Chapter 85

Bang!

As the heavily thudding sound of Yue Chengzu's body, split in two, hitting the ground echoed, the inner and outer disciples of Qiyun Sect, who were shocked by the bloody scene, finally came to their senses.

"Brother disciple, for Ye Zhen to use such a ruthless move, isn't that too harsh?" Many inner and outer disciples who didn't know the truth frowned.

Everyone was clear that the scene where Ye Zhen exchanged his injury for a life was deliberately orchestrated by him.

However, some inner and outer disciples gave Ye Zhen a thumbs up.

"Even a slight mistake in that move to exchange injury for life could have cost Ye Zhen his life. Not everyone can pull off such a fighting style."

Changsun Ran, surrounded by many inner disciples, stared at Ye Zhen, who was half-kneeling, spitting blood but looking extremely pleased, with a serious expression.

"Ye Zhen is a ruthless character. At the age of seventeen, he already possesses the cultivation of the third level of True Essence and the combat power of the fifth level. He cannot be underestimated!"

From a distance, Ren Xihua, who was watching the battle on a cliff, looked at Ye Zhen with boundless anticipation. "If I could have such a ruthless competitor in the future, it would be a great pleasure."

Below the stage, Chu Jun was also quite surprised by Ye Zhen's deadly move to kill Yue Chengzu, which was completely unexpected. As Chu Jun was deep in thought, a piece of intelligence about the Meng family that he had reviewed suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"So it's like this. From this perspective, Yue Chengzu indeed deserved to die, but the one who killed him was Ye Zhen..."

Suddenly, Chu Jun smiled to himself, as he suddenly grasped some aspects of Ye Zhen's nature.

On the martial arts platform, the eyes of the Qiyun Sect elders were full of surprise, and a thought flashed through their minds—Ye Zhen had completed the task entrusted by Liao Feibai so quickly.

For an outer disciple like Ye Zhen to be able to kill a veteran inner disciple was unprecedented in the history of Qiyun Sect.

"Ye Zhen!"

Elder Hong Banjiang, who had witnessed his disciple's brutal death, roared in anger.

The violent sound spread through the air, creating tangible sound waves that radiated in all directions.

Hong Banjiang was truly enraged.

Not only because of the pain of his disciple's death.

But also because it was a slap in his face.

Liao Feibai's words were still fresh in his ears, but his disciple Yue Chengzu was already dead.

"Elder Hong, you are losing your composure!"

Instantly, the sect leader Guo Qijing let out a cold snort, and a sharp sound pierced through the sound waves that Elder Hong Banjiang had sent out, dissipating them in the air.

The enraged Hong Banjiang was suddenly startled, but his anger did not diminish. "Sect Leader, Ye Zhen, this wicked person, was told by you before the competition to stop at the point of injury, but he still killed a fellow disciple in public.

Sect Leader, how can we uphold the sect rules if we do not punish Ye Zhen?"

At this point, Hong Banjiang suddenly said solemnly, "I request that the sect leader punish Ye Zhen according to the sect rules!"

Punishing Ye Zhen according to the sect rules meant dealing with him for the crime of killing a fellow disciple. In Qiyun Sect, if the crime of killing a fellow disciple was confirmed, the punishment would be the revocation of his cultivation and expulsion from the sect.

"Elder Hong, Ye Zhen has just made a great contribution to the sect. You want to punish him now. The two princes and the people from Lishui Sect are still here; you want them to see our Lishui Sect as a laughingstock!" Elder Lu Changchuan said with great dissatisfaction.

Hong Banjiang's face turned pale. "But..."

"Elder Hong, I will give you an explanation regarding Ye Zhen's killing of Yue Chengzu. Once the disciples sent to investigate in Yanshan County return, I will give you an explanation!" Sect Leader Guo Qijing suddenly interrupted Hong Banjiang.

Seeing Ye Zhen injured and spitting blood, the plump Jin Yuanbao, who was covering his abdominal wound, rushed onto the competition platform and supported Ye Zhen, stuffing several healing pills into his mouth.

