Water Department Divine General Xuan Lang froze.
Water Department Divine General Xuan Lang stepped forward.
"Qingxiaozi guarded the Third Sea Eye for two thousand years."
"When things were at their worst, he was the one standing guard."
"When the spirit tides turned on us, he bore the brunt."
"When the demon tide charged our formation, he held the line."
"The Water Department Immortal Officials thought the place was too harsh and refused to go."
"The Dragon Clan shirked their duty and refused to go, too."
"In the end, you asked a disciple of the Interception Sect to go."
"Now he's followed his sect's decree and returned to the mountain. You couldn't hold the line yourselves, and after a few Immortal Officials died, you want to pin the blame on him."
Zhao Xuan fixed his gaze on Xuan Lang.
"What?"
"When my Interception Sect disciples are useful, they're heroes of the Three Realms."
"When they're no longer useful, they're criminals?"
Xuan Lang was driven half a step back by the question.
Quite a few Interception Sect disciples had already gathered around them.
They'd heard Zhao Xuan's words, and their faces had all turned cold.
Qingxiaozi's eyes reddened.
These years had truly been hard on him.
But no one had ever spoken up for him like this.
The Heavenly Court only knew how to rush him.
The Water Department only knew how to issue orders.
Whenever something went wrong, they made him take the fall.
When things went well, it was because the Heavenly Court had managed things wisely.
He hadn't felt wronged before. He'd only thought he was bringing honor to the Interception Sect.
But now, as Zhao Xuan laid it all out, one sentence at a time, he suddenly felt that these two thousand years had been a complete waste.
Beside them, Xuan Lang was still gritting his teeth and holding his ground.
"Zhao Xuan, stop inciting the Interception Sect disciples."
"Qingxiaozi guarded the Sea Eye under orders from the Heavenly Court."
"Now that something has happened at the Sea Eye, he naturally has to return to the Heavenly Court to answer for it."
Zhao Xuan laughed.
"Answer for it?"
"Fine."
He swept out a hand.
A Jade Slip flew out and hung in midair.
"This is a copy of the formation diagram Qingxiaozi left with the Water Department when he stepped down."
Another Jade Slip flew out.
"This is the confirmation seal the Water Department Immortal Official left when he took over."
A third Jade Slip appeared, its clear light flowing.
"This is the record of spirit tides at the Third Sea Eye over the past two thousand years."
A fourth Jade Slip emerged.
"This records the hidden injuries Qingxiaozi suffered from the Sea Eye's backlash."
The four Jade Slips hung outside Golden Turtle Island.
Their clear light shone across the sea.
The evidence was as solid as a mountain.
Zhao Xuan remained composed, but his voice carried a faint chill.
"Didn't you just say there was no proof? I have proof!"
Xuan Lang's expression changed drastically.
He hadn't expected Qingxiaozi to have kept a copy.
He'd expected even less that Zhao Xuan would dare lay everything out in the open before so many Interception Sect disciples.
This wasn't just a defense of Qingxiaozi.
It was an attempt to rip the Water Department's mask off in front of everyone.
Zhao Xuan looked at Xuan Lang.
"Didn't you want to hold an inquiry?"
"Then hold it here."
"Hold it before all the disciples of Golden Turtle Island."
"Let everyone see how the Heavenly Court treats the people who do its work."
Xuan Lang's face turned deathly pale.
He couldn't hold an inquiry.
If he did, the Water Department's dirty dealings would all be exposed.
Seeing that he remained silent, Zhao Xuan said coolly:
"Not going to hold one?"
"Then get lost."
Xuan Lang gritted his teeth.
"You..."
Behind him, Holy Mother Guiling suddenly stepped forward.
"What, do you need me to escort you out?"
A surge of overwhelming power rushed toward Xuan Lang. His face blanched, and he nearly toppled out of the clouds.
"Guiling, don't be rude to an envoy from the Heavenly Court."
"What if he turns around and accuses our Interception Sect disciples of bullying the weak with our strength?"
Zhao Xuan finished with a cold laugh. Only then did Holy Mother Guiling withdraw her aura and give a chilly snort.
"True. That's the sort of thing they always do."
Xuan Lang finally caught his breath. He hurriedly waved to the heavenly soldiers behind him.
"Leave!"
The people from the Heavenly Court quickly withdrew.
But after Xuan Lang had gone some distance, he still looked back and gave Jiang Chuan a long, deep look.
Seeing Xuan Lang retreat, Qingxiaozi's body relaxed, though his voice came out hoarse.
"Senior Disciple Brother, did I cause trouble for the sect?"
Zhao Xuan watched Xuan Lang's departing figure.
"You didn't cause trouble."
