Chapter 521: This Is Human Nature

It was none other than Qiu Shengnan, Qin Caihe's master and an elder from the Myriad Swords Sect.

Though she had lost an arm and was severely injured, she still stood impassively, blocking Kong Yuanba with her sword."With me here, do you still consider us useless?" she asked.

Kong Yuanba paused, his footsteps halting. He said in a deep voice, "Elder Qiu, this is a matter between me and the Azure Cloud Sect. Why is an elder from your Myriad Swords Sect interfering?"

Qiu Shengnan replied coldly, "If Jiang Fan hadn't turned the tide in this battle, using heavenly lightning to secure victory, your disciples would have long since been turned into minced meat! Where would they have had the chance to expose Jiang Fan to you then?"She shot Jin Zhongming a look of contempt. Kong Yuanba was unaware of Jiang Fan's contribution in this major battle. But wasn't Jin Zhongming himself aware? Without Jiang Fan, he would have been trampled into a pulp by the corpse army long ago! He had just barely escaped with his life, and now he was exposing Jiang Fan! Calling him ungrateful would be an insult to the word itself!

Her words awakened the conscience of the elders and disciples present. Regardless of whether they usually had good relations with the Azure Cloud Sect, the elders spontaneously gathered around Jiang Fan."Sect Master Kong, Jiang Fan not only saved a few of your disciples, but he also saved us, and more importantly, he saved the entire battle, Sunset City behind us, and countless lives! You want to convict Jiang Fan based solely on a single statement from Jin Zhongming? First, ask us if we agree!"

Kong Yuanba could ignore three elders. But he had to take seriously ten elders from the other eight sects."Does he really have such great merit?" Kong Yuanba scoffed, his eyes full of disdain. Surely, the combined efforts of so many elders and elite disciples present here were more significant than Jiang Fan's?

When it came to battlefield merit, Lei Zhenhai, as the commander, had to step forward once more."Jiang Fan's contribution was indeed immense," he stated. "To put it this way, half of the corpse army you saw was annihilated by Jiang Fan. Without him, everyone would have died. Including me."

"What?" Kong Yuanba was greatly astonished. There were more than eight thousand members of the corpse army here. Half of them destroyed by Jiang Fan? He turned his head to look at Elder Yan and Jin Zhongming. The former nodded without hesitation. The latter said enviously, "He was just lucky. If I had cultivated the Way of Thunder, I could have done the same!" In response, he received only scornful glances, as if anyone had prevented him from cultivating thunder magic.

Having received a definitive answer, Kong Yuanba secretly drew a sharp breath. Jiang Fan was actually the one who played a decisive role in this great victory! He instantly felt Jiang Fan's immense threat. If this young man were given time, he would undoubtedly become a grave concern for the Giant Sect! He had to be eliminated while this opportunity presented itself. As for killing a meritorious individual potentially angering the Heavenly Dao Pavilion... His revenge for Tie Bubai was justified! At most, the Heavenly Dao Pavilion would strip him of his sect master position! He could afford not to be the sect master! But Jiang Fan, this threat, had to be removed!

"I don't care about any merit or lack thereof!" Kong Yuanba angrily snorted, emanating an overwhelming aura. "A life for a life is only right and proper! He killed my sect's grand elder, and he must pay with his life! No one will stop me today!"

Li Qingfeng gritted his teeth and declared menacingly, "Fine! So you want to be unreasonable, do you? Elders, please protect Jiang Fan for me! I'll go slaughter the Giant Sect's brats! If your Giant Sect wants to act lawlessly, do you expect my Azure Cloud Sect to still abide by the rules? No one is going to have an easy time of it!" He decisively drew his sword and charged directly at Jin Zhongming.

The instigator, Jin Zhongming, was terrified and quickly hid behind Elder Yan, screaming, "Sect Master, save me!" He had never imagined this. The fire he ignited for Jiang Fan was scorching him first! Seeing this, Kong Yuanba roared, "Li Qingfeng! You're courting death!!!" Jin Zhongming was someone he was cultivating to be the next sect master! Attacking him was no different from attacking the very foundation of the Giant Sect!

