Lin Zhiyue looked at the familiar face opposite her, her memories like an old book being flipped open once more.
Li Yueyao, the Eldest Senior Sister of the Clear Creek Sect, possessed a single wood spiritual root and had been praised by the elders as exceptionally talented even before she officially joined the sect.
During the original owner's years at the Clear Creek Sect, every embarrassment and every instance of being targeted was almost always connected to her.
Relying on the elders' favoritism, Li Yueyao often led several inner sect disciples to block the paths of outer sect disciples. She claimed it was for sparring, but in truth, it was nothing more than bullying.
The original owner had not been one to take things lying down. When bullied, she would fight back, which only made them target her even more severely.
The original owner's days in the Clear Creek Sect during those years were like a piece of paper that had been repeatedly crumpled and smoothed out, the creases running so deep they were on the verge of tearing.
But now, Lin Zhiyue stood there wearing the attire of a direct disciple of Tiance Palace, with the Azure Scale Sword hanging from her waist. Her spiritual energy was steady and profound. The distance between her current self and the frail young girl cornered on the back mountain of the Clear Creek Sect in her memories was already vast enough to be visible to the naked eye.
She did not even need to adopt a particular stance; simply standing there made her seem like an entirely different person from the past.
Li Yueyao had clearly realized this as well. Over the past few days in Wanxian City, she had indeed seen Lin Zhiyue more than once. On the arena stage, that figure's sword qi had been solid, her movement techniques agile, and her strikes decisive and clean.
She had caught a few distant glimpses and merely thought it was a coincidence that this person shared the same name as the mixed spiritual root trash who had been expelled from the Clear Creek Sect.
She had even laughed inwardly, thinking it was quite ironic how two people with the same name could have such vastly different fates.
She had not given it any deeper thought, because there was no way these two could be the same person.
One was a mixed spiritual root, while the other possessed ice and wind dual spiritual roots; one had been expelled from her sect, while the other had been taken in as a direct disciple by Venerable Yanchen of Tiance Palace.
How could that be possible?
Yet at this moment, she finally saw that face clearly.
Lin Zhiyue stood right in front of her. Her features had matured and her stature had grown taller, but the underlying structure of her face remained—the curve of her brow, the line of her nose, and the contour of her jaw all overlapped perfectly with the face in her memory.
In her memory, the girl cornered on the back mountain had disheveled hair, bruises at the corner of her mouth from being beaten, and eyes filled with stubbornness and resentment.
Now, this face was composed, calm, and even held a hint of scrutiny, as if she were the one standing on high.
At this moment, Li Yueyao finally ruled out the explanation of "sharing the same name" entirely.
If it was not her, who else could it be?
How could that mixed spiritual root have turned into ice and wind dual spiritual roots?
She took a few steps closer to Lin Zhiyue, her voice carrying a sense of entitlement. “Lin Zhiyue, you've certainly made something of yourself now. A direct disciple of Venerable Yanchen of Tiance Palace—how glorious. But you had better hand over your spiritual markers, or else I will tell your master everything about your past in the Clear Creek Sect—”
After saying this, she waited for Lin Zhiyue to show a look of panic.
But Lin Zhiyue merely looked at her without rushing to reply. Her gaze rested steadily on the other woman's face, as if waiting for her to finish speaking, but in truth, she was waiting for her to expose more weaknesses.
Li Yueyao's gaze paused on her face for a moment before shifting away, as if trying to find a support point elsewhere.
Only now did she fully realize that the Lin Zhiyue standing before her was no longer the little girl in her memories.
When Lin Zhiyue spoke, her tone carried an almost imperceptible chill, steady and devoid of any rise or fall. “Tell him what? Tell my master that I was once framed by all of you and expelled from the sect?”
Li Yueyao's gaze flickered, as if stung by a sore spot she herself was unwilling to touch. She quickly looked away and just as quickly looked back.
Looking at Lin Zhiyue, her voice rose slightly when she spoke, as if she were trying hard to suppress something. “What nonsense are you talking about? Don't think I don't know—how could someone with a mixed spiritual root turn into one with ice and wind dual spiritual roots? It must be... you stole... a treasure of the Clear Creek Sect! You only have today because you stole our treasure!”
