Pointing at a Deer and Calling It a Horse

"Feng Qi, what do you think you're doing?"

"Are you trying to make enemies of the Three Schools and Five Sects?"

"Outrageous!"

"You scoundrel!"

Gao Yong and the others shot to their feet and challenged Du Ge.

Their expressions were grim. None of them had expected Feng Qi to be so brazen.

Amid their shouts, Wang San's sinister voice rang out behind He Yuanan. "Dear brother, I love you. Turn around and look at me!"

Fear gripped He Yuanan. It felt as though some unknown monster were lurking behind him. He turned instinctively, taking a defensive stance. The instant he turned, he heard the wind whistle behind him. By the time he remembered Feng Qi, it was too late.

Pain shot through his chest. The bright tip of a blade protruded from the front of it. Strength ebbed from He Yuanan like a receding tide, and his clear vision gradually blurred. He struggled to look back. "Feng Qi, you..."

He never finished.

His head tilted to one side, and he departed for paradise.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

By the time Gao Yong and the others reacted, He Yuanan was already slumped on the ground, a pool of blood spreading beneath him. Du Ge stood behind him, holding a bloodied dagger, looking like a demon.

Du Ge glanced at He Yuanan's body and sighed regretfully. "With skills like yours, you still chose to do evil. You deserved to die."

Gao Yong and the others stared at Du Ge, standing there with faces ashen. Not one of them dared move.

They had all been sent to Luyang City, and none of them was much weaker than the others. He Yuanan hadn't lasted a single move against him. How many rounds could they last? Feng Qi was far too fast.

The claim that the Heavenly Demon's strength changed with his attributes was a complete lie!

No one in Luyang City believed his talk of upholding justice anymore. So why hadn't his skills weakened at all?

The Divine Fist School had sent two people, and He Yuanan had even brought an assistant. Staring at He Yuanan lying in a pool of blood, the assistant seemed to finally come to his senses. His face went pale as he pointed at Du Ge and stammered, "Lord He... Feng Qi, you dared to kill Lord He. Aren't you afraid of the Divine Fist School's revenge?"

"He Yuanan impersonated the Peacekeeping Gang, robbed the people of their money, and shattered the faith I worked so hard to inspire in them. He tarnished the Divine Fist School's reputation. Why shouldn't I kill him for such wicked deeds?" Du Ge turned to look at him. "I'd gladly die to uphold justice in the martial world. Why should I fear the Divine Fist School? I'm sure the Divine Fist School, one of the righteous leaders of the martial world, will applaud my actions once Master Tong learns that such a scoundrel was hiding in his sect."

"You... You're slandering us!" the assistant said. "Everyone knows that Qiu Feipeng and the others were responsible for last night..."

"Still making excuses?" Du Ge cut him off with a cold laugh. "Then what are these Peacekeeping Gang clothes we found at your compound? Don't tell me the Divine Fist School is planning to join the Peacekeeping Gang?"

"Th-This is obviously a frame-up! Does your Peacekeeping Gang even need these clothes?" The assistant was shaking with rage. "It happened during the fourth watch last night. You never even left your room. How could you have found the culprit so quickly?"

Qiu Feipeng really had been hiding at the Divine Fist School.

That morning, Du Ge had heard from Liu Cheng that the Divine Fist School's Master, Tong Shihong, was on good terms with Qiu Yuanlang. He'd wondered if Qiu Feipeng and the others might be hiding at the school's compound. He hadn't expected to be right.

But what Du Ge wanted was the effect of upholding justice. The truth didn't really matter. He wasn't Conan.

It was just like how his opponent had used such a clumsy ploy to frame him.

In this world, might made right. If he didn't take advantage of his attributes being at their peak and swiftly put an end to the schemes against him, he'd fall into a vicious cycle as his attributes declined. By then, he might not have the strength to do anything about it.

Respond to every move?

Du Ge wasn't foolish enough to let his enemies lead him around by the nose.

As for the consequences of offending the Three Schools and Five Sects?

If he couldn't even get through this crisis, what future was there to worry about?

"Nothing to say?" the assistant said. "You claim the Beggar's Sect and Taishan Sect found those things at our compound, too. Your frame-up is so childish. Just wait for the Six Great Sects to take revenge!"

Gao Yong and Ding Wanjie's expressions changed at the same time. They cursed the fool under their breaths.

"Is that so?" Du Ge looked at Gao Yong and Ding Wanjie. The dagger in his palm pointed faintly toward their chests as he smiled. "Taoist Gao, Elder Ding, did we find these Peacekeeping Gang clothes together at the Divine Fist School's compound?"

The Divine Fist School assistant's expression changed at once. He hurriedly said, "You two, with all of us here, why should we fear one Feng Qi..."

