One female disciple spoke with a heavy dose of sarcasm, her voice loud and clearly laced with hostility.
Ever since his battle with Daozi during the sect competition, Ye Feng had become a legendary figure within the Tianyan Sect.
He was an idol to many male disciples and the dream lover of many female disciples.
Much like fans of a celebrity, when their “beloved senior” was suspected of being in a relationship, the female fans felt their hearts shatter.
They vowed to investigate the woman’s background thoroughly.
They could even dig up exactly when and where she had appeared.
Under such circumstances, if Zhu Lan had been alone, she might have chosen to harbor her resentment in silence.
However, things were different when a crowd was involved.
Rumors spread like wildfire, and the girls were surprised to find that their thoughts were uncannily aligned.
This was especially true now that the elderly women of the Yaochi Holy Land had invited the Elders of the Tianyan Sect to the assembly hall for a discussion.
The Elders had taken Daozi, Ye Feng, and Song Qingyi with them into the inner regions of the Yaochi Holy Land.
The remaining disciples were settled at an outdoor banquet.
And so, Zhu Lan became the target of their misplaced anger.
The female disciple’s single sentence made Zhu Lan’s situation extremely awkward.
Many disciples who originally did not care about such matters were now forced to learn a great deal of information.
“Exactly. The leg our Junior Sister is clinging to is quite thick,” someone in the crowd chimed in.
The tone was sour, clearly carrying ill intentions.
Once the first voice spoke up, the second appeared even faster.
Interestingly, the majority of the people remained silent.
Even though they could tell this was just bitter jealousy and ridiculously childish, they felt no need to speak up and defend her.
Thus, a few people made the vast majority of the noise.
“Tsk, tsk. Junior Sister does look quite good.”
“I just wonder how her skills at serving men are?”
“Senior Sister is right. She looks like a pure and kind person, but I never expected her to be so disgraceful.”
Including Zhu Lan and Song Qingyi, there were a total of five female disciples in the group.
They surprisingly chose to isolate Zhu Lan and Song Qingyi together.
Seeing that the remarks were getting uglier, a few people could no longer watch in silence.
“Junior Sister, why are you speaking so harshly? We are all members of the same sect. Use a kinder tongue.”
However, they were quickly drowned out by cold mockery.
“What? Is she willing to give herself to you or something? Why are you so anxious to speak up for her?”
“You’re being so thoughtful, yet she only has eyes for someone else’s lap…”
The disciple who spoke up for Zhu Lan turned bright red with frustration.
“You! You are simply unreasonable!”
A female disciple who was leading the group was about to continue when she was startled by a voice filled with rage.
“What? Did the Tianyan Sect bring you out just so you could disgrace us!”
Daozi’s expression was hideous.
He narrowed his eyes and stared at the woman who had been leading the verbal assault.
“Disregarding the bond of fellow disciples and speaking so insolently… if there is a next time, I will personally expel you from the Tianyan Sect!”
As soon as Daozi returned, the atmosphere shifted instantly.
The three who had been clamoring earlier were immediately silenced.
They lowered their heads, not daring to say another word.
Everyone present understood that Daozi was not just a disciple in name.
He truly had the power to carry out his threats.
“What happened?”
Ye Feng had been delayed because an Elder had assigned him a few extra tasks.
The atmosphere was clearly off.
The moment he saw Zhu Lan’s terrible complexion, his tone turned cold.
Daozi explained, “They had a small argument over a trivial matter. I’ve already scolded them.”
His current plan was to minimize the issue.
If Ye Feng learned the truth of the matter, that leading female disciple would definitely face a brutal reckoning.
Since that female disciple was able to join the trip to the Yaochi Holy Land, she surely had her own merits.
For the sake of the Tianyan Sect’s interests, Daozi did not tell Ye Feng the full story.
However, Ye Feng walked straight to Zhu Lan’s side and asked, “What happened?”
