Martial Cultivator

“Nonsense!”

”The Temple Master and Daoist Wuyang were fellow disciples under the same master, who doesn’t know this? How could he possibly kill his own senior brother?”

”That’s right! The Temple Master was a man of great magnanimity, how could he ever do such a thing? I say Yun Jianyue is just spreading lies to mislead everyone. He already once tried to assassinate the Temple Master, and now he’s using the same trick again. It’s all because Daoist Wuyang didn’t pass the position of temple master to him, he’s held a grudge ever since!”

After a brief silence, several voices rang out. Many disciples of the Infatuation Daoist Temple began speaking up, harshly condemning Yun Jianyue.

Yun Jianyue paid them no mind at all. He only said, “The Chief Enforcer and the Temple Master never got along, some of the elders here should be aware of that. Back then, over the matter of the position of the temple master, the Chief Enforcer had already harbored resentment.”

Upon hearing this, many of the elders in the crowd who had cultivated in the mountains for many years nodded their heads. They knew about this matter. In those years, the two had been the Twin Pillars of Daoism of the previous generation; evenly matched, and fellow disciples under the same master. When the former Temple Master was on his deathbed, it would have made sense for him to pass the title to either of them. But in the end, he chose Daoist Wuyang, not Yinli.

After that incident, the two senior brothers had all but gone their separate ways.

”That was an old matter long past. Besides, Daoist Wuyang was never the petty type. At the end of his life, choosing to pass the position to Daoist Yinli might have meant the two had already buried their grudges by then.”

Someone spoke up, and their words were quite reasonable.

Yun Jianyue nodded. “That would indeed be in line with the Temple Master’s character. But what if, what if the Temple Master had already been killed by the Chief Enforcer before then?”

Yun Jianyue looked toward the crowd and said calmly, “The Chief Enforcer used this to make you all believe he had been chosen as the successor. But the truth is, after the battle between the Temple Master and the Great Liang Emperor, while the Temple Master was in a weakened state, the Chief Enforcer murdered him, stole his seal, and claimed the position for himself.”

”Is there any proof?”

At that point, an elderly daoist finally could not contain himself and asked urgently.

Yun Jianyue tossed out that demon bead, and a scene materialized before everyone’s eyes.

The human race and the demon race had always been enemies - demons ate humans, and humans in turn used demon flesh and blood to refine artifacts or pills. Demon beads were the essence of demons, and their effects varied by species. This one appeared to be from a rare type of demon - not particularly powerful, but its bead had the ability to record images. Because of that, such beads were widely used.

Over the years, these kinds of demon beads had captured many important moments. The most recent case was the trial in the Divine Capital, where the young Chen Chao had used one to preserve his own life.

As the images from the demon bead played out, the disciples all fell silent.

Everyone knew a demon bead could not be faked. Whatever was recorded in it had to be real.

If that was truly the case, then it meant the Temple Master had really been killed by the Chief Enforcer...

No one had expected such a thing. Not even in the entire history of the Infatuation Daoist Temple had anything like this ever happened.

For a moment, everyone stood stunned.

“That black ox is still on the mountain. We can bring it here and question it.”

Someone suddenly spoke. The demon bead served as evidence, and that black ox could also be considered a witness. If it was all true, it would certainly know the truth. 𝘙ΑꞐỌ𝐛Ëṧ

“May I ask Seniors, now that the truth is laid bare, how should we deal with the Chief Enforcer?!”

Yun Jianyue suddenly raised his voice, his words echoing across the mountain.

Many senior daoists who had been in seclusion already knew what was happening, yet none had shown themselves, they had been listening silently in the shadows.

Now that the truth had been revealed, Yun Jianyue asked these people plainly and directly: what will you choose?!

At this moment, he found himself somewhat doubting Chen Chao’s judgment, wanting to see if there might be another view of things.

But the mountain was very quiet, no one spoke.

