Chapter 10:THE CONFRONTATION
---
As Hao Chen entered the sect, he immediately sensed the air thick with hostility. Disciples glared at him with eyes blazing in anger and disappointment, their murmurs sharp like poisoned daggers. Every step he took toward the hall seemed heavier than the last.
Rushing to find his friends, Hao Chen approached the circle outside the hall—but before he could speak, Elder Tianli raised his hand. Gravity twisted violently around Hao Chen, pinning him to the cracked ground. Tianli's voice rang like thunder:
"I never thought a trash thief like you would still dare to show your face here. You really have some guts."
Hao Chen struggled, his body pressed into the fractured earth, unable to move. Around them, sect elders materialized, their gazes piercing him, full of suspicion and cold judgment.
Tianli's voice cut deeper:
"I treated you better than any student… I treated you like my own son. And yet, you betray that trust with trash like this!"
Hao Chen coughed, blood staining his lips, and said weakly,
"Elder Tianli… I don't know what you're talking about."
Tianli's eyes narrowed, fury flaring:
"And you still lie? Hmph."
The disciples muttered in outrage, some shouting, others trembling, their anger amplifying the tension. Yao Yin and Tang Zheng exchanged worried glances, but they could see in their hearts that Hao Chen wouldn't commit such a crime.
Meanwhile, Meizu Xuan, Hei Meng, and Qing Tian chuckled quietly, their amusement barely hidden at the spectacle. Chen Mo frowned, muttering under his breath, "Hao Chen didn't do this, I know it."
Elder Tianli intensified the gravity, lifting Hao Chen off the ground with crushing force.
"Confess now, or I'll break every bone in your body!"
Hao Chen gasped, coughing up more blood, barely able to speak. The sky above rippled unnaturally, dark void rifts opening as a presence of unimaginable power descended. The wind screamed, lightning fractured the clouds, and the world itself seemed to shudder under the aura of the approaching figure.
Tianli froze mid-gesture. The newcomers and bystanders—the enemies, Miezu Xuan, Hei Meng, and Qing Tian—watched in awe and terror as the figure landed.
"Tianli… that's enough," a commanding voice echoed across the sect.
Tianli's body shook. Hao Chen sagged, too weak to move, as the being's aura washed over him like a tidal wave. Even the laughing trio fell silent, their jaws dropping.
Elder Tianli bowed deeply. Disciples and elders alike knelt, paying the highest respect to the sect founder. Hao Chen, trembling but still composed, offered a weak greeting. The founder, Sheng Feng, a Dao Fusion cultivator, Partial Fusion Stage, nodded solemnly.
Sheng Feng's gaze swept over the scene. "Tianli, tell me what happened."
Tianli spoke gravely:
"This trash stole things from my room. I commanded all disciples and elders to find the culprit, and all signs point to Hao Chen. Everything missing was in his room."
Sheng Feng raised an eyebrow. "You really believe he did that?"
Tianli's voice tightened. "Yes, sect founder, all the missing items were in his room."
Sheng Feng's gaze softened slightly, contemplative. "Or… perhaps the true culprit is still among us."
Chen Mo nodded silently, glancing at the sect founder.
Elder Xue Dao muttered, "I believe that kid took them… it was in his room." Elder Ling Xiao and Ding Yan nodded in agreement.
Ding Yan added, "You're right."
Sheng Feng extended his aura, a gravitational field forcing everyone into immobility. Breath caught in their throats as the pressure intensified.
"Who truly did this?" he demanded, voice echoing like a mountain collapse.
No one moved. Meizu Xuan, Hei Meng, and Qing Tian remained defiant, silent smiles on their faces.
Suddenly, Sheng Yue arrived. A wave of energy accompanied her, and the entire sect's atmosphere shifted. Disciples gasped; miezu xuan hei meng qing tian stiffened in shock.
"Oh, my son, you're here," Sheng Feng greeted.
"Good day, father," Sheng Yue replied, her calm demeanor radiating authority. Her eyes swept the hall and locked onto Hao Chen. Without hesitation, she rushed to him, lifting him gently.
"Hao Chen, are you okay? Who did this?!" Her voice was terrifying in its intensity, shaking even the most hardened disciples.
Hao Chen looked up and managed a faint smile. "Yuer…"
He gestured for Chen Mo to take him aside to rest and tang zheng and yao yin rush towards hao chen and comfort him and take care of him
Sheng Yue's eyes narrowed, furious and protective. "What's happening here?!"
Elder Tianli hesitated, then spoke, "Everything, sect founder, everything… he even possessed a forbidden demonic scroll in his room."
Sheng Feng's eyes widened. "What? How… how can this be?"
Sheng Yue's hand gripped Hao Chen. "No… no way he would ever do such a thing!"
Chen Mo Tang Zheng and Yao Yin nodded vigorously from afar, affirming her belief.
Tianli's voice trembled with rage and fear. "We should expel him immediately, sect founder!"
Sheng Yue's voice cut like steel. "How dare you say that! I'll deal with you all before that happens!"
Tianli fell to his knees, shaking violently.
Sheng Feng laid a hand on her shoulder. "Relax, Yuer. I will investigate personally and uncover the truth."
Meizu Xuan, Hei Meng, and Qing Tian covered their mouths, successfully hide and suppressed laughter at the chaos around them.
Sheng Feng's ex wife, Sheng Yue's mother, spoke calmly but firmly:
"No need, my love. That kid truly did what Elder Tianli claims."