Daoxuan slowly asked, "Before all our fellow cultivators today, I have several matters to ask you about. You must not conceal anything."
Zhang Xiaofan clasped his hands within his sleeves. "Please ask, Sect Master."
Getting straight to the point, Daoxuan asked, "During the journey to Flowing Wave Mountain, everyone saw that you possessed the Great Brahma Prajna true art, which Heavenly Sound Temple does not pass on to outsiders. Is this true?"
Zhang Xiaofan did not deny it. "Yes."
"What?"
The hall immediately erupted into an uproar.
The Qingyun Sect members were greatly shocked, while the monks from Heavenly Sound Temple looked agitated.
Daoxuan raised a hand to silence the discussions and asked again, "Furthermore, is the bead on your Fire Poker the Demonic Cult's Supreme Treasure, the Bloodthirsty Pearl?"
Zhang Xiaofan did not hesitate either. "Yes."
Daoxuan's expression remained unchanged. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
As the master of the Zhu Xian Sword, he had wanted to protect him. But with the righteous factions present, Qingyun's reputation—an obsession that had always weighed on him—left him in an impossible position.
Zhang Xiaofan said, "This disciple cannot say."
Daoxuan frowned slightly, deeply displeased. He asked again, "Fine. Even if you obtained it by chance, where did you learn the Great Brahma Prajna true art you possess?"
Zhang Xiaofan suddenly recalled the promise he had once made. "This disciple cannot say!"
Daoxuan seemed to see another man's shadow in him. He was so enraged that he laughed instead. "Good. Good. Very good indeed. Today, I will take in you, this wretch..."
"Please quell your anger, Sect Master!"
All of a sudden, someone spoke up and interrupted Daoxuan's judgment—and it was someone from the Qingyun Sect.
Everyone's faces changed at once.
Within the Qingyun Sect, no one had ever dared