Chapter 1152: An Irrefutable Argument
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric
“What do you have to say for yourself?” Wu s.h.i.+ bellowed coldly.
“Wuu wuuu…” Vice Pavilion Master Tian anxiously spoke.
“Release his seal!” Hall Master Xing instructed.
Division Head Liao nodded before striking the other party from the back.
Vice Pavilion Master Tian immediately felt the surge of zhenqi that had been suppressing his movements being released, and he heaved a sigh of relief. With reddened eyes, he cried, “He is lying! He’s the one to make a move on us first…”
“Enough!” Hearing those words, Hall Master Xing stood up and glared at them sharply. “The reason why I allowed you to speak is in view of the fact that you are a master teacher as well. I thought that you would at least repent on what you have done, and yet, all your mouth is capable of spouting is lies and more lies… Tell me, where has your dignity as a master teacher gone to? You said that he made a move on you? Even the strongest of the four of them only has a cultivation of Saint 2-dan, and you are in King Zhongqing’s manor at that. Do you honestly expect anyone to believe those words?”
Hall Master Xing was so angered that he could explode on the spot.
Do you take me as a fool? At least come up with a more believable lie!
The both of you are still well and kicking, and you still dared to claim that Princ.i.p.al Zhang made a move on you?
Even if Princ.i.p.al Zhang had such intentions in mind, is he even a match for the both of you?
“I…” Vice Pavilion Master Tian’s body staggered in despair.
But I am already telling the truth… Look at us, we are injured as well!
Vice Pavilion Master Tian felt deeply stifled within, but he knew that the other party had already claimed the upper hand in this debate, and the fact that the other party had witnessed King Zhongqing attempting to kill Zhang Xuan was truly disadvantageous to them. At this point, vehemently pus.h.i.+ng their point forward would only incur the other party’s repulse and disgust. Since that was the case, it would be better for them to direct the topic to something else for the time being.
“That person over there is known as Ming Zhen…” Suppressing his indignation, Vice Hall Master Tian pointed to an elder standing by the side and said. “He is the vice head of a Poison Hall located in Hongyuan Empire. Not too long ago, he arrived at the manor to report Zhang s.h.i.+’s butler, Sun Qiang. He said that Sun Qiang is a particularly powerful poison master, and a while ago, he had arrived at their Poison Hall to arrange for the founder of the Poison Hall to be escorted to the headquarters. In view of the safety of Qingyuan Empire, King Zhongqing had no choice but to apprehend Zhang s.h.i.+ to interrogate him. Yet, who could have thought that he would attempt to forcefully take his butler away, thus resulting in this conflict…”
“The vice head of the Poison Hall?”
Wu s.h.i.+ and the others swiftly turned their gazes towards Min Zhen.
On the other hand, noticing so many master teachers and combat masters looking over towards him, Ming Zhen’s face was scared pale.
“You are from the Poison Hall?” Wu s.h.i.+ asked grimly.
As a master teacher, he bore little goodwill to those from the Poison Hall.
“That’s right.” Ming Zhen nodded as he flicked his wrist, taking out his poison master emblem and a token representing his ident.i.ty as the vice head of the Poison Hall.
After taking a look and confirming that there was no mistake, Wu s.h.i.+ frowned, “You are here to report Sun Qiang?”
He wasn’t too familiar with Sun Qiang, but since the latter was Princ.i.p.al Zhang’s butler, how could he be a poison master?
But of course, there was still a need to clarify things before coming to a conclusion.
“This…” Ming Zhen’s face distorted slightly, and after a long moment of hesitation, ‘putong!’, he kneeled to the ground. With reddened eyes, he exclaimed, “Wu s.h.i.+, I beg of you to redress the grievances of our Poison Hall!”
“What happened?” Seeing the other party’s abrupt actions, Wu s.h.i.+’s frown deepened.
“King Zhongqing captured all of our comrades from the Poison Hall and imprisoned them in his underground prison. He coerced me to accuse Zhang s.h.i.+ of that, or else he would kill my brothers… It’s also out of desperation that I chose such a course of action! Wu s.h.i.+, I implore you to return us justice!” Ming Zhen cried in grief.
“You… Nonsense! Utter nonsense!”
Those words left both Vice Pavilion Master Tian and King Zhongqing exploding on the spot.
That fellow was clearly one of their own, and they were still depending on him to serve as their eye-witness, and yet… how could he turn against them at this crucial moment?
You said that we coerced you?
You were the one who fled here after the Poison Hall exiled you!
Furthermore, you were the one who willingly revealed the location of the Poison Hall, and that was why King Zhongqing was able to dispatch his soldiers to eradicate them… How in the world did you suddenly become a victim over a blink of an eye, and what did you say? We used the lives of your brothers to threaten you?
You were the one who wanted to kill them in the first place! How could we use their lives to threaten you?
“Shut your mouths!” Wu s.h.i.+ flung his sleeves and bellowed furiously. After which, he turned his gaze back to the poison master and said, “You need not fear, continue speaking.”
