Another peal of murmurs and whispers from outside filled Xiao Chen's ears like the buzzing of bees. Perfected Immortal Qing Chen and the rest of his entourage were all worried, and no one else inside dared to speak, especially in the presence of the wrathful Warden. "Do you know that the person you had saved, was none other than Yu Linglong, daughter of the Princess of Fort Rakshasha!"

Yu Yifeng was among the crowd outside. His forehead was creased into a frown, hoping that Xiao Chen would just respond with a simple "don't know". But his hopes were dashed when even from outside, he could hear Xiao Chen's cool voice, admitting, "I know."

A huge uproar broke out between the crowds watching from outside and those sitting at the spectators' bench inside. The Steward in red snarled, "Well! Do you still claim to not know about your transgressions!"

The crime of fraternizing with evil folks was a crime that no one felt more pain than Xiao Chen. Millennia ago, he was executed under the same charges and not long ago, he saved a member of the Devil's Practice with the entire world present. The crime of consorting with the enemy was seen as treason to the domain of Good, a crime so grave that it was punishable by death. Yet at this moment and this very second, he remained proud and confident of himself and he would gladly do it again if time were to turn back.

"She barely knew me," Xiao Chen's voice, hoa.r.s.e and hollow, croaked, silencing the bedlam, "Yet she had taken a hit from Ye Wuxin for me. Honor demanded that I had to help her. For all the accusations you all have heaped upon her that she is an evil woman capable of countless and unimaginable atrocities, have you actually seen her take anyone's life?"

The rigid uneasiness in the air lingered as cold as ice that the crowd outside began to feel a chill creeping up everyone's spines. The heads of the Leaders and Mentors of the many schools and sects of the land in the hall lowered in a truculent demonstration to Xiao Chen's words, their eyes glowering. Even the Warden was shaking, the hairs of his beard trembling with a burning trepidation, as if he was struggling against an impulse to smite Xiao Chen to his death at the very spot he was standing upon.

Xiao Chen himself knew full well of the repercussions of his words: he could either be sentenced to death or he might even be executed there and that. But he understood that only the regret, remorse, and guilt would return to torment him again if he were to repeat what he did millennia ago by not telling the truth.

He could once again see himself again back at Mystic Cyan Mountain, with the elites of the sects and schools of the Orthodox Path urging him to murder, with his own hands, the woman called Hua Weiyang.

"SO BE IT!" The Steward's voice thundered through the length of the hall, its echoes ringing toward the outside like the blares of a trumpet. Everyone in the hall was shuddered by his imposing presence that grew as if he dwarfed everyone else in the building. "Even at this stage, you refuse to repent! And with that, for the good of the Orthodox Path, I move that we sentence Xiao Chen to death!"

"Heh heh heh heh..."

Xiao Chen's cold chuckle added more chill to the already rigid atmosphere and smothering the raging anger of the Steward that he immediately fell silent. "For the good of the Orthodox Path, you say? Don't make me laugh! Your hands, were they not tainted with blood before? Have you not taken any innocent lives before?"

He would never dare to allow such words to escape from his lips if he was the Xiao Chen millennia agog. But having beheld with his own eyes the ugliness and grotesquery of human mind and how people learn magic and defense, not for the greater good, but for self-interest and greed, Xiao Chen could see that the lines between Good and Evil had been blurred to the point that he failed to see the point in investing in either side. The Clans of Ling and Zuoqiu were the best personifications of this deformity.

The hall was silent except for m.u.f.fled breathing of the people around him. The horrifying aura radiating from the Warden substantiated to the prevailing silence. No one could object to Xiao Chen's views, no matter how right he was; but no sane man would dare utter their agreement within the halls of the League and before so many eyes lest they suffered the very same fate as the young man now being tried like a traitor.

Cold fury blazed within the Warden's eyes; with a simple lift of his finger, he could instantly incinerate Xiao Chen into mere cinders. But suddenly, the sound of rushed footsteps echoed through the hall as Yu Yifeng bolted in. He bowed hastily to the men seated upon the floating pedestals and saluted brusquely. "I implore for your leniency, Lord Warden! Xiao Chen is a junior of mine and he is still young, brash and trusting of others. He has been hoodwinked and confused by the charms of the evil folk. But he does not mean what he said. This is an honest and straightforward person who would never commit treason against our realm."

Murong Xian'er scrambled unsteadily up the aisle in tow, "I can testify to that! It was those evil people who kept on hara.s.sing Big Brother Xiao Chen! He does not know her!"

"SILENCE! What insolence is this! Who are you people?" The Steward was fuming; never had the judiciary of the League suffered not only one so defiant and rebellious such as Xiao Chen, but also two young whelps who dared to create such ruckus in such a sacred place! He channeled his True Energy, his powers swirling wildly and caused a turbulent eddy of winds inside the hall.

Fearful that the Steward might strike down his prize student in his wrath, Perfected Immortal Qing Chen bellowed, "Yifeng! Stand down!"

Xiao Chen glared at Murong Xian'er too, "Get out, Xian'er!"

Two sentries appeared to escort them away. Slowly, they walked toward outside, with Murong Xian'er whimpering tearfully, "Please... Don't bully my Big Brother..."

Xiao Chen watched them leave. Finally, when they were outside, he turned back to face the front, very much relieved. "I stand here before all of you today, as a man of honor," he declared coolly, "I am not bound by the rules of any school or sect here. But I am no less righteous and honest than anyone here!"

