The verdict of the Divine Hall had been without any dust for many years, except for the broken bead curtain and the fine sand deep in the crevices that could only be forced out by the horrible aura from the black jade throne. So, kneeling on the floor would not get any dirt.
Therefore, Commander Zimo did not really want to flick off dust but to express his contempt for the girl on the seat. Or he wanted to regain some confidence by the action so that he would not be overwhelmed again by the dignity of the black jade throne.
The West-Hill Divine Palace cavalries were divided into ten groups and each group had a commander. Zi Mo had reached the upper state of Seethrough that could be compared with Chen Bachi. He clearly knew that he couldn’t defeat Ye Hongyu, but at the moment, he had to come out for the sake of survival.
Ye Hongyu slightly blinked and slowly opened her eyes. She looked at the man before her without any expression on her face. Before saying anything, she frowned and began to cough in pain.
A handmaiden nervously came to the seat and handed a white silk scarf. Ye Hongyu gently wiped her lip, leaving some bloody plum blossoms on it.
All the people of West-Hill Divine Palace, including those mighty commanders, knew that Ye Hongyu had been greatly injured. Although the Judicial Department always advocated for the law of the jungle, nobody dared to take the chance and challenge her at present. They had no confidence.
On the day when she broke the bead curtain and killed the former Great Divine Priest of Judgment, to seat on the black jade throne, all of them thought she would be the next Great Divine Priest of Judgment.
Nobody had thought that she would leave the seat, after closing her eyes for a short rest and walk towards the white Divine Hall on the top of Peach Mountain, where she wounded commander Luo Kedi with one movement under the witnessing eyes of shocked crowds. If not because of the Hierarch Lord, she might have killed the man.
There were very few people in the world who could kill the Great Divine Priest of Judgment and the cavalry commander. For those who could, they might not have the courage. Even Ye Hongyu, who had broken through and reached the Knowing Destiny State, could not make it. However, she dared to do it and succeeded in the end.
All the people present on that day would never forget the turquoise robe on the Peach Mountain. The fight had completely established her status in the Divine Hall and since that day, no one of the Temple of Judgement dared to challenge her.
Zi Mo dared not even think Ye Hongyu was coughing up blood and greatly injured. Her survival and killing of the Great Divine Priest of Judgment and defeating Luo Kedi were enough to prove her indescribable power.
Holding her lower jaw, Ye Hongyu quietly looked at him and said, “Kneel.”
Hearing her order, deacons and officials kneeling on the floor stared at each other. They subconsciously recalled the occasion when the Divine Priest entered the hall while they fanatically yelled, and a strange look appeared on their faces all of a sudden.
Those priests and deacons understood the fears and thoughts in each other’s eyes, raised their heads and stretched their fingers to Commander Zimo who was the only person standing. They angrily cried, “Kneel!”
“Kneel!”
“Kneel!”
Hundreds of simultaneous voices echoed in the grand Divine Hall like thunder. They were so angry that they sputtered, their voices grew hoarse and their faces distorted, looking like a crowd of madmen.
Ye Hongyu looked at him calmly. She felt a bit satisfied and tired.
Hearing the yelling and watching the once gentle and hypocritical colleagues becoming cruel and angry, Zi Mo grew paler. He stiffened and found it hard to keep his balance, so he began shaking like a weak patient.
“Why?”
It was the second time that he asked the question, but this time his calmness and arrogance disappeared. His eyes were begging for mercy.
The official closed the files, stared at Zi Mo along with several commanders kneeling on the floor, begging, and he yelled coldly, “How dare you! As a commander, how could you be so depraved? Her Majesty has shown her mercy in view of your service to the Judicial Department. You could live at the sacrifice of your posts and cultivation. Why are you so ungrateful?”
Ye Hongyu did not kill them. But Zi Mo and other commanders had worked in the Judicial Department for many years. They searched and hunted for the remaining disciples of the Devil’s Doctrine and other heathens. Countless people wanted to kill them due to their misdeeds. If they really lost their power and left Peach Mountain without the protection of the West-Hill Divine Palace, what kind of miserable ending was waiting for them?
Hearing the words, Zi Mo shook even more violently, almost falling to the ground. He looked at the girl on the seat and cried in fear, “Only Commander Luo has the authority to punish us… Don’t you care about the Hierarch Lord’s anger if you exceed your authority?”
Ye Hongyu slowly straightened up and said with a blank expression, “Commander Luo is now confined to bed, so the Hierarch Lord has authorized me to take charge.”