“Yes! If Wu s.h.i.+ doubts my word, you can search King Zhongqing’s underground prison. My brothers from the Poison Hall is currently being imprisoned there. If you were to find any falsehood in my words, I’m willing to accept any punishment!” Ming Zhen cowered backward slightly, but the resolution in his eyes was apparent. It was as if he was deeply fearful, but for the sake of justice, he was willing to take a leap of faith and testify against the true masterminds.
His body was still plagued with the other party’s poison, so he knew what he should say and what he shouldn’t. Furthermore, at this point, it was apparent that King Zhongqing and Vice Pavilion Master Tian was no match against Zhang s.h.i.+ in terms of playing such trickery.
Clearly, this was the best opportunity for him to ‘leap out of the darkness and return to the light’.
“You…”
The words spoken and the subtle gestures that hinted at a mix of fear and courage from Ming Zhen left Vice Pavilion Master Tian and King Zhongqing so enraged that flames could erupt from their heads.
If Ming Zhen had chosen to side with them, they would have been able to turn the tables on the other party! Yet, who could have thought that the latter’s words would become the nail that sealed the lid of their coffin instead?
On the other hand, Luo Qiqi, Sun Qiang, and Yu Fei-er glanced at one another with their eyes widened and mouth agape in disbelief.
There was only a brief exchange between Zhang s.h.i.+ and that ex-vice head of the Poison Hall, and yet, he actually managed to convince the latter to side with them and speak completely different words from before… This was too formidable!
With this, no matter which perspective they looked at the situation for, they were in an absolutely advantageous position.
Even though Zhang Xuan was the one who had insulted a 7-star master teacher despite possessing only the ident.i.ty of a 6-star master teacher, flouting the rules of formalities, at some point in time, the story had turned into the latter abusing his seniority to take advantage of Zhang Xuan, intentionally attempting to accuse him of something he hadn’t done…
At this point in time, the duo would never be able to cleanse their reputation anymore.
“Head to the underground prison to take a look. Check if there are any poison masters there!” Ignoring the despairing duo, Wu s.h.i.+ turned to a master teacher beside him and instructed.
In this rescue operation, the Combat Master Hall wasn’t the only one that had dispatched their forces. The Master Teacher Pavilion had also brought many master teachers over as well.
When Wu s.h.i.+ received Zhang Xuan’s distress call on his Jade Communication Token, he immediately brought everyone that he could call upon in the Master Teacher Pavilion over, not daring to hesitate in the least.
“Yes!” The master teacher quickly turned around and left.
Not too long later, the master teacher returned and clasped his fist, “Reporting to Wu s.h.i.+ and Hall Master Xing, in the underground prison of King Zhongqing Manor, there are indeed many captured poison masters, and every single one of them are severely injured…”
“As I expected!” Upon hearing that report, Wu s.h.i.+’s face turned incredibly awful. He turned around to look at Vice Pavilion Master Tian and sneered, “To use the members of the Poison Hall to slander Princ.i.p.al Zhang; Vice Pavilion Master Tian, you can be a.s.sured that I’ll report this matter in detail to the headquarters!”
Every single clue fitted together with pieces on the puzzle, forming a flawless story. At this point, there was no longer any need to listen to their explanation anymore.
With the advancement of his cultivation to Half-Leaving Aperture realm, as well as the merit he had accrued from exploring the Qiu Wu Palace, he was swiftly promoted to become the other vice head of the Master Teacher Pavilion, putting him on equal standing as Vice Pavilion Master Tian. In terms of actual authority and influence, he was still beneath that of Vice Pavilion Master Tian, but considering that the latter had done something as immoral as this, he still held every right to investigate the matter.
“I…” Vice Pavilion Master Tian glared at Zhang Xuan hatefully, but at this point, he knew that there was nothing he could say that would change the situation anymore.
He thought that it would be easier for them to deal with the latter by pinning a crime on him—this way, the matter wouldn’t come back to bite them in the future—but who could have thought that the other party would actually use it against them?
It must be said that Zhang Xuan’s adaptability was truly formidable. In just a short moment that they had let their guards down, they ended up falling for his trap.
“I hope to have Pavilion Master Gou deal with this matter personally. If the results then are still the same as what you have concluded here, I would have nothing to say about reporting this matter to the headquarters.” Vice Pavilion Master Tian gritted his teeth and said.
He could tell that Wu s.h.i.+ and Hall Master Xing had a deep relations.h.i.+p with Zhang Xuan. At this rate, there was no way he would be able to cleanse himself of his suspicions.
Just the very act of slandering and accusing another master teacher was more than sufficient for him to lose his current position. Perhaps, he might even be stripped of his master teacher license.
At this rate, he could only bank his hopes on Pavilion Master Gou. With his involvement, perhaps there might still be hopes for a reversal.
“You want to have Pavilion Master Gou to investigate this matter? Let me tell you this then. Your direct disciple has duped the intelligence regarding the existence of the ancient domain from the old princ.i.p.al of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, Zhang Yinqiu, two years back and relayed the intelligence to the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, nearly causing a calamity to occur. I have already looked into this matter, confirmed it, and reported it to Pavilion Master Gou. And now, you are intentionally slandering and accusing Princ.i.p.al Zhang… Even if you were to bring him in, nothing will change!” Wu s.h.i.+ harrumphed coldly.
