Seeing Feng Dai kneel, Li Qingqiu remained unmoved. He replied casually, "What do you mean by that? Has the Magistrate already uncovered the truth?"
In his view, Feng Dai's actions were meaningless—just an attempt to assuage his own guilt.
Even if Wu Baoyu had harbored the intention of killing the Emperor all along, without Feng Dai's identification, he would surely have lived a while longer.
Zhang Yuchun bringing Wu Baoyu up the mountain had merely altered the course of Wu Baoyu's fate. What truly drove him to the imperial city was Feng Dai.
Of course, Feng Dai wasn't wrong either. An official hunting a criminal—that was only right and proper.
If anyone was to blame, it was the Emperor himself.
He had created the Demonic Sect, erased Wu Baoyu's achievements, and slandered him as an evildoer.
But in this world, the Emperor was Heaven itself. Mortals had no right to judge Heaven.
"I investigated as Senior Xiao instructed. The Xiao clan's second son was indeed named Xiao Ji. At fifteen, he was selected as an imperial guard and served the previous Crown Prince. After the Xiao clan was massacred, all records of him ceased—he vanished without a trace. I also discovered that the former Crown Prince did indeed dispatch a group of guards to infiltrate the Demonic Sect, but there are no follow-up records."
Feng Dai spoke through gritted teeth, his face etched with regret.
The nine constables' expressions were equally grim. Knowing Wu Baoyu's true history, hearing that such a hero had died under a false reputation, their morale took a hit.
They no longer knew if the court they served was what they had believed. Did justice still exist in this world?
If the Emperor himself was the greatest evil, what could lowly constables struggling at the bottom do?
Li Qingqiu stared at him. "And based solely on that, you believed him?"
"After Senior Xiao died in the palace, the files on Xiao Ji were destroyed. I asked the Prefectural Governor—he was puzzled too, but ordered me to ask no further questions. How could such a coincidence exist?"
Feng Dai's voice was tight, his heart unable to find peace.
Li Qingqiu sighed. "Senior Wu came up the mountain, spoke little. I didn't interact with him much. I can't judge truth from falsehood. I only know one thing: he's gone now. Let's pretend he was never here. Regret now is meaningless."
With that, he turned and continued up the mountain.
"Wait, Sect Master. Do you believe this matter should end like this?" Feng Dai called out hurriedly.
"I am merely the head of a small sect. I only want to protect my disciples. Wu Baoyu was never truly part of the Azure Firmament Sect. For me, yes, this is how it should end."
Li Qingqiu didn't stop or look back.
Feng Dai's face cycled through emotions, but he couldn't find further words.
By the time Li Qingqiu vanished around the bend in the mountain path, the constables had risen and helped Feng Dai to his feet.
"Sir, this involves imperial authority. We can't interfere. Neither can the Azure Firmament Sect." An older constable spoke heavily. He had served longest, and his heart had long grown pessimistic.
Feng Dai took a deep breath. He turned to face the nine constables, his gaze different from before. His voice was unusually firm: "Precisely because no one dares to act, I will. I know this path is lined with dangers—a narrow chance of survival. I won't force any of you to follow. Even if I'm ground to dust, I will clear Senior Xiao's name and expose the truth to the world!"
He turned and walked away, his left hand resting on the hilt of his sword at his waist, gripping it tightly. Veins bulged on the back of his hand.
The nine constables stood in silence. They didn't look at each other, but before long, they all began to move, following Feng Dai's footsteps.
Xiao Ba circled overhead, looking down. Feng Dai and his men seemed so small, like ants.
...
After the New Year, the Azure Firmament Sect's expansion plans continued. Zhang Yuchun became the busiest person, frequently going down the mountain with Huang Shan and Yu Lin. This made the two youths increasingly mature; their bearing and speech clearly differed from the other disciples.
Li Qingqiu only handled major decisions and monitored construction progress.
Near the end of spring, Wu Man'er and Li Sifeng successively broke through to the second layer of the Nourishing Origin stage. Li Qingqiu was overjoyed.
A second-layer Nourishing Origin combatant was enough to match a first-rate martial world expert—perhaps even among the top-tier of that level.
After achieving the second layer, Li Sifeng couldn't contain himself. He found Li Qingqiu and begged to be taken along on Zhang Yuchun's next trip down the mountain.
Li Qingqiu hesitated for a moment, then agreed. Though Li Sifeng wasn't yet fourteen, his skills far surpassed Zhang Yuchun and the others. Having Li Sifeng along would be like carrying a living advertisement for recruiting disciples.
Overjoyed at Li Qingqiu's consent, Li Sifeng immediately found Zhang Yuchun to tell him. Zhang Yuchun was equally pleased; he knew well what Li Sifeng was capable of.
The very next day, Zhang Yuchun set off with Li Sifeng, Huang Shan, and Yu Lin.
After noon, Li Qingqiu and a dozen or so disciples gathered in the courtyard, their attention fixed on Yang Jueding and Wu Man'er.
The two were about to spar.
Previously, Wu Man'er had trained under Jiang Zhaoxia. Later, when Jiang Zhaoxia had no time to teach him, Yang Jueding took over.
Since taking charge of Wu Man'er, Yang Jueding had poured his entire knowledge into teaching him, even more earnestly than he had with Li Sifeng. He had even passed on his improved Nine Heavens Divine Palm.
