However, as the master of a sect, no matter how shocked the Sword Emperor was by the technology contained in this magical treasure, his perspective on the issue was fundamentally different from the others. His eyes flickered slightly as he asked directly, "Since your noble sect has been secluded from the world for so long... why emerge today?"
"..." Shen Yun froze for a moment. He hadn't expected the other party to get straight to the point like this. Fortunately, he was well prepared.
"The Sword Pavilion has also been passed down from Ancient Times. Look at the present day compared to those Ancient Times—what difference is there?" Shen Yun asked, maintaining his unhurried tone.
"Today, the Heavenly Dao is increasingly obscure. For people like us, once we reach this realm, we can't advance another inch." The Sword Emperor voiced the grim reality that everyone present understood. This was also the deepest obsession in his heart. Although he was still very young for a Grandmaster, it had been over a hundred years! To remain stuck in the exact same bottleneck for over a century was almost unbearable for a genius like him.
"Correct. But Sword Emperor, have you ever thought about the reason?" Shen Yun continued his step-by-step inquiry.
"The reason?" The Sword Emperor was stunned. Hadn't he just stated the reason? The Heavenly Dao was becoming increasingly obscure. This was the current consensus of the entire Cultivation Realm.
"It seems that all of you in the outside world believe there is a problem with the Heavenly Dao." Shen Yun's voice carried a hint of a sigh. "However, according to the Secret Techniques of my Jiuzhou Sect, today's Heavenly Dao is not significantly different from that of Ancient Times."
"How is that possible?" The Sword Emperor shot up from his seat, his fierce eyes wide as he squeezed the words through his teeth. "I became a top-tier Grandmaster at one hundred and fifty years old. Compared to the ancient predecessors of the Sword Pavilion, I am not inferior. Yet, most of those predecessors were able to break through the Grandmaster realm by the age of two hundred, while I am still trapped in this realm to this day. If this isn't a problem with the Heavenly Dao, could it possibly be my own problem?"
The surrounding disciples fell dead silent. Their master had grown increasingly depressed over the past century. Everyone knew the reason—despite being an absolute genius, he had been born in the wrong era and was forced to experience the torment of being unable to advance a single step.
"Naturally, it isn't your problem, Sword Emperor," Shen Yun said, his pace still steady. "But let me ask you this—did the predecessors of your Sword Pavilion have trailblazers to guide them back then?"
"They did!" The Sword Emperor sneered. "But doesn't that exactly prove that the Heavenly Dao is different now? Otherwise, how could my Sword Pavilion not have produced a single Void God in two thousand years?"
Void God! This was the first time Shen Yun had heard the name of the realm above Grandmaster, or rather, the Golden Core stage.
"Let me ask you again," Shen Yun continued, suppressing his racing thoughts. "Did the predecessors of your Sword Pavilion have companions of the same realm walking alongside them?"
"They did! That's why I said the Heavenly Dao..."
"How many disciples did your Sword Pavilion have during Ancient Times?" Shen Yun bluntly interrupted.
"Isn't that still because of the Heavenly Dao..."
"Then how many mortals did Sword City have during Ancient Times?" Shen Yun finally steered the conversation to the core issue, his voice laced with a touch of sarcasm. "The population of mortals has decreased drastically. Is that also related to the Heavenly Dao?"
According to the historical records of this world, many events from Ancient Times had been lost to time. Only a few massive wars were universally known, passed down as legends to the present day. Following those, the number of mortals had decreased time and time again. Yet, few cultivators cared about this statistic, because in their eyes, there was no difference between tens of millions of mortals and hundreds of millions of mortals. They were all just countless ants.
"..." This time, the Sword Emperor didn't use the Heavenly Dao as an excuse.
During Ancient Times, there was no such thing as Sword City. The elders, who were Sword Cultivators of the sect, would travel the world and bring back excellent seedlings whenever they found them. However, the disciples of that era were indeed vastly superior to those of the present, both in numbers and talent.
