CHAPTER 118: YIN SHENGONG'S FURY

"I can't do anything about that," Zhao Shanhe said in an indifferent manner. "What has to be done must be done! Furthermore, there's no guarantee that this will be a negative experience for him. As all of you are aware, those who emerge from the Path of Self-Inquisition benefit immensely from the experience."

"But that only applies to those who can handle it! If they can't, then they'll come out braindead! You know just as well as we do that far more people have been ruined by the Path of Self-Inquisition than those that have emerged from it unscathed!" Meng Hejun yelled.

"I am only following orders," Zhao Shanhe said in a steely manner. "You have to understand that given his current accolades and aptitude, if he does turn out to be a spy for the One Heart Church, the consequences will be extremely damning for everyone!"

"In that case, should all of our other students be put through the Path of Self-Inquisition?" Gao Qingyu sneered.

"I have been given no such order," Zhao Shanhe replied in a cold voice.

"I think you should put in a request," Gao Qingyu sneered. "All of the students of our White Cloud Warrior Academy should be put through the Path of Self-Inquisition! When they come out the other side all braindead, I'll be able to go into early retirement!"

"Stop being unreasonable, Gao Qingyu!"

"Who's the unreasonable one here?" Meng Chizheng yelled in a furious voice. "You're just going to put a student of ours through the Path of Self-Inquisition without any solid evidence of wrongdoing?!"

"There would be no need to even put him through the Path of Self-Inquisition if we had evidence," Zhao Shanhe harrumphed. "That's enough bickering. Fang Che is going through the Path of Self-Inquisition no matter what!"

Meng Hejun was fuming with rage, but as she turned her gaze to Fang Che, her expression instantly softened to one of sympathy.

"If there are no objections, then I will be taking him away," Zhao Shanhe declared as he rose to his feet.

"No objections? Ha! What does it matter anyway? What a fair and righteous man you are to be asking lowly paupers like ourselves for our opinions!" Gao Qingyu sneered. "If you want to know if there are any objections, I can tell you now that I have all the objections in the world!"

"Objection denied!" Zhao Shanhe said in an implacable manner.

"Fuck off!" Gao Qingyu swore as he spat onto the ground.

"Take him away!"

"Master Zhao..."

Meng Hejun and the others collectively rose to their feet, but it was clear that Zhao Shanhe wasn't going to change his mind.

"Please, please, please go easy on him. Even if he has to be put through the Path of Self-Inquisition, please make sure it's at the mildest possible setting," Meng Hejun implored.

"That is a request I can fulfill."

"I don't trust you!" Gao Qingyu yelled. "I have to be there to bear witness!"

"That's not allowed! No one is permitted to bear witness to the Path of Self-Inquisition! Barring any mishaps, I'll have him back here before midnight."

"Please be gentle with him," Meng Chizheng implored.

Zhao Shanhe nodded in response.

Xiang Xinghe trudged toward Fang Che with a look of deep sympathy in his eyes.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly turned back around, then asked through voice transmission, "Is this really necessary, Master Zhao? It's too cruel!"

"Are you resisting my orders?" Zhao Shanhe asked in a stern voice.

Xiang Xinghe could only heave a forlorn sigh.

"Can I come with you, Master Zhao?" Li Changkong asked. "I'll bring Fang Che back once you're done with him."

"There's no need for that," Zhao Shanhe said. "If you insist on coming, then I'll have to ask you to wait outside."

"Alright, I'll wait outside then," Li Changkong said.

"Suit yourself."

With that, Zhao Shanhe exited the room with his hands clasped behind his back.

Xiang Xinghe heaved another forlorn sigh, then turned to Fang Che and asked, "Are you coming with me, or will I have to take you by force?"

"I'll come with you," Fang Che replied in a defiant manner.

Internally, he was thinking to himself that given his soul was over ten times more powerful than that of the average Great Grandmaster, surely he should be able to make it through the Path of Self-Inquisition just fine.

However, he couldn't figure out why he had just been subjected to such an intense interrogation with so many important figures present.

Meng Hejun and Gao Qingyu looked on with dark expressions as Fang Che was taken away with Li Changkong in accompaniment.

"What a shame. He was destined for great things," Meng Chizheng sighed as he walked out of the room.

Lü Jiaoshan also heaved a forlorn sigh, and the other assistant deans were looking less than pleased as well.

After all, this was an internal affair of their academy, so even though Zhao Shanhe's official position was above theirs, this was beyond the scope of his jurisdiction.

"Are we done here? If so, I'm going out for a drink," Huang Yifan sighed.

"Is drinking the only thing on your mind?" Meng Hejun snapped. "The honor of our entire academy was just stomped into the ground, yet as the assistant dean, all you think about is drinking!"

"Well, it's not like we could've done anything!" Huang Yifan protested, then stormed out of the room.

***

In the scripture library.

"All you did was sit there and watch?! Why the fuck didn't you stop them?!"

Old Man Shen was absolutely livid as he grabbed onto Huang Yifan's collar.

Huang Yifan was completely taken aback by this intense reaction from Old Man Shen, and he replied, "I wouldn't have been able to stop them even if I tried!"

"What the fuck are those bastards thinking?! There are so many demonic church members running free, yet they choose to pick on a completely innocent child! A bunch of imbeciles they are! I have to go speak to Gao Qingyu!"

He turned to leave as he spoke