Chapter 2762 Another Mastermind

Tao Leng had only interrogated Jin Zhongyue for less than a quarter of an hour, when heavy footsteps echoed outside the Discipline Hall. An imposing figure entered, Elder Cao Beidou.

The first thing his eyes fell upon was Lin Xun, seated calmly in the main hall with eyes closed in meditation. A cold grunt escaped him. “You haven’t been a deputy deacon for long and you already abuse your authority to slander fellow disciples. Outrageous!”

Lin Xun’s eyes snapped open, his voice ringing clear through the hall. “Right and wrong have yet to be decided, yet Elder Cao condemns me so hastily. If a mistake is made, how will you salvage your dignity then?”

Cao Beidou gave a cold snort, his eyes sweeping the hall with icy contempt. His voice boomed like a war drum. “Where is Tao Leng? Why has he not come out to greet me?”

His words reverberated through the hall, domineering and oppressive.

The side door cracked open. Tao Leng stepped forth, his expression calm as ever. With a cupped fist, he said evenly, “What urgent matter brings Elder Cao here?”

“Release Jin Zhongyue at once! Do not make a fatal mistake!” Cao Beidou demanded, his expression like ice.

Tao Leng’s tone did not waver. “The questioning has only just begun. If we release him now, it will not prove his innocence. It’s better that the interrogation be completed. If he is not a traitor, then his name will be cleared beyond doubt. Would that not be a better outcome?”

“Is that possible? Everyone knows you, Tao Leng, are ruthless and cruel. Anyone who falls into your hands, even if innocent, will be forced into confession!” Cao Beidou’s face grew darker by the moment. “I’ll ask you one last time, will you release him?”

“No.” Lin Xun rose up from his seat, meeting Cao Beidou’s gaze without the slightest fear. “Elder Cao, why are you so furious? Could it be...you’re afraid Jin Zhongyue might reveal something...about you?”

“How dare you question and slander me?” Cao Beidou roared, though his face remained cold and expressionless. “A mere deputy deacon, yet you dare to defy your superiors and trample authority! Tao Leng, tell me, according to the sect’s law, what punishment does such insolence deserve?”

Before Tao Leng could answer, a voice rang out from beyond the hall. “Dock a year’s salary. Thirty lashes.”

With those words, a short, rotund man strolled in at a leisurely pace, dressed in a luxurious jade robe. He sported a drooping moustache, a bulbous wine-red nose, and narrow eyes. It was Chu Jian, one of the nine elders of the Origin Sky Pavilion!

“Brother Chu, you came at just the right time.”

Cao Beidou’s eyes brightened. “Today, Deacon Tao Leng and Deputy Deacon Lin Xun colluded, trying to force a confession from Jin Zhongyue. How should they be punished?”

Chu Jian stroked his moustache and smirked. “This is no small matter. At the very least, they should be stripped of their positions. At the worst...imprisoned.”

Tao Leng’s expression flickered ever so slightly. Just then, another voice resounded at the entrance. “With just a few words, you condemn Tao Leng and Lin Xun. Where is the evidence? Or have the elders of the Origin Sky Pavilion chosen to twist the sect’s laws and wield your power like tyrants?”

A group of people strode into the hall. They were all important figures of the Origin Sky Pavilion, including elders and deacons.

Lin Xun’s eyes gleamed. The news had spread, and this was exactly what he wanted.

Sure enough, in the time that followed, more and more high-ranking figures arrived after hearing the news, such as elders and deacons from the Origin Emptiness Pavilion and the Origin Clarity Pavilion. Even several peak masters of the Nine Peaks appeared one after another. In an instant, the Discipline Hall was thrown into chaos, teeming with a restless tide of people.

Outside, countless successors and disciples had gathered. They had no right to step into the Discipline Hall, but that didn’t stop them from crowding at its doors, eager to watch the spectacle unfold.

In the Origin Sect Ancestral Court today, Lin Xun was already a figure under the gaze of all. Every move he made was scrutinized by countless powerful figures. Now, upon his return, he immediately seized Jin Zhongyue and branded him a traitor. To those high-ranking figures, it could only mean one thing: Lin Xun was stirring up chaos again!

Thus, they had all rushed over the moment the news spread. If it had been anyone else, such an uproar would never have occurred. Before long, even the three deputy pavilion masters of the Origin Sky Pavilion had been alarmed and arrived in person.

In an instant, the chaotic uproar within the Discipline Hall ceased. Every gaze, sharp as blades, turned toward the towering figures, Xuan Feiling, Fu Wenli, and Qi Xiaoyun.

Everyone knew the outcome of this storm rested on the judgement of these three deputy pavilion masters.

“Lin Xun, tell us everything from the beginning.” Xuan Feiling’s voice broke the silence, calm but carrying unquestionable weight.

Under the scrutiny of hundreds of eyes, Lin Xun remained composed. “A month ago, I set out on a journey, but I never imagined that shortly after leaving the Thousand Star Sea, assassins from Empty Hidden World would strike at me.”

A ripple of shock surged through the hall.

“Empty Hidden World dared to touch one of our Origin Sect?”

“They’ve gone mad! Do they not fear we’ll raze their entire den to ashes?”

“Absurd. Since when did Empty Hidden World grow so bold as to openly provoke us?”

Rage and scorn filled the hall. Outside, the name of Empty Hidden World might strike fear into hearts, but within the Origin Sect, to these lofty figures, it was nothing more than an old assassin faction. It was hardly worth mentioning.

Yet now, they had grown so brazen as to dare target one of their own. This was undoubtedly unusual.

