Advancement is unpredictable; even if she wanted to accuse Tian Ning, it wouldn't be possible.
Fortunately, Master stood by her, and Qin Mingcheng declared that his disciple deserved an explanation!
The disciples who didn't know the full story were whispering amongst themselves.
Seeing Wenren Xue's pitiful and disheveled appearance, they felt pity, but they didn't expect Wenren Xue to directly accuse Tian Ning. Such cruel methods shouldn't be those of a Demonic Cultivator, should they?
But Wenren Xue always had a good reputation in the Wanjian Sect; there's no reason for her to lie.
So what happened inside the Sword Tomb after the Record Stone became unusable?
However, they would never have imagined that Wenren Xue, who appeared so pitiful, was actually the one making false accusations!
Sect Leader Xiao glanced at Tian Ning, who was advancing, and then at Qin Mingcheng and his group, who refused to give up. She could only let Wenren Xue speak first.
Wenren Xue thanked Sect Leader Xiao by kowtowing twice. Seeing her like that, Sect Leader Xiao inexplicably didn't want to receive such a great gift.
Having received permission, Wenren Xue immediately continued what she hadn't finished saying.
"Tian Ning of Sword Protecting Mountain, because of her prejudice against disciples, when the Demonic Cultivators arrived, she refused to let go of her personal grudges against the disciples! Knowing that the disciples had recently broken through to the Golden Core stage, their cultivation bases were unstable, and they couldn't directly confront the Demonic Cultivators… she had countless Talismans that could have helped the disciples assist Elder Ye in fighting the Demonic Cultivators, yet in that situation, she gave them to other Junior Martial Brothers and Sisters, deliberately isolating the disciples. The disciple just wanted to do their part to help…"
"You're lying! A Golden Core cultivator hiding with us Qi Condensation cultivators, you still have excuses?" Xiao Roushu jumped out, pointing at her nose and shouting, "And those were Tian Ning Senior Sister's things! Are you a robber? What right do you have to ask Tian Ning Senior Sister for them!"
Earlier, she hadn't paid much attention to her daughter's hair loss; after all, saving her life was the most important thing. But now, Sect Leader Xiao couldn't bear to see her bald daughter making a scene in front of everyone.
He pulled Xiao Roushu and handed her a Hair Growth Pill.
"Alright, young girl, don't keep saying that… let her finish." Otherwise, they would be arguing all day.
Xiao Roushu obeyed her peacemaking father and could only angrily bite the Hair Growth Pill to vent her anger.
"Junior Martial Sister Xiao, I'm not lying, you just don't understand my situation," Wenren Xue, precariously supporting her damaged body, continued to speak strongly, "If my cultivation base hadn't been unstable, I wouldn't have been affected by the Demonic Qi and temporarily lost control and attacked Tian Ning."
"I know that was wrong of me, but I really tried hard to fight against the Demonic Qi, trying to regain my senses. I didn't want to hurt Tian Ning, even though she treated me that way!"
"Ugh—"
The entire audience was listening to her, but Xie Xingzhi happened to vomit at that moment.
Everyone: "..."
If they didn't know Xie Xingzhi's usual attitude towards Wenren Xue, they would have thought he was being sarcastic…
Wenren Xue gritted her teeth and insisted on finishing. As long as she insisted it was the Demonic Qi, it wasn't her fault!
"In the end, I resisted the Demonic Qi, and Tian Ning Junior Sister was fine, but Sword Protecting Mountain's Senior Brother… he openly used private punishment, taking advantage of my inability to resist in the Secret Realm, and cut off my sword-holding hand!"
"Master, Sect Leader! This disciple knows they were wrong first! Even if being affected by the Demonic Qi and losing their mind wasn't the disciple's intention, the disciple is willing to accept punishment! Elder Ye also agreed to let you two punish the disciple later, but he disregarded this and forcibly attacked the disciple…"
"Fu Hongming!" With every word Wenren Xue spoke, Qin Mingcheng's heart felt like it was being cut by a knife. In his unseen place, his beloved disciple had been treated so cruelly!
In a fit of rage, he was about to attack Fu Hongming!
Tian Ning, having completed her advancement, suddenly opened her eyes, and ten Contract Swords instantly flew towards Qin Mingcheng, stopping him before he could attack.