"Old Ye, for the sake of an inner disciple's status, you almost lost your life. Was it worth it? Tell me, is there something you haven't revealed?

You don't know, but the disciples who originally admired you have changed their views because of your ruthless killing of a fellow disciple. If there's something, give me a hint, and I can explain it for you." Jin Yuanbao said.

"Explain! Since I dared to do it, I don't need to explain to anyone! Besides, I'm not so insane as to kill a fellow disciple for the sake of an inner disciple's status..."

As he spoke, Ye Zhen started coughing violently, and a large amount of blood spurted from his mouth.

"Stop talking, stop talking, I'll help you go back and heal..." Jin Yuanbao said quickly.

On the square of the martial arts platform, Jin Yuanbao supported Ye Zhen as they moved forward, and all the inner and outer disciples made way for them, whether out of respect or fear...

Ye Zhen had a good time killing, but after the killing, the mess still needed to be cleaned up by the sect.

Moreover, Ye Zhen's act of killing all the top ten outer disciples of Qiyun Sect thoroughly enraged Elder Lishi of Lishui Sect, making them very aggressive in the Meng family incident.

The main purpose of Crown Prince Zhu Xuan and Prince Zhu Kun's visit was to thoroughly investigate the Meng family incident and give an explanation to the world.

However, with the death of Old Lady Meng, even if Meng Xiaoyue's words were unfavorable to Lishui Sect, Lishui Sect still stubbornly denied it, citing her youth and lack of knowledge.

Furthermore, Lishui Sect had a significant influence in Yanshan County, and under their deliberate control, they fabricated many pieces of evidence unfavorable to Ye Zhen.

But Qiyun Sect was not a pushover either. With the news from the disciples they sent out, a large amount of evidence also emerged.

In the end, the Meng family incident became a never-ending dispute.

In this process, Prince Zhu Kun openly supported Lishui Sect's evidence, leading to a resolution that balanced both sides.

Neither Ye Zhen, Qiyun Sect, nor Lishui Sect were found to have killed Old Lady Meng.

The final explanation to the world was that Old Lady Meng was kidnapped by a group of bandits. Ye Zhen, a disciple of Qiyun Sect, happened to pass by and cleverly rescued Meng Xiaoyue, the only daughter of Meng Chuan. Unfortunately, they were discovered by the bandits and pursued for thousands of miles.

The disciples of Lishui Sect, upon hearing the news, eliminated the bandits...

In the end, the empire rewarded both Ye Zhen and the disciples of Lishui Sect.

This was the best official handling of the incident.

If the incident favored one side, that side would be condemned by the world, leading to unrest. Qiyun Sect and Lishui Sect were the two major pillars of Heishui Kingdom, and the unrest of either sect would lead to the unrest of the kingdom.

Therefore, this handling was the most beneficial to the empire.

"Isn't this just muddling through? How can they do this?"

When Ye Zhen, who was healing, heard this result, he slammed the table in anger!

After a moment, Ye Zhen calmed down, and his eyes flashed with a terrifying light.

Since the rules couldn't deal with the evil Lishui Sect, it would have to be done by force.

By his own force!

Five days later, when the Meng family incident was concluded, in the grand hall of Qiyun Sect, Sect Leader Guo Qijing and the eight sect elders gathered for a very serious meeting.

"Today, I have called all the elders here for one thing. Five days ago, Ye Zhen deliberately killed inner disciple Yue Chengzu in the competition, violating the sect rules. We need to discuss how to punish Ye Zhen." Sect Leader Guo Qijing said.

Upon hearing this, Elder Hong Banjiang's expression became extremely expectant.

"Sect Leader, Ye Zhen did deliberately kill Yue Chengzu, and he is indeed at fault. However, Ye Zhen has just made a great contribution to the sect. When punishing him, we should take this into consideration." Elder Lu Changchuan said.

"Elder Lu, your words are not right. Which disciple of the sect has no merit? If a meritorious disciple can kill a fellow disciple at will, our Qiyun Sect will not be far from destruction!" Elder Hong Banjiang's words were very heavy.

