Time Will Fade Everything

Ning Fengzhi took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging anger within him.

He cast aside these chaotic thoughts, shifted his gaze from the teacup in his hand, and slowly swept his eyes over the elders and deacons in the hall.

The clamor inside the council hall ceased abruptly the moment he looked up.

Everyone looked at him.

Waiting for him to speak.

Ning Fengzhi pondered for a moment, his voice sounding unhurried and steady.

"Don't you all find it strange that this matter has fermented to such a degree?"

The council hall fell silent.

Ning Fengzhi raised the teacup in his hand and tapped it lightly against the tabletop.

"An incident occurring in Heaven Dou City—no matter how big the commotion, logically speaking, it should only spread around the vicinity of Heaven Dou City, or at most affect a few major cities in the northern part of the Heaven Dou Empire."

"But what about now?"

His gaze circled the room; his tone remained lukewarm, yet it carried a certainty that could not be ignored.

"Within a few short days, it has spread from the Heaven Dou Empire to the Star Luo Empire, from the imperial capital to remote villages and towns. Even the garrison at Jialing Pass and the hunters near the Sunset Forest have heard of it."

"Such wide coverage and such rapid transmission—this is definitely not something that could be achieved through ordinary word of mouth."

He set down the teacup and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

"There is a pusher behind this."

As these words were spoken, the expressions of the elders present varied.

Some frowned in contemplation, some looked stern, and others seemed to have vaguely guessed something already, nodding slightly.

A middle-aged elder sitting in the second seat on the right was the first to respond: "Does the Sect Master mean... someone is deliberately fanning the flames behind the scenes?"

"Not just fanning the flames." Ning Fengzhi's voice deepened.

"It is an organized, planned, and networked dissemination across the entire continent."

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

"On this entire continent, those who are at odds with our Upper Three Sects and simultaneously possess such a massive intelligence network and coverage capability—"

His lips moved slightly as he spat out three words.

"Spirit Hall."

The air inside the council hall seemed to freeze for a moment.

"Spirit Hall..." The old elder with white hair and beard drew a sharp breath.

"So—" another elder's expression turned ugly, "this whole thing, from beginning to end, is Spirit Hall making trouble behind our backs?"

"You cannot say it like that." Ning Fengzhi shook his head, his tone revealing an objectivity that was cold to the point of ruthlessness. "The incident itself actually happened. It is true that a direct descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan committed violence in the street, it is true that our collateral branch abandoned the child to save themselves, and it is true that the child cut his flesh, removed his bones, and took his own life with a sword."

"Spirit Hall merely spread the truth."

His voice paused.

"They didn't fabricate anything, nor did they add any embellishments. They simply laid the facts out before everyone."

"And this—is precisely what is hardest to deal with."

This sentence left everyone present in silence.

Indeed.

If Spirit Hall were spreading rumors, it would be easy to handle—find the loopholes, refute them point by point, and slap them in the face with the facts.

But as it happens, everything they said was the truth.

Not a word was false, not a single event was fabricated.

How do you refute it? What do you refute?

Refute that your own collateral branch didn't hand the child over? Refute that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan didn't force that child to his death?

Those events happened in public, witnessed clearly by hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

Ning Fengzhi's fingers tapped slowly on the tabletop, the rhythm even and steady.

"Having developed to this point," he said slowly, his tone calm, "it is already impossible to completely reverse the situation."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of several elders grew even uglier.

"It is impossible to reverse because the facts themselves are against us. No matter what we say or do, that child is already dead. A seven-year-old child, trampled on the ground by his own father, abandoned by his own clan—this matter has already been etched into everyone's minds."

"Do you want the common people to forget this?"

Ning Fengzhi shook his head slightly.

"In the short term, they cannot forget."

"However—"

His tone suddenly shifted, and a shrewd, sharp light flashed in his gentle eyes.

"We cannot reverse it, but we can weaken it."

"Weaken it?"

Several elders looked over in unison.

Ning Fengzhi set down his teacup, folded his hands before him, and leaned slightly back against the chair. His expression had completely recovered from the earlier irritation, replaced by that composure and depth familiar to everyone, the hallmark of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect Master.

"Release the message."

His voice was unhurried, as if he were recounting the most ordinary of matters.

"Say that the branch family of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect originally only intended to teach that child a lesson and have him admit his mistake. There was no intent to take his life."

"As for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, they only wanted to mete out a slight punishment to vent their frustration. After all, with their own direct descendant beaten to such a state, no one could swallow that anger. It is only reasonable for the elders to step forward and speak a few harsh words."

"But who would have thought—"

Ning Fengzhi paused slightly.

"That child was too unruly and stubborn. Not only did he refuse to admit his mistake, but he also committed such extreme acts. Only then did it lead to such a tragedy."

His voice was steady and firm, every word perfectly placed.

"In this way—the nature of the matter changes."

"Changes into what?"

"It becomes: neither the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect nor the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan actually wanted to take Ning Zha's life. Everything—was merely a misunderstanding, an accident. A tragedy that no one wished to see."

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over those present.

"This explanation, of course, will not deceive the clever. But you must understand—this explanation is not meant for the clever."

"It is for the common folk who do not care about the truth to begin with, and who are merely following the crowd in their condemnation."

"People's attention is limited. Public anger comes quickly and dissipates just as fast. As long as we provide them with a 'plausible enough' explanation, coupled with the passage of time—"

Ning Fengzhi lifted his chin slightly.

"One month, two months, half a year, a year. As long as enough time passes, people will naturally forget everything. They will have new things to focus on, new gossip to discuss."

"Who will still remember the death of a seven-year-old child?"