Chapter 1: If One Wishes to Condemn, Any Pretext Will Do
“Lu Changfeng! You beast! She is your stepmother!”
“How dare you force yourself upon her and ruin her innocence!”
“How could you do such a thing?”
“A hundred strikes with the staff is letting you off lightly!”
Jiangling City.
The Lu Family.
A furious shout jolted Lu Changfeng awake.
“What is this...?”
He looked around.
He found himself in a solemn hall of justice.
In front of him stood a beautiful woman, weeping bitterly.
Surrounding him, dozens of people glared at him with rage.
Lu Changfeng’s features were handsome, with a touch of youthful naivety, yet deep in his eyes lingered a weariness not belonging to his age.
Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed into his back, causing his brows to knit.
At that moment, foreign memories rapidly merged with his own.
As the memories fused, Lu Changfeng’s expression grew cold.
“So that’s it. I’ve been reborn.”
“Hmph. The Lu Family of Jiangling, based solely on that woman’s word, seeks to force me into a confession and beat this new life out of me.”
“Well then. Very well.”
Before reincarnation, Lu Changfeng had been the foremost of the Emperors in the Upper Realm, the Sword Emperor of the Three Thousand Star Domains.
With a single blade, he had subdued the very Dao of the heavens.
Yet, in the process of refining the Dao, he was betrayed, struck from behind, and banished from the Star Domains by the backlash of the Dao’s will.
“So be it.”
Lu Changfeng returned from his memories.
His gaze was clear and calm: “Since fate has favored me with another chance, I shall start anew.”
“Lu Changfeng!”
Above him, the elder Lu Sha, his beard white as snow and bearing an imposing presence.
Bang—
He struck the table, shouting angrily, “How dare you let your mind wander in the hall of justice?”
“I will give you one last chance. You violated your stepmother, Madam Liu, and brought shame upon the household. Do you admit your guilt?”
“Guilt?”
Lu Changfeng raised his eyes, his expression serene and indifferent. “May I ask, Elder, what crime am I guilty of?”
“Insolence!”
Lu Sha thundered, his voice rising sharply. “Your father has only just passed, and as his son you are neither loyal nor filial. You commit such beastly acts, and still dare claim innocence?”
“Ridiculous.”
Lu Changfeng’s face was expressionless as he coldly regarded the woman nearby. “You accuse me of assaulting you—produce your evidence.”
“Evidence?”
The voluptuous and beautiful woman quivered as she pointed at Lu Changfeng. “I saw it clearly. Last night, you took advantage of my drunken state and forced yourself upon me.”
She was the new bride his father had recently married.
She had only entered the household, and before the marriage was consummated, Lu’s father had died.
“Is that so?” Lu Changfeng arched a brow.
His face showed not a trace of emotion.
He was merely pale from blood loss.
Yet he seemed unaware, gazing calmly at the woman. “So, in other words, you have no evidence at all?”
“I wonder, what kind of family can condemn me solely on your baseless accusation?”
“You…”
The woman was struck speechless, finally managing to retort with stiff resolve: “I am a woman—how could I use my own chastity to threaten you?”
She cried with tears like falling petals, turning to the elder Lu Sha above. “Elder, I never expected this wretch to be so shameless! At this point, I can only prove my innocence with death and follow my husband into the afterlife!”
With that, she made as if to dash herself against a pillar.
“Aunt, don’t!”
A figure approached from outside the hall, his voice arriving before he did:
“The Lu Family’s hall of justice is known for fairness and integrity. If the victim must prove her innocence by death, what would people say? The other families in the city would mock us!”
As the words fell, a young man in azure robes strode into the hall.
“Young Master Tianyun!”
“It’s him! The son of the head of the family, the Lu Family’s chosen one, Lu Tianyun!”
“I heard he broke through to the ninth level of the Meridian Opening Realm this morning!”
“Who would have thought that a mere Lu Changfeng would cause Young Master Tianyun to appear in person!”
The onlookers in the hall cried out in surprise.
Lu Changfeng’s expression remained as calm as water as he discreetly sized up the newcomer.
The young lord in azure carried himself with grace, spiritual energy flowing ceaselessly about him.
His appearance was handsome and refined, like a gentleman from a painting.
Yet, beneath the surface, Lu Tianyun’s brow revealed a trace of deeply hidden darkness.
“So that’s it,” thought Lu Changfeng, withdrawing his gaze with a flicker of disdain in his eyes.
Though reborn, his cultivation was lost.
But his vision, once that of an Emperor, far surpassed ordinary people. With a single glance, he discerned something amiss about Lu Tianyun.
A male cultivator whose spiritual aura carried hidden traces of yin—clearly, he had just absorbed a woman’s vital yin to break through.
“This Madam Liu is not simple; she possesses a rare Furnace lineage, her vital yin is beneficial to cultivators. She and Lu Tianyun conspired, and now wish to make me their scapegoat. What a cunning plan.”
