Chapter 31 - 6: Blazing Fiery Sun, Glorious Heavenly Dao

Manager Qiu stared at Ye Zhaozhao, his expression cold and dark. "This Memory Stone. Do you admit to it? If not, I don’t mind producing more. We can let the Sword Sect’s Law Enforcement Hall have a good, long look!"

After all, he had made a recording every single time Ye Zhaozhao had come to see him.

He had even sent people to follow Ye Zhaozhao, capturing footage of her entering the Sword Sect!

So much footage!

The evidence was irrefutable!

’If Ye Zhaozhao still won’t admit it, I have Oath Paper right here. If worse comes to worst, I’ll just make her swear an oath on it. We’ll see if she has the guts for that!’

Pang Zhixue looked at Ye Zhaozhao with a grave expression. "Ye Zhaozhao, what do you have to say for yourself!"

Never mind the previous incidents.

This one, however—plotting to harm a fellow sect disciple.

Within the Sword Sect, that was a major crime!

Previously, the people from Heartless Peak and Lingxu Peak had bickered endlessly without any concrete evidence, making it difficult for him to pass judgment.

But now...

This Manager Qiu had produced one piece of irrefutable evidence after another!

Ye Zhaozhao’s face was deathly pale. She wanted to deny it instinctively, but after the recording finished playing once, it started all over again.

In the recording, her cold, sinister voice rang out once more.

Ye Zhaozhao’s body trembled. "I... I..."

Instinctively, her gaze turned to Master Lingxu, pleading for help.

Master Lingxu’s expression turned cold. He gritted his teeth and said, "Even if... even if this recording is real, Li Shuang hasn’t suffered any losses. She’s still standing right here, perfectly fine, isn’t she?"

Even in the face of such irrefutable evidence, Master Lingxu still chose to protect Ye Zhaozhao.

Sheng Yuan lifted his head and glanced at him, a dazed look in his eyes.

’Master said he had never favored his little junior sister.’

’Master said he treated all of them equally.’

’That one time...’

’Sheng Yuan remembered it clearly. When his little junior sister went on her first mission, Eldest Senior Sister took her along.’

’When they returned, the mission was complete. The little junior sister came back with a bountiful harvest, having gathered a great deal of Spirit Grass.’

’Mixed in with the Spirit Grass was a single stalk of poisonous grass. Unaware, his little junior sister was about to eat it.’

’Master stopped her just in time, but then flew into a rage and sent Eldest Senior Sister directly to the forbidden grounds for punishment.’

’Master said that since Zhaozhao had only just joined the sect, it was understandable that she didn’t know the difference between poisonous grass and Spirit Grass.’

’But, he’d claimed, Eldest Senior Sister knew perfectly well, yet she still put the poisonous grass in her little junior sister’s storage bag. This showed a wicked heart, simply waiting for her little junior sister to ingest it by mistake.’

’Since Eldest Senior Sister had harbored such a vicious thought, she naturally deserved to be punished severely.’

’At the time, none of them thought anything was wrong. They were all too busy feeling sorry for Ye Zhaozhao and condemning Li Shuang.’

’That time...’

’...it was never certain whether Eldest Senior Sister had done it intentionally.’

’But this time...’

’...Zhaozhao had undeniably intended to frame Eldest Senior Sister.’

’That time...’

’...Master had said that even though Zhaozhao wasn’t harmed, it was wrong for Li Shuang to harbor the intent to cause harm, and for that, she deserved severe punishment.’

’This time...’

’...Master was saying that Li Shuang hadn’t suffered any losses.’

A bitter sorrow welled up in Sheng Yuan’s heart, and he was overcome with anguish.

He cared for Zhaozhao deeply, but this time, she was unequivocally in the wrong.

’Had Master truly never shown favoritism, as he always claimed?’

’And what about them, her junior brothers? Had they truly not favored Zhaozhao?’

Sheng Yuan felt his mind wander. He instinctively looked toward Li Shuang.

Li Shuang’s eyes were tranquil, without the slightest ripple of emotion.

Lin Qingling sneered. "Ling Xu, oh Ling Xu, can you even say that with a straight face? So because Ye Zhaozhao wanted to harm her, my disciple was supposed to just stand there and let herself be framed? Is that what a ’perfect victim’ is? Li Shuang didn’t fall for it, and that’s a credit to her own ability, not because Ye Zhaozhao suddenly had a crisis of conscience!"

