This was what an experienced political scher was like.
Even with evidence laid bare before the entire Imperial Court, he still refused to admit fault.
He searched desperately for loopholes, for distortions, for anything he could twist.
But before the crystal-clear projection of the mory Crystal Mirror, his words were dust.
Firstly, it was undeniably the Azure Sun Holy Sect.
The recording showed Bai Zihan entering the Sect openly. The mountain gates. The disciples.
The elders. Many among them were well-known figures-recognizable faces who had attended gatherings and competitions.
Moreover, the elder conducting the experints had revealed far too much within the recording.
There was no room left for doubt.
No matter how Wen Haoyu tried to deny it-
The evidence was overwhelming.
And yet-
Wen Haoyu still did not think it was hopeless.
He had Li Jianhong, Zhao Wutian, and even the Emperor on his side.
As long as he did not admit guilt, as long as he maintained defiance, there was still a sliver of hope that power could reshape truth.
Slowly-
Wen Haoyu's gaze shifted.
He looked toward Li Jianhong first.
Then Zhao Wutian.
Then, finally-
The dragon throne.
But what he saw made his blood run cold.
They were no longer confident nor did they dare look at him.
No longer seeming to want to shield him with subtle nods or calm authority.
Li Jianhong's expression was stiff.
Zhao Wutian's jaw was tight.
The Emperor's face was unreadable-but his eyes had grown colder. Worse-
The surrounding court no longer held condemnation toward Bai Zihan. That tide had reversed completely.
The gazes aid at Wen Haoyu now were filled with sothing far more dangerous.
Disgust.
Rage.
Contempt.
"You dared to commit such evil... and still had the face to complain when invaded?"
That was what their expressions seed to say.
So ministers looked as though they wanted to strike him down where he stood.
So sect leaders stared as if looking at filth.
Even those who had previously supported the Azure Sun Holy Sect now kept their distance-subtly shifting their bodies, as if proximity itself might taint them.
Indeed-
No one could understand what Wen Haoyu had been thinking,
He had escaped.
He had survived.
If he had fled and hidden himself, he wouldn't get caught..
Instead-
He had returned to the Imperial Court, and that too to accuse the Bai Clan as though he were the victim.
As though he were the innocent one wronged.
Now?
It would not just be the Bai Clan he faced.
It would be every Clan.
Every Sect.
The entire Empire.
The atmosphere within the grand hall had turned one hundred and eighty
degrees.
Monts ago, Bai Zihan had stood alone beneath hundreds of condemning
gazes.
Now-
Wen Haoyu stood isolated.
And he could feel it.
The subtle fluctuations of spiritual intent in the hall had changed direction.
They were no longer pressing toward Bai Zihan.
They were pressing toward him.
If he failed to provide an explanation-
If he failed to twist fate one final ti-
It would be death.
A bead of sweat slid slowly down his temple.
For the first ti since the trial began-
Wen Haoyu felt fear.
And then-
A chair scraped violently against the marble floor.
Chu Xing stood.
The usually refined patriarch of the Chu Clan no longer carried diplomatic
restraint.
His spiritual aura surged outward, not attacking-but pressing heavily upon
Wen Haoyu like a mountain.
"Wen Haoyu!"
His voice bood across the hall.
"Where did you get the audacity to accuse the Bai Clan?"
Each word struck like a hamr.
"You committed such vile acts-experinting on children-and you still dared
to stand here pretending to be wronged?"
His eyes blazed with fury.
"Did your conscience get eaten by a dog?"
A collective intake of breath followed.
Such crude words were rarely spoken within the Imperial Court.
But no one rebuked him.
In fact-
Many silently agreed.
"It should have been eaten," Chu Xing continued coldly, "Only soone without
a conscience could do what you have done."
Wen Haoyu's lips trembled.
"I-I had no knowledge of-"
"Silence!"
The shout cut him off like a blade.
"You dare claim ignorance? You were the Sect Leader of Azure Sun! You dare
tell us you knew nothing of the underground chambers beneath your own Sect
grounds?"
His voice dripped with contempt.
"You think we are fools?"
Other clan leaders who had previously remained silent, mostly from the Bai
Clan's alliance, now voiced their opinion.
"Your Majesty, if the recording is authentic-and it appears indisputable-then
this is not a minor offense."
"Kidnapping children. Conducting forbidden experints. Such cris shake the foundation of the Empire."
"If this is allowed to pass with light punishnt, what ssage does it send?"
"We must investigate this properly and give the Azure Sun Holy Sect the
harshest punishnt."
Murmurs of agreent spread rapidly.
The tide was irreversible now.
"The Azure Sun Holy Sect must be held fully accountable. Those responsible
should face death."
"Death!"
"Death sentence!"
The hall, once aligned against the Bai Clan, now thundered with condemnation
toward Azure Sun.
"And as for Bai Zihan-"
All eyes shifted unconsciously toward the youth standing calmly beneath the
dragon throne.
"He should not be punished. He should be rewarded. He exposed a festering rot
within the Empire."
Another clan leader spoke up firmly, "If not for him, how many more children
would have disappeared?"
"He did what the Imperial Court failed to uncover."
The implication was dangerous-
But undeniable.
"If anything," the elder continued, "the Bai Clan rendered a service to the
Empire."
Nods followed.
Even so who had previously supported the Zhao and Li Clans now maintained careful neutrality.
Public sentint had flipped completely.
Monts ago-
Bai Zihan had stood as a criminal awaiting sentencing.
Now-
He stood as a potential hero.
Wen Haoyu felt the shift like a blade sliding across his throat.
The spiritual intent in the hall was no longer ambiguous.
It was murderous.
He staggered back half a step.
"This is slander... distortion... you cannot condemn an entire Holy Sect based
on one recording-"
But his voice no longer carried force.
No longer conviction.
It sounded-
Small.
Desperate. Above all- Alone!
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