Zhu Lan’s face was pale, and her mood was foul.
She could choose to tell Ye Feng everything, but the subsequent developments would be entirely out of her control.
Moreover, wouldn’t that be indirectly admitting that she had climbed into Ye Feng’s bed?
Although anyone with a brain and a bit of rationality would have their own judgment, this kind of sensationalist information spread the easiest.
When the time came, who would care if she was innocent?
Once a reputation was ruined, it was ruined.
“It’s nothing.”
Zhu Lan forced a strained smile.
However, this scene was an even greater eyesore to the woman who had led the attack.
She clenched her fists, her eyes filled with resentment.
‘Why? A useless person with nothing but beauty — why would Big Brother Ye Feng fall for someone like this?’
She refused to believe it in her heart.
No, she believed Ye Feng was not that superficial.
Zhu Lan’s forced behavior was obvious to any observer.
Ye Feng’s face darkened; he did not intend to let the matter rest.
He reached out and pulled a young male disciple over, asking, “What happened just now? Who gave her trouble?”
After speaking, Ye Feng handed over a pouch of spirit stones.
The person he grabbed happened to be the one who had spoken up for Zhu Lan earlier.
He gently pushed the pouch back.
“Senior Brother Ye Feng, there is no need for this. I am only telling you what I saw. I cannot accept a reward for no merit…”
After Ye Feng heard the whole story, his face became as cold as ice.
Daozi felt helpless.
He knew this would not end well.
“Despising your own kind. Not only do you fail to cherish the bond of fellow disciples, but you speculate about others with the utmost malice.”
Ye Feng walked slowly toward Hong Liu.
Each word was like thousand-year-old ice, making it difficult for people to breathe.
“Do you have no sense of honor or shame!”
Daozi was shocked to find that every word Ye Feng spoke carried a glorious and solemn Sanskrit resonance.
This was his Six-Syllable Mantra!
He truly was a monster.
After only a few exchanges of blows, Ye Feng had actually gained insight into a portion of Buddhist secret techniques through his moves!
Within a few breaths, Ye Feng had already made his decision.
Hong Liu was shaken so hard that her blood surged and her spiritual energy recoiled.
A trace of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth.
She gave a miserable laugh.
“Big Brother Ye Feng, you must have simply been blinded by that slut…”
“Shut up!”
Daozi’s voice cut her off.
A clear Sanskrit chant rang out, and in an instant, the shock caused Hong Liu to vomit blood and faint.
Ye Feng’s expression remained grim.
He narrowed his eyes and looked at Daozi with an unfriendly gaze.
“You still want to protect her?”
Daozi sighed helplessly and sent a voice transmission: ‘My hands are tied. I will punish her severely later. Give me some face.’
Ye Feng’s expression softened slightly.
“What is the point of keeping someone like this in the Tianyan Sect? She will only cause trouble at a critical moment.”
Daozi spread his hands and continued the transmission: ‘It’s not that easy being the Daozi. Expelling her from the sect requires a valid reason; I can’t easily explain that to the Elders. But rest assured, I will definitely give you a satisfactory result.’
Ye Feng raised his hand and pointed at the other two female disciples who had chimed in.
“These brainless fools should also be expelled from the sect.”
The two disciples were terrified and apologized repeatedly, desperately claiming they wouldn’t dare do it again.
Daozi had a bit of a headache but agreed to everything.
‘I will punish these two as well. The Elders are coming back soon, and the people from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect are about to arrive. Let’s end this quickly.’
It was hard being the Daozi.
The disciples who could participate in the Yaochi Holy Land trip certainly had non-trivial backgrounds.
But on the other side was a monstrous genius whom all the Elders and even the Sect Master favored.
He could only act as a mediator.
Otherwise, if the commotion dragged on, it would be even harder to handle when the Elders returned.
Furthermore, the arrival of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect and the Western Buddhist Sect would bring shame to the Tianyan Sect.