“When traveling, danger and mishaps are inevitable. What proof do you have that this attack was the work of Empty Hidden World, and worse, that a traitor within our sect betrayed you?” Fu Wenli asked coldly.

Lin Xun answered without flinching, “If it just happened by chance, I would not think twice. But this attack was clearly planned. My movements were known the very moment I left the sect. Otherwise, Empty Hidden World could never have tracked me down so quickly.”

“And from that basis, you dare claim it was Jin Zhongyue?” Qi Xiaoyun sneered, his voice frosty.

Lin Xun said, “I’ve made it clear, Jin Zhongyue is the prime suspect. He was the one stationed to guard the ancient teleportation formation, and only he knew the exact time and route of my departure. That alone makes him the most suspicious.”

“Do you have any proof?” Fu Wenli asked bluntly.

“No.” Lin Xun’s reply was calm, blunt and without hesitation.

At once, an uproar swept through the hall. Without any evidence, Lin Xun had seized Jin Zhongyue based on suspicion alone. Was he not afraid that others would think he was settling old scores under the guise of justice?

Sure enough, Fu Wenli’s voice cut through the silence, cold as ice, “You’re just a deputy deacon, yet you dared to drag Jin Zhongyue here and interrogate him without proof. Don’t you think you’ve gone too far?”

“This isn’t just excessive, it’s reckless and lawless!” Qi Xiaoyun barked, his tone booming like thunder.

The air in the hall grew oppressive. Everyone could see the tide turning against Lin Xun. Unless he produced proof, he would have to pay the price for arresting Jin Zhongyue today.

Xuan Feiling frowned. “Lin Xun, do you have anything else to say?”

“Yes.” Lin Xun’s answer was calm. Slowly, he drew out a jade slip. “The Empty Hidden World dispatched the Four Fiend Venerables to assassinate me. This jade slip records something very interesting. Once you see it, you’ll understand why I made such a fuss, and why I judged Jin Zhongyue the most suspicious.”

A jade slip! Fu Wenli and Qi Xiaoyun narrowed their eyes ever so slightly. Around the hall, the faces of the gathered elders shifted, as if they suddenly grasped the reason for Lin Xun’s confidence.

Buzz—

Ripples of light spread from the slip, revealing scenes from the deep mountains outside Star Creek City. They were not of battle, but of the conversations exchanged before it. It was when the Four Fiend Venerables appeared and spoke with Lin Xun and an old man named Feiyin.

As these images played out, the eyes of the high-ranking figures flickered, each expression shifting subtly.

“Who is this Feiyuin?” someone finally asked

“An old man who escaped from the Empty Hidden World. I intended to use his power to track down Venerable Demon and avenge Senior Brother Ye Chunjun. But before I could, the Four Fiend Fiend Venerables came straight for me,” Lin Xun explained.

As he spoke, a voice echoed from one of the projected images. It was Venerable Wraith.

“After all, he is a successor of the Origin Sect Ancestral Court. It’s no surprise he carries such confidence. According to the reports, although this boy only recently broke through, his combat power already defies heaven, and his weapons he wields are earth-shaking. He must not be underestimated. Otherwise, why would four of us be dispatched together?”

When the words ended, Lin Xun calmly put away the jade slip. Across the hall, expressions shifted one by one. Suspicion gleamed in every gaze.

“You’ve all seen and heard it clearly. The Four Fiend Venerables came after me the moment they received word of my movements.” Lin Xun’s voice was calm. “Why did they strike together? Because someone leaked the news. Although I had just broken through to the Immortal Stage, they already knew my combat power defies heaven and that my dao weapons are earth-shaking!

“Everyone, before I left this time, I was in seclusion within the sect. So tell me, who told the Empty Hidden World that I had attained immortality? Who told those assassins that my combat power was so heaven-defying they needed to send four of their top Heavenly Longevity assassins against me?”

His words echoed through the hall, striking straight into the hearts of everyone present.

“But this still doesn’t prove there’s a traitor within our sect!” Cao Beidou finally snapped.

Lin Xun’s gaze turned razor-sharp. “Then tell me, how did Empty Hidden World learn so clearly what happens within our Origin Sect? How did they know of my dao weapon, which I’ve only ever revealed once when I defeated Jin Zhongyue?

“Yet before those assassins from the Empty Hidden World even struck, they already knew of my earthshaking dao weapon!”

Lin Xun’s eyes locked onto Cao Beidou, his voice cold as steel. “Elder Cao, under these circumstances, do I not have reason to suspect that Jin Zhongyue, bitter from defeat, was the one who leaked my secrets and my movements to Empty Hidden World?”

Cao Beidou was left momentarily speechless. The jade slip had revealed everything that happened at that time, down to every word spoken and every expression on their faces. Cao Beidou was left with nothing to refute.

“No wonder you’re so enraged,” Xuan Feiling sighed, “Had I been betrayed by one of my own, I too would have been furious.”

His words drew nods of agreement from many present. Empty Hidden World was nothing worth fearing, but if a traitor truly lurked within the sect and leaked Lin Xun’s whereabouts, it would be an unforgivable crime!

“But this still doesn’t prove that Jin Zhongyue is a traitor. Do you truly believe someone like Jin Zhongyue could command Empty Hidden World to send the Four Fiend Venerables?”

Cao Beidou had been holding back for a long time before he finally forced out these words.

Lin Xun nodded solemnly. “Elder Cao is right. Jin Zhongyue does not have the ability to command the Empty Hidden World. That is precisely why I seized him at once, because I suspect there is another mastermind lurking behind him!”

Those words fell like thunder. The atmosphere within the hall froze, sinking into an unprecedented heaviness!