Chapter 48: Tit for Tat
All of the disciples dared not speak up but they looked at Ling Xiao with great respect.
He had made the Grand Supreme Elder so infuriated that the latter vomited blood. There was no chance the other disciples could be a match to Ling Xiao’s eloquence and courage.
Besides, for a split second, the crowd actually believed that Lin Shan was the scoundrel who had disrespected the ancestors’ heritage, misjudged right from wrong, and abused authority for personal revenge. It was obvious that Ling Xiao was great with words!
To begin with, Ling Xiao had already acquired the knowledge of Supreme Boundary, hence it was natural for him to carry this kind of imposing manner. Besides, he had also utilized some sort of secret mental power to achieve this effect.
“What’s the matter, Grand Supreme Elder? Have my words left you speechless that you’re now trying to silence me by taking my life?”
Lin Shan smiled coldly and glared at the man with a strong murderous intent as if he was his prey. He was not terrified at all.
“Pfft, you little rascal! You’re guilty of the most heinous crime because you’ve insulted the seniors of the sect. So what if you’re the Saint? Can a Saint disregard the sect commandments and verbally abuses his seniors? No matter how you make a wild boast about this, all three of your offenses are supported by witnesses and evidence. Do you even have any witnesses to support your refute?”
Lin Shan’s yell sounded almost like a roar while the murderous intent in his eyes was crystal clear. If they were not under public scrutiny, he would have made the move to take Ling Xiao’s life by now.
This little rascal was definitely a horrible man!
Ling Xiao remained silent but the taunting in his eyes only grew stronger. It was obvious that Lin Shan was about to throw a fit once again.
“You don’t have any evidence, am I right? If so, all your boasting is just meaningless words. Elders, I think Ling Xiao has offended his superiors, destroyed our ancestors’ heritage, and murdered his peer. All these crimes added together are sufficient to execute him right this instant, don’t you agree?”
Lin Shan glanced around the room with a threatening expression.
“The Grand Supreme Elder is right. Ling Xiao’s guilty of the most heinous crimes and he should be executed to death immediately!”
“I agree with putting this little rascal to death!”
“Ling Xiao’s not fit to be Longevity Sect’s Saint!”
All of a sudden, those Elders who sided with Lin Shan took the opportunity to prove their loyalty.
Right at this moment, Deng Yalin who had been standing behind Deng Tiande gritted his teeth and took a step forward.
“I… I’m willing to testify for the Saint!”
The chaotic scene in Longevity Palace quieted down at Deng Yaling’s unexpected announcement. Everyone shifted their attention to the young man.
A handful of disciples also looked at him in confusion.
Ling Xiao had once meted out punishment for Deng Yalin so he should detest Ling Xiao to the core, but why was he standing up for him instead?
Lin Shan’s face fell.
His cold gaze landed on both Deng Yalin and Deng Tiande. “Junior Brother Deng, take care of your grandson. Not anyone can have a say in this matter!”
A nervous look washed over Deng Tiande’s face as he reprimanded his grandson, “Yalin, get back in here!”
Right now, Deng Tiande was experiencing mixed feelings. He despised Ling Xiao for humiliating him with Purple Thunder, but he was also grateful to him for pointing out Deng Yalin’s fault. Combining those two events together, he felt so awkward in today’s Elders Adjudication Meeting that he dared not speak his mind.
He only wanted to be on the fence.
After all, it would be a grave mistake to offend Grand Supreme Elder Lin Shan.
However, he had never expected that the stupid boy Deng Yalin would make a fuss about testifying for Ling Xiao.
Although Deng Yalin was flushed with embarrassment under public scrutiny, he was firm in his stand. “No, I insist on testifying for the Saint!”
Despite everyone’s surprised stares, he walked to the middle of the hall and said to Lin Shan, “Grand Supreme Elder, Senior Brother Ling Xiao went through all nine floors of the Longevity Tower and was appointed as Saint by the Sect Leader in front of numerous disciples. All of us were utterly convinced, even Father and Great Elder were there to witness it! Senior Brother Ling Xiao, who had been conferred the title of Saint, is an authority of high status with prestige power. Therefore, he naturally didn’t have to perform salutations in today’s Elders Adjudication Meeting. In other words, the first offense cannot be established!”
“That’s correct! I can prove that he’s right about this!” said Nangong Xuan with a faint smile.
“I agree with him, too!”
The Great Elder was grinning slyly like a cunning old fox. He was savoring every moment of Lin Shan’s failure.
The attention in the room was now fixed on Deng Tiande. The man sighed silently as he knew he could not retreat in silence anymore. So, he nodded before he chipped in, “They’re right, Ling Xiao’s indeed the Longevity Sect’s Saint!”
All of a sudden, everyone in the room burst into an uproar. The words of these three men carried weight, hence their opinions held massive impact. Their words had once again reconfirmed Ling Xiao’s status as the Saint.
It was especially true for Deng Tiande who was the Law Enforcement Elder. His position in the sect made him the next most important person after Nangong Xuan, Lin Shan, and the Great Elder. Now that he had shown his support towards Ling Xiao, the other Elders shuddered and started to dither about their previous decision.
“Alright, alright!”
Lin Shan laughed in fury, yet his deathly gaze that swept past Deng Yalin and Deng Tiande was filled with boiling murderous intent.
Deng Tianda had sided with him back in the days, but now he had changed his mind to favor Nangong Xuan and this naturally made the old man extremely irritated.
He suddenly shifted his gaze towards Ling Xiao and shouted, “Even if I let you off with the first offense, it’s a cold hard fact that you’ve injured Qi Yuanhua and murdered Lin Haoyu. You’re going to be executed no matter what!”
“Great Supreme Elder, we would like to testify for the Saint!”
In that instant, three figures entered the Longevity Palace and immediately knelt down in front of Nangong Xuan and the rest of the Elders.
They were indeed Liu Chuanxiong, Gu Zhong, and Wang Han.
“Grand Supreme Elder, although Qi Yuanhua is only a legacy disciple, he yelled at the Saint in a filthy language the moment he arrived at Jin Se Pavilion, calling the Saint a little rascal. We tried stopping him but he injured me so severely that the handprint of Windcloud Palm is still imprinted on my chest. Therefore, the Saint had only injured him out of self-defense! According to the sect commandments, in regards to Qi Yuanhua’s offense, the Saint has the right to injure the offender or even destroy his cultivation base!”
Liu Chuanxiong explained in great courage. Then, he tore his shirt off to reveal an enormous handprint before his chest.
“Stormy clouds vaporizing into mist to realize spiritualization, this is indeed the Windcloud Palm!”
An Elder from Nangong Xuan’s side approached the witness for verification and eventually nodded his head in satisfaction.
A subtle smile appeared on the Great Elder’s face. “The thirty-seventh rule on Longevity Sect’s sect commandment states that anyone who disrespects or insults the Saint will be dealt with by the Zhifa Hall if the offense was light. But if a person treats the Saint in a gravely abusive manner, they would have their cultivation base completely destroyed and later dispelled from the sect! Qi Yuanhua definitely got what he deserved!”
Based on the sect commandment, the accuses towards Ling Xiao did not hold!
Looking at Ling Xiao’s indifferent attitude, Lin Shan’s gaze darkened as the annoyance he had towards the man increased. He felt as though today’s Elders Adjudication Meeting was slowly progressing out of his control.
“What about the fact that you’ve murdered Lin Haoyu? There are eyewitnesses and ironclad evidence for this matter, you better kneel down on your knees right now and admit your wrongdoing!”
Lin Shan bellowed as his raging red eyes glared at Ling Xiao with blazing murderous intent!