The Sect's gardens were swept by the mild nighttime wind.
Given that everyone's thoughts were racing, the moonlight filtered over the golden rooftops and illuminated the lakes, presenting a false calm.
Yun Xiang watched the moonlight reflect off the surface of the water in the courtyard. Though she appeared peaceful, she looked somewhat uncomfortable.
Something in her being had changed in her thoughts after the talent test.
Jun Tian… that quiet guy, indifferent to anybody. Some unexplainable reason he stayed in her mind.
Then a voice broke the silence.
"Still thinking about him?"
Li smiling oddly, Ze came out of the shadows. Confidently and hard, he donned the Crimson Lotus Sect's dark blue robes. Yun Xiang said nothing and only glanced at him quickly.
"You know he's nothing special, right?" Li Ze kept walking closer. "Just some nobody who passed the test. I doubt he knows how to correctly use his ability."
"And how does that relate to you, Li Ze?" she answered quietly but resolutely.
His grin disappeared fast.
She thought, "He's just blocking your way."
But then she said something different, exceedingly caustic.
"I just don't like watching a haughty man like that become cocky. I will fix him if you like.
Yun Xiang arched an eyebrow. "Fix him? What specifically do you mean by that?"
"I just meant that some people have to know their place."
His tone created a strained ambiance. Yun Xiang looked aside. She didn't care about Jun Tian; his dismissiveness was an insult to her sect genius's ego. She did, however, not want anybody to do anything to him.
"Don't be dumb, Li Ze," she said as she left, "I don't want to get into trouble."
"Okay," he answered, but his demeanor was grave.
Yun Xiang's smile became wicked as he left.
He squeezed his fist so firmly his knuckles broke.
She has purple rank aptitude, yet she looks at him like this."
Jealousy. fury. Resentment.
These emotions swiftly turned into a fire blazing in his heart.
And someone was watching all of this in the courtyard shadows.
Slowly closing his eyes, a middle-aged guy wearing a black robe with crimson edges. His gaze was old and profound.
The Master of Li Ze heard every word, every feeling—his apprentice's heart pounding.
"Tsk... a heart demon, huh?"
Clapping his hands behind his back, he sighed.
"This could ruin his life if I don't help, but maybe there is a way to alleviate this load..."
His lips created a little smile.
"If that youngster Jun Tian falls from grace... my student's heart will settle down."
And so the plan's seed was sown.
Li Ze was called to his master's rooms first the next morning.
He entered, bowing respectfully. "Master."
The man stared at him for a long moment before said:
"The fury you experience carries a great weight for a cultivator. If you wish to liberate yourself from it, you have to terminate it by means of your own hands."
Li Ze stopped. "Master, I…"
"Jun Tian, is it?" The master interrupted, his eyes penetrating. "Do you think he took something from you?"
Li Ze understood the message and nodded, his lips turning into a tight smile.
Yes, master. Jade Moon Grass is a uncommon celestial herb. I held it for the sect competition, but it vanished. Only someone like him might have taken it.
The master turned to face the horizon.
"A severe allegation… but if it is true, the patriarch cannot overlook it."
Li Ze saw her heart speed up. "So, do you believe me?"
"I think you should address whatever is troubling you," the man responded gently. And I... will only pave the way.
Later, in the present, the sound echoed loudly within the main hall.
Jun Tian, standing before the patriarch and the elders, kept his gaze steady.
Li Ze stood a few meters away, feigning perfect indignation.
"You stole my Jade Moon Herb!" he said, pointing at Jun Tian. "I found it missing shortly after the test, and Master saw the trace of your qi near the site!"
The murmur spread among the elders.
Jun Tian simply took a deep breath.
"Ah… so that was it."
His mind was already working quickly. The spiritual energy around him was calm—but within his soul, the Nine-Colored Lotus pulsed faintly.
"Interesting," the Lotus said in a cold voice. "They planned well. The herb was marked with a spiritual seal from his master. If they try to examine his spatial ring, the 'proof' will emerge."
Jun Tian smiled faintly.
"So… it's a trap?"
"Yes. But a poorly made trap," Lotus replied. "They underestimated me. And you."
The patriarch stared at Jun Tian, visibly uncomfortable.
He knew his son's temperament—calm, disciplined, without excessive ambition.
But the presence of a late Soul Formation cultivator there made the situation delicate.
Even he, Jun Xiao, the clan patriarch, couldn't offend a visiting sect of that level.
He sighed. "Jun Tian, what do you have to say about this?"
The young man took a deep breath, straightening his posture.
His gaze remained calm—almost defiant.
"I didn't steal anything. I was cultivating all night, as I always do. If you have any doubts, I can take you there."
The tension in the air intensified.
Li Ze's master stepped forward, his voice imbued with spiritual authority.
"Empty syllables. The patriarch ought to examine his circle. Nothing will be discovered if he is innocent.
Jun Tian stared at him, and in that moment his eyes flashed cold.
"So that's it... they actually want to kill me."
"Let them try," the Lotus said, her voice now hidden in an icy grin, "but when the time comes... we'll make them regret it."
The whole hall turned quiet.
Jun Tian gently held out the ring so that the inspection might start.
And the game really started at that moment.