He was not speaking as the Xiao Chen today, but as the Xiao Chen millennia ago; the Xiao Chen who was once a student of the Mystic Cyan Sect of old. It mattered not to him that he was wrongly blamed, being on trial for treason where his Nascent Soul might be sentenced to destruction, and he might perish, or the fact that the hearts of men in this age was nigh unsalvageable; but it mattered greatly to him that he was a student of his teacher and her message to him, asking him to do good and remain n.o.ble.

Seated up high, the Warden could not believe himself; he felt himself faltering. He faltered before the eyes of a young man which gleamed not of evil or malice, but defiance and faith in himself. "He refuses even to admit he is one of us, the Orthodox Path! Yet, such strength, such spirit, such fort.i.tude! Who is he and where is he from?"

His thoughts were interrupted by a voice from below. Perfected Immortal Qing Chen had stood up. "My Lord Warden, the boy is of a kind and pure heart in addition to an extraordinary talent we've not witnessed in years. This is why the evil folk had tried to have Yu Linglong to induce him to join the ranks of horrors in the Devil Practice and deprive us of such a tremendous prodigy. What are we, the Orthodox Path? Do we not always profess to teach people to be kind, to lead people to goodness? But what are we doing now? Are we trying to force him to join the evil folk and help them fulfill their wish?"

The Mentor of the Jade Qing Sect paused briefly and gestured toward Xiao Chen, "He tried to save an enemy. That is proof of his kind heart. His honor to repay the good that others had shown him. But the evil folk knows this, and they were trying to use this to the fullest. Heaven forfend if you, my lord, were to indict him as one of them, then tell me: are you sure you're not playing right into the hands of the evil folk? Are we going to lose one of the greatest talents we've seen in this decade?"

Long had the Jade Qing Sect enjoyed great prestige and esteem across the five continents despite being situated far away in the East. The founder of the order was renowned for being as powerful as the leaders of the five ancient schools, and his students, more so. Hence Perfected Immortal Qing Chen had always been revered as one of the most respected individuals in the realm.

A few of the older Leaders and Mentors nodded in agreement. Even the Warden's anger quickly subsided and he turned back to the frail and friendly old man he formerly was. He stroked his beard slowly, pondering until he finally managed, "There is merit to what you say, I suppose."

Realizing that the tables were turning against him, Zuoqiu Ping yelled frantically, "My Lord Warden! The origins of this young man is a mystery! There is a great possibility that he is an agent of the Devil's Practice sent to infiltrate us! You cannot allow him to walk free lest he will cause more upheavals and chaos across the realm! You know full well the carnage and havoc the evil folk is capable of! Have you forgotten about what happened one thousand years ago? We must kill him, to save millions of innocents! The ends will justify what we do today!"

"Amitabha..."

A deep chant from Master Xuanji stopped him from continuing any further. The senior monk from Wuyin Monastery had yet to say anything since entering the hall, until now. He stood up, his palms clasped together in reverence.

But Xiao Chen was deep in thought; he was thinking about what Zuoqiu Ping had said earlier. "What happened one thousand years ago? That must be Xiao Ning! But the people of Wuyin Monastery would behave strangely whenever the name of Xiao Ning is mentioned? Why do they seem so full of guilt and hesitation everything they hear his name?"

Perfected Immortal Qing Chen turned to face Zuoqiu Ping. "Master Zuoqiu. On what grounds do you accuse the boy as one of the evil folk? Do you have proof? The methods of using the ends to justify its means are something only a member of the Devil's Practice is capable of doing? How dare you utter such blasphemy within this sacred hall! We are senior members of this hallowed community!"

Zuoqiu Ping could find no words to back his claim. He fell silent for seconds until he finally thought of something. He thrust an angry finger at Xiao Chen and shouted for the benefit of everyone, "His powers and skills! They are strange and foul, definitely not one of the Orthodox Path! I have seen it with my own eyes! It was that day, I would never forget! Foul aura swirled around him as he channeled his powers like tendrils of black fumes! Even the air around him reeked of the fetid stench of his demonic energies! Interrogate him if you don't believe me, Lord Warden!"

"Ah?" The Warden's brows creased into a troubled frown. "Is that so?" He muttered and looked at Xiao Chen, "Channel your powers with the magic you've learned, boy. Do not use the skills you've learned from other schools or sects."

Every eyeball in the hall was trained upon Xiao Chen that very instant. The news of his mysterious and strange powers and skills had traveled far and wide that everyone was interested to see if the rumors surrounding him were true.

"As you wish."

Xiao Chen stood himself upright and heaved a long breath. He channeled his powers, using the Mystic Skills he once learned from the Mystic Cyan Sect.

A rich and ancient aura radiated from him and filled the hall. As the aura wafted and filled the hall like the tranquil mists of a hillside valley, everyone was amazed by its purity and tranquility.

"Heavens! Impossible! What magic is this! How could it even be possible that such sacred magic exists?"

"My, oh my! For centuries I have been so proud of my own skills and magic, that I have always felt it beneath me to mingle with others... Never did I know that I would be able to witness and feel the power of such pure a magic today!"

Gasps of wonder and stammers of awe rose from the crowds inside and outside the hall. Some even shook their heads; realizing that the magic they have learned and studied for centuries, was nothing compared to what the young man was showing now.