News on Lie Shang
A group barged into Dustfallen Sect’s place, charging through the shabby door. Several of them carried two individuals covered under white sheets, feet being the only body part revealed, on a stretcher. Their leader was a guy dressed in a grey robe and hand embellished with a black bamboo folding fan. He was the one who brayed, and he was there to with his legion of followers to find fault. His group vigilantly watched Mu Yu and Lan Ling’er in case the duo attempted to make a dash.
Mu Yu couldn’t recall where he had met the individual before, and there wasn’t time to think.
Sha Yan emerged from behind the individual, face deathly pale and arm still in bandages. “Senior Brother, he is the one who erased my cultivation.”
Mu Yu furrowed his eyebrows, guessing the group were all disciples of Jiuhua Sect, there to avenge Sha Yan. That said, he couldn’t explain the two people on the stretchers. There was soon some direction, when the individual in grey, a Golden Core Realm adept, questioned with an angry undertone, “You destroyed my junior’s dantian and killed my two other junior brothers?”
“I killed who?” asked Mu Yu, puzzled. “Sha Yan viciously beat my family member. I do not see how erasing his cultivation is unacceptable.”
“Don’t lie! You blatantly bullied me…” blustered Sha Yan.
“I bullied you? You blackmailed me with the life of an eighty year old elder and tried to humiliate us. Are you some sort of animal?”
“That’s why you destroyed his dantian, ruining his life as a cultivator? So young, yet so ruthless!” exclaimed the individual in grey.
“I would say that was the best outcome given his misdeed. Would you spare someone who forces your parents to their knees and humiliates them?” Mu Yu was wary despite his rage. After all, the potential enemy was more advanced than him.
In the meantime, Lan Ling’er managed to regain her composure. She didn’t know the details, but she had a rough guess as to what transpired. “The world of cultivation is survival of the fittest. Targeting someone’s family because you’re inferior? You deserve it.”
“Because we’re inferior? Who are you to decide whether or not you’re permitted to ruin our disciples’ dantians? If you don’t compensate and repent, I’ll show you who’s inferior.”
The burst of Golden Core energy that enveloped the courtyard forced Mu Yu and Lan Ling’er to retreat. Mu Yu quickly tried to come up with a solution. Since there were plenty of cultivators around, he figured people would gather around if they heard a commotion. Jiuhua Sect wouldn’t harm them in case people criticised them. Thus, he belted, “Jiuhua Sect sure is something, huh? The sect countless people revere is ignoring right and wrong. You’re setting a great example. Don’t worry, nobody will ridicule you!”
Several cultivators in the sky quickly flew over to the courtyard. Seeing the second most influential sect picking a bone with the weakest sect sure was a new sight to behold. Everyone knew Dustfallen Sect was a sect that maintained a low profile, leading to inquisitive questions developing.
The individual in grey would’ve killed the duo if they were outside the city; however, there were elites from various sects at the academy. As with every other sect that carried the burden of reputation, he couldn’t act mindlessly in the presence of others. In the end, he changed his tone. “All right, I’ll put aside the dantian issue for the meantime. How do you explain killing my juniors Li Yuan and Tang Yang?”
Mu Yu and Lan Ling’er froze after juggling the two names in their heads. Neither of them understood how Li Yuan assassinating Tang Yang and Ju Wenxing killing Li Yuan in the name of their sect rules suddenly turned into Mu Yu killing them.
The group lifted the white sheets revealing Li Yuan and Tang Yang’s corpses. Their white skin highlighted the traces of blood on them. Tang Yang had his eyes and chest wide open. Li Yuan’s enraged gaze was laid bare for all to see. The deep cut on his neck was the fatal wound. Mu Yu didn’t recall the stab wound on Li Yuan’s chest, however.
“I see you’re taking framing to another level. We did not kill either of them. Why don’t you enlighten us as to what their cultivation was? How about our cultivation levels? Neither my junior brother nor I are at a level where we could kill Foundation Establishment Realm Ninth Layer cultivators. Explain that.”
“How would I know what sort of underhanded tactics you used to kill them? Either way, you two definitely had a hand in their deaths,” contended the individual in grey, running his eyes up and down Lan Ling’er and Mu Yu. Suddenly, he gasped.
“The two only look fifteen to sixteen years old. They have only been cultivating for three to four years, then, right?”
The others quickly chimed in, unable to process the fact Dustfallen Sect’s disciples were superior in terms of cultivation and surpassed the record the genius, Bai Lang, set. Nothing made sense all of a sudden until…
“Hmph, Dustfallen Sect must be using some unorthodox, voodoo tricks for you to have advanced so far at such a young age. My two juniors tragically died unjust deaths at your hands!” claimed the individual in grey, insisting Dustfallen Sect couldn’t have picked up any geniuses.
Immediately, everyone bought in to the claim, believing Xiaohu to have been the only true prodigy in years. After all, Dustfallen Sect was always left with the unwanted candidates. They began to show disdain for Dustfallen Sect, associating the sect’s rankings with their unscrupulous deeds. Many so-called unorthodox methods were ways of rapidly progressing one’s cultivation at the cost of tremendous damage. They, therefore, concluded the duo’s cultivation had reached their heights.
Insults were hurled at Dustfallen Sect and even Feng Haochen, enraging Lan Ling’er. Unfortunately, there was something more pertinent to handle than lashing out.
Li Yuan and Tang Yang died days ago. Lan Ling’er was present. Yet, they targeted Mu Yu. The only explanation he could offer was they purposely waited for him to arrive. Although Sha Yan and Mu Yu were hostile with each other, the former never mentioned his seniors’ deaths. Something was bizarre about the scenario.
Mu Yu went back to when Ju Wenxing decided to execute his junior without consulting their senior’s first. That was an odd and usually unacceptable action. Next, there was the sword wound at Li Yuan’s chest that wasn’t there when he died. Pieces of the puzzle seemed to fit together somehow…
“Ling’er, d-”
“Hmph, I’ll tell you what happened. The one who killed Tang Yang for a fiend spirit, then executed Li Yuan when Li Yuan realised what he was up was Ju Wenxing. Why don’t you ask him for the full story?!”
Mu Yu was too late. Once the fiend spirit was mentioned, the situation was bound to spiral out of control. They could’ve refuted having anything to do with the murders since Jiuhua Sect lacked incriminating evidence and wouldn’t attack them at the academy. After Lan Ling’er mentioned the fiend spirit, it implied they were involved.
The people around chuckled and gave Lan Ling’er odd looks as if she was a joke. The individual in grey indifferently took a step forward. “Did you just claim I killed my two juniors?”
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