by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
Xiao Wei retorted, "I had personally recruited Xiang Shaoyun from the Devil Domain. He once killed a lot of devils there. It's not surprising that he had refined some devil blood. There are many humans that have also mastered devilish techniques. Are those humans to be declared public enemies as well?"
Many elders were in agreement with Xiao Wei. After all, the restored scenes had proved that Xiang Shaoyun was the victim here. Situ Yan and the others had merely died from their own doings. However, their thoughts did not matter as only the principal could make the final decision.
The principal looked at Xiang Shaoyun and asked, "You have devil blood in you?"
Xiang Shaoyun answered forthrightly, "Yes."
"See, he admitted it! We need to execute him!" demanded Situ Mingyu murderously.
The principal sank into a short silence before saying, "You once survived the angels' purification punishment. That proves that you are no evil devil. Otherwise, with the hatred the angels hold against the devils, you will be fully purified. Therefore, regardless of whether you have devil blood in you or not, we can let it slide. But you have killed Elder Situ's granddaughter and the overseers. That is somewhat overboard. We should let the grand elders decide on this. After all, you are the sole disciple of the gravekeeper elder."
Although the principal sounded like he was pushing the responsibility away, he made Xiang Shaoyun's identity clear. He was the gravekeeper elder's sole disciple. If the elders present still didn't understand the meaning of his words after this, then those elders must be fools.
In fact, everyone present knew the gravekeeper elder. He was a blind old man that had been residing at the Back Graveyard. He looked like an ordinary old man, but everyone knew that he was an old man that had, in fact, lived for so long nobody knew how old he was. Some even claimed that he had been around since the academy's foundation. Would they dare to kill the disciple of such an old man?
Situ Mingyu, Mo Luo, Shadowflash, and Feng Huosuo felt like they had swallowed a fly. They were extremely uncomfortable, but they couldn't even vent their anger and had no choice but to abide by the principal's arrangements.
"Alright. We should show some respect to the dead. Give them a proper burial first. Let the grand elders make the final decision," said the principal, signifying the end of this incident. As for what would happen next, it would depend on the grand elders.
Chapter 899: Strength Is Everything
The whole incident with Xiang Shaoyun being disfigured and everything else was sealed up by the principal. Nobody was allowed to say a word of this to those not involved. After all, this was a major scandal of infighting, and they couldn't let it spread.
Xiang Shaoyun was brought away by the wolfman, and nobody dared to stop them. As for the principal, he brought the elders to the meeting hall to talk about follow-up actions.
As for Situ Mingyu, Mo Luo, Shadowflash, and Feng Huosuo, they weren't in the discussion since they were personally involved in the incident. They went to look for their respective backers, trying to join up together and pressure their superiors. They insisted on dealing with Xiang Shaoyun resolutely, to at least expel him. After expelling him, they would be able to kill him easily.
Soon, Xiang Shaoyun was brought to the Back Graveyard. The gravekeeper elder was standing before the spartan house, standing with his hands behind his back. His empty eyes still seemed capable of seeing through the universe.
After bringing Xiang Shaoyun there, the wolfman knelt down on one knee and said respectfully, "Greetings, Master."
Xiang Shaoyun also paid his respects, "This disciple greets the master."
He had not imagined that his master had always been paying attention to him. In fact, he had thought that this master had never acknowledged him as a disciple. Gravekeeper elder waved at the wolfman to send him away. The wolfman did not dare disobey and instantly vanished into thin air.
"Do you feel indignant and unwell being injured to this extent?" asked the gravekeeper elder without even looking at Xiang Shaoyun.
Xiang Shaoyun replied honestly, "Yes, I feel indignant and unwell."
"What do you think you should do if something similar repeats in the future?" the gravekeeper elder continued asking.
Xiang Shaoyun clenched his fists and answered, "If I'm not strong enough, I'll die. If I'm strong enough, I won't have to fear anyone. Whoever dares to lift a hand against me will be repaid tenfold."