She had broken through to Great Perfection of Qi Refinement!
No one expected Tian Ning's advancement speed to be so fast.
It was much faster than Long Kangnian's back then. Wouldn't this make her cultivation base unstable?
"Junior Sister, don't force yourself to accelerate your breakthrough for me; an unstable cultivation base will affect your future…" Fu Hongming looked at her worriedly, wishing he could hold her shoulders and make Tian Ning sit down to stabilize her cultivation.
"It's okay, Senior Brother, I advanced normally," Tian Ning reassured him.
Bullying her Senior Brother in front of her, she would never allow it!
Qin Mingcheng's second attack angered Sect Leader Xiao. This time, along with the Law Enforcement Hall Elder, and Tian Ning's sword subdued Qin Mingcheng.
"Qin Mingcheng, do you even have the bearing of an Elder? Since your disciple has been wronged, let's all sit down and clarify things; you can't convict someone based solely on her testimony!" Sect Leader Xiao's words were fair.
You acted before Sword Protecting Mountain even spoke; how biased is your heart?
"Sect Leader! Master is just worried about his disciple… which Sword Cultivator Master could remain rational upon seeing their disciple's sword-holding hand cut off? Master just wanted to help his disciple…" Wenren Xue started crying again.
Sect Leader Xiao was annoyed by her crying.
"Alright, let's hear what the two Elders and Sword Protecting Mountain's Direct Disciple have to say."
Elder Qiu was not present throughout the incident. Elder Ye knew that if it hadn't been for the children of Sword Protecting Mountain acting together and resisting the Demonic Cultivators, none of them would have survived the Sword Tomb incident…
For some reason, he inexplicably thought of that person five years ago, before they fell into a coma. If that person were still here, they would never have let anyone bully their disciples like this!
In front of that person, what was Qin Mingcheng?
How could they allow someone to bully a group of children!
Elder Ye felt a pang of sadness and spoke up for Sword Protecting Mountain.
"Sect Leader, what happened in the Sword Tomb is not just Wenren Xue's testimony. As a Righteous Path disciple with a Golden Core cultivation base and many Protective Magical Artifacts, she was cowardly in the face of Demonic Cultivators, hiding behind her Qi Condensation stage Junior Martial Brothers and Sisters to survive. She is unworthy of being a disciple of our Wanjian Sect!"
He publicly stated his position, standing in front of the children of Sword Protecting Mountain and looking directly at Qin Mingcheng: "The Talismans are Tian Ning's own; she can give them to whomever she wants! Wenren Xue, as a Direct Disciple who entered the Sword Tomb to protect the new disciples, has the nerve to blame Tian Ning? If so, Qin Mingcheng, why don't you ask your beloved disciple why she didn't use her Protective Magical Artifacts to help her Junior Martial Brothers and Sisters?"
From beginning to end, Qin Mingcheng's love for Wenren Xue meant she must have many Protective Magical Artifacts!
Elder Ye's words were sharp and to the point.
This Transformation God Stage Elder's life was saved by a Qi Condensation Stage young girl. Although he didn't want to make a big fuss, since Wenren Xue spoke first, he couldn't ignore it and watch Qin Mingcheng bully the Sword Protecting Mountain Direct Disciples with his status!
Because Elder Ye took the lead, the new disciples who entered the Sword Tomb with Xiao Roushu also spoke up.
They fought together against the Demonic Cultivators in the Sword Tomb; it was a life-or-death situation!
And Tian Ning almost died twice!
In that situation, Wenren Xue not only complained that Tian Ning didn't give her a Dimensional Pouch of Talismans, but also attacked her afterwards!
Xiao Roushu was the first to scold.
"You probably have Demonic Qi in your brain and are still being affected!"
The other disciples also spoke up:
"Wenren Xue, are you shameless?"
"If it weren't for Tian Ning Senior Sister, we would all have died at the hands of the Demonic Cultivators!"
…
The new disciples didn't buy her story. Although they were young, they knew right from wrong. In the face of so many Transformation God Stage Demonic Cultivators, Tian Ning was willing to step forward—she was a hero to everyone!
Could any of them have done that? Or even had the courage to step forward?
"I… I was just affected by the Demonic Qi…"
Wenren Xue's mind was in a mess. She could only cling to this.
