Blood Stains White Robes

Si Ming asked in confusion, "Is this also the intention of the Ninth Generation Grandmaster?"

"It has nothing to do with the Grandmaster; it is the personal decision of the Sixteenth Holy Maiden. She voluntarily became his proxy, to carry out the Grandmaster's ideals for all eternity," Tu Wangyue said firmly.

Si Ming was speechless. According to historical records, although the ninth generation Grandmaster had many scandals during his lifetime, he did indeed live a lonely life without a formal partner. And scandals are just normal. Outstanding people, regardless of gender, have admirers. Even a straight man like Ba Shenhuang had many female suitors. Therefore, no one took it to heart and treated it as unofficial history at most.

But now it seems that, regardless of what the ninth generation Grandmaster thinks, at least the sixteenth generation Holy Maiden has always been in love with him, and even went so far as to take the crazy step of passing on her memories.

Indeed, love can drive people mad.

"Now that you know the truth, are you still determined to put me on trial?" Tu Wangyue asked, arms outstretched.

Yan Jinghong and Wu Xiu fell silent, truly unsure of what to do. The other party's actions had transcended simple notions of good and evil, and could not be judged by legal standards of guilt or innocence.

At this moment, Si Ming spoke up, "I am not qualified to judge the right or wrong of the Ninth Generation Grandmaster, but there is one thing you are wrong about. Demon Beast are not like leeks in a field, which can grow back after being cut. Their numbers are also limited. Especially in these two wars between humans and demons, a large number of demon Demon Beast were wiped out. In addition, the Demon Emperor and a Demon King died, and the two Demon King left the Sea Continent with the Military God. The strength of the Demon Race has been greatly weakened. It is no longer possible for you to use their power to coerce countries to unite. Your plan is destined to end in failure."

Furthermore, my request for a public trial has nothing to do with the demon tide; it's because you plotted against me and almost killed me. This violates the laws of the Mohist School. I can sacrifice myself for the greater good, but I cannot accept being deceived and framed. Now I ask you, when you planned to use me as a vessel to transfer the calamity energy within the Sacred Sword, did you consider that doing so would plunge me into eternal damnation?"

"... Yes." Tu Wangyue hesitated for a moment, but still nodded. There was no point in lying about something so obvious.

"You knew that doing this would endanger my life, yet you still didn't tell me beforehand?"

"Yes."

"I am charging you with attempted murder and harming a comrade. Do you plead guilty?"

"..."

Tu Wangyue did not deny it. The Mohist School's law is based on actions, not intentions. Regardless of what she was thinking at the time, such as not daring to trust people or being afraid of the worst, these things were meaningless in the Su State's court. Perhaps her initial intention was good, to eliminate the calamity of the Sacred Sword and prevent the seal from breaking, but she could have told Si Ming in advance, but she chose to keep it a secret. This was tantamount to murder, and Si Ming used this crime to prosecute her, which she could not refute.

If Tu Wangyue weren't Mohist, her actions would be understandable since her initial intention wasn't to kill. At most, she would be imprisoned for a decade or so for attempted murder. However, being Mohist is never a shield; there's no such thing as a reduced sentence. On the contrary, there are stricter moral requirements. Furthermore, since Si Ming is also Mohist, Tu Wangyue's actions amount to betraying the organization. And Mohist School law does indeed have a crime of harming a fellow Mohist. Both crimes are punished together, with the lightest outcome being life imprisonment.

Si Ming didn't need to discuss with Tu Wangyue whether releasing the Demon Beast was right or wrong. As long as he seized on the fact that she had attempted murder, it would be enough to sentence her to life imprisonment. In more serious cases, he could even request that her Cultivation Body be abolished.

"Since you have nothing to say, then come with us to the Heaven's Will Palace for a public trial." Si Ming moved to capture the other party.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot surrender here." Tu Wangyue stepped back to dodge the grab. "The Grandmaster's ideals cannot end with me."

"I told you, the Demon Race's power is insufficient to deter the nations; your plans have come to nothing!"

Si Ming frowned and urged himself to advance at seventy percent speed, while Yan Jinghong and Wu Xiu also attacked from both sides at the same time.

"The Grandmaster's philosophy is to use powerful external enemies to unite the Human Race and stop the civil war. If the Demon Race cannot do this, then I will take on this role."

With a flick of his sleeve, Tu Wangyue instantly exchanged three palm strikes. The overwhelming power far exceeded expectations, causing Yan Jinghong and Wu Xiu to grunt and be sent flying into the wall, while Si Ming was also forced to stop.

"Be careful, her cultivation level is at the Void Returning stage!"

Si Ming sensed that the opponent's skill level was even higher than that of Great Grandmaster Yun Jinzang, at least level 25, and that his past performance was clearly a deliberate concealment of his strength.

