When Ling Tian looked at Hong Yan, who wore a blue robe with small cloud patterns, and behind him was a group of young men, Ling Tian realized that this entire scene was a conspiracy.
"Damn! I should have known something strange was happening. But hell, why are they targeting me? I'm just a failed man without any talents." Ling Tian quickly thought of a solution, but Dong Yuan Yi acted first.
She went to Hong Yan's side with her face full of tears and said in a trembling voice:
"Big Brother Hong, fortunately you came at the right time, otherwise I don't know what would have happened!"
Hong Yan gazed at Dong Yuan Yi gently, then looked at Ling Tian with anger and said in a vengeful voice:
"Ever since I arrived in the city yesterday, I've been hearing about how perverted you are, but for you to assault the City Lord's daughter... this is too much! Today I will deliver you to justice."
Although Hong Yan said this angrily, Ling Tian realized he wasn't angry at all from his calm breathing and clear eyes.
Then, before allowing Ling Tian a chance to respond, Hong Yan rushed toward him with tremendous speed while releasing an oppressive aura.
Ling Tian was shocked and tried to respond, but it was like a human trying to resist a tsunami.
Before he realized it, Ling Tian was struck on the head, which knocked him to the ground, and he was about to lose consciousness.
But before he passed out, there was only one thought in his mind:
"Why is this world so unfair? That aura... that's the aura of a sixth-level Qi Condensation cultivator!"
Yes, that's right. Hong Yan was a sixth-level cultivator, and the reason Ling Tian realized this was because during these two years, he had met many cultivators within the clan.
Then, with a despairing smile, Ling Tian cursed:
"Damn this unfair world!"
Then he passed out.
---
Ling Tian woke up after being splashed with cold water.
Before he could understand what was happening, he heard a voice beside him: "Finally awake, you bastard!"
Ling Tian turned while still confused toward the direction of the voice and saw a middle-aged man wearing a city guard uniform.
As soon as Ling Tian saw the city guard uniform, he began remembering what he was involved in and started looking around.
He was in a hall whose pillars were filled with dragon carvings, and in the center of the hall, a red carpet was spread on the floor. At the back of the hall were chairs on both sides, and a chair in the middle elevated slightly above them, as if declaring that this chair was the main seat here.
Sitting on this chair was an elderly man with white hair, but despite the white hair, his skin was as clear as a child's. However, his face was filled with anger and sorrow as he saw his daughter kneeling and crying profusely in front of him, and beside her was Hong Yan comforting her, with the group of young men who had been following Hong Yan behind them.
Ling Tian also noticed several people he didn't know, but he recognized some of them, including his father, of course.
As usual, he wore a black robe with obvious indifference on his face.
There were the leaders of the remaining clans like Feng Yan, Hong Yu, and Fei Lin.
Feng Yan carried a face like his father's—indifferent, naturally. Who would care about a pervert like him?
As for Fei Lin and Hong Yu, they were happy, especially Hong Yu. For some strange reason, he was very excited.
"Now that the accused has awakened, we can begin." Dong Li said this in a calm voice contrary to his anger-filled face, then looked at Ling Tian and said:
"Ling Tian, do you confess that you attempted to assault Dong Yuan Yi at the Yi Ying tavern?"
Ling Tian answered without hesitation: "Of course not, I did nothing." He said this while thinking: "Damn! What would Hong Yan and Dong Yuan Yi gain from framing me?"
When Dong Li heard Ling Tian's response, his face frowned. Before he could reply, Hong Yan stepped forward and said while looking with anger:
"How shameless of you! We clearly saw you trying to assault Dong Yuan Yi!"
Then one of the young men stepped forward from behind Hong Yan saying:
"Yes, that's right! We clearly saw you, you despicable one!"
Then the rest of the young men followed and began supporting Hong Yan's words.
"What do you think of this testimony?" Dong Li said while looking at Ling Tian.
"As I said before, I did nothing. Also, what did you see? All you saw were the tears of that whore." Ling Tian repeated his words without hesitation.
But this statement made Dong Li even angrier, and he screamed at him:
"You bastard! Despite all the evidence, you refuse to confess!"