Even knowing that confronting Tian Ning was incredibly unwise, her cultivation base had dropped from the Golden Core to the Qi Condensation Stage, her right hand, which held her sword, was brutally cut off by the Sword Protecting Mountain bastards, and she had to watch Tian Ning contract ten swords in front of all the Wanjian Sect disciples and shine brilliantly! How could she bear it?
Why?!
She had never suffered such grievances. Before Tian Ning appeared, everything had been going perfectly according to plan…
Qin Mingcheng looked grim in the face of these questions, especially since Elder Ye, his equal, had sided with Sword Protecting Mountain!
He frowned, suppressing his anger: "Xue'er has already explained; she was only affected by the Demonic Qi! She has already lost her sword-holding hand, what more do you want?!"
"Instead of pursuing the wrongs of someone who has already been punished, let's discuss how to punish Fu Hongming for using private punishment."
Fu Hongming's Malevolent Qi was no less than Qin Mingcheng's; he took responsibility for his actions and wasn't afraid!
Today, as long as the person who hurt his Junior Sister was dealt with, what did it matter if he was punished?
The old fogies had fallen, but he, the Senior Brother, was still alive and would never let his Junior Martial Brothers and Sisters be bullied by outsiders!
Tian Ning grabbed his clothes in time: "Senior Brother, watch Master and Third Senior Sister here; I'll go."
"Junior Sister, this isn't your business…"
Tian Ning: "Otherwise, I'll check your sword practice results tonight."
"..."
Fu Hongming: "Silly girl, don't be silly!"
He had made a mistake, and he should bear the consequences himself.
Tian Ning winked, pulling out a rope from somewhere, jumped up, tied him up tightly, and handed him to Long Aotien: "Fourth Senior Brother, I'll be right back."
Long Aotien: "..."
He was about to cry because of Senior Brother earlier; could she not ruin the atmosphere like this?
Tian Ning stepped forward, stopping a certain distance from Wenren Xue. Before she even spoke, the men behind Wenren Xue started talking.
"Your Senior Brother cut off my Junior Sister's right hand. Today, if he doesn't cut off his own hands, this matter isn't over! Don't think that with Elder Ye protecting him, he can get away scot-free!"
"Sword Protecting Mountain disciples acted like Demonic Cultivators; according to the Sect Rules, their cultivation bases must be revoked, and they must be expelled from the Sect!"
Wenren Yang's expression was complex, "Sixth Sister, no matter what, you can't let people treat Fifth Sister like that…"
They say three women make a play; these men could make a whole drama.
Wenren Xue had many men besides Qin Mingcheng; they spoke one after another, making a lot of noise.
Tian Ning thought they would talk for a long time, so she took a chair out of her Dimensional Pouch.
"Continue," she took out a Storybook she was halfway through, with a bookmark. "Call me when you're done."
The men around Wenren Xue: "..."
The other Wanjian Sect disciples were speechless. Who wanted to listen to them scolding? The progress hadn't moved at all; were they sick?
This time, before Sect Leader Xiao could speak, a disciple couldn't take it anymore.
"Can you shut up? They said to let the people from Sword Protecting Mountain speak; why are you so noisy?"
"Everyone has things to do; you don't have to revolve around you!"
"If you want to scold, go scold somewhere else. A bunch of grown men, gossiping like women!"
"..."
Wenren Xue's men shut up.
No man could stand being called a gossiping woman.
Only after they quieted down did Tian Ning put away the Storybook.
She said concisely: "Since Wenren Xue says she was affected by Demonic Qi, let's check if she has any Demonic Qi on her."
Everyone was stunned.
Everyone thought she would speak for Fu Hongming, or even verbally abuse Wenren Xue for being shameless!
But she unexpectedly rationally suggested checking if Wenren Xue had Demonic Qi.
But her words were too reasonable to refute.
"No… the Demonic Qi has already dissipated…"
Wenren Xue shook her head, resisting in Zongzheng Lun's arms.
"Shut up! My Tian Ning Senior Sister is right!" Xiao Roushu was once again the first to stand out: "We almost forgot, you coward hid behind everyone the whole time, you didn't even touch a shadow of a Demonic Cultivator, how could you possibly be affected by Demonic Qi!"
"