41: Searching for evidence

Dong—!

The first ray of dawn, accompanied by the familiar sound of the wake-up gong, shone into the crowded courtyard where the Outer Sect Disciples resided.

Inside the wooden hut, Lin Ye slowly opened his eyes.

A deep sense of exhaustion, originating from his Divine Soul, washed over him like a tide. His temples throbbed, and his entire brain felt as if it had been stuffed with a paste, heavy and aching.

Cultivating a completely new and Divine Soul-based secret technique overnight consumed far more Mental Energy than cultivating Body Refining Cultivation Techniques.

However, beneath this fatigue, his eyes shone with astonishing brilliance!

Just as he regained consciousness, the System's cold prompt sounded in his mind, right on time!

"Ding! Aura Simulation has automatically Cultivated for 8 hours!"

"Detecting that the host maintained high concentration and clear objectives during Cultivation, Cultivation efficiency received an additional bonus..."

"Congratulations, host! Aura Simulation has reached the — Initial Realm!"

Buzz!

A profound realization, like a sudden enlightenment, instantly flooded Lin Ye's mind!

At this moment, he felt his perception of the ethereal concept of "Aura" become sharper than ever before! He could even clearly "see" the unique blood Qi fluctuations, like dense or faint smoke, emanating from the still-sleeping Disciples in the same room!

"It worked!"

Lin Ye's heart tensed. All his fatigue seemed to be somewhat diluted by the immense surprise at this moment.

He knew that the last piece of his counterattack puzzle had been assembled!

He didn't lie down anymore but quietly dressed and got out of bed as usual.

Today was his last day in the Outer Sect, and also the big day of his promotion to the Inner Sect.

When he walked out of the wooden hut, the atmosphere of the entire courtyard was completely different from usual. The air had less numbness and despair, and more reverence and... flattery.

All the Disciples who saw him would stop far away, bow to him, and respectfully call him "Senior Brother Lin."

Lin Ye merely nodded calmly in response, a perfectly appropriate, slightly sickly smile on his face, pretending to be oblivious to the "killing trap" he was about to face.

He got his food and ate as usual.

He knew that Zhang Ping and that Disciple Liu must be secretly observing him. The more normal he appeared, the more immersed he seemed in the joy of his impending promotion, the lower their guard would be, and the smoother their plan would proceed.

And he was waiting for the moment they made their move!

After breakfast, according to Sect rules, he needed to go to the miscellaneous affairs courtyard first to return the Outer Sect Disciple's chore tools, and then proceed to the Deacon Hall to collect the Inner Sect Disciple's attire and token.

This was his only chance to find evidence!

Lin Ye walked unhurriedly on the path to the miscellaneous affairs courtyard.

His gaze seemed to be appreciating the familiar yet strange scenery he was about to leave, but in reality, it was like the sharpest eagle, rapidly scanning everything around him.

Finally, as he passed the chore task bulletin board, his steps imperceptibly paused.

The wall was covered with various task slips, and in the bottom right corner of one of the yellowed, old task slips about "cleaning the beast pens," he saw a flamboyant signature, full of arrogance and malice.

—Zhang Ping.

Found it!

Lin Ye's heart settled. He pretended to casually walk up and stopped in front of the task board for a moment, as if recalling his "glorious years" of the past three months.

But his dark eyes had long since, like the most advanced camera, deeply imprinted the strokes, force, and the unique faint spiritual energy fluctuations contained within those two words into his mind!

After doing all this, he turned and left nonchalantly, heading to the miscellaneous affairs courtyard.

After returning the axe with its already blunted edge and the worn-out carrying pole, Lin Ye did not immediately go to the Deacon Hall.

He excused himself by saying he still had some personal belongings to pack, politely declined Fatty Wang and others' kind offer to "escort" him, and walked alone towards his dilapidated wooden hut.

However, upon reaching an unmanned corner, his figure suddenly swayed, and like a ghost, he flashed into an extremely secluded, long-abandoned path!

He needed an absolutely quiet place, where he would not be disturbed, to create his "evidence"!

Passing through a patch of knee-high weeds, Lin Ye arrived at a half-collapsed, abandoned woodshed.

He vigilantly scanned his surroundings, and only after confirming there were no signs of anyone did he slip inside.

From his embrace, he pulled out several items he had prepared earlier—a blank ledger bound with the most ordinary hemp paper, a bottle of pine ink, and a wolf hair brush.

He spread the ledger on the ground, took a deep breath, and slowly closed his eyes.

In his mind, the scene he had witnessed in the miscellaneous affairs courtyard last night clearly reappeared. Zhang Ping's fawning face, his sinister eyes, his unique aura, tainted with a hint of turbidity and greed... everything seemed to come alive, replaying continuously in his consciousness.

"Aura Simulation, activate!"

Lin Ye's thoughts stirred, and a mysterious energy instantly enveloped his entire body!

The next moment, the originally calm-as-water aura on him began to undergo strange changes!

His blood Qi frequency was subtly adjusting.

His spiritual energy fluctuations were slowly changing.

Ultimately, his entire aura became seventy to eighty percent similar to Zhang Ping's in his memory!

This was the power of Aura Simulation at the Initial Realm!

Lin Ye didn't stop. He reached out and grasped the half-bald wolf hair brush.

He brought his memory of Zhang Ping's handwriting to its peak!

Then, he dipped the brush in ink and made the first stroke on the blank ledger!

His movements, at first, seemed a bit clumsy.

But as time passed, with the System's assistance, his brushstrokes became smoother and smoother, and increasingly... similar!

Every hook, stroke, and flourish was filled with Zhang Ping's characteristic flamboyance and malice!

Rows of tiny characters began to quietly appear on the hemp paper ledger.

"Gengzi Year, third day of the seventh month, night, miscellaneous affairs courtyard. Handed over ten bottles of Low Grade Qi Condensation Powder and three Body Tempering herbs to Senior Brother Liu. Received one Medium Grade Qi Condensation Pill."

"Gengzi Year, twentieth day of the seventh month, rain, abandoned mine in the back mountain. Handed over fifteen bottles of Low Grade Qi Condensation Powder to Senior Brother Liu... Received two Medium Grade Qi Condensation Pills."

...He meticulously recorded every dirty transaction in Zhang Ping's lifelike handwriting!

Time, place, quantity, profit... everything was detailed beyond compare!

When he wrote the last stroke, he even mobilized the simulated, faint spiritual energy belonging to Zhang Ping, injected it into the brush, and signed "Zhang Ping" at the end of the last page!

After doing all this, Lin Ye felt as if his Mental Energy was almost completely drained, and he was on the verge of collapse.

But looking at the "evidence" before him, which was convincing enough to be mistaken for the real thing, and even more real than the "real" thing, a cold, triumphant smile finally appeared on his pale face.

"Zhang Ping, Liu Feng..."

"I hope you... like this grand gift."

He carefully closed the ledger, hid it close to his body, then tidied his clothes, and once again put on that "honest" yet somewhat "sickly" expression before walking out of the abandoned woodshed.