"By your logic, as long as no actual harm is done, no crime has been committed. If that’s the case, the Sword Sect might as well throw out all its rules! Let the disciples kill and frame one another as they please. After all, if the victim dodges, the attacker is innocent. And if they don’t, well, the attacker succeeds! It’s a win-win for them either way!"

Master Lingxu’s face darkened. "Lin Qingling, I’m not going to waste my time with your pointless arguments."

Master Lingxu looked directly at Li Shuang. "You and Zhaozhao were once fellow disciples. You could even say you’ve had a blessing in disguise from today’s incident. I’ll make the decision here. How about we just let this matter drop?"

Master Lingxu stared intently at Li Shuang.

’As long as Li Shuang, the aggrieved party, agreed not to press charges, there would be plenty of room to handle this situation.’

Chang Le’an finally processed what was happening. The person in the recording wasn’t an impostor... it was really his little junior sister!

He was stunned by this other side of Ye Zhaozhao, but he still defended her out of habit. "Senior Sister Li, Zhaozhao is still young. You shouldn’t hold this against her!"

Li Shuang’s expression remained calm. She turned and bowed directly to the Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall.

"Hall Master Pang," Li Shuang said calmly. "Let justice take its course. All I have ever sought in my life is a single word: fairness."

’Yes.’

’She had never longed for favoritism.’

’What she wanted—what she had always wanted—was fairness.’

’But that simple concept was something she had never once received on Lingxu Peak.’

’In the past, she had been foolish enough to believe that endurance would be met with understanding.’

’In the end, her forbearance only emboldened them to push her further and further.’

’So why should she endure it any longer?’

Li Shuang’s actions thoroughly infuriated Master Lingxu. He snarled, "Li Shuang, you are being so aggressive! What is it you truly want? Will you only be satisfied once Zhaozhao is punished? With such a black heart, aren’t you afraid of being struck down by heavenly lightning?"

Li Shuang turned.

She looked calmly at Master Lingxu and spoke, enunciating every word.

"By the blazing Fiery Sun above."

"By the magnificent Heavenly Dao above."

"If seeking fairness is a crime,"

"Then let that crime fall upon me. Let the heavens strike me with lightning! Let me be damned beyond redemption! Let me know no peace, day or night!"

Li Shuang’s voice rang with conviction.

Master Lingxu’s pupils contracted violently.

’They were Cultivators.’

’Cultivators feared nothing more than swearing an oath to the Heavenly Dao.’

’The Heavenly Dao was impartial and would likely not concern itself with such trivial affairs.’

’But what if it did?’

’Maintaining reverence for the Heavenly Dao was a fundamental lesson for every Cultivator.’

’For Li Shuang to dare say such things to the Heavenly Dao... had she gone mad?’

The Fiery Sun still blazed.

A gentle breeze blew.

After a long silence, Li Shuang said softly, "I sought fairness, and the Heavenly Dao has judged me innocent."

Li Shuang turned and said calmly, "I ask the Sect Leader, the Hall Master, and everyone in the Sword Sect to grant me justice!"

A vast silence spread through the crowd.

All eyes were on the young woman in the center of the crowd, as remote and cool as the moon, and for a moment, everyone was speechless.

’What she sought...’

’...was fairness.’

’In this world...’

’...who didn’t want fairness?’

’Wrongs should be punished.’

’That is fairness!’

’Crimes should be met with retribution.’

’That is fairness!’

"I implore the Sect Leader and the Hall Master to pass judgment on Ye Zhaozhao!" Lin Qingling said calmly.

According to Sword Sect rules, matters internal to a peak could be decided by the Peak Master alone.

However...

Li Shuang was no longer a member of Lingxu Peak!

According to sect regulations, in a situation like this, the authority to pass judgment lay with two people: Pang Zhixue, the Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall, and Meng Yifei, the Sword Sect Leader.

"We implore the Sect Leader and the Hall Master to pass judgment on Ye Zhaozhao!" Luo Mingyue and Liu Juncheng shouted.

Jiang Yi, who had been trying her best to remain inconspicuous, also murmured her agreement.

"What are you people from Heartless Peak trying to do? Are you trying to coerce a decision?" Master Lingxu had barely finished speaking.

"We implore the Sect Leader and the Hall Master to pass judgment on Ye Zhaozhao!" another voice rang out.

’Who? Who was that?’

Master Lingxu shot a fierce glare into the crowd.

However...

Soon, there were too many for him to glare at.

One by one, disciples began to speak out.

The calls to pass judgment on Ye Zhaozhao echoed to the heavens.