They Said I Was a Newcomer—Why Wouldn't They Believe Me?

"Boss, don't listen to his nonsense."

"He only joined the sect in September. He hasn't even been here two months—how could a newcomer possess that kind of strength? He's clearly lying."

A Discipline Hall Patrol beside him hurriedly said.

"That's right, Boss. There are far too many people who commit crimes and then desperately invent excuses to absolve themselves."

"He absolutely can't be trusted."

"No matter who they are, just take them all to the Punishment Hall. Then everything will be crystal clear."

Lin Tieshu drew a deep breath and looked at Li Yun with a cold sneer.

"I've seen plenty of people trying to clear themselves after committing an offense, but this is the first time I've seen someone like you pretend to be a newcomer."

"Enough nonsense. Send the signal and call people over. Take those severely injured ones away too."

"Yes!"

Li Yun: "..."

They actually didn't believe him?

They even said he was pretending to be a newcomer to get himself off the hook?

Damn it, since when was pretending to be a newcomer a way to escape punishment?

However, now that things had come to this, he did not argue.

The other side clearly did not believe him. Saying more would only waste his breath, and might even cause an even bigger misunderstanding. He had no desire to clash with the Punishment Hall.

It was not cowardice—it was simply meaningless.

The Punishment Hall was responsible for enforcing the law and maintaining the Celestial Martial Sect's order and rules. He had no conflict of interest with them.

Making enemies of the Punishment Hall would bring him no benefit at all. Instead, it would only make the Punishment Hall dislike him and keep a special eye on him in the future. That would be nothing but trouble.

One Discipline Hall Patrol immediately took out something resembling a firework tube. After pulling it open and aiming it at the sky, a brilliant streak of light shot upward.

Very soon, just a few minutes later,

More than a dozen Discipline Hall Patrols arrived at the woods.

Seeing people sprawled all over the forest floor, one of the leaders actually revealed a rather excited smile.

His expression was full of amusement.

"Well, well, this is quite a commotion. Six people are down, and one more is lightly injured... Was this all done by one person? Tsk, tsk, that was a truly ruthless hand!"

"Our Outer Sect patrol hasn't seen such a grand scene in a long time."

"Enough, Lu Dong... Stop standing there making sarcastic remarks. Hurry up and have someone carry away those severely injured ones first. If they aren't treated quickly, they won't live to see dawn."

"As for you, and you... straight to the Punishment Hall!"

Lin Tieshu turned and pointed at Li Yun and Zhao Leyue. With a wave of his hand, two Discipline Hall Patrols came over, bound their hands, and escorted them to the Punishment Hall.

The Celestial Martial Sect's Punishment Hall was mainly divided into three parts: the Main Hall, the Inner Sect Branch Hall, and the Outer Sect Branch Hall.

Just as their names implied.

The Outer Sect Branch Hall was mainly responsible for Outer Sect Disciples, while the Inner Sect Branch Hall was mainly responsible for the Inner Sect. As for the Main Hall... it oversaw the entire Celestial Martial Sect.

However, under normal circumstances, very few matters could still alarm the Main Hall.

For the Main Hall to personally step in to uphold the sect rules or enforce the law, it would at least have to involve an Outer Sect Elder such as Zhang Cong or Huang Huazong committing an offense, or a Core Disciple committing an offense.

But such things were far too rare.

One might not see it even once in several decades.

Yet if it truly happened, it would definitely be a major event that shook the entire Celestial Martial Sect, by no means a trivial matter.

Although the conflict between Li Yun and Wu Yuekong had resulted in six severely injured people and one lightly injured person, it was still nowhere near serious enough to warrant being sent to the Main Hall.

They were escorted to the Outer Sect Branch Hall.

Every day, one Punishment Hall elder was assigned to stand watch at the Outer Sect Branch Hall. That was more than enough to handle disciples who had committed minor violations of sect rules or made mistakes.

Tonight, the Punishment Hall elder on duty was Elder Hai Fen.

He was a stern old man with a dark face.

