Chapter 430: Trial

Enforcement Hall’s Trial Room.

Elder Jao Tian was in charge of the trial today and was going through the papers that had been provided to him by the plaintiff, who in this case was Huo Xun.

’Let’s see...severe assault on six outer sect disciples by a newly admitted outer sect disciple.’ Just after going through the first page, Elder Jao Tian was reminded of the case, as it was one among the many he had gone through last night.

"Upon request, I had postponed the trial to today’s last session. Have they still not arrived?" Elder Jao Tian asked one of the staff who was standing by the door, who then went outside to confirm the situation before returning.

"Reporting to Elder! All the parties involved arrived just a minute ago and are waiting to be called inside." The staff informed.

"I see. Let them in then." The Elder nodded, and with that the trial room’s door was pushed open as Huo Xun and his five subordinates, together with a few witnesses, made their way inside.

Alongside them was also Yi Chen, who had his hands tightly held by two Inner Sect Disciples from the Enforcement Hall, as he was pushed inside after them.

"I said I can walk inside by myself. Are you guys deaf? Or are you dumb enough to think that I’ll escape from the Enforcement Hall after entering it?" Yi Chen talked back in a tone that didn’t contain the slightest bit of respect towards his seniors.

After being handled so roughly by the two of them over the last few minutes, as he was dragged all the way here from the library, it was only natural for him to behave this way.

"Shut up, you thug! You dare to say that after trying to hide for the last six hours!" the Inner Sect Disciple said for everyone to hear as he pushed Yi Chen towards his seat.

"What do you mean hide? I was inside the Library because I wanted to research Pill Refining. Moreover, it’s not like you guys had booked a prior appointment with me, so why are you acting all entitled like some brats?

Don’t you have some common sense, or is it that the money Huo Xun has shoved inside your pockets is large enough to make you forget all that?"

The entire room turned silent the moment Yi Chen’s words reached everyone’s ears.

However, instead of the disciples, it was Huo Xun who reacted first and exclaimed while pointing his finger towards Yi Chen, "You dare try to sully the name of your Inner Sect Disciples? Don’t you have any shame?"

To this, Yi Chen just rolled his eyes and said, "Exactly, that’s exactly what I want to ask the two of you as well. Don’t the two of you have any shame in being played by a rascal like that? So what if he’s rich? As cultivators, shouldn’t the two of you have some sense of pride??"

"Keep that dirty mouth of yours shut, you brat!"

"You think trying to frame us into something we haven’t done will help you get out of your predicament?"

The two said one after the other in order to force Yi Chen to stop.

"So you want to play like that, huh? Alri-"

Yi Chen planned to publicly humiliate not only the two of them but also Huo Xun, but before he could do so, he was cut off by Elder Jao Tian.

"Enough."

His words pierced through everyone’s ears, causing silence to descend upon the entire room the very next instant.

"We’ll be beginning with the trial now. The plaintiff, Disciple Huo Xun, step into the witness box."

Hearing those words, Huo Xun’s face beamed with sadistic pleasure as he immediately went to the witness box to start narrating the entire event as it happened, while of course adding extra spice wherever required.

This was soon followed by the five other disciples whom Yi Chen had injured and the accounts of witnesses, whom Yi Chen had no recollection of seeing anywhere near the spot where the incident took place.

However, Yi Chen didn’t raise a commotion upon hearing them exaggerate what had happened and silently listened to everything that was being said.

’It’s not like much would change anyway...’ he thought to himself as he had observed the status panels of all the witnesses that had entered the witness box to narrate his cruel actions against the five disciples.

’At least the judge seems impartial. However, since I don’t have any evidence to support my stance, it’s not like that would be of much help...’

He thought while smiling bitterly, regretting the fact that he didn’t have a Video Capturing Stone with him at that time as evidence.

However, that didn’t mean that he was going to let things go. All this while, he had been patiently waiting for his turn to speak, and it finally arrived.

Glancing at Zhou Mei, Qin Yao and the rest who had rushed to the Trial Room after hearing about the event, Yi Chen nodded at them in a comforting manner before glancing towards Elder Jao Tian.

"The accused, Disciple Yi Chen, step inside the witness box." Elder Jao Tian gestured, and Yi Chen entered the witness box.

"I’ll start with a simple question. Tell me, did you hit them or not?" he asked the moment Yi Chen arrived at the witness box.

"Of course he did, Elder! Why is that still a concern at this moment?!"

Huo Xun asked, losing his temper the moment he heard that stupid question.

’Do you have any idea how much I paid these witnesses to come here and testify against Yi Chen in the manner I wanted to? Is all that still not enough to convince this stubborn bastard?’ He thought, annoyance brewing inside him as he felt that all the money he had invested had gone to waste.

"Disciple Huo Xun, I don’t think I asked that question to you now, did I?" Elder Jao Tian asked with narrowed eyes as his impression of Huo Xun plummeted the very next moment.

As a result, Yi Chen, who had remained quiet all this while despite all the fingers that had been pointed towards him, appeared more pleasing to his eyes.

"So, answer my question, Disciple Yi Chen. Did you hit them or did you not?" Elder Jao Tian asked the very next instant.

