With these words spoken, the hall erupted into chaos, and even the members of the Shu Shan Sect changed color, though their gazes were not fixed on Yue Pan, but rather shot sharp, vicious stares at the speaker.

Any ordinary person, facing the glare of the Shu Shan disciples, would have immediately felt their limbs weaken and collapsed to the floor, but this man stood tall, chest out, and declared loudly, "Having climbed Mount Shu today, I have no intention of descending!"

Ye Wen looked toward the man. He appeared to be in his early twenties, with a square face and large ears. Though not handsome, he possessed an air of uprightness that immediately inspired goodwill upon first sight.

He wore a set of rough, patched cloth short garments, suggesting the young man was not wealthy, yet his clothes were clean and neatly kept—either his home boasted a virtuous mother and wife, or he himself was fastidious.

In short, he was the sort of person one instantly wished to draw close to. After observing him, Ye Wen inwardly praised him as a promising young talent: "May I ask what relation you have to the woman who was wronged?"

The young man held his head high: "None whatsoever!"

"Oh?" Ye Wen had initially assumed this man was close to the woman, perhaps even a neighbor, and was surprised by the answer.

"This junior happened to be passing through that village at the right time! Having heard of the matter, and as I was planning to visit Shu Shan anyway, I came to seek clarity!"

Ye Wen frowned in confusion. "You intended to come to Shu Shan all along? And for what purpose?"

The young man raised his chin: "I heard that the Shu Shan Sect is the foremost sect in the world, renowned for its chivalrous deeds, and so I held them in great admiration, intending to seek discipleship! But now..."

He left the rest unsaid, yet everyone in the hall understood his meaning: hearing of this incident had evidently soured his desire to join the Shu Shan ranks.

Ye Wen, though slightly vexed by the young man's declaration, did not show it, merely emitting a sound of acknowledgment before turning to Yue Pan: "Is what he says the truth?"

Yue Pan, who had been kneeling there with a face ashen before, now glowered with rage since the man had spoken up. He roared, "Absolutely not true!"

Ye Wen narrowed his eyes, dropping the inquiry, and turned to Zhou Zhiruo: "This boy grew up under your watch. Do you truly know nothing of his daily conduct?"

Zhou Zhiruo kept her head lowered: "This disciple has been neglectful in her supervision..."

Ye Wen knew that Zhou Zhiruo was constantly occupied with managing the sect, and moreover, she wasn't the type to notice such details; the question was likely futile.

Unexpectedly, Nangong Huang suddenly stepped forward: "Martial Uncle, this junior has something to say!"

"Speak freely..."

Nangong Huang said, "Much of what those people just claimed contains fabrications!"

Ye Wen paused, then turned to question Nangong Huang: "Have you investigated?"

"No, but many of those claims are inconsistent with the surrounding environment!"

At his statement, the impassioned uproar from the martial world suddenly faltered. However, someone still managed to shout, "The Shu Shan Sect is protecting its own again!"

Unfortunately for the heckler, before the words were fully out, he felt a sudden lightness engulf him, followed by him slamming onto the main hall floor. Looking up, he saw Ye Wen staring down at him coldly.

"Our Shu Shan Sect neither has nor will shield anyone. If a member of our sect is at fault, we will naturally provide you with an explanation! But if someone deliberately spreads malicious slander... the Shu Shan Sect is not to be bullied lightly!"

With a snort of anger, dust that had settled on the roof of the hall vibrated loose, raining down lightly. Everyone felt a few particles settle on them, but no one dared to brush the dust away, instead watching Ye Wen with looks of sheer terror.

Following this, Nangong Huang spoke eloquently. In recent years, due to his injuries, he often felt his voice lacked vigor and staying power, usually growing breathless after only a few sentences. It had been a long time since he had spoken so much in one go as he did today.

Nangong Huang proceeded to confront the accusers one by one, quickly silencing the majority of them within a few exchanges. Ye Wen mused inwardly, "I didn't realize this boy had a talent for law," while using the Purple Qi Celestial Net to drag them all out of the crowd, pinning them in the center of the hall to deal with later.

