Chapter 39
Chapter 39: Proving Her Innocence
Jiang Li Sheng had wanted to curse someone for a long time.
Back then, her Master hadn’t given her the chance. Afraid she’d be devoured whole by the situation, he had hurriedly sent her away. She had swallowed that anger until her throat burned.
Now Ji Fu Ling had walked right up to her, loud and self-righteous, and Jiang Li Sheng finally let it all out.
The crowd went dead quiet.
Even the three Peak Masters looked stunned.
They all knew Jiang Li Sheng’s usual face—sweet, obedient, always trying to coax forgiveness after she caused trouble. None of them had ever seen her tear into someone like this, ruthless and sharp-tongued. And the words… where had she even learned language like that?
They refused to believe it came from Qing Xu Sect.
Chu Li Qing’s expression sank like a stone. “Jiang Li Sheng!”
Jiang Li Sheng, still breathing hard from her outburst, looked up at his dark face and instantly turned aggrieved. “Martial Uncle Chu, I’ve never denied anything I actually did. Not once.” She pointed at Ji Fu Ling, her finger steady. “But for something I didn’t do, no one gets to shove a crime on my head and make me carry it.”
“It was her—she and Cheng Qian—”
“You’re lying!” Ji Fu Ling screamed, cutting her off.
Jiang Li Sheng didn’t even look at her. She finished, clean and clear. “They were secretly meeting behind people’s backs. I caught them. They were afraid I’d tell, so they framed me.” Her smile was icy. “The man’s ugly, the woman’s cheap. A pair of dogs. And to frame me, they didn’t hesitate to destroy tens of thousands of mu of spiritual plants.” Her voice sharpened. “Now you still have the nerve to jump in front of everyone and shout—are you afraid people won’t notice what you did?”
Ji Fu Ling snapped.
She drew her sword and slashed down at Jiang Li Sheng. “You’re lying!”
Jiang Li Sheng didn’t dodge. She lifted her chin, eyes cold. “Go ahead. Kill me right in front of the three Martial Uncles. Let’s see whether my Master won’t flay the two of you alive, throw you into boiling oil, and send you to the Eighteen Levels of Hell.”
“Enough!” Chu Li Qing’s sleeve flicked.
Ji Fu Ling’s blade stopped in midair as if slammed into an invisible wall. Her wrist shook, her whole body trembling, face white as paper.
Chu Li Qing stared at her panic, and whatever doubt remained vanished. Rage flooded his features until his face was iron-blue.
“N-no… it wasn’t me. She—she’s wrong. It was her!” Ji Fu Ling stumbled backward, barely able to stand.
“Soul-Search Technique,” Jiang Li Sheng said, refusing to back down. “Martial Uncle Chu, search my soul first. Then search hers. I don’t believe the world has no fairness left.”
If she hadn’t once broken into the Forbidden Grounds and endured Wei Qing Lan’s Soul-Search Technique, she might never have thought of this. Now she stood with righteous certainty blazing in her eyes.
She hadn’t done it. So why should she take the blame?
Why should she swallow a silent loss?
If Ji Fu Ling dared to leap out in front of everyone and keep slandering her, why should Jiang Li Sheng worry about protecting the sect’s reputation for a pair of shameless liars?
Li Shu Ming frowned. “Nonsense. The Qi Shan Secret Realm is about to open. How can you use Soul-Search Technique here?”
“I don’t have to enter the Qi Shan Secret Realm,” Jiang Li Sheng shot back. “I’m not desperate for it.”
Wang Yu Qing’s expression tightened as well. “This can be decided after you come out and return to Qing Xu Sect. Right now, the priority is preparation. The Qi Shan Secret Realm is a rare chance for training.” Her gaze fixed on Jiang Li Sheng. “You’re grown. You can’t avoid trials forever. If you want to walk the great path, this is the road you must take. Only constant trials temper the heart.”
Jiang Li Sheng didn’t budge. “What if those two dogs harm me inside? I can go in, but she and Cheng Qian can’t.”
Li Shu Ming and Wang Yu Qing fell silent, caught.
Chu Li Qing’s jaw tightened. “Cheng Qian broke through to Golden Core Stage a few days ago. He didn’t come.”
