914: Chapter 915 A Coup?

At that moment, the Third Elder, seated high above, slowly opened his eyes.

Within those aged eyes, there was no frenzied madness of blind rage, only a dead silence of icy coldness and bone-chilling frost.

He stared fixedly at Xiao Ruobai, his gaze like a Grim Reaper locking onto its prey, and his low, hoarse voice slowly echoed across the entire arena:

"You, are you called Xiao Ruobai?"

Xiao Ruobai raised his eyes, calmly meeting the Third Elder's Heavenly King Realm pressure that was enough to crush ordinary Cultivators, without dodging or evading, and replied softly:

"Indeed."

The reply was calm and composed, without a shred of cowardice.

The Third Elder's fingertips trembled slightly; it was not fear, but extreme restraint born of hatred.

His two grandsons, in whom he had placed high hopes, the new generation of Prodigies of the Zhao family, had all perished at the hands of these five people.

For hundreds of thousands of years, he had managed the Sect's logistics, holding the lifeline of the entire Sect's resources in his hands, and had sired two offspring at the Heavenly Monarch Peak.

He had cultivated countless direct factions, wielding towering authority and possessing a profound foundation.

His grandson Zhao Qian, in particular, was a dragon among men, originally destined for a boundless future.

"Good, very good."

The Third Elder nodded slowly, his tone chillingly calm.

The next moment, he abruptly stood up from his seat, his Heavenly King Realm pressure pouring out without reservation, causing the air across the entire plaza to stagnate instantly!

Step by step, he walked toward Xiao Ruobai. With every step he took, the bluestone ground beneath his feet cracked a fraction more, the fissures spreading outward like a spider's web.

"You killed my grandsons Zhao Kun and Zhao Qian, and slaughtered hundreds of members of Xuanwu Peak—"

His voice was hoarse, carrying a bone-deep venom, and every single word seemed squeezed out from between his teeth:

"Do you—know your crimes?!"

As his voice fell, the atmosphere across the entire plaza instantly tightened to the absolute limit!

Everyone held their breath, waiting for Xiao Ruobai's reply.

However, Xiao Ruobai did not kneel, did not offer any defense, and did not even show the slightest trace of panic.

He merely lifted his eyelids, looked calmly at the Third Elder, and spoke indifferently:

"Zhao Kun set a trap to seize my Spirit Spring Liquid first, and Zhao Qian led over a thousand people to surround and kill me second."

"They were inferior in skill and died beneath my halberd; what crime have I committed?"

Although his voice was not loud, it clearly entered the ears of everyone present.

The entire audience erupted in an uproar!

"This newcomer is way too bold! To dare speak like this right in front of the Third Elder!"

"What did he just say? Zhao Qian was inferior in skill? That was a true successor of Xuanwu Peak at the Ninth Layer of Tongtian!"

"Yet he really killed Zhao Qian... Could what he said be true?"

"Regardless of whether it's true or false, admitting to murder right in front of the Third Elder is simply courting death!"

Discussions buzzed through the crowd, countless Disciples whispering to one another, shock, doubt, and disbelief intertwining.

At the back of the crowd, Liu Qingyao stood quietly, gazing with complex eyes at that tall and straight figure.

She had witnessed everything in the Secret Realm with her own eyes, and she knew that Xiao Ruobai was telling the truth.

But she also knew that in this world, the truth was often not important.

What was important was whether you had the strength to make the truth stand on its own feet.

She gently clenched the fingers inside her sleeves, her gaze involuntarily turning toward her father on the high platform.

Sect Master Liu Zhenshan's expression was calm, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

But Liu Qingyao knew that her father must be weighing his options at this moment to make the most correct choice.

The Third Elder's complexion turned instantly ashen, the killing intent around his body surging until it almost condensed into substance!

"Good! Good! Good!"

He uttered three "Good"s in succession, each one carrying monstrous killing intent:

"Since that is the case, this old man shall personally reclaim this blood debt for my grandson!"

Before his voice faded, he raised his hand and struck down with a palm toward the top of Xiao Ruobai's head!

A Heavenly King Realm expert striking in fury—if this palm strike landed solidly, let alone the Third Layer of Tongtian, even a Heavenly Monarch Realm expert would perish on the spot!

However, at the very moment this palm was about to descend—

"Enough."

A firm voice rang out.

Sect Master Liu Zhenshan had appeared before Xiao Ruobai at some unknown point, and with a gentle flick of his hand, he dissolved the Third Elder's palm strike into nothingness.

He looked calmly at the Third Elder, his tone bland yet carrying the inviolable majesty of a Sect Master:

"Third Elder, this Sect Master has already said that this matter will be dealt with after the joint inquiry. Do you take this Sect Master's words as wind passing the ear?"