"You're right. The crux is your lack of strength. If you are stronger than them, how would they dare to move against you? They will be too busy avoiding you. We live in a world where strength is everything," said the gravekeeper elder. "You are still young, so it's not too bad that you get to experience something like this. Only by experiencing it will you deeply remember that feeling in your heart. Only then would you put more effort into cultivation, growing stronger and stronger, before finally becoming a tyrant of your generation that nobody dares to provoke."
Xiang Shaoyun nodded seriously. "I understand, Master."
He had been growing at lightning speed and had grown complacent. In truth, the faction he led was still too weak to be relied upon. Only by becoming strong himself would nobody dare to bully him anymore. Thus, his main priority should be to become as strong as he could.
"Yes, strength is everything. This is merely a part of your life experience. In the future, you will be able to wash off this humiliation with blood," said the gravekeeper elder. A bottle appeared in his hand. He tossed it over and said, "This is a bottle of scar cleansing water. Use it and you can erase all scars from your face."
Xiang Shaoyun accepted the bottle, but he did not use it immediately. He thanked gratefully, "Thank you, Master. But I want to try healing by myself first."
He sat down cross-legged and activated the profundity of wood. At the same time, he used the Secret Reversal Technique, causing pure wood energy to converge around him. The energy transformed into a pure life force that nurtured his face. He could feel the wounds on his face slowly closing up.
For the first time today, the gravekeeper elder turned around to look at him. It was as though there were stars swirling in his pair of empty eyes that could see through even the universe, not to mention Xiang Shaoyun.
"Profundity of wood, essence of life. Not bad. Looks like you've learned a bit of these," praised the gravekeeper elder. This was very rare, as although he had taught Xiang Shaoyun before, he had basically never offered any praise. This single praise of his was incredibly precious.
As the life force nurtured the wounds, the flesh on Xiang Shaoyun's face started growing and healing. Soon, the scars closed, and the blood stopped flowing. Even so, numerous scars were still left on his face, as though someone had carved numerous centipedes across his face. His previously handsome face now looked somewhat revolting.
Xiang Shaoyun did not stop the convergence of energy. He continued nourishing his face with life force, and finally, even the scars were gone.
When Xiang Shaoyun felt like everything had returned to normal, he formed an ice mirror and looked at it. Seeing that he no longer had any scars, he muttered, "Good thing I preserved my handsome face. Otherwise, it wouldn't be enough punishment even if that b*tch dies 10 times."
"Don't get cocky. You are merely displaying a low-level healing technique. It is nothing. If your wounds had been caused by some unique weapons or corrosive poison, just your low-level healing technique wouldn't work. You need to deepen your comprehension of life force, reaching the essence of the technique. Only then will you be able to instantly heal your wounds. In the future, you might even stand a chance at regrowing your entire body from a drop of blood," said the gravekeeper elder. "Stay here for a while to talk about the dao with me. Show me how much you have improved apart from your growth in cultivation level."
Gravekeeper elder did not mention a word of Xiang Shaoyun's devil blood. Evidently, he did not care. Of course, he also didn't mention anything about Situ Mingyu, Mo Luo, and the others, as though all that w
as unrelated to him. He was sticking to the role of a pure gravekeeper.
Xiang Shaoyun was overjoyed. Each time he received a lesson from the gravekeeper elder, he benefited greatly. He wished for nothing more than to stay by the gravekeeper elder's side every day and talk about the dao.
One old man and one young man sat before the spartan house and started talking about the dao, completely oblivious to everything that was happening in the world.
A few days passed, and a decision was finally made about Xiang Shaoyun's incident. His spot in the competition of the four academies was removed, and he was expelled from the academy.
News of his punishment created a massive commotion in the academy. Who was Xiang Shaoyun?
