Upon hearing Zhang Yan’s words, the room suddenly fell silent. After a long mont, Huo Zhixian spoke coldly, "Very well. Let us set this aside for now. Zhang Yan, are you aware that there is a disciple in the sect accusing you of colluding with the Three Pools Lake Demon?"
Zhang Yan froze for a mont, then burst into laughter as though he had just heard the most absurd joke. He said, "I am a True Disciple of this sect, walking the Great Dao of enlightennt. Why would I collude with demons? Do you seriously take stock in such claims, Senior Brothers? Could it be that the desire in your cultivation practice has clouded your minds?"
This feeble excuse of throwing filth upon him was so clumsy that Zhang Yan could not help but sneer at it.
Hu Zhi Li remained indifferent to Zhang Yan’s mocking words. With a slight wave of the horsetail whisk in his hand, he sneered, "Zhang Yan, that day you transmitted a Flying Sword ssage, claiming that over a dozen fallen disciples had stord the island, wantonly slaughtering the stationed disciples there. However, the disciple accusing you told a different story. According to him, when those fallen disciples arrived, Tu Song, who was ever cautious and stalwart, refused to lift the Prohibition under any circumstances. Yet you approached him, killed Tu Song outright, seized the token, and allowed the fallen disciples to enter."
Zhang Yan laughed dismissively. "The two of you truly excel at reversing truth and falsehood. By your account, this island would have long fallen to the hands of the demons. Why, then, would I have wasted the effort to send a Golden Sword Transmission to the sect?"
Huo Zhiqi sneered coldly, "The disciple accusing you said that Nephew Ning happened to arrive just in ti that day. Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, you knew you could not accomplish your sche. Therefore, you hastily killed all the invading fallen disciples, sent the Golden Sword Transmission to falsify the report, and distanced yourself from any suspicion."
Hu Zhi Li stroked his beard slowly and unhurriedly said, "We have already investigated this matter. According to your ssage, there were fifteen fallen disciples who had succumbed to madness and stord Bamboo Island that day. You and Tu Song were together when the incident began. You claid that Tu Song refused to listen to your advice and was killed after the Prohibition was lifted. Yet how did Tu Song et such a miserable end while you remained completely unhard? Following that, all the fallen disciples died swiftly. You, as soone in the Xuan Guang First Realm, if there wasn’t sothing nefarious going on, how could you possibly have defeated fifteen people alone?"
Hearing this, Zhang Yan couldn’t help but feel so admiration for these two Old Daoists. The pair managed to twist the situation entirely on its head and even made it sound convincing.
But that was all. Anyone with a bit of critical thinking would realize the absolute impossibility of such accusations. If this truly were the case, they wouldn’t have bothered coming here; the disciplinary disciples of Zhengqing Institute would have long since apprehended him.
The fact that these two thought to speak to him like this indicated they had ulterior motives.
Zhang Yan pondered for a mont and let out a faint sneer in his heart. He practically understood their intentions.
These two were not really aiming to take him down but rather saw him as young and easy to manipulate. Thus, they attempted to intimidate him with words, hoping to convince him they had leverage over him and compel him to comply with their earlier demands to clear Fang Hong’s na from any suspicion in this matter.
If he so much as faltered or showed any sign of fear, they would seize the opportunity to manipulate him further. If soone else were in his place, facing their aggressive interrogation and threats, they might have fallen into their trap and done exactly as they intended.
Zhang Yan sneered inwardly. Such tactics might work on others, but against him, they were barking up the wrong tree.
Huo Zhiqi, noticing Zhang Yan’s silence, mistakenly assud Zhang Yan was afraid. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of delight. The Mingcang Sect had suffered a heavy loss this ti, and Ge Shuo was beyond saving. However, Fang Hong, being the prized disciple of True Master Zhu, was not soone True Master Zhu wanted implicated in this disaster.
The problem was that there was no one to exonerate him. The disciples rescued from Bamboo Island were insignificant in status, and their words carried no weight.
Zhang Yan, however, was a True Disciple, a different case altogether. If he could testify that Fang Hong had tried to dissuade Ge Shuo, coupled with pressure from higher authorities, Fang Hong could naturally be absolved.
But in True Master Zhu’s eyes, Zhang Yan was under the care of True Masters ng and Sun, so getting his cooperation was far from an easy task.
Huo Zhiqi and Hu Zhi Li, despite their diocre cultivation, believed they could handle this matter. Volunteering before True Master Zhu, they took it upon themselves to persuade Zhang Yan.
In their minds, Zhang Yan had been a disciple for less than a year and was rely twenty years old. What insight could soone so young possibly possess? A small dose of intimidation would surely leave him terrified into submission.
Initially, they had planned to engineer so incriminating evidence against Zhang Yan. However, among the disciples rescued from Bamboo Island, one nad Mo Tianhua stood up and claid that Zhang Yan had slaughtered fellow sect disciples. Hearing this, they were overjoyed. After revising their approach, they ca brimming with confidence to confront Zhang Yan.
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