The old man who appeared next to Gu Chun was none other than First Silver Flame Elder Li An from the Black Turtle Sanctum. He was also Gu Chun's master. He had only accepted Gu Chun as his disciple because Gu Chun had promised him that his cousin who had a blue Innate Spiritual Root would become his disciple as well.
Earlier, when Li An received the report from a Bronze Flame Elder that Gu Chun's cousin had arrived at the Black Turtle Sanctum in the Fire Worship Sect, he was beside himself with joy. He had planned to ask Gu Chun's cousin over to his place to formally accept him as a disciple.
Who would have thought he would receive shocking news before he even met him?
Gu Long, Gu Chun's cousin, disregarded the Fire Worship Sect's rules and attacked Duan Ling Tian with the intention of killing him in the residence of the Black Turtle Sanctum's disciples. Although Li An was shocked when he heard this news, he was not worried at all.
Gu Long was a martial genius with a blue Innate Spiritual Root. Even if he killed Duan Ling Tian in the Fire Worship Sect, he would just be given a slap on the wrist as punishment.
Duan Ling Tian was merely a commoner who possessed a yellow Innate Spiritual Root. How could he compare to Gu Long?
Although Li An also possessed a blue Innate Spiritual Root, he could not directly make a move on Duan Ling Tian like Gu Long did since he was a Silver Flame Elder. If he had acted out of turn, it would tarnish the reputation of the Fire Worship Sect. He would not be able to clear the reputation of the sect even if he paid for it with his life.
For this reason, he did not recklessly make a move on Duan Ling Tian. Otherwise, he would have killed him a long time ago.
Although Li An was not worried about Gu Long, he had personally come over just in case. With him around, the other Silver Flame Elder who was also the Black Turtle Sanctum's Enforcement Elder would naturally be more careful and treat Gu Long nicely even if he had killed Duan Ling Tian.
From the beginning until the end, he did not doubt Gu Long's ability to kill Duan Ling Tian!
Gu Chun had long told him that Gu Long was a Martial Cultivator at the peak of the Exemplary Saint Stage. Would it not be easy for him to kill an Early Exemplary Saint Stage Martial Cultivator?
"Dead… he's actually dead…" Li An did not expect that he would see the corpse of Gu Long who was going to be his disciple instead of Duan Ling Tian's corpse when he came to the residence of the Black Turtle Sanctum's disciples.
Gu Long was a martial genius who possessed a blue Innate Spiritual Root. Due to this reason, Gu Long was much more important to him than Gu Chun even though he had not met Gu Long before.
It was only natural he was furious when he found out a disciple with a blue Innate Spiritual Root had been killed.
"Duan Ling Tian! How dare you kill a fellow disciple from the same sect?!" Li An snarled as he looked at Duan Ling Tian who was hovering in the distant sky coldly.
At this moment, he really wanted to tear Duan Ling Tian apart. However, he knew he could not act as he pleased.
Duan Ling Tian was currently a disciple of the Black Turtle Sanctum in the Fire Worship Sect. Although there was no doubt he was guilty of killing a fellow disciple, only the Fire Worship Sect's Enforcement Elder could punish him.
Despite being the First Silver Flame Elder of the Black Turtle Sanctum, Li An did not have the authority to punish him! However, this did not mean he could not push the blame to Duan Ling Tian.
"Killing a fellow disciple?" Upon hearing Li An's words, Duan Ling Tian fell silent before he laughed as though he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Why are you laughing?!" Li An's expression was grave, and his eyes glinted with killing intent.
"I'm laughing at a certain person who lies despite being a Silver Flame Elder!" Duan Ling Tian said mockingly after he stopped laughing. He looked at Li An indifferently.
"YOU!" Naturally, Li An knew Duan Ling Tian was referring to him. However, since Duan Ling Tian did not mention his name, there was nothing he could do regardless of how furious he was.
If Duan Ling Tian had mentioned his name, he could accuse him of disrespecting a Silver Flame Elder and teach him a lesson. Even if he could not kill Duan Ling Tian, he could at least vent his anger.
Duan Ling Tian seemed to be able to guess his thoughts and did not give him a chance to retaliate at all.
Duan Ling Tian looked at the other Silver Flame Elder standing in the distance before he said in a neither arrogant nor servile tone, "All of the senior brothers and senior sisters present here can be witnesses to what happened today. I killed Gu Long because he attacked me with the intention of killing me first. According to the sect's rules, I'm not guilty of killing him under such circumstances! However, I've always been a merciful person. Even if he wanted to kill me, I did not intend to kill him. It was only when he involved innocent people and killed more than ten seniors that I became furious and killed him! It's my way of seeking revenge for my seniors!" Duan Ling Tian said righteously.
"He killed more than ten fellow disciples?" The expression of the Silver Flame Elder who came together with Li An to the residence of the Black Turtle Sanctum's disciples turned grave immediately when he heard Duan Ling Tian's words.
