Chapter 942: United

Lou Ting read Wan Qi Zifeng's reaction in his eyes, his heart full of sarcasm.

Although Wan Qi Zifeng is the Palace Master of the Wànlíng Xuégōng, overseeing the whole academy, the Four Spirit Academies are the essence and core of the Wànlíng Xuégōng, and their four Palace Masters control the Four Spirit Jewels; if they unite, even Wan Qi Zifeng, honored as Palace Master, cannot deal with them.

It's only because Ye Qingran's backing is Wan Qi Zifeng; if it were the powerful Sword God, perhaps she could still be saved.

After all, the Sword God's strength is overwhelming; even the four Palace Masters joining forces would not be a match!

"The person wasn't killed by you, right?" Wan Qi Zifeng asked Ye Qingran solemnly.

"No," Ye Qingran shook her head in denial without a second thought.

Although Yang Jiaomi is indeed quite annoying, it wasn't enough to drive her to murder.

"Fine," Wan Qi Zifeng nodded, "I understand."

"Lou Ting, if you want to handle this matter in front of everyone, I agree, just don't regret it."

Regret?

Lou Ting sneered disdainfully, "I'm merely seeking justice for the disciples of my White Tiger Academy so they won't die with unresolved grievances; what's there to regret?"

Lou Ting paused, then added, "As for you, Palace Master, don't be biased toward the murderer!"

"As the saying goes, killing demands a price; I will not let the murderer go!" Wan Qi Zifeng said in a lingering tone, as if there was hidden meaning.

Lou Ting nodded slowly, "With the Palace Master's words, I am reassured."

"Qilin Palace Master, please come forward and brief everyone on last night's scene!"

As Lou Ting finished speaking, the Qilin Palace Master stepped out under the startled gazes of the crowd.

Compared with the towering, robust Azure Dragon Palace Master, Qilin Palace Master Dong Lu is much slimmer, with fair skin, no beard, features that are somewhat odd, especially his narrow, slit-like eyes that appear profoundly inscrutable.

With the Qilin Palace Master's appearance, all four Palace Masters of the Wànlíng Xuégōng who control the Spirit Jewels gathered, delivering a strong impact to those present. Normally, unless a major incident occurs, it's rare to see all four Palace Masters appear together!

It seems the matter is far more serious than they imagined!

The Qilin Palace Master nodded at Wan Qi Zifeng, "Palace Master, regarding last night, I arrived at the scene personally; because the incident occurred so late, I didn't disturb you. Please forgive me, Palace Master."

Qilin Palace Master Dong Lu turned to the disciples and said, "Everyone knows I practice medicine, so last night the White Tiger Palace Master contacted me immediately to come to the scene."

He paused, then continued, "Through my careful observation, the aura on the torn fragment of cloth from the deceased Yang Jiaomi matches the aura on Ye Qingran."

Having said that, the Qilin Palace Master said nothing further, nor was there any need to.

Everyone understood the implication.

"Could it be that the murderer is truly Ye Qingran?"

"It must be! Otherwise, the four Palace Masters couldn't simultaneously point to Ye Qingran."

"I didn't believe it before, but now that all four Palace Masters have appeared, I think the murderer is nine out of ten Ye Qingran!"

……

Many people have, without realizing it, accepted the fact that Ye Qingran is the murderer.

The murmurs of the crowd reached Lou Ting's ears, and a triumphant smile flickered in his eyes.

In fact, this whole scheme was arranged by him.

The plot itself is not complex; the key is the four Palace Masters, so as long as the logic holds, it is enough to doom Ye Qingran.

"Ye Qingran, do you have any more excuses to make?"

Lou Ting pointed at Ye Qingran, his tone suddenly sharp.

Ye Qingran shook her head, "Using the feud between me and Yang Jiaomi, colluding the four Palace Masters to frame me? White Tiger Palace Master, you really have gone to great lengths."

"Ye Qingran, the evidence is conclusive; do you still want to argue?"

Ye Qingran raised an eyebrow, no longer looking at Lou Ting, but turned her gaze to the other Palace Masters.

The Vermilion Bird Palace Master, slender and graceful, with kind eyes and a benevolent smile, like a gentle monk.

The Azure Dragon Palace Master, broad‑shouldered and sturdy, with a square face, his demeanor so upright it could ward off evil.

The Qilin Palace Master, frail as a reed, gentle and refined, courteous, appearing as a good person no matter how you look.

But it is precisely these three who, with a concealed conscience, commit acts utterly at odds with their positions and images.

One could say they have mastered the art of knowing a person's face but not their heart, to the extreme.

"Tsk tsk, are the academy bigwigs today all this hypocritical?" Ye Qingran clicked her tongue lightly, muttering inwardly.

"I'm curious how the Palace Masters were persuaded by the White Tiger Palace Master?"

The three Palace Masters' expressions changed in an almost unreadable way.

"Ye Qingran, you were the perpetrator first; we are merely stating the truth we know," Vermilion Bird Palace Master Tao Hong said gently, a tone ordinary people would never associate with a villain.

"Ye Qingran, had you known this, why act then? The truth is already clear; any further argument is futile!" Azure Dragon Palace Master shook his head, looking very disappointed.

"You're just trying to say we, together with Lou Ting, framed you, aren't you? Yet we are the Palace Masters of the Four Spirit Academies, and you're merely a regular staff member of the academy; what benefit do we gain by targeting you?" Qilin Palace Master sighed, looking rather helpless.

Ye Qingran hadn't expected these three to answer her question directly; hearing such off‑topic replies, she was not surprised, and merely nodded slowly.

She suddenly understood.

"The Palace Masters are so united; could it be because I triggered simultaneous resonance of four Spirit Jade fragments during yesterday's Spirit Jade Test?"

Ye Qingran did not miss their reactions; even if they concealed well, she sensed their brief abnormality from the subtlest cues.

Indeed!

When Ye Qingran asked that question, Wan Qi Zifeng's pupils contracted slightly.

Yesterday's Spirit Jade Test was mainly overseen by the four Palace Masters; he was not present in any of the Four Spirit Academies, so he was unaware that Ye Qingran's test of Spirit Jade Power caused simultaneous resonance of four Spirit Jade fragments.

He had been puzzling until just now why the four Palace Masters mobilized so heavily to frame Ye Qingran; the answer lay here!

"Ye Qingran, do you know what you're saying?" Lou Ting mused briefly, then coldly asked, "Triggering simultaneous resonance of four Spirit Jade fragments? Who do you think you are?"

He pointed at Qiu Yue Lang, "Back then Qiu Yue Lang's test also measured an eighth‑level Sensing Power, yet he couldn't achieve this; what gives you the right to think you can? Can your talent surpass Qiu Yue Lang's?"

Such questioning sounded very reasonable to the disciples.

Ye Qingran is indeed outstanding, but she is not even a disciple of the academy; how could her talent possibly exceed that of Qiu Yue Lang, famed as the top prodigy of the Spirit Realm?