"How could she possess such profound cultivation?" Wu Xiu suppressed her internal injuries with a puzzled expression. "Moreover, only her Internal Cultivation has reached the Void Returning level, while her cultivation realm is still only the Spirit Transformation. Why is there such a huge difference?"

Tu Wangyue said, "Because what we inherit is not only memories, but also cultivation; it is the accumulation of the nine Holy Maidens."

Yan Jinghong suddenly realized, "No wonder every candidate for Holy Maiden undergoes several months of secluded cultivation after taking over. Besides absorbing the memories, it's also to allow their bodies to adapt to power beyond their limits."

At this moment, Tu Wangyue reached out and beckoned to the Sacred Sword, seemingly intending to recall it using a hidden trump card. With the Sacred Sword in hand, combined with her cultivation level, she would be a formidable enemy that would intimidate the world.

However, the Sacred Sword did not react, Tu Wangyue's hand hung awkwardly in the air.

"A smart person would have guessed long ago that you had a backup plan with the Sacred Sword. How could I possibly be unprepared and bring the Sacred Sword to you to bolster your fighting power?"

Si Ming waved his hand and unleashed a palm strike that shattered the "Sacred Sword." He sneered, "This is a fake I had made. The real Sacred Sword is still in the Barbarian Continent, and it's been sealed with three layers of magic. If you have the ability, then summon it back."

Even if Tu Wangyue's cultivation level is not as high as expected, as long as she has the Sacred Sword and can activate the Six Heavens Forbidden Sword, Si Ming will be helpless against her. Naturally, he must guard against this and not give her a chance to turn the tables.

You can't stop me.

Tu Wangyue formed a hand Law Seals, and a spatial array suddenly appeared beneath her feet. Profound runes floated up, and her figure gradually disappeared, on the verge of vanishing on the spot.

Suddenly, the magic array shattered, Tu Wangyue's figure solidified again. She looked up at the sky with surprise, her gaze piercing through the ceiling, and discovered that a huge oval barrier was floating above the palace, covering the land within a radius of a Qianzhang.

"We anticipated that you would use spatial Divine Arts or formations to escape, so we invited Senior Ji Shichen in advance to seal off the surrounding area and prevent all spatial transfers."

Si Ming took a step forward, unleashing his three divine powers to deliver a punch that shook the entire palace. His aura coalesced into one, as if the surrounding world had merged with him.

Although Si Ming's cultivation level on paper did not increase after the battle with the Netherworld Insect Princess, and his strength was even hampered by his unhealed injuries, he personally participated in a higher-level battle, gained a broader perspective, and saw a wider world, which further deepened his understanding of martial arts.

"Unbreakable Protection!"

Tu Wangyue quickly formed hand seals, and the phantom of the Goddess of Mercy appeared behind her. Her powerful spiritual energy condensed into a large shield to protect her body, combining with the space around her. She used all her strength to resist the punch that Si Ming had merged with the environment.

With a deafening explosion, the spiritual shield shattered and dissipated into Spiritual Qi. Tu Wangyue was injured by the force of the punch and was propelled backward, crashing through walls and flying out of the palace. Her speed increased rapidly, clearly indicating that she was trying to use the force to escape.

"Kun Sword - Earth Burial!"

Si Ming Mingpian pointed his finger at the ground, and the earth's energy suddenly surged, transforming into countless swords of energy that burst forth from behind Tu Wangyue and attacked her back.

Left with no other choice, Tu Wangyue turned back and summoned her spirit shield again to defend herself, but was struck back into the damaged palace by the continuous stream of qi swords and was surrounded once more.

"You can't escape now, not even if you grow wings!"

Chapter 868 Bloodstained Baiyi

Outside the Saintess Palace, Ji Shichen held a staff and channeled spiritual energy to maintain the Space-Anchor Barrier, both restricting those inside from moving outwards and preventing those outside from moving inwards.

She had a walkie-talkie-like device clipped to her waist, which transmitted the conversation inside the palace. This was naturally a backup plan that Si Ming had left for himself. Although there were two witnesses, Yan Jinghong and Wu Xiu, Yan Jinghong was Si Ming's master, and Wu Xiu had a bad reputation. Even if she stood up to testify, her credibility would be greatly reduced. Therefore, he had to leave more evidence and not give the Holy Maiden any chance to turn the tables.

Call it judging others by one's own standards, but Si Ming didn't want to end up like someone who had all the evidence but was falsely accused, wanted by the underworld, and forced to flee in vain, hiding his tracks while searching for the truth. If it weren't for the lack of technology, he would have liked to carry a miniature camera with him so that the Holy Maiden would have no way to deny it.