With Yuqing Pavilion taking the lead and Zuo Qingshuang of Zhuji Pavilion offering her firm support, the other sects nodded one after another, expressing their willingness to act as witnesses.

After all, no matter how you spun it, Shi Meng was the one in the wrong.

Fang Shuwen’s only fault was that his methods were a bit ruthless... but his words were not without reason.

If his Martial Arts hadn’t been so superior today, wouldn’t Shi Meng have killed him?

And when that time came, where could a dead man go to find justice?

Although they wouldn’t have just stood by and watched Shi Meng do it—they certainly would have intervened—what if they hadn’t managed to stop him in time?

What if Shi Meng had actually succeeded in killing him?

The crux of the matter was this: Shi Meng had provoked a fight for no reason, escalated it to a lethal level, and ended up getting killed for it. He had truly brought it upon himself.

Of course, not everyone could accept this reasoning.

Shi Meng’s disciple, for one, did not.

He walked to Shi Meng’s corpse, his face pale. He couldn’t quite believe that his master was dead just like that.

Then he turned and glared at Fang Shuwen.

"You..."

But the words on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back down.

He gritted his teeth and said:

"Seniors, is my master’s life to be dismissed just like that?

"My Wentian Mansion came here to vanquish demons... Now, before the demons are even purged, he has been killed. And you... you side with this murderer! Where does that leave the honor of my Wentian Mansion!?"

"You’re his disciple?"

Fang Shuwen took a step forward.

The young man’s face instantly turned white, and the others hurriedly spoke up.

"Young Hero Fang, stay your hand!"

Fang Shuwen shook his head.

"I am not an unreasonable man like Shi Meng. Why would I kill someone without cause?

"Wouldn’t that be the way of the Demon Dao?

"I’m just asking... You, sir, are this Shi Meng’s disciple?"

"What if I am?"

The young man gritted his teeth and looked up, finding this Fang Shuwen utterly despicable.

’Those words just now branded his master as one of the Demon Dao all over again...’

Fang Shuwen nodded.

"Good. Take your master’s body back to Wentian Mansion and tell your Sect Leader the whole story from beginning to end.

"Then, deliver a message for me. Say that I will be visiting Wentian Mansion soon to demand an explanation from him."

"You... You’re that arrogant?"

The young man’s face turned ashen. Fang Shuwen had said this before, but back then, it could have been dismissed as empty posturing.

But now, specifically sending him back with the message was a direct slap in the face to Wentian Mansion.

He nodded fiercely.

"Fine! I’ll be waiting for you at Wentian Mansion!"

With that, he picked up Shi Meng’s body, called out to the other disciples from Wentian Mansion, and stormed off.

Fang Shuwen watched him go, his eyes narrowing slightly.

’According to my nature, now that an enemy has been made, I really should silence everyone from Wentian Mansion here and now to prevent future trouble.’

’But I suppose the experts from the other sects wouldn’t tolerate that.’

’I still want to continue acting as a guard and earn my system rewards.’

’I can’t end up an enemy to the entire world.’

As it stood, he was on the side of reason. The Jianghu was a place where reason mattered—though reason was ultimately backed by the strength of one’s fist. On the surface, at least, no fault could be found in his actions.

Even if he had been a bit ruthless, it was justifiable under the circumstances.

The other sects, aside from Zhuji Pavilion, sided with him not only because Shi Meng was notoriously arrogant and ill-tempered, nor just because of Zhuji Pavilion’s attitude toward Fang Shuwen. The main reason was that they could see his Martial Arts were unfathomably deep.

They didn’t want to rashly make an enemy of him over a reckless man like Shi Meng.

Furthermore, while the Seven Great Sects had always presented a united front, Shi Meng alone didn’t necessarily represent the entirety of Wentian Mansion.

It remained to be seen how Wentian Mansion would handle this matter.

In their eyes, there was still plenty of room for negotiation.

But if Fang Shuwen had actually slaughtered all of the people from Wentian Mansion today...

...that would have been being unforgiving even when in the right. His killing intent would be too strong, needlessly giving others a reason to condemn him. It would have been far from a wise choice.

Therefore, Fang Shuwen suppressed his killing intent and allowed the people from Wentian Mansion to leave.

Just as he was about to turn and go back, his gaze swept over and he suddenly saw a familiar figure.

Dressed in black, the man stood with a sword in his arms, leaning against a large tree, his gaze calmly watching the commotion.

’The Celestial Qilin Sword... Chen Qi!?’

’He’s here too?’

Chen Qi seemed to notice Fang Shuwen’s gaze and glanced in his direction.

Their eyes met. Chen Qi gave a slight nod, then turned and left.

Fang Shuwen chuckled softly and returned to the Mountain God Temple.

Although they were now one Shi Meng short, Fang Shuwen’s Martial Arts were far superior to his, so no one present felt it was a problem.

After briefly re-discussing the original plan, they prepared to act accordingly.

However, after Fang Shuwen, Lu Guiyan, and their party left the Mountain God Temple, Zuo Qingshuang had the leaders of the Seven Sects stay behind.

Earlier, Fang Shuwen had told her something.

While they were discussing their plan for the evening, someone had actually been hiding on the roof of the Mountain God Temple.

This was no trivial matter and couldn’t be announced publicly, which was why Fang Shuwen had asked her to lean in close.

After all, though his Inner Strength was profound, he didn’t know techniques like Secret Transmission.

The reason Fang Shuwen hadn’t dragged the person off the roof was that this development could potentially be used to their advantage in the current situation.

So, after the others left the Mountain God Temple, Zuo Qingshuang turned and kept the leaders of the Seven Sects behind to tell them about it.

If Fang Shuwen hadn’t just been in that conflict, the others might not have taken Zuo Qingshuang’s words seriously.

But now, they had no choice but to pay close attention.

The leaders immediately revised their strategy, now operating under the assumption that their enemy already knew their plan.

Fang Shuwen had set these events in motion, but he didn’t concern himself with the details.

And soon enough, Zuo Qingshuang found him.

The two of them huddled together and discussed a few things before Zuo Qingshuang took her leave, joining the others from the Seven Sects to prepare for the night’s operation. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Zhou Qingmei, however, remained by Fang Shuwen’s side.

「Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, night had quietly fallen.」

The Heroic Alliance, led by the three masters from Nianhua Zen Temple—Liaoyuan, Liao’an, and Liaoxing—and the leaders of the Seven Sects, had already set out for Qiuyue Nunnery under the cover of darkness.

The open ground around the Mountain God Temple emptied out in an instant.

Only Fang Shuwen, Lu Guiyan, and their group remained, heading into the Mountain God Temple to rest.

Fang Shuwen sat on the steps in front of the Mountain God Temple’s main gate, with Zhou Qingmei beside him, holding the Wind Shock Sword.

Neither of them spoke.

Amid the darkness, the faint sound of footsteps approached. Fang Shuwen looked up to see Chen Qi walking toward the Mountain God Temple, a sword in his arms.

When their eyes met, Chen Qi’s brow twitched slightly.

"You didn’t go?"

Fang Shuwen smiled.

"I’m waiting for someone here."

"Who are you waiting for?"

The moment the words left Chen Qi’s mouth, he seemed to sense something and whipped his head around.

A RUSTLING sound of footsteps came from the shadows, already drawing near.

A few strange-looking men and women, clearly up to no good, appeared in the firelight. They scanned their surroundings, their eyes filled with suspicion.

"Where did everyone go?"