Time waited for no one. In the blink of an eye, Zhang Tie had been in seclusion for over a month.
During this time, the Sect Black Posts the three major sects had issued against Zhang Tie continued to ferment. Mountain of Light was in an uproar, and discussion raged among the common people of Great Xia. Even the Censorate of Xuanyuan Hill issued fierce statements, accusing the three major sects of disregarding the greater good of the world for their own selfish interests, turning a blind eye to the crisis of the Holy War, and issuing Sect Black Posts against Thousand-Machine True Lord at such a time. They had become outright accomplices of the Devil Race—utterly disgraceful. Some especially vehement censors even stepped forward to demand that Crown Prince Changying issue an order to launch an expedition against the three major sects.
At this time, public opinion among the people of Great Xia, within knightly circles, and throughout officialdom was overwhelmingly in support of Zhang Tie. This placed the three major sects under immense pressure, condemned by a thousand men and cursed by ten thousand.
Over the same month, knights and prominent clans who came to Iron Dragon Sect in You Province to visit and voice their support for Zhang Tie arrived in an unbroken stream. Once they learned that Zhang Tie was in seclusion, they did not linger. Most said that they would go to the Nether Sea in the Gobi on January 29 next year to support Zhang Tie, then left behind gifts or contact information before departing.
In times of crisis, some would sit on the fence and follow the wind, looking down on Iron Dragon Sect's future. Yet there were also loyal men and righteous souls who admired Zhang Tie, as well as friends and