The words hung in the cold air, a verdict more final than any Elder's decree.
Mu Chen didn't move. He stood there, a statue carved from shame and fury, the spectral image of his parasitic intent still burning in everyone's vision.
The plaza was a held breath, a thousand eyes pinned on him, waiting for the explanation Elder Boran had demanded.
Lin Tian watched, his own breath steady. The System was a quiet hum in the back of his mind, monitoring the fading resonance. He's cornered. There's no explanation that will work.
Mu Chen's head lifted slowly. He wasn't looking at Elder Boran, or at the horrified elders on the platform. His gaze, cold and sharp as a glacier's edge, found Lin Tian. The humiliation there had curdled into something pure and murderous.
"Explain?" Mu Chen's voice was a low scrape, barely audible. Then it rose, cracking with raw anger. "I will explain with my sword!"