Seeing Kong Yuanba make a move, the elders of the other sects also drew their magic artifacts. For a moment, spiritual energy surged, and the brilliant lights of magic artifacts intertwined. It was on the verge of erupting into an all-out brawl. Lei Zhenhai, as the commander guarding this place, couldn't just stand by and watch things escalate. Otherwise, he would be the first to face reproach from the Heavenly Dao Pavilion. He immediately let out a cold snort. He unleashed bolts of lightning, blasting apart the entangled crowd."Everyone stop! Anyone who dares to cause trouble again will be dealt with by military law!" His voice was like muffled thunder, emitting a deafening roar.

Everyone's bodies trembled, and they successively ceased their actions. Even Kong Yuanba stopped, his face grim, his eyes fixed on Li Qingfeng."You dared to attack a disciple of my sect! My sect will remember this!"

Li Qingfeng was unfazed and said chillingly, "Then you remember this too! If anything happens to Jiang Fan, I will definitely kill Jin Zhongming and send him to accompany you in death! It's just killing a disciple from another sect, right? Who the hell can't do that?"Wen Hongyao and Zhao Wuji's faces were also filled with icy resolve. The Azure Cloud Sect had always avoided trouble. But if they were truly provoked, they would fight to the bitter end! No matter how formidable your Giant Sect was, it wasn't made of iron, was it? If they bit with all their might, they could surely tear off a piece or two of your flesh, making you cry out in agony, couldn't they?

The elders from the other sects looked as if they were seeing the Azure Cloud Sect elders anew, their expressions revealing unfamiliarity. Among these three elders, apart from Wen Hongyao, who had a fiery temper, Li Qingfeng and Zhao Wuji were typically gentle and modest individuals. Yet now, to protect Jiang Fan, they were acting so sharp and domineering.

Jiang Fan felt a warmth in his heart. With such elders protecting him, his journey to the Azure Cloud Sect hadn't been in vain."Thank you, three elders, for protecting me," he said. "And thank you, all the esteemed elders from various sects, for upholding justice. Your disciple, Jiang Fan, is extremely grateful!"

Then, he coldly gazed at Jin Zhongming and said indifferently: "You almost incited a war among the nine sects. As the culprit, do you intend to keep hiding?"Seeing that the situation had calmed down, Jin Zhongming, hands behind his back, walked out with a straight posture and a proud stride. He snorted through his nostrils, "You are the culprit who murdered my sect's grand elder! Today, unless you give an explanation, this matter will not end well!"

Jiang Fan said coldly, "You say I'm the murderer? Do you have any evidence? Just your word? I could say you were the killer!"Jin Zhongming laughed in exasperation. "You used that purple sword; do you think I didn't see it? Besides me, others must have seen it too! If you don't believe me, ask everyone!"

At that time, there were many people, and it was chaotic. Those who witnessed that sword strike should be far more than just Lei Zhenhai and Jin Zhongming. However, as Jin Zhongming scanned the crowd, not a single person stepped forward to testify. Jin Zhongming grew anxious and said, "Informants will be heavily rewarded by my Giant Sect!" Xie Liushu's lips twitched. He had indeed seen Jiang Fan use that purple sword. But why would he bother to identify Jiang Fan? If Jiang Fan hadn't used the purple sword to cut through the ice, giving them a buffer, Boundary Mountain would have fallen long ago, and they would all be dead. Several of the informed individuals secretly rolled their eyes. Not to mention that they couldn't get past their conscience. Even if they betrayed Jiang Fan against their conscience and received the Giant Sect's reward, they would be drowned by the spittle of their fellow disciples upon returning to their sect. It simply wasn't worth betraying Jiang Fan.

Seeing that no one came forward to testify, Jin Zhongming became agitated and furious."You... you're all helping Jiang Fan, aren't you? You all want to be Jiang Fan's accomplices and oppose the Giant Sect, is that it?"Qiu Shengnan's brow furrowed, a fierce aura about her. "Brat, if you have evidence, present it! If you don't have evidence, then shut up! If you dare to incite an internal conflict among the nine sects again, I, this elder, will be the first to cut you down!"Jin Zhongming felt utterly wronged. He had clearly seen it, but the battle was so critical at the time, how could he have had the chance to gather evidence?

Wait! Evidence? Jin Zhongming slapped his forehead, then suddenly let out a loud, sinister laugh:"Jiang Fan! You're dead meat! You want evidence, right? The irrefutable evidence is right before our eyes; let's see how you deny it!"