"It's a disciple?"
"Which disciple?"
"How did he disrespect you?"
Hua Xu's Master asked.
"This disciple secretly humiliated me and provoked me."
Hua Xu said.
"Who is it?"
Hua Xu's Master asked.
Sure enough, just as Chu Feng had expected, Hua Xu turned his gaze toward him.
"Master, it's him."
Hua Xu pointed at Chu Feng and said.
"I won't make things too difficult for you. Apologize to my disciple, and we'll let this matter rest."
Hua Xu's Master glanced at Chu Feng with utter nonchalance.
His attitude was dripping with contempt.
He was only asking for an apology not out of leniency, but because he deemed Chu Feng unworthy of his full attention.
"If I were at fault, an apology would be no trouble at all."
"But I clearly did nothing wrong. Why should I apologize?"
Chu Feng countered.
"Chu Feng, you really are absurdly bold."
"You dare defy my Master's words?"
Hua Xu said in a cold voice.
With the Elder of Donglong Academy backing him up, his confidence had indeed grown considerably.
But who could have guessed that Chu Feng would completely ignore Hua Xu and instead address Hua Xu's Master directly?
"Elder, this disciple of yours is accusing me without a shred of evidence. As his Master, shouldn't you be disciplining him?"
Chu Feng said.
"Are you saying my disciple is lying?"
Hua Xu's Master asked.
"Of course. He claims I was disrespectful toward him."
"Then does he have any proof?"
"Ever since I first met him, the disciples present as well as the three Elders of Beixuan Academy have all been witnesses. When was I ever disrespectful to him?"
Chu Feng asked.
"You used secret voice transmission to humiliate me. Naturally, no one else can testify to that."
Hua Xu said.
"So you're admitting you have no evidence?"
Chu Feng shot back.
"Master, I swear upon my honor—everything I just said is the absolute truth. There isn't a single lie. Please, Master, uphold justice for me."
As Hua Xu spoke, he knelt before his Master and actually swore an oath in front of everyone.
"This old man trusts his own judgment."
"The disciple I have chosen could never have poor character, and his words cannot be false."
Hua Xu's Master helped him to his feet.
Then he cast his icy gaze upon Chu Feng: "I gave you a chance. If you apologize now and admit your fault, I won't hold it against you. But if you refuse to repent, then it's necessary to teach you about the rules of our Wulong Martial Sect."
"Chu Feng, are you still not going to admit your mistake?"
At the same time, several Elders present began pressuring Chu Feng to confess, without bothering to discern right from wrong.
"Elder, since there is no evidence, how can you determine that Chu Feng is in the wrong based solely on Hua Xu's word?"
"Isn't that rather unjust?"
Finally, someone spoke up on Chu Feng's behalf—and naturally, it was Tu Yuanyuan.
However, the moment those words left her lips, her own newly-accepted Master shot her a sharp glare.
The meaning was unmistakable: stay out of matters that don't concern you.
Perhaps Tu Yuanyuan's Master had also secretly transmitted a message to her.
After speaking, Tu Yuanyuan's expression grew somewhat complicated, as though she had realized she had done something wrong.
"This young lady makes a fair point."
"But tell me—in this world, can no judgment be fair without evidence?"
Hua Xu's Master said to Tu Yuanyuan.
His tone toward her was considerably more courteous than the one he had used with Chu Feng.
Naturally, this was because of Tu Yuanyuan's own Master.
Tu Yuanyuan did not respond. She simply lowered her head in silence.
It was her way of conceding.
With this, everyone understood where Hua Xu's Master stood.
Today, he was determined to settle the score on Hua Xu's behalf.
In an instant, all manner of gazes fell upon Chu Feng.
Some held sympathy—for Chu Feng had only just arrived at Wulong Martial Sect, only to face such treatment.
But far more felt a sense of schadenfreude, believing that Chu Feng had brought it upon himself and deserved to be punished.
"It seems this Elder has great faith in his own judgment."
A meaningful smile appeared at the corner of Chu Feng's lips, and he once again stepped onto the main platform.
Everyone assumed he was going to submit and publicly apologize to Hua Xu.
"You must kneel and confess."
Seeing Chu Feng approach, Hua Xu's Master added.
Hearing this, the smile on Chu Feng's lips only grew wider.
Then, under the watchful eyes of everyone present, Chu Feng walked past Hua Xu, his Master, and the rest of the crowd.
He made his way to the foot of the challenge stage.
Then Chu Feng leaped up and struck the great bell—the one inscribed with the words "Defiance."
"This..."
Seeing this, everyone was stunned. Not a single person had anticipated that Chu Feng would do such a thing.
But Tu Yuanyuan, on the other hand, raised the corners of her lips into an arc of anticipation.
She could very well have been the only person present who was not the least bit surprised by Chu Feng's action.