Over the next few days, the Huashan party's journey south went smoothly. They ran into no trouble, and no petty thieves or corrupt government officials dared to make things difficult for them.
After all, to ordinary people and Ming officials alike, martial artists were a band of desperadoes who killed without batting an eye. Besides, the party had three carriages, more than a dozen horses, and at least twenty or thirty people. No one was about to risk their life for nothing.
As for people from the martial world, there was even less to say!
Ordinary people might not recognize the Huashan Sect, but most seasoned martial artists could spot its clothing and telltale insignia from far away. Once they realized the party belonged to Huashan, they were even less inclined to provoke them.
Everyone knew that, these days, if any sect in the martial world was making the biggest splash and wielding the most influence, Huashan ranked second to none.
As everyone knew, Huashan had fallen into decline after the "Sword and Qi" dispute—in other words, an internal feud. It had gone from the foremost of the Five Mountains Sword Sects to a second-rate sect, with barely a handful of people left. Only "Gentleman Sword" Yue Buqun remained to keep up appearances; the sect was practically on the verge of declaring itself defunct.
But who could have guessed that Huashan would suddenly rise to prominence three months ago?
First, the "Two Heroes of Northern Ji" died trying to rob them. Then the open sale of the Evil-Warding Sword Manual in Fuzhou threw the martial world into turmoil, a disturbance that had yet to settle. After that, "Twin Swords, Startling the Swan" Yue Lingshan and "White Cloud Swordsman" Lu Dayou made their names in a single battle. Many had witnessed