Chapter 281: 273 Advancement

Jichun City.

In a superior room at an inn, a fastidiously dressed young girl asked in confusion: "At a time like this, Jichun City is still holding an auction? Who is hosting it? What are they auctioning?"

Another youth, dressed similarly to her, said: "It's news spreading through the underground, a venue run by the Lost Soul, saying they are auctioning invitations to the Sword Casting Conference."

The girl shook her head and said: "The Sword Casting Conference is only four or five days away, right before our eyes, so why auction invitations? The Lost Soul has already conducted two rounds of invitation sales; any spots that could be sold have long since been sold out. What kind of invitations are they selling now? Aren't there no more guides left to receive people with invitations?"

The youth said: "Exactly! That's why I say the direction of this Sword Casting Conference is getting stranger and stranger. It's practically teeming with monsters. Do you know what the most widespread rumor in the market is lately?"

The girl rolled her eyes at him and said: "How would I know? I'm not like you, not exploring the city properly and only burrowing into the Di Ku. We are dignified Junior Inspectors of the Profound Water Inspectorate, walking in Yunzhou on behalf of the Chief Inspector; we only need to wait for the time to come to walk up the mountain grandly to attend the conference and complete our mission. Why bother with what those miscellaneous people are thinking?"

The youth, however, was not as arrogant as the girl; instead, he said gravely: "It's not that I'm meddling, but I feel the atmosphere here is wrong. The atmosphere in Jichun City is wrong. Originally, after the instigation of several tasks by the Lost Soul, this place was already like heated water—though not yet boiling, it was bubbling away, just waiting to boil over. Yet, every now and then, this or that piece of news comes out to stir the flames, adding oil to the situation; it's as if it were meticulously designed. I feel there is something fishy here, and I can't help but pay more attention."

Hearing this, the girl couldn't help but look solemn and said: "You're right. We came out this time without a senior inspector leading the team; this is our first time handling matters independently, and we've encountered such a complex situation—we must be careful, right? So, what rumors have you heard?"

The youth said: "I heard from those people in the underground that Zhuoyu Villa discovered it had fallen into an ambush on all sides, and it is now completely terrified and cowardly, not daring to act tough anymore, so it thought of a way to neutralize this malice."

The girl said: "At a time when they are being oppressed to the point of having it over their heads, what other way could they think of?"

The youth said: "It is said that Zhuoyu Villa intends to find a Sword Guest for the newly cast sword at the Sword Casting Conference. Using an open method to ensure fairness. When the time comes, as long as the casting is successful, every Martial Artist and Talisman Sword Master present can go up and test that new sword; as long as the match is successful, they can become the Sword Guest on the spot."

The girl gasped: "They are crazy. How could a sword cast with such painstaking effort be given away so casually? No, are those martial arts practitioners stupid to actually believe such an absurd rumor?"

The youth said: "Although it sounds absurd at first, if you think about it carefully, it's not that absurd—this is choosing the lesser of two evils. If they do nothing and Zhuoyu Villa is breached, the sword won't be cast at all, so it wouldn't matter if they lost it or not. Choosing a Sword Guest on the spot is a way to turn the tide; at the very least, those Martial Artists have this glimmer of hope, so they will naturally look forward to the sword being successfully cast. Whoever sabotages the casting will be their public enemy. In this way, they pull a portion of the enemies to their side. Although they will lose a sword in the end, they can gain the fame of a Sword Smith, and choosing a Sword Guest on the spot is not a bad story to tell. The future benefits will naturally be greater. This can be considered a brilliant strategy of driving the wolf to devour the tiger."

The girl nodded slowly, then slowly shook her head, saying: "This is indeed a clever strategy for survival in a desperate situation, but I always feel it won't stop there. Although the offensive against Zhuoyu Villa is wave after wave, I always feel that they have remained at ease, not panicked, and even vaguely in control of the overall situation. They wouldn't need to use such a 'kill a thousand enemies, lose five hundred of your own' tactic."

The youth, however, disagreed. In Jichun City, he only saw Zhuoyu Villa surrounded by enemies on all sides; when did he ever see Zhuoyu Villa at ease? These past few days, they have been passively taking hits without any counterattack, right? In such a situation, the girl could actually perceive out of thin air that Zhuoyu Villa had the overall situation in hand—could this be 'a woman's intuition'?"

The youth didn't delve into it with her and said: "Anyway, after learning of this, those Martial Artists went crazy. Those who were originally watching the fun aren't watching anymore; they all intend to go to the auction to grab this last chance. The time is set for three days from now. If, as you say, this is a rumor, then the person who released the rumor must be planning to stir up trouble at the auction. Do you think we should go watch the fun?"

The girl hesitated for a moment and said: "Forget it. Time is too tight, and we have official business. Jichun City is just like this; it's not worth staying longer. Let's go up the mountain tomorrow. Although we don't have an invitation, who would stop us given our status if we go up the mountain openly? Compared to any 'driving the wolf to devour the tiger,' our protection under the banner of righteousness is exactly what they are dying for."

Rumors are everywhere—some are at the foot of the mountain, some are on the mountain, some are absurd, while others are indistinguishable between true and false.

Even if it sounds so shocking, it is still something that could have happened.

