He made a single motion with his hand.
"Guards, take them away."
"No, please! Mercy! I was just following orders!" Di Ye begged, his voice breaking with desperation as he fell to his knees.
"You made your choice," he said, his voice carrying the finality of a closing tomb.
"Now, you'll face the consequences."
The guards moved swiftly, seizing both guilty parties. They struggled and pleaded, their cries for mercy echoing off the hall's walls, but no one spoke in their defense.
The old him would have felt some pity for the condemned. The new him felt only the cold satisfaction of justice served and the anticipation of what was to come.
A slow, almost predatory smile spread across Ye Xian's face as he looked directly at Ye Shen.
"But wait!" he said, his voice cutting through the settling murmurs.
"There's something else."
The hall fell silent again, all eyes turning back to him. Ye Shen's confident expression flickered for just an instant. So brief that only someone watching for it would have noticed.
Ye Xian reached into his spatial pouch with deliberate slowness, his movements calculated for maximum dramatic effect.
What he withdrew made several people gasp: a small, crystalline stone that seemed to pulse with inner light.
"The Taoist who saved me..." Ye Xian announced, holding the stone high for all to see.
"...was quite thorough in his methods. Before he ended the lives of these two attackers, he made them confess who had ordered my assassination."
The hall erupted in surprised murmurs. Ye Xian's voice rose above the noise.
"This is a Ki Recording Stone. The Taoist captured their full confession before delivering justice. He gave this to me as proof of who was truly behind this assassination attempt."
Everyone stared at the stone in amazement. Ki Recording Stones were expensive items, crafted by rune masters using special stones inscribed with recording runes.
When infused with profound ki, they could capture and replay events exactly as they occurred.
"By the heavens," an elder breathed. "If that's genuine..."
"The real culprit will be exposed for certain!"
"Justice will finally be served!"
Ye Shen's face had gone noticeably pale, though he fought to maintain his composure. His mind raced...surely this was a bluff. Ye Xian couldn't possibly have such evidence... could he?
'But what if he did?'
Ye Shen stepped forward, forcing his most concerned brotherly expression. "Young brother," he said, his voice carefully controlled.
"Let me inspect this ki recording stone and see who was the true villain behind all of this. As your elder brother, I must ensure justice is properly served."
'He's just throwing arrows in the dark,' Ye Shen thought desperately.
'There's no way he has actual evidence. But if by some chance he does... I need to see what's on that stone and deal with it.'
Before Ye Xian could object, Ye Shen reached out and grasped the Ki Recording Stone. His hands trembled slightly as he infused it with his profound ki, preparing to see what secrets it might hold.
A translucent screen materialized above the stone, showing two figures. One tall with a curved blade, the other wielding twin weapons. The image was clear, detailed...
And then, in a sudden burst of light and sound, the ki recording stone exploded in Ye Shen's hands.
Fragments of crystal scattered across the floor as Ye Shen staggered backward, genuine shock written across his features.
The projection vanished in the explosion, taking any evidence with it.
"I... I apologize!" Ye Shen gasped, looking around at the stunned faces.
"In my anger against those who dared to harm my brother, I lost control of my profound ki! I sent far more energy into the stone than it could handle. These low-quality recording stones can't withstand excessive ki input..."
The hall buzzed with disappointed murmurs. Such recording stones were indeed fragile, everyone knew that feeding too much ki into them would cause them to shatter.
But Ye Xian had been waiting for exactly this moment. His trap had been perfectly baited, and Ye Shen had walked right into it.
"Brother," Ye Xian said, his voice carrying a dangerous edge that made several people look up sharply.
"Why did you destroy it?"
Ye Shen's eyes widened. "It was accidental! I already explained—"
"Was it?" Ye Xian's voice grew louder, attracting the attention of everyone in the hall.
"Because to me, it looks like the man behind the assassination attempt just destroyed the evidence in front of all of us."
The hall exploded in shocked gasps and heated whispers.
"What is he saying?"
"Surely not..."
"Could it be true?"
