The Nine Cloud Palace was more brilliant with each level up, and the peak of the Nine Cloud Palace was like a heavenly palace, golden light sprinkling onto the clouds, sacred and solemn.
In the Divine Sky City, the Nine Cloud Palace could be considered the most extravagant place, and the Jin Clan’s dressing was also extremely luxurious. Presently, in the Nine Cloud Palace, a teenage figure was kneeling on the floor, and in front of him, many people stared emotionlessly at him. The teen kneeling on the floor was the Jin Clan’s Jin Yunxiao.
“Grandfather, only Uncle Cheng knows about this matter, and Uncle Cheng is definitely loyal to the Jin Clan, so he will not rat us out. Only the Jin Clan knows about this, it will definitely not spread.” Jin Yunxiao nervously looked at the elderly person in front of him. It was a perceptive elder with golden hair, even his eyes were golden, and contained a formidable sharpness.
This person was the clan leader of the Jin Clan, Jin Chengfeng. Today, the Jin Clan had brought him back, precisely because the servant protecting Jin Yunxiao had left the Divine Sky City a while back. After Ye Futian had nearly been assassinated, a person in the Jin Clan had taken notice of this and reported it to the clan leader after he had finished his meditation. They had then found Jin Yunxiao’s servant and questioned him, that was how they knew that Jin Yunxiao was involved in the assassination of Ye Futian.
“Didn’t you say previously that this was told to you by another Starry School disciple, Jiang Nan? He would naturally know then,” Jin Chengfeng said unfeelingly.
“He also had a part to play in the incident. If word spreads, he won’t be able to get away scot-free with his background, so he naturally will not say anything. Moreover, I have already brought him around with me and taken him under my wing. There will be no mistakes,” Jin Yunxiao replied.
“What if the Starry School decides to investigate him after news of the incident spreads?” Jin Chengfeng looked at Jin Yunxiao and asked.
“Grandfather, the people who attempted the assassination have already died on the spot. Taking revenge for their son, this needs no investigation.” Jin Yunxiao shook his head.
“Idiot.” Jin Chengfeng cruelly said, “I have already sent my men to the Starry School, they will naturally deal with your schoolmate. After all, dead men tell no tales.”
Jin Yunxiao’s expression turned grim and his heart trembled. His grandfather was the owner of the Nine Cloud Palace and was extremely decisive with his killing. Even though he did not like Jiang Nan, he did not mind having another servant by his side. However, his grandfather’s thinking was different and did not want to leave a potential threat alive.
Indeed, killing an insignificant disciple was nothing in comparison to assassinating the Son. The Starry School had numerous disciples, and it was common for disciples to die while adventuring outside the school, so it was not strange for one or two disciples to just die off.
“Yes, grandfather.” Jin Yunxiao did not dare to refute his grandfather. Nobody dared to question his grandfather’s position in the Nine Cloud Palace; even when the next generation of the Gu and Dragon Clan had stepped up, his grandfather was still in charge of the Nine Cloud Palace.
“I’ll settle the score with you after I’ve dealt with him,” Jin Chengfeng declared emotionlessly. Having been in the Divine Sky City for so many years, he was of the same generation as Chen Yuan, so he naturally understood what crowning the Starry School’s son meant to Chen Yuan. That was why even though the school had not given the Jin Clan any advance notice, which displeased the Jin Clan, he did not mention a word of it or thought of dragging Ye Futian down from his position.
Chen Yuan had been holding his desire in and waiting for far too long. He would only strike at the most opportune time to deal the killing blow on Ye Futian. But now was not the time.
Jin Yunxiao’s selfish actions were downright foolish.
At this time, a figure approached them on a Roc, flying straight down beside them. The figure walked with a trial of golden clouds behind him, and bowed to Jin Chengfeng and said, “Clan leader, we have trouble.”
“What is it?” Jin Chengfeng frowned, his sharp aura assailing the person.