After saying that, he stood up and said: "According to the evidence we have, I declare Ling Tian of the Ling Clan guilty, and sentence him to ten years in prison!"
Ling Tian was shocked by the decision and thought while cursing: "Damn! Is this even a court? The only evidence he has is people's testimonies! And what's with the ten years? The strongest punishment for an assaulter is five years, why did it become ten years?"
He wanted to object, but was preceded by a calm voice: "Aren't you exaggerating things a little?"
Ling Tian looked at the owner of the voice, who was his father, and smiled: "Yes, how could a clan leader allow his son to enter prison?"
Dong Li turned to Ling Hao and said in a frustrated voice: "Clan Master Ling, do you doubt my judgment?"
Ling Hao said while looking at Ling Tian: "Although my son made a mistake, he didn't really hurt anyone, so I think you should adjust your judgment a little."
"And what does Clan Master Ling think?" he said while staring with interest at Ling Hao.
"I think it would be better to exile Ling Tian from the city for ten years instead of imprisoning him."
Ling Tian was shocked by his father's words, but when he thought about it, exile was better than being imprisoned. "But will they agree to that?" Ling Tian thought while looking at Hong Yu and Fei Lin.
Exactly as Ling Tian expected, as soon as Ling Hao said that, Fei Lin stood up mockingly: "Do you call this punishment? Isn't exiling him and not punishing him the same thing?"
Soon his supporters began objecting as well.
As for Feng Yan, ever since it became clear that his daughter had a dual spiritual root, he began taking a neutral stance and no longer aligned with the Ling Clan. This is life after all—you form alliances with others because you're weak, but now Feng Yan no longer needed this alliance. Ever since his daughter became a saint of the Yong Yun Sect, who would dare challenge him? Even if the Feng Clan fell, he was sure that the remaining three clans would not only not exploit his weakness, but he believed they would help him to gain his daughter's favor.
The protest continued for a while, then Hong Yu said something that shocked everyone: "Well, I agree to the exile."
Everyone in the hall was shocked, including Fei Lin himself.
"Brother Hong?"
Fei Lin said this in a confused voice.
"Trust me, Brother Fei." Hong Yu said while smiling happily.
Fei Lin hesitated for a moment, but eventually said quietly: "Since Brother Hong agrees, then I agree."
After he said that, his supporters followed and accepted Ling Hao's request.
Dong Li said after hearing the crowd's agreement: "Well, since everyone agrees, Ling Tian will be exiled for ten years." Then he looked at Ling Tian and said: "You have three days to leave the city, and if you don't leave within this time, blame no one but yourself."
Ling Tian was surprised by Hong Yu's easy agreement, and there was doubt within him: "Why are they playing this conspiracy just to exile a failure like me?" Ling Tian thought while believing this matter wouldn't end here.
As Ling Tian expected, the matter didn't end. After Dong Li finished speaking, Hong Yu stepped forward while looking at Ling Hao and said: "Now that we've finished with the boy's matter, we can discuss how the Ling Clan will compensate my clan."
Everyone in the hall was surprised by Hong Yu's words, and there was one question in their minds: Why the hell would the Ling Clan compensate your clan?
Ling Hao said with his calm face: "And why would my clan compensate you?"
Hong Yu's smile became wider as he looked at Ling Hao maliciously and said: "Oh... my mistake, I think I forgot to announce that Dong Yuan Yi and my son Hong Yan have been engaged since childhood."
Then he paused a little while looking at the shocked crowd and continued with a sad voice: "We were going to announce it after Hong Yan returned in a while, but I never imagined we'd announce it this way. Now, do you think you don't owe the Hong Clan after your son tried to assault the wife of a member of the Hong Clan?"
The crowd was truly shocked, even Fei Lin was.
But among the shocked crowd, Ling Tian's blood was boiling with anger.
Upon hearing Hong Yu's words, the puzzle that had been occupying his mind since Dong Yuan Yi screamed was solved. He realized that this conspiracy hadn't been about him from the beginning—he was just a side character whose fate didn't matter. "I wasn't the target from the beginning, the clan was the target." "I was the sacrificial lamb they used to reach it."
