Chapter 104: Emergence

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Inviting Elder Zhou from the Qingfeng Sect himself was definitely going to offend him. To let such a genius rise and then seek revenge—this was absolutely not Zheng Xi’s style. Originally, Zheng Xi had no intention of killing Lin Hao, but now he was determined to see him dead, his eyes sharp and venomous like a poisonous snake fixated on Lin Hao.

The sect leader had heard from Cao Yi about Lin Hao’s five spiritual roots before. At that time, he was merely surprised and let it go without further thought. At his level, he hadn’t paid much attention to Lin Hao and had never even met him. But after witnessing Lin Hao’s strength firsthand, the leader acknowledged a certain extraordinary aura about him.

After seeing the fiery dragon, Elder Zhou’s expression mirrored Zheng Xi’s. Turning his gaze back to Lin Hao, he noticed that Elder Zhou still had a breath left and, without much hesitation, Lin Hao ended it with a single sword strike.

With a throat-sealing slash, blood hissed from Elder Zhou’s neck as he died with eyes wide open in disbelief. He absolutely could not accept that he would meet his end at Lin Hao’s hands.

Lin Hao, however, showed no interest in Elder Zhou anymore. After the sword strike, a system notification appeared: “Ding! Congratulations, host, on completing the mission thoroughly. Due to your excellent performance, the system grants you an additional reward—a set of iron scrolls inscribed with imperial runes. Once you reach a certain cultivation level, you may practice the techniques contained within. Moreover, the scrolls themselves can be used as weapons.”

Closing his eyes, Lin Hao sensed a scroll, about the size of a book, floating above within the system’s space. It was etched with golden imperial runes, exuding a mysterious and noble aura. His heart leapt—an unexpected surprise indeed.

At that moment, Lin Hao forgot all his previous anger and focused on examining the iron scroll. Yet he maintained enough reason to know this was not the time or place for distraction.

After perusing the scroll, Lin Hao reopened his eyes and returned to reality. The scene had frozen since the moment he killed Elder Zhou.

With a relaxed smile, Lin Hao looked at the sect leader and said, “Sect Leader, indeed, I was once an inner disciple of the Qinghe Sect. My arrival here was by chance. I have no intention of harming the Qingcheng Sect or plotting to seize power. Everything that has happened is but coincidence...”

Before he could finish, someone interrupted from the crowd outside.

“You’re lying!” a loud voice shouted. “You have been scheming to harm the Qingcheng Sect!”

The man stepped forward, and Lin Hao, focusing on the voice, realized he did not recognize the person. Meanwhile, Zheng Xi smirked knowingly and fell silent.

Zheng Xi hardly cared about Elder Zhou’s death; what annoyed him most was that with Zhou’s demise, there were no witnesses left to testify against Lin Hao. All the accusations had been laid out, and Lin Hao could not deny them.

He furrowed his brows, contemplating taking matters into his own hands and dealing with Lin Hao personally, even planning to attack Cao Yi.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Qing Ci made an appearance.

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Indeed, the person who appeared was Qing Ci—the same Qing Ci from Qingcheng. Lin Hao had never met Qing Ci because after receiving the system’s warning, he had retreated promptly. When Qing Ci returned to Qingcheng, Lin Hao had already entered the Xuanhuan Sect, and through this twist of fate, they had never crossed paths.

Though Lin Hao had never met Qing Ci, Qing Ci knew of him and had sent people to investigate Lin Hao, leaking information to Zheng Xi.

Today, Qing Ci had been watching the commotion from the sidelines. When Elder Zhou appeared, Qing Ci had been silently praying for Lin Hao to be punished. They never imagined Elder Zhou would be so easily defeated by Lin Hao in a single move.

For a moment, Qing Ci was wary of Lin Hao’s strength but resented him for consuming so many treasures that originally belonged to themselves.

Moreover, Qing Ci’s agents sent to uncover Lin Hao’s identity never returned, and all information indicated they had perished. This furious loss of men and resources fueled Qing Ci’s determination not to let Lin Hao off easily.

After much consideration, Qing Ci stepped forward to accuse Lin Hao while he was still trying to explain and defend himself.

