Chapter 87: Fame Spreads Far and Wide

At that moment, the burned inner-sect disciple on the ground finally managed to open his eyes. Pointing at Lin Hao, he hissed, “You just wait. This is all because of you!”

Lin Hao merely stood there in silence. Ever since the fire had started, he had not said a single word. Even now, his face remained expressionless as he stood motionless in place.

Yet his silence did not mean others would stay silent. The people in the storeroom had all witnessed what happened, and, eager not to offend an inner-sect disciple, they hastily embellished the story as it spread at once.

In no time at all, Lin Hao’s name had swept through the entire Azure City Sect. He had truly become famous there, so famous that no one now had not heard of him.

Because Lin Hao had never spoken, the inner-sect disciples who came to put out the fire could only listen as the others pieced together the sequence of events, one voice after another.

Seeing the inner-sect disciple sprawled on the ground, their eyes fell on Lin Hao with doubt.

But after all, none of them had witnessed such a thing before, and they could not be certain whether Lin Hao truly possessed such power. Especially in a place like the storeroom—if he really had such ability, why would he be there at all?

Caught in that uncertainty, they did not dare do anything to Lin Hao. What had happened in the Azure City Sect could be either trivial or serious, and among the several inner-sect disciples who had arrived, none was in a position to make the final call.

So no one stepped forward to settle the matter.

The scene remained deadlocked.

Moreover, this affair had drawn the attention of others as well.

Just then, after the inner-sect disciples had helped the unconscious man on the ground away and left one or two people behind to handle the scene, another disciple arrived.

He descended from the sky.

With a cry of wingbeats, he came riding upon a divine beast.

At the sound, Lin Hao looked over, and a deep shock flashed through his eyes.

A phoenix!

Those were the two words that surfaced in Lin Hao’s mind.

Hearing those repeated cries, he felt as though he had heard them somewhere before. Then, seeing its form, he remembered.

It was the phoenix he had seen described in books, and its cry was exactly as the books had said.

This was truly the first time Lin Hao had ever seen someone contract a divine beast, and it was a phoenix at that.

As the sound drew nearer, he could finally make out the phoenix’s true appearance. Its entire body was pale white, save for three streaks of red feathers upon its brow, radiant and noble beyond measure.

His first impression was that it looked much like a refined young nobleman.

They had heard the phoenix’s cry from far off. When the crowd heard it, all turned in that direction. By the time the phoenix arrived overhead, everyone from the Azure City Sect had immediately stepped aside to make room.

Slowly, the phoenix descended.

Only then did Lin Hao see that a man in blue robes had alighted with it.

The man’s face was utterly expressionless. The closer one looked, the more he seemed like a block of ice, and even his eyes were filled with a deep, wintry frost.

Lin Hao studied him in astonishment.

By then, the man held a flute in his hand as he landed. He stroked the phoenix’s head, and a trace of warmth finally appeared in his gaze. Then, with a wave of his hand, he stored the phoenix back into his beast pouch.

The people of the Azure City Sect all bowed respectfully to him and cried out in unison, “Senior Brother!”

So this was the Azure City Sect’s senior brother. He had only happened to arrive here today, having been cultivating earlier with his contracted beast, the phoenix, when he saw the blaze and rushed over.

Upon seeing everyone bowing to him, Cao Yi nodded slightly and asked in a cold voice, “What happened here?”

The moment he spoke, Lin Hao felt a chill sweep over him. The man was like a block of ice, and even his tone made people flinch.

The others of the Azure City Sect were the same, though none of them showed any surprise, as if they were already used to him being this way.

Not only were they not surprised, they became even more respectful.

At that moment, an inner-sect disciple stepped forward and said, “Reporting to Senior Brother, the storeroom caught fire. As for the exact cause, they say it was that he released a strange flame.”

The man pointed at Lin Hao as he reported what had happened.

After hearing this, Cao Yi’s gaze shifted toward Lin Hao, and by chance the two of them met eyes.

Instantly, it felt as though one’s entire being had been frozen to the soul.

There was no emotion at all in Cao Yi’s eyes. Layers of thick frost seemed to shoot out like a blade.

Lin Hao could not help but inwardly marvel, shocked by the depth of this man’s strength. If he were to fight Cao Yi, he was not confident he could win decisively.

More than that, he was very interested in that phoenix divine beast of his.

This was still the first time Lin Hao had ever seen someone contract a divine beast, let alone a phoenix. He had only encountered such things in books before, never in reality.

In Green Pine Sect, at the very least, no one had one; not even the sect master had contracted a divine beast.

And even after coming to the Azure City Sect, he had not seen anyone capable of contracting one. Lin Hao looked at Cao Yi with undisguised curiosity.

Then, with upright confidence, Lin Hao held Cao Yi’s gaze head-on.

