301: Chapter 301 Thorough Investigation

S17 Great World, numbered S17, is located in the northern region near the core of the Sea of Time.

The headquarters of Sword Emperor Mountain is located here.

Unlike the Xuanjian Sect, which possesses only a hundred slave worlds...

As one of the most powerful cultivation-oriented factions under the Time Traveler Association, Sword Emperor Mountain had just successfully promoted to an association-certified Level 6 Civilization with a third-place finish in its group during the last Promotion War.

Within its sphere of influence, it possesses over ten thousand planes like the Xuanjian Great World. It has three publicly known experts in the sixth realm, the "Space-Time Realm," and over a hundred in the fifth realm, the "Quantum Realm," with countless small and medium-sized civilizations existing in its shadow.

Aside from the association and its direct institutions, it is undoubtedly a hegemon-level power within the Sea of Time.

But at this moment, atop "Wenjian Mountain" at the Sword Emperor Mountain headquarters, a man dressed in a purple robe with a broadsword on his back explained with a bitter smile:

"Lord Envoy, please let me explain. Our Sword Emperor Mountain was completely unaware of the actions of Sword Emperor Lingxi and those few enshrined elders. As a contestant from the Sea of Time, little friend Zhang won the championship; we share in that glory and couldn't be happier. Why would we assassinate him? I am willing to swear upon my sword heart..."

"Whether it is true or not, it's not for you to say."

The envoy from the association interrupted unceremoniously, saying indifferently:

"Have all registered members of Sword Emperor Mountain from inner disciples upward been recalled?"

"To report to the envoy, upon receiving the association's order, I issued the sect's highest decree. Both elders in secluded cultivation and disciples out on trials have all been gathered."

"Lead the way."

The Sect Master of Sword Emperor Mountain cast a subtle glance at the other's chest, where there was a sundial-shaped pattern.

An existence at the level of a Vice Tower Master of the Tower of Time, a seventh-realm expert!

He immediately lowered his head, his tone becoming even more cautious:

"Please follow me."

With that, he led the way toward the back mountain.

The association party exchanged looks and smiled knowingly, subtly adjusting their most commonly used equipment to a state where it could be activated at any time.

They had seen the footage of Zhang Huaiyuan's assassination. Although they weren't afraid, as elites of the association—at least high-level Scholars—they naturally wouldn't be so arrogant as to be unguarded.

In fact, in the dimensional interlayer outside this world, a Forbidden Weapon capable of annihilating the entire plane had already been set up.

At any sign of trouble, it could be activated at any moment to destroy everything.

"Let's go."

Soon, led by the Sect Master of Sword Emperor Mountain, the group passed through layers of sword arrays and arrived at a small world.

"Greetings, Sect Master."

The moment they stepped in, a soaring sword intent rushed toward them.

Even though they hadn't intentionally driven it, the aura emitted invisibly by tens of millions of sword-cultivating disciples was enough to easily crush any existence below the fifth realm.

Of course, to the association envoys who were at least in the sixth realm, it was merely a slightly stronger gust of wind.

"Silence."

The broadsword on the back of the Sect Master of Sword Emperor Mountain unsheathed slightly by half a finger's width, and in an instant, all the sword intent subsided.

He then turned around and said, "Lord Envoy, all registered disciples are here."

"Lord Envoy."

An old man with white hair and a white beard flew forward. His figure was upright, and his aura was as deep as an abyss.

However, a sense of decay could be clearly felt within his sword intent.

This was the Supreme Elder of Sword Emperor Mountain, who had been forcibly awakened from secluded cultivation; his lifespan was nearing its end.

"Mhm."

The leading envoy nodded slightly with a detached expression and reached out to pull open a light screen densely packed with data that appeared out of thin air.

"Comparison complete. Excluding those confirmed dead, there are a total of 13,176,582 people. Three are missing: core disciple Lu Qi, a second-grade elder..."

"Lord Envoy!"

Seeing this, the Sect Master of Sword Emperor Mountain felt a chill in his heart. He had long known the association's reach was vast, but he hadn't expected them to know his disciples to such an extent.

