Lately, especially after the Hangzhou Prefecture incident—the Sun Moon Holy Cult's Eastern Invincible had raised an army in rebellion that day—the once-bustling martial world had suddenly grown quiet and deserted.
The most conspicuous were the great orthodox sects. After receiving Yue Buqun's order as "Martial Alliance Leader" that day, they had hurried back to their respective sects, shut their mountain gates, and disciplined their disciples. One after another, they had all adopted a united policy of refusing visitors, no longer daring to roam the martial world as they pleased.
Before, they had all been eager to travel the martial world, making a great show of themselves and singing one another's praises to boost their reputations and renown. Now, they were desperate to make their sects as inconspicuous as possible, hoping to avoid incurring the court's wrath.
Yes, that was exactly what they feared!
After all, none of the great sect leaders were fools. Most had attended the Martial Arts Assembly, so they knew better than anyone what the Sun Moon Holy Cult's actions—and Eastern Invincible's—portended!
At this point, they were not merely shutting their gates. They practically wished they could crawl into a crack in the ground and bury themselves, so the court would not notice them.
Before long, however, the consequences of the great sects shutting themselves away began to emerge. Information no longer flowed freely: they could not learn what was happening in the martial world, including the rebellion by the demonic cult in Hangzhou Prefecture!
The main reason was that the Martial World Rumor Monthly had ceased publication!
That was right!
The "Martial World's Hundred-Knowledge Scholar" organization had, for reasons unknown, vanished overnight. Just as suddenly as it had appeared, it disappeared without a sound?
No one knew what had happened, and no one could ask around.