Chapter 4: Facing doubt and challenges from the son of fortune.

Chapter 4: Facing doubt and challenges from the son of fortune. Inside the palace atop the mountain, Jiang Yun encountered his master, Lin Qingyi, and several senior elders who had been waiting. He bowed respectfully. His master merely nodded in acknowledgment, though inside, she was filled with doubt and confusion.

Lin Qingyi thought to herself, "Jiang Yun seems so different. He's usually cheerful, but now he's cold and silent. The atmosphere among my disciples is strange too. No one approaches or greets Jiang Yun. What exactly has happened?"

She had just emerged from seclusion three months ago, during which she had left spiritual imprints on her seven disciples. Three of them had activated these imprints, so she immediately located them and rushed to the southern continent of Tianyuan.

When Lin Qingyi arrived, she found that the inner elders and most of the disciples were dead. Jiang Yun was severely injured, and Ye Chen and Li Yudong were injured and in a state of fear. She brought everyone back to the sacred land and provided them with the highest-grade healing elixirs available, then allowed them to recuperate in their own quarters. Sёarᴄh the ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

She was considering her next steps, but this morning, Ye Chen and Li Yudong reported that the reason for the significant losses was Jiang Yun's decision to flee and abandon them to face a Nirvana-level demon cultivator.

At first, Lin Qingyi didn't believe it, but Ye Chen showed a recording stone that captured the battle, revealing the slaughter of the elders and disciples, with no sign of Jiang Yun. This made her angry, but she kept her composure and ordered someone to summon Jiang Yun immediately to question him.

Lin Qingyi asked, "During the battle with the demon cultivator, where did you go?"

Jiang Yun responded calmly, "I was attacked by a Saint-level demon cultivator."

Lin Qingyi frowned in thought. "And how did you survive? Your cultivation is only at the sixth level of the Foundation Spirit Realm."

But then she noticed that Jiang Yun's cultivation had seemingly regressed to the first level of the Foundation Spirit Realm. She saw that his cultivation appeared to have collapsed, making her hesitant to probe further.

Lin Qingyi then asked, "Are your injuries still not healed?"

"Yes, Supreme Elder," Jiang Yun replied.

Lin Qingyi was shocked because Jiang Yun would always address her as "Master," but now that wasn't the main concern.

At that moment, Ye Chen, sensing that the situation was turning in his favor, glanced at Li Yudong and Guan Mengyao. They knelt down, along with some of the inner and outer disciples, and shouted, "We request that the Supreme Elder strip Jiang Yun of his status as the Holy Son!"

Lin Qingyi was stunned and remained silent before asking, "Why?"

Ye Chen replied, "Three days ago, the sacred land opened the secret realm for disciples to hunt for treasures and seek opportunities. But when we obtained treasures and were about to leave, a group of masked individuals, claiming to be followers of the Holy Son, demanded that we hand over all our treasures. They then saw me, Senior Sister Li Yudong, and Senior Sister Guan Mengyao and said that since we were junior disciples of the Holy Son, we only needed to hand over half of our treasures."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the palace was skeptical, but Ye Chen smiled and played the recording stone, which showed the events from the robbery to his battle with the Holy Son's followers, who were at the first to third level of the Foundation Spirit Realm. He emerged victorious. When Lin Qingyi saw this, her anger grew because she recognized that the robbers were using the Misty Sword Technique, a technique only taught to important figures. It was a Heaven-grade technique, comparable to a Royal-grade one.

She asked Jiang Yun, "Were those your people?"

Jiang Yun confidently replied, "When have I ever had followers? I don't even have a single servant on my peak."

Lin Qingyi, hearing this, questioned further, "Then how did they learn the Misty Sword Technique?"

Jiang Yun replied indifferently, "I don't know."

This answer infuriated her further, but before she could speak, Ye Chen, sensing the momentum shift in his favor, stepped forward and coldly challenged Jiang Yun.

"Do you dare accept my challenge? If I win, you must relinquish your position as the Holy Son. But if I lose, I will disregard everything that has happened before."

Jiang Yun looked at his master, who remained silent, and at his senior and junior disciples, who avoided his gaze, with some even looking at him with cold expressions. He then replied, "Agreed. One day from now, we will meet in the arena. But if I win, I want the ring on your hand."

Without hesitation, Ye Chen replied, "Agreed."

After the agreement was made, a voice echoed in Ye Chen's mind.

"Forgive me, Master, but you can be assured that I will not lose."

"I hope so."

With the terms set, Ye Chen smiled inwardly, thinking, "How could I possibly lose to a cripple like you? Your sacred bone was extracted by me, and your foundation was destroyed. The only reason you survived was because I told the Saint Elder to spare you, so I could boost my reputation and credibility. Hahaha."

After Jiang Yun left alone, seeing his lonely departure, Zhang Xinye and Mu Chuyuan, as well as Lin Qingyi, felt something was amiss. Mu Chuyuan left immediately, while Zhang Xinye approached her junior disciples to talk. Lin Qingyi, hearing so many damaging rumors about Jiang Yun over the past year—molesting female disciples, robbery, bribery, and harming commoners—began to feel deeply uneasy.