Chapter 106: The truth must prevail

"You dare spout such nonsense?!" Chief Elder Bian was furious because of the reaction the crowd had. Even some of the chief elders were intrigued. He needed to control this trial. No matter what, he had to convict Cao Yun or the reputation of his disciplinary pavilion would fall. And with it, the rules of the Wubei Sect would be undermined. They had been set in stones for around ten thousand years. He would not be the first chief elder of the disciplinary pavilion to fail them.

"Luduo Bu's body has been examined! There was nothing unusual with him, no trace of demonic arts. But it's interesting that you mention demonic cultivators. Luduo Bu had indeed suffered from wounds inflicted by Evil Qi." He paused for letting the information sink in. "In fact, you were both covered in Evil Qi, but only he was wounded by it, isn't that right?"

Everyone present understood what he was trying to get at. He was clearly accusing Cao Yun of being a demonic cultivator.

"Chief Elder Bian, you fail to consider one thing."

"Oh?! What would that be?" Chief Elder Bian was rather proud of himself with the little effect he had produced on the assembly.

"Demonic cultivators fall frequently victims to their own malicious art. The Evil Qi Luduo Bu gathered caused his own death while he was fighting me. In fact, I did not kill Luduo Bu because Luduo Bu was already dead when he got back in the Wubei Sect. I killed his inner demon."

"Chen Guo! Stop trying to rile up people! What proof do you have of your allegations? None!" Chief Elder Bian turned back toward the other chief elders. "We examined Luduo Bu's body and nothing suspicious was found."

Unfortunately, it was partly because of Cao Yun. The Drop of Wrath had indeed consumed his blood runes. Otherwise, traces of his demonic arts would have been found. On the other hand, finding traces of an inner demon wiping out Luduo Bu's conscious was an extremely arduous thing to do. Apart from Xiao Xuefeng, no one should be able to do so. And even her would need to examine the body very soon after his death. For once, Cao Yun could not blame Chief Elder Bian for his incredulity.

But Cao Yun knew exactly where he was going. He did not need to prove everything, he only needed to paint out the big picture. All the little discrepancies in Chief Elder Bian and Lu Meihan's version would add up and many would see the truth.

"Whether you believe me or not is not my problem. I had no reason to kill Luduo Bu. Remember that I did win the fight."

"The truth is... you killed him because you won the fight. You've had a grudge with Luduo Bu since you came in the Wubei Sect. The very first day you were here, you picked a weapon and went after him. You then tried to frame him. And you're the one who challenged him, not the other way around. During the fight, you almost killed him. Everyone remembered how hurt he was, right? For some reason, he came to you. Maybe you even called him to meet with you. You were there with your little servant thinking she would lie for you. Finally, you killed him because you realized during the fight that he had advanced too fast and he would soon threaten you."

Even some people who hated Luduo Bu's guts began to think it kinda made sense.

"Chief Elder Bian, you're full of imagination... You accuse me of providing no proof for my allegations. And yet, here you are, relying on suppositions." Cao Yun addressed the audience. "The first day, Luduo Bu was beating on a servant in the martial art pavilion. That's why I stopped him. That's also why I dueled him. If I wanted to kill him, I could have done so either the first time and I would have had a justification. Or I could have done so before the duel. Chief Elder Baishen can be my witness!"

Before the old woman could respond to his call, Chief Elder Bian intervened. "Chief Elder Baishen is here as a judge today. She cannot be any party's witness. And your accusations solely rely on the testimony of the little girl Mei Ying. I want to remind everyone that her sister is Mei Hua, your friend."

"Chief Elder Bian, do you accuse everyone to lie except for Luduo Bu and Lu Meihan?" In Cao Yun, there was a tinge of anger. Chief Elder Bian was insulting all his friends. No matter who he would produce as a witness, they would automatically be framed as a liar.

"Chen Guo, you misrepresent my words. I just say that the testimony of your friends cannot be impartial toward you. This does not mean that they necessarily lie."

"And yet, you trust Luduo Bu's testimony. Ask anyone in the audience if this man was trustworthy!" Cao Yun once again looked at the audience below the platform. "If anyone here trusted the man, let them come forward!"

