Lin Qingzhu jerked her head up.
Her hand still gripped the edge of the table, her whole body frozen in place as fireworks exploded in her mind.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Her eyes reddened in an instant, and even her lashes glistened with moisture.
Ten years.
She had waited ten whole years for those words.
First, a deathly silence fell over the hall. Then it erupted into an uproar.
The Fallen Sect elders exchanged glances, their whispered conversations buzzing like a swarm of bees.
Several Golden Core disciples gaped, their expressions vivid enough to be drawn into talismans.
In the corner, Qin Keqing stiffened slightly for an instant.
A very brief instant.
So brief that no one would have noticed her shoulders tremble if Yang Zhen, who was closest to her, had not caught it from the corner of his eye. She lowered her head, her long hair falling to hide half her face, and said nothing.
Han Qingyuan froze for a moment, clearly not expecting Zhou Xuan to be so direct. All the approaches he had prepared were rendered useless. His expression shifted several times, and he was just about to strike while the iron was hot with another barb.
Zhou Xuan had already continued.
"Whether she's my Dao Companion has no bearing on her ability to uncover your rotten accounts."
Zhou Xuan swept his gaze over everyone in the hall, his tone as casual as if he were commenting on the pleasant weather.
"If you refuse to accept her authority, it's really mine you refuse to accept."
That was the true killing blow.
Han Qingyuan's face darkened completely, because Zhou Xuan was right. On the surface, this entire scene had been aimed at Lin Qingzhu, but in truth, they were testing Zhou Xuan's