Lin Zhiyue watched her, in no hurry to refute the claim.
Li Yueyao's voice trembled slightly on those last few words. She paused after speaking, as if re-evaluating the accusation that had just slipped out.
Lin Zhiyue waited for a few breaths before speaking, her voice low. “Running into you in the secret realm, I originally only wanted to take back the markers you stole from my junior brother. But now, I think we can make things much clearer. You just said that I only have today because I stole a treasure from the Clear Creek Sect. Fine, let's start from the beginning and make everything clear. If you can make your story hold together today, I will give you the markers. If you can't, then in addition to the markers, you will have to explain clearly in front of everyone how you forced me out of the sect back then. Think about it carefully before you speak.”
Li Yueyao stood frozen, her lips parting slightly, but no sound came out.
The two disciples behind her exchanged uneasy glances. No one spoke, and no one stepped forward to speak on her behalf.
Outside the secret realm, everyone's attention was focused on the water mirrors. The area in front of Lin Zhiyue's spiritual light water mirror was packed to the brim.
“What's going on? Why is this Clear Creek Sect disciple making wild accusations against Lin Zhiyue?”
“What do you mean wild accusations? Maybe Lin Zhiyue really did what she said. Look, Lin Zhiyue herself admitted she was framed and expelled from the sect.”
“So she really was an outer sect disciple of the Clear Creek Sect before? Then how did she end up in Tiance Palace?”
“Who knows...”
The chatter rose in waves, spreading out like ripples on water. Some people frowned, while others shook their heads.
On the high platform, Qi Yan finally flicked his finger with a trace of impatience, and an extremely faint pressure spread out soundlessly.
The aura was not fierce; it was merely like a hand pressing down on everyone's shoulders. Instantly, the discussions cut off abruptly as if choked.
The square fell silent for a moment. No one spoke again, yet their gazes remained fixed on the water mirror.
Elder Luo of Luohong Valley seemed not to notice Qi Yan's mood. He took a slow sip from his teacup, then turned to look at the Clear Creek Sect elder seated at the very end. His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for those in the surrounding rows to hear. “This young friend Lin... was she truly an outer sect disciple of your Clear Creek Sect?”
The Clear Creek Sect elder's face turned bright red, and the handkerchief in his hand was almost soaked through. He wiped the sweat seeping from his forehead and gave a couple of dry laughs. “Yes... she indeed used to be a disciple under my sect, however...”
“However what?” Elder Luo looked at him with leisurely interest.
The Clear Creek Sect elder's voice grew lower and lower. “However, back then, she still had a mixed spiritual root...”
The moment those words were spoken, several gazes from around them snapped over simultaneously.
“A mixed spiritual root?” someone couldn't help but repeat. “From a mixed spiritual root to an ice and wind dual Heavenly Spiritual Root?”
“That is far too massive a leap.”
“Perhaps she had some fortuitous encounter...” The Clear Creek Sect elder's voice was so quiet it was almost swallowed back down his throat.
In front of the water mirror, the quiet chatter did not cease entirely.
Someone lowered their voice and said, “This Li Yueyao really has a loose tongue—she actually dared to blurt out that the Clear Creek Sect has a treasure capable of cleansing marrows and reforming bones. Is she not afraid of bringing disaster upon her own sect?”
The person next to him glanced at him without replying, but the meaning in his eyes was already clear.
Elder Luo took another sip from his teacup. He did not press any further, but the slight curve at the corner of his mouth did not fade.
He rested the teacup on his knee and slowly spun it by the rim.
On the high platform, when Qi Yan spoke, his tone was not loud, yet his words reached the ears of everyone present with absolute clarity. “Those with fortuitous encounters are not few in the cultivation world. If any of you dare to mindlessly gossip about my disciple again...” His voice turned a fraction colder. “I will show absolutely no leniency.”
The surroundings fell silent for a moment, and finally, no one dared to make a sound.
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