Luo Kedi, the cavalry commander of the West-Hill Divine Palace, was a Grand Cultivator of the Knowing destiny State. How could this kind of person get sick? Everyone knew the real reason why Commander Luo could not take charge was because he had been seriously injured by Ye Hongyu, chilling the spirits of the Judicial Department’s people.
The yelling faded in the Divine Hall and Zi Mo grew paler. He stood up and shouted desperately, “My lord, please tell us what kind of sins have we committed?”
The officer’s face became serious and he was preparing to reprimand him. And then Ye Hongyu raised her hand. The officer immediately closed his mouth and humbly retreated to the side of the black jade throne.
She quietly stared at Zi Mo and the cavalry commanders for a long time.
There was complete silence and stillness in the hall.
Ye Hongyu suddenly smiled, and said in a calm but peremptory voice, “You know clearly that it’s just an excuse to banish all of you. The real reason is quite simple. I don’t want to see you any more for you once looked at me in that way.”
Zi Mo suddenly understood.
Last spring, Ye Hongyu was very weak due to breaking the realm. There had been rumors that Commander Luo had obtained the approval of the Hierarch Lord and was ready to propose marriage to her. Being the case, the cavalry commanders headed by Chen Bachi looked at her differently. Some were greedy like Chen Bachi, some pitied her like she was a frail beauty and others mocked her for her future prospects.
They were not hostile and not all of them were malicious. However, when they looked at the Great Divine Priest of Judgment in that way, it was a sin which should be punished.
Zi Mo was desperate. Looking down at the smooth ground, he said ironically, “We have made so many meritorious services for the Divine Hall and you want us dead just because we looked at you in that way several times?”
“One more look is enough.”
Ye Hongyu smiled and said, “What makes you think that I would let you leave Peach Mountain alive if not for the meritorious service?”
Zi Mo looked at her and said tremblingly with his last hope, “My lord, we can still serve the Divine Hall… serve you. We want to serve you. Please have mercy on us. We will make amends for our mistake.”
Ye Hongyu was a little tired. She held her jaw, leaned and said, “I said you are not guilty. So there is no need for you to make amends. I just don’t want to see you again.”
The officer once again stepped forward. He watched the commanders and said calmly, “Take your punishment later. The lord has been merciful toward you. You will all get an old horse for plowing and some silvers for settling down.”
Hundreds of people bowed to the ground and shuddered in the hall. No one dared to oppose the decision. Zi Mo slowly clenched his fists. Other commanders could not help but lift their heads.
Ye Hongyu did not look at them at all.
The officer looked at them as if he had not sensed the changes in their emotions. He continued expressionless, “You shall not step into West-Hill Divine Kingdom again, shall not mention to anyone that you once served the hall, and you shall not bear a grudge and talk nonsense. Death will come to you if you violate any of these.”
Zi Mo looked around. Those commanders avoided his stare after hearing the ruthless verdict. After a while, the struggle on his face turned into self-mockery. He sighed and then slowly fell to his knees, receiving the grim punishment in pain.
Holy and indifferent light appeared in the Divine Hall. Zi Mo was screaming in pain like an angry beast. Other commanders shouted bitterly one after the other.
They worked diligently for their entire lives and finally entered the Seethrough state. However, today their cultivation was destroyed, making them completely ordinary.
Gradually, calm was restored in the black hall and became even more horrible.
The empty hall was inhumanly lonesome.
Ye Hongyu calmly sat in the bloody black jade throne.
The seat was large. Sitting in it seemed to be uncomfortable.
But she felt rather comfortable.
The devout officer knelt before her and said in a low voice, “My lord, Zi Mo and the other commanders are indeed very mighty and you can expect their loyalties. It is a pity that they will be expelled along with Commander Luo…”
Ye Hongyu slightly bowed her head. She held her jaw like she had been sleeping.
“There’s no need to worry about a defeated opponent. Someday in the future, I will kill them. So why should I care about their feelings?”
“No one has noticed that the world is changing and it will change into a new place where Grand Cultivators of Knowing destiny State might be killed at any time, not to mention a Seethrough cultivator.”
In the late spring of the 16th year of the Tianqi era, 3447 of the West-Hill calendar, a total of seven cavalry commanders lost their cultivation and were expelled from West-Hill by Ye Hongyu, the new Great Divine Priest of Judgment, and were banned from returning to the West-Hill Divine Kingdom. Those commanders who used to be cocky, now left Peach Mountain with an old horse, some silvers and their own squire like lost dogs.
In the records of the West-Hill Divine Palace, they had committed obscure sins which were concluded into one word–depravity. They were called the Fallen Knights.
But people who witnessed everything in the West-Hill hall knew clearly that the real reason of their ruthless punishment was because of one more look. A look at the girl last spring.