As Elder Zhou Wunan’s voice fell, everyone in the main peak plaza froze for a moment.
The next second, they saw Zhou Wunan casually reach out and grab at the air. A figure was yanked straight in from the edge of the plaza and flew toward them. In an instant, every gaze landed on Fu Yan.
Being forcibly dragged over left Fu Yan with a pounding headache. She had known Zhou Wunan’s gaze wouldn’t just coincidentally land on someone else. But in front of an Integration‑stage expert, she had no power to resist at all.
Since Zhou Wunan had deliberately dragged her into this, Fu Yan had no way out anymore. She could only steady herself and brace for it. She looked at the two elders in front of her and said,
“Disciple Fu Yan greets Elder Lin, Elder Zhou.”
When she finished, her eyes couldn’t help but shift toward Bai Li at the side.
“Senior Sister Bai.”
On the opposite side, Xu Tanzhou saw Zhou Wunan randomly haul over a mere early Aperture Opening disciple and immediately assumed he was being mocked. His voice turned cold.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Elder Lin, standing beside Zhou Wunan, also looked puzzled. Only Bai Li’s eyes flickered slightly when she clearly saw Fu Yan, as if a bit surprised.
“When I came, I specially checked the mission records for our inner and outer sect,” Zhou Wunan said with an easy smile, then explained, “Half a month ago, when she was still an outer sect disciple, Fu Yan went on a mission to Blackspring Town.”
Blackspring Town was only a hundred li away from the Red‑Black Mountain Range. The implication behind his words was obvious.
Listening to him, Fu Yan’s mouth twitched. Specially checked mission records? She didn’t believe that for a second. He had clearly gone out of his way to investigate her. It had only been a few days since she shattered Zhou Zhenlie’s qi sea; this Elder Zhou had already dug out her entire background.
As Zhou Wunan’s words fell, the faces of everyone present turned a little ugly. Xu Tanzhou thought the other side was just pulling out a random scapegoat. Elder Lin felt this matter should not drag any more Shuiling Sect disciples into it.
“Fu Yan, have you ever gone to the Red‑Black Mountain Range?” Zhou Wunan fixed his gaze on her, his tone openly interrogative.
Fu Yan blinked blankly and nodded.
“I have.”
“But I was being chased by the mission target. I passed out from one of his blows while escaping.” Fu Yan truthfully recounted her experience, though from the corner of her eye she glanced at Bai Li. In the end, she thought for a moment and added,
“At the time, I was still at the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment.”
“Then did you ever encounter these two Zilan Sect disciples?” Since things had gone this far, Elder Lin could only follow through and ask.
Fu Yan lowered her head and looked down at the two corpses below, as if confirming something. Only after a long moment did she say,
“I think I’ve seen them.”
“What do you mean, ‘think’?” Zhou Wunan’s voice floated over again, cool and faint.
Fu Yan could only shrug helplessly.
“I should have been saved by a senior expert after I lost consciousness. When I woke up again, I was already deep in the Red‑Black Mountain Range. On my way out, I happened to see two figures. They seemed to be fighting a Bloodthirsty Ice Wolf over a stalk of spirit herb. Back then I hadn’t even opened my qi sea yet, so I didn’t dare get close. But… it should have been these two.”
“Enough.” Xu Tanzhou was clearly losing his patience. As an Integration‑stage cultivator, he obviously had no time to waste listening to the “experiences” of some tiny Aperture Opening junior. His face darkened further.
“What is the point of this little act of yours? Is the dignified Shuiling Sect trying to evade responsibility?”
With the reputation of the entire sect at stake, Elder Lin’s eyes also turned stern, even carrying a note of warning.
“I advise Elder Xu to mind his words. At present there is no evidence at all that our Shuiling Sect disciples killed your Zilan Sect disciples. Where does ‘evading responsibility’ come into this?”
“You—”
Xu Tanzhou was so furious he momentarily didn’t know what to say.
At that moment, Bai Li, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.
“I wonder, Elder Xu, have you examined their wounds carefully?”
“What are you implying, girl?” Xu Tanzhou immediately turned his spearpoint on Bai Li again, his gaze turning cold.
Bai Li remained unruffled. Instead, she explained in detail,
“I just examined their wounds. They died from… an Epiphany Sword strike.”
“What, an Epiphany Sword?”
As Bai Li’s words fell, everyone’s expression shifted to surprise.
The Epiphany Sword was something only sword cultivators could comprehend. It wasn’t that the technique itself was especially powerful, but that it was extremely hard to attain. It supposedly required a realm of unity between man and sword, where the sword wielder and the blade resonated as one. Only then was there a chance to grasp that strike.
Within the entire Minbei Region, sword cultivators who had truly comprehended the Epiphany Sword were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.
“I once had the fortune to see a senior display the Epiphany Sword, so I know a little about it. I believe someone in Zilan Sect must also be familiar with it. If Elder Xu does not believe me, you can go back and ask. You’ll find out soon enough,” Bai Li continued calmly.
Just as she was about to withdraw her gaze, she suddenly noticed Fu Yan at the side. The moment Fu Yan heard “Epiphany Sword,” her eyes went blank for a split second.
Bai Li couldn’t help pausing as well.
Because everyone’s attention was on the words “Epiphany Sword,” no one noticed the fleeting expressions between the two of them.
Xu Tanzhou had originally thought that even if he couldn’t ruin Bai Li today, he could at least skin a layer off the Shuiling Sect. He hadn’t expected he’d be the one made a laughingstock instead.
Everyone knew Bai Li had not comprehended the Epiphany Sword. If an Aperture Opening cultivator had already grasped it, her reputation would have shaken the entire Northern Region long ago. This, in turn, indirectly proved she had absolutely nothing to do with the matter.
Although Xu Tanzhou was seething, and his face had been sour from start to finish, in the current situation he could only take the two corpses and hurriedly leave the Shuiling Sect’s main peak.
Zhou Wunan had intended to use this chance to push Fu Yan into the center of the storm. He disdained going after some early Aperture Opening girl, but Zhou Zhenlie’s matter couldn’t just be left alone.
However, his earlier move had already stirred Elder Lin’s displeasure. To avoid more criticism, Zhou Wunan could only turn and leave in the end.
Seeing this, Fu Yan finally came back to herself, a chill shooting through her heart. She hadn’t expected that the fluke strike she’d used that day had actually been the Epiphany Sword. No wonder she hadn’t been able to reproduce it no matter how hard she tried these past few days.
Elder Lin and Bai Li didn’t linger either. They both soon turned to leave.
“I knew it. Those people from Zilan Sect were slandering Senior Sister Bai. They came in all aggressive, but in the end they could only slink away.”
“Hahaha, exactly. Seeing Zilan Sect eat dirt like that really makes my day!”
“Sigh, so what is an Epiphany Sword anyway?”
“When I say you’re dumb, I’m not joking…”
As Bai Li and the others departed, the disciples gathered in the plaza continued to chatter about what had happened as they dispersed.
Very soon, the vast plaza was left with only Fu Yan standing there in a daze, the words Bai Li had sent her via voice transmission just before leaving echoing in her mind.
“Come to my courtyard at midnight.”
Fu Yan: “? ? ?”
