As for whether Master believes it or not...
Yun Wan'er's lips curled into a barely perceptible cold smile.
During this time, under the guise of recuperating from her injuries, she tried every means to please him, expressing her grievances and showing her dependence, which had already elevated her master's pity and trust for her to an unprecedented level.
Moreover, one was her beloved disciple who valued her innocence most and was crying her eyes out, while the other was just a junior brother with whom she usually had a fairly harmonious relationship...
The answer to who the Master would believe is self-evident.
So what if there's no empirical evidence?
Once the seeds of doubt are sown, they are difficult to eradicate.
If Master harbors even the slightest bias in his heart, Qingxuan will find it difficult to escape this calamity today.
The arguing outside the hall grew increasingly shrill, clearly reaching the ears of everyone inside.
"Enough!"
Lingxiao Zhenren was finally enraged by the increasingly unbearable quarrel outside the hall. He roared, and his angry voice, which contained the pressure of a Nascent Soul cultivator, spread out as if it were a tangible thing. Instantly, all the disciples outside the hall fell silent, and no one dared to make a sound.
A deathly silence fell over the hall and its surroundings.
Lingxiao Zhenren's gaze returned to Qingxuan, who was struggling below. His eyes were icy cold, filled with scrutiny and unquestionable authority.
"Qingxuan".
He spoke slowly, his voice low and authoritative, "I will ask you one last time."
"Wan'er accuses you of attempting to do something indecent under the pretext of checking your injuries... Will you admit it or not?"
Qingxuan suddenly raised his head, his temples completely soaked with sweat, and his face was completely bloodless due to the immense pressure. However, there was no fear or panic in his eyes, only an open and unwavering stubbornness.
He opened his mouth, about to deny it again with absolute certainty—
"Master, Master..."
Yun Wan'er suddenly let out a small sob. She trembled as she clutched Ling Xiao Zhenren's robe, tears streaming down her face like broken beads. "He... he looked at me like that! He looked at me like that! And then... and then he suddenly lunged at me... I was so scared..."
"..."
Lingxiao Zhenren's last bit of patience was completely exhausted.
He looked down at the man below, who, despite being forced to kneel on one knee by the oppressive force, still stood ramrod straight. He looked into the man's eyes, which were filled with honesty, stubbornness, and no remorse. Then he listened to the suppressed, fearful sobs of his beloved disciple beside him...
A nameless rage suddenly surged within him.
"Stubborn to the end!"
Master Lingxiao roared angrily and flung his wide sleeves around!
A spiritual pressure far more terrifying and overwhelming than before, like a tangible mountain, crashed into Qingxuan, who was struggling to hold on!
"puff--!"
Qingxuan couldn't even block it. His protective aura instantly dissipated, and he was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, his back slamming heavily against a dragon-shaped stone pillar in the hall.
With a muffled thud, the surface of the stone pillar flickered violently, and the array runes flickered on and off.
Qingxuan fell to the ground, suddenly turned his head and vomited a mouthful of bright red blood. His plain clothes were instantly stained red, and his originally handsome face turned ashen white. His breath also visibly weakened.
He tried to sit up, but fell to the ground again due to the shock to his internal organs and the dissipation of his spiritual energy. He could only wipe the blood from his lips with the back of his hand in vain. When he looked up at Lingxiao Zhenren, his eyes were filled with unbelievable pain and a trace of... absurd sorrow.
Senior brother... he really used such a heavy hand on him?
Just for Yun Wan'er's flawed one-sided story?
Several suppressed gasps came from the disciples watching outside the hall. Many disciples who favored Qingxuan looked away in disbelief, but dared not speak out in anger.
Shen Zhaozhao, mingling in the crowd, suddenly narrowed her eyes. Was this old man trying to extract a confession through torture?!
Seeing that Lingxiao Zhenren's face was icy cold and he seemed to want to continue to exert pressure, Shen Zhaozhao steeled her heart, pushed aside the people in front of her, rushed into the hall, and knelt down in the center of the hall with a "thump", standing right between the seriously injured Qingxuan and Lingxiao Zhenren.
With her unremarkable "Lu Renjia" face, she lowered her head, her voice trembling noticeably with nervousness: "Sect Leader, please understand! Elder Qingxuan, he, he absolutely could not have done anything improper to Junior Sister Wan'er!"
The next wave of pressure that Lingxiao Zhenren was preparing abruptly stopped, and his icy gaze shot like a sharp arrow towards the outer disciple who had suddenly barged in and was oblivious to his own mortality.
However, the moment his gaze fell upon Shen Zhaozhao, this Nascent Soul cultivator almost immediately sensed the incongruity of the disguise, and... beneath that disguise, a faint yet familiar aura emanated, causing his soul to tremble instinctively.
This aura...
Lingxiao Zhenren felt a sudden chill run down his spine!
This aura is clearly from the same source as the terrifying being that came from afar and effortlessly shattered his divine sense during the Newcomer Competition!
Although he didn't know why this person disguised himself as an outer disciple of the Tianyan Sect, or what his relationship was with that being, the mere trace of that aura was enough to make him hesitate and dare not act as casually as he had with Qing Xuan.
He forcibly suppressed the surprise and killing intent in his eyes, his voice icy cold, carrying the pressure of a Nascent Soul cultivator, as he heavily pressed down on Shen Zhaozhao: "You say you know Qingxuan can't do it, but what proof do you have?"
Outside the hall, the disciples who supported Yun Wan'er, seeing this, immediately seemed to have seized on some kind of leverage and began to sneer: "Junior Brother Lu, even if you want to exonerate Elder Qingxuan, at least come up with a prepared explanation before coming up here, right?"
"Exactly! This hesitant stammering clearly shows that they have something to hide and are just stalling for time because they can't think of an excuse!"
Yun Wan'er also glared angrily at Lu Renjia, who was kneeling below the stage and had ruined her plans. She gently shook the sleeve of Lingxiao Zhenren, her voice trembling with tears and dissatisfaction: "Master... we were about to get the results, but this outer disciple who appeared out of nowhere is clearly deliberately causing trouble..."
The Yun Wan'er disciples who had been shouting the loudest earlier immediately chimed in: "Sect Leader, you are truly wise! Lu Renjia wasn't even in the sect when the incident happened; he was down the mountain making purchases! How could he possibly know what happened in the Weapon Refining Pavilion?!"
"That's right! He's just spouting nonsense, trying to confuse the public and protect Elder Qingxuan!"
Shen Zhaozhao knelt below, her shoulders trembling slightly, as if she had been driven to the brink by the accusations of the crowd, looking like an honest person who was frightened but had no choice but to tell the truth.
"...because..."
After hesitating for a long time, as if she had finally been forced into a corner, she steeled herself, pressed her forehead hard against the cold ground, and roared out in a tremendous, almost desperate, tearful voice—a roar that shook the heavens and earth.
"Because...because this disciple accidentally stumbled upon Elder Qingxuan and Junior Uncle! They were hugging and kissing!!!"
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