"You—come forward."
The teacher's voice was not loud, yet it carried a weight that seemed to crush the air itself, freezing the atmosphere of the entire classroom.
Liu Qi's heart skipped a beat. Though she had long prepared herself for this moment, standing face-to-face with the teacher still sent chills down her spine.
But she dared not resist. Forcing herself to stand, she stepped slowly toward him.
The teacher stepped out from behind the lectern, his lean figure somehow towering like an unscalable mountain, radiating a suffocating pressure.
"What did you mean by what you just said?" he asked coldly. "The sect you spoke of—what sect is that exactly?"
"Do not attempt to lie. Within this Hall of Ritual and Poetry, you cannot deceive me."
Liu Qi drew in a deep breath, raised her head, and met the teacher's icy gaze."Teacher," she said, voice steady though her heart trembled, "the sect I spoke of… is the Grand Dao Heavenly Demon Sect."
Her words struck the hall like thunder.
No one had expected Liu Qi to expose herself so quickly.
The Hall of Ritual and Poetry was clearly opposed to demonic sects—by revealing her affiliation, she had placed herself in mortal danger!
Sure enough, the teacher's anger only grew, his aura colder still, nearly freezing the very air. Yet, astonishingly, he restrained his wrath, staring at her with piercing eyes as he slowly spoke:
"Unashamed before man? Unafraid before Heaven!?"
The eight words shook the very soul.
In that instant, Liu Qi felt as though some unseen gaze opened in the void, looking down on her with chilling indifference.
Under that irresistible, divine pressure, she felt utterly insignificant—every lie, every mask, stripped bare.
The blue scholar's robe she wore as a disguise shredded under that force, revealing the black garments of her true identity.
A terrible premonition surged through her: she could not lie—she could only speak the truth.
"I am not lying!" she gritted her teeth, forcing the words out through her throat. "I truly am of the Grand Dao Heavenly Demon Sect!"
"Demonic filth! How dare you steal the sacred texts of my Hall of Ritual and Poetry!"
The teacher finally erupted in fury. His beard and hair bristled, all traces of scholarly composure gone, replaced by murderous wrath.
He gave her no chance to defend herself. His voice boomed like a great bell, echoing across the classroom:
"Seize the slanderer, cast her to the beasts! If the beasts refuse her flesh—cast her to the wastes of the North!"
At his words, a colossal beast materialized within the courtyard.
Its body was as tall as a tower, tiger-shaped yet striped like a leopard, its presence seething with ancient savagery. With a roar that shook the heavens, it burst through the classroom wall, jaws wide as it lunged for Liu Qi.
She had no time even to scream. In a single bite, the beast tore her apart, devouring her body until nothing remained but blood and flesh swallowed into its belly.
A living person—gone in moments.
The students, all from the demonic sect themselves, were horrified. None of them had expected to witness such brutal slaughter within these walls.
The teacher's fury had not yet subsided. His knife-like gaze swept across the hall, finally fixing on the disciple who had taken the Foundation Building scroll earlier.
"You—are you with her?"
The disciple, still reeling from the sight, trembled violently. Cold sweat poured from his forehead.
With his wit, he instantly understood the teacher's suspicion.
The Foundation Building scroll was useless without the Qi Refining scroll. And that scroll had been taken by the woman just slain. If he were to cultivate it, he would have needed to cooperate with her.
Thus, they could easily be seen as accomplices—working together to steal the sect's secrets.
Finished!
The same crushing pressure now descended upon him, suffocating his breath, stripping away the disguise of his scholar's robe, threatening to reveal his true self.
Driven by survival instinct, he acted at once.
He shot up from his seat and shouted desperately:"Teacher! No! I don't know her at all! I have no idea where she came from!"
"I only thought—since we are all students here—we would share and not hide knowledge from one another!"
In a sense, he was not lying.
He had always assumed Liu Qi was among the sect's chosen disciples, just like the rest of them. When they left this place, the scrolls would be handed over to their sect anyway—hoarding was impossible.
Thus, every word he spoke was "true."
That was why he had been so shocked when Liu Qi revealed her real identity—for he truly had never known her!
How had an outsider slipped into this secret realm? Had their plans been leaked?
He did not know. He had no time to ponder. All he could do was answer.
Fortunately, his answer seemed to satisfy.
The teacher listened, then nodded slightly, as if assured the boy spoke no falsehood. The immense pressure lifted.
"Sit down," he said.
Relieved beyond words, the disciple nearly collapsed, his legs trembling as he sank back into his seat, his back drenched in cold sweat.
The teacher stood in silence for a long time, finally regaining his composure. His voice, once calm again, addressed them all:
"I care not for your origins. Even if you hail from the demonic sects—so long as you truly repent and turn from evil, I will not trouble you.
"But remember this: once you enter my Hall of Ritual and Poetry, you must sever ties with your past. You must cut away the demonic path entirely, and be reborn as 'new' people. Only then will my Hall accept you as true disciples."
"For today—that is enough."
He waved his hand, dismissing the class."Those who wish to hear more, return tomorrow at dawn."
As his words fell, all of them felt a wave of dizziness.
When their senses cleared, they were astonished to find themselves standing outside the ancient stone gate, back in the real world.
Before they could recover from the shock, a cold figure appeared before them.
A cultivator dressed in sect robes, exuding formidable power, swept his gaze across the eight survivors. His voice was faint, yet carried undeniable authority.
"Well then… what did you gain from this journey?"