A long while later, a woman finally said, “According to the rules of the mountain, for the Chief Enforcer to commit such an audacious and monstrous crime, he naturally ought to be executed, and his name struck from the temple’s registry.”

The one who spoke was Ye Zhihua. This young woman had remained silent the entire time, but now that she had spoken, she made her stance clear.

The moment she spoke up, countless younger disciples voiced their agreement.

They had long harbored dissatisfaction toward Yinli, and held Daoist Wuyang in great respect. Now that the truth had come to light, how could they possibly choose to simply let it go?

Daoist Shouyi remained silent. He understood all too well the situation at hand, and he was also keenly aware of the crowd’s fervor. Anything he said now would be useless, and might even backfire.

But the daoists who were slightly older wore troubled expressions on their faces, deep in thought.

If Daoist Yinli had truly committed such a grave act, according to the mountain’s rules, he ought to be punished. But Daoist Yinli was, after all, a great daoist sage, a top-tier powerhouse in the daoist world. If they simply killed him, the loss to the Infatuation Daoist Temple would be immense.

Their hesitation was the same reason they had been unwilling to kill Yun Jianyue earlier.

These two, one represented the future of the Infatuation Daoist Temple, the other its present. No matter who was lost, it would be unacceptable.

The contrast between the young and the old was stark.

Very divided.

Yun Jianyue stood quietly in place.

Daoist Shouyi suddenly asked, “May I ask, Martial Nephew Yun, where did this demon bead come from?”

When this Daoist Shouyi spoke up, the others finally reacted. When the Chief Enforcer had killed the Temple Master, he would have been extremely cautious of his surroundings. If Yun Jianyue had been present, Daoist Yinli would definitely have noticed.

If this was not Yun Jianyue’s doing, then...

“This was recorded by the Great Liang Emperor. I believe he intended to use it to coerce the Chief Enforcer. Otherwise, why did Zhen Ye die in the Divine Capital, and yet the Chief Enforcer did not say a single word?”

Yun Jianyue said calmly, “As for where I obtained it? I got it from Chen Chao.”

Yun Jianyue did not hide anything and said calmly, “You can probably guess what Chen Chao’s intentions were, he wanted to sow chaos within the Infatuation Daoist Temple.”

Daoist Shouyi nodded and said, “Since that’s the case, we mustn’t let him have his way.”

“Uncle Shouyi has a point. But this disciple thinks otherwise. Regardless of Chen Chao’s original intentions, the truth remains: if the Chief Enforcer was in the wrong, then why shouldn’t he be killed?”

Yun Jianyue looked around at the crowd, utterly composed.

Daoist Shouyi did not know what to say. In the end, he just sighed and said nothing.

Yun Jianyue suddenly knelt on one knee toward the rear mountain and said, “I ask Seniors to make a decision.”

“Martial uncles and seniors, since the truth is known, the main culprit must be punished! We, together with Senior Brother Yun, respectfully ask Seniors to pass judgment!”

Seeing Yun Jianyue kneel down, the others followed suit, kneeling one after another, their voices echoing.

No one knew how long had passed when an aged voice suddenly rang out from deep within the mountain, “Yinli was momentarily confused, but he has rendered great service to our Infatuation Daoist Temple,how can he be executed so lightly...”

Upon hearing this, Yun Jianyue already understood what the elders had decided. He said nothing, just slowly stood back up.

Then, he smiled.

That young man had been right all along.

Yun Jianyue shook his head and said calmly, “Since that’s the case... then there’s no need to trouble Seniors any further. If Senior finds it difficult to decide, then allow me to make the decision in your place.”

Before he finished speaking, it was abruptly cut off.

No one knew where Yun Jianyue pulled out a severed head from. He carried it in his hand and said calmly, “The Chief Enforcer has already been killed by this disciple. With this... the temple’s rules are upheld.”

Everyone stared at the head that suddenly appeared.

No one could say a word.

Who could have imagined that a great daoist sage at the end of Nepenthe, the Chief Enforcer, had actually been killed by Yun Jianyue who was right in front of them?!