They stood ten paces apart, each assuming their stance.
Wu Man'er had just turned fifteen and already stood nine chi tall—in the Great Li Dynasty, that was close to two meters. He was powerfully built, and even the largest-sized robes seemed tight on him.
Despite his intimidating physique, he had an honest, simple face, always wearing a foolish grin. Even now, he was smiling.
But Yang Jueding, facing him, couldn't smile. Only when directly confronting Wu Man'er did he feel the pressure.
"Such a leap from the second layer of the Nourishing Origin stage?"
Yang Jueding was secretly astonished. In his eyes, Wu Man'er had no openings. He felt that no matter where he attacked, he would suffer a devastating counter-blow.
Li Dongyue held Yuan Li, now nearly two years old. The toddler tilted his head, eyes wide.
Cheng Canghai stood at the edge, equally curious about the coming battle.
He didn't doubt Yang Jueding's strength. What he really wanted to see was how powerful Wu Man'er was.
He'd once witnessed Wu Man'er carrying a two-thousand-jin log up the mountain. That had terrified him.
"Man'er, I'm making my move."
With that, Yang Jueding shot toward Wu Man'er like an arrow. His palms moved like the wind, striking rapidly.
Despite his size, Wu Man'er dodged Yang Jueding's fierce assault with ease. He pivoted continuously, neither advancing nor retreating.
He evaded Yang Jueding's palms while using his own arms to block Yang Jueding's kicks, holding firm.
The Azure Firmament Sect disciples couldn't follow Yang Jueding's techniques at all. They only saw a blur of many hands and many legs, dizzying.
Even so, they could read the situation.
"Uncle-Master Wu is amazing."
"Yeah, I didn't know he was this skilled. I thought he was just strong."
"Such powerful energy—it's hitting my face even from here."
"Is this internal energy?"
"This is nothing. Real internal energy is lethally strong. They're not even serious yet."
The disciples murmured in small groups, their eyes never leaving Wu Man'er and Yang Jueding.
Qin Ye gripped his staff, his gaze locked on the two combatants.
Since Wu Baoyu had taught him the Ten Thousand Army Demon-Subduing Staff, though he hadn't sparred with others, everyone could see the change in him. His body had grown stronger, his gaze sharper. He now carried an aura of killing intent that made many disciples afraid to joke with him.
Yang Jueding's aura suddenly surged. Energy currents wrapped around him as his attacks intensified, kicking up sand and stones. Wu Man'er stopped defending and began to counter. They exchanged blows.
Fist met palm, the sound of flesh striking flesh ringing out continuously. The disciples' nerves were stretched taut.
Fully serious, Wu Man'er no longer grinned foolishly. His expression was cold and stern. Combined with his powerful build, the sense of oppression was immense. Even though Yang Jueding wasn't being pushed back, he seemed outmatched.
Cheng Canghai swallowed hard. Turmoil churned within him.
With such momentum from mere unarmed combat, both had surpassed first-rate experts!
The Azure Firmament Sect might be small, but it truly hid dragons and crouching tigers!
Li Qingqiu nodded slightly. In terms of sheer momentum, these two had already surpassed Lü Dou. Even if the Seven Peaks Alliance launched a full-scale invasion now, the Azure Firmament Sect could face them with confidence.
After a brief moment of shock, Yang Jueding grew excited.
Wu Man'er gave him something he hadn't felt in a long time: an evenly matched opponent. Even though he was already injured, he found it exhilarating.
This was far more enjoyable than fighting the Sword Saint of the Canghai Sea!
Neither used the Nine Heavens Divine Palm, only unarmed combat. The watching disciples were fired up.
"Stop."
Li Qingqiu's voice suddenly rang out. Both immediately halted, frozen in mid-strike.
Wu Man'er's fist came down toward Yang Jueding like a descending tiger. Yang Jueding's palm thrust upward from his waist like a dragon emerging from the deep.
Their expressions instantly shifted. Wu Man'er reverted to his simple, honest look, turning to Li Qingqiu.
"We were just getting into it! Why did you stop?" Yang Jueding glanced sideways at Li Qingqiu, his tone dissatisfied.
The other disciples also looked at him, puzzled.
The fight had barely begun.
Li Qingqiu lifted his cup of hot tea and said calmly, "A distant guest is about to arrive. Don't disturb them."
A distant guest?
Everyone was confused. They instinctively looked toward the courtyard gate but saw no one.
Yang Jueding withdrew his palm, about to complain, when a voice rang out from the direction of the mountain gate:
"I am Li Yang, the reigning Martial Arts Champion of the Great Li Dynasty! I wish to challenge the foremost expert of every martial sect, to exchange insights on the martial way! Does the Azure Firmament Sect have any master bold enough to accept?"
Everyone was startled. Someone really had come?
How had the Sect Master sensed it in advance?
Li Qingqiu looked at Yang Jueding and Wu Man'er, smiling. "You two go receive him. Either of you can fight. Just don't kill the man—after all, he's the Martial Arts Champion. Quite a background."
Yang Jueding nodded and immediately turned to leave. Wu Man'er and the other disciples followed.
Soon, only Li Qingqiu, Li Dongyue, and Yuan Li remained in the courtyard.
Li Qingqiu's smile faded. He frowned slightly, lost in thought.
The name Li Yang... he seemed to have heard it before. Same surname as his own. Probably someone from that family.