When he saw Lin Tieshu escort Li Yun and Zhao Leyue into the Punishment Hall's main chamber, his gaze immediately sharpened.

The patrols standing guard nearby could not help revealing gloating smiles.

Those who frequently came and went from the Punishment Hall all knew that among the Punishment Hall elders, Elder Hai Fen had by far the worst temper. He also tolerated no grit in his eyes and had never shown mercy to disciples who made mistakes.

No matter what their origins or background, punishment would be handed down as it should be. No one could plead for leniency!

Trying to plead would only anger him and result in an even harsher punishment.

So these two were rather unlucky tonight.

"Lin Tieshu, what happened to them?"

"Reporting to Elder Hai, this is what happened..."

Lin Tieshu bent at the waist, stepped forward, and directly reported the situation. He did not even bother hiding it from Li Yun and Zhao Leyue.

The more Elder Hai Fen listened, the angrier he became. By the end, fury was practically blazing in his eyes.

He slammed his palm against the table and rose to his feet.

"Outrageous! You dared to so blatantly disregard the sect rules and engage in a private fight late at night, leaving six people severely injured and one lightly injured..."

"You! Which academy's disciple are you? Confess truthfully at once! Do not dream of making up lies and trying to muddle through. Let me tell you this: whatever identity you report, I will immediately send someone to verify it!"

"If you are found to have falsely reported your identity, your punishment will be increased by three degrees!"

Elder Hai Fen glared furiously at Li Yun. From Lin Tieshu's account, he already knew that Li Yun had been one side of the private fight. Even after the Discipline Hall Patrols arrived and ordered them to stop, he had still viciously injured others with his fist intent.

Afterward, he had even concealed his identity and tried to pass himself off as a newcomer to muddle through.

That was no longer merely detestable—it was exceedingly detestable.

However, as a Punishment Hall elder, although he despised disciples who violated sect rules and fought their fellow disciples, he still had to strive for fairness. He could not possibly pass judgment based solely on Lin Tieshu's side of the story.

Seeing Elder Hai Fen's furious expression, Li Yun naturally knew it was time for him to speak.

He stepped forward.

Neither servile nor overbearing, he said, "This disciple is Li Yun, an Outer Sect Disciple of Rank 95 Academy. Greetings, Punishment Hall Elder. This disciple has not impersonated anyone. Every word this disciple said to the Discipline Hall Patrols in the small forest earlier was true."

"If Elder does not believe me, you may immediately send someone to Rank 95 Academy to verify it with Deacon Xu Qing, or seek confirmation from Outer Sect Elder Zhang Cong."

"Before this disciple was ambushed and coerced tonight, this disciple had just left Elder Zhang Cong's Azure Cloud Residence and was preparing to return to Rank 95 Academy to rest!"

Elder Hai Fen's expression changed at once.

Lin Tieshu was even more dumbfounded. He found it somewhat unbelievable. Why was it still the same story? Could everything he said be true? That would be far too absurd, wouldn't it?

A newcomer who had joined the sect just over a month ago had fought seven Bing-rank senior disciples alone. Not only had he not suffered a loss, he had left six severely injured and one lightly injured?

Who would believe that?

But then...

Lin Tieshu suddenly thought of something. His gaze abruptly swept toward Zhao Leyue, and he strode over before shouting sternly at him, "What about you? What is your identity? Is what he said true?"

"I... I..."

Zhao Leyue panicked like a trapped beast. On top of that, he was already severely injured. In his desperation, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed headfirst onto the floor.

Lin Tieshu's face immediately darkened. He also deeply regretted not asking Zhao Leyue about the situation back in the small forest.

He could only apologize to Elder Hai Fen.

"Elder Hai, this disciple made a mistake. Because six people were severely injured, this disciple was anxious to bring them here and did not clarify things beforehand..."

"Enough!"

Elder Hai Fen waved his hand. "Take that fellow out for treatment first. Then go personally to Azure Cloud Residence and invite Zhang Cong over. Let him identify the person himself!"

"Yes!"

Li Yun was left utterly speechless. I already said I was a newcomer, so why wouldn't they believe me?