Chapter 1745: Fairness and Justice

Sunlight Arbitration is the most powerful means for the native star systems to control the Myriad Manifestations Ocean. It's also why the Sunlight Overseers are stationed on Myriad Manifestations Island, enabling them to intervene promptly whenever something happens in the Ocean.

However, a Sunlight Overseer only carries out arbitration when someone breaks the rules. Lu Ye carefully considered the situation on Three Realms Island and confirmed that his side had indeed followed all regulations, acting entirely within the established rules.

This left only one possibility!

"Whether rules were broken is not for you to decide," Yuan Du stated calmly. With a wave of his hand, Yu Huan, who had been impaled through the chest by Lu Ye's Pan Shan Blade, was lifted away by an invisible force and instantly appeared beside Yuan Du.

Yu Huan, having narrowly escaped death, looked relieved and grateful. Though disheveled, he had finally saved his life and no longer had to worry about dying at any moment.

He quickly turned and bowed, "Yu Huan of Bai Yue pays his respects to Overseer Yuan. Thank you for saving my life!"

Yuan Du said calmly, "My saving you was official business, to uphold the rules of my Myriad Manifestations Ocean. No thanks are needed!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Yu Huan's face was still pale, and he nodded repeatedly, knowing he had spoken out of turn and daring not to say more.

Yuan Du said, "Then tell me, what do you wish for this old man to arbitrate? If you cannot state your case clearly, I will not let you off lightly. We Sunlight Overseers must act with absolute fairness and justice in all matters. In this Myriad Manifestations Ocean, we will never show favoritism to anyone in any form."

Yu Huan's expression immediately turned serious. He spun to face Lu Ye, his voice filled with indignation, "Overseer Yuan, I request your arbitration because Three Realms Island broke the rules in this Spirit Island scramble!"

In truth, he hadn't even realized this himself. During the previous battle, the battlefield was too chaotic, and Bai Yue Island was in a precarious situation, so he naturally didn't have much leisure to pay attention to specific details until Yuan Cheng just now sent him a voice transmission to prompt him.

Yuan Cheng surely wouldn't harm him, so at this moment, he pointed confidently at Lu Ye, his voice stern and sharp: "Three Realms Island deployed more than five Moon Yao cultivators in this Spirit Island scramble!"

Lu Ye's brow arched. *Just as I thought,* he mused. Yuan Du's appearance was indeed due to this reason.

"More than five?!" Yuan Du's face darkened. He raised his eyes to gaze in the direction of Bai Yue Island, his deep gaze seemingly capable of taking in everything there. After a moment, he nodded slightly and said, "Indeed. There are two Moon Yao cultivators here, but four over there. That makes six Moon Yao cultivators already!"

He lowered his head, fixing Lu Ye with a stern gaze as he admonished, "Such blatant disregard for the rules is simply outrageous! If everyone acted as you have, how could there be any peace in the Myriad Manifestations Ocean? The Myriad Manifestations Ocean would lose all semblance of order. Today, this Overseer has verified the facts: Three Realms Island resorted to unscrupulous means, disregarding the rules, and thus deserves severe punishment as a warning to others!" As he spoke, he slowly raised a palm and struck towards Lu Ye, "This Overseer kills you today because you violated the rules. The Myriad Manifestations Ocean requires fairness and justice. For anyone who disregards the rules, we Overseers show no mercy. If there is a next life, live properly!"

Instantly, Lu Ye's hair stood on end, his entire body cracked with countless fissures, and blood surged forth. When a Sunlight realm expert harbored murderous intent towards him and decisively attacked, it was a true matter of life and death.

Beside Yuan Du, Yu Huan watched Lu Ye with schadenfreude, never having imagined such a turn of events. Indeed, seeking out Yuan Du had been the wisest decision he had ever made.

"Three Realms Island did not break any rules! If the Overseer truly holds fairness in his heart, he should allow Three Realms Island to present its argument. If the Overseer forcibly kills me now, that is an act of silencing witnesses! Three Realms Island will not submit, and the billions of cultivators in the Myriad Manifestations Ocean will not submit!" Lu Ye roared.

Yuan Du's brow furrowed, and the palm he was about to strike still halted.

The commotion caused by his descent had been immense. In just a short time, many nearby cultivators had rushed over to observe. Although they stood far off, Yuan Du had not concealed any of his words just now, intending to demonstrate his impartiality. The distant onlookers had naturally heard everything clearly. With Lu Ye now shouting such a challenge, if Yuan Du were to genuinely strike and kill him, it would confirm suspicions of murder to silence, inevitably leading to much conjecture.

Furthermore, from an outsider's perspective, even if one were being arbitrated, they should indeed be allowed to present a counter-argument to clarify the truth. While the Myriad Manifestations Ocean was currently under the jurisdiction of the Sunlight Overseers, it didn't mean that whatever they said was absolute.

The Sunlight Overseers needed to maintain their public trust, while external forces needed to protect their interests as much as possible. The entire Myriad Manifestations Ocean existed in such a peculiar balance.

Yuan Du frowned and asked, "What do you wish to dispute?"

Lu Ye replied, "Overseer, please withdraw your imposing aura!"

Ever since the old man appeared, his formidable aura had transformed into an invisible force, pressing down on him and Ma Shangsi, which was truly vexing.

Seeing that Yuan Du remained unmoved, Lu Ye sneered, "With the power of a Sunlight Overseer, are you afraid that a mere early-stage Moon Yao like me will escape? Or do you simply not want me to speak further?"