“Jiang Nan has been taken away by the Starry School’s Punishment Institution. His powers were then destroyed and he has been expelled from the school.” The person continued his report, “Now, the people from the Punishment Institution are on their way to the Nine Cloud Palace. They should be arriving anytime soon.”
The expressions of the Jin Clan’s members turned pale, Jin Yunxiao even more so. He panicked and said, “How can this be? The school cannot have possibly found out about the incident.”
Jin Chengfeng coldly swept Jin Yunxiao with his gaze and said, “Bring him away.”
“Understood.” Someone looked towards Jin Yunxiao and acknowledged.
“Grandfather, this can’t be happening.” Jin Yunxiao shook his head repeatedly, then followed the person and left.
“What do you all think?” Jin Chengfeng looked at the rest of the people and asked. Although he had heard the news, he remained calm. At his cultivation level, the world could have crumbled and he would still maintain his composure.
The members of the Jin Clan had knowing looks. They naturally knew what Jin Chengfeng was asking. If the Starry School came and asked them to hand over Jin Yunxiao, would they?
“The Starry School dares to directly confront our Nine Cloud Palace, do they not care about our Jin Clan’s position within the school. Why do they not attempt to suppress the issue?” one of the members said, evidently vexed.
“Before Chen Yuan crowned the Son, he had been hiding it from the Jin Clan and had the support of the Dragon and Gu Clans. Now they want to arrest our clan member, is the Starry School trying to force the Jin Clan out?” another member complained.
The crowning of the Son had been a thorn in the Jin Clan’s flesh. Although it was rash of Jin Yunxiao to orchestrate the incident, they all secretly agreed with his actions.
“We will definitely not hand over Yunxiao. What reputation will we have left within the school if we do so? If we do that, the disciples that enter the school will no longer want to enter the Jin Clan or become a member of the Nine Cloud Palace,” an elderly member analyzed calmly. The Top Three Schools had a long heritage. Generations of disciples had entered the schools to cultivate and come out as powerful leaders. The schools would provide guidance to aid in their disciples’ cultivation, many of the schools’ disciples were under his command and could be considered members of the Nine Cloud Palace. After they had left the schools, they maintained connections with the Jin Clan and some of them even served the Jin Clan.
After generations of disciples, the major clans had successfully infiltrated the Top Three Schools.
“Wait for them to arrive.” Jin Chengfeng did not say much and calmly announced. Not long after, the Starry School’s Punishment Institution arrived and was brought to meet Jin Chengfeng and the rest of the clan.
From the Jin Clan’s lineup, the Starry School knew that the Jin Clan had already gotten wind beforehand.
“Senior.” The people from the Punishment Institution bowed towards Jin Chengfeng. The Jin Clan Leader was in the same generation as the College Chief, so it was only natural for them to salute him.
“Can I know what you all are here for?” Jin Chengfeng asked.
“Senior, Jin Yunxiao is suspected to be involved in the assassination of the Son. Elder Lu has ordered us to bring Jin Yunxiao back to the school,” the person-in-charge bowed and answered in a straightforward fashion.
“I’ve heard of the incident as well, I heard it was by someone who had their son killed by him, and the parents came for revenge. Why would Jin Yunxiao be involved with it, did you make a mistake?” Jin Chengfeng questioned.
“The assailants were indeed the couple from the Yunyue Business Alliance, but we have found out that the two were brought into the Celestial Pavilion by Jin Yunxiao and another disciple from the Starry School, Jiang Nan. The two of them provided the conditions for the assassination to be carried out and Jiang Nan has already admitted his crime. I hope that senior will not make my job difficult,” the person from the Punishment Institution continued explaining. As expected, it would not be easy to arrest someone within the Nine Cloud Palace, they thought in their hearts.
“After Jin Yunxiao is brought back, Elder Lu will personally confirm the truth and will not malign Jin Yunxiao. Please rest assured, senior,” the person from the Punishment Institution patiently reassured him.
