Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Sword Domain?

Chang Le An yelled.

Li Shuang gave him a calm look.

That single glance seemed to pierce everything, as if it saw every secret hidden in his heart.

Chang Le An fell silent without thinking.

Luo Ming Yue glared at him, saying: “Vile people judge others with vile thoughts.”

Chang Le An’s face kept shifting. He stiffened his neck and said: “So many people saw it. A Qi Refining Stage versus Mid Foundation Establishment, and she still won so easily. Who would believe that? I think Li Shuang bribed her opponent to throw the fight!”

Li Shuang had not said anything yet.

Shi Chu Yun could not hold it in. She bit down and said: “Senior Brother Chang! Today was the first time Senior Sister Li and I even spoke. How could I be bribed? I am a disciple of the Disciplinary Hall. If you have proof, I will go with you to the Disciplinary Hall right now. If I truly shamed our sect, punish me however you wish. If you have no proof, then please apologize.”

Shi Chu Yun felt deeply wronged.

She had already lost, yet she still had to endure such mean guesses.

Chang Le An’s face froze. He had focused so hard on attacking Li Shuang that he forgot he was also attacking Shi Chu Yun.

Shi Chu Yun was a disciple of the Disciplinary Hall. She might be only an ordinary disciple, but the Disciplinary Hall disciples were very united. His words were poking a hornet’s nest.

Sure enough.

Jiang Yun Ge stepped forward from the crowd. She gave Chang Le An a level look and said: “Our Disciplinary Hall upholds the sect’s laws. Fairness and justice are our first rule. Since Junior Brother Chang has such doubts, for the sake of the hall’s name, we must ask you to explain yourself clearly.”

Hearing the name Jiang Yun Ge, Chang Le An snorted coldly. He remembered the day at Ling Xu Peak when Jiang Yun Ge carried out the sentence on Zhao Zhao, thinking: [If she had gone easy that day, Zhao Zhao would not have been hurt so badly. Instead she followed the rules to the letter and beat Zhao Zhao so hard she stayed in bed for days.]

Anger rose in him, and he snapped: “Explain then, fine! What, your Disciplinary Hall can’t be questioned? I say it’s not just Shi Chu Yun. Senior Sister Jiang, you were probably bought by Li Shuang too! Otherwise, why did you go so hard at Ling Xu Peak and beat Zhao Zhao like that on purpose!”

He had lost all restraint.

Even Li Shuang was a little stunned.

She had long known Chang Le An was impulsive and reckless. That was why, back at Ling Xu Peak, she kept a tight rein on him so he would not offend people.

Now, without that restraint, his flaws were blown wide open.

This time, he had carelessly offended Shi Chu Yun. That alone could have been solved with a simple apology.

But once Jiang Yun Ge stepped out, he offended her too.

Among the younger generation of the Disciplinary Hall, Jiang Yun Ge was the Chief Senior Disciple and had real prestige.

How could offending her do him any good?

Li Shuang looked at Chang Le An, even a little confused, thinking: [What is going on? Do the people of Ling Xu Peak think life is too easy and want to add more enemies for themselves?]

Even Ye Zhao Zhao was dazed. She tugged his sleeve and said: “Third Senior Brother, Senior Sister Jiang was just doing her job. She was not targeting us on purpose.”

Chang Le An snorted: “Zhao Zhao, you spoke up for Li Shuang before, and now you speak up for Jiang Yun Ge too. You are too kind and do not see how dangerous people can be. I will say this here: Li Shuang and Jiang Yun Ge fixed the match. I used a Memory Stone and recorded the whole thing. If you do not accept the result, I will hand in the Memory Stone and let the Disciplinary Hall judge whether that fight was normal!”

Jiang Yun Ge’s voice turned cold as she said: “If there is a Memory Stone, so much the better.”

Ye Zhao Zhao’s eyes flickered, and she held her tongue, thinking: [This win felt strange. If Chang Le An makes a scene, maybe I can gain something extra from it.]

Shi Chu Yun said firmly: “Senior Sister Jiang, if I did not do it, then I did not do it. I am willing to face him at the Disciplinary Hall.”

Li Shuang nodded: “I will go too.”

Chang Le An sneered and said: “Go ahead and put on your last act. When the result comes out, you can wait for your punishment. I hope when it is Li Shuang’s turn to be punished, Senior Sister Jiang, you will be just as merciless.”

Jiang Yun Ge gave him a cold look. She had no friendship with Li Shuang. Back at Ling Xu Peak, she only thought Li Shuang was being made a scapegoat, and she enforced the rules by the book with no private feelings.

Seeing Chang Le An act like this now did make her lean toward Li Shuang a little. In such an unreasonable sect for so many years, Li Shuang really had it hard.

Still, leaning aside was one thing. As a disciple of the Disciplinary Hall, she only followed the law and the rules. Right was right, wrong was wrong.

Other Sword Sect disciples, eager to watch, also followed along.

They had not understood today’s fight between Li Shuang and Shi Chu Yun. Since Chang Le An had stuck his neck out, they were curious how Li Shuang had done it.

At the Disciplinary Hall.

A Steward at the Divine Transformation Stage took up Chang Le An’s charge.

Chang Le An thrust the Memory Stone forward and said: “Steward Lin, I believe this was definitely a fixed match. The Memory Stone is the proof.”

Shi Chu Yun ground her teeth and said: “I do not know how Senior Sister Li reached me so fast, but I used my full strength.”

Li Shuang thought for a moment, then explained: “On the arena I unfolded a Sword Domain. Inside a Sword Domain, every move is shown in full detail. That let me pass through the formation and get close to Junior Sister Shi.”

Chang Le An gave a mocking smile and said: “Sword Domain? Never heard of it. Stop making things up!”

“Silence!” Before he finished, a sharp shout cut him off.

Chang Le An blinked.

The once easygoing Steward Lin was now staring hard at Li Shuang. He said, each word heavy: “You said… Sword Domain?”

Li Shuang nodded: “Yes.”

Steward Lin’s lips trembled.

[How can this be? If I remember right, Li Shuang is just over thirty. In our world, that is barely the start of the path. A Sword Domain! She has already formed a Sword Domain? I formed my Nascent Soul at fifty and entered Divine Transformation at one hundred. That counts as above average in our sect. Yet I still have not formed a Sword Domain. They say only when your grasp of the Way of the Sword reaches a critical point can you naturally form your own Sword Domain. If Li Shuang has formed one, what does that mean? It means that in the Way of the Sword, she has surpassed me. Has our Sword Sect produced such a peerless genius? No… I must verify it.]

Hands shaking, Steward Lin opened the Memory Stone.