Chapter 4013: Real Evidence

Wild Peak’s current stance, had been an Open Palm. That meant they were willing to resolve disputes through discussion. A Closed Fist meant something entirely different. It meant they were prepared to fight.

And if Mountain Roar personally decided that Wild Peak had been attacked, the resulting conflict could easily turn into a civil war within the Heavenly Stream Guardian Sect. The elders were already approaching that point.

"We will take revenge." One elder spoke through gritted teeth.

Another nodded. "Yes."

"Find everyone involved."

"We will make them pay."

Lin Mu finally raised his hand and the voices gradually quieted. He looked around and his expression was serious.

"We will." The elders stared at him.

Lin Mu’s voice remained calm. "But we cannot simply jump at their throats."

The anger in the room remained.

Lin Mu continued. "Taegong alone could not have arranged all of this."

Several elders exchanged glances and they remembered the recording. They had seen Taegong speaking with another person. They had noticed the way he reported information. They had already suspected that someone was supporting him.

But now they had proof.

Lin Mu looked toward the jade slip. "There are more people behind this." His gaze became cold. "Taegong may have been the hand that moved the pieces, but someone else helped place those pieces on the board."

Palm Saber slowly nodded. "That is what I suspected as well."

Another elder clenched his fist. "Otherwise, how could he have hidden so easily?"

"How could he have manipulated the situation without someone protecting him?"

"And how could Little Bull still be missing?"

The questions came one after another but the answer was obvious. Someone had helped Taegong. Someone powerful enough to conceal the evidence. Someone connected enough to interfere with Wild Peak. And possibly someone capable of manipulating the Law Division itself.

The elders looked toward Lin Mu while their anger remained. If anything, it had become sharper. Before they had entered the vault, they had been furious because they suspected injustice.

Now they had seen the evidence.

Their anger had gained a target and their suspicions had gained substance while their patience was rapidly disappearing.

Palm Saber looked at Lin Mu. "Senior Zhenyu."

Lin Mu met his gaze.

"We will follow your lead." The other elders nodded.

Lin Mu slowly stroked his beard and his expression became cold.

"Good." He looked at the jade slip once more. "Then we will find every person involved."

His voice lowered. "And when we do, Wild Peak will decide how justice should be delivered."

The elders’ eyes burned. For the first time since Lin Mu had returned, the atmosphere of Wild Peak changed completely. They had come into the vault looking for evidence. But they had found far more.

They had discovered the truth behind Little Bull’s framing. They had discovered that Taegong had deliberately targeted their peak. And they had learned that the conspiracy reached deeper than one elder.

The fury inside the vault remained for several breaths before the elders gradually began to calm themselves.

It was difficult as every one of them had just witnessed evidence that Taegong had deliberately framed Little Bull, manipulated the situation surrounding Wild Peak, and used the resulting conflict to weaken their position within the sect.

For body cultivators whose tempers were already famous throughout the sect, learning something like this was almost equivalent to throwing oil onto a blazing furnace. Several elders were still clenching their fists and some were breathing heavily.

A few had already begun imagining what they would do if Taegong appeared in front of them. Yet nobody actually moved. That was because, beneath all the anger, these elders possessed something that many younger disciples lacked: Experience.

They had been in the Heavenly Stream Guardian Sect for too long and they understood how the sect worked. They knew that rushing directly toward the Vault Division and demanding Taegong’s capture would create a disaster for Wild Peak.

The Vault Division was a major division of the sect.

It controlled countless records, treasures, storage facilities, sealed areas, and ancient formations. More importantly, the Vault Division had connections throughout the sect. Even if Taegong himself was merely an elder, the people sheltering him could be far more troublesome.

If Wild Peak stormed into the Vault Division demanding his surrender, the matter would immediately become political. The other peaks would begin taking sides and the Law Division would become involved.

The Records Division might claim jurisdiction over it as well, while the Vault Division would undoubtedly defend its own authority. And the people who already disliked Wild Peak would seize the opportunity to accuse them of causing trouble.

One elder slowly released his clenched fist.

"We cannot go directly." His voice was bitter.

High Elder Palm Saber nodded. "I know."

Another elder sighed. "If we attack the Vault Division now, we will hand our enemies the perfect excuse to make us the aggressors."

Everyone understood that since most of the sect already looked at Wild Peak with a mixture of disdain and caution. Their reputation for producing stubborn, aggressive body cultivators had followed them for generations.

The peak had never been particularly skilled at political maneuvering, and their willingness to solve disputes with their fists had made many other divisions wary of them. A direct confrontation would therefore create exactly the situation their enemies wanted.

Even worse, they had no idea how deep the conspiracy went.

Taegong might have acted alone, he might have had one backer or there might be several. Perhaps someone within the Vault Division was helping him. Or perhaps someone outside the Vault Division had arranged everything.

The possibility that other divisions were involved could not be dismissed.

One elder grimaced. "If we move against the Vault Division without knowing who stands behind Taegong, we could expose ourselves."

Another nodded. "And if Taegong has already escaped, we could end up fighting the wrong people while the real culprit disappears."

High Elder Palm Saber looked toward the jade slip and his expression remained grim. "Then we investigate first."

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