Ordinary disciples like Su Wan'er and Wang Qian were not allowed to head into the cities. Once they left the mountain ranges where the sect was, they would be punished, and severely punished at that. If they showed progress in their training one day and joined the upper levels of the sect, then they would have some freedom.
Because the ancient martial arts sects were so strict, people with wild thoughts or evil intentions would find it very difficult to stand this kind of lifestyle in the deep mountains. Hence, many of these sect traitors who had defected from their sect appeared every year. After all, not everyone could endure such hardships and focus solely on practicing, living away from the material world.
