Chapter 162: A Firefly Defying the Sun

The shattered remnants of the Phantasm Veil Pendant drifted to the floor like glittering, dying embers.

For three long breaths, the Apex of the Celestial Summit Palace was plunged into a silence so absolute it felt as though the flow of time itself had been severed. Thousands of the Zhao Province's most elite cultivators stared down at the center, their minds struggling to bridge the gap between the weeping Saintess they had just pitied, and the lanky, terrified male disciple now kneeling in her robes.

Then, the reality of the deception broke, as low murmur of disbelief rapidly swelled into a deafening roar of outrage and speculation.

"An illusion!"

"The Senior Disciple of the Pure Cloud Sect orchestrated a false testimony!"

"He paraded a boy in women's robes to fool us!"