Ling Hao's expression didn't change and he thought a little before answering: "And what do you want?"
Hong Yu said while smiling gently, but his eyes were looking at Ling Hao with contempt: "Not much, just your clan's share of the spiritual stone mine for ten years."
When Hong Yu finished speaking, an aura rose from Ling Hao's body as he said angrily: "Your request is excessive!"
In response to Ling Hao's aura, Hong Yu also released his aura and replied with a smile on his face: "Then, how much do you think isn't excessive?"
After Hong Yu said that, Ling Hao removed his aura and said: "One year."
Similarly, Hong Yu removed his aura and said: "Five years."
"Impossible! That's too much, two years." Ling Hao answered immediately.
After many negotiations that didn't seem like they were between clan leaders, but more like merchants fighting for the profit of a single spiritual stone, both sides agreed on a period of three years.
After everything ended, Ling Tian silently followed his father, but before leaving the hall, Ling Tian turned to take a look at Hong Yan and Dong Yuan Yi. By coincidence, they were also looking at him with contemptuous gazes and malicious smiles on their faces.
Ling Tian gave them an angry scrutinizing look while thinking: "Today's account will be paid back many times over."
With this thought, Ling Tian left with his father and headed to the clan headquarters.
After returning to the clan, Ling Tian was met with angry looks from clan members, and he realized that news of their loss of three years of spiritual stone mine rights had reached the clan.
Of course, no one spoke, perhaps because of Ling Hao's presence, but Ling Tian was sure they were very angry, even the clan elders.
Ling Tian continued following his father until they entered the clan leader's room.
It was a small room with a small desk filled with papers, and behind this desk was a library containing many books.
Ling Hao advanced to the front of the desk while reading some papers, and asked Ling Tian without turning around: "Do you know your mistake?"
When Ling Tian heard his father's words, he answered quickly in a nervous tone: "Father, believe me, I didn't do anything!"
But what shocked Ling Tian was his father's answer: "I know."
Ling Tian was shocked by his father's words, but he waited for him to finish speaking.
Ling Hao sighed and said: "Do you know why they targeted you specifically?"
Ling Tian answered hesitantly: "Because of my bad reputation in pursuing girls?"
"Wrong, they targeted you because you're weak." Ling Hao said while still flipping through papers.
Then he continued and said: "If you were stronger, Hong Yan couldn't have beaten you up. If you were stronger, Dong Li wouldn't have dared to speak, even if you really had assaulted his daughter."
When Ling Tian heard his father's words, he was stunned by the realization, then began clenching his fists tightly while thinking: "Yes, if I were stronger, they wouldn't have dared to think of framing me. Why did I want to become a cultivator? Wasn't it to avoid being in a situation like this? What a fool I am! I forgot my goal, and just because I don't have talent, I gave up and started running from reality. Just like in my past life, I'm just a coward who gives up at the first obstacle. But this ends here! I will definitely change!"
The more he thought, the angrier he became at himself, and he began pressing his hand harder until his hand started bleeding.
Ling Tian raised his head while looking at his father and said in a voice full of determination: "I realized my mistake! From today I promise you I will change, I promise you I will become stronger!"
Ling Hao didn't answer him, but threw him a bag and said: "This is a storage bag, its space is five square meters, inside it are a hundred spiritual stones. Consider these my last gifts to you."
Then he waved his hand and said: "You may go."
Ling Tian took the storage bag and thanked his father and left, but what Ling Tian didn't know was that Ling Hao had been smiling ever since he entered the room.
After Ling Tian left, he went to his mother to explain things. On the way, because Ling Hao wasn't present, clan members were mocking and cursing Ling Tian, but this didn't anger Ling Tian because he realized how much trouble he had caused them and how foolish he had been.
After a while, Ling Tian reached his mother's place and began explaining the matter to his mother. Of course, it wasn't easy, and his mother began crying while cursing Dong Yuan Yi and the entire Hong family.
After a while, he calmed her down and tried to make her happy during these three days.
Of course, during these three days, Ling Tian returned to training to the extent that he barely allocated time to spend with his mother.
Soon the three days ended, and after bidding farewell to his crying mother, Ling Tian set off on his journey.