80: Chapter 81 Temple Sealing and Investigation

"In accordance with the Temple's sacrificial path blacklist observation clause, we are now initiating an investigation into the Spore-Plague samples you deployed on the front lines."

As soon as these words fell, the tension that had just been raised by the First Flag of the Perimeter was as if it had been slashed horizontally by a blade on the spot.

No one shouted in front of the bridge anymore.

The Heavy Hammer Team, Beiyue Academy, the upper-level rapid response teams, and even the two attendants holding registers behind Pei Chengxu, all fell silent first.

Because everyone understood what this meant.

This blow was aimed directly at Lu Jin's most formidable asset.

The Temple Inspector stood outside the outermost layer of gray fire, his robes so white they seemed untouched by dust, yet the platinum scroll in his hand was held steady. He didn't look at the First Flag of the Perimeter first, nor the control zone rankings, but stared only at the old fire seam near Lu Jin's feet that still retained a trace of spore-ash, as if he had been waiting for this moment all along.

"During the front-line inspection, you were on the sacrificial path observation blacklist."

"Today, during the battle for the main node, you deployed high-pollution spore-path samples without prior verification and failed to register the samples for sealing."

He opened the scroll, his voice flat and devoid of inflection.

"Per the clause, sealing the samples."

"Per the precedent, sealing the path."

"Per the front-line risk protocol, suspending subsequent trial feeding and deployment."

A low murmur immediately rose in front of the bridge.

The Temple's blow had landed so precisely that the murmur was kept extremely low.

Everyone knew that the most dangerous variable in Lu Jin's path lay in that batch of Spore-Plague Explosive Rats.

If the Temple managed to nail this asset down with a single "high-pollution" label, even if he wasn't completely reverted to his original state for future battles, he would effectively have half his teeth pulled out.

Lu Jin, however, did not immediately push back.

He first lowered his head to look at his feet.

There was indeed a faint trace of spore-ash left in that fire seam—not much, but enough for the Temple to seize upon.

Only then did he look up.

"Which clause are you investigating under?"

The Temple Inspector looked at him:

"Spore-Plague samples, sacrificial path cultivation, and deployment records."

"Is it an investigation, or a total shutdown?" Lu Jin asked again.

This time, even the murmurs in front of the bridge quieted down.

Because Lu Jin's words had separated the two issues.

The Temple Inspector's expression didn't change.

"If verification confirms the contamination is uncontrollable, regulations allow for an immediate ban."

"Then proceed with the investigation first."

Lu Jin said, "Don't use the second half of that sentence as the first."

The words were not heavy.

But many people in front of the bridge subconsciously looked up.

Because Lu Jin didn't pretend not to understand the rules, nor did he immediately accuse the Temple of picking a fight.

He simply steered the conversation back to the most practical level.

You want to investigate, fine.

You cannot condemn the entire line with a single "high-pollution" label.

Only then did the Temple Inspector truly look at him.

"Do you think you are currently qualified to negotiate the order of operations with the Temple?"

"I believe I am."

Lu Jin replied calmly, "Because this batch of samples appeared when the Outer Fire Well was blocked, the Sun Gold sealing slots were under pressure, and the main node was about to lose power."

He raised his hand and pointed directly at the ancient battle map in front of the fire gate that hadn't fully faded yet.

"Six samples."

"Four dismantled the blocked line and flipped the sealing slots."

"Two held up the dead ash board at the bottom of the well."

"The Fire Well was restored, the Post Station remained connected, the fire gate opened, and the First Flag of the Perimeter just acknowledged the results."

"If you want to investigate, do it according to the battle map, the battle damage, and the deployment points."

"Don't write the four words 'has risks' as 'cannot be used again'."

After these words, the expressions of the various teams watching in front of the bridge changed slightly.

Because Lu Jin didn't use "I have merit" to pressure them.

He used something much harder to refute.

The battle map was still glowing.

The blocked points, the blast locations, and the Fire Well's back-flush lines were all displayed on it.

