect practitioners than Mo Li and Chen Liangzhong.
Suddenly, countless people exclaimed in surprise, and their fear was clearly overflowing.
"What do we do now?"
"The secular world actually possesses such powerful weapons, are we not forced to tread cautiously now?"
"The emergence of Hot Weapons was already saddening for Martial Artists, and now they have even created special weapons that can disrupt Divine Soul Thought Power; it’s a calamity for us cultivators."
"Exactly, those weapons can be operated by anyone. As long as there are enough of them, we can’t compete."
"Even Divine Travel Realm powerhouses can’t compete, if we go out it’s like walking into a death trap."
"The times are changing!"
The voices of doom were endless.
Helian Zhan slightly furrowed his brows and said in a deep voice, "My friends, there’s no need to strengthen others’ spirits at the expense of our own prestige. Although the outside weapons are powerful and threaten our lives, if we all could go out, our threat to them would also be immense. If not for this, they would not have given us a chance to catch our breath but would have started a massive purge of the Hidden Sect already."
"Indeed, we shouldn’t worry too much. Even if Divine Continent Country has the power to suppress us, they won’t do it because they dare not truly destroy the Hidden Sect. Divine Continent and the Hidden Sect are interdependent; without the Hidden Sect World, Divine Continent Country also faces the risk of downfall," Wang Changchun said gravely.
"Are we really going to listen to them, from now on not allowing anyone to go out easily, and even if someone goes out, they have to submit an application to get registered?" someone asked doubtfully, his tone filled with deep reluctance.
"It seems we must," said Wang Chunyang gravely. "The outside world indeed possesses the power to contest with us, and since we can’t all break out at once, they’ve grasped our lifeline and forced us to compromise."
"Yes, none of the nine hundred million practitioners in the Hidden Sect can leave this place safely all at once; we can’t completely turn against them, or no one could bear the responsibility," Sect Master Zhang said with a heavy tone.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
These Divine Travel Realm powerhouses might be able to burst out, and even if the Hidden Sect collapsed, they might still have a certain chance of survival.
But what about the vast majority of the people in the Hidden Sect?
If the Hidden Sect World collapsed, those people would have only a dead end.
And those people are the dearest to these Divine Travel Realm powerhouses; who could truly give up on their loved ones and friends?
"Actually, putting aside our dissatisfaction and frustration, the conditions they proposed are not unreasonable. Back when the Taoist sects still existed, the Hidden Sect had made a pact with Divine Continent not to interfere with each other, and even when the outside world wasn’t facing a life-or-death crisis, the people of the Hidden Sect were not allowed to go out," Helian Zhan slowly said.
Wang Chunyang humphed, "That was us not going out on our own accord, self-restricting. Now it’s different, we are being imprisoned, forced to stay here."
"Exactly, it’s freaking suffocating," Wang Changchun humphed.
Zhuge Chengkun also expressed his dissatisfaction, "It’s like we are criminals, which is just too pathetic."
Dissatisfied voices kept coming.
But many people accepted the situation and comforted each other.
They felt that as long as the Hidden Sect World didn’t collapse, living here was not bad at all. In fact, they were free from the worldly constraints imposed by the outside.
"This matter is of great importance, no one can decide alone; therefore, Brother Chunyang and I came back to inform everyone, hoping that all Sects and aristocratic families in the Hidden Sect can gather together to discuss strategies," Helian Zhan said.
"The Ji Family and the Duanmu Family’s heads have not arrived yet, let’s wait for people from these two families before we discuss collectively," Zhuge Chengkun said.
Everyone nodded.
Ouyang He thought for a moment and said, "After those two families’ people arrive, give an initial response to the outside world first. But I think this matter needs further discussion among all forces together."
"Indeed, all we can make here is a temporary decision," Sect Master Zhang nodded and said.
Helian Zhan did not say much about this.
Although the representatives of the Eight Great Forces present here had some prestige, they were not necessarily able to represent their Sects to make the final statement; considering the gravity of the matter, it was normal to call a meeting later.
"For now, let’s just agree according to what that girl said," Wang Chunyang said.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
For the majority of Hidden Sect Practitioners, they had no intention of going out, nor did they want to display their prowess in the outside world, especially now that they had obtained the Taoist Cultivation Technique, they all wanted to return and study it deeply to pursue a higher Martial Arts Realm, which is the proper thing for a Martial Artist to do.
If they could break through their current Realm or even become stronger, the indignities suffered today would mean nothing, and they would eventually retrieve their dignity from the outside world.
The matter was settled then and there.
After the two accompanying members of the Military Department went out to report, Helian Zhan went out again, met Qin Yanyang, and on behalf of the Hidden Sect, accepted this ’humiliating’ demand.
A crisis that could have potentially sparked a war between two worlds was temporarily resolved.
The crowd gathered at the entrance of the Hidden Sect gradually dispersed.
They needed to hurry back to study the Taoist Cultivation Technique.
Ouyang He stood with Helian Rong and Helian Zhan among others. He looked at his disciple and smiled, "Girl, are you returning to Poison Sect with me, or are you going back to Central State City with your father?"
Helian Rong glanced at Helian Zhan and said, "Master, I will go back to Poison Sect with you."
Helian Zhan was prepared for this. The fact that Helian Rong had called him father this time was satisfaction enough; he understood that bonding between father and daughter wasn’t something that could be achieved overnight.
On the other hand, Wang Chunyang and Chen Liangzhong were about to leave with the Wang Family members, but Wang Changchun from Giant Sword Manor approached them.
"Brother Chunyang, wait a moment," Wang Changchun called out to Wang Chunyang.
Wang Chunyang bent down and said, "Is there something else, Master Wang?"
Wang Changchun said, "There is something I need to discuss with Brother Chunyang, to avoid harming our families’ good relations."
Upon hearing this, Wang Chunyang’s eyebrows raised slightly, and he gave a cold laugh, already guessing what Wang Changchun was about to say.
Sure enough, Wang Changchun said, "A month ago, my Giant Sword Manor was robbed, losing a secret manual. Our disciples have tracked the thief down, and it turns out that this thief was involved with a junior from your Wang Family. Over the past days, they have killed many of my Giant Sword Manor disciples."
"Oh?"
Feigning ignorance, Wang Chunyang asked, "Is Master Wang certain that this person is a disciple of my Langya Wang Family?"
"Exactly, this young man’s name is Wang Lei, and if I remember correctly, he should be your nephew, right?" Wang Changchun said with a smile.