puppet

One month later.

It was an ordinary day. The weather was sunny, and the sky was so blue it looked like it had been washed, pure and clear. Apart from the blue, there were only clusters of white clouds drifting about in the sky in various shapes.

Lin Shi went to the collection pavilion as usual to examine various books. As the sun began to set and the sky was ablaze with rosy clouds, she leisurely strolled along the edge of the sword-training ground, preparing to return to her residence. She had only walked halfway across the ground when she saw Wang Sujun, Xue Yingying, Zhang Qianqian, and Yuan Tianyi swaggering towards her and surrounding her. Their eyes held a clear sense of amusement and malice. Their facial muscles were subtly distorted, their foreheads darkened, and their otherwise acceptable appearances were shrouded in a faint gray-black aura.

"What do you want?" Lin Shi asked calmly, looking at their faces and their provocative posture as they surrounded her. A flicker of anger ignited in her eyes, but she tried her best to suppress it.

Wang Sujun first rolled her eyes skillfully upwards, then looked Lin Shi up and down with a contemptuous gaze, treating him like a fool. She clicked her tongue twice before pretending to be innocent and naive, and stared intently into Lin Shi's eyes as she said, "Nothing much, just wanted to catch up with you."

Lin Shi sneered and replied, "I'm not familiar with you, there's no need for reminiscing. Move aside!" She made a gesture as if to draw her Demon-Slaying Sword, a completely defensive posture.

"Then you can't say for sure." Wang Sujun laughed exaggeratedly and coquettishly, then raised her voice and said loudly, "Lin Danmeng, you are just a servant girl born into a mortal family. Do you think you can look down on us, the disciples of the Dragon Valley Sect born in the central urban area of ​​Dragon Valley City?"

Wang Sujun's voice instantly drew the attention of everyone in the sword training ground. The cultivators who were sparring immediately stopped and looked towards the corner where Lin Shi was. There weren't many inner disciples in the training ground at this time; most were outer disciples and registered disciples. Most of the managers recognized Wang Sujun and the other three, but pretended not to see Lin Shi being surrounded and bullied, and made excuses to walk to a corner, pretending to be on patrol.

Most of the outer disciples and registered disciples in the sword training ground adopted an indifferent attitude, seemingly unconcerned about what was going on. They mostly watched with amusement, absentmindedly swinging their swords, but their gazes frequently drifted towards Lin Shi and the others, their ears perked up, trying to hear every word of their argument.

Disciples who were on good terms with Lin Shi and her senior brothers and sisters secretly sent messages to them and also contacted the steward who was fair in his work.

Just then, Lin Shi began to fight back. Her voice rose considerably, making sure everyone in the training ground could hear her clearly.

Lin Shi retorted, "I may be a maidservant born into a mortal family, which is a decent background, but do you think I don't know your own backgrounds? Ha, you still have the nerve to laugh at me. Wang Sujun, you're just the daughter of an ordinary servant disciple. Xue Yingying, you're just the daughter of an ordinary steward in charge of registered disciples. Zhang Qianqian, you're just the daughter of an ordinary steward's concubine. Yuan Tianyi, you're just the illegitimate son of an ordinary steward's mistress. Just because I have a bad background doesn't mean you have one! Do you think you're qualified to mock me? Heh, how ridiculous!"

As soon as Lin Shi finished speaking, the faces of Wang Sujun, Xue Yingying, Zhang Qianqian, and Yuan Tianyi turned ashen. Enraged, they drew their longswords, pointing them at Lin Shi's eyes, heart, and neck. They shouted, "Lin Shi, how dare you inquire about our background without permission..."

A few snickers echoed faintly from the sword-fighting arena, further enraging Wang Sujun and the other three. Their fury almost materialized, and they charged directly at Lin Shi, but dared not make the first move in public. They merely brandished their claws and shouted, spewing all sorts of foul language.

Lin Shi completely ignored the four longswords pointed at her. She said righteously and angrily, "You can inquire about my background, but I can't? What kind of logic is that in this world?"

Wang Sujun was the first to lose her temper and shouted, "Fine! Lin Danmeng, how dare you insult us like this, how dare you defy us? Then don't blame us for being impolite. Xu Xinghao, come out!"

Upon hearing the name "Xu Xinghao," Lin Shi's expression changed drastically. When she saw the 14-year-old boy standing before her, sword in hand, attempting to attack her, her anger reached its peak. It was indeed Xu Xinghao, but he had been turned into a puppet, his eyes dark and lifeless. His face was expressionless. His body moved like a machine, wielding the sword, aiming directly for Lin Shi's heart.

"It's a puppet!" whispers rippled through the training ground. Seeing the situation rapidly spiraling out of control, many disciples' expressions changed drastically, and they quickly contacted the sect's management, including the stewards, via telepathic communication.

Lin Shi used her spiritual power to create long strips of silk, binding the boy puppet's entire body except for its head, making it look like a rice dumpling. With her left hand, she restrained the puppet formed from Xu Xinghao's body, trapping him beside her, unable to move. Her right hand held the constantly vibrating Demon-Slaying Sword, her eyes blazing with intense anger as she stared intently at Wang Sujun and the other three.

