“Hmph!”
Yue Ren, the third-ranked core disciple, let out a cold snort. He found this outcome hard to accept.
If the first place had gone to Ming Tian, Leng Hao, or even Tantai Lingzi or Bai Feifei, he could have stomached it.
After all, Ming Tian and Leng Hao were peerless prodigies.
Tantai Lingzi and Bai Feifei were no slouches either.
But who was this Ling Xiao? What gave him the right to such fortune?
Yue Ren always appeared amiable on the surface, but he was narrow-minded, arrogant, and bullied the weak while fearing the strong.
If Ling Xiao took first place, it would be like a beggar becoming the top scholar. How could he accept that?
“What exactly happened? Explain in detail!”
Chang Yueying’s expression turned somewhat icy.
Clearly, having just taken Tantai Lingzi as her disciple, the last thing she wanted was to be upstaged by Ling Xiao.
She had refused to take Ling Xiao as a disciple because of his poor aptitude. If he now outshone everyone and claimed first in the pagoda-climbing ceremony, how could she bear it?
Tantai Lingzi nodded and began weaving a story she believed was flawless.
In her tale, the one colluding with the Black Spirit Organisation was no longer her but Ling Xiao.
“What? Ling Xiao colluded with the Black Spirit Organisation? No wonder he achieved such results! This brat is utterly treasonous!”
Only the Supreme Sect Leader, the current Sect Leader, and the Enforcement Hall Leader knew a little about the Black Spirit Organisation within the sect.
All three were furious at this revelation.
“Go on!”
Chang Yueying said with a grim face.
“Not only that, Ling Xiao colluded with the Black Spirit Organisation, claiming they could truly kill disciples in the Moonflower Pagoda, not just eliminate them!”
Tantai Lingzi continued, “They seemed to use some kind of secret scroll. I saw the situation was dire and had no choice but to eliminate myself in regret. If not for them, I could have gained even more!”
This woman was shamelessly pinning her own misdeeds on Ling Xiao.
Her acting was convincing, though. As she spoke, she cried, winning the sympathy of most in the sect.
Even Golden Light Heavenly Venerable and Guanghan Heavenly Venerable stayed silent.
They felt that if Ling Xiao had truly done such things, even they wouldn’t defend him.
“Despicable wretch! Yang Danlin, this is the fine disciple you’ve raised! Not only harming his fellow disciples but colluding with the Black Spirits, who nearly destroyed the Mysterious Realm. This is an unforgivable crime!”
Elder Jin roared at Yang Danlin in fury.
“Expel him from the sect!”
Demon Flame Heavenly Venerable also said coldly, “I request the Sect Leader to issue the order now to expel Ling Xiao from the sect!”
“Expel him from the sect!”
“Expel him from the sect!”
Most of the onlooking disciples joined in the chant.
It seemed they believed Ling Xiao had committed these heinous acts and didn’t even deserve a chance to explain.
Demon Flame Heavenly Venerable had his plan: if Ling Xiao was expelled, he’d no longer be a Moonflower Sect disciple, making it easy to deal with him as he pleased.
This brat had grown to this point because he had underestimated him before. This time, he wouldn’t let him slip away.
“Silence!”
Chang Yueying was also scheming. Her disciple had to be the best, but if Ling Xiao and Dai Yuling were still alive, that wouldn’t do.
Expelling Ling Xiao now wasn’t a bad idea.
Besides, thinking it over, Ling Xiao had committed numerous wrongs.
In the first stage, he eliminated several people.
Later, he sabotaged Ming Tian, Bai Feifei, Wu Yang, Qin Wu, Tantai Lingzi, and many others.
Without Ling Xiao, their results might have been better, and they wouldn’t have been eliminated so easily.
With such grave mistakes, expelling him from the sect was entirely justified. Even the Moon Goddess couldn’t interfere.
With this in mind, Chang Yueying slowly said, “The Moonflower Sect, one of the twelve sects of the Human Sacred Dynasty, may not claim to be upright, but we act openly and with a clear conscience. Yet, we’ve produced such a heinous traitor!”
“Heh, Sect Leader, you’re absolutely right. Ling Xiao must be a spy sent by another sect to sabotage the Moonflower Sect. Keeping him will only tarnish our reputation.”
Supreme Sect Leader Chang Yueli nodded with a smile.
“And that Dai Yuling and Shangguan Lei, colluding with Ling Xiao, are equally guilty! Birds of a feather flock together. They must all be expelled from the sect, but first, their cultivation should be crippled to prevent them from causing further harm!”
Demon Flame Heavenly Venerable snorted coldly.
“Sect Leader, issue the order. Even Yang Danlin has no defence for this. Colluding with the Black Spirit Organisation alone is a death sentence!”
Elder Jin also shouted.
“Right, a death sentence!”
“A death sentence!”
As they say, mediocrity escapes envy!
Ling Xiao’s performance was too dazzling, too brilliant.
An outer sect disciple outshining all the inner sect disciples—how could they accept that?
Naturally, most were eager to kick him while he was down.
“Hahaha, after all these years, the Moonflower Sect’s higher-ups are still so shameless, utterly despicable!”
Suddenly, a loud laugh came from the distance.
A black shadow descended from the sky.
This figure, clad in black, exuded terrifying cultivation.
“A Cave Heaven Realm expert!”
Supreme Sect Leader Chang Yueli stood abruptly, her expression tense. “Who are you, and what’s your purpose in coming to the Moonflower Sect?”
“Your memory isn’t what it used to be, Supreme Sect Leader. We’re old acquaintances, yet you don’t recognise me now?”
The black-clad figure sneered.
“Wu Xiang!”
“Heavens, isn’t that Wu Xiang, the outer sect disciple? The worst one back then, who lived with Ling Xiao. How did he become so powerful?”
Some in the outer sect recognised him.
Indeed, this was Wu Xiang, who had once faked his death. Now, with his cultivation fully restored, he had returned.
“It’s you!”
At the mention of Wu Xiang’s name, the Supreme Sect Leader’s face turned grim.
She recalled an old incident.
Many years ago, the Moonflower Sect had a remarkably talented young genius named Wu Xiang.
In just two years, he advanced from the Mortal Realm to the Cave Heaven Realm, hailed as the sect’s greatest hope.
Back then, as Sect Leader, Chang Yueli had a male true disciple, about the same age as Wu Xiang.
This disciple had once far surpassed Wu Xiang and was also seen as the sect’s hope. But after being overtaken by Wu Xiang, he fell into decline and repeatedly provoked Wu Xiang.
Finally, during one such provocation, Wu Xiang, disrupted during training, went berserk and killed him.
As a result, the Moonflower Sect’s higher-ups, without seeking the truth, crippled Wu Xiang’s cultivation and cast him into the outer sect.