"Yes, Elder. As a disciple of the Heavenly Azure Dragon Sect, I definitely won’t run away from my actions. I indeed hit them, and I do regret it.

I regret the fact that instead of hitting them all once, I should have hit them all tens of times so that the fabricated statements that the witnesses presented before the Elder would match what actually happened at the scene."

"You dare lie, you young brat!"

"How impudent!"

"Such a liar!"

The witnesses who were called out by Yi Chen instantly got agitated and started pointing fingers at Yi Chen.

"Silence! Did he disturb any one of you while you were giving statements? With what face are you trying to interrupt it now then? One more word and I’ll penalise whoever disturbs the proceedings from now on!"

Jao Tian snorted in irritation the moment he saw the witnesses’ reaction, which at the same time planted seeds of doubt in his mind as he asked Yi Chen the very next moment.

"So, you’re saying that although you did hit them, the plaintiff is trying to increase the severity of the issue?"

"That’s exactly how it is, Elder." Yi Chen nodded the moment he heard it and added, "Moreover, I would also like to place fresh charges against Huo Xun and his group, as the whole situation hasn’t been explained by them."

"Oh? Please go forward then." Elder Jao Tian gestured for him to proceed.

Getting the signal, Yi Chen immediately let out everything that he wanted to say, "What happened that day was that Huo Xun and his men deliberately blocked the path of my female companion, Zhou Mei and me.

Apparently, both of them are prospective Imperial Representatives from their clans, so the reason this incident happened is not just a coincidence but a well-hatched plan.

What Huo Xun wanted was to provoke, threaten and attack Zhou Mei’s character so much that she would have no option but to retaliate against him, and the moment she did so, he would weaponise the very rules of the sect that have been created to maintain harmony amongst sect members against her.

That’s how it should have happened, but his plan failed because of an unaccounted variable, which is me, and I’m glad I was there and taught them a lesson instead of Zhou Mei..."

"Brother Chen..."

Zhou Mei, who had been listening to this from the crowd, couldn’t help but purse her lips, tears welling in her eyes as she remembered the fear and anxiety she had felt because of Huo Xun’s words.

Meanwhile, Yi Chen continued speaking, "...Lastly, I’ve heard that the punishment for using violence against a sect member without challenging them to a duel is being sent to the confinement chamber for weeks, which could last even months. However, I request that you consider the situation practically and keep my punishment to a minimum."

"You want me to reduce your final sentence? Don’t you know it’s already written in the rules? Why would I go and do something like that for you?" Elder Jao Tian said with an amused expression when he heard Yi Chen’s strange request.

Although he understood the underlying implications present in this case, in the absence of clear proof, he couldn’t incriminate Huo Xun for the crimes Yi Chen had accused him of.

"That’s because..." Yi Chen directly met Elder Jao Tian’s eyes the very next moment and said, "...any respectable cultivator would have done the same if they were in my position.

Suppose, Elder, you were walking alongside your mother or little sister and saw them being verbally teased and harassed by such thugs, wouldn’t you have beaten the crap out of them in the same way I did?"

"You dare talk to the Elder in such a disrespectful manner?!"

The Enforcement Hall staff present inside the room roared in fury the moment they heard those words, but before they could suppress Yi Chen, sounds of laughter echoed throughout the room, causing everyone to turn towards Elder Jao Tian.

"AHAHAHA!"

He laughed at the top of his voice and said while looking towards Yi Chen, "You’re one strange brat, you know that? Not once in my twenty years as an Elder here has anyone talked so disrespectfully yet so convincingly to me even once! Hahaha!"

Finishing with another light chuckle, he continued, "You want a lighter punishment? Fine! I’ll grant it!"

With that said, Elder Jao Tian addressed not only Yi Chen but the entire trial room and said, "For the crime of using violence against a sect member, Disciple Yi Chen will have to spend seven days in the Confinement Chamber starting now.

Along with that, he’ll also be barred from entering the mission hall for an entire month and won’t be able to do any sect missions."

Elder Jao Tian slammed the hammer on his table the very next moment and stood up.

"Only a week?! Elder, he broke our bones! How can you give him such a light punishment?!" Huo Xun roared in indignation.

However, instead of arguing, Elder Jao Tian just asked him one question, "Is it still broken?"

"W-What...?" Huo Xun couldn’t help but ask when he heard that question.

"It’s not, right? Then it’s settled. It’s been a long day, so I’ll be going now." Gesturing towards the Inner Sect Disciples, he ordered the next moment, "Take the accused to the confinement chamber without wasting any time then!"

With that said, he soon took his leave.

"Yes, Elder!"

The two disciples exclaimed the moment they received the order, grabbed hold of Yi Chen, and started taking him to the confinement chamber the very next moment.

"You bastard!" Huo Xun cursed as he saw Yi Chen being taken away by the Enforcement Hall disciples and said, "You might have gotten off lightly with only seven days’ confinement, but don’t get too happy!

With no way to earn contribution points, you’ll have no choice but to beg others in order to avail the sect’s facilities."

"We’ll see about that." Yi Chen snorted with a playful smirk.

’If only he knew that I have enough spirit stones to not even bother about the contribution points in the first place... poor bloke,’ he chuckled inwardly while being guided outside as he saw the rushing figures of Zhou Mei and others.

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