Provoked by Lu Ye's words, Yuan Du could only retract his aura. Of course, he was confident that Lu Ye could not escape from him.

Only then did Lu Ye feel much more at ease.

"Say what you have to say quickly, or it might be too late. And don't expect to trick your way through with clever words; this old man is not blind!"

"Naturally," Lu Ye replied with a cold smile. "Please wait a moment, Overseer. Whether Three Realms Island has acted improperly will soon become clear."

From the direction of Bai Yue Island, the sword cultivator clone was rapidly approaching. His sword-flight was swift, and he would arrive soon.

Although Lu Ye could have used a Void Spirit Rune to directly teleport the clone over, he didn't want to do so under everyone's gaze.

Yuan Du had sensed four Moon Yao auras from Bai Yue Island. One of them was, naturally, the sword cultivator clone. Lu Ye had been too hasty in pursuing Ma Shangsi earlier, leaving the clone behind.

As for the four Blood Treasure clones, Lu Ye had already recalled them after breaching Bai Yue Island's island-protecting formation. This was because Blood Treasure clones should not be overly depleted in battle; once shattered, Lu Ye would have to painstakingly reform them. Replenishing their Blood Treasure energy when only partially consumed was much simpler than reforming them from scratch.

Otherwise, Yuan Du would have sensed not just four Moon Yao auras, but eight.

In just a moment, the sword cultivator, having swiftly arrived, dispersed his sword light, revealing his form.

Lu Ye looked at Yuan Du, "Of the four Moon Yao cultivators the Overseer sensed on Bai Yue Island just now, he was one, wasn't he?"

"Indeed!" Yuan Du nodded.

"Then there's no problem," Lu Ye said, raising his hand to grab the clone.

"What?" Yuan Du was first stunned, then displayed an expression of disbelief. As Lu Ye placed his hand on the clone, the living Moon Yao cultivator seemed to melt, transforming into a ball of red light that merged into Lu Ye's body, leaving behind only the clothes he wore and a sword gourd.

Lu Ye calmly collected the clothes and sword gourd. He wasn't concerned that the sword gourd would reveal anything, as many cultivators favored wearing artifacts of that design, making its camouflage quite effective unless someone closely inspected it.

This sudden change startled Yuan Cheng, who stood on the starship. "What's going on?" he exclaimed.

Yu Huan was equally dumbfounded.

Only Yuan Du reacted, "A clone technique?"

Lu Ye looked at Yuan Du with a sneer, "Overseer Yuan is indeed well-informed!"

Yuan Du was indeed knowledgeable, yet he had never encountered such a peculiar clone. In his perception, this clone was indistinguishable from a living person; otherwise, he wouldn't have appeared here.

*This situation... is tricky!* he thought, secretly annoyed. If only he had known, he would have observed Bai Yue Island more closely from nearby. Perhaps he would have discerned the anomaly and avoided this awkward predicament where he was caught between a rock and a hard place.

"So, this proves that Three Realms Island did not break the rules in this Spirit Island scramble, doesn't it, Overseer Yuan?"

Yuan Du remained silent. With the facts laid bare, what more could he say?

*Whoosh...* Yu Huan reacted incredibly fast. The moment Lu Ye finished speaking, he desperately began to flee. His hope for Yuan Du's arbitration had failed, and if Lu Ye intended to kill him now, no one else could save him. He had to save himself.

Lu Ye merely glanced in the direction Yu Huan fled, not giving chase immediately. Instead, he looked at Yuan Du and said, "Yu Huan was about to die, and it was the Overseer who snatched him from my blade. Now that the facts are clear, shouldn't the Overseer return Yu Huan to me? To show fairness and justice?"

Yuan Du glared furiously at Lu Ye. He, a dignified Sunlight realm expert, had personally appeared to arbitrate based on the rules of the Myriad Manifestations Ocean, only to have Lu Ye use facts to prove that Three Realms Island had not broken any rules. Everyone knew that his appearance this time was driven by significant personal motives; it was as if he had stepped forward only to be slapped by Lu Ye.

If that were all, it would have been bearable. But now, Lu Ye was actually demanding that he return Yu Huan, whom he had saved. Wasn't that akin to being slapped on one cheek, then turning the other for another slap?

Yet, it was true that he had rescued Yu Huan from Lu Ye's blade, and Lu Ye was now invoking fairness and justice. With such a heavy accusation laid against him, Yuan Du could not evade responsibility.

Because he himself had proclaimed fairness and justice, and not just once!

Murderous intent blazed in Yuan Du's heart; he wished he could eradicate Lu Ye at that very moment. But he was, after all, a Sunlight realm expert. Killing an early-stage Moon Yao cultivator was easy, but dealing with the consequences afterward would be difficult.

Once the news of him forcibly killing Lu Ye spread, the Myriad Manifestations Ocean would lose its peace. The Sunlight realm experts from those top-tier forces had coveted the Myriad Manifestations Ocean for a long time, but were constrained by numerous rules and that peculiar balance, preventing them from interfering in its affairs.

If the native Sunlight Overseers themselves disregarded the rules, would the Sunlight realm experts from other forces still care to uphold them?

It was conceivable that if he killed Lu Ye today, ten or even a hundred Sunlight realm experts would appear in the Myriad Manifestations Ocean tomorrow...

Therefore, no matter how intense the murderous intent in his heart, he could only forcefully restrain himself. It must be said that the temperament of Sunlight realm cultivators was remarkably stable; a more impulsive cultivator might have already attacked.

He merely watched Lu Ye with cold eyes, silently threatening him.