Many whispers spread throughout the crowd. Luduo Bu had a terrible reputation and the people who actually met him had an even worse impression of him. Apart from the first-years, almost everyone despised or even hated the guy.

"Chen Guo! You will not address the crowd! Your trial only concerns the judges!"

"Then I ask the judges. How many times had Luduo Bu been convicted by this very disciplinary pavilion?"

Chief Elder Bian knew that this question was the door to terrible answers for him. Hence, he changed the subject. "Chen Guo, stop speaking ill of the dead! Killing him wasn't enough, you also want to ruin his name?! I won't let you sully him! Let's talk about your second crime! You attacked the Coiling Silk Faction residence. Many disciples were witness to the attack, do you dare deny it as well?!"

This time, Chief Elder Bian had actual neutral witnesses. Many disciples had witnessed Sun Liao and Mei Hua distracting the guards. And some of the disciples who were inside the residence did see Cao Yun fight against Lu Meihan. There was no way to deny his involvement. And he did not try to.

"Chief Elder Bian, once again you present the facts as you'd want them to be. I did not attack the Coiling Silk Faction residence. I went to free a friend who was held hostage, Ren Chao!" All the eyes darted to the tall man. His complexion was still a little sick from the Feverish Eucalyptus Liquor.

"Well, I heard that your friend could not remember a single thing. And he reeked of alcohol! Couldn't the truth be more simple? Ren Chao went into the Coiling Faction residence and got drunk. Unable to restrain himself, he was inappropriate with a lady and you came to defend him. Isn't that possible?"

Wang Mei and Ren Chao clenched their fists. Even Sun Liao was visibly annoyed. On the other hand, Cao Yun used his words to calm his anger.

"Once again, a great story. But you fail to have any proof! Many people saw me enter the residence. Did you find a single witness who saw Ren Chao enter that day or the day before. Apart from members of the Coiling Silk Faction that is. After all, you said it yourself, no? If they're close to Lu Meihan, their testimony can't be trusted. Isn't that what you said about my friends?"

"You...!"

"Chief Elder Bian, do you have any witness of your accusations?" This time, it was Chief Elder Kong, in charge of the philosophy pavilion who asked the question.

Chief Elder Bian's face was red. It was hard to say if it was because he was angry or because he felt humiliated.

"Several members of the Coiling Silk Faction corroborate this story..."

Hearing this, Wang Mei looked at Lu Meihan. Her faction leader looked away in shame. The people she felt the closest to had lied against the man she loved. Wang Mei could not believe that they would go to such villainy.

"Anyone else?" Chief Elder Kong asked again.

"No... But Chen Guo has no proof whatsoever to support his accusations either!"

"Oh? I don't?!" The tone of Cao Yun's voice was unnerving for Chief Elder Bian. Usually, Cao Yun was pretty agreeable. But he was not to be trampled upon, and he had a bottom line. Chief Elder Bian had failed to uphold the law when Luduo Bu was condemned too lightly. Then, he had put all the blame on him. And finally, he was even accusing his friends, especially Ren Chao who had almost died. Cao Yun did not just want to be recognized innocent. He also wanted Chief Elder Bian to be humiliated in front of everyone.

"Everyone here should know that Lu Meihan had stopped appearing in public. But I believe that no one knows the real reason." Lu Meihan's face darkened as it was her most well hidden and shameful secret. "She suffered from a backlash during her cultivation. And she got so weak that she could hardly leave her own bed. Would you like to deny?" Cao Yun turned toward her, but Lu Meihan's face was already a form of answer for everyone present.

"Someone gave her a way to treat this injury through demonic arts."

Once more, everyone was shocked. Cao Yun was accusing the leader of one of the most renown factions of being a demonic cultivator as well.

Chief Elder Bian started to laugh. "That's your answer to everything? Everyone is a demonic cultivator but you?!"

"Not everyone, Chief Elder. Only those who use demonic arts." He turned back toward the chief elders. "Seniors, Lu Meihan used a strange balm to activate her acupoints and regain her strength. May I ask you to examine her? I saw the manual describing how to apply this balm in her room. I can tell you exactly where she applied it. I'm sure you will find that this balm is not orthodox in nature."

