Audacious

"Senior Brother, are you sure... this will work?"

"If it works in theory, it will work."

Su Ji pledged confidently.

Su Jiu: "..."

"Junior Sister, stop hesitating. If you keep hesitating, the two of us will really become fish on the chopping block."

Seeing her still wavering, Su Ji quickly added fuel to the fire.

Su Jiu took a deep breath.

Looking at Su Ji's face that clearly read "trust me, I am right," she finally nodded slowly.

At this point, they had no choice but to try a desperate remedy.

...

Xiangsi Sect, the main sect hall.

It was Su Ji's first time coming to such a place.

The grand hall was spacious and majestic, its cold white jade floor tiles polished enough to reflect a person's image.

Dozens of massive pillars carved with dragons and phoenixes supported the vaulted ceiling, inspiring awe in anyone who saw them.

But Su Ji was in no mood to admire all this.

His gaze immediately fell upon the seat of honor at the head of the hall.

There, the sect master of the Xiangsi Sect sat upright on the throne, dressed in a plain palace gown, her expression icy.

On the guest seat beside her, a middle-aged man wearing a cloud-patterned brocade robe was leisurely sipping fragrant tea, looking completely at ease.

To an unknowing observer, he looked more like the master of this grand hall.

It was exactly the same as the scene Su Ji had seen through the Peeking into Heaven's Mandate technique.

Su Ji and Su Jiu walked into the grand hall one after the other.

The moment they stepped inside, the heavy doors of the hall slammed shut on their own with a loud boom.

A powerful aura instantly locked onto the two of them.

"Su Ji (Su Jiu) pays respects to the Sect Master."

The two of them bowed simply in unison.

The sect master of the Xiangsi Sect did not speak, merely watching them quietly with her emotionless eyes.

Instead, it was the middle-aged man who set down his teacup, making a soft clinking sound.

"Sect Master Lin must be joking."

The man's voice was gentle.

Clearly, the two of them were right in the middle of a conversation.

"The matter of Anyang City has caused quite a stir, and our Puppet Heaven Holy Land has naturally investigated it..."

"Over a hundred cultivators perished completely..."

"..."

The middle-aged man babbled on and on.

Those words were exactly the same as what Su Ji had foreseen.

After he finished speaking, he stood up and circled Su Ji twice, as if examining an interesting piece of merchandise.

"You are quite good..."

He rambled on for another long while: "..."

"Hand it over."

The middle-aged man issued his final ultimatum.

"I can make the decision to let you join my Puppet Heaven Holy Land as an inner sect disciple, guaranteeing you a lifetime of peace and security."

Hearing this, not only did Su Ji show no fear, but he actually laughed.

Su Ji slowly looked straight into that face, which was written all over with greed and arrogance.

Whatever.

They were going to tear off all pretenses in the end anyway.

Rather than going back and forth, he might as well just be straightforwardly arrogant.

"Don't you just want the fortune I obtained?"

Su Ji's voice was not loud, but it echoed clearly within the spacious grand hall.

"You are clearly a despicable person, yet you insist on sounding so high and mighty. Aren't you tired of it?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall instantly dropped to freezing point.

The gentle smile on the middle-aged man's face suddenly stiffened.

He seemingly hadn't expected that a Foundation Establishment cultivator, who was nothing but an ant in his eyes, would dare to speak to him like this.

His face darkened at a visible rate.

"What did you say?"

A terrifying oppressive might crashed down.

Su Jiu's expression sank, her face turning slightly pale.

Su Ji, however, acted as if nothing was wrong, still looking at him with a beaming smile.

"What do you mean, wanting your fortune?"

Being called out like this, the middle-aged man felt his pride take a hit.

"I am merely seeking justice for the disciples of the Holy Land. We cannot let their hearts grow cold."

"What a great way to seek justice!"

Su Ji clapped his hands and laughed aloud.

His laughter was filled with undisguised mockery.

"You are right. This justice indeed must be sought!"

"But I am seeking justice for myself."

"Your skin is probably thicker than the city walls of Anyang City."

Su Ji's laughter came to an abrupt halt.

Su Ji's gaze slowly moved away from the middle-aged man's arrogant face, eventually landing on the seat of honor in the grand hall.

