[Vol. 8] Chapter 299: Experiences at the Swift Wind Sect
The Swift Wind Sect was one of the most famous and long-open tourist spots in the capital. Some areas were open to outsiders for visits. Even at times like this, the plaza was still full of people coming and going, lining up in long queues to have their tickets checked before climbing the long steps inside.
The Swift Wind Sect had branches all over the world. The capital’s Sect was not the only one, and it wasn’t even the first one opened by the Sword Saint. But without a doubt, it was the best developed, the most famous, and the one with the largest influence and number of disciples.
It was said that more than a thousand disciples of Swift Wind lived here permanently. Even the first disciple among the Sword Saint’s six great students, [Sword of Purity], was often here to lecture and teach. After Sword Saint Bevis returned to the capital by space teleportation with his new disciple Rowen, and incidentally with Violet and her companion, this was the place where they stayed for the time being.
Since she had not told anyone beforehand that she was coming, and also because she was curious about the place, the priestess and Xiao Guang each bought a tourist ticket. After their tickets were checked, they climbed the stone steps and entered the Sect as visitors.
By the way, even though money was not a problem, Violet was still secretly shocked when she learned that each ticket cost as much as one hundred quarks (Austre Empire’s Currency). The value of quarks in the Austre Empire was lower than the holy light coins, but even so, this amount could cover a normal family’s basic living expenses for more than a month. And yet here, it was only the most basic ticket price!
Such a high price was far beyond what normal families could afford. But the Sect was still crowded with visitors, proving just how famous this place was. It could even make a shocking amount of money every single day just from ticket sales alone.
Violet had always seen Bevis dressed in plain clothes with nothing much on him, and thought his sect must be poor. Now she realized it was simply hidden wealth, of course no great martial sect could be poor!
Although the ticket was expensive, once Violet entered the Sect, she did see many interesting things.
Along the main path, there were clear signboards and introduction plaques everywhere. The Sect did not restrict tourists too much. Places that were off-limits were guarded by disciples, preventing people from wandering in by mistake. From this, it was clear that the place had been carefully designed. As a tourist site, it was well-developed and fun enough that even with all her years of travel, the priestess found it quite impressive.
That said, some of the “attractions” along the way still left her half-laughing, half-helpless. Not because they were boring, but because… they were just too much.
The most famous one was the so-called “Sword Saint’s Former Residence.” In truth, it was just a plain wooden hut. Violet had no idea whether the Sword Saint had ever really lived there, but the money-grabbing methods were real enough. With a normal ticket, visitors were only allowed to stand more than ten meters away to look. If they wanted to get closer, they had to pay an additional fee.
What was worse, this “extra fee” was divided into several different levels. The higher the price, the closer one could get to the hut to “feel” the traces left behind by the Saint. The highest level was more than one hundred times the price of a basic ticket and only then could a person be allowed to step inside for a short visit.
And yet, despite such outrageous money-grabbing, visitors rushed in eagerly. Many seemed willing to spend everything they had just to get closer to the so-called “Former Residence.” Those with thinner wallets could only stand far away, sighing and regretting that they hadn’t brought enough quarks to visit such a “blessed land.”
So many fools…
Of course, there were quite a few other places like this. For example, earlier the two girls had passed by a site called the “Ten Thousand Swords Pool,” which was even stranger than the “Former Residence.”
As the name suggested, it was basically a pool-like pit, but without any water. Instead, it was crammed full of swords, some complete, some broken. Although it was called “Ten Thousand Swords,” in reality there were only a few hundred at most. Clearly, someone had exaggerated it for effect.
According to the introduction, this site was formed from the swords left behind by generations of Swift Wind masters. Before death, or when they decided to seal away their blades, they placed their lifelong weapons here.
After all, the Swift Wind Sword Saint had founded the sect more than a hundred years ago. For some shorter-lived races, that was enough time for several generations to pass. It wasn’t surprising that such a place would form over time.
