Qingzhuan’s worries have their origins.

A public letter from Marquis Wu’an of Daqi stirred a commotion across the land.

The reactions varied from place to place.

Although Chu and Mu voiced their stance, and the Triple Punishment Palace and Sword Pavilion made statements, not all places gave face to Jiang Wang.

Take the Mirror World Platform of Jinguo, which, though unique to Jing Country, due to Jing Country’s special status and the influence of the Central Empire, usually undertakes the duty of monitoring the world’s affairs. They often invoke the Ancient Demon Slaying Alliance to eliminate foreign enemies and slay demonic beings.

But regarding the Church of Lifeless matter, it remained silent.

Even when Jiang Wang’s public letter was delivered to their doorstep, and evidence of the Church of Lifeless practicing evil methods was sent to their hands, this oversight organization still maintained silence.

The claim was that the Mirror World Platform could not act rashly, and that the nature of the Church of Lifeless and Zhang Linchuan’s specific details needed time to verify...

Of course, astute observers understood that the issue reflected more of Jinguo’s dissatisfaction towards Qi Country, with the Mirror World Platform intentionally ignoring the people of Qi. As part of Jinguo, the Mirror World Platform was unwilling to give Marquis Wu’an of Qi Country greater momentum.

If a letter from a military meritorious Marquis from Qi Country arrives and my Mirror World Platform immediately responds, then whose world does it become?

The Mirror World Platform did not speak up, and so naturally, regions under Jing Country’s influence, as well as Daoist countries across the world, also remained silent.

Though external politics was thus, internally within Qi, it was not monolithic either, nor spoke with one voice.

While evildoers and cultists are to be slain by everyone, it’s not so simple to push this matter with the power of Qi Country. Sometimes politics transcends itself beyond mere positions.

The Mirror World Platform does not wish for Jiang Wang to lead this matter with greater momentum.

Do everyone within Qi Country truly wish Jiang Wang well?

Though with the political status of the Marquis of Bowang and Marquis Wu’an now, implementing a decree against a particular cult within Qi Country is not impossible.

But in terms of efficiency, it won’t be fast.

They are not the Duke Huai of thousand-year aristocratic family, nor the Da Mu Imperial Princess deeply favored by the Empress.

And to completely annihilate the Church of Lifeless, speed is paramount.

Given Zhang Linchuan’s wisdom, he won’t miss the repercussions of his failure in Qi Country. Despite misjudging Jiang Wang’s influence, he surely prepared extensively.

If given enough time, it’s uncertain whether he wouldn’t find a method to safely transfer the Church of Lifeless’s beliefs and create another organization like the Order of Immortality. His skills in borrowing corpses to return the soul are at a masterful level.

Therefore, in pursuing the annihilation of the Church of Lifeless, Jiang Wang and Zhongxuan Sheng took a two-step approach.

Jiang Wang’s public letter directly addressed the Triple Punishment Palace, asking the Legalist Holy Land for authentication. The accompanying evidence is sufficient for the Triple Punishment Palace to see this clearly.

Because of Lin Kuang and Wu Lie’s past contributions to the legal cause, the Geometer Palace had long reserved a place for Lin Youxie, who was unfortunately killed while investigating the cult’s leader... Thus, the Triple Punishment Palace with its standards would never evade this matter.

Of course, the stance of Wu Bingyi, the Great Grandmaster and Geometer Palace Master, was unexpected by Jiang Wang.

He originally thought that for a cult of the Church of Lifeless’s scale, sending a true disciple of God-approaching level from the Triple Punishment Palace would suffice, even a true master shouldn’t need to make an appearance. Let alone Wu Bingyi personally speak out and call upon Legalist cultivators worldwide to jointly kill... which can only be attributed to Lin Kuang and Wu Lie’s legacy.

Meanwhile, Zhongxuan Sheng started from Deer Frost County, attributing all sorts of actions Zhang Linchuan performed substituting for Lei Zhanqian there to the Church of Lifeless. From those "victims" in Deer Frost County, igniting a widespread wave to obliterate the cult.

A large portion of these "victims" could actually be considered failures under a fair competition. Because Zhang Linchuan borrowed Lei Zhanqian’s body intending to board Qi Country’s big ship rather than causing destruction from the start. In the various struggles within Deer Frost County, he was quite abiding by the rules.

Still, these people were indeed oppressed by Zhang Linchuan, the founder of the Church of Lifeless, using them to toll the death knell for the Church of Lifeless seems appropriate.

Concerning Jiang Wang’s public letter and the ensuing huge repercussions, within Qi Country differing voices have existed all along.

The loudest of which remains the esteemed scholar Er Fengming. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

This person wrote three articles in succession, titled "Lingyang, How Can You Take on Big Tasks?", "What Is Done by Those Who Use Public Tools for Private Ends?", and "The Major Affairs of the State, Where Are Private Hatreds?"

Just by checking the names, one can roughly understand the topic of the latter two articles. The "Lingyang" in the first article refers to Marquis Lingyang during Emperor Wu of Qi’s period. He was stripped of his nobility due to using public resources for private ends.

The first article fiercely criticized Lingyang Marquis, serving as a test attempt.

Admonishing the present from the antiquity, the literary flair was resplendent.

Then immediately with the second and third articles, the wording became increasingly severe, directly targeting Jiang Wang.

Er Fengming naturally represents more than himself, but it’s difficult to strictly categorize him into a faction. His flourishing penmanship and daredevil demeanor is his survival philosophy.

His cunning in knowing whom he can criticize or not, along with the courage to retreat when faced with tough opposition, are the prerequisites for living more comfortably compared to Xu Fang of those days.

Some seek fame, others seek infamy, each finds their own path—taking the world by storm.

These three articles were indeed splendidly written, sparking extensive discussions within the court and among the populace.

The Political Affairs Hall and Military Affairs Hall didn’t have prominent figures step forward to express their stance, yet the debates became more and more intense as time progressed.