Luo Feng’s appearance made the other elders feel relieved because no one of them was willing to get involved in this matter.

“Greetings, Elder Luo Feng.” Several people immediately came up to pay their greetings. Aside from the Hall Master, Bai Ting and Luo Feng held the highest position in the Elders Hall.

“Old geezer, this person slew nine disciples and he even injured me. Are you trying to cover up for him?” Bai Ting gnashed his teeth as he looked at Luo Feng.

“Tsk tsk. Bai Ting, are you messing with me? You’re an elder in the Violet Palace Realm. You’re telling me that you were heavily injured by a disciple? I refuse to believe that. But if that’s true, then that implies that you’re too weak and no longer capable of being an elder,” sneered Luo Feng as he stroked his beard.

“You!” Bai Ting’s body trembled with rage, but he couldn’t utter a word. A brief moment later, he waved his hand and spoke coldly, “Alright then, I’m done talking about this matter. He killed nine people in the sect, with Wang Yan’s death being witnessed by all of us. What do you have to say to that?”

“It’s true that he killed people, but did you investigate the case? You’re in no position to make any decisions on this matter. What if Lin Yun killed out of self-defence? You tried to kill Lin Yun without investigating the matter. Just what are you planning?” Luo Feng replied coldly. “Can it be that you’re also involved in this matter? You want to kill Lin Yun to clean yourself from suspicion?”

Seeing that Luo Feng was turning him into the suspect, Bai Ting became so furious that he nearly threw up a mouthful of blood. He understood the situation. Luo Feng was here to protect Lin Yun.

“Haha, old geezer, there’s no need for you to say anything. You won’t be able to protect him. Take him away! We’ll know everything after we interrogate him!” ordered Bai Ting coldly.

“I’ll see who dares to lay a hand on him!” Luo Feng stepped forward. The face-off between the two elders made Lin Yun feel relieved.

Back in the Lone-Star Alliance, the crown prince shook his head as he looked at the plaza, “I’m afraid that this Lin Yun won’t die.”

There were several other people standing around him and they were all in the tenth stage of the Profound Martial Realm. All of them were ranked in the Great Qin Empire’s second sequence and they were second to the eight titles. They all had the ability to reach the top eight in the Dragon Gate Competition at the end of this year.

If Lin Yu was here, he was bound to recognize one of them. One of the people present was the Heavenly Profound Sect’s Han Lan. He had fought Xin Jue in the Princess’ Banquet, but he lost because of one move. All of those that were gathered had different identities, but they all shared one common identity, they were members of the Azure Association.

The Azure Association was a secret organization that the royal family used to recruit talented disciples from the various sects and it had grown exponentially in Qin Yu’s hands. Without a doubt, all four of the major sects had been infiltrated.

They were all here with Qin Yu to congratulate Bai Lixuan for achieving the Saint Physique, but they never imagined that they would get to see such an exciting show. All of them had shock in their eyes.

The bigger the sect, the stricter the rules. All sects encourage battle and competition, but killing was forbidden. Regardless of the sect, killing was a crime punishable by death. But without any regret, Lin Yun had killed nine people in the sect, with a direct descendant of the Wang Clan being one of the victims.

Standing behind the group was a youth donned in white. He had a slender figure as he stood with his hands behind his back. His cultivation was only in the eighth stage of the Profound Martial Realm, but none of the tenth stage disciples could mask his demeanor. So much so that he wasn’t any inferior to Qin Yu, who was one of the eight titles.

This youth was looking at Lin Yun on the plaza, calmly and with no changes in his expression.

The crown prince, Qin Yu, turned around and asked, “Lixuan, I heard that you have an old enmity with that person?”

“I had already forgotten about him. I only remembered him after a junior brother from the Lone-Star Alliance told me about him. I’m only surprised that he actually had the guts to come to the Sword Firmament Pavilion after being forced into the Yin Wind Stream by me. Can it be that he’s here to seek revenge against me?” Bai Lixuan raised his lips in disdain.

“That would be best. This person has an unyielding temperament and he does things to the extreme. He won’t have a long path ahead of him. You, on the other hand, are different. You will walk out of the Great Qin Empire sooner or later to a bigger stage. There’s no need for you to waste your time on someone like him. Not regretting his kills? What a joke.” Qin Yu nodded his head at the situation.

At the same time, four Guardians along with the seven Sword-Bearing Elders were gathered in a hall to discuss Lin Yun’s matter, but they couldn’t come to a conclusion.

“Guardian Plum, Lin Yun should be killed for violating the ironclad rule of the sect. However, he made contributions to the sect. No one in history has contributed so many treasures to the sect from the Demonlotus Realm…” The one who spoke was the Sword-Bearing Elder Qing Zhuo who led the Demonlotus Realm’s group. He had a deep impression of Lin Yun, so he mustered up his courage seeing that none of the four guardians expressed their opinion.

But before he could finish, another Sword-Bearing Elder questioned, “Even so, he can’t possibly be let off for killing nine people, right? He made no report to us. This is equivalent to disregarding the sect. I’m afraid that it will be tough for us to uphold the sect’s rules in the future if we make an exception.”

