Lin Xuan's words struck like cold stones tossed into a lake, sending ripples through Liu Yunyuan's heart. Her icy gaze shifted from Lin Xuan's calm, unruffled face to Zhao Hu, who cowered behind her, eyes darting nervously and face drained of color.
"He... he's lying!" Feeling Liu Yunyuan's scrutinizing gaze, Zhao Hu shrieked in defense. "Senior Sister Liu, please see clearly! He provoked us yesterday. We were merely sparring normally—it was an accident! Today... sending them to the abandoned mine was just routine labor. Who knew what beasts lurked inside? How can you blame us?"
His skill at twisting the truth was impressive, shifting all blame away from himself.
Zhang Xiaoshan trembled with rage, unable to contain himself. He stepped forward, pointing at Zhao Hu. "You're lying! Yesterday, it was clearly you who led your men to beat Senior Brother Lin unconscious for no reason! Today, you yourself called this a 'great assignment'—sending us to our deaths!"
"How dare you! What right does a lowly menial like you have to speak here?" Zhao Hu barked, his voice harsh but trembling with fear, trying to intimidate with his status.
Liu Yunyuan's brow furrowed deeper. Naturally aloof and devoted to her path, she'd heard rumors of conflicts among lower-ranking disciples but never intervened personally. Now, with both sides stubbornly insisting on their versions, she found it hard to judge. Yet Lin Xuan's ruthless tactics just displayed, coupled with his unexpectedly steady demeanor—so different from the rumors—made it impossible for her to simply see him as an innocent victim.
She looked at Lin Xuan, her tone still level but less stern than before: "Lin Xuan, even if your account is true, engaging in such brutal combat against a fellow disciple violates the sect's rules. This matter must be reported to the Stewards' Hall for the sect to decide."
She intended to handle this impartially, by the book.
Upon hearing it would be escalated to the Stewardship Hall, Zhao Hu felt a twinge of unease. Yet, recalling his uncle's connections, he believed he might not suffer a loss. Instead, he saw this as an opportunity to solidify Lin Xuan's guilt. He stiffened his neck and declared, "Right! Report it to the Stewardship Hall! Let the sect severely punish this scoundrel who practices heretical arts and harms fellow disciples!"
Lin Xuan, however, suddenly smiled. It was a faint smile, tinged with a barely perceptible hint of mockery.
"Senior Sister Liu enforces the law impartially. This disciple admires your integrity." He bowed slightly with clasped hands, then shifted his tone. "However, before we proceed to the Stewards' Hall, there is one matter I find unclear. I would like to seek your guidance, Senior Sister, and also ask Senior Brother Zhao to enlighten us both."
His sudden change in demeanor startled both Liu Yunyuan and Zhao Hu.
"What is it?" Liu Yunyuan inquired.
Lin Xuan strolled leisurely toward the two attendants, their wrists snapped and still wailing in agony. He bent down and casually pulled a small cloth pouch from one of their waists. It was a low-grade storage pouch—standard issue for Qingyang Sect outer disciples, with a mere one cubic meter of space.
"What are you doing?!" The henchman cried out in shock and rage, yet the excruciating pain left him powerless to resist.
An ominous foreboding rose inexplicably in Zhao Hu's heart. He barked, "Lin Xuan! You dare to seize fellow disciples' possessions? That's an additional offense!"
Lin Xuan didn't even glance at him. Holding the storage pouch, he addressed Liu Yunyuan: "Senior Sister Liu, to my knowledge, storage pouches issued by the sect are imbued with simple restrictions. They can only be opened with the owner's spiritual energy. Forcibly using one risks severe damage. Is that correct?"
Liu Yunyuan nodded. "That is indeed the case." She didn't understand what Lin Xuan was up to.
"Good." A faint smile curved Lin Xuan's lips as his gaze shifted to Zhao Hu. "Senior Brother Zhao, you insist sending us to the abandoned mine is routine menial labor. Then may I ask—why were we given no demon-repelling powder, no antidote pills, not even a low-grade 'Golden Light Talisman' for such a 'dangerous' mission?"
He waved the storage pouch in his hand. "Or perhaps this junior brother comes from such a wealthy family that he disdains even these basic lifesaving items? Or... did he know all along the mission posed no danger, making such supplies unnecessary?"
At these words, Zhao Hu's expression changed abruptly!
Liu Yunyuan, no fool herself, instantly grasped the crux of the matter. If this were a genuinely hazardous mission, while the sect wouldn't supply high-grade gear, disciples would certainly prepare basic survival items themselves. If these two's storage pouches contained nothing, then Zhao Hu's intent to "use others as tools for murder" would be all but confirmed!
"You... you're making baseless accusations! How would I know what they brought or didn't bring!" Zhao Hu scrambled to defend himself, sweat already beading on his forehead.
"Oh? You don't know?" Lin Xuan pressed forward, his gaze sharp as a blade. "Then let me ask you this: we've only been in the mine for two hours. Why is it so 'convenient' that Senior Brother Zhao is already waiting outside with his men? Is it because he's certain we're dead and has come to confirm our corpses? Or... is it because he fears we might survive, preparing to personally step in and deliver the finishing blow?"
"I... I was worried you couldn't complete the task, so I came to check on your progress!" Zhao Hu forced himself to stay calm, but his darting eyes and panicked breath betrayed him.
"Check on progress?" Lin Xuan sneered coldly, jabbing a finger at the two men writhing on the ground. "Bringing two enforcers to ambush us the moment we emerged exhausted from the cave—you call that checking on progress? Senior Sister Liu, does this look like checking on progress to you?"
