Meng Xuanzhao was startled and suddenly remembered something rather important. With his uncle supporting him, killing a backgroundless disciple within the sect was certainly not an issue, especially when it was done in private so that nobody questioned it. Within the world of cultivators, there were plenty of people's lives that were worth nothing, and—with time—all would be forgotten. The sect still had its rules, however, and if this matter was turned into a large scene, not only would Meng Xuanzhao be in trouble, but not even his uncle have the ability to put out the fire.
Sweatdrops began to form on Meng Xuanzhao's forehead as he tried to think of a way to explain himself.
But Fang Xing did not give him the chance. "You see, I may have had a grudge with Shixiong Liu Feng and almost lost my life because of him, but I've never even thought about taking his life! You privileged second-generation disciples really are something, aren't you? Taking someone's life, and for nothing! A living person beaten to death, just like that. Meng Xuanzhao, did you learn this from your uncle? What happened to the rules of the sect?"
Such questions directed at him caused Meng Xuanzhao to feel a sense of terror. He stumbled a couple of steps backwards before recollecting himself, "Nonsense! When did I say that? I'm the one questioning you right now; how dare you misrepresent my words!"
BAM
Fang Xing slammed a small jade plate upon the stone table. "I've got the evidence right here. What is your excuse?" It was a palm-sized plate made out of jade, its inch-thick surface covered in complex symbols.
This jade plate was a "Recollection Talisman", another basic spirit tool of the cultivation realm that was low-grade but had widespread use. Its purpose was also very simple: after a small amount of Qi was used to activate it, there was a certain time frame in which it would store sounds. Some higher-grade examples could even record images.
When two cultivators were far away from one another and too far to use a Message Talisman[1], one of the cultivators would store their voice inside such a Recollection Talisman to then be delivered by a third party to the receiver. Simply put, these talismans were similar to letters, but there were also certain times they could be used to record surrounding voices to later be used as a form of evidence.
After Meng Xuanzhao saw what Fang Xing took out, his facial expressions became distorted and ugly. He used private means to deliver capital punishment and had sent Liu Feng to his death, something that could not be brought out into the open. If the sect were to find out about this, let alone him getting punished, even his uncle might end up affected.
The sect's outer court was seen as a place to measure each individual's capabilities, and only once a disciple had managed to outshine the majority would they be offered the chance to join the inner court. To "outshine" typically meant to have superior zi'zhi, wealth, background, or even raw strength, and no limit was placed on how a person achieved any of these things; even shadier methods were fine as long as the matter was settled quietly and privately. As long as a disciple was able to arrive at the top, they would qualify for the inner court.
Although there were no specific limits as to how one might achieve these results, the outer court was not without its unwritten rules. The sect might encourage their disciples to unleash their bloodthirst upon each other, but a disciple abusing strength that wasn't their own—such as the case of Meng Xuanzhao relying on his uncle—was seen as improper.
If Liu Feng's death was caused by a fight between the two, or had even been a result of a duel to the death, the sect might not heavily punish Meng Xuanzhao for it; he would at most receive a year's worth of confinement within a specific location. If Liu Feng's death was caused by a disciple abusing their privilege to hand out private punishments, however, there was even a chance for expulsion from the sect.
And if there was evidence that his uncle had been involved in this in any way? His uncle would also be expelled from the position of elder!
"You… you planned this all along? Give me that talisman!" Meng Xuanzhao yelled, his expression distorting even further as he stretched his arm across the table in the hope of snatching the talisman from Fang Xing's clutches.
Fang Xing gave a cold laugh. "And now you want to destroy the evidence?" He jumped up and aimed a slap towards Meng Xuanzhao.
It was beyond Meng Xuanzhao's expectations that Fang Xing would act in such a manner so quickly, and he did not even have time to defend himself. The full force of that slap landed on his face and—with the sound of a chaotic clatter and a violent gust of wind—Meng Xuanzhao was sent flying into the thicket of black bamboo.
SWOOSH
Meng Xuanzhao's men were all surprised at the sight and leveled their Flying Swords towards Fang Xing, but not a single one of them directly attacked him. Even the dark-faced man looked slightly nervous and was watching Fang Xing with disbelief. Meng Xuanzhao's strength was not low, and he would perhaps be one of the top-ranked disciples within the Qing-Yun Sect's outer court, yet he had been sent flying with a single slap to the face?