"Did you really find it?"

"Found it, I found the Sword Furnace!"

In the Reception Hall in the afternoon, several people were whispering.

Although it was a whisper, because it was a private room, they didn't keep their voices down much; at least the five or six old men with white hair and beards in the room heard it clearly, and then each harbored their own thoughts.

After a while, the oldest one at the head of the table said: "Brother Lu, it's not that I don't believe you, but how did you confirm that it is the Sword Furnace? Everyone is looking for the Sword Furnace, and you don't have any extraordinary means, so how did you manage to find it?"

The old man who spoke with finality slapped the table and said: "Big Brother, how many years have we been brothers? How can you not trust me? Although I, Lu Bao, don't have much ability and have lived in vain for so many years, I know the principle that the clumsy bird flies first. You all just analyze back and forth, but I am diligent with my legs. Since coming here five or six days ago, I have run to every place every day, running through every place I could reach. For example, you all just think this lake is boundless, but I know it has an end. Yesterday, I drifted on the water in a boat for a whole day, drifting towards the east, and suddenly I felt the boat couldn't move forward, as if it had hit an invisible wall. I went to touch it, and guess what? There really was a wall like wind. I pushed hard, and although I couldn't push it, I smelled a trace of a burning scent. It wasn't the kind of temperature that was high to a certain degree, but it couldn't have that smell of even the wind being ignited. I knew I had found the right place. Behind that is definitely the Sword Furnace!"

He spoke in detail, and the other old men looked at each other, all feeling a bit tempted. The leading old man said: "Although Brother Lu is usually impatient, he is bold and careful. What do you all think?"

The crowd said one after another: "Listen to Big Brother."

"Whatever Big Brother Chang says, we will do."

"Big Brother Chang is a Martial Venerable; if you don't take the lead, who will?"

"Exactly, Big Brother Chang leads us to make trouble and destroy the Sword Furnace; wouldn't Xue Xianyun cry himself to death? Our grudge of so many years can be considered avenged."

The leading old man pressed his hand down and said: "Don't be impatient. Although we are determined to destroy the Sword Furnace and have obtained a clue, we still lack a powerful figure. You must know that Xue Xianyun's martial arts skills are stronger than mine, stronger than all of us. If he weren't better than us, we would have beaten him to death back then. Now he still has disciples by his side, and his two disciples are also very famous; it is said that one is a young genius with strong martial arts, which makes him like a tiger with wings. Plus, he must have set up countless traps around the Sword Furnace; the result of us few going up there is not very optimistic."

The crowd nodded, and someone said: "Call more people? Anyway, there are quite a few people here who share our hatred; as long as the Sword Furnace is destroyed, more than half of the people will be satisfied."

The old man said: "Numbers are useless; we need someone who can hold the front, someone who can attack and break through."

Suddenly, someone clapped their hands and said: "Got it, I have a candidate!"

"Oh..." The young man known as 'Young Master Guang' pondered silently, smiled slightly under the expectant gazes of the crowd, and said: "I'm not interested."

The crowd was stunned, and the leading Old Man Chang said with a fawning smile: "Young Master Guang, I know you are an expert from Yuanji Palace, not like us who use unscrupulous means, and you don't have petty grievances with the old thing surnamed Xue. But this is a good opportunity; you have always wanted to find someone from Zhuoyu Villa to ask questions, but they have been fobbing you off, and Xue Xianyun is also hiding and refusing to see you. Why don't we go attack the Sword Furnace together? Once the Sword Furnace is broken, Xue Xianyun will inevitably be distraught and will answer whatever you ask. Why worry about not succeeding?"

Young Master Guang smiled slightly: "That makes sense, however... I must refuse."

The crowd was rebuffed, but because the other party had a noble status and they were all from small sects, they didn't dare to be rude and could only retreat in frustration.

Young Master Guang said: "Let me remind you, you are not the only ones who have found hidden locations these days. Yesterday, someone told me that he discovered a forbidden place on the west side of the valley and asked me to go with him. I also refused."

The west side?

The crowd looked at Lu Bao all at once.

Lu Bao shouted: "The east side, it is definitely the east side, I dare to swear to heaven. The Sword Furnace is on the east side!"

The crowd was full of chaos, but seeing that they couldn't move Young Master Guang, they could only leave in frustration.

Walking out of the Reception Hall, they saw an old woman standing outside, her hair gray but still elegant, smiling at them:

"I just heard that you found the Sword Furnace and are looking for teammates. This old woman is very interested and is willing to join you, how about it?"

"All routes are going smoothly, yes, it's fine. Don't worry, I'm here."

A young man sat half-way on the gunwale of a small boat, speaking with his head slightly tilted.

He was clearly having a conversation, but there was no one around, as if he were talking to the wind.

"Yes, there are restless people. There were some yesterday, too."

Every time he said a sentence, there was a pause, as if he were waiting for someone else to answer.

"You've really grown up now, and you still need to remind me, Chief Xing, to commit fewer killings? Just focus on casting your sword."

"The operation over there is set for..."

He stopped abruptly when he said this, his eyes widening as if he had seen something incredible.

"Someone is coming, let's leave it at that. I'm hanging up."

He stopped talking and sat up straight.