Upon hearing this, Sect Leader Guo Qijing looked at Elder Hong Banjiang with a blank expression. "Elder Hong, what do you think about this?"

"Elder, I believe this trend must not continue. Ye Zhen must be punished strictly according to the sect rules!" Hong Banjiang said.

"Sect rules?" A mocking expression suddenly appeared on Sect Leader Guo Qijing's face. "Elder Hong, do you still have the sect rules in your eyes?"

With a roar, a stack of intelligence was thrown by Sect Leader Guo Qijing. "Read these pieces of intelligence!"

Soon, the intelligence was passed around, and each elder who read it showed a surprised expression, making Hong Banjiang look flustered.

When the intelligence reached Hong Banjiang's hands, Sect Leader Guo Qijing suddenly burst out.

"Hong Banjiang, you have taught a good disciple, and you have fabricated good false evidence!"

"Yue Chengzu's hometown did suffer a natural disaster last year, but he did not do anything to help the people. Instead, the Yue family took advantage of the disaster to make a fortune, becoming the largest landowner in Dibei County in just half a year."

"Look, look, this is the testimony of the people, officers, and even the disciples of Lishui Sect stationed in Yanshan County!"

"The life of the Meng family was far from humble!"

"Yue Chengzu did indeed send silver on behalf of the sect every year, but the amount was only one hundred taels! This has become a laughingstock among the disciples of Lishui Sect. Seeing this intelligence, my old face..."

"Six years, six years!"

"More infuriatingly, every time Yue Chengzu sent silver, he didn't even enter the Meng family's house. If he had, the sect would not have been deceived for so long."

"Hong Banjiang, this is the disciple you have taught?"

"Do you still talk about righteousness, fabricating false evidence for your disciple? Is this your righteousness?"

Faced with the intelligence, Elder Hong Banjiang's forehead was drenched in cold sweat, and his face turned black and red, wishing he could find a hole to hide in.

"Sect Leader, I... I was also deceived by this scoundrel..."

"Hmph, if Ye Zhen hadn't already killed that bastard, I would have dismembered Yue Chengzu into eighteen pieces!"

Sect Leader Guo Qijing was still not satisfied with the scolding, spitting out saliva.

After a long time, Sect Leader Guo Qijing's expression finally eased.

"Given this matter, you should take a rest and focus on the righteousness of your disciples. You should also reflect on yourself. The management of the Longshan Spirit Crystal Mine will be temporarily handed over to Elder Seven."

Elder Hong Banjiang's face suddenly turned pale. Being scolded by the sect leader was nothing, but losing the management of the spirit crystal mine was a huge loss.

"Sect Leader..."

"This is decided!" When Hong Banjiang wanted to say something, Sect Leader Guo Qijing's expression turned serious, making the final decision.

Beside him, Elder Hong Banjiang's lips twitched in pain.

"You all have seen that Ye Zhen has indeed made great contributions to the sect, and not just one. Therefore, Ye Zhen must be rewarded, and heavily rewarded!"

"Ye Zhen is a good child. He has hidden the ugly deeds of Yue Chengzu and not revealed them, covering up this sect scandal for us. We must keep the matter of Yue Chengzu secret forever; we cannot afford to lose face."

"However, Ye Zhen killed Yue Chengzu in front of almost all the inner and outer disciples under the guise of a competition. This kind of behavior of killing a fellow disciple must not be encouraged."

At this point, Sect Leader Guo Qijing said, "Therefore, we must punish Ye Zhen on the surface, but actually reward him heavily. So, I decide to punish Ye Zhen to face the wall!"

"Face the wall?" Elder Lu Changchuan looked puzzled.

"Yes, I will send him to the Qiankun Stone Forest to face the wall!" Sect Leader Guo Qijing said with deep meaning.

At the next moment, the elders all exclaimed in surprise. "What? Sect Leader, you are actually going to open the Qiankun Stone Forest for Ye Zhen?"

***********

PS: Two chapters of over 6,000 words have been condensed into one chapter. It's better not to water down the content!

I owe you a chapter today, I will make it up tomorrow!

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