One point had to be emphasized: True Immortal Beihai was no sword cultivator with an undeserved reputation. He was an elder of the Art Academy!
The Art Academy did not refer only to spells. Formations were also arts—formation arts! The sword path was likewise an art—sword arts!
The reason they called it sword arts rather than the sword path was that the people of the Art Academy considered themselves biased as well: first seek the art, then seek the Dao.
Devote oneself utterly to the art, and when the time came, one's Dao would naturally reveal itself. It was a cultivation philosophy that did not force a butterfly to break free from its cocoon, but instead pursued the natural course of the Dao.
There was no need to say more. Elder Beihai's sword arts were unmatched within the Art Academy and could basically be considered unrivaled throughout Cangwu.
However, his being unrivaled might be open to dispute. It was unlike Jiang Hui's Art of Sound Assassination, which was universally acknowledged as the finest in this realm.
Even so, there was no doubt that his attainments in the sword path surpassed Jade Forest Matron's.
Yet that was precisely where the trap lay. His sword arts might be formidable, but when it came to discussing the sword, he could not outargue her.
Jade Forest was a master of the Book Pavilion, and she was exceptionally skilled with words—she had never traded barbs with Qu Jianlei, but that did not mean she was lacking in that regard.
Her attainments in sword arts were indeed somewhat inferior, but that likewise did not mean her understanding was insufficient.
Jade Forest Matron only discussed the sword with True Immortal Beihai; she did not cross swords with him—she knew she could not match him in an actual