Approaching the crowd, Qing Ci’s angry gaze cleared a path. Then, stepping closer to Lin Hao’s group, Qing Ci first paid a deep bow to the sect leader, then knelt before him, speaking with righteous indignation:

“Sect Leader, Lin Hao is lying. His entire presence here is a calculated scheme. Regardless of who may be backing him, his crimes are unforgivable. You may not know, Sect Leader, but during our recent election, our disciples went to Qingcheng and reported that someone had impersonated a disciple of our Qingcheng Sect, gathering our resources. This imposter spread rumors that our sect would be recruiting many disciples this year, making countless promises. Then, before our disciples returned, the imposter quietly fled with a great amount of treasure. After thorough investigation, this man was identified as Lin Hao, who disguised himself under that name.”

Qing Ci loudly detailed Lin Hao’s misdeeds, then fixed him with an angry stare and demanded, “Lin Hao! Do you dare deny this?”

Lin Hao had hoped to smooth things over and had no intention of denying the facts. But hearing the accusations from Qing Ci’s mouth, the matter took on a darker tone.

At a loss for words, Lin Hao realized this was the very person sent by Qingcheng to investigate him. Though he did not know how Qing Ci had found out, every claim was irrefutable.

He stood frozen.

Everyone present now looked at Lin Hao with disapproval. No matter how many reasons he had, once the interests of the Qingcheng Sect were harmed, everyone’s own interests were threatened.

Their expressions grew cold.

Feeling their gazes, Lin Hao gritted his teeth and nodded earnestly, saying, “Yes, I did do this, but—”

“That’s enough. You did it, so just admit it. At least you’re a man for that,” someone cut him off. “Sect Leader, he has already confessed. According to Qingcheng Sect’s rules, anyone impersonating our disciple must be dealt with thoroughly to set an example. If we let him go lightly, others might follow suit, and our sect’s reputation would be ruined.”

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“Besides, if outsiders start causing chaos under the guise of being from Qingcheng Sect, won’t our reputation be completely destroyed?” Qing Ci interrupted Lin Hao’s attempt to explain, twisting words and escalating the matter, speaking to the sect leader with righteous firmness.

The sect leader’s gaze toward Lin Hao also turned unsatisfied. In his eyes, Lin Hao was at best a moderately talented cultivator, but ever since Lin Hao appeared, trouble followed.

From the moment Lin Hao entered the Qingcheng Sect, he had stirred up so many problems.

Now, in the Hall of Justice, having just killed the so-called Elder Zhou before the leader’s eyes, and then involving Qingcheng again—each incident alone would warrant Lin Hao’s death many times over.

The sect leader was deeply displeased.

Especially the elder of the Hall of Justice, a rigid traditionalist, widened his eyes upon hearing Lin Hao had dared to impersonate a Qingcheng disciple even before officially joining the sect.

This was a grave violation.

The Hall of Justice elder immediately stood up, agitatedly declaring, “Sect Leader, this man must not be spared. According to our sect’s rules, the Hall of Justice shall punish him. He should be quartered, his spiritual roots severed, and his corpse displayed publicly as a warning to all.”

As the elder’s words fell, the sect leader pondered, somewhat agreeing.

Nearby, Cao Yi’s expression shifted slightly; he no longer remained silent as before. Finally, he stepped forward and addressed the sect leader:

“Master, though Lin Hao has made some small mistakes before, his crimes do not warrant such severity. Moreover, I have planned to recommend him to the Supreme Elder. You must understand, having five spiritual roots is a rare gift.

“Besides, none of these incidents were initiated by him; he did not seek out trouble. I ask you, Master, to consider this carefully.”

At the mention of the Supreme Elder, the sect leader’s expression darkened and his gaze grew cold.

“Cao Yi, no matter how talented he is, our vast sect does not lack people like him. If we let him off so easily, how can the Qingcheng Sect maintain respect? Absolutely not. Cao Yi, I have tolerated your recklessness for too long. As the eldest disciple, you must think carefully about your actions. Reflect on what you’ve done recently—I will speak with you soon.”

Clearly, the sect leader now expressed dissatisfaction with Cao Yi as well, speaking with grave earnestness.

Cao Yi had no retort; he understood the unspoken warning not to stir up more trouble.

With Zheng Xi still lurking nearby, constantly pressing him, if he failed to show proper attitude regarding Lin Hao’s case...

Cao Yi’s expression froze. He opened his mouth as if to speak but said nothing, his gaze toward Lin Hao briefly flickering with a complex resolve.

Seeing Cao Yi fall silent, the sect leader’s demeanor softened somewhat.