“Can a normal disciple’s words be trusted that easily? Please go back and ask Elder Lu if it was possible that the whole incident was Jiang Nan’s doing. He could have dragged Yunxiao into it to avoid punishment,” Jin Chengfeng nonchalantly suggested. The people from the Punishment Institution wanted to continue, but they heard Jin Chengfeng say, “Go, investigate the truth soon. If there is a need, I will go to the Starry School and pay Chief Chen a visit.”
“Understood, we will go back and report.” Since it had come to this, they naturally understood that the Jin Clan Leader was unwilling to hand over Jin Yunxiao. They could not forcefully arrest him, so they could only go back and report the matter. However, this was within their expectations as well. It was not an easy task to arrest Jin Chengfeng’s grandson, the young master of the Nine Cloud Palace.
…
Ye Futian had already returned to the Starry School. Presently, in the Starry School’s trial court, there was not only Elder Lu, Ye Futian, experts from the Gu Clan and Madame Long were also there. They were all here waiting for news from the Nine Cloud Palace, to see if the Jin Clan would hand over Jin Yunxiao.
After a period of time, the people who had headed for the Jin Clan had returned to the trial court. Seeing as Jin Yunxiao was not behind them, they all understood what had happened.
“Elder Lu, the Jin Clan Leader personally met us. He wanted me to bring word to you and ask if it was possible that the incident was orchestrated by Jiang Nan alone, who just dragged Jin Yunxiao in to acquit himself,” the person delivered Jin Chengfeng’s words. Of course, they had a deeper meaning.
Elder Lu looked at Ye Futian. He naturally understood Jin Chengfeng’s intentions, he wanted the school to suppress the issue and push the blame onto Jiang Nan and not involve Jin Yunxiao in it.
“Ye Futian, this issue can only be decided by the College Chief now,” Elder Lu told him. The issue involved one of the elite clans—the Jin Clan. Even if he was in charge of the Starry School’s punishments, he did not have the authority to judge the issue.
“The old man from the Jin Clan wants to shirk responsibility with just this one sentence?” A frigid voice sounded out from outside the court, and a few figures walked in together.
They were the Gu Clan Leader Gu Hanshan, Madame Long from the West Mountain Dragon Clan and Chief Chen. The three important figures had come personally to address the issue.
“College Chief, senior Gu, Madame,” Ye Futian addressed them, and the rest of the people all saluted.
“The assassination was done by the people from the Yunyue Business Alliance. Jin Yunxiao was just a participant behind the scenes and was not personally involved in the assassination. The Jin Clan naturally wants to trivialize the matter,” Madame Long silently said.
“Yunxi was injured and nearly died. Yet Jin Chengfeng wants to absolve his younger generation of blame? Why would I let him have it this easy,” Gu Hanshan said ruthlessly.
“What do you think?” Chief Chen’s gaze landed on Ye Futian and asked.
“Jin Yunxiao was definitely involved in the incident,” Ye Futian replied. Jiang Nan did not have such huge capability. Moreover, his sudden appearance at Jin Yunxiao’s side, coupled with the fact that he had already admitted his crime, meant that Jin Yunxiao was also the same.
“How do you want to handle this?” Chief Chen asked again.
Ye Futian stared at Chief Chen. He naturally knew that there would be serious repercussions, as the Jin Clan was the strongest influence within the school. If he wanted to incriminate Jin Yunxiao, it could trigger a huge backlash.
“Although I luckily survived, a debt of blood can only be paid in blood. He who attempts to kill should be killed.” Ye Futian looked at Chief Chen in the eyes and said. This time, it was not only him that was involved. Yu Sheng, Wuchen, Loulan Xue, Gu Yunxi and Wang Yurou had all been severely injured and nearly died.
Chief Chen had asked him for his attitude. Naturally, it would be to kill!