For many sword masters, they loved only one sword for their entire life. That sword was not only a weapon but also a partner they grew up with, often carrying within it the sword intent and insights they had cultivated through their whole life.
If the “Sword Saint’s Former Residence” was something vague and unreal, at least some reasonable people would not spend a fortune on it. But the “Ten Thousand Swords Pool” was different, it seemed to truly hold visible chances of fortune. Anyone who had the right to leave their sword in such a place must have been a top master, a sword hero of their era. If someone could gain even a little of the understanding left in those swords, it would be greatly helpful, even for strong warriors who were not sword users.
It was obvious the Sect understood this way of thinking. That was why they opened this area to visitors, to stir up admiration for strength and desire for power, and then make a fortune out of it.
This was not an exaggeration. Violet had clearly seen that the Ten Thousand Swords Pool had the same outrageous extra-fee system as the Former Residence. Looking from outside was free, but if you wanted to go inside the pool and actually touch the swords, you had to pay a large extra fee.
What’s more, the priestess only needed one glance to see the truth. Most of those swords were just ordinary, low-quality weapons. Only a very few barely reached the level of magical weapons, and even those had many flaws. To be blunt, if you gathered them all and tried selling them on the black market, you probably wouldn’t even get the price of a single day’s entrance ticket!
There was no way these were all the swords left by Swift Wind’s past masters. The truly valuable ones must have been moved elsewhere long ago.
So in truth, this was nothing but a kind of “IQ tax”, people spent a lot of money to enter and view the swords, but what they got was basically a scam based on lack of information. If Violet herself had lost money there, and if she didn’t have some personal connection with a certain Sword Saint, she probably would have caused trouble on the spot.
But after all, a tourist spot was just a tourist spot. To the Sect, these visitors were not disciples at all, just walking wallets. How could anyone really expect them to hand over precious treasures so easily?
To be honest, the priestess never thought the Sect of the world’s greatest sword sect, the legendary holy land of swordsmanship, would be so commercialized. It was completely different from what she had imagined.
Once or twice would have been fine, but doing this too much was losing sight of the true purpose. To outsiders, it almost looked like those disciples eagerly promoting the attractions were no different from pushy street vendors.
Of course, Violet was not so idle as to bother herself with such matters. She understood well enough: no matter how skilled, even a good cook can’t make a meal without ingredients. Training in martial arts burned through huge amounts of money. As long as they weren’t stealing or robbing, how they chose to make money was their own business.
So, the two girls didn’t rush to their main task. They strolled slowly, following the signs, sightseeing the whole way. By the time they finished touring all the public areas of the Sect, the entire afternoon had passed, and the sky was growing dark.
Interestingly, as a proper money-making tourist spot, the Sect not only had a complete fee system but even provided dining and lodging services, which suited the priestess just fine.
Right now, the Austre Empire was in chaos from the recent assassination attempt on the imperial prince. The Swift Wind Sect was one of the few forces able to remain untouched by the event. Since their main purpose here wasn’t done yet, Violet and Xiao Guang decided to pay and stay at the Sect for the time being.
Although the lodging price was also very expensive, at least in this area the Sect wasn’t too outrageous. The food and rooms were quite good. The two girls shared one house that had a living room, a bedroom, and a full bathroom. It was also equipped with modern magical devices for daily life. Behind the house was a bamboo grove, and when they opened the windows, they could hear the gentle rustling of leaves and feel the cool breeze. The quiet and fresh air even gave off a calm and elegant feeling, like a place for true practice.
All the guest houses were stand-alone buildings, built not far from each other. From the look of them, they were probably just the disciples’ dorms, simply rebuilt for tourists. To give paying guests a better “immersive” experience, the rooms even came prepared with loose white-and-blue robes like the ones worn by disciples, and each guest was given a long sword as well. The service was, at least, thoughtful.
That night, after taking baths, the two girls, feeling playful for once, changed into the Sect’s robes. They ate the delicate meals delivered to them, then relaxed and chatted casually.
