"I hope so," Qing Feng replied.
A year passed in a hurry.
This year was calm and uneventful until one night, the Law Enforcement Hall's Mystic Realm suddenly collapsed due to a conflict between Disciples and the Bi An Squad, causing a large number of demon beasts to pour out and putting Beast Taming Sect Disciples in crisis.
At this moment, the sound of an erhu came from Heaven Sword Peak.
Beast Taming Sect Sect Leader Mu Zhengting, dressed in blue, was playing the erhu with a sorrowful expression.
"Master, this is bad! The conflict in the Mystic Realm is getting out of hand. The Law Enforcement Hall is blaming the Bi An Squad, and the Bi An Squad is blaming the Law Enforcement Hall. They started fighting at the slightest disagreement, and eventually even the Elders got involved."
Han Su Fairy descended hastily on her flying sword, her face full of anxiety.
Mu Zhengting continued to play the erhu, looking down, and said indifferently, "Let them fight. No matter who dies, I'll be more at ease."
"Master, don't be as indifferent as Wuming. We need to find a way to resolve the current situation," Han Su Fairy said urgently.
"What do you mean, learning from Wuming? It was Qing Feng who created Wuming based on me, didn't you see his surname is Mu? Besides, if you don't let me play the erhu now, when those troublemakers come knocking in the afternoon, I'll have even less time to play."
Mu Zhengting looked up and glanced at his Disciple, then continued to focus on playing the erhu.
Ever since Zhang Guohua offered his life as a counsel, troubles had been continuous.
The tragedy at the Hero's Memorial infuriated him, and several culprits had their cultivation crippled and were thrown into the Cold Pond to freeze to death.
The Xuan Ming Lineage was also punished, with their resources cut by half for ten years.
The severity of the punishment was undeniable, but the problems did not stop there.
Although the case had been handled and those who deserved punishment were punished, the controversy escalated, and people began to question the Sect's law enforcement structure. Faced with these questions, Mu Zhengting angrily asked: Can delayed justice revive the dead?
Listing all the unfair actions of the Han Ming Peak during its tenure in the Law Enforcement Hall certainly sounded shocking, but with laws that have governed the Sect for thousands of years and experienced countless cases, mistakes are bound to happen.
If there are mistakes, they should be corrected. Why escalate it to the point of replacing the Peak Lord or even having each Peak have its own Law Enforcement Hall?
It was hard enough to establish the Bi An Squad to appease public anger, but the turmoil continued for over a year.
Some descendants of the martyrs believed they were eliminating evil and promoting good, constantly challenging the authority of the Law Enforcement Hall.
The Han Ming Lineage also showed no weakness; except for Xuan Ming Peak, everyone else felt they were not at fault.
Coupled with someone secretly sowing discord, conflict was almost inevitable.
In this year, he encountered more troubles than in the past hundred years combined. Unexpectedly, he even learned to play the erhu because of it.
After a year, apart from his erhu skills improving day by day, there seemed to be no significant progress in other areas.
"Now you don't even have time to play the erhu," a voice came from the horizon, and two streaks of sword light flashed, revealing two figures.
The one on the left was dressed in purple, with a cinnabar mole between her brows, possessing a gentle and extraordinary temperament, like an Immortal Maiden; the one on the right was as cold and stern as an iceberg, making it difficult to look directly at him.
These two were Dao Lord Zisu, Chief of the Zhijian Lineage, and Yuan Qing True Lord, Chief of the Han Ming Lineage, respectively.
"Yes, I don't have time, but you are the idlest," Mu Zhengting complained, looking at Dao Lord Zisu.
Although he was the Sect Leader, the one with the highest cultivation was the hands-off Dao Lord Zisu.
Because the Zhijian Lineage focused solely on sword cultivation, representing the Sect's highest combat power, even the Grand Elders of other lineages would go to Zhijian Peak for secluded cultivation.
"No, if this continues, even the Disciples of my Zhijian Peak will start causing trouble. Don't forget, we have the most orphans of martyrs here," Dao Lord Zisu said.
The cultivation of Zhijian Peak was the purest; they only had the sword in their hearts. They wielded righteous swords, protected the righteous path, and defended the common people, which also led to a high mortality rate, leaving many orphans to cultivate there.
These children without parents were more likely to devote themselves wholeheartedly to cultivation, so Zhijian Peak would specifically recruit those orphans of martyrs.
"It's your Xuan Wudi from Zhijian Peak who causes the most trouble," Mu Zhengting said discontentedly.
Xuan Wudi was a hothead obsessed with swords, keen on righting wrongs, and always being used.
However, it was this pure temperament that allowed him to cultivate at an astonishing speed, reaching the ninth layer of the Cavern Profound Realm, and even being able to contend with experts in the Void Return Realm.
This gave Mu Zhengting a headache.
"I already disciplined him before I left; he'll have to lie in bed for half a year, so you don't have to worry for now," Dao Lord Zisu said lightly.
Han Su Fairy, who was beside her, couldn't help but glance sideways upon hearing this, suddenly remembering Qing Feng's words.
When facing a problem, is it not about solving the problem, but solving the person who raises the problem?
"Alright, let's discuss the current situation. At the latest by afternoon, conflicts will arise again between several Peaks, especially the Dragon Yang and Purple Rock Lineages.
Purple Rock's side is fine; Yuan Feng is a gentleman. Although he might cause some trouble, these issues can eventually be quelled.
Wei Yun is different; although his cultivation method is powerful, he often operates on the edge of Sect rules.
He must have been involved in this incident. Yuan Qing, can you find out who was behind the damage to the Mystic Realm?" Mu Zhengting asked.
"This matter is related to the Dragon Yang Lineage. It was initially triggered by a descendant of a martyr from the Dragon Yang Lineage, but he was just the fuse. In the end, almost everyone was involved, making it difficult to trace the root cause," Yuan Qing True Lord replied.
At a specific time and place, a single sentence could ignite a war.
Further investigation is not possible.
"Then we'll use him to establish our authority," Mu Zhengting said.
"If so, we'll also have to arrest Baili Feng, Dao Lord Zisu's junior Disciple from Zhijian Peak.
Because after the Disciple from the Dragon Yang Lineage fell, Baili Feng was the most aggressive, directly drawing his sword, which led to the bloody conflict," Yuan Qing True Lord added.
This is the most troublesome part; every time trouble erupts, a group of people are involved, and if investigated closely, even the originally neutral Peak Lords will be pushed to the brink.
Beast Taming Sect values swords; their sharpness must not be dulled, otherwise the sword will no longer be sharp.
For some private duels, as long as no one dies or is permanently crippled, Beast Taming Sect usually condones them.
Minor punishment, they admit their mistakes now; major punishment, however, might damage the Beast Taming Sect's ethos.
"When I go back, I'll send him to the Mystic Realm for some tempering," Dao Lord Zisu said.
"This only temporarily solves the problem; it doesn't address the root cause. You should properly restrain your Disciples from the Zhijian Lineage," Mu Zhengting replied.
"I've tried my best to restrain them, but if they don't obey, there's nothing I can do. The Zhijian Lineage only believes in the sword and the Dao in their hearts; they would rather break than bend.
They are already prepared when they go out, even prepared to accept my punishment, otherwise they cannot cultivate the sword," Dao Lord Zisu explained.
Mu Zhengting's face darkened. It's people like you who are most likely to instigate disputes.
"So, in summary, there might have been a problem with personnel selection, and whether the Zhijian Lineage is suitable to be the main members of the Bi An Squad is debatable," Yuan Qing True Lord pointed out.