"The trouble has finally shown its face."
Qingxiaozi was stunned.
Zhao Xuan turned to the Interception Sect disciples who had gathered around them.
"Did you all see that?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried far.
"This is why I called you back."
"Not because you didn't do a good job."
"Quite the opposite. You did too good a job."
"So good that the Heavenly Court got used to ordering you around."
"So good that the people of the Primordial World got used to you stepping in."
"So good that they forgot you're disciples of the Interception Sect, not servants of the Heavenly Court."
"So from today on, remember this."
"When someone asks for your help, find out what you'll get in return."
"When someone pressures you in the name of the greater good, find out who'll take responsibility."
"When someone scares you with the Heavenly Mandate, ask them what gives them the right."
"You can show them kindness."
"But we won't give our lives away for nothing."
When Zhao Xuan finished speaking,
the eyes of the Interception Sect disciples gathered around them slowly changed.
Some lowered their heads in silence.
Some clenched their fists.
Some looked at Qingxiaozi with guilt in their eyes.
Because there were more people like Qingxiaozi.
They'd always thought those senior and junior brothers were honing themselves out in the world, bringing glory to the Interception Sect.
Only now did they realize that many of them had really been filling in the holes others had dug.
Holy Mother Guiling watched the scene and said quietly:
"Senior Disciple Brother, they should finally be awake now."
Zhao Xuan didn't answer. He looked toward the Heavenly Court, his eyes full of cold indifference.
Lingxiao Treasure Hall.
Haotian sat upon the imperial throne, his expression already grim.
These past few days, reports from all across the Primordial World had poured into the Heavenly Court like snowflakes.
There weren't enough people to patrol the stars.
There weren't enough people to hold back the Four Seas.
The City God incense offerings in the Human Race's cities were in disarray.
No one was available to quell the trouble caused by rogue cultivators.
In the past, the lower-ranking Immortal Officials could settle most of these matters with a simple, "We'll ask our fellow Daoists of the Interception Sect for help."
But now, the Interception Sect disciples had all returned to Golden Turtle Island.
The troubles they'd once kept at bay were now piling up at the Heavenly Court's doorstep.
Now, Haotian could only suppress his anger as he looked first at Xuan Lang, kneeling in the hall.
"What happened with the Third Sea Eye?"
Xuan Lang's face was pale, and traces of sea breeze and water still clung to his armor.
But a vicious glint flashed in his eyes before he bowed low and said:
"Your Majesty, I went to Golden Turtle Island to summon Qingxiaozi back to the Heavenly Court for questioning."
"But Zhao Xuan appeared in person. Not only did he refuse to hand him over, he publicly humiliated the Water Department of the Heavenly Court."
Haotian's gaze darkened.
The Immortal Officials in the hall also looked up.
Xuan Lang continued:
"The Interception Sect disciples gathered outside Golden Turtle Island and spoke heatedly. They all said that if the Heavenly Court had no one to do the job, it should stop ordering the Interception Sect around."
"Holy Mother Guiling even released her aura and nearly attacked me."
"If I hadn't considered the Heavenly Court's dignity and avoided clashing with a Disciple of a Sage, I might not have made it back to Lingxiao Treasure Hall today."
Not all of that was false.
Zhao Xuan really had refused to hand Qingxiaozi over.
Holy Mother Guiling really had released her aura.
And the Interception Sect disciples really had been angered by the Water Department's attempt to pin the blame on him.
But Xuan Lang hadn't mentioned that Qingxiaozi had completed the handover properly.
He hadn't mentioned that the Water Department Immortal Official had left a confirmation seal.
He hadn't mentioned that he had no evidence at all that the formation diagram was faulty.
And he certainly hadn't mentioned that Zhao Xuan had displayed four Jade Slips right there.
He'd simply sliced the facts in half.
Then he'd handed the sharpest half to Haotian.
Haotian looked at Xuan Lang, his voice cool.
"Before Qingxiaozi stepped down, did he hand over the formation diagram?"
Xuan Lang's heart tightened.
Haotian hadn't become the Heavenly Emperor by being fooled with a few words.
He immediately lowered his head and said:
"Zhao Xuan claimed that Qingxiaozi had handed over the formation diagram and even produced what he called a copy."
"But I couldn't verify whether it was genuine on the spot."
"Besides, that was a private copy kept by the Interception Sect."
"If we let them say whatever they like, how will the Heavenly Court's Water Department command the Four Seas from now on?"
At these words, quite a few celestial officials nodded.
The formation diagram was in the Interception Sect's hands.
The Interception Sect said they'd handed it over, and the Heavenly Court was just supposed to believe them?
What would become of the Heavenly Court's dignity?
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