20: Chapter 20 Calming the Storm

Zhang Sanfeng's voice slowly resonated across the silent plaza, sounding like a clap of thunder in everyone's ears.

Cheng Kun's conspiracies, one by one, were laid out clearly and accurately by Zhang Sanfeng.

The crowd in the plaza listened in stunned silence, their faces filled with disbelief.

They had always believed that Golden-Haired Lion King Xie Xun was a born Devil Head, stained with blood and deserving of death.

But no one expected that such a massive conspiracy was hidden behind all of this.

Golden-Haired Lion King Xie Xun was merely a blade in Cheng Kun's hands, a pawn used for revenge and to stir up infighting within the Jianghu!

And they, the so-called Righteous Path Schools, had been kept in the dark by Cheng Kun for so many years, used as his tools!

"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"

Abbot Kongwen struggled to stand up from the ground, his face pale as he shouted out.

"Disciple Yuan Zhen is a high monk of our Shaolin Sect; how could he possibly do such a thing? Grandmaster Zhang, stop slandering people with baseless accusations!"

"Slander?" Zhang Sanfeng smiled faintly and gestured with his chin towards Zhang Songxi nearby.

Zhang Songxi immediately stepped forward and threw a stack of letters, confessions, and testimonies from the Diamond Sect onto the ground in front of Abbot Kongwen.

"Abbot Kongwen, see for yourself! These are the handwritten letters of collusion between Cheng Kun and the Ruyang Princes Mansion, and these are the confessions of A'er and A'san of the Diamond Sect."

"It is written clearly above that Cheng Kun conspired with them to incite infighting in the Central Plains Martial Arts World and serve the Yuan Dynasty court!"

"And this!" Fifth Brother Zhang Cuishan also stepped forward and took out the letter of repentance and testimony written by Golden-Haired Lion King Xie Xun himself.

"This was written by Golden-Haired Lion King Xie Xun himself, detailing how Cheng Kun murdered his entire family, how he plotted to frame him, and how he utilized Great Master Kongjian. Everything is written clearly!"

"Abbot Kongwen, see for yourself exactly what kind of people your Shaolin Sect Disciples are!"

Abbot Kongwen picked up the letters and confessions with trembling hands, flipping through them page by page.

As he read the contents, his face grew paler and paler, and cold sweat rolled down his cheeks.

He recognized the handwriting on the letters; it was indeed Yuan Zhen's.

The evidence was irrefutable; he had no choice but to believe it.

"Amitabha... A sin, truly a sin..."

After reading all the evidence, Abbot Kongwen's legs gave out. He pressed his palms together, his face full of shame.

He had never expected that Disciple Yuan Zhen, whom he had always trusted, was such a treacherous villain harboring malicious intent.

The Shaolin Sect had been used by him as a tool for revenge, nearly causing a catastrophe.

The members of the other Schools in the plaza also gathered around one after another. After reading all the evidence, an uproar broke out instantly.

"My god! So we were all deceived by Cheng Kun!"

"No wonder the Jianghu has not been peaceful these years, and the Six Major Sects and the Ming Cult have been fighting to the death. It turns out this traitor was behind it all!"

"He actually defected to the Yuan Dynasty court? This is simply betraying one's country for glory! A disgrace to the Martial Forest!"

"We almost fell into his trap and helped the Tatars!"

The crowd discussed heatedly, their faces full of anger and shame.

They were as fierce as they were embarrassed now.

Their so-called morality was nothing more than a pawn in someone else's hands, and they had almost become accomplices in the Yuan Dynasty court's destruction of the Central Plains Martial Arts World.

Abbess Miejue also finished reading the evidence; her face turned pale, and the hand holding the heavenly sword trembled continuously.

She had not expected that she had been led by the nose by a traitor who defected to the Yuan Dynasty, and that she had even been willing to make an enemy of the Wudang Sect for this traitor.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.

She only snorted heavily, turned her head away, her face full of embarrassment.

Zhang Sanfeng understood the crowd's reaction.

He slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping across the entire plaza, and spoke again, his voice carrying across the entire square.

"Everyone, the truth of today's events has been revealed."

"Golden-Haired Lion King Xie Xun is at fault, and his fault lies in the indiscriminate killing of innocents. He will naturally pay the price for his actions."

"But the true culprit is Cheng Kun, and the Yuan Dynasty court that wants to destroy the Central Plains Martial Arts World."

"Today, you have been talking about the distinction between righteousness and evil, wanting to exterminate the Ming Cult and deal with the Devil Head. But I want to ask, what is righteousness? What is evil?"

Zhang Sanfeng's gaze fell into the crowd.

"In my opinion, so-called righteousness and evil do not lie in the name of a sect, nor in one's background, but in one's actions and one's original heart!"

