"Do you know your crime?"
Li Changkong's tone was unusually calm.
Like a sky heavy with gathering storm clouds, it seemed poised to unleash a furious tempest and thunderous wrath!
"This disciple knows his crime."
Liu Yu hurriedly bowed, speaking with "fear and trepidation":
"But this disciple had his difficulties!"
"The White Household resisted to the bitter end. In just one battle, twenty-one Qi Refining Period disciples in our team died, and my junior brothers and sisters suffered injuries of varying severity."
"If that continued, I fear hardly anyone would have survived to return to the sect."
"At that point, we would have failed the sect's nurturing all the more, and had no face to meet our former fellow disciples!"
"Only because I had no other choice did I resort to such extreme measures, hoping to cow these cultivators of the Yan Kingdom!"
"Master, please judge the matter clearly!"
Though he appeared terrified on the surface, Liu Yu's heart remained as still as an unruffled lake.
He knew perfectly well that since his nominal master had raised the matter here, he had no intention of pursuing it further.
At most, he would give him a warning and confiscate a few spirit stones.
"And that is your reason for violating the rules of the Cultivation World?"
Li Changchun spoke gravely, his expression still dark, leaving his thoughts unfathomable.
"This disciple knows his crime!"
Liu Yu offered no further rebuttal or explanation. He merely bowed deeply and did not straighten for a long time.
Silence settled over the gathering, and time passed with agonizing slowness. Only after a dozen or so breaths did a voice finally sound.
"Rise."
Liu Yu straightened as instructed, letting his hands fall naturally to his sides as he stood obediently in place.
"Though your circumstances were understandable,