Liu Yunyuan fell silent. She looked at Lin Xuan, relentless and logically sharp, then at Zhao Hu, full of holes and panic-stricken. Her judgment was already clear. Though she disliked conflict, she was not blind to right and wrong.
Lin Xuan's counterattack not only cleared himself of the suspicion of "unprovoked violence" but also laid bare Zhao Hu's malicious intent. He relied not on brute force, but on his insight into human nature and precise logic!
"Zhao Hu!" Liu Yunyuan's voice turned icy. "What more do you have to say?"
"I... I..." Zhao Hu stammered. Under Liu Yunyuan's increasingly frigid gaze, his psychological defenses crumbled completely. He collapsed to his knees with a thud, wailing, "Senior Sister Liu, spare my life! I was possessed by a demon! I was jealous of Lin Xuan... No, it's because Senior Brother Lin stole my thunder with his outstanding performance in the outer sect competition! I just wanted... wanted to teach him a lesson! But I never intended to kill him! It's all a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!"
This veiled confession only solidified the truth.
A flicker of disgust crossed Liu Yunyuan's eyes. She despised cowards who bullied the weak and harbored such malicious intent.
"I shall report this matter truthfully to the Disciplinary Council. Zhao Hu, you bullied a fellow disciple with malicious intent—the sect's rules will see to your punishment. As for you two..." She looked at Lin Xuan and Zhang Xiaoshan. "Though you had cause, your actions were excessive. You too shall be punished."
Lin Xuan wasn't surprised by this outcome. At its core, the sect's rules favored those with connections and power. That Liu Yunyuan had handled Zhao Hu impartially was already rare. All he needed was a relatively fair starting point and... to establish his authority.
"This disciple willingly accepts punishment," Lin Xuan said calmly.
Zhang Xiaoshan quickly nodded in agreement.
Liu Yunyuan looked at Lin Xuan. This youth had surprised her too many times. From the timid, useless novice he once was to the composed, ruthless, and cunning strategist he had become—the transformation was staggering. She couldn't help but ask, "Lin Xuan, the technique you used earlier isn't a orthodox method of the Qingyang Sect. Where did you learn it?"
This was her greatest concern. Lin Xuan's power had risen too rapidly, his methods too unconventional—she couldn't help but be suspicious.
Lin Xuan had already prepared his explanation. He replied calmly, "Senior Sister, two days ago, I was severely injured and near death. In that hazy state, I encountered a vague inheritance—some sort of incomplete body-refining technique. I used it in desperation just now. Its exact origin, I am also unaware of."
He attributed everything to a "near-death encounter," the most unverifiable yet relatively plausible explanation.
Liu Yunyuan remained skeptical, yet Lin Xuan's aura felt upright and free of obvious malevolent energy. She saw no point in pressing further and merely cautioned, "The path of cultivation demands steadfast diligence. Exercise utmost caution with techniques of unknown origin."
"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Sister," Lin Xuan replied, bowing slightly.
The matter was temporarily settled. Liu Yunyuan led away Zhao Hu, his face ashen, along with his two whimpering henchmen. Zhao Hu's uncle, the steward, likely couldn't save him this time. At the very least, a punishment of wall-facing reflection and resource deductions was inevitable.
Outside the mine shaft, only Lin Xuan and Zhang Xiaoshan remained.
The setting sun stretched their shadows long and thin.
Zhang Xiaoshan looked at Lin Xuan, his eyes brimming with admiration and excitement. "Senior Brother Lin! You're incredible! You took down that bastard Zhao Hu with just a few words! Just wait until others see this—who'll dare bully us now?"
Yet Lin Xuan's face showed little joy. His gaze fixed on the direction Liu Yunyuan had departed, his eyes deep and unfathomable.
While he had established his authority, he had also drawn the attention of the inner sect's prodigies. Particularly, the questions surrounding his sudden power increase and the origins of his cultivation technique had likely piqued Liu Yunyuan's curiosity—and perhaps even that of the faction backing her.
This was not entirely a good thing.
"Let's go back to the sect," Lin Xuan said, his mind refocused, his tone calm. The immediate priority was to swiftly assimilate the inheritance of the Nine Deaths Nirvana Technique, solidify his cultivation base, and find ways to acquire more resources. Only absolute strength could handle any trouble that came his way.
He touched the three demon cores of the Bone-Eating Rats and the damaged inheritance jade slip in his robe (which he had found beside the skeleton earlier and kept quiet about). His mind was already set on a plan.
The two made their way back along the mountain path. Just as they approached the outer disciple quarters, a middle-aged man dressed as an attendant, his face dark and sullen, blocked their path. He was accompanied by two disciples whose aura was noticeably stronger than Zhao Hu's.
The man's gaze was sharp as an eagle's, fixed intently on Lin Xuan. His voice carried suppressed fury:
"You are Lin Xuan? I am Zhao Kun, an attendant of the Outer Sect Enforcement Hall! You've been reported for practicing forbidden arts and harming fellow disciples. Come with me to the Enforcement Hall!"
Lin Xuan's pupils contracted slightly.
Zhao Kun... surnamed Zhao?
It seemed Zhao Hu's uncle, the steward, had reacted faster than he'd anticipated. And instead of seeking a reasonable discussion, he'd immediately mobilized the Enforcement Hall's authority!
The real trouble was only just beginning.