The two stared at each other for nearly two minutes. Cao Yi said nothing, then turned to the other inner-sect disciples and asked, “Was this fire truly set by him? Did he admit it himself?”

“Well, not exactly. But everyone here gave the same account. Senior Brother, if you do not believe it, you can ask the storeroom manager, Old Xiao. Go on, Old Xiao, tell him, isn’t that right?” the disciple said, pointing to the manager nearby.

At that moment, the storeroom manager was already panicked to the core.

When he saw the storeroom engulfed in flames, he had already been shocked out of his wits. Although the fire had now been brought under control, the storeroom was ruined. After being forced to summon the inner-sect disciples to handle the matter, he had already made up his mind to push all responsibility onto Lin Hao. He absolutely could not allow it to be seen that he had only pressured Lin Hao so harshly because he had accepted benefits from Brother Yuan.

But he had never expected that this matter would be seen by Senior Brother Cao Yi.

Now, under that senior brother’s gaze, Old Xiao was trembling all over, his expression uncontrollably anxious.

When the inner-sect disciple pointed at him and asked, Old Xiao gave a violent shudder.

“Ah!”

Cao Yi’s gaze instantly fell upon him. That icy look was like a sharp dagger driving straight toward him, as if it had pierced his heart and seen through his true thoughts.

Old Xiao was so startled he jerked his head away at once, his eyes flickering as he dared not meet Cao Yi’s gaze.

Then, stumbling over his words, he said, “R-Reporting to Senior Brother, indeed, this matter was done by that fellow called Lin Hao. Today was his first day in the storeroom.

He is a new outer-sect disciple admitted this year, but because he made some mistakes, he was demoted here to do labor. Yet he was unwilling to accept it, and after only working for a short while, he started throwing a fit.

In the end, he even struck out and burned the whole building down.”

The more he spoke, the smoother it came. Old Xiao kept whispering to himself that this was the truth of the matter.

As he went on, even he began to believe it. He absolutely could not expose his true purpose.

After hearing this, the other outer- and inner-sect disciples believed him as well.

Only Cao Yi, with doubt in his eyes, thought for a moment before looking back at Lin Hao and asking, “Is what he said true?”

Lin Hao looked at him in surprise, not expecting this at all. After the storeroom manager finished speaking, the gazes of the outer-sect disciples present were clearly full of hostility and blame.

Lin Hao had thought a fierce battle would break out today.

Although he had no confidence in fighting Cao Yi, he absolutely did not want to admit defeat.

Besides, Lin Hao’s emotions were still unstable at the moment. The inner demon within him was once again stirring, and he felt as though he could no longer suppress it.

Just then, Cao Yi’s cold voice suddenly rang out. Lin Hao felt a surge of clarity pour into his heart, and his emotions steadied instantly.

Looking at Cao Yi in astonishment, he asked, “Is it true? Did someone not already explain everything?”

“I want you to say it yourself,” Cao Yi said to Lin Hao.

Lin Hao thought for a moment, then spoke. “The fire was indeed set by me.”

“Senior Brother, look, he has admitted it.” When Cao Yi asked Lin Hao, the storeroom manager had been trembling with fear, worrying that Lin Hao would complain and say he had been forced into this. Yet he had never expected Lin Hao to admit so frankly that the fire was his doing.

Seeing the chance, Old Xiao hastily interjected in delight. But before he could say another word, Cao Yi merely glanced at him, and the storeroom manager’s mouth was instantly sealed shut. He could no longer make a sound.

He stared at Cao Yi in terror, his eyes full of pleading.

Cao Yi ignored him. Turning away, he walked up to Lin Hao and stopped about half a step away. “Continue.”

Lin Hao’s regard for Cao Yi deepened somewhat.

He nodded, then said directly, “It was because I…”

With not the slightest concealment, Lin Hao told the entire story from beginning to end. It was also the first time the other inner-sect disciples had heard him speak since arriving here.

And the reason for this matter differed so greatly from what the storeroom manager and the others had claimed that they looked on with doubting and incredulous eyes.

Some even suspected Lin Hao was lying.

Yet as Lin Hao spoke on, the faces of the storeroom manager and the others grew ever paler, their expressions filled with panic. Anyone could see from the attitudes of the two sides that Lin Hao was not lying.

Soon the scene fell into silence.

After Lin Hao finished speaking, no one said anything for a long time.

Cao Yi, too, remained silent for a minute or two. His eyes were still cold when he looked at Lin Hao, but an unintentional glimmer of approval flashed through them before he returned to calm.

It happened so quickly that Lin Hao wondered if it had all been an illusion. He could not help but feel a flicker of astonishment, and when he looked more carefully, Cao Yi was once again utterly still and cold.

But what he said next truly shocked Lin Hao.

“I believe what you said. I can give you another chance. Right now, you may return to the outer sect at once, and you will bear no responsibility for what happened here.”