In the next instant, he looked at Gu Long's body that was lying on the ground with a terrifying glint in his eyes as though he wanted to flog his body.
"Elder Guo, don't listen to his lies!" Li An shouted at this moment.
The Silver Flame Elder who appeared together at the residence of the Black Turtle Sanctum's disciples was none other than Silver Flame Elder Guo Xiong who was in charge of enforcing punishment in the Black Turtle Sanctum.
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Other than being an Enforcement Elder in the Black Turtle Sanctum, Guo Xiong was also the second strongest Silver Flame Elder in the Sanctum! However, due to his identity as an Enforcement Elder, Li An was wary of him as well.
Apart from that, if they really fought, Li An would have to pay a steep price as well even if he managed to defeat Guo Xiong.
"Do you think I'm a muddle-headed old man, Elder Li An? There are so many people present on the scene, I can naturally find out for myself if he is lying or not!" Guo Xiong said he looked at Li An coldly.
Put everything else aside, Guo Xiong managed to become the Black Turtle Sanctum's Enforcement Elder because nobody doubted his fairness.
He, Enforcement Elder Guo Xiong, had always acted based on evidence and would never wrongly accuse an innocent person. At the same time, he would not let go of someone who was guilty as well!
His expression turned grim immediately when he learned about what happened from the Black Turtle Sanctum's disciples present on the scene.
More than ten Black Turtle Sanctum's disciples had died just like that!
If this news spread out, what would happen to his honor as the Black Turtle Sanctum's Enforcement Elder?
Finally, Guo Xiong, the Black Turtle Sanctum's Enforcement Elder, finally came to a decision. "Gu Long made a move to kill a fellow disciple first. In the process, he even brutally killed 17 fellow disciples. His crimes deserve more than death itself. Duan Ling Tian had acted in self-defense, and therefore, is found not guilty of killing Gu Long. In view of Duan Ling Tian killing Gu Long to prevent him from killing more people, not only is he not guilty, but he deserves to be rewarded as well. In the Black Turtle Sanctum and the Fire Worship Sect, we have always placed an emphasis on rewarding those who deserve it and punishing those who are guilty. As for Duan Ling Tian's reward, I'll inform Lord Sanctum Leader about this so he can make a decision."
Gu Chun's verdict was simple.
Gu Long's crime deserved more than death while Duan Ling Tian deserved to be rewarded!
Upon hearing Guo Xiong's verdict, the Black Turtle Sanctum's disciples present on the scene instinctively looked at Duan Ling Tian with admiration in their eyes.
A reward from Lord Sanctum Leader would not be simple!
Although Li An was dissatisfied with Guo Xiong's decision, he could not object at all. He could only sulk in the distance.
"Elder Guo, I'm not satisfied with this verdict!" Gu Chun said in a vexed tone as he stood up, "My brother didn't intend to kill the disciples in the sect. He accidentally killed them while he fought Duan Ling Tian. Even if Duan Ling Tian did not kill him, he wouldn't have killed more people. I agree with you that my brother's crime deserves more than death. However, I disagree that Duan Ling Tian deserves to be rewarded!"
Although Gu Chun knew Duan Ling Tian would not be punished for his actions, when he heard that Duan Ling Tian would be rewarded by the Sanctum Leader, he was filled with jealousy. For this reason, he quickly voiced his dissatisfaction in hopes that Elder Guo would rescind the reward that would be given to Duan Ling Tian.
"Oh. I would have forgotten about you if you didn't speak up!" Guo Xiong turned to look at Gu Chun with a cold gleam in his eyes when he heard Gu Chun speaking.
"Elder Guo, what do you mean? I don't think I've broken any of the sect's rules, right?" Horror dawned on Gu Chun immediately.
"Are you certain you didn't break any of the sect's rules?" Guo Xiong asked mockingly, "Then, I'd like to ask you, why did Gu Long attack Duan Ling Tian? Do you dare to swear on the lightning penalty oath that you didn't instigate Gu Long to attack Duan Ling Tian? I won't make things difficult for you if you swear on the lightning penalty oath!"
Terror filled Gu Chun's eyes when he heard Guo Xiong's words.
In the next instant, he hurriedly looked at Li An who was standing nearby and transmitted his voice to him. "Master, save me!"
However, Li An only looked at him indifferently before he left in just a blink of an eye.
When he left, he said emotionlessly, "Gu Chun has violated the sect's rules. From now on, he's no longer my disciple!"
With just this statement, he cut off the master-disciple relationship between him and Gu Chun.
To Li An, Gu Chun no longer had any value now that Gu Long was gone. Since he was presented with an opportunity to dismiss Gu Chun, he naturally would not pass it up.
"No! Master, you can't do this! You can't do this!" Colors drained from Gu Chun's face when he heard this. He quickly chased after Li An.
"Hurmph!" Guo Xiong snorted coldly. Nobody saw him make a move, but Gu Chun who was rushing forward was sent flying with a blast.