As he pondered, Lu Tianyun suddenly looked over and sighed:
“Lu Changfeng, admit your guilt.”
“I know you were born with blocked meridians, unable to cultivate for years. You acted out in a moment of confusion.”
“In light of your father’s contributions to the family, if you confess today, I will see to it that your life is spared.”
His voice was gentle and mellow, his words unhurried, giving the impression of a spring breeze.
For a moment, all present showed admiration.
“Young Master Tianyun truly is the Lu Family’s chosen one—such magnanimity, to forgive even someone as depraved as Lu Changfeng.”
“Indeed! With such a leader, the Lu Family will surely rise!”
“Lu Changfeng! You disgrace! Kneel and thank him!”
The crowd divided—some heaped praise on Lu Tianyun, others trampled Lu Changfeng.
“Ridiculous,” Lu Changfeng replied flatly. “If it’s not my crime, why should I admit it?”
“Lu Changfeng!”
Elder Lu Sha slammed the table, enraged. “To think you still refuse to confess at this point!”
“Seize him—continue the punishment until this beast confesses!”
“Yes!”
Several servants from the hall advanced with wooden clubs, surrounding Lu Changfeng menacingly.
“Stop.”
Lu Tianyun spoke again, feigning concern. “Elder, I believe Lu Changfeng only acted in confusion. He’s a mere mortal, already beaten a hundred times—any more and he may not survive.”
“This…”
Lu Sha hesitated slightly.
Lu Tianyun turned to Lu Changfeng. “Why persist? Your father married Madam Liu, she is your mother now. You’ve committed a grievous sin, and now you refuse to repent. If you die here, you leave her—a weak woman—alone and helpless. How will she live?”
“Lu Changfeng, is your heart made of iron?”
His words were remarkably sincere, moving many in the hall.
But only Lu Changfeng knew—his survival was in Lu Tianyun’s interest.
After all, Lu Tianyun had drugged him earlier, colluded with Madam Liu, and pinned the blame on him.
Sacrifice a useless member for his own breakthrough.
Moreover, in the eyes of the crowd, Madam Liu’s virtue was ruined.
In future, Lu Tianyun could freely enter her chambers to absorb her vital yin, and if discovered, blame could always be shifted onto Lu Changfeng.
“…”
Lu Changfeng was speechless.
He sensed that everyone in the hall viewed him with daggers in their eyes.
Even Elder Lu Sha wore an expression of bitter disappointment.
“Changfeng, I know you acted in confusion.”
Madam Liu spoke as well: “If you confess and vow to reform, serving the family and Young Master Tianyun well, I… I will pretend this never happened.”
Her words brought the atmosphere to a climax.
All the Lu Family members glared at Lu Changfeng, some whispering:
“Lu Changfeng the waste is lucky indeed.”
“Exactly—both Young Master Tianyun and Madam Liu are so kind to him. If he still won’t confess, I can’t bear to watch!”
“Lu Changfeng, you useless wretch, confess now!”
Their voices reached Lu Changfeng’s ears.
Yet he remained utterly unmoved.
As the discussion faded and all eyes waited for him to confess, Lu Changfeng finally spoke.
“I said, if it’s not my crime, I will not confess.”
His calm voice was like a drop of clear water in boiling oil, causing an instant uproar.
He ignored the crowd and looked at Lu Sha, enunciating each word:
“Elder, if memory serves, my father once won a supreme art for the Lu Family—the Pure Yang Sword Technique.”
“The Pure Yang Sword Technique can only be cultivated by a man who has never lost his vital yang.”
Lu Sha was stunned.
The crowd was stunned as well.
Only Lu Tianyun’s brow furrowed instantly, coldness flashing in his eyes.
Lu Changfeng continued, word by word: “Since everyone believes I stole Madam Liu’s vital yin, it’s simple.”
“If I can cultivate the Pure Yang Sword Technique, it proves I still possess my vital yang. The truth will be clear.”
“This…”
Lu Sha was dumbstruck, never expecting Lu Changfeng to propose such a method to prove his innocence. “If you can prove you possess your vital yang, then… indeed you could clear yourself.”
“Wait!”
Lu Tianyun interrupted coldly. “If he uses cultivating the Pure Yang Sword Technique as an excuse to delay, won’t he escape punishment altogether?”
“A valid point,” Lu Sha nodded. He stared at Lu Changfeng, thinking for a moment. “Very well, Lu Changfeng. I’ll give you three days. In three days, either you successfully cultivate the Pure Yang Sword Technique and prove your innocence, or… you die.”
“Agreed.”
Lu Changfeng struggled to his feet, fixing Lu Tianyun with a cold glare. “Since Young Master Tianyun is so eager for my death, let it be as you wish.”
“In three days, I will use the Pure Yang Sword Technique to challenge Young Master Tianyun…”
“A duel—to decide life and death.”