The Xiangsi Sect Master, who had not spoken a single word from the very beginning.

Her silence felt particularly grating at this moment.

"Sect Master Lin."

Su Ji's voice was neither light nor heavy.

"May I ask, is this the intention of the Xiangsi Sect, or the intention of this person here?"

As soon as he said this, the middle-aged man raised his eyebrows, an expression of great interest appearing on his face.

He dropped his posture of continuing to apply pressure and watched this good show with relaxed composure.

The Xiangsi Sect Master's eyes finally showed some fluctuation. She slowly raised her eyes and looked at Su Ji.

Su Ji acted as if he didn't see the coldness in her eyes, continuing to speak unhurriedly.

"Or rather, is this senior's intention also your intention, Sect Master Lin?"

"Sect Master Lin, you personally ordered us to go on the trip to Anyang City."

"It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the two of us narrowly escaped death. My Dao Foundation was almost shattered in there."

Su Ji pointed at his dantian, a look of lingering fear appearing on his face.

"I have bled for the sect and risked my life for the sect."

"Now that an incident has occurred and the Holy Land has come knocking, you, the master of the house, are keeping silent, allowing an outsider to threaten your own disciples with death right here."

Su Ji's voice suddenly rose.

"Do you think this is acceptable?"

The series of questions was like a succession of resounding slaps, viciously striking the face of the Xiangsi Sect.

A crack finally appeared on the face of the Xiangsi Sect Master.

She stared fixedly at Su Ji.

However, Su Ji seemed completely oblivious, continuing to meet her gaze with an open and calm expression.

After a long while.

The Xiangsi Sect Master finally spoke.

"Su Ji."

"Since you have taken their fortune, you should return it to its rightful owner."

Hearing this, Su Ji laughed.

"What does the fortune I obtained have to do with the Puppet Heaven Holy Land?"

"Insolent!"

The middle-aged man finally couldn't hold back and shouted coldly.

"You plundered the heritage of my Holy Land by trickery and force, yet you still dare to quibble here?"

"Oh?"

The smile on Su Ji's face grew even wider.

"So that's the logic. Then may I ask, should the wrongful souls of Anyang City also be counted on the head of your Puppet Heaven Holy Land?"

"You...!"

The middle-aged man was momentarily at a loss for words, his face flushing the color of pork liver.

The Xiangsi Sect Master shot Su Ji a cold glance, her voice carrying a hint of impatience.

"Taking into account the contributions you have made to the sect, I just argued strongly on your behalf with the Holy Land to spare your life. Do not fail to appreciate my kindness."

"I haven't even pursued your crime of secretly hiding your spiritual roots and deceiving the sect!"

Clearly, Su Ji's attention had been drawn by the Holy Land, and he had forgotten to have Su Jiu help hide his spiritual roots.

But this was obviously not the main point of this trip.

"Good! What a great Xiangsi Sect!"

"What a great strong argument on my behalf!"

"You are truly such a good person!"

Su Ji walked step by step toward the center of the grand hall, his back straight as a ramrod.

"Today, I, Su Ji, have truly had my eyes opened."

He looked around, his gaze finally fixing on the face of the Xiangsi Sect Master.

"My spiritual roots belong to me. Whether I hide them or not, what does it have to do with you? Deceiving the sect? If the Xiangsi Sect didn't have such an inhumane rule as castration upon entry, why would I need to deceive anyone?"

"I concealed my Spiritual Root for self-preservation! I have never harmed the interests of others. But what about you? As a Sect Master, you grovel and fawn before outsiders, yet ruthlessly slaughter your own disciples!"

"I, Su Ji, am ashamed to be associated with you!"

His resounding words struck with palpable force, causing the entire grand hall to buzz and echo.

Su Jiu stared dazedly at Su Ji's not-so-imposing back, a brilliant light rippling continuously within her clear eyes.

The Sect Master of the Xiangsi Sect could finally no longer maintain her composure.

A terrifying aura erupted explosively from her body.

"You court death!"

Forming her fingers into a sword, she unleashed a streak of white sword qi. It was almost entirely imperceptible to the naked eye and arrived before Su Ji in an instant.

However, as if he had anticipated this all along, Su Ji neither dodged nor evaded: "Audacious!"