After about an hour, Nangong Huang had questioned everyone. Finally, he turned back to Ye Wen and declared, "These people!" pointing to the dozen or so kneeling in the center of the hall: "Everything they said was false! As for the rest, I am uncertain..."

Ye Wen observed that these pinned individuals were the ones who had accused Yue Pan of bullying the weak and harassing village girls, and a few who claimed their brothers had been severely injured by Yue Pan. It turned out they were all there specifically to cause trouble.

Seeing this, Yue Hai let out a slight breath of relief, but then noticed Ye Wen turning his attention to a few others—people who had also accused his son of wrongdoing. Under Nangong Huang's questioning, these claims were found to be well-supported, even citing witnesses, and showed no obvious flaws in the testimony, leading them to suspect these might indeed be true accounts.

As for the young man who had so righteously stepped forward to defend Nangong Huang's reputation, Nangong Huang could not elicit any contradictions, only stating that a visit to that village would be necessary to confirm the truth.

Ye Wen asked, "How far is that village?"

Nangong Huang replied, "It's not far, about fifty li southwest down the mountain."

Ye Wen nodded, asked a few more questions, and then instructed the crowd: "Guard the main hall. No one leaves before I return!" With that, everyone saw a flash of purple light streak past, and the elder Ye vanished without a trace.

"God... a deity!"

The crowd stood stunned. After a moment, they grasped what had happened, turning to look toward the entrance of the hall. A faint trace of purple tail could still be seen in the sky. Seeing it, everyone gasped in terror.

"Has Elder Ye truly become an immortal?"

"No wonder he could return; this means Elder Ye is already among the immortals!"

Compared to the general onlookers, the group guarded fiercely by countless Shu Shan disciples—their glares vicious, their weapons gleaming coldly—were deathly pale, feeling profoundly unlucky to have arrived just when the ancestor chose to return.

Each person harboring their own thoughts, they conversed in the hall about the day's events.

First, the Wang family of Dongzhou invited fellow martial artists to Shu Shan to demand justice. Then, Elder Ye Wen, who had supposedly shattered the void and departed fifty years ago, suddenly reappeared. Next, numerous martial figures accused Yue Pan of heinous crimes, yet Nangong Huang’s questioning revealed that many accusations were deliberate slander.

Most astonishingly, just moments ago, they had witnessed Elder Ye transform into a streak of sword light and shoot into the clouds—was this all a dream?

As the crowd murmured, a streak of sword light descended from the sky. Before they could fully register it, two figures suddenly appeared in the hall. One was Ye Wen, who had just left, and the other was a small old man in plain clothes, his face ashen, trembling where he stood—evidently severely frightened.

It was only when Ye Wen told him, "Do not be afraid; I only have a few questions for you!" that the old man stammered, "Immortal Lord, what do you wish to ask?"

Ye Wen nodded but addressed the crowd instead: "Does anyone here recognize this man?"

Fortunately, most people in the hall were local martial artists, and some recognized the elder: "I know him! He is the village chief of Deng Village in the southwest!"

Deng Village was the very place the young man had mentioned, the village of the girl accused of being killed by Yue Pan. Upon hearing this old man was the village chief, everyone immediately understood the situation—it was time for a direct confrontation!

Indeed, Nangong Huang soon approached and questioned the chief. The crowd listened clearly.

The village of Deng did have a young woman who hanged herself, but it was not because of Yue Pan. That woman had an early arrangement for a lifelong commitment with a young man from the same village, but he later married the daughter of a wealthy family, securing an official post, and summarily abandoned the girl.

As a result, the woman became distraught and hanged herself at home. The entire affair had absolutely nothing to do with Yue Pan. As for Yue Pan, the village chief recognized the young man; he had caused quite a stir in their village recently, turning the place upside down, and destroying the crops of several families.

The whole matter was clear: the young man who presented such an upright appearance was no saint either, wasting such fine looks. Ye Wen waved his hand, and the young man, who had tried to slip away during the confusion, suddenly found his legs give out, forcing him to kneel. He then felt as if a massive stone was pressing down on him, rendering him immobile.

The subsequent events became much simpler. With so many examples laid bare, those who still dared to accuse must have possessed genuine evidence and clear consciences. Ye Wen silently tallied the charges, realizing Yue Pan had indeed committed many misdeeds. While much of the current testimony was baseless slander, if he hadn't been unclean himself, the slander wouldn't have stuck to him so readily.