That was a bitter truth in itself. Among the younger generation, the number of Golden Core Stage cultivators was a quiet contest between the great sects. Cheng Qian reaching it before thirty made him a rare talent.
Not everyone could be as absurd as Wei Qing Lan or Ye Xing Ci—reaching Golden Core Stage before twenty.
Jiang Li Sheng’s face darkened. Only then did she realize why she hadn’t seen Cheng Qian. She’d assumed he was hiding in the crowd.
She clenched her teeth. “So what if he’s Golden Core Stage? There are countless young talents in the world. This isn’t over. Then search his soul first.” Her eyes cut to Ji Fu Ling. “If you want me to enter, that pair of dogs can’t.”
Li Shu Ming looked pained. “This is the secret realm entrance, not the Steward Hall. We’ll settle it after returning to the sect.”
“Fine,” Jiang Li Sheng said. “I’ll enter—and have someone escort her back to the sect.” Her stare didn’t move from Ji Fu Ling. “I’ve never taken a loss this big. Either we use Soul-Search Technique right now and punish her, or she doesn’t enter. Otherwise, if I go in and get eaten by a demon beast—or killed by her—who am I supposed to seek justice from?”
Chu Li Qing looked at her. “You truly want Soul-Search Technique?”
“Yes.”
“Fine.” He extended his hand. “Come here. I’ll search you first.”
“Senior Brother Chu,” Wang Yu Qing said, stopping him. “This isn’t the time. We should return to the sect for judgment. Better to agree to her condition: she enters the secret realm, and Ji Fu Ling is escorted back.”
“I won’t go back,” Ji Fu Ling blurted, voice shaking. “You can’t listen to her.”
Wang Yu Qing’s eyes turned sharp. “Then we’ll Soul-Search Technique you first.”
Ji Fu Ling went deathly pale and fell silent.
Wang Yu Qing’s voice cut like a blade. “So guilty, and you still dare refuse? That tells us enough.”
“The secret realm is open!” someone shouted suddenly.
Everyone turned.
Ahead, a vast black vortex had opened at the entrance, swallowing light like a mouth. In the same instant, people surged forward, rushing in without hesitation.
An Ru Xu hurried over, glancing between the Qing Xu Sect group and Jiang Li Sheng. “Junior Sister Jiang, we should go in.”
He had been standing farther away earlier, watching the standoff but not interfering in Qing Xu Sect’s internal conflict. Now the crowd was moving, and Jiang Li Sheng was still rooted in place.
Jiang Li Sheng looked at him, regret in her eyes. “Sorry, Senior Brother An. I’m not going. You go with Senior Brother Lu and the others. One less person doesn’t matter.”
An Ru Xu’s face tightened. “But this secret realm is once in a hundred years. And you’re basically half a Kun Lun Sect disciple now—”
“Little girl,” Ying Zong Yu called sharply, impatience flashing in his brow. “Why are you still dawdling? The secret realm is open. Move. If you’re late, it’ll close.”
Jiang Li Sheng glanced back at him, then turned to Chu Li Qing again, stubborn as steel. “Martial Uncle Chu. If you’re going to use Soul-Search Technique, do it now.”
Chu Li Qing’s face was dark with fury. “You enter. She does not.”
Ji Fu Ling’s eyes widened in terror.
No—she couldn’t be dragged back.
Her hands shook as she pulled out a talisman and slapped it to her body. In a blink, she burst forward, a pale streak shooting straight into the vortex.
She moved too fast. For a heartbeat, it was as if she vanished into the black.
Jiang Li Sheng’s voice tore out of her. “Martial Uncle Chu!”
Chu Li Qing struck.
Time seemed to lock up for an instant. In that frozen sliver, his artifact snapped forward and yanked Ji Fu Ling back out of the vortex.
She hit the ground with a bone-jarring slam.
Jiang Li Sheng strode up and kicked her hard. “Are you trying to die? You dare act up right in front of Martial Uncle Chu? Are you that impatient?”
She’d wanted to kick her for a long time.
Back in Qing Xu Sect, Jiang Li Sheng wasn’t even afraid of her Master. She was afraid of Chu Li Qing. If she hadn’t destroyed Medicine Peak’s fields, why would the Sect Master have been so panicked that he didn’t even let her explain before sending her away to Kun Lun Sect?
Because he was afraid Chu Li Qing would tear her apart.