“Shhhng~”
The dragon-girl pulled out the finely decorated longsword that had been provided. With her pale fingers, she tapped lightly on the blade, making a clear ringing sound. Then she curled her lip in disdain.
“What’s this? Not only is it just for show, but they didn’t even sharpen the blade. Do they think we’re children to be fooled?”
“Haha~ Well, these swords are only meant to make the tourists feel the atmosphere. Nobody really expects them to pick one up and do something serious after spending the day on silly tourist activities. The guests who can afford to stay here are all rich or noble. If they were given real swords and something bad happened, the Swift Wind Sect would be in big trouble.”
On the sofa, the priestess, also wearing a loose robe, smiled. She held a special drink said to be good for health, sipping it slowly. At the same time, her eyes couldn’t help but glance at the dragon girl. The dragon girl had thrown aside the fake sword in dislike, and now she was struggling with her robe around the chest, which was a bit too tight. Every now and then, a bit of pale skin showed, making the priestess cough awkwardly.
“You know, we’ve been busy with all sorts of strange things lately. It’s been a long time since we had a chance to relax like this. Even though this place is quite different from what I imagined, it’s still fun as a tourist spot. When all this business is finished, why don’t we go somewhere new, where no one knows us, just for a trip?”
Hearing that, the dragon girl gave a sweet smile and quickly sat on the priestess’s lap.
“Okay! Wherever Master goes, Xiao Guang will follow. You already promised me, remember? There’s no way you can get rid of me now~ Looks like Master already has a place in mind?”
Thinking of a happy future, her long tail began to sway from side to side with joy. Her chest pressed down so strongly that poor Violet almost couldn’t breathe at all.
“Cough, cough… Well… let’s just say I have a small idea.”
Smiling helplessly, the priestess gently pushed the playful dragon girl away, finished the last sip of her pale-blue fruit drink, rubbed the dragon girl’s head, then stood up after fixing her robe.
“But before that, we need to finish certain things first. Otherwise, how could we enjoy going out with peace of mind? It’s about time, we should get going.”
“Okay!”
The houses where Violet and Xiao Guang stayed as tourists were already close to the Sect’s central area. This didn’t mean the Swift Wind Sect cared much about tourists. It was simply because many entertainment activities were open at night, and being near the center made it easier to attract those rich spenders.
Don’t be fooled though. As the number-one sword sect in the world, the Swift Wind Sect was very hard to join. Even though the Sect alone had over a thousand disciples, compared to the millions living in Frederick City, and the countless outsiders coming here just for the sect, that number was tiny.
According to the information Violet had learned, the Swift Wind Sect only held recruitment once a year, in early spring. Each Sect had its own system, but the number of spots was always small. For example, the Sect accepted only one hundred new disciples each year. But last year, more than three hundred thousand people signed up to try.
Unlike their endless money-making tourist traps, the cost to register for recruitment was very low, almost nothing, just enough to prove you weren’t causing trouble.
If not for strict age limits, the fact that they only taught swordsmanship, and the famously difficult exams, the number of applicants would probably be several times higher.
Many people, because of talent, personality, or other reasons, failed to join when they were young. For them, this became one of life’s biggest regrets. So when they grew successful later, or came from wealthy families to begin with, they chose instead to visit as tourists. Spending money, they could at least feel close to the holy land of swordsmanship.
That’s one reason why, even though the prices were ridiculously high, almost like treating people as pigs to be slaughtered, there were still endless crowds willing to come and spend.
For the sect, it cost them very little, but they could make huge amounts of money to support the Sect. For the visitors, they got to fulfill their dream. In a way, this was what people call “win-win.”
And not everything was fake or meaningless. To keep expectations high, the Sect sometimes mixed real value into their many expensive activities. For example, once a month, there was a public lecture, something countless people who failed to join the sect dreamed of attending.
That was because the lecture was given personally by the Sword Saint’s first disciple, [Sword of Purity].