Vice Pavilion Master Tian’s face paled.
The reason why Old Princ.i.p.al Zhang Yinqiu and the others were hesitant to liaise with the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion after they were duped of their intelligence was because the person who had duped their intelligence had an exceptionally high standing!
And he was the direct disciple of Vice Pavilion Master Tian!
After Wu s.h.i.+ returned, he had been looking into the case carefully, and he found concrete evidence to formally charge Vice Pavilion Master Tian’s direct disciple of the matter.
It was also due to this matter that Zhang Xuan dared to make a move. In the first place, Vice Pavilion Master Tian was already under investigation, and yet, the other party still dared to make a move against him. Since that was the case, he didn’t mind pinning another accusation on him.
And besides, even though it was more of a gut feeling at this point, there were quite a handful of doubtful points about Vice Pavilion Master Tian himself back in the short interaction they had earlier as well…
“Men, bring Vice Pavilion Master Tian and King Zhongqing back to the Master Teacher Pavilion!” Wu s.h.i.+ instructed.
Typically speaking, the Master Teacher Pavilion wouldn’t deal with a local officials easily. After all, such actions could easily result in dissension between the royal family and the Master Teacher Pavilion. However, the King Zhongqing’s attempt to slander and accuse a master teacher of a crime had truly touch the bottom line of the Master Teacher Pavilion. This was an insult to the dignity of the number one occupation in the world, so he had to be dealt with.
Otherwise, if everyone were to regard master teachers as pushovers, how were they to maintain order in the world?
Master teachers mustn’t be sullied, these weren’t just mere words. Those who tried to climb over the head of the Master Teacher Pavilion would have to pay a corresponding price for their actions.
“Yes!”
The master teachers stepped forward and took the two men from the hands of Division Head Liao and the others before leaving the hall.
After the duo was brought away, Wu s.h.i.+ turned to Zhang Xuan and asked worriedly, “Princ.i.p.al Zhang, are you still alright?”
“I’m fine…” Zhang Xuan shook his head. With Luo Qiqi’s support, he stood up and bowed apologetically, “Even though Vice Pavilion Master Tian was the first to make a move against me, it is a fact that I did retaliate against him, and that’s against the formalities of the Way of Teacher. In order to make up for my mistakes, I have decided to crash the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion after I recover from my injuries. I hope that you can pardon me for this!”
“You want to crash our Master Teacher Pavilion?” Veins immediately popped up on Wu s.h.i.+’s forehead. “If you’re worrying about that matter, there’s really no need to. Your actions const.i.tute as self-defense, so there’s no one who would say a thing about that matter. I’ll also report this matter to the headquarters, so that no one will be able to use this matter against you in the future…”
If a master teacher were to truly err, there was only one way he could cleanse his crimes—pavilion cras.h.i.+ng.
Back then, in order to avenge Lu Chong, Zhang Xuan had single-handedly challenged Xuanyuan Empire, and in the midst of doing so, he had no choice but to fight against the head of the regional Master Teacher Pavilion as well. That was against the formalities of the Way of Teacher, and that was also why he had to crash the Master Teacher Pavilion afterwards in order to cleanse his name.
Pavilion cras.h.i.+ng was the act of single-handedly challenging the trials set up by the Master Teacher Pavilion. It was equivalent to using the strength and wits of an individual to go against an entire Master Teacher Pavilion… and it was a nigh impossible to succeed.
For this reason, there were only a small handful of people who had succeeded in pavilion cras.h.i.+ng in the entire history of the Master Teacher Pavilion.
However, while that rule may apply to others, when Wu s.h.i.+ recalled the ident.i.ty and incredible means of the young man before him, he dared not agree to it.
Back in the Qiu Wu Palace, even he had willingly chosen to abide by the other party arrangement… Regardless from which aspect one was looking at, the young man before him was truly incredible. As formidable as the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion may be, Wu s.h.i.+ had no confidence whether it would be able to remain standing after the latter had made his round on it.
Furthermore, once the pavilion cras.h.i.+ng succeeded, they would have to heed the other party’s unconditionally, and that would be a true embarra.s.sment to their Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion.
“Since Wu s.h.i.+ has said such words, I’m rea.s.sured…” Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. After which, he turned to Hall Master Xing and asked, “It’s due to me that the members of the Poison Hall are implicated into this matter. May I trouble Hall Master Xing to take them back to the Combat Master Hall to take care of them for the time being?”
“You want me to take them back to the Combat Master Hall?” Hall Master Xing was taken aback.
“Indeed. While poison masters have a poor reputation, if we could bring them over to our side as allies, that would surely be a great boost to our fighting forces. Without a doubt, they would prove to be a sharp edge in dealing against the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. Thus… if possible, I hope to have them join the Combat Master Hall and form a division of their own!” Zhang Xuan revealed his true intentions.
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