Yang Yun narrowed his eyes and said, "The world is vast, there's nothing it doesn't contain. My cultivation technique is rather special. These spiritual plants weren't absorbed by me, they were only stored temporarily with my technique. Is that so strange? You people first harbor malicious suspicions, then resort to kidnapping. In time, I'll make sure the other sects know exactly what kind of place this Tianxing Sect—"
Before he could finish.
Yun Jin raised her foot and kicked him squarely in the chest without mercy.
The kick was ruthless. Yang Yun spat out a mouthful of blood and glared at Yun Jin with fury.
Yun Jin smiled faintly.
Good, keep that anger.
This male lead truly lived up to his title.
From the moment she had tied him up until now, he had already generated nearly ten thousand Emotion Points for her. His efficiency was even better than Ye Danxia's.
"Sect Leader," Yun Jin said softly, "this person's behavior is suspicious and his motives unclear. He conspired with Ye Danxia to steal the sect's spiritual plants. Such a person must not be released, or others will think Tianxing Sect has no one capable."
Yang Yun lay on the ground, pain making him speechless, but he still continued to provide Yun Jin with a steady stream of Emotion Points, utterly selfless in his suffering.
Ye Danxia felt her heart clench in panic.
She couldn't help glancing at Yun Jin.
Did Yun Jin even know who she had just kicked?
That was none other than the legendary Demon Lord!
Though he was in a fallen state now, one day he would surely return to the peak.
To treat the Demon Lord this way, Yun Jin had just made him a deadly enemy!
As Ye Danxia thought about it, a faint sense of delight rose in her chest.
Yun Jin had always been so arrogant, acting as if she ruled the heavens themselves. But now, she'd finally kicked an iron wall!
The more arrogant and domineering she acted now, the more miserable her end would be when the Demon Lord reclaimed his throne.
Yun Jin's future was already doomed.
Ye Danxia lowered her gaze, hiding the joy in her eyes, and spoke in a pitiful voice, "Xiao Jin, he's just a child. How could you…"
"A child?" Yun Jin raised a brow. "In the cultivation world, there are countless arts and disguises. Can mere appearance prove anything? He looks like a child on the outside, but who knows if he's human or ghost within? For all we know, he could be a spy from the Demon Clan. If we let someone go just because of their age, wouldn't that be laughable?"
When Yun Jin mentioned a spy of the Demon Clan, both Ye Danxia and Yang Yun flinched slightly. But seeing that Yun Jin didn't seem to mean anything deeper, they both exhaled in relief.
Yun Jin pretended not to notice their reactions and continued righteously, "As for this matter, the punishment given to Steward Ma before should naturally apply to these two as well. Sect Leader, if you hold your subordinates to one standard but show favoritism toward your personal disciples, how could that still be called justice?"
Han Xiaoyu panicked, "Master, Little Junior Sister, she—"
"You, shut up!" Zhao Wuji snapped, his tone cold.
That was the second time he had rebuked Han Xiaoyu today.
Han Xiaoyu instantly looked aggrieved.
Zhao Wuji said coldly, "Then tell me, what do you consider fair?"
Yun Jin smiled lightly and said without hesitation, "First, Ye Danxia already carries a criminal record. The Sect Leader privately released her, yet during that time she committed another grave offense, theft. Her crimes should be compounded. Second, this boy's identity is unknown. Besides the theft, he should be placed under close watch until we uncover his true background."
"What Xiao Jin said made sense," Lin Ya immediately voiced his support.
Fang Mingyue's eyes shifted slightly, she added softly, "Sect Leader, please act with fairness."
One after another, the other Peak Masters joined in.
Soon, the entire hall echoed with, "Please act fairly, Sect Leader."
The three who followed Zhao Wuji, Huo Lie, Long Yi, and Du Wuqing, remained silent, but even their gazes toward Ye Danxia were anything but sympathetic.
Zhao Wuji's chest rose and fell rapidly.
Was this…
a coup?
Remembering previous years, his word had been law. In Tianxing Sect, it might as well have borne his surname, Zhao.
And now?
These very ants he had once toyed with, actually dared to oppose him openly.
To make matters worse, the situation with Zhao Ling was uncertain. Without his father's backing, his confidence and authority were already crumbling.
Zhao Wuji stared coldly at Yun Jin, "Why don't you become Sect Leader instead? You seem to know exactly how to punish them. Go ahead, make the decision yourself!"
His tone was dripping with venom.
Yun Jin acted as if she didn't notice, answering readily, "Very well. Then I'll decide in the Sect Leader's place. Since these two stole the sect's spiritual plants, they should repay them at full value. But simply imprisoning them would be too lenient. Instead, let them perform hard labor. They'll continue working until the debt is repaid, one day of labor for every day unpaid."
Hard labor!
Ye Danxia and Yang Yun's faces both changed instantly.
Ye Danxia might've been born a beggar, but she had been adopted by the Yun family at a young age. Other than the hardship of fleeing for a few months after the family's fall, she had lived as a pampered young lady all her life.
Her time imprisoned at He Mountain had already been tormented enough.
And now, they want her to do hard labor?
This was as good as a death sentence.
Yang Yun's face darkened even further.
What's his status?
The dignified Demon Lord, for heaven's sake!
Though he had suffered in childhood, after becoming Demon Lord, those memories had long turned into scars he refused to touch.
And this woman dared to sentence him to hard labor?
Does she have a death wish?!
"This method isn't bad," Lin Ya remarked, then turned toward Zhao Wuji. "Sect Leader, what do you think? If you object, we can hold a vote among all Peak Masters. If the majority agree, the decision will take effect."
Zhao Wuji's face was as dark as ink.
In that moment.
He felt both furious and helpless.
His anger and frustration weren't even for Ye Danxia.
They were for himself!
This entire affair made one thing painfully clear.
He, Zhao Wuji's power in Tianxing Sect had been completely hollowed out.
Now, most people stood behind Lin Ya.
He only needed to go through the motions to take the position of Sect Leader.
Zhao Wuji gripped the arms of his chair tightly, waves of fear rising in his chest.
He had ruled Tianxing Sect for nearly a hundred years.
And now, was the era that belonged to him truly coming to an end?
"Sect Leader, what do you say? Shall we proceed with the vote?" Lin Ya continued to asked.
Zhao Wuji swept his gaze across the hall, then slumped weakly into his chair, "Do as you wish."
What else could he do?
Tianxing Sect was no longer his, Zhao Wuji's Tianxing Sect.
"Master! I don't want to do hard labor! I don't want to…" Ye Danxia cried out in panic.
Yang Yun's expression turned even darker, but he didn't shout like she did.
However.
No one paid them any mind.
Aside from Han Xiaoyu's anxious face, even Zhao Wuji closed his eyes, unwilling to look anymore.
Soon, the Disciplinary Hall officers came and led Ye Danxia and Yang Yun away.
Awaiting them would be an endlessly long period of hard labor.
Yun Jin's expression remained calm.
Once, this had been Ma Hongyu's fate.
Now, it's finally Ye Danxia and Yang Yun's turn to experience it for themselves.