"If we cripple him, we’ll chill the hearts of the people. Does Great Zhou still wish to recruit worthy talent?"
"And if we refine him into a puppet? How will we silence the five thousand surviving examinees? Their savior, turned into a mindless puppet... if that news gets out, will the Court have any honor left?"
He looked at Chang Buyu and Hee Wenyan, his tone grave.
"My lords," he said, "don’t forget, the Divine Capital is also watching this Celestial Examination. If this is handled poorly, none of us will have an easy time answering for it."
Shen Xuance leaned forward, his voice low. "A Spirit Realm can be replaced. But if a Scion like him is killed or crippled, that would be a true loss."
Seeing that the time was ripe, Zhu Wuji cut in.
"I believe I understand where the three of you stand."
"Lord Chang is concerned with upholding the sanctity of the law and refuses to set a bad precedent for Unregistered Cultivation."
"Lord Hee wishes to see the loss of resources accounted for and cannot allow the Celestial Observatory to suffer this setback in silence."
"And Lord Shen wants to protect this rare seedling, unwilling to see a prodigy be destroyed."
Zhu Wuji’s gaze swept over the three of them, finally landing on the two words "Merit Perfection" on the case file. Slowly, he spoke.
"In that case, we have a situation where the death sentence can be commuted, but punishment is inescapable."
"Balancing his merits against his crimes is impossible. His merits are too great, and his crimes are too great. They cannot offset each other. So... why not consider them separately?"
Chang Buyu frowned. "And how would we do that?"
A knowing smile played on Zhu Wuji’s lips. "We cannot allow him to be ruined here, nor can we allow this matter to be judged unjustly."
"After all, only a living prodigy can repay his debts. A dead man, on the other hand, cannot compensate Lord Hee for her Spirit Realm."
"Bring in Chu Bai."
With a single command from Zhu Wuji, the Merit Department Chief, the heavy wooden doors to the side hall rumbled open.
Two expressionless, black-robed Judges flanked him, "escorting" Chu Bai into the main hall—the seat of Dayuan Prefecture’s supreme judicial power.
The moment he stepped across the threshold, an oppressive and solemn aura washed over him.
In the center of the grand hall hung the Merit Mirror, a black plaque that radiated a faint, cold light, like a celestial eye that could see into the very hearts of people.
Beneath the plaque, four of Dayuan Prefecture’s titans sat upon their high seats. Four distinct yet equally unfathomable auras intertwined, like a deep-sea undercurrent that instantly flooded the entire hall.
Chu Bai felt his shoulders slump, as if crushed by an immense weight.
It was the natural suppression that came from their superior station. If he had not already forged a Circulation Wheel Dao Foundation and also cultivated the Iron Bone Casting Body Technique, their combined presence alone would have been enough to force him to his knees on the spot.
But he did not kneel.
Chu Bai’s spine was ramrod straight, his steps steady. He walked to the center of the hall, came to a halt, and offered a cupped-fist salute—neither subservient nor defiant.
"Insolence!"
Before Zhu Wuji could even speak, Chang Buyu, the Director of the Dao Record Department, could no longer contain his anger and was the first to attack.
"Prisoner Chu Bai, do you admit your guilt?!"
Chang Buyu’s hair and beard bristled with fury as he roared, "The Great Zhou Laws state that Foundation Establishment Without a Talisman is a grave crime that shakes the very foundation of the state! By law, you should have your illicit Cultivation stripped, your Dao Foundation destroyed, and be executed on the spot as a public example!"
The furious roar was laced with the unique authoritative pressure of a Dao Record Department Decree. It sent the dozen or so Low Tier Judges standing guard on either side of the hall swaying, nearly knocking them off their feet.
At the center of this tempest, Chu Bai’s robes billowed. His face was a little pale, but his eyes were as steady as a rock, showing not a hint of wavering.
He looked directly at the old man who was calling for his head, his voice calm but firm.
"I was trapped in a desperate situation, besieged by three Divines, and the lives of five thousand of my peers were hanging by a thread."
"I sought only to save myself and to save others. I did not know that seeking to survive was also a crime."
Chu Bai paused, his tone taking on a decisive edge. "If time could be turned back, if I had to do it all over again, even knowing the severity of the law, I would still choose to break through on the spot."
"What a sharp tongue!"
So furious he began to laugh, Chang Buyu whipped his head toward Zhu Wuji in the seat of honor and snarled through gritted teeth,
"Lord Zhu, this whelp is incorrigible and utterly unrepentant! In my opinion, there’s no need for further deliberation. Pass sentence now, to uphold the laws of our Great Zhou!"
As he spoke, he seemed to recall their "tacit agreement" in the back hall. His gaze shifted to Hee Wenyan, who was sitting to one side looking nonchalant, and his tone turned vicious.
"Since he prides himself on his peerless talent, then if we don’t sentence him directly to death, we can do as Director Hee just suggested—wipe his consciousness, refine him into a ’Daoist Soldier’ that only knows how to obey, and send him to the Celestial Observatory’s forges to serve! In any case, this illicitly forged Dao Foundation must be stripped away!"
As soon as Chang Buyu finished speaking, the atmosphere in the grand hall dropped to freezing.
It was a nakedly malicious move. Being refined into a Daoist Soldier was a fate worse than death, one that offered no hope of reincarnation.
He had so eagerly thrown out this proposal in order to borrow the authority of the Celestial Observatory’s Purple Mansion Master, currying favor with her while sealing Chu Bai’s fate for good.
After all, if two powerhouses of the Purple Mansion Level reached an agreement, it would be difficult for even Zhu Wuji and Shen Xuance to overturn the verdict.
All eyes focused on the woman in purple robes.
The gavel in Zhu Wuji’s hand remained poised, yet to fall, as if he too were waiting.
But Hee Wenyan simply took a delicate sip of her tea. Her beautiful eyes shifted, sweeping over Chang Buyu, who was watching her with a face full of expectation. Suddenly, a smile blossomed on her face.
The smile was utterly enchanting, but it made Chang Buyu’s heart leap in his chest.
"I’m afraid you are mistaken, Director Chang."
Hee Wenyan slowly set down her teacup, her voice soft but laced with unquestionable resolve.
"Refine him into a Daoist Soldier? That’s just an inanimate object. My Celestial Observatory only seeks to recoup the enormous losses from the destruction of the Cyan Nether Realm. What use is a walking corpse to us?"
Her gaze shifted to Chu Bai, and a flicker of shrewd calculation mixed with appreciation flashed in her eyes.

Comments

Loading...