The great battle had cost the Emei Sect dearly, but its strategic objective had been achieved.
Deng Yin's vitality had been gravely depleted, and he returned to Western Kunlun to cultivate. He would be unable to emerge and wreak havoc on the world for some time, which also removed the threat Chan Master Xiaoyue posed to the Emei Sect.
Qi Shouming called everyone together for another meeting to discuss what to do about the Emei Sect outside.
Chan Master Xiaoyue and his two disciples, Zhu Hong and Lu Qing, naturally had to be driven away. The question was what to do with the ordinary martial-world swordsmen who remained.
Many of these people had climbed the mountain to seek a master because they yearned for the path of a Sword Immortal, and considered themselves members of the Emei Sect.
Now they would have to go out and tell these people, "The masters you acknowledged were all impostors, a pack of frauds. The real Emei Sect won't accept you. Hurry up and go back where you came from."
That would do far too much damage to the Emei Sect's good name.
Yet if they simply left them alone, these people would continue acting under the Emei Sect's banner. If they committed evil deeds, everyone would curse the Emei Sect. That was plainly unacceptable too.
After discussing it back and forth, everyone agreed that they should choose the lesser of two evils: tell them the truth outright and drive them all down the mountain.
Shi Feiyang spoke up then, suggesting that they take them in instead.
The others thought this inappropriate. "Those martial-world adventurers are a mixed bag of good and bad, fish and dragons jumbled together. Some have good innate potential, others poor; some are virtuous, others wicked. But almost none qualify