Jade Dynasty: I am the master of the Burning Sword, my swordsmanship is unparalleled.

Chapter 149 Interrogation
"Reporting to the Sect Leader, this disciple accepts the punishment!"

The boy's voice echoed in the quiet hall, causing many people's expressions to change.

"Xiaofan!"

Biyao gasped in surprise, staring at Zhang Xiaofan in disbelief. Tian Ling'er reached out and tightly gripped her mother Su Ru's sleeve, her eyes filled with pleading.

Lu Xueqi didn't speak, but she gripped the Tianya Divine Sword tightly in her hand, staring blankly at the young man kneeling on the ground, who remained neither humble nor arrogant, and whose determination was as firm as ever.

All around, the righteous cultivators were also taken aback by Zhang Xiaofan's answer, staring blankly at him as if they hadn't reacted yet.

Ask yourself, who wouldn't try to defend themselves in this situation? At the very least, they would take the initiative to repent, beg for less punishment, or even hope to be exempt from punishment altogether.

Not to mention, Zhang Xiaofan was a highly respected person who had saved the lives of countless righteous cultivators. As long as he sincerely admitted his mistake, there would be plenty of cultivators in this hall who would plead for him.

Forget about executing Zhang Xiaofan; even destroying the Great Brahma Prajna within Zhang Xiaofan's body would require asking the cultivators who had saved Zhang Xiaofan's life for their consent.

After all, without Zhang Xiaofan's Great Brahma Prajna, who knows how many more people on Liubo Mountain would have died at the hands of the demonic sect's fiends.

Putting aside everything else, even Tianyin Temple itself will suffer heavy losses, and Faxiang, who is to become the next abbot, will probably not be able to return.

Given this situation, if Tianyin Temple were to actually cripple Zhang Xiaofan, it would inevitably be criticized by countless righteous cultivators.

But to everyone's surprise, Zhang Xiaofan didn't offer any explanation, nor did he even ask Tianyin Temple for leniency because of his great merit.

At this moment, all the righteous cultivators were shocked. Looking at the figure kneeling on the ground, which resembled a divine sword, a sense of respect arose in their hearts.

Perhaps this is the true compassionate person, the one who truly cares for all living beings.

"Good! Good! Well done, accepting punishment is fine, since that's how it is..."

Dao Xuan Zhenren took a deep breath, his face flushed with anger, and spoke in a cold voice. However, before Dao Xuan Zhenren could finish speaking, he was interrupted.

However, it was Venerable Dali, who was sitting below Shangguan Ce, who suddenly interrupted Dao Xuan Zhenren.

"Master Daoxuan, may I have a word to say?"

Before Dao Xuan Zhenren could speak, Pu Kong Shenseng, who was sitting above Shangguan Ce, became angry and turned to look at Dali Zun Zhe.

Zhang Xiaofan stole the secret techniques of Tianyin Temple, which was a serious crime. As a result, Venerable Dali, who was also a Buddhist, interrupted Dao Xuan Zhenren's trial. How could this not enrage the monk Pukong?

Therefore, the monk Pukong immediately shouted angrily at Venerable Dali.

"Hmph! Venerable Mighty, are you also going to plead for that thief who stole the teachings of my Heavenly Sound Temple?"

"Master Pukong, please don't be anxious. Listen to what this old monk has to say."

Venerable Dali raised his hand in return with a Buddhist salute, then turned to look at Venerable Puhong and Daoxuan Zhenren, and said in a deep voice.

“Master, Venerable One, I am not speaking to plead for Master Zhang, but merely stating a fact. If Master Zhang had not risked his life to fight, I fear my Vajra Sect would have been wiped out. I think this is not only the case for my Vajra Sect, but also for many other righteous sects.”

"Not bad!"

"Exactly!"

"We hope that the True Man and the Venerable One will be lenient in their punishment!" As soon as Venerable Dali uttered these words, many senior righteous cultivators in the hall echoed his sentiments, and some even pleaded for leniency.

"At present, Master Zhang has not committed any serious offense. Therefore, we hope that you, Master and Venerable, will consider that Master Zhang is wholeheartedly devoted to the righteous path and will punish him leniently!"

Venerable Dali held Zhang Xiaofan in the highest esteem, always addressing him as "True Person" and not considering him a junior disciple, but placing him on an equal, or even higher, level.

However, the righteous cultivators did not refute this; on the contrary, they quite agreed, believing that Zhang Xiaofan's character and virtue were worthy of the righteous path's respect.

After hearing that many people were pleading for mercy, Dao Xuan Zhenren's expression softened slightly, and even Tian Buyi breathed a sigh of relief.

With so many righteous people pleading for Zhang Xiaofan right now, even Tianyin Temple shouldn't punish him too harshly, right?
However, when Dao Xuan Zhenren turned his gaze and caught sight of Pu Hong Shangren sitting beside him, whose expression remained calm throughout, he frowned again.

For a moment, Dao Xuan Zhenren was somewhat unable to figure out Pu Hong Shangren's thoughts, so he had no choice but to speak up.

"I'll ask you one last time, where exactly did you acquire your Great Brahma Wisdom?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaofan remained silent, but instead bowed deeply before the statues of the Three Pure Ones in the Jade Purity Hall.

Seeing this, Dao Xuan Zhenren closed his eyes tightly, sighed softly, and was about to speak to hand Zhang Xiaofan over to Pu Hong Shangren for processing.

At that moment, the hot-tempered monk Pukong smashed the table in front of him with a single palm strike and roared angrily.

"Hurry up and tell me, where did you learn that from?"

As he spoke, the aura of the monk Pukong surged towards Zhang Xiaofan, pressing heavily on Zhang Xiaofan's shoulders, trying to force him to speak.

The actions of the monk Pukong undoubtedly provoked public outrage. After all, no matter how much they interrogated him, they should still give this cultivator who had made great contributions to the righteous path the respect he deserved.

Tian Buyi's face turned angry, and he was about to speak, but before he and the other righteous cultivators could utter a sound, they heard Master Puhong shout.

"Junior Brother Pukong, stop!"

"Senior brother?"

Upon hearing this, the monk Pukong was taken aback. He turned to look at Master Puhong, his eyes filled with confusion. Master Puhong then put his hands together and chanted softly.

“Amitabha Buddha, Benefactor Zhang, my junior brother's understanding of Buddhism is still shallow. On behalf of my junior brother, I apologize to you. If you have any dissatisfaction, I am willing to bear it all!”

Master Puhong's words caused an uproar in the hall, and many righteous cultivators looked at each other in bewilderment.

Cangsong Daoren looked at Puhong Shangren with deep eyes, a hint of realization flashing in them, and then the mockery in his eyes intensified.

Zhang Xiaofan slowly stood up, staring intently at Master Puhong. His clear and firm eyes met Master Puhong's compassionate yet somewhat apologetic old eyes.

Everyone else thought that Master Puhong was apologizing for what happened to Monk Pukong, but only Zhang Xiaofan, Master Puhong, and Faxiang standing behind Master Puhong knew the truth.

The junior disciple mentioned by Master Puhong is not the monk Pukong, but the monk Puzhi.

Looking into those old eyes that were somewhat familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar, Zhang Xiaofan couldn't help but sigh softly, slowly shook his head, and murmured.

"Everything in this world is predestined, and nothing is up to us!"

(End of this chapter)