The Third Elder's face turned ashen as he stared fixedly at Sect Master Liu Zhenshan:

"Sect Master! This person admitted to murder with his own mouth, and the evidence is conclusive! What is there left to inquire about?!"

"Conclusive evidence?"

Sect Master Liu Zhenshan indifferently repeated those four words, then turned his head to look at Xiao Ruobai:

"Xiao Ruobai, this Sect Master asks you, did Zhao Kun set a trap to seize your Spirit Spring Liquid?"

"Yes."

"Is it true that Zhao Qian led several hundred people to surround and kill the five of you?"

"Yes."

"Were you forced to counterattack, or did you actively pursue them?"

"Forced to counterattack."

Xiao Ruobai replied without the slightest hesitation:

"Zhao Qian ordered the encirclement and killing of us. If we had not resisted, we would have long since been corpses by now."

Upon hearing this, Sect Master Liu Zhenshan nodded and slowly turned around.

His gaze swept across the tens of thousands of Disciples from various Peaks who had just emerged from the Secret Realm, and his steady voice resounded through the entire audience:

"This Sect Master asks you all, is there any falsehood in what Xiao Ruobai said—that Zhao Kun set a trap to seize treasures and Zhao Qian led a mob to surround and kill them?"

The plaza fell into a dead silence.

Those Disciples from various Peaks who had witnessed everything in the Secret Realm looked at one another in dismay, none daring to respond.

Some lowered their heads, some flickered their gazes, and others quietly took a step back.

But not a single person spoke up to refute it.

Because they all knew that every single word Xiao Ruobai spoke was the absolute truth.

Sect Master Liu Zhenshan waited for a moment, and seeing no one reply, he nodded slowly:

"No one refutes it, which means tacit consent."

He turned around, looked at the Third Elder, and spoke in a resounding voice:

"Third Elder, you have seen it as well.

With tens of thousands of Disciples present, no one has accused Xiao Ruobai of speaking falsely.

The origin of this matter lies in Xuanwu Peak Disciples Zhao Kun and Zhao Qian taking the initiative to set a trap and surround them, while Xiao Ruobai and the other four were forced to counterattack, which was purely in self-defense.

Although there were casualties, the fault does not lie with them."

He paused, slowly rose to his feet, and his voice was steady and powerful:

"This Sect Master rules that Xiao Ruobai and the other four counterattacked in self-defense and are not guilty!!"

As his voice fell, the plaza fell into a dead silence.

Immediately afterwards, the Xuanwu Peak camp exploded into an uproar!

"Not guilty?! Having killed hundreds of our people, is it just going to end like this?!"

"Even if Senior Brother Zhao Qian struck first, they shouldn't have been so ruthless! Those were hundreds of lives!"

"In the end, even after Senior Brother Zhao Qian begged for mercy, he still dealt a fatal blow! How can this be considered not guilty?!"

"The Sect Master is openly shielding them!"

Waves of angry voices rose and fell among the crowd, every single Xuanwu Peak Disciple having red eyes and monstrous hatred.

However, quite a few neutral Disciples shook their heads inwardly. In the Secret Realm, life and death were one's own responsibility; Zhao Qian made the first move to kill others and was killed in return, who could he blame?

Ziyang Peak Master's gaze flickered slightly as he thought to himself: The Sect Master has indeed seen the value of these five people.

He would rather offend the Third Elder than fail to protect them.

This kind of boldness—truly worthy of being the Sect Master.

The Third Elder's complexion turned ashen in an instant, and then shifted into a sickly flush.

He stared fixedly at Sect Master Liu Zhenshan, his chest heaving violently and his fists clenching so hard they made cracking sounds.

After a long while, he suddenly laughed.

That laughter was hoarse and chilling, carrying a bone-deep mockery and venom:

"Good, very good."

He slowly raised his head, the hatred in the depths of his eyes almost condensing into substance:

"Sect Master Liu Zhenshan, with a single word of not guilty, you want to wipe away the life of my grandson?

You want to wipe away the hundreds of lives on Xuanwu Peak? Is this how you, a Sect Master, uphold justice?"

He abruptly turned around, facing all the Elders and Disciples present, his voice suddenly rising sharply:

"For tens of thousands of years since the founding of the Tianyuan Sect, we have relied on fairness, strictness, and clear rewards and punishments!

Today, in order to shield five murderers, the Sect Master has gone so far as to trample upon the Sect's laws and chill the hearts of thousands of Disciples up and down Xuanwu Peak!

Such a Sect Master—what qualification does he still have to sit in that position?"

With a sudden wave of his hand, his voice sounded like thunder:

"I propose—that the Sect Master abdicate and go be your Grand Elder! The Sect shall choose another capable person to preside over the overall situation!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire audience erupted in an uproar!

Everyone was utterly dumbfounded.