The other teachers hesitated, unsure how to speak up, but Teacher Xie Man was burning with anger and didn’t care about anything else.
Teacher Xie Man snorted coldly, “Your son killed one of my students inside the Xuanwen Secret Realm, and after coming out, he even tried to silence Xie Man.”
Concise and to the point.
Du Sen was stunned and immediately blurted out, “That’s impossible!”
Hearing Du Sen’s words, Du Rong’s heart leapt with joy, but he cried out pitifully, retelling once again how Li Yunxian had falsely framed Yu Juanshu through a Jindan.
Before anyone else could say anything, Lian Ping spoke up, sneering, “Why don’t you mention that I was there too? When you were killing the Jindan, I was the one who told you all to keep your distance.”
“After Yu Juanshu came over, he stayed by my side the entire time.”
“If there was really any plotting, I’m the one who had the best chance.”
Du Rong was instantly choked silent.
He had no idea what actually happened during the fight against the Jindan by the three of them.
A father knows his son best, and Du Sen now roughly guessed the truth, but he still couldn’t help but look at Yu Juanshu.
He hoped Yu Juanshu would give him an answer, even if it was self-deceptive.
Yu Juanshu lowered his head, opening his mouth but unable to say a word.
He couldn’t bring himself to support Du Rong’s words or falsely accuse others.
The twisted, joyful face of Du Rong’s hand pressing against his chest still appeared in his mind from time to time.
Why had it come to this?
Yu Juanshu’s heart was filled with confusion.
“Teacher… I’m sorry…” After a long pause, Yu Juanshu spoke softly.
He had failed to properly discipline Du Rong.
Yu Juanshu’s words confirmed a fact Du Sen was unwilling to admit.
Du Sen closed his eyes briefly and said, “Killing within one’s own clan, according to regulations, requires cultivation to be revoked and expulsion from the academy.”
After finishing, Du Sen seemed to have aged significantly. “After punishment, bring Du Rong to me.”
Except for Du Rong on the side crying out helplessly, “I’m not! I didn’t!” the hall fell into complete silence.
No one responded to Du Sen’s words.
Finally, the Vice Principal knocked on the table and looked at Du Sen, his voice steady. “Little Du, we called you here not to recite regulations.”
“The Academy regulations only apply to clan members.”
“You are this child’s father. What happens next requires your witnessing.”
Du Sen’s heart tightened. Sensing something, he immediately stood up. “Principal Zhou…”
Before he could finish speaking, Du Sen saw the Vice Principal pull out a square ring, and all his words abruptly stopped.
Li Yunxian also saw the ring and was momentarily stunned.
“What is that?” Lian Ping whispered, puzzled.
“Ask the Heart.” Li Yunxian’s voice overlapped with Du Sen’s in the conversation.
The students erupted in a commotion.
They had all heard of the legendary Ask the Heart.
Most cultivators’ career paths were only three options.
One was the Academy, one was the Special Administration Bureau, and one was the Jun Wei Dui.
Everyone knew that entering the Special Administration Bureau required passing Ask the Heart.
But this was the first time they had ever seen this legendary device.
***
The Vice Principal held Ask the Heart and slowly walked toward Du Rong. Following procedure, he explained the device’s function as he approached, eventually standing beside Du Rong.
“I won’t ask you questions. I will only examine your Dao Heart.” The Vice Principal lowered his gaze to Du Rong.
Du Rong’s eyes widened.
He never believed his actions were demonic; he had always just been reclaiming what was his.
Why would his Dao Heart be questioned?
“I won’t do it!!” Du Rong screamed, looking at the ring and trying desperately to back away.
He knew the consequences if he was detected as fallen.
The fallen were mercilessly killed.
But the Vice Principal was at the Spirit Fusion Stage, and under his control, Du Rong was completely immobilized.
“Dad, save me! Save me!” Du Rong’s eyes were wide with terror as he looked at Du Sen on the display.
Du Sen looked at his son’s miserable state and couldn’t help but speak up, “Principal Zhou, he will accept punishment. From now on, he will be an ordinary person. I will discipline him well.”
The Vice Principal ignored Du Sen and suspended Ask the Heart above Du Rong’s head.
The pale white light of Ask the Heart slowly brightened, and after a moment, its color changed.
