The hall fell into complete silence. All eyes focused on the young man who had been brought before them.
He wore slightly worn garments of the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect, his frame thin and his face pale.
In the depths of his eyes remained fear and indignation that could not be erased, like a trapped beast that had been thoroughly frightened.
He was the former Holy Son of the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect—the first to strike the Heavenly Alliance's grievance drum ten years ago—Liu Yunge.
Xiao Chen looked at him calmly, his voice gentle yet carrying an undeniable power.
"Liu Yunge, recount what you have seen and heard once more for the Elders."
Liu Yunge took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress the humiliation and fear in his heart.
He bowed deeply to Xiao Chen and the assembled Elders.
His voice carried a barely perceptible tremor as he began his account.
"Esteemed Elders, please bear witness... This disciple, Liu Yunge, was formerly the Holy Son of the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect in Central State. My master is the Sect Master, Lin Yun Zhenren."
His voice started low, gradually becoming charged with suppressed emotion.
"Beginning ten years ago, my sect... especially my master and... and my fiancée Junior Sister Lin, began behaving more and more... unreasonably!"
"This disciple has cultivated diligently without pause. In ten years, I finally broke through from Return to Origin perfection to Long Life mid-stage. My master never offered a single word of praise. Instead, he scolded me for being too eager for quick success, saying my foundation was unstable."
"But my junior brother... Junior Brother Zhao Yan merely broke through from Mystic Profound perfection to Return to Origin early stage, and the entire sect celebrated for three days. My master even praised him for 'accumulating strength and releasing it brilliantly, with boundless prospects!'"
He gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with disbelief and resentment.
"Three years ago, my master went deep into a secret realm to retrieve treasures for forging his life-bound flying sword. He was injured by a strange beast, damaging his Dao foundation."
"When this disciple heard the news, I did not hesitate to venture into the absolute danger of the Northern Ice Plains. After nine deaths and one life, taking two years, I finally found a 'Nine-Turn Restoring Yang Herb'..."
His voice choked with emotion.
"This disciple joyfully presented the spiritual medicine. My master only glanced at it briefly before casually putting it away. He didn't even say 'thank you for your hard work'!"
"But Junior Brother Zhao Yan merely said a few polite phrases at my master's bedside like 'Master, please take care of your health, this disciple is burning with anxiety'..."
"My master was actually moved to tears! He held his hand in front of everyone, praising him for 'pure filial piety and utmost sincerity'! And... and turned to scold me, saying I 'only knew how to find medicine, didn't understand human relations, far inferior to my junior brother in thoughtfulness'!"
"Unfilial?!" Liu Yunge's voice suddenly rose, filled with disbelief and outrage. "I risked nine deaths to find medicine for him, and that makes me unfilial?!"
Some Elders in the hall furrowed their brows slightly, showing expressions of confusion and sympathy.
Liu Yunge continued, his voice growing increasingly bitter.
"And then there's Junior Sister Lin... I grew up with her since childhood. We were already betrothed."
"But after that, her eyes... seemed to see only Zhao Yan!"
"Zhao Yan carelessly broke an important sect heirloom artifact, the 'Flowing Cloud Banner'! Junior Sister Lin actually... actually stood up in front of everyone, claiming I had accidentally broken it, and made me go receive punishment!"
"Afterward, she even came to find me privately, asking me to 'understand that our junior brother is young and doesn't know better, let him have this one'..."
"During external training, I was ambushed by powerful enemies. I was seriously injured and carried back to the sect by fellow disciples, barely clinging to life. She... she only came to look once, said 'heal well,' and then vanished without a trace."
"But Zhao Yan... only accidentally cut his hand with sword energy during practice! A mere scratch! She stayed by his side day and night, personally feeding him medicine and bandaging his wounds, looking utterly worried..."
At this point, Liu Yunge's eyes were red, his body trembling slightly.
Clearly, these memories were an enormous torment for him.
He suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with terror and resolve.
"And recently... recently I accidentally overheard... overheard Junior Sister Lin and my master talking in a secret chamber..."
His trembling hand took out a glowing image-recording stone from his robe.
"They... they were actually discussing... how to... how to extract my 'Heaven-Grade Wind Spirit Root'... and transplant it to that Zhao Yan, whose talent is merely above average!"
BOOM—!
These words caused an uproar throughout the hall!
Even the Elders who had been somewhat dismissive instantly changed color!
Extracting a spirit root to transplant to another person?
This was one of the most sinister and taboo forbidden arts in the cultivation world!
It was almost equivalent to destroying someone's Dao path and ruining their foundation!
Liu Yunge suddenly poured spiritual energy into the image-recording stone!
The stone blazed with light, projecting a clear image screen into the air!
In the image appeared the figures of Flowing Cloud Sword Sect Master Lin Yun Zhenren and his female disciple Junior Sister Lin—Liu Yunge's fiancée!
They heard Lin Yun Zhenren's voice carrying a hint of hesitation.
"This method... is too dangerous, and it is forbidden... after all, Yunge is..."
Junior Sister Lin's voice rang out—gentle, yet carrying a chilling determination and... fanaticism.
"Master! For Junior Brother Yan's future, some sacrifice is worth it! Senior Brother Yunge... he will understand! Even if he becomes an ordinary mortal from now on, it doesn't matter! I will take care of him for the rest of my life, using my future to properly 'compensate' him!"
In the image, her face even bore a self-moved, almost saintly radiance!
"Compensate?!" Liu Yunge looked at the image screen and suddenly screamed, his voice filled with endless mockery and despair.
"Compensate my ass! You've destroyed my immortal path, ruined my foundation, and turned me into a lamb to the slaughter! And you're still fucking compensating?! Using your nauseating 'care' to compensate?!"
He abruptly shut off the image-recording stone.
His chest heaved violently.
The last trace of attachment to his sect in his eyes was reduced to ashes.
All that remained was the cold determination of one who had survived catastrophe.
"At that moment, I finally understood completely. That place was no longer my sect—it was hell! If I didn't leave, I would certainly die! So I escaped. I used everything I had to escape, and came to the Heavenly Alliance! I beg the Heavenly Alliance... to do justice for me!"
As his words fell, the entire Universal Hall fell silent.
The dismissiveness and doubt on all the Elders' faces had vanished completely.
In their place was unprecedented gravity, shock, and a trace of... indescribable chill.
This was absolutely no simple sect infighting or favoritism.
This was thoroughly twisted behavior—mad and sinister actions driven by some power that had corrupted their minds!
Xiao Chen's gaze swept across the hall.
He spoke slowly, his voice deep and solemn.
"Fellow Elders, do you still believe that sealing off Central State is making a mountain out of a molehill?"
[
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