Seeing the look in Qi Yan's eyes, Jing Chuan smiled without saying anything and led him down another mountain path.
"The sect is so big that there are roads leading in every direction. Some routes to the towns start right on the various peaks. Head down the back of a mountain, and you'll reach such-and-such a city... and that city might well be managed by disciples from that peak, like each peak's own back garden." Leading the way, Jing Chuan said leisurely, "To be frank, Brother Qi, the town I'm taking you to now is managed by my family."
Qi Yan nodded without saying much.
He felt that Jing Chuan was deliberately trying to show him something, or, to put it plainly, reveal some of the political entanglements and conflicting interests within the Heavenly Evolution Sect.
Looking at it this way, wasn't this a bit like a feudal system of enfeoffed lords? At least somewhat close?
Not far beyond the mountain path lay a market town, bustling from its outskirts all the way to its center. This was a typical example of cultivation-driven prosperity supported by its location beneath the Heavenly Evolution Sect, more prosperous than any city Qi Yan had seen before.
Qi Yan looked around along the way, suddenly thinking that he had never heard of nations in this world. Every city lord was a cultivator who controlled the entire city through absolute power or the backing behind them. The cities clustered within the sphere of a central sacred land, which here was the Heavenly Evolution Sect.
In a sense, could Master be considered the king of this region stretching thousands of li? Though there wasn't such a clearly defined system.
By that reckoning, did that make me a prince? What a strange feeling.
But viewed this way, certain perspectives really did change... It seemed little different from what he had felt back on Tianliang Continent. Wherever there were people, there was a jianghu, and even fucking politics. There was nothing immortal about it.
Jing Chuan smiled. "Brother Qi, you should understand now that the interests you suddenly stirred up involve more than simply being a 'direct disciple of a prestigious sect,' right?"
"I understand a little more now," Qi Yan said. "Then, in terms of 'political views'... let's call them that for now, does anyone disagree with my master?"
"That's beyond my knowledge." Jing Chuan laughed and pointed to a shop beside them. "They'll definitely have Thunder-Water Metal here. Shall we get a drink at the restaurant next door afterward?"
"Sure." Qi Yan entered the shop and surveyed the dazzling array of materials around him. It seemed to specialize in materials. "By the way, Brother Jing, aside from treasures obtained from special secret realms, the ordinary materials produced in each region differ, don't they? So does each city handle its own trade, or does the sect handle it all centrally?"
"The sect has exchanges at the sect level. Each city, and even each family and shop, has its own exchanges too."
"Then... what about the individual peaks?"
Jing Chuan faltered, then smiled. "That's beyond my knowledge. In any case, our Wondrous Brush Peak doesn't, but my family does. How you view the finer distinctions there is up to you, Brother Qi."
Qi Yan asked, "Brother Jing, are you a direct disciple of Wondrous Brush Peak?"
"That's right. I haven't been a disciple long, either. I entered through the general assessment seven years ago. My master is the peak lord, so although I'm young and my cultivation is nothing special, my seniority is fairly high. You understand that better than anyone now, hahaha."
"No wonder." Qi Yan smiled too. He asked no more for the moment and simply bought a piece of Thunder-Water Metal from the shopkeeper.
It cost five low-grade spirit stones, completely exhausting the monthly allotment he had just received and the travel funds Luo Chaoge had given him earlier. All he had left was a cracked spirit stone seized from that unlucky fellow from the Extreme Dao Sect.
I almost couldn't afford it... Somehow, it felt like Jing Chuan beside me had far more money in his pocket than I did as his supposed "martial uncle"...
Jing Chuan had no idea he was so poor he was practically breaking into a cold sweat, and continued smiling beside him. "Sure enough, how could a direct disciple of the main peak lack money? The moment I saw you take that mission that day, I knew you weren't after the money at all. You must have had a purpose."
Qi Yan said, "Mm-hmm. Let's go eat instead..."
As they left through the doorway, they happened to see several nuns entering the shop.
Qi Yan had never seen nuns in this world before, and curiosity made him give them a few extra looks.
Then he spotted a pretty little nun with rosy lips, pearly teeth, and large eyes as clear as water.
Then they passed each other.
Even after leaving the shop, Qi Yan still instinctively turned to look. It was not any sordid thought; they were simply too rare a sight. Nuns were surprising enough, but one this pretty? He might as well have seen a ghost.
Jing Chuan beside him was turning his head too, clearly just as astonished.
Qi Yan nudged him and asked quietly, "Know them?"
"No. Around our Heavenly Evolution Sect, practically no one follows Buddhism. Even monks are rare. We only occasionally see a few wandering ones, never mind nuns... let alone such a pretty little nun. Does such a creature exist in this world?"
The two men exchanged a look of mutual appreciation, then simultaneously said in scorn, "She's a nun. What are you staring at?"
Silence hung in the air for a moment before both burst out laughing. Jing Chuan said, "Hey, I really didn't mean anything by it. It's just unusual."
Qi Yan understood perfectly, and the two entered the tavern together. There were no customers inside at the time. They picked a corner, sat down, and ordered a table of dishes, which soon arrived.
Only after pouring the wine did Qi Yan ask Jing Chuan quietly, "Since practically no one around here follows Buddhism, those nuns must be from elsewhere?"
"Definitely," Jing Chuan said. "Since they came to the materials shop, it's probably just what you were talking about earlier: people from other regions coming to buy goods."
