Chapter 9
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Chapter 9: Law Enforcement Hall
“Who is causing trouble in the sect?”
One person spoke with a serious expression, his aura emanating a deep pressure that intimidated the outer disciples. The other two stood behind him, following his lead.
After landing, he shifted his gaze to Wuzhen and Ji Yang, sternly scolding them.
“It’s Brother Ling Xiao from the law enforcement hall!”
“I’ve heard this brother is very strict. No matter which peak they are from, anyone who violates the sect rules will not be spared!”
Ling Xiao ignored the murmurs of the crowd and fixed his eyes on the seated Wuzhen, clearly considering him a suspect.
The situation on the scene was quite clear.
With Wuzhen at the third level of Qi Refinement and Ji Yang only at the first level, it was obvious that the senior brother was bullying the newly admitted junior brother! They even openly attacked each other within the sect, a truly heinous act.
“Bind him!”
Ling Xiao commanded the two people behind him.
As they approached, Wuzhen quickly protested with a distressed expression,
“Brother, I’m wronged!”
“It was him! He struck first! He violated sect rules and injured a fellow disciple! Please help me, brother!”
Wuzhen pointed at Ji Yang and, after speaking, fainted. Being severely injured was one thing, but now he was being blamed for causing trouble; that was worse than death.
The three of them exchanged surprised glances at Ji Yang and then at the unconscious Wuzhen. The situation seemed different from what they had imagined.
“That’s right, it was me who did it, three brothers from the law enforcement hall!” Ji Yang stepped forward voluntarily.
Ling Xiao frowned and briefly sensed Ji Yang’s cultivation level; it was indeed at the first level of Qi Refinement. But seeing that no one around spoke out against him and their eyes were instead filled with fear of Ji Yang, Ling Xiao waved his hand, signaling an outer disciple to come forward and recount what had just happened.
After listening to the entire account, a hint of surprise appeared in Ling Xiao’s gaze. In his time with the sect, he had dealt with countless incidents, but hardly anything like this had occurred.
However, upon learning that Ji Yang possessed the Talent Jealousy, Ling Xiao’s expression calmed; this was quite normal.
Geniuses are always different, and fighting beyond one’s level is not hard to understand.
“Junior brother, please come with us; you have violated…”
“The one hundred twenty-eighth rule of the sect states: provoking fellow brothers and injuring them results in a penalty of one month of mining for minor offenses, and three months for severe offenses!” Ji Yang murmured, which left Ling Xiao momentarily stunned.
Then everyone saw Ji Yang declaring with righteous vigor,
“I strive for the right path! Since the first day I entered the sect, I vowed to uphold the integrity and atmosphere within! This senior brother has been using his strength to bully the weak and cut in line, and for this, I do not regret violating sect rules!”
Ji Yang’s words were powerful, and many outer disciples looked at him with admiration.
The sect has many rules, but some are not taken seriously. For instance, bullying the weak has a very broad definition; something like cutting in line does not incur a severe penalty and usually only requires the payment of some spiritual stones.
They had not expected a junior brother to stand up for them!
At that moment, many newly admitted disciples who had been bullied felt a glimmer of hope in Ji Yang!
Until Ji Yang was taken away, everyone seemed to awaken from a dream. They resumed their activities, but Ji Yang’s reputation quietly spread through their conversations.
“You struck first and injured a fellow brother, causing his cultivation level to drop. This is a serious matter, and according to the sect rules, you must mine for three months!”
“Do you have any objections?”
“None.”
Ji Yang maintained a calm expression, responding calmly.
Seeing this, Ling Xiao slightly nodded and said nothing further as he escorted Ji Yang to the mining site.
Upon arriving, Ling Xiao spoke,
“This is the Ziying Mine of the He Dao Sect, and you will serve your punishment here!”
Ji Yang felt a surge of excitement upon seeing the mine, but his face remained composed.
Soon, a large man dressed in the uniform of an inner sect steward came to take over from Ling Xiao.
The big man glanced at Ji Yang and asked,
“How long?”
“For injuring a fellow brother, it’s three months of mining!”
“Okay, understood.”
The big man nodded, showing no surprise and asking no further questions.
With over a hundred thousand disciples in the He Dao Sect, such matters were common, especially among new disciples. However, after experiencing mining for themselves, incidents like this would become much less frequent.
As Ling Xiao departed, the big man led Ji Yang into the mine.
As they went deeper, they passed several guards, all with solid cultivation levels.
Noting Ji Yang’s curious expression, the big man chuckled lightly,
“Since you’re here, work hard at mining. The He Dao Sect is always fair; if you make a mistake, you must accept the punishment. Once the three-month term is over, you’ll naturally be released.”
“But remember, if you don’t complete your daily tasks in the mine, you won’t get to eat!”
Ji Yang nodded, feeling curious about why the sect included mining as part of the punishment.
The Ziying Mine is considered a precious resource in the cultivation world, often regarded as a heavenly mine in the mundane realm. The produced Ziying stones can be integrated into formations and are also needed for weapon crafting, so there’s quite a demand.
Aside from Ziying stones, other rare ores can be found here, although in smaller quantities; these belong to the sect’s assets.
Ji Yang had learned a bit about this mine before, so it was not entirely unfamiliar to him.
Nearby, many sect disciples were busy working.
Before long, Ji Yang was brought to the center of the mine, where he saw an enormous cavern. Much of it had already been excavated, but the mountain was vast, and it would take a long time to mine out entirely.
“Bang bang bang, clang clang clang!”
The sound of picks striking stone echoed through the cavern.
Before entering, Ji Yang’s storage bag was confiscated and checked to ensure he had no extra items. He would only get it back after completing his punishment. Since his storage bag contained nothing valuable, he let them take it without protest.
Led by the big man into the cavern, Ji Yang observed many outer disciples diligently working with iron picks to chip away at the rocks. Beside them were various sizes of stones.
These stones were faintly purple, clearly the Ziying ore.
When the other disciples saw the big man bringing in someone new, they paused their work and erupted in excited cheers:
“Ha ha, another newcomer!”
Seeing the joyous expressions on their faces, it was clear they had been suffering here for a while; otherwise, they wouldn’t react so eagerly to a newcomer.
Ji Yang felt a growing sense of anticipation in his heart.
