Yunxiao Continent, the Tianling Sect in the Eastern Region.
Inside the cave mansion of the tenth inner direct disciple.
A handsome young man with sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes sat cross-legged on a futon, his eyes closed in cultivation.
A moment later, a peculiar wave of energy rose from within the young man. As the aura continued to climb, a terrifying oppressive force filled the entire cave mansion.
"Break for me!"
Suddenly, the young man let out a shout, and the energy within his body surged dramatically, as if stepping into an entirely different realm.
"Phew! Finally broke through!"
A smile appeared on the young man's face, accompanied by an unmistakable aura of confidence.
"After six years of cultivating the Dao, I have finally shed my mortal shell and stepped into Foundation Establishment."
The young man was named Lu Feng, and he was not from this world, but a transmigrator from Earth.
Having crossed over at birth, his parents were mere mortals, and for the first fourteen years, he lived the life of a peasant boy. Later, the Tianling Sect went out into the mortal world to recruit disciples and discovered him.
After testing by the Tianling Sect, it was discovered that he possessed a supreme Wood Spiritual Root, prompting the sect to directly promote him to a direct disciple.
There were only ten direct disciple positions in the Tianling Sect, and he happened to occupy the very last one.
To give him a sense of belonging, the sect's Third Elder, Luo Qing, took him in as a personal disciple.
After entering the sect, Lu Feng learned that the Tianling Sect was one of the top ten righteous sects in the Eastern Region, and his master, Luo Qing, was a Golden Core cultivator whose cultivation had reached the peak of the Golden Core Stage, just a step away from the Nascent Soul Realm.
In the six years since joining the sect, Lu Feng had cultivated all the way from a mortal to Qi Condensation Great Completion, a speed that surpassed every disciple in the entire sect.
During these six years, his senior brothers, junior brothers, and elders within the sect had treated him quite well. He remained humble and courteous to others, never using his status as a direct disciple to bully people.
Because of this, his master Luo Qing valued him greatly, and even specially selected a proud daughter of heaven from within the sect to be his cultivation companion, formalizing their engagement.
Now that Lu Feng had stepped into Foundation Establishment, it was time to share this news with his master.
With this thought, Lu Feng rose and left the cave mansion, preparing to head for his master's Fengluan Peak.
Just as he stepped out of the cave mansion, he suddenly saw four disciples from the Law Enforcement Hall waiting outside for him.
Seeing him emerge, the four cupped their fists and said, "Senior Brother Lu, by order of the Law Enforcement Hall Master, we have come specifically to invite you to the Law Enforcement Hall for a chat."
Lu Feng furrowed his brow slightly. The four men before him were all at the Qi Condensation Great Completion realm; although their attitudes were respectful, there was not a trace of actual respect in their eyes.
Moreover, these four had clearly been waiting here for a long time. Suddenly inviting him to the Law Enforcement Hall could certainly not be anything good.
Thus, Lu Feng said indifferently, "I wonder what business Hall Master Li has in inviting me to the Law Enforcement Hall?"
The Hall Master Li he referred to was naturally the head of the Law Enforcement Hall, Li Mu!
The lead Law Enforcement Hall disciple replied, "We are merely following orders, and are unaware of the reasons. We ask Senior Brother Lu to come with us."
Lu Feng pondered briefly, then nodded and said, "Very well, then I must trouble Junior Brother to lead the way."
As the words fell, the lead Law Enforcement Hall disciple waved his hand, and a ten-meter-long flying boat materialized.
"Senior Brother Lu, please!"
Boarding the flying boat, the five of them flew all the way toward the Law Enforcement Hall.
Fellow sect members along the road who saw them began to whisper among themselves.
Seeing Lu Feng being taken away by Law Enforcement Hall disciples, all of them wore looks of utter disbelief.
One must know that the status of a direct disciple was comparable to an outer sect elder; even if they violated sect rules, the sect master himself would handle it personally. This was the first time a direct disciple had ever been seized by the Law Enforcement Hall.
Soon, Lu Feng arrived at the main hall of the Law Enforcement Hall, only to find that besides Hall Master Li, there were also three elders from the inner sect.
These sect heavyweights seemed to be waiting specifically for him.