The discussion eventually circled back to the Wang family's grievance. Ye Wen’s expression at this point was considerably better than before, suggesting he had reached a decision.

At this point, the onlookers assumed that although Yue Pan had caused much trouble, he would likely receive only a disciplinary punishment, perhaps being stripped of his former arrogance.

However, remembering that Yue Pan was the only heir of Yue Ning, the sole remaining branch of the Yue family, they guessed that severe punishment was unlikely.

To everyone's surprise, Ye Wen addressed Wang Pengzu: "The matter concerning your nephew is Yue Pan's fault. Today, I, Ye, will certainly give your Wang family satisfaction!"

Before anyone could process the words, Ye Wen flicked his finger. A small hole instantly appeared between the eyebrows of the kneeling Yue Pan, and his body immediately pitched backward, dead.

The crowd froze, utterly unprepared for the speed and strangeness of the turn of events. After the preceding interrogation, they thought Shu Shan would not punish Yue Pan severely. Yet, once Elder Ye had clarified the situation, he dispatched Yue Pan with a casual motion, catching everyone off guard with the swiftness.

Yue Hai was also dumbstruck, but then he heard Ye Wen declare, "Oppressing fellow disciples, bullying the weak, abusing authority, tarnishing the sect's reputation, and tarnishing the reputation of our ancestors—why keep such a wicked son alive?"

Only then did everyone understand that Elder Ye had intended to kill Yue Pan all along. Even if the accusation regarding the girl's purity had been false, he could not tolerate such a scourge as Yue Pan.

Ye Wen continued, "Yue Pan took the life of one member of the Wang family; now he has repaid that with his own life. Do you all deem this resolution appropriate?"

Wang Pengzu snapped out of his daze, too emotional to speak coherently. He quickly rose and bowed deeply to Ye Wen: "Elder Ye demonstrates great righteousness!"

He had come today not expecting justice, merely unable to swallow the insult. To run into Elder Ye's return and have him administer such fairness filled him with profound gratitude, and he loudly praised the impartiality of the Shu Shan Sect's handling of affairs.

Ye Wen nodded, offering no reply until Wang Pengzu finished speaking. Then he turned to the remaining crowd: "The affairs of my Shu Shan Sect are concluded. Now, let us address yours!"

Only then did the others realize the matter was far from over; a group still remained who had tried to slander and ruin the Shu Shan Sect's name. Everyone assumed the sect would thoroughly chastise these individuals and expel them down the mountain, but Ye Wen merely waved his hand, not even bothering to ask who instigated them: "Kill them all!"

"Ah?"

This exclamation came not just from the martial artists, but even the Shu Shan disciples looked toward their ancestral master.

"Should such despicable wretches remain alive? Kill them all! Such acts that ruin a person's reputation are far worse than direct murder. Killing ends a life; ruining a reputation ensures infamy for generations!"

Hearing this logic, many in the martial world conceded, "That is indeed the principle!" and felt little pity for the group of slanderers, as reputation was highly valued in this world. Nevertheless, watching these people being slaughtered by Shu Shan disciples as easily as chickens was something many struggled to accept, especially since the disciples themselves seemed reluctant to carry out the deed.

"Zhiruo!"

Seeing the disciples hesitate, Ye Wen finally assigned the task to Zhou Zhiruo. In a flash, a white silhouette darted into the fray. A flurry of sword lights ensued, and when the figure reappeared and the light faded, all the conspirators who had spread lies lay dead on the ground.

"Jue Sword!"

The knowledgeable immediately recognized the technique as one of Zhou Zhiruo's two famous sword styles, Jue Sword. While Mie Sword possessed greater killing intent, the mastery and finesse belonged to Jue Sword. Zhou Zhiruo had taken over a dozen lives in the blink of an eye without allowing any blood to splash, a feat only achievable with Jue Sword.

Zhou Zhiruo resheathed her sword and returned to her original spot, standing silently, not glancing around, as if she hadn't just killed a dozen people. The onlookers shivered in unison, finally realizing: "We always heard that the preceding masters of the Shu Shan Sect were ruthless killers; today we have witnessed it..."

