Chapter 179: Blinded By Envy (1)
Two of the Nine Great Sects, the Mount Hua Sect and the Zhongnan Sect, were located in Shaanxi Province. Both had long histories and great influence over the local people.
However, the two sects were quite different. The Mount Hua Sect was, without question, a Taoist sect with ascetics as its core.
On the other hand, the Zhongnan Sect, while also a Taoist sect, more closely resembled a militia. One reason for this was the sect's proximity to the Shaanxi border, but the main reason was because the Zhongnan Sect had forged strong ties with the Imperial Army, with military garrisons sending their officers there for training.
The martial arts of orthodox Taoist sects, such as Mount Hua and Wudang, were profound and powerful but required a great deal of time to master. In contrast, despite its Taoist leanings, the Zhongnan Sect had many easily accessible martial arts.
Of course, these arts were incomplete, leaving their practitioners unable to reach higher realms. Nevertheless, the military favored them because they could be learned rapidly and put to practical use on the battlefield.
As such, the military provided the sect with significant financial support in exchange for martial arts training. However, this also caused the sect to come under military influence and become more secular than religious.
These differences are why the people of Shaanxi felt reverence for the Mount Hua Sect Taoists but familiarity with the Zhongnan Sect martial artists.
The current Sect Leader of the Zhongnan Sect was the Blue Crane Sage. He had risen to the position at a relatively young age and was regarded as someone who had led the sect without issue for several decades.
Currently, the Blue Crane Sage was stroking his long beard, which reached down to his chest, as he observed an injured middle-aged Taoist lying in the room. The elders who currently led the Zhongnan Sect stood in a circle around him.
The middle-aged Taoist was not a member of their sect. Several days ago, some of their martial artists had rescued him, and they had found a token symbolizing the Kunlun Sect on him. Although the Zhongnan Sect had no dealings with the Kunlun Sect, the injured man received the utmost care simply because he was a from there.
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