Another Sword-Bearing Elder spoke out, “Rules are implemented for a reason. If everyone behaves like Lin Yun in the future, wouldn’t the sect be thrown into chaos? He’s a talent, but we can’t possibly risk the entire sect’s foundation for him.”

Everyone had their opinions about how to deal with Lin Yun. But in the end, Guardian Plum was ultimately the one who would make the decision. He was naturally leaning towards protecting Lin Yun, but he was placed in a tough spot because of the different opinions from the Sword-Bearing Elders. The rest either remained silent or supported the decision of handing punishment to Lin Yun.

“The Sword Firmament Pavilion’s Lin Yun has committed a death crime. But seeing that he had contributed to the sect greatly, he will be spared from death. However, he will have a profound vein crippled and will be locked in the Repent Cliff for two years.” A majestic voice echoed in the hall that made everyone get up on their feet.

It was the Pavilion Master’s voice. He didn’t show up, but he had spoken his decree. When Sword-Bearing Elder Qing Zhuo, who supported Lin Yun, heard the punishment of crippling a profound vein, his face changed drastically.

“Junior Brother Mei, you will be responsible for implementing the punishment. This matter will come to an end. There’s no need to discuss it any further.”

“Understood, Pavilion Master.” Everyone cupped their hands together.

“Guardian Plum, crippling a profound vein is the same as crippling half of Lin Yun. You can’t do that…” Qing Zhuo spoke out anxiously. Shattering a profound vein was the strictest punishment to a disciple. Not only did they have to bear the pain, but it would also be more difficult for them to make a breakthrough in the future. If their willpower died out in the process, then that disciple would be the same as crippled.

“You know that there’s nothing we can do about the Pavilion Master’s decree,” said Guardian Plum. He also didn’t want to cripple one of Lin Yun’s profound vein if he had a choice, but the Pavilion Master was also protecting Lin Yun in this matter. After all, the Pavilion Master did not kill Lin Yun as according to the rules.

There weren’t many who violated the rules and could be spared from the punishment of death in history and all of them were monstrous geniuses. In the future, Lin Yun would also be one of them.

Guardian Plum descended on the plaza and he frowned his eyebrows when he saw the two elders quarreling. He questioned, “What are the two of you doing?”

Luo Feng and Bai Ting immediately turned around. When they saw Guardian Plum, their faces changed. Luo Feng wore an enraged expression and he spoke out, “Guardian Plum, Bai Ting tried to kill Lin Yun before making an investigation. He even demanded Lin Yun to kneel and admit to his mistakes.”

“Oh?” Guardian Plum revealed a smile and he looked at Bai Ting. “Bai Ting, you’re making a decision when none of the four Guardians and seven Sword-Bearing Elders could? It looks like you’re overqualified in your position as an elder.”

“I dare not. I dare not.” Guardian Plum was smiling, but Bai Ting’s face had turned pale and he shivered when he heard those words.

Guardian Plum glanced at Lin Yun’s injuries and he coldly commanded, “Come over. Stand in front of me.”

Bai Ting did not dare to go against the orders and he walked up with his head lowered. With a bitter expression, he spoke with a trembling voice, “Guardian Plum, I’m well aware of my mistakes…”

“Oh? What mistakes did you make? It’s right for you to kill Lin Yun since he violated the rules.” Guardian Plum’s tone suddenly changed and his face turned dark. “You weren’t wrong, but you’ve disregarded me. Who in the sect doesn’t know that Lin Yun has caught my attention? Even if he had violated the rules, I should be the one to question him. Since when was it your turn to point fingers?!”

Guardian Plum suddenly stretched his hand out and gave a palm at Bai Ting. “WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!”

A terrifying aura emitted from Guardian Plum that made all the elders present tremble in fear. It had been a long time since they had seen Guardian Plum losing his cool.

Bai Ting threw up a mouthful of blood because his internal organs had shattered under this attack. The pain was so horrible that he couldn’t get back up on his feet. With his hair a scattered mess, Bai Ting kneeled on the ground and begged for mercy, “Lord Guardian, please spare me. I won’t do it again in the future. Please, give me a chance to repent.”

“Repent? Since you want to repent, then go to the Herbal Peak and work for ten years. Men, bring him away!” Guardian Plum said all of this with a cold face.

Herbal Peak? Doesn’t that mean I have to deal with fertilizer?

“No. I don’t want to go to Herbal Peak. I don’t want to deal with fertilizer…” Bai Ting’s mind blew up. He couldn’t accept that he had to deal with feces as an elder. But there was nothing he could do since there were deacons who immediately stood up to drag him away.

Guardian Plum turned to Lin Yun. Looking at his injuries, Guardian Plum spoke out, “Lin Yun, the sect has already decided on your punishment. We will cripple one of your profound veins and you will be locked in the Repent Cliff for two years. Do you have anything else to say?”

“Do it,” said Lin Yun without any expression on his face.

“Do you regret it?” questioned Guardian Plum.

“I don’t. I only hate that I’m not strong enough because I only managed to kill a small bunch. Do it. I’m just grateful that the sect isn’t killing me.” Lin Yun slowly closed his eyes and awaited his punishment.