"You little mutt, I'm going to kill you!" With a face covered in blood, Meng Xuanzhao was so furious that he was growing unstable. Even he himself could not believe that he had been sent flying by this little son of a bi*ch. Growing up, he had always been favored by everyone around him, and not once had he been forced to suffer such humiliation. He had been left almost in tears after he was robbed by the Black Market Bandit back then, and this time—with so many people here to witness it—he had been slapped by Fang Xing. The hatred and shame was driving him to the verge of madness, and he stood up with great effort, ready to give all he had in order to fight the boy.
Yet the dark-faced man grabbed ahold of Meng Xuanzhao's arm to stop him.
The dark-faced man turned towards Fang Xing and spoke in a deep tone, "Shidi Fang, please forgive Shixiong Meng; he must have just been joking earlier. You should not be so menacing either, though, and it's for everyone's mutual benefit for you to hand the talisman over to us." That talisman was crucial to Meng Xuanzhao's future, and since the people here were from the same circle, they could not let it slide right in front of their eyes. His words were a warning; if the talisman was not handed over, he would also join in to force the issue.
"You're kidding, right? Someone was killed! How is this a joke?" Fang Xing coldly laughed again before he suddenly leapt atop the stone table. "Come and get it from my hands if you can!"
As Fang Xing spoke, he clapped both of his palms together and activated [Dragon Catching]. An invisible force like that of a whirlwind began to circulate around Fang Xing, and those that stood close by with their Flying Swords pointed at him were blown all over the place. Their Flying Swords escaped their control and flew towards Fang Xing in a mass of clattering silver. Fang Xing pulled in his arms and released a loud howl as all of the Flying Swords landed in his embrace, only for them to be thrown into a single pile atop the stone table.
"Dragon Catching?" Both the dark-faced man and the yellow-dressed female were startled. In unison, they retreated more than ten yards back with expressions of disbelief.
Others might not recognize this, but they knew very well what it was. The skill Fang Xing had just used was the basic skill called [Dragon Catching], or [Gravitational Force]: a skill that controlled an invisible force to attack or defend. Even though the skill's study was prohibited to the outer court, it was not under the same kind of strict control as the Ore Essence Powder; any outer court disciple that had friends or contacts within the inner court would probably learn this skill in advance. The dark-faced man, yellow-dressed female, and Meng Xuanzhao had all made some progress in this skill and often gathered together to practice and exchange pointers. What they saw today, however, was a much stronger version of the [Dragon Catching] than they had ever performed themselves.
"Within the outer court, I have never seen anyone with such fluid movements when performing the Dragon Catching. What's… what's your cultivation tier?" the yellow-dressed female asked in a somber tone. She was curious, as she was someone rather resourceful and was also acquainted with several inner court disciples who had practiced [Dragon Catching] as well. She had never seen someone in the third tier of Spirit Stage demonstrate such poise and power while using the skill.
Fang Xing laughed. "You want to see my tier? Sure!" As he spoke, he released a surge of Qi. It was like a violent wave that splashed outwards against all that were present, and it even forced most of them to take a step back.
"Tier four?"
"He's… Spirit Stage tier four…."
"How could… he's so young, yet he's already achieved tier four?"
Everyone looked on in unease, as if unable to accept such a fact. In the entire outer court, there was currently no one who had managed to reach this level… except for the boy currently in front of them.
There was a bulletproof glass ceiling between tiers three and four, and all of the people present were either in tiers two or three. It was no wonder the boy had shown the courage to come here alone; he had never even cared about any of these people here.
"So, does someone still want to take the talisman from my hands?" Since Fang Xing was standing atop the stone table, he was now a head taller than most of them and swept his gaze coldly below. Intimidated by his power, the gathered people could be seen involuntarily taking another step backwards. What a joke; what kind of tier-three disciple would dare challenge someone in tier four?
"You… you're… you've broken through into tier four! Damn it, and you say you've got nothing to do with the Black Market Bandit? Let me ask you then, just where did you get the Ore Essence Powder for the Poji Pellet?" Meng Xuanzhao was the first one to break the silence a few moments later. His expression was full of surprise and anger, his eyes glistening.
Indeed, his suspicions had only grown from the fact Fang Xing was now in tier four. A person could not break through into tier four without the Poji Pellet, but the Poji Pellet could not be crafted without Ore Essence Powder. If the boy was not connected in any way to the Black Market Bandit, how else could he have gotten his hands on the Ore Essence Powder?
NOTES
[1]Message Talisman: First appeared in chapter 43. It is used to send a message—usually in vocal form—from one person to another, and usually within a restricted certain distance.