"Elder Ding, many people in Luyang City came to me yesterday to report that members of the Beggar's Sect had been stealing, robbing, and kidnapping. Their crimes are worse than the Iron Palm Sect's. But the Beggar's Sect is still a member of the Peacekeeping Joint Defense, so I left you some face and hoped you'd deal with the evildoers in your own ranks and give the victims justice." Du Ge turned to the Beggar's Sect's Seventh-Rank Elder, Ding Wanjie. "If you can't set your own affairs straight, Elder Ding, I may have to overstep my bounds and uphold the Beggar's Sect's reputation for you."

What the hell!

Since when did I become a member of the Peacekeeping Joint Defense?

Under Du Ge's watchful gaze, which promised he was ready to act on behalf of heaven at any moment, Ding Wanjie's throat went dry. He glanced at the old beggar beside him, who was still gaping in shock, and regretted coming. If he'd known Feng Qi was such a lunatic, he never would have come to watch the spectacle. Now he'd turned himself into the joke.

"Elder Ding."

"Elder Ding?"

The Divine Fist School assistant and Du Ge spoke almost at the same time, one anxiously, the other insistently.

"Elder Ding, Feng Qi has already pinned the blame on the Divine Fist School and slandered the Beggar's Sect. He clearly wants to pick us off one by one. Lords, let's fight him together!" The Divine Fist School assistant was sweating so badly his hair looked white. He frantically searched for allies.

"Enough." Ding Wanjie's gaze toward Du Ge gradually turned cold. He clenched his teeth and said, "Master Feng is right. We did find these clothes at your Divine Fist School compound. Master Feng is upholding the righteous path of the martial world, while you petty villains sabotage him. Your conduct is despicable. I'm ashamed to be associated with you!"

After speaking, his face flushed scarlet. He couldn't help closing his eyes, unable to look at the Divine Fist School's assistant.

This time, he'd truly lost every last shred of face.

"Elder Ding?" The Divine Fist School assistant's limbs went cold. He looked from Ding Wanjie to Gao Yong, at a loss. He hadn't expected to hear such an answer.

"Anything else to say?" Du Ge smiled and picked up a Peacekeeping Gang uniform from the ground. He smeared some blood from He Yuanan's body onto it. "There's still blood on these clothes from when you beat the people of Luyang City yesterday. Now we have witnesses and evidence. The proof is irrefutable. What else do you have to say?"

Holy crap!

The Council Hall fell into another eerie silence.

Liu Cheng's eyes widened. That morning, when he'd heard Du Ge lay out his plan, he'd already thought the man was outrageously bold. He hadn't imagined he'd be bold enough to go this far.

He was openly grinding the Three Schools and Five Sects' dignity into the dirt!

Gao Yong and the others from the Taishan Sect stared at Feng Qi, their chests heaving with fury.

This was too humiliating.

At least earlier he'd bothered to make up an excuse. Now he wasn't even pretending!

How could such a scoundrel exist?

And yet this very man kept claiming he wanted to uphold peace.

But He Yuanan's body was still lying there, and Du Ge watched them with a smile in his eyes, as if waiting for them to charge.

The leaders hesitated for a long while. Not one dared to rush over and turn against Feng Qi...

At a moment like this, charging in meant death!

Given Feng Qi's style, once they were dead, he'd surely pin the blame on them in turn...

Wang San and Feng Zhong exchanged a glance. Watching Du Ge standing before them, they could barely contain their admiration.

He committed evil as if it were perfectly reasonable, openly and without shame, all while dressing it up in a beautiful disguise.

The skill, the swagger, the shamelessness...

If he couldn't succeed, who could?

Compared to Feng Qi, the two of them really were far behind.

Still, Feng Qi's performance had convinced them that his Keyword definitely wasn't "uphold."

If "uphold" meant being like Feng Qi, they'd eat their dictionaries.

Du Ge smiled. "Taoist Gao, isn't that right?"

"That's right." Gao Yong stared at Du Ge. The corners of his eyes twitched violently as he gritted the words out through clenched teeth.

"Anything else to say?" Du Ge asked, turning to the Divine Fist School's assistant.

"I have nothing to say." Surrounded by familiar strangers, the assistant finally gave up struggling. He glared fiercely at Du Ge. "Feng Qi, you're so reckless and lawless. You'll get what's coming to you. The Divine Fist School won't let this go..."

"I was born with the attribute of upholding justice. I'm not afraid of death for the sake of the righteousness in my heart. Why would I fear retribution?" Du Ge raised his brows and shook his head, speaking righteously. "The innocent have nothing to fear; the guilty will expose themselves. I'll spare your life and let you watch as I cleanse this filthy martial world, just as I cleansed the Iron Palm Sect.

"I firmly believe that one day, fairness and justice will outweigh brute force. People won't have to fear being robbed by bandits in the night. Martial arts will be practiced to strengthen the body, not to bully the weak..."