"If my Jiuzhou Sect didn't step out of seclusion now, I'm afraid this world would soon be completely destroyed by the hands of people like you." It was Shen Yun's turn to sneer. "It is laughable that the Cyan Emperor, standing at the absolute pinnacle of cultivation in this world, would slaughter commoners so ruthlessly. How do you know there weren't extraordinarily talented individuals among those who died by his hand? If things continue this way and no talented individuals emerge, I see all of you ending up with your inheritances completely severed!"
These words were entirely merciless. Yet, the several people present remained completely silent.
The Sword Emperor slowly sat back in his seat. It wasn't that he hadn't noticed the declining number of disciples. That was exactly why he encouraged his subordinates, especially the Grandmasters under his wing, to take more wives and concubines. The higher a cultivator's cultivation base, the greater the probability their descendants could cultivate. However...
"According to the view of your Jiuzhou Sect, the decline of our generation is actually due to the weakness of mortals?" The Sword Emperor shook his head, still finding it somewhat unbelievable.
Mortals were incomparably fragile. In the cultivators' eyes, they were merely existences meant to be ordered around. Only those who possessed a natural talent for cultivation would be regarded highly, brought back to the sect, and thus shed their mortal bodies forever.
"According to the secret heritage of my Jiuzhou Sect, in this world, one out of every thousand mortals is capable of cultivating." Shen Yun's tone returned to its initial calm. "If the number of mortals were to increase tenfold, the number of cultivators would also increase tenfold. From that vast pool, it wouldn't be impossible for several more top-tier Grandmaster Sword Cultivators to emerge."
"..." The Sword Emperor's eyes lit up slightly.
On the path of cultivation, having fellow travelers was incredibly important. The primary reason he was able to break through to Grandmaster back then was precisely because his master had spent day and night recounting his Heavenly Dao Insights and answering his questions.
"If it is truly as you say..." The Sword Emperor suppressed the sudden surge of excitement in his chest. "A mortal family can have one child a year, doubling their numbers in ten years. In another two hundred years, it would lead to a great prosperity of the Heavenly Dao..."
He was only a little over two hundred years old this year. Waiting another two centuries wouldn't be too late.
"PFFT, HAHAHAHA!" Shen Yun couldn't hold it back and simply burst into loud laughter. Even Wei Er was fighting back a smile. On the contrary, the several Grandmasters across from them exchanged bewildered glances, completely clueless as to what this top-tier Grandmaster of the Jiuzhou Sect was laughing about.
"The Sword Emperor truly is out of touch with the mundane world," Shen Yun said, finally reigning in his laughter after a long time. "You can go take a look at the mortal realm. Even if a mortal family has six or seven children, managing to successfully raise one or two is already a rare feat. Add to that birth, old age, sickness, death, natural disasters, and man-made calamities... If it were that easy, why would my Jiuzhou Sect ever need to step out of seclusion?"
"Does the Thunder Emperor mean..." The Sword Emperor wasn't angry; instead, his interest was further piqued. "Your Jiuzhou Sect can increase the number of mortals?"
"If not, why would we support the Seventeenth Imperial Princess? Hmph, for this world to have fallen to this state, the empire bears at least half the responsibility. The other half..." Shen Yun's tone carried a chilling, murderous intent, "...lies squarely on the shoulders of cultivators like the Cyan Emperor."
According to the established worldview of this world, their Hua Xia was actually not in the right regarding the matter of the Cyan Emperor. It was true. In the eyes of the world, including these cultivators, the Jiuzhou Sect—which had brutally killed his Grandmasters over a mere disagreement—was the unreasonable party. But...
Shen Yun ruthlessly pinned the blame for the Cultivation Realm's decline entirely onto the Cyan Emperor. In an instant, their Jiuzhou Sect transformed into the righteous faction attempting to save the world from imminent ruin.
The benefits of standing on the absolute moral high ground were simply endless. They were going to completely reshape the worldview of this realm's cultivators!
The Sword Emperor and the Grandmasters in front of him finally saw the light. No wonder the Jiuzhou Sect emerged with such an overwhelming murderous aura, locking their sights entirely on the Cyan Cloud Pavilion and beating them down so mercilessly.