Lu Feng walked into the main hall and cupped his fists toward the four of them, saying, "Disciple Lu Feng pays his respects to Hall Master Li and all the elders."
Hall Master Li said nothing, while the other three elders merely gave faint hums of acknowledgment.
Seeing this, Lu Feng knew that being summoned to the Law Enforcement Hall this time was likely no small matter.
He therefore cupped his fists toward Hall Master Li again and asked, "I wonder what important business Hall Master Li has in summoning this disciple?"
Hall Master Li looked at Lu Feng with a profound gaze and spoke, "Lu Feng, do you know your crime?"
Lu Feng frowned, a look of confusion appearing in his eyes. "What does Hall Master Li mean by this?"
"Heh, still playing the fool in front of us. It seems you don't intend to confess until your crimes are laid out before you. Bring in the witness!" Hall Master Li sneered.
With that, a disciple walked in. The newcomer was Sun Hao, an inner sect disciple from Fengluan Peak.
This person was not only a fellow disciple from the same sect, but they also shared the same master, making them true martial brothers.
"Disciple pays respects to Hall Master Li and all elders!" Sun Hao bowed respectfully.
"Very well. You accused the direct disciple Lu Feng of harming a fellow sect member. Now Lu Feng stands before you, you may speak," Hall Master Li nodded and said.
"Yes!" Sun Hao turned to face Lu Feng and said with a furious expression, "Two months ago, this disciple accidentally passed by the back mountain of Tianyun Peak and discovered Lu Feng robbing an outer sect disciple. When that outer sect disciple refused, he met a brutal end at Lu Feng's hands. Lu Feng not only robbed this junior brother of his storage bag, but also cruelly murdered him and destroyed the corpse to eliminate all traces. As Lu Feng's senior brother, I truly never imagined he could be so cruel—utterly vicious and treating sect rules as nothing."
Upon hearing this, Hall Master Li, seated at the primary desk, looked at Lu Feng and said, "Lu Feng, what else do you have to say?"
Lu Feng furrowed his brow as he looked at Sun Hao, completely baffled.
This matter was clearly a frame-up by Sun Hao, yet Sun Hao usually had a quite amicable relationship with him.
Why would he frame him out of nowhere?
Furthermore, both of them were disciples of Luo Qing; they ought to help and support one another.
This left Lu Feng unable to make sense of it for a moment.
Lu Feng sighed and said, "Hall Master Li, to condemn me based merely on Sun Hao's unilateral words would surely violate sect rules, wouldn't it?"
"Hmph, I knew you wouldn't give up. Then take a look at what this is!" As Hall Master Li spoke, a piece of white jade materialized in his hand.
Lu Feng naturally knew this piece of jade; it was called a projection stone, specifically used to record events that had transpired.
The next moment, the projection stone projected an image, and Lu Feng looked closely, discovering that it was precisely the process of himself killing that outer sect disciple.
The Lu Feng in the image was completely indistinguishable from him, even down to his arts and aura, which were identical.
Seeing this, Lu Feng finally understood.
No wonder Hall Master Li dared to treat him this way—he had conclusive evidence.
Once the projection stone finished playing, Hall Master Li shouted sternly, "Lu Feng, what else do you have to say for yourself? Now both human and physical evidence are present; even if you talk until your tongue falls out, you cannot escape this guilt."
Lu Feng remained silent, falling into deep thought instead.
In the six years since joining the sect, he had spent most of his time in closed-door cultivation. His personality was humble and low-key; he had neither offended fellow disciples nor gotten into disputes with others.
Why, then, would such a thing happen today?
After turning it over in his mind, Lu Feng suddenly realized.
It seemed someone had set their sights on his position as a direct disciple, and such a frame-up was intended to drag him down.
Not only was a direct disciple's status special, but their treatment was equal to that of an elder, and upon achieving success in their cultivation later on, they could even contend for the position of sect master.
The Tianling Sect had only ten direct disciples in total, and the other nine all possessed deep backgrounds; only he was entirely unsupported, with his sole reliance being Master Luo Qing.
Lu Feng paused and said, "Since matters have reached this point, I request that Hall Master Li handle this case in accordance with sect rules."
"Very well! Since you are a direct disciple, the sect master and the nine great elders must indeed be invited to try this case together, so that you may accept your fate completely." Hall Master Li wore a self-assured expression.