Ye Shen's face flushed with what appeared to be righteous indignation.
"How dare you accuse me! I would never order an attack on my own brother!"
But Ye Xian pressed his advantage, his voice ringing with conviction.
"Then explain this: you're the one who destroyed the proof right in front of everyone. And in that brief moment before the explosion, I saw the recording clearly. Your lackeys about confessed that it was you who ordered them to kill me."
Cold sweat began to form on Ye Shen's back despite his outward composure. He cursed Ye Xian in his heart, frantically trying to think of a response. How could he prove a negative? How could he deny what was supposedly on a recording that no longer existed?
Before he could formulate a defense, Sheng Qinhua's sharp voice cut through the tension.
"You're lying!" she declared, pointing an accusing finger at Ye Xian.
"Why would your own brother try to kill you? You shouldn't make such serious accusations without concrete proof!"
Ye Xian turned his cold gaze on her, his voice dripping with disdain.
"Without proof? He just destroyed the proof in front of everyone. Or do you have vision problems and couldn't see what he did?"
Sheng Qinhua's face flushed crimson with anger and humiliation.
"You dare—"
She was about to launch into a tirade when Patriarch Ye Tian slowly rose from his seat. The hall fell silent instantly, all eyes turning to the clan leader whose expression had grown increasingly dark.
"Ye Shen," Ye Tian's voice was like ice, each word precisely measured.
"You stand accused of ordering the assassination of your own brother."
"Patriarch, I—"
"Silence." Ye Tian's hand rose, cutting off any protest.
"Whether by accident or design, you have destroyed crucial evidence in front of this entire audience. Evidence that could have revealed the truth behind this assassination attempt."
Ye Shen's mouth opened and closed soundlessly as he realized the trap he'd fallen into.
"In my judgment," Ye Tian continued, his voice carrying the weight of absolute authority.
"your destruction of that evidence, regardless of your claimed intentions, constitutes an attempt to obstruct justice and conceal the truth. You think everyone here is stupid enough to believe such a convenient 'accident'?"
The patriarch's gaze was merciless. "Guards. Take him to the clan prison for questioning."
"No! Patriarch, please!" Ye Shen's composure finally cracked as guards moved toward him.
"I'm innocent! I would never—"
But his protests were ignored as firm hands seized his arms. The golden boy of the Ye Clan, the cherished son, was dragged away in chains just like the very conspirators he once looked down on.
Sheng Qinhua stood up, her voice sharp and desperate.
"Patriarch Ye, this has to be a mistake! My son would never do something so disgraceful! Please, think this through!"
Ye Tian didn't move a muscle, his face hard as stone. "The evidence is clear. Justice will be done."
The woman turned to her husband, Ye Feng, eyes pleading. But he only shook his head, face dark with disappointment. Even he knew there was no way to defend what had happened.
As Ye Shen was dragged away, his desperate pleas echoing in the hall, Ye Xian stood quietly among the crowd. Inside, he felt satisfaction.
'You played your role perfectly, brother,' Ye Xian thought as he watched Ye Shen's back disappear from sight.
Your arrogance made you reach for that ki recording stone, thinking you could control the situation. And your guilt made you panic and destroy it when you thought it exposed you.'
The most brilliant part was, there had never been any real evidence on that stone. It was a complete bluff.
Just a basic ki recording Ye Xian had made in a hurry before his death and hidden in his spatial pouch, showing only a single image of the attacker, nothing else like a confession or proof.
He hoped that if he were killed, someone might find it and use it to expose the truth.
But Ye Shen's guilty conscience and frantic effort to control the evidence condemned him far more than any real recording ever could.
'In trying to destroy evidence of your guilt, you created the very proof of it,' Ye Xian mused.
'This is what happens when you underestimate someone who's already died once.'
The hall slowly emptied as whispers spread about the shocking events. The bastard son had not only cleared his name but also toppled the favored heir in the process.
This was indeed just the beginning of his transformation. And today had shown everyone,including himself—just how far he was willing to go to protect what was his and punish those who wronged him.