Seeing that Lin Shi's expression was off, Wang Sujun and the other three were initially hesitant, but then they thought that this was the Dragon Valley Sect's sword training ground, and Lin Shi wouldn't dare to make a move, so they started shouting and provoking Lin Shi again.

They said, "Lin Shi, this is your old lover, isn't it? You were supposed to become Xu Xinghao's wife or concubine, but unfortunately, he was killed by evil cultivators long ago. He's been dead for twenty years, and his body has long since turned into bones. You didn't expect that he would be turned into a puppet."

Upon hearing this, Lin Shi's anger instantly transformed into a rainbow-like sword aura that soared into the sky. She didn't even wield the real Demon-Slaying Sword; the sword aura transformed into countless small swords that danced in the air.

"Oh no, she's at the Golden Core stage!..."

Upon seeing Lin Shi's sword aura, some disciples in the training ground paled and shouted warnings to the others. They even flew on their swords, preparing to stop Lin Shi, but before they could reach him, Lin Shi's sword aura transformed into small swords, riddling Wang Sujun and the other three with holes. Then, golden-red flames erupted from their bodies, burning them to ashes. In the end, only the gray souls of Wang Sujun and the other three drifted aimlessly in the air before Lin Shi.

Lin Shi wanted to smash the souls of Wang Sujun and the other three into ashes, but Xu Xingran and the others, shouting "Junior Sister Danmeng, no!", flew in in time to stop her.

The Dragon Valley Sect's stewards instantly poured out. Following closely behind them were countless Dragon Valley Sect disciples, including inner, outer, and nominal disciples, all gathered on the sword-training field. They stood in orderly rows, intently watching Lin Shi's movements, remaining silent, but ready to attack her at any moment. After a while, almost all of the Dragon Valley Sect's leaders, elders, and guest retainers emerged and gathered on the sword-training field.

At this moment, Zhao Xiyue, along with Huo Quan and five elders from the Seven Peaks Sect, flew through the air and instantly appeared on the Dragon Valley Sect's sword-training ground. They stood in front of Lin Shi, facing the Dragon Valley Sect members. Xu Xingran, while looking at his younger brother Xu Xinghao, who was bound like a dumpling and noticing his obvious puppet-like features, drew his longsword and stood guard on the other side of Lin Shi.

Tensions are high!

The entire training ground of the Dragon Valley Sect was silent, with only a chilling atmosphere.

Zhao Xiyue walked past Lin Shi to the Dragon Valley Sect leader, casually taking the souls of Wang Sujun and the other three from Lin Shi and bringing them to the Dragon Valley Sect leader. The Dragon Valley Sect leader appeared to be in his thirties or forties, with strong features, a square face, thick black eyebrows, and a pair of dignified and serious eyes.

Zhao Xiyue bowed to the sect leader of the Dragon Valley Sect, then stood before him with her hands at her sides. She said softly, "Father, Lin Shi is my personal disciple. She is kind-hearted and would never indiscriminately kill innocent cultivators or mortals. She is only 33 years old this year, but she has already formed her Golden Core four years ago. I cannot stand idly by and let her suffer an unjust accusation, lose her bright future, and perish."

The sect leader of Dragon Valley Sect stared at Zhao Xiyue for a long while. His expression was unreadable. After a long pause, he finally spoke, "Xiyue, I spared Lin Shi's life on the spot because she was your disciple. She killed four of Dragon Valley Sect's nominal disciples in front of so many other disciples—that's an indisputable fact. If we don't hold her accountable, then any sect or cultivator could kill our disciples at will."

Zhao Xiyue hurriedly said, "Father, it was four disciples of the Dragon Valley Sect who provoked Lin Shi first, and even dug up her deceased relatives from their graves and turned them into puppets. Lin Shi is young and impetuous, please give her another chance. I remember that the Dragon Valley Sect has a rule that if a disciple is innocent but kills other Dragon Valley Sect disciples with ill intentions, he can be exempted from punishment as long as he defeats their senior disciple."

The Dragon Valley Sect Master glanced at Zhao Xiyue, then at Lin Shi, who was being protected by the Seven Peaks Sect members. After a long pause, he spoke loudly, "Bring five Mirrors of Karma. Have Lin Shi and the souls of the four deceased disciples stand before them to see if they have committed any evil deeds. Also, bring up a Mirror of the Heart. After Lin Shi has been examined by the Mirrors of Karma, she will be examined by the Mirror of the Heart. If Lin Shi can withstand the examination of both the Mirrors of Karma and the Mirror of the Heart without any backlash, then she can have a duel with Yan Hezhi, the chief disciple of the twenty-second generation of the Dragon Valley Sect. If Lin Shi wins or draws with Yan Hezhi, she can leave the Dragon Valley Sect voluntarily without suffering any retaliation from anyone in the sect. If Lin Shi loses, then shatter her Golden Core and never allow her to set foot in the Dragon Valley Sect again."

"Yes, Sect Leader!" The elders, guest ministers, managers, and disciples of the Dragon Valley Sect responded in unison and sprang into action.