Troublemaker’s Guide to Immortality

Aside from Zhao Wuji, only four of the peak lords were present today. Now, with Yun Jin pointing fingers and openly scolding them, their expressions varied.

Lin Ya wore a wide smile, even looking a bit proud.

Huo Lie and Long Yi were furious.

Fang Mingyue leaned against the back of her chair, a faint, unreadable smile at her lips.

"How dare you!" Long Yi shouted, his voice thundering. "A mere junior, daring to disrespect your elders! Lin Ya, is this the kind of disciple you've raised?"

Lin Ya calmly retracted his smile. "She's excellent. What, are you jealous?"

"Jealous? You—" Long Yi nearly exploded.

Yun Jin cut him off without hesitation. "Peak Lord Long, this is still a hearing. You're only here as a bystander. Please don't make yourself the center of attention."

Long Yi's eyes were bloodshot. "You—are you trying to lecture me?"

"I wouldn't dare," Yun Jin replied coolly. "I'm only asking for fairness, a clear and just verdict. I have one question. If Ye Danxia can publicly accuse me, why can't I accuse her? Or is it because she's the disciple of the Sect Master, and the rest of us are just meant to be trampled on? If Sect Master Zhao, or you peak lords, or Hall Master Yue would say, 'Yes, that's how it is. If you're not from the Sect Master's line, you deserve to be wronged,' then I'll walk away right now and drop this matter entirely."

Long Yi's face twitched.

Because it was true.

But who would dare admit that?

Even if they were Zhao Wuji's lackeys, they still needed to save face.

"If that's not the case," Yun Jin continued calmly, "then I demand a retrial. I will not rest until the truth is made clear."

Silence blanketed the hall.

No one spoke.

Ye Danxia was still kneeling, her body trembling. An unfamiliar terror began to crawl up her spine.

"Retrial!" someone suddenly shouted from the crowd. It was Yue Zhao.

Then came Si Wannian.

Then Yu Songnian, who hadn't spoken in years, shouted from some corner of the hall.

Then silence returned again.

Zhao Wuji sneered.

So what if Yun Jin stirred up a little rebellion?

So what if Tianjian Peak's disciples stirred things up?

This was still his domain. The Tianxing Sect belonged to him. Who would really dare oppose him?

Just as he was about to speak—

"Retrial!" came another voice from a corner.

Yun Jin looked over. It was a senior brother she didn't recognize.

Then another shout came.

"Retrial!"

A female disciple this time.

And like a fuse had been lit, voices joined one after another. The hall became a crashing tide of calls for a retrial, growing louder with each passing moment.

Yun Jin smiled, a glint of certainty in her eyes. She hadn't needed to push things this far over Ye Danxia's lies. But she wanted every person in the Tianxing Sect to see for themselves what kind of Sect Master Zhao Wuji truly was.

They might not be able to overthrow him now. But the seeds she sowed today would grow into towering trees. One day, they would remake this sect.

She remembered that night in her past life. The night the Demon Sovereign's army stormed the gates. Many disciples of the Tianxing Sect fought to the death. They died without regret, because they believed they were protecting their home from demons. Because demons deserved to be slain.

But they never knew that the siege of the Tianxing Sect had only ever been a romantic plot device for the male and female leads. That their deaths were just the tragic backdrop for someone else's love story.

Zhao Wuji had used that moment to befriend the male lead and profit from the aftermath. Only the disciples were the real victims. They became sacrifices for someone else's "great love." And according to the plot, the Demon Sovereign male lead was about to make his debut.

She had to act before that happened. She had to change something in the sect. These disciples might be ordinary, but that didn't mean they deserved to die. In this moment, the growing chant for a retrial told Yun Jin she was right.

All it had taken was a spark.

Now the fire would rage, devouring everything.

And this wasn't her doing alone. She had only brought down a few favored disciples of the Sect Master. But that was enough to show others that Zhao Wuji's authority wasn't absolute.

So today, they were willing to stand with her and make a small change.

That alone was enough.

Zhao Wuji's face turned dark as he looked over the chaos in the hall.

Ye Danxia, still kneeling, was now trembling from head to toe, not daring to speak a word.

"Hall Master Yue," Yun Jin called out with a bright smile. She didn't look at Zhao Wuji. Her eyes were fixed on Yue Lin. "What do you say?"

The Hall of Enforcement was meant to represent justice and fairness within the sect.

Today, that mask would either be ripped away, or they would show that justice still existed here.

Yue Lin's lips trembled.

Zhao Wuji remained silent.

But how could Yue Lin respond?

He didn't dare.

"I also believe," a calm voice suddenly rang out, "that it was rash to judge based on one side of the story. If there's doubt, there should be a retrial."

The voice was familiar.

Everyone instinctively made way.

Elder Ming stepped out from the library pavilion he hadn't left in decades. Step by step, he walked into the hall. Yun Jin was stunned. Elder Ming hadn't been part of her plan. In the original story, this elder never left the library even once.

"Hall Master Yue, do you agree?" Elder Ming walked slowly toward the center. Like Yun Jin, he ignored Zhao Wuji and looked only at Yue Lin.

Yue Lin's lips trembled even harder.

Even Elder Ming had appeared...

He wanted to glance at Zhao Wuji, but didn't dare. To look now would make it too obvious.

But without Zhao Wuji's cue, how could he dare speak?

"Elder Ming, why are you—" Yun Jin began.

But another voice cut in.

"What's the matter? Is that question so hard to answer?"

The crowd parted once more.

Yun Jin turned her head.

Ling Fei walked in with a man she didn't recognize.

The man was dressed in white, with two horns curling from his head.

It was the sect's guardian spirit beast—a high-grade White Feather Dragon at the peak of Unity stage. For such a proud spirit beast to appear now, he had to be here on Ling Fei's behalf.

Ling Fei winked at Yun Jin before strolling in with the White Feather Dragon.

"I may no longer be part of Tianxing Sect," said Elder Jian as he stepped into the hall with a serene smile, "but I've always had high hopes for this Yun Jin. So I'd like to see the truth of what happened."

Two peak-stage Unity cultivators.

One reclusive elder whose power remained unknown.

Without realizing it, Yun Jin had gathered a powerful force around her.

Lin Ya shrank back slightly.

Emmm...

It really made him seem like a pretty useless master right now.

Zhao Wuji could no longer hide the fury on his face.

Elder Ming. Ling Fei. Elder Jian. Every one of them had always stayed out of sect politics.

"Now they meddle for Yun Jin?!"

"Elder Ming!" Zhao Wuji snapped. "You value Yun Jin for her supposed composure and maturity. But do you see any maturity in her now? She's only been putting on a show for you this whole time! You saw how arrogant and domineering she was earlier. Are you still willing to support her?"

That part, at least, was true.

Yun Jin said nothing.

Elder Ming glanced at Yun Jin and chuckled. "You say she's arrogant and pushy. But are her demands unreasonable?"

Yue Zhao, emboldened, called out, "Junior Sister is only asking for a fair retrial. Nothing more."

Elder Ming nodded and said, "I've spent my whole life avoiding conflict. That's how I ended up guarding the library all these years. But I see nothing wrong in how Yun Jin acts. In an age of strife, how can one not fight back?"

Zhao Wuji's lips trembled slightly.

Elder Ming!

This wasn't what you said before!

How could you be this biased?