Martial Saint with Passives

Xie Songnian slowly withdrew his palm, his expression cold and stern, as if he had just swatted a fly.

He turned to the other two representatives, who were stunned by the sudden turn of events, and said coldly, ”You both heard him. He admitted with his own mouth that he came from the Demon Sect. How could that be false?”

At the same time, he pulled a thin booklet from his robes and tossed it over.

”This was obtained by a Cangyun Sect disciple at the cost of his life. It documents the You Family’s crimes of secretly abducting women and practicing Evil Techniques over the years! Their so-called law-abiding reputation is nothing but a facade to deceive the public! Demons from the Demon Sect are masters of sophistry. I killed him immediately to prevent him from bewitching the crowd with his demonic words!”

The representatives from the Taiyuan Sect and Profound Sound Sect took the booklet, and after flipping through a few pages, looks of shock appeared on their faces.

The times, places, and people recorded within were all extremely detailed; it didn’t look forged.

The two exchanged a glance, the doubt in their eyes gradually replaced by anger and lingering fear.

’If this is true, the You Family has hidden themselves far too well!’

Xie Songnian had acted decisively. Though ruthless, his actions weren’t entirely without reason.

Seeing the change in their expressions, Xie Songnian spoke in a pained and resolute tone, ”Remnants of the Demon Sect deserve to die! This matter is of grave importance; we must report back to our Sect Leaders immediately! In my opinion, the You Family must be eradicated, root and stem! I propose that our Three Sects launch a joint extermination campaign at once, lest these demon spawn escape and cause even greater harm!”

The representatives from the Taiyuan Sect and the Profound Sound Sect were silent for a moment before nodding grimly.

”Agreed.”

”Alright, let’s do it!”

...

Jiang Che found himself at the Scripture Pavilion once again.

The administrator, Master Zhang, was dozing in a recliner.

Hearing a noise, he cracked an eyelid open, glanced at Jiang Che, then lazily closed it again, mumbling, ”You again... Go ahead and look, and register them yourself.”

Jiang Che was already familiar with the routine. After registering himself, he went to the second floor. This level was dedicated to Qi Blood Realm Techniques.

His gaze swept across the rows of book spines, and he would occasionally pull one out to flip through it.

Before long, he had already selected several books.

*Cloud-Flipping Palm*, *Broken Flow Leg*, *Rock Solid Technique*...

They were a diverse collection, covering all sorts of styles.

Once he had made his selections, he went to the counter to check out.

While slowly searching for the stock copies by title, Master Zhang casually asked, ”You again, kid. Why are you always buying these Qi Blood Realm Techniques?”

Jiang Che had already prepared his excuse and explained calmly, ”Master Zhang, I just want to broaden my horizons and systematically study the force exertion techniques and Qi Blood circulation pathways of various Qi Blood Realm Martial Arts. I want to thoroughly grasp the true essence of the Martial Dao. It’s about learning from everyone’s strengths.”

Hearing this, Master Zhang raised his eyelids to look at him but didn’t ask any more questions.

This kind of explanation was quite common. There were always some disciples who enjoyed delving into these things, seeking inspiration for a breakthrough.

But he had never seen anyone like Jiang Che, who seemed intent on buying out the Scripture Pavilion’s entire collection of Qi Blood Realm Techniques.

After buying the secret manuals, Jiang Che was about to leave when a commotion erupted outside the door, and several other Inner Courtyard Disciples walked in, also looking to purchase secret manuals.

They clearly didn’t notice Jiang Che off to the side and were engrossed in their own heated conversation.

”Did you hear? The You Family Patriarch, You Longji! During yesterday’s meeting with the representatives from the Three Sects, he actually admitted it himself! Said that his You Family is a branch of the Demon Sect’s Sinful Desire Sect!” a tall, thin disciple said, his voice filled with irrepressible excitement.

”Heard? My senior brother went to the scene with Vice Sect Leader Xie!” another, shorter and stockier disciple chimed in, spittle flying. ”You should have seen it! You Longji tried to argue at first, but our Vice Sect Leader Xie saw right through him and killed him on the spot with a single palm strike! Tsk tsk, a True Master Realm expert, gone just like that!”

”The You Family is finished now!”

”Exactly! Vice Sect Leader Xie even produced evidence showing that the You Family has been secretly abducting respectable women to practice their Evil Techniques all these years! Truly beasts in human skin!”

”The Three Great Sects have already decided to dispatch a joint force to wipe out You Manor! This is going to be a good show!”

Jiang Che listened to their discussion, his brow gradually furrowing.

’The You Family... Sinful Desire Sect... Vice Sect Leader Xie killed him on the spot?’

A strong sense of dissonance rose in his heart.

’Xie Songnian is clearly colluding with the Demon Sect in private, so why would he be so proactive in attacking another ’Demon Sect’ force?’

’And to kill him so cleanly, silencing him permanently...’

’Could it be... the You Family was set up as a scapegoat? Or is Xie Songnian trying to pull a dog-eat-dog move?’

’But You Longji confessed with his own mouth...’

’What in the world is going on?’

Jiang Che’s heart was filled with heavy doubts, but his face remained impassive. He clutched the secret manuals and quickly left the Scripture Pavilion.

When he returned to his residence, the latest issue of the *Cangzhou Wind and Cloud Chronicles* had already been delivered.

Jiang Che picked up the paper and skimmed through it quickly.

As expected, the front-page headline reported on the You Family’s affair with a conspicuous title.

The content was largely the same as what the disciples had said, heavily emphasizing that You Longji had confessed with his own mouth, that Xie Songnian had acted decisively, and that the Three Great Sects possessed conclusive evidence proving the You Family was not the law-abiding clan they appeared to be.

The article concluded by announcing that, with the approval of the Governor of Cangzhou, the Three Great Sects would dispatch a joint force to crusade against You Manor and eliminate this scourge for the people!

For the next few days, this was nearly all anyone in the Cangyun Sect talked about.

”Have you heard? You Manor is ridiculously rich! They have mountains of gold, silver, and jewelry!”

”That’s not all! Their family has also collected many Divine Weapons, and I heard they even have Treasure Pills that can aid in Refining Organ Realm cultivation!”

”This is a great chance to get rich! And you can earn a ton of sect points!”

”I’m definitely signing up! Maybe I can score big!”

Public opinion was almost completely one-sided.

As for whether the You Family truly deserved their fate or if there was more to the story, few people seemed to care anymore.