"Can you tell which temple they're from?"
"How would I know? In any case, they're probably not from some major sect. If they were, they'd trade directly with the sect. Those who come to these town markets generally aren't all that high-level."
Qi Yan nodded. That reasoning was sound.
He had only been momentarily curious anyway. Going on and on about those nuns really would be rather sleazy, so he soon changed the subject. "Earlier, I asked whether anyone differed with my master in their 'political views,' and you said it was beyond your knowledge... but I think you sought me out today precisely to tell me about these things."
"I'm only a Foundation Establishment disciple. I truly don't know about matters among the higher-ups." Jing Chuan took a sip of wine and said leisurely, "I just can't stand those scum who slander others with rumors. Who do they think they are...?"
"So you know who started them?"
"Something like this is even harder to trace to its source... but..." Jing Chuan smiled. "You look thoughtful, Brother Qi. Have you thought of something yourself?"
Qi Yan sipped his wine, pondering in silence.
Only after draining his cup did he suddenly ask, "When the sect recruits disciples, aside from people like me who travel a long way on their own to seek a master, is recruitment restricted to its sphere of influence?"
"More or less." Jing Chuan smiled. "People elsewhere admire the Heavenly Evolution Sect and come here themselves to seek a master. That's perfectly natural; there's nothing to say about it. But if we actively reached into someone else's sphere of influence to recruit disciples, that would be digging up their roots. It could lead to a complete falling-out."
Qi Yan realized the problem.
"A sphere of influence spanning thousands of li" sounded vast, but in reality it was only equivalent to a medium-sized province in the modern world, and a relatively sparsely populated one at that. It would not have many people.
Cultivation demanded even more inborn talent, such as spiritual roots and comprehension, than modern education demanded aptitude for learning. On top of that, the Heavenly Evolution Sect imposed strict requirements on temperament and character. With a population base like this, there could not be many qualified disciples to recruit.
There were probably also frequent cases of promising seedlings being turned away for failing the test of character.
No wonder. In principle, with a general intake every ten years and no such thing as graduation, the sect should theoretically have accumulated plenty of people. Yet from what he had seen lately, there really were not that many. Even the supposedly "bustling" main square of the External Affairs Hall was nothing much. As the most important gathering place for outer disciples, it was not even packed with people, falling short of any ordinary shopping street in the modern world.
And that was only the outer sect. There were clearly even fewer talents who could enter the inner sect. No wonder every inner peak had extended an olive branch once someone with his mere mixed spiritual root displayed decent qualities. He had thought they were starving for recruits. It turned out they really were...
Then there were second-generation heirs like Jing Chuan, who also had to pass strict assessments through the general recruitment... Could relatives of people with real power have been kept outside?
Individual interests would be involved here, giving rise to different "political views," and it also fit the nature of this rumor perfectly.
-Even you, the sect master, are showing favoritism. What right do you have to hold everyone else to strict standards?
If differences in political views arose solely from this starting point, that might not be serious enough to count as being an insider traitor. But once outsiders exploited those disagreements, the possibility of turning into an insider traitor would become considerably greater.
The sect currently faced external threats. This was no time to look only at internal affairs.
Seeing him frown in thought, Jing Chuan felt somewhat astonished. "You... haven't really figured it out, have you?"
Whether he had or not, this was not the place to discuss it. Besides, Jing Chuan might not understand all that much himself. Qi Yan neither confirmed nor denied it, merely refilling both their cups and raising his in a toast. "Why are you giving me these pointers, Brother Jing?"
Jing Chuan blinked. "Because I was selected for the inner sect, and my seniority is high. Like you, I'm a beneficiary."
Qi Yan nearly spat out his wine and coughed for a long while before stopping.
"Just joking." Jing Chuan smiled. "Originally, I had no intention of speaking so deeply with someone I barely knew. For a mere Foundation Establishment disciple like me to discuss such matters would be overstepping, and might even arouse suspicion... At first, it really was just because you had high standing and I took a liking to you. I wanted to form a good connection, that's all. Whatever slipped through your fingers in the future would be enough to benefit me endlessly."
Qi Yan smiled. "Then why did you suddenly lay your heart bare?"
"Because you called me Brother Jing..." Jing Chuan drained his cup. "The immortal path, the immortal path... yet all I see are rules of seniority and propriety, rankings of strength, hierarchy everywhere, as though I'm trapped in a cage. A martial uncle is willing to call me brother, talk about pretty little nuns with me, drink with me... even if I really did have to give up my life, it would be nothing."
Although there had been no one else in the tavern, the two had still known to keep their conversation low. But a bold spirit rose in those last few sentences, and Jing Chuan unconsciously raised his voice considerably.
As a result, that group of nuns happened to enter just then. Hearing the last two sentences, every one of them shot hostile looks their way.
The pretty little nun's face flushed crimson with anger.
Jing Chuan: "..."
The nun at the head of the group sneered. "Upending propriety, frivolous and dissolute. So this is all the Heavenly Evolution Sect's younger generation amounts to."
"Ha... my brother was speaking under the influence. Why make such a grave issue of it, Reverend?" Qi Yan took out his last cracked spirit stone and slapped it onto the table. "Shopkeeper, the bill. Those reverends' food and drink are on me."
With that, he pulled Jing Chuan away and beat a retreat. "No wrath, no anger. Little nun, you still have cultivation to do."