He was the owner of a high-grade nine-star physique. He was one of the top three geniuses on the Dragon Phoenix List. He was also the leader of the Overlord Legion and could fight the strongest disciples of the academy evenly. He was actually expelled from the academy, and it was incredibly hard to believe.
Not only were the Overlord Legion members unable to accept it, but even some other disciples were filled with disbelief.
"What is wrong with the academy? How can they make such a decision?"
"Was the incident from a few days ago related to him? What is going on? Why did this happen without any news leaking?"
"If he was expelled after failing to cultivate nine powers, it would be understandable. But he had successfully fused nine powers, unleashing a powerful combat strength. He has a bright future ahead of him. I don't understand why the academy is doing this."
"Xiang Shaoyun has been too arrogant and has offended too many people. Perhaps not even the elders can stand him anymore, so they expelled him."
Chapter 900: Anger of the Legion
The 1 Dragon Villa could hold over 300 people at once, and now, it was filled with over 1,000 people. These were all Overlord Legion members. They rarely gathered in such large numbers, but they were all here. They wanted to know why Xiang Shaoyun was expelled since they couldn't accept the decision.
Ouyang Chuanqi, Han Chenfei, Tang Longfei, Zhuge Zhantian, and the others were all gathered inside the villa with solemn expressions.
"Who knows what's going on?" Ouyang Chuanqi asked.
"I want to know as well. What is wrong with the academy to expel the overlord? Just what crime has he committed?" Tang Longfei demanded furiously.
"I don't know. All I can find out is that after leaving the Book Pavilion, the overlord got into a conflict with some overseers. He was then taken away by some people and has not been seen since then," said Han Chenfei.
Zhuge Zhantian said solemnly, "I asked my master, and he said that the overlord is safe. However, the overlord has offended some people and killed the descendants of some people. Therefore, he is being expelled. Moreover...the overlord has devil blood flowing in his body."
"I heard the same from my master. But the overlord once entered the Devil Domain with me. So it's not surprising that he had refined some devil blood. I think the main reason for his punishment is him killing the descendants of an elder," said Shou Xie.
"Is it because the overlord killed Mo Xiaoqing in the primary-grade battleground? He is the descendant of Elder Mo from the local faction," said someone else.
Everyone had their own guesses, but the only thing they could confirm was that Xiang Shaoyun was getting expelled.
"We need to find the overlord. He must still be somewhere in the academy, or there won't be any way of reversing this decision," said Shang Jifeng.
"Yeah, where is the overlord? Even if he is expelled, they should release him. Did something happen to him?"
"We can't allow the overlord to be expelled like this. In the battleground, people are killing each other for ranks. What, just because someone is the descendant of an elder, that person does not need to die? What about all our brothers and sisters that were killed in the battleground as well?"
"That's right. We need to seek an explanation from the principal. We need to keep the overlord in the academy!"
...
Xiang Shaoyun enjoyed high prestige within the Overlord Legion, and nobody could sit still when something was happening to him. They all wanted to seek justice for him. But before they could set off, a figure descended from the sky.
When they looked up, they saw that Elder Xiao Wei had graced them with his presence. They saluted him and greeted, "Greetings, Elder Xiao."
Xiao Wei looked at them with a complicated expression and said, "You may rise. I am here to update you on Xiang Shaoyun's status. He is your leader, but after accidentally killing the descendant of a previous generation elder, he has broken the no-infighting rule of the academy. Thus, he is expelled. Don't create a fuss out of this, and don't question the academy's decision, or you will be punished as well."
He was here on behalf of the academy. For him to personally give them an explanation, one could say that he was already taking great care of their mental state. If the academy hadn't sent Xiao Wei over, what kind of troubles would these disciples cause? They wouldn't be able to do much unless they wished to be expelled as well.
"Elder Xiao, which elder's descendant did the overlord kill to be punished so heavily?" someone asked.
"Elder Xiao, is there no way to change this? The overlord is one of the top three disciples. If he represents the academy to fight the other three academies, he will win more victories for us!" said someone else.