"Yin Tianzheng of the Heavenly Eagle Cult, although a branch of the Ming Cult, has lived his life with integrity."

"He has never done anything to betray his country for glory, never oppressed ordinary people, and even secretly obstructed the harsh policies of the Yuan Dynasty court many times to help the poor."

"Do you call such a person a demon of the Ming Cult?"

"What about those who hold the banner of the Righteous Path while secretly colluding with the court, harming their peers, inciting infighting, and betraying their country for glory, like Yuan Zhen—are they what you call the Righteous Path?"

These words hit everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

The plaza was silent; everyone lowered their heads, speechless.

Zhang Sanfeng walked slowly down from the main seat and came before Yin Tianzheng, who was standing in the ranks of the Wudang Sect Disciples.

"Today, I, Zhang Sanfeng, will state this clearly here."

"Yin Tianzheng's daughter, Yin Susu, is the wife of my fifth Disciple, Fifth Brother Zhang Cuishan, and is my Disciple's wife. The Heavenly Eagle Cult and our Wudang Sect are already one family."

As his voice fell, Pure Yang Qi swept across the entire plaza, the bronze bell on the square rang without wind, and a majestic pressure made everyone's hearts shake.

No one dared to respond, and even fewer dared to object.

Not to mention Zhang Sanfeng's unfathomable Great Grandmaster strength, his words alone occupied the moral high ground.

Even the Shaolin Sect had been deceived by Cheng Kun, nearly causing a great mistake; what qualifications did they have to accuse the Heavenly Eagle Cult of being a demon sect?

Furthermore, the Heavenly Eagle Cult was bound to the Wudang Sect; offending the Heavenly Eagle Cult meant offending the Wudang Sect and offending this Great Grandmaster.

In the entire Jianghu, who would dare?

Abbot Kongwen stood up, bowed deeply to Zhang Sanfeng and Yin Tianzheng, his face full of shame.

"Grandmaster Zhang, it was this old monk who was muddled, deceived by a villain, and nearly caused a catastrophe. For today's events, I offer my apologies to the Wudang Sect and to Sect Leader Yin."

After speaking, he gave a low shout to the Shaolin Sect Disciples behind him: "Let's go! Return to the Shaolin Sect, thoroughly investigate the matter of Yuan Zhen, and give the entire Jianghu an explanation!"

The Shaolin Sect Disciples put away their weapons one after another and followed Abbot Kongwen, slinking away from Wudang Mountain.

Once the Shaolin Sect left, the other Schools had even less confidence to stay.

Abbess Miejue glanced at Zhang Sanfeng, took the Emei Sect Disciples, and turned to leave Wudang Mountain.

Sect Leader He Taichong, the Five Elders of the Kongtong Sect, Xian Yutong, and others all stepped forward, apologizing to Zhang Sanfeng repeatedly, and took their Disciples to slink down the mountain.

In less than an hour, the plaza, which had been packed with people, was completely cleared.

A disturbance that could have destroyed the reputation of the Wudang Sect was settled just like that.

After the people from the major sects had all left, the Wudang Sect members, the Heavenly Eagle Cult members, and all the Disciples of the Wudang Sect erupted into earth-shattering cheers.

"Master is mighty! Long live the Wudang Sect!"

The cheers echoed throughout Wudang Mountain, lasting for a long time.

Just then, in Zhang Sanfeng's mind, the System's cold, mechanical voice rang out:

[Detected that the host has completed the core side mission: Settle the Centenary Birthday Banquet Disturbance. Mission completion rate: 100%, rating: Perfect!]

[Mission rewards issued: The host has gained a massive amount of World Origin feedback, and the Realm has broken through to the Middle Stage of the Great Grandmaster Realm! Unlocked Perfection-level insight into the Wudang Tai Chi Great Dao!]

[Reward: The Fusion level with the Yitian World has increased by 15%, current total Fusion level is 70%! The concentration of Spiritual Qi in the world has surged, officially breaking through the conventional upper limit of a low-martial world!]

A majestic stream of World Origin instantly poured into Zhang Sanfeng's body.

His Dantian and Qi Sea expanded once again, and the Pure Yang Qi transformed from a semi-solid state into pure Pure Yang Dao Rhyme.

His aura surged once again, steadily stepping into the Middle Stage of the Great Grandmaster Realm!

At the same time, he clearly perceived that the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi of the entire Yitian World was surging.

The rules of the entire world were undergoing earth-shattering changes.

Zhang Sanfeng felt the surging cultivation within his body, and a smile curled the corners of his mouth.

He looked up towards the west, in the direction of the Bright Peak of the Kunlun Mountains, a flash of light in his eyes.