He immediately explained, "Regarding those three, two were confirmed to have perished seven days ago while training in the Hundred Vaults Secret Realm. The other elder died when his sword qi ruptured his body after a failed attempt to break through during secluded cultivation."

"Go verify it."

Hearing this, the leading envoy frowned and gave an instruction to one of those behind him. Then, with a wave of his hand, he took out a square storage device and said flatly:

"Everyone, put these on."

The Sect Master and Supreme Elder of Sword Emperor Mountain took a glance, and their pupils couldn't help but shrink.

Inside were bundles of chain-like devices flowing with blue electric arcs.

"Mortal-Transforming Lock!"

This is one of the most common restraint methods used by the Traveler Association. Once worn, it restricts the flow of all energy.

In different civilizations, it is also known as an Energy Suppressor, Biological Lock, and so on.

Even they would become powerless mortals once they put it on.

"As you command, Envoy."

The two exchanged looks and replied with bitter smiles.

They were certain they knew nothing about the assassination attempt. Cooperating offered a slim chance of survival; if they resisted, Sword Emperor Mountain would likely be wiped from the Sea of Time in the next second.

"Everyone, hear my command: put on the Mortal-Transforming Locks."

The Sect Master of Sword Emperor Mountain pointed his finger, and dense chains flew out from the storage device, accurately levitating in front of every disciple.

"This..."

After most of the disciples looked at each other in shock, they still obediently followed the order.

However, a few disciples who were used to acting arrogantly in Sword Emperor Mountain couldn't stand the humiliation and instinctively roared:

"On what grounds? We haven't done anything wrong, even if— Ah!"

Before the sentence was finished, five fierce streaks of sword qi tore through the air, instantly piercing the disciple's limbs and pinning him ruthlessly to a stone wall.

The final streak pierced through his sea of qi, completely shattering his condensed Sword Soul.

"Ah... my cultivation... Why?!"

The man let out a cry of agony.

An old man dressed in elder's robes had an uncertain expression, but he eventually turned his head away, unable to bear the sight.

Seeing this, the others who were dissatisfied couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

That man was the offspring of the sect's Great Elder, someone who usually acted with impunity in Sword Emperor Mountain. Now, his cultivation had been directly crippled in public.

Immediately, everyone hurried to put on the Mortal-Transforming Locks of their own accord.

"Apologies for making the envoy witness such a scene," the Sect Master of Sword Emperor Mountain said quickly.

He didn't care about the other disciples' thoughts.

These second-generation sect members were one thing on ordinary days, but now that the association's envoy had clearly come to seek accountability, they still dared to make a scene—they were simply courting death.

If he hadn't been afraid that killing them would lead the other party to suspect he was silencing witnesses, he would have done more than just cripple their cultivation.

After this interlude, all the disciples soon put on the Mortal-Transforming Locks.

The sword intent that had been radiating invisibly vanished without a trace.

Seeing this, the Sect Master and Supreme Elder of Sword Emperor Mountain also reached out to take the Mortal-Transforming Locks.

In an instant, blue electric arcs extended, piercing through the surface of their bodies to lock all energy transmission nodes.

The auras of the two sixth-realm experts, who had been impressively powerful, suddenly plummeted.

"Lord Envoy, everyone has finished putting them on."

The Sect Master of Sword Emperor Mountain stumbled slightly, unaccustomed to the change, and spoke with difficulty.

"At least you know what's good for you."

The leading envoy smiled faintly:

"Assassinating a disciple of the Tower Master is a capital offense. If it weren't for your past contributions, I wouldn't be the one here; the Forbidden Weapon would have been activated directly."

"Thank you for the association's mercy."

The Sect Master and Supreme Elder of Sword Emperor Mountain bowed respectfully.

"Let's begin."

The leading envoy said no more and waved his hand to release over a hundred robots.

They quickly assembled massive instruments around them, and a special energy field immediately covered the entire small world.

Time Retrieval Device!

It could browse through everything everyone within the field's range had experienced in their past.

For the association's Scholars, they never believed in explanations, only in the evidence they saw for themselves.

...