A faint pink halo gradually appeared, tinting the pure white light.
All the students widened their eyes, staring intently at Ask the Heart, holding their breath in tension.
After several seconds, Ask the Heart completely turned into a pink square ring.
“What does this mean?” Lian Ping turned to Li Yunxian.
She had just heard Li Yunxian’s answer and naturally assumed she understood the device.
“I don’t know.” Li Yunxian shrugged.
She had seen her own bright yellow and Liu Wu’s scarlet red. This pink was a first for her.
But pink was still a shade of red…
“Anyway, it’s not a good sign.” Li Yunxian said.
The Vice Principal took a moment to react to the result, then stared at Ask the Heart for several more seconds to confirm the color wouldn’t change, before retracting it.
“Half fallen.” The Vice Principal gave the answer to everyone.
He slowly returned to the podium, looking at Du Rong slumped on the ground, then at Du Sen’s stunned face on the screen.
This was truly a very delicate result.
Half fallen stands between the righteous path and the demonic path. Should he be treated as clan or non-clan?
The Vice Principal sat down, already having made his decision.
He looked at everyone present. “Given this, whether Du Rong is judged as righteous or demonic will be decided by the victim in this case.”
He then looked at Yu Juanshu.
Yu Juanshu looked back at the Vice Principal blankly, only realizing the situation after a long moment.
He glanced at Du Rong, then at Du Sen.
Fidgeting with his fingers for a long while, Yu Juanshu hesitantly followed his own heart and said, “I… hope Du Rong can change…”
The Vice Principal nodded. He wasn’t surprised by Yu Juanshu’s answer.
He then looked toward Xie Man.
Although Du Rong had been counterattacked by Xie Man’s teacher earlier, the attempt to silence was undeniably real.
Xie Man was also a victim.
“And you?” the Vice Principal asked.
Xie Man paused, looked at Du Rong, pressed her lips, but without hesitation replied, “Me too.”
The Vice Principal hummed and finally looked at Li Yunxian.
Li Yunxian, who had been watching the spectacle, hadn’t expected to be involved. Meeting the Vice Principal’s gaze, she froze for a moment.
Then she remembered she was indeed also falsely framed by Du Rong in a foolish way.
She was undeniably another victim.
But the frame-up was so absurd that Li Yunxian had taken the whole thing as a joke.
Li Yunxian looked at the Vice Principal and didn’t answer, instead asking, “If I cast my vote, does the majority rule, or will one objection be enough to stop it?”
Her words clearly revealed her choice. Du Sen immediately shouted anxiously at Li Yunxian, “Student Li, if you’re willing to spare Du Rong, I’ll give you anything you want!!”
Li Yunxian ignored Du Sen’s words, staring straight at the Vice Principal.
The Vice Principal smiled, admiring her stance. “Every victim has the right to seek justice. Your choice will not be any easier than theirs.”
“It’s the latter.”
The Vice Principal stated clearly.
With this answer, Li Yunxian turned to Du Rong.
She saw Du Rong glaring at her as if he wanted to burn her image into his heart before dying.
Li Yunxian smiled and shrugged, “He’s nothing to me. Let Yu Qiyao make this choice.”
No one expected Li Yunxian to say that.
Professor Chen Bujian was also on the stage and smiled contentedly upon hearing Li Yunxian’s words.
The loyalty of this young woman…
Du Rong meant little to Li Yunxian, but to Yu Qiyao, he was a huge emotional burden.
Yu Qiyao was now training hard, thinking that when she reached Qi Yao’s eighth layer, she would get her revenge on Du Rong.
If Du Rong suddenly died somewhere unknown to her, it would surely become a wound Yu Qiyao could never heal.
The Vice Principal didn’t know who Yu Qiyao was, but judging from Li Yunxian’s attitude, she was also someone harmed by Du Rong.
He chuckled, “Is she here?”
Li Yunxian shook her head. “No.”
“All right, then we’ll discuss again.”
After saying this, the Vice Principal waved his hand at Du Rong, and Du Rong screamed in agony.
His Spirit Roots were destroyed.
His cultivation was completely lost.
What remained to be discussed was only whether Du Rong lived or died. This lowest punishment needed no further debate.
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