As soon as Murong Bing finished speaking, the Hall of Justice fell silent once again. One after another, schadenfreude-filled gazes gradually shifted onto Ye Zheng and his grandson, Ye Fan.
No one who could sit among the upper echelons of Azure Cloud Holy Land was a fool. What Chen Ji said made perfect sense. If Xia Changqing had been crippled, the Ancient Sage’s Pupils and Immortal-Demonic Dao Bones would have undoubtedly been transplanted into Ye Fan. In the cultivation world, everything boiled down to a struggle for interests. Whoever gained the most was naturally the biggest suspect.
“In order to prove my innocence, I ask Sect Master to use her great powers to reveal the true identity of the masked man.”
Ye Fan subtly shot Ye Zheng a reassuring glance. He cupped his hands respectfully, neither servile nor overbearing, exuding the calm demeanor of a gentleman facing a collapsing mountain without changing his expression.
Little did he know, Murong Bing had already seen through him and was secretly thinking about how to reduce Ye Fan’s Heavenly Dao fortune and ruthlessly strike him down to avenge Xia Changqing.
“Time Reversal.”
Murong Bing pointed lightly at the Haotian Mirror, and the 3D projection of the masked man instantly materialized on the Imperial Artifact.
“Remove it!”
At Murong Bing’s command, the mask on the mysterious man’s face began to blur, as if an invisible hand was gently lifting it to reveal his true face.
Ye Zheng’s forehead was drenched with sweat. He clenched his teeth and held his breath, staring hard at the Haotian Mirror.
Ye Fan appeared calm on the surface, but his temples were already beaded with sweat, and his fists were tightly clenched under his wide sleeves.
Everyone in the hall, except for Murong Bing and Xia Changqing, had their hearts in their throats.
Just as the moment of revelation approached—
[Buzz buzz buzz!]
The Haotian Mirror suddenly froze, as if an invisible force had forcibly intervened and suppressed its operation at the source.
“Phew!”
Seeing this, Ye Zheng and Ye Fan exchanged a glance and simultaneously breathed a huge sigh of relief. Ye Zheng’s legs went weak, almost collapsing to the floor, and his robe was soaked through. Ye Fan’s palms bore deep marks where his fingernails had dug into his flesh, dripping with sweat.
‘This Ye Fan truly is the child of destiny, favored and protected by the Mystic Sky Heavenly Dao. Hmph, I have all the time in the world to slowly eliminate you traitorous parasites one by one.’
Murong Bing sneered disdainfully.
She retracted the Haotian Mirror and slowly spoke to the crowd:
“The truth has now been revealed. The Holy Son was framed by a mysterious figure and wrongfully accused. I will personally heal the Holy Son’s injuries and, once recovered, officially impart the Nine Heavens Emperor Scripture to him. As for Chen Ji, for abusing his power and crippling the Holy Son by two major realms—Seeking Dao and Minor Saint—he is hereby stripped of his position as Law Enforcement Elder. Junior Sister Baiyun will assume the post. Changqing, what do you think of this verdict?”
“Master, this must not be allowed!”
Although Xia Changqing did not personally kill the three thousand disciples, he still bore an undeniable responsibility. Since ancient times, only those of great virtue could ascend to the position of Supreme Leader. Xia Changqing, who once slaughtered innocent people, is unworthy of becoming the Supreme Leader. Only Brother Ye Fan is the most suitable candidate.”
Gu Miaojun, unable to hold back upon hearing Murong Bing’s decision to pass the Nine Heavens Emperor Scripture to Xia Changqing, immediately jumped up to object loudly.
The Nine Heavens Emperor Scripture was reserved solely for the next Sect Master. By this move, Murong Bing was clearly grooming Xia Changqing as her successor.
“Master, Fourth Junior Sister is right! With Senior Brother’s temperament, he is indeed unsuitable to be the Sect Master. Brother Ye Fan possesses both virtue and ability and is the best candidate. Please reconsider.”
Receiving Gu Miaojun’s signal, Lin Xinyue also spoke up without hesitation.
“Master, both Senior Sisters are right!”
Li Yue’er and Li Ling’er chimed in simultaneously, their faces brimming with deep jealousy toward Xia Changqing.
Murong Bing looked at her four female disciples, feeling a wave of strangeness at how they loathed Xia Changqing yet blindly favored Ye Fan with no awareness of their absurdity.
‘Fan’er, do you see this? This is the halo of the child of destiny. Any woman who interacts with you for long cannot resist your charm. Your task now is no longer just to seize Xia Changqing’s Ancient Sage’s Pupils and Immortal-Demonic Dao Bones, but to conquer Murong Bing, this monstrously talented woman. Once she is utterly devoted to you, you will not only gain a peerless beauty and a top-class furnace but also inherit everything within Azure Cloud Holy Land.’
Gu Chen stroked his beard and laughed proudly.
As the saying goes, when one person attains the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. If Ye Fan achieved immortality, Gu Chen too would reap the ultimate benefits and enjoy eternal life.
“Master, Sect Master Murong is different from other women. The way she looks at me is like looking at a maggot in a garbage heap, cold and filled with an indescribable killing intent. I don’t think there’s a man in this world who could enter her heart.”
Ye Fan was somewhat dejected and disappointed.
As the saying goes, what one cannot have always stirs the heart. From the moment he first saw Murong Bing’s unparalleled beauty and domineering aura, like a sovereign empress, he couldn’t help but be drawn to her. His admiration had long since overflowed into obsession.
Little did he know that Murong Bing had once merely been Xia Changqing’s plaything in bed—a bicycle that a lowly loser cherished but the top boss had already ridden until bored and discarded.
“Hahaha, Fan’er, you’re still too young. You don’t understand what it means to be the child of destiny in the Mystic Sky Continent. This world is a playground created by the Heavenly Dao for you. Any divine treasures, supreme manuals, and sacred weapons are destined to belong to you. Every stunning female cultivator will fall for you at first sight. Even an ugly dwarf, a fat slob, a cripple missing limbs, a foul-mouthed lecherous old man, or a hideous woman with a face full of pockmarks—if favored by the Heavenly Dao—can defy fate and ascend to heaven. Compared to them, Murong Bing, with her Divine Physique of Creation and certain breakthrough to the Emperor Realm, is nothing. The Heavenly Dao will subtly raise her favorability toward you until she is utterly smitten.”
Gu Chen spoke with the smugness of someone who had experienced it firsthand, spitting as he explained.
“Master, could it be that you…?”
Ye Fan suddenly thought of something and asked in surprise.
“That’s right, I was once a child of destiny. Haha, I, an ugly dwarf cultivator, played with all the female cultivators in the sect. Even the Senior Sister who despised me the most fell madly in love with me. Hehehe!”
Gu Chen suddenly burst into wicked laughter.
“But isn’t the child of destiny supposed to be invincible? How did you end up like this?”
Ye Fan asked, confused.
“Hahaha, everyone has their own ‘white moonlight’—someone not necessarily the most beautiful, but the most special in their heart.”
Gu Chen didn’t answer directly and instead laughed loudly.
‘As expected, this is the doing of the Mystic Sky Heavenly Dao. If not for the Primordial Chaos Jade Pendant protecting me, I might have fallen prey to it too.’
Murong Bing, using her divine soul, subtly probed the four female disciples and found that in the depths of their primordial spirits, each was entangled with an indistinct thread of affection.
“All of you, shut up! This is not a place for you four idiots to speak.”
Murong Bing coldly reprimanded.
She had always been famously authoritarian. Even when Xia Changqing once suppressed her, now that she had returned to the Azure Cloud Holy Land of three thousand years ago, she would allow no one to defy her commands.