"Chen Guo, even if what you say is true about Lu Meihan's injury and about this balm, that doesn't mean anything at all. Using the weapons or the medicines of demonic cultivators does not make you one of them. Many orthodox cultivators use the artifacts taken from the demonic cultivators they've killed. Once the object is forged, the evil is done. The artifact itself is not evil, only the process of building it."

"Chief Elder Bian, you're not wrong for once. But I can also perfectly describe the dual cultivation method she wanted to use on me!"

Cao Yun was waiting for the right moment to talk about this. Everyone was now able to piece together what had happened. They all understood that Lu Meihan wanted to use him in dual cultivation in order to heal her injury. And Ren Chao was bait.

Chief Elder Bian got even more angry. "So, you're going to produce a demonic art to prove that she's the demonic cultivator. Wouldn't it prove that you're the demonic cultivator?!"

"Chief Elder Bian, would I be so stupid if I were one? It turns out that this dual cultivation method requires a small period of training called 'The Goddess Devours the Earth'. It's a first phase needed to then absorb the energy and essence of your partner. It needs to be performed at least ten days before the dual cultivation itself." Cao Yun had completely analyzed the 'Reversing Two Universes Dance' method and he was aware of its weaknesses. After all, he was supposed to be its victim, so he tried to protect himself.

"I'm sure the chief elders present today would be able to find traces of Qi in the main points of this technique. With your perception, I do not doubt that you'll realize Lu Meihan had been practicing this method."

Lu Meihan was frozen. Cao Yun was right. She had practiced 'The Goddess Devours the Earth' in order to prepare her body for the ingestion of Cao Yun's energy and essence. In fact, she had started a long time ago and had kept on practicing. She wanted to be ready at any time, just in case.

"Let's assume we find traces of this practice in her meridians, it could also have been from another technique using similar acupoints." Beginning to understand that he was losing to Cao Yun, Chief Elder Bian got desperate. "You're just spouting theory after theory. There is nothing that you can really prove. However, I was there when you tried to kill Lu Meihan. That is a fact! If I had not stopped your spear, she would be dead by now."

Chief Elder Bian turned toward the chief elders. "To resolve this situation, there is only one way. Chen Guo must be subjected to a Soul Memory Search."

"What?!" Several chief elders and disciples in the crowd were unable to process what he had just said. A Soul Memory Search was a technique used by Spirit Warriors. They could invade someone's mind and read their memories. However, penetrating someone's mind, even with their cooperation, was always risky. The person's mind or soul could be damaged at any moment. Some accidents had already happened with people simply dying or being mind wiped or maimed for the rest of their days.

"I know that this is extreme, but if Chen Guo accepts to cooperate, the risks will be minimal." Chief Elder Bian was really desperate to prove he was right. He knew that the elements he had were pretty weak against Cao Yun, but he did not think that he would be able to talk his way out so easily. Right now, most of the chief elders were ready to believe him or at least doubt Lu Meihan's version.

The first to speak up was Chief Elder Baishen. "Bian Gui, are you insane?! What kind of sect subjects their own disciples to such a risky and invasive technique?!"

"Sister Baishen, I know you care about Chen Guo. But this matter is serious. Given everything that's been said, either Chen Guo is a demonic cultivator or Lu Meihan is. We need to get to the bottom of it! Do you suggest you subject Miss Lu to this procedure? She's the victim here!"

The words of Chief Elder Bian started to make sense to some people. In fact, some disciples felt threatened by Cao Yun's growth speed. They were starting to wonder whether he actually was a demonic cultivator. After all, he even knew about their techniques.

Before Chief Elder Baishen could answer, another voice rose from the crowd. Surprisingly, it was Instructor Meng Jia's voice.

"Stop everything! I have proof of what Chen Guo is saying." Meng Jia was fully awake for once and was running toward the platform when several guards stepped between him and the stairs.

"Instructor Meng, you're Chen Guo's private instructor. You're not impartial here. We can't trust what you would say."

And before Meng Jia could answer, another voice resounded, but from the sky this time. Everyone looked up.

"Chief Elder Bian. Am I also not to trust?"