Ye Wen saw that this refuse had been cleared away and waved his hand: "Clean this up!"

Then, bowing slightly to the assembled martial artists, he said, "Our sect has private matters to settle. It is inconvenient to entertain you today; please depart!"

This was clearly a polite dismissal. The crowd understood that with Ye Wen’s return and such a dramatic display, internal disturbances were inevitable in Shu Shan, and they ought not to linger.

Furthermore, they had come merely to watch the spectacle, and they had seen more than enough to provide ample material for gossip. Moreover, Elder Ye had shown no leniency toward the grandson of his eldest disciple, dispensing impartial justice by exacting a life for a life. News of this would surely stir the martial world anew.

Thus, everyone expressed their satisfaction in bidding farewell to the Shu Shan Sect and departed in a throng, chattering about the day's events as they descended the mountain.

As soon as they left, Ye Wen commanded the disciples to seal the mountain gate. Then, only the most important individuals remained in the main hall; all other Shu Shan disciples were barred, and the area around the hall was guarded densely in layers.

Yue Hai was still kneeling there, and with him were his wife—Yue Pan’s mother—who wept inconsolably but dared not utter a single complaint. After all, the one who took her son’s life was a figure of her grandfather’s generation; demanding her son’s life, or even her own, was entirely within reason.

Besides them, there was a concubine, taken by Yue Hai in the last two years. This woman had been brought in because his wife’s womb had grown barren after bearing Yue Hai, and in desperation, she had hoped a concubine might ensure the continuation of the Yue family line. This woman, around twenty, was holding an infant—evidently the concubine’s child.

Ye Wen inquired and learned the infant was a girl. This explained why Yue Pan remained the sole grandson—though gender equality was not as dire as Ye Wen might have expected in his previous world, a preference for sons, especially concerning lineage, still existed.

However, Ye Wen did not concern himself with that. Seeing that the Yue family still had descendants, he set that particular matter aside. He had initially considered helping Yue Hai restore his fertility, believing that once treated, Yue Hai could still father children, preventing the Yue line from ending. But now that a child existed, Yue Hai’s account needed a serious reckoning.

"As sect leader, you have achieved nothing! As a father, you neglected your son's guidance, resulting in the birth of a monster! Yue Hai, your position as sect leader... had better end now!"

Yue Hai shuddered but then felt this was inevitable. For all the years he held the title of sect leader, he had accomplished nothing, and worse, his indulgence of his only son had damaged Shu Shan's prestige and nearly brought trouble upon the sect.

Then, Ye Wen raised his right hand. The long sword held by Zhou Zhiruo trembled, slid from its sheath, and flew into Ye Wen's palm. With a flick of his wrist, the sword instantly shifted direction and landed with a clang before Yue Hai: "I will raise your daughter well. You may end your own life!"

Ye Wen's words startled everyone in the hall. They were shocked that their master was so enraged that even after killing Yue Pan, he was not appeased and intended to kill Yue Hai as well?

The truth was, Ye Wen suspected that Yue Hai must have suppressed all those reports about his numerous misdeeds; he wouldn't believe otherwise.

"Master..." Zhou Zhiruo started to speak but was sharply cut off by Ye Wen: "Your issues will be discussed later. If you hadn't indulged him all these years, how could that boy have become so arrogant?"

Zhou Zhiruo fell silent. Guo Jing interjected, "Master, the lineage of the Eldest Senior Brother only has this one branch remaining. If Hai'er dies..."

Ye Wen pointed to the infant in Yue Hai's concubine's arms: "That child remains. Your Senior Brother's bloodline is not broken!"

Before he finished speaking, Yue Hai’s wife suddenly sprang to her feet, looking utterly crazed: "You killed Pan'er, and now you want to kill my whole family, all because Pan'er killed that young man surnamed Wang?"

She then shrieked at Zhou Zhiruo, "Don't forget what you promised back then, and what Father instructed! After Father died, not only did you fail to avenge him, but now you want to kill us and end the Yue family line... I see now! You all just want the position of Shu Shan Sect Leader, so you put on this show together... Hahahaha! What Ancestor Master? You're nothing but a fraud..."