The First Flag of the Perimeter was right there at his feet.

If the Temple truly wanted to say this asset was useless, they would be denying the entire front-line result that had just occurred in front of everyone.

But the Temple Inspector didn't back down.

"Battle results only prove you saved a well; they cannot exempt you from an investigation."

"Being able to save one well doesn't mean this path won't cause trouble at the second well or the third line."

"You are on the blacklist; you shouldn't have been handling high-pollution spore-path deployments in the first place."

Having said this, his gaze finally lifted from the spore-ash seam near Lu Jin's feet and landed directly on his face.

"Lu Jin, what the Temple is investigating now is whether you are still qualified to continue gambling more lives with this path."

As these words fell, the atmosphere in front of the bridge tightened further.

Because this was the most troublesome aspect of the Temple.

It doesn't argue with you about the immediate situation.

It competes over who gets to define the risk for the entire path ahead.

Pei Chengxu stood to the side, not interjecting from beginning to end.

But when he heard this, his eyes became noticeably calmer.

Because he also understood.

If the Temple's blow truly landed, even if the Pei family hadn't driven Lu Jin away from the fire gate today, they would be spared a great deal of trouble later.

"I allow verification."

Lu Jin said, "I will hand over the existing remnant samples, deployment records, and copies of battle damage reports."

"But the cultivation nest lines and subsequent trial cleansing cannot be shut down by a single 'suspend'."

Just as the Temple Inspector was about to speak again, a heavier sound of armored boots pressed over from the Military Court stone path on the north side of the bridge.

It was not fast.

But it was heavy.

It was as if someone had no intention of avoiding this confrontation.

Instructor Han Tiecheng.

He hadn't even removed his armor, his shoulders still stained with the old ash from the front-line acknowledgment monument, followed by a Black-Armored Recorder. The recorder was holding a thick register and two newly unsealed black iron battle record boxes, clearly having come directly from the acknowledgment platform.

Instructor Han Tiecheng walked to the front of the bridge without looking at the Temple first.

He first glanced at the First Flag of the Perimeter that had just been lowered, then looked at the fire seam with spore-ash near Lu Jin's feet, before speaking:

"Investigation, I heard it."

His voice was not loud.

But it immediately suppressed the tension that had been stretching thinner and thinner in front of the bridge.

The Temple Inspector turned around, his tone still flat:

"Instructor Han, Lu Jin is on the sacrificial path blacklist and deployed high-pollution spore-path samples during the battle for the main node. According to regulations, the Temple has the right to initiate an investigation."

"I didn't say you couldn't investigate."

Instructor Han Tiecheng took the thick register directly from the Black-Armored Recorder, didn't even flip through it, and slapped it onto the side of the ancient battle map in front of the bridge.

"But if you want to investigate, do it according to front-line regulations."

"Just shouting the words 'investigation' isn't enough to cut off someone's line on the spot."

As these words fell, the coldness in the Temple Inspector's eyes finally deepened.

"The front-line regulations are also very clear: high-pollution abnormal combat lines—"

"I know them better than you do." Instructor Han Tiecheng interrupted directly, "That's why I brought the records."

He pressed his finger on the edge of the thick register.

The Black-Armored Recorder immediately stepped forward half a step and opened the first page.

What was written on it were all battle records.

"No. 7 Rift Zone perimeter, Outer Fire Well emergency repair battle."

"Number of spore-path samples deployed: six."

"Deployment points: blocked line, sealing slot bottom, dead ash board."

"Diffusion crossing boundaries: zero."

"Friendly contamination loss of control: zero."

"Node back-fire success: three."

As the recorder read them out one by one, the area in front of the bridge grew quieter.

Because these were all actual accounts recorded by the Military Court front-line station.

Instructor Han Tiecheng then continued:

"If you want verification, I'll give you samples."

"If you want to copy battle records, I'll give you the records."

"But if you don't have an official prohibition order in your hand, don't be judging people out of the game on behalf of the Military Court under my front-line acknowledgment fire."