The others also started speaking, all of them wanting to clarify the matter.
"I won't answer these questions. Since he has broken the rule, he has to be punished. Nothing will get done without proper rules. Let Xiang Shaoyun himself explain his side to you when he's back," said Xiao Wei before vanishing into thin air.
The Overlord Legion members were at a loss as to what to do now.
"I am withdrawing from the academy. This is too unfair!" roared Tang Longfei furiously.
He was extremely close with Xiang Shaoyun, and he knew Xiang Shaoyun well. Generally, Xiang Shaoyun wouldn't seek trouble for those who had not provoked him. But with Xiang Shaoyun being expelled, it was clear someone else was at fault here. He could not hold his anger in anymore.
"Deputy commander, calm down. Let's wait for the overlord's return before doing anything," persuaded someone.
"That's right. Everyone, let's disperse for now. We'll talk after the overlord is back. Everyone can talk to your backers and try to see if we can salvage this. We can't just sit around and do nothing," suggested Ouyang Chuanqi.
Everyone agreed. Many of them were disciples of elders. Thus, they believed they could at least do something for the overlord.
...
In the depths of the academy was a grand elder who had been in seclusion for many years. Today, he was suddenly taking guests again. He might not be one of the top grand elders, but he was still a veteran with combat strength that could not be underestimated.
The grand elder had a huge build, and his bright red hair was incredibly conspicuous. His pair of eyes were akin to a pair of bright suns that not many would dare to look straight at. Wearing a simple sleeveless garment, his explosive muscles were bared for the world to see. The muscles contained boundless strength, and he looked like he was sculpted from stone.
He looked to be about 30 or 40 years old, but if someone knew his true age, that person would exclaim that he was an old monster in shock. Standing before this grand elder was a red-haired beauty. She was akin to a fire fairy that had descended from the heavens, exuding boundless grace and beauty.
This woman was none other than Yu Caidie, the academy's number one beauty. Only she could be so exceptionally beautiful. She was actually conversing with the grand elder on an equal footing, something many people would find hard to believe. Even with her extraordinary status, as a junior, how could she be on an equal footing with an elder like this?
"Who is the culprit for the whole incident with the overlord?" asked Yu Caidie.
The grand e
lder replied, "Old Situ and the grand elder from the Mo Clan. The two pressured the other grand elders together, but they mainly relied on the command token the Mo Clan inherited from the previous principal. With the esteemed status of the previous principal, everyone has to show him some respect. Of course, there are also a lot of grand elders protecting Xiang Shaoyun. He would have been executed otherwise."
"They dare?" said Yu Caidie, a baleful look rarely seen on her face surfacing.
"Holy maiden, is he a reincarnator like you?" asked the grand elder cautiously.
"He is different from me. In this life, he will definitely become the strongest overlord of the nine heavens and ten lands," declared Yu Caidie confidently.
Chapter 901: Human Heaven Unity
Half the Back Graveyard was filled with evil spirits and bones of the dead, while the other half was vibrant with life and spiritual energy. The Back Graveyard occupied a large area, and one could hardly see its end with the naked eye.
Before a spartan house, a young man was seated cross-legged atop an old boulder. His aura was completely withdrawn, his presence ethereal, as though he had become one with his surroundings. Even when one saw him sitting there, one would have a misconception that he wasn't actually there.
Any cultivator seeing this scene would exclaim in amazement that this young man had actually entered the human heaven unity state.
The so-called human heaven unity was a state that could only be perceived rather than expressed. It was a state that could help one to have a flash of realization and instantly understand many things that one normally wouldn't. It could also help one easily break through while stuck at a certain cultivation level. Its many benefits were greatly coveted by all cultivators.
Of millions and millions of cultivators, only a few could enter this state. It was obvious one needed a high comprehension ability coupled with luck to enter this state. The youth was seated on the boulder, immersed in the human heaven unity state. Envy would fill anyone looking at him.