The Temple Inspector stared at Instructor Han Tiecheng for two breaths.

"Instructor Han, the Temple is reminding you that once this line loses control, it won't just be his team that dies."

"That's why we're investigating."

Instructor Han Tiecheng said, "But investigation is one thing; cutting them off first is not allowed."

His tone didn't rise at all.

But speaking so calmly made it even heavier.

"Lu Jin's batch of Spore-Plague samples has been recognized by the front-line merit fire."

"The Fire Well was restored by them, and the First Flag was pressed down by stepping on this control line."

"You want to investigate the risks now, I accept that."

"But if you want to stop his subsequent trial cleansing, trial cultivation, and front-line transformation with a single sentence, I do not accept it."

The tension in front of the bridge, which had almost been suppressed by the Temple, was suddenly pulled back.

The young man in the gray-brown short cape from Beiyue Academy stood at the high entrance on the left, arms crossed, watching; the indifference in his eyes finally lessened by a fraction.

Pei Chengxu still didn't speak, but his gaze toward Lu Jin was deeper than before.

Because everyone could see it.

What the Military Court was seizing was the power of "who gets to define this line".

Only then did Lu Jin step forward another half step.

"I will hand over the existing remnant samples for the Temple to seal."

"I will also hand over the deployment battle records, back-fire points, and battle damage records."

"But the subsequent trial cleansing and purification will not stop."

The Temple Inspector stared at him:

"What makes you think you can continue?"

"Because this line has not lost control yet."

Lu Jin said, "And because what you really want to investigate is whether this combat line can become cleaner in the future."

As these words fell, the coldness that had been suppressed in Instructor Han Tiecheng's eyes finally flickered.

The Temple Inspector was silent for a few breaths before flipping the platinum scroll to the next page.

"Fine."

"Then we will proceed according to the front-line parallel regulations."

"The existing Spore-Plague remnant samples will be sealed by the Temple."

"Subsequent spore-path deployments are temporarily suspended and restricted."

"Before you produce the cleansing results, all new samples must have records, ash, and verification bases kept."

He looked up at Lu Jin.

"I will not ban you yet."

"But from this moment on, if this line of yours steps out of order again, I will seal it myself."

Only then did the area in front of the bridge truly breathe a sigh of relief.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief because the most fatal blow hadn't been struck on the spot.

Lu Jin nodded.

"Agreed."

Instructor Han Tiecheng didn't press further either.

He simply signaled the Black-Armored Recorder to pass over the two black iron battle record boxes, one for the Temple to seal the samples, and one for the Military Court to keep on file.

The surrounding teams only then dared to speak again.

But the way they looked at Lu Jin was already different from just a moment ago.

First, he suppressed the First Flag of the Perimeter.

Then, he withstood the Temple's investigation.

The words "he can fight" were no longer enough to describe the weight of this achievement.

When the Temple Inspector collected the boxes, he looked at Lu Jin one last time.

"The blacklist won't disappear just because you suppressed the flag today."

Lu Jin replied calmly:

"I know."

"Good that you know."

The Temple people came coldly and left quickly.

But as the platinum scroll closed, everyone in front of the bridge understood that this matter wasn't over.

The Temple just wasn't going to strike right now.

They would be watching even more closely later.

Pei Chengxu also took back the two pages that were still pressing on the edge of the ancient battle map at this moment.

He didn't mention the joint investigation again, nor did he mention returning the accounts, only nodding at Lu Jin.

The meaning was clear.

Tonight, the Military Court and the Temple had clashed first.

The Pei family was not in a hurry to strike the second blow.

After the people in front of the bridge had mostly dispersed, Instructor Han Tiecheng turned and walked away.

Halfway there, as if remembering something, he directly pulled a black fire slip as thin as gray paper from the side of his armor, without even looking at Lu Jin, and slapped it onto his chest.

"Catch."

Lu Jin raised his hand to press it.

There were no coordinates on the black fire slip.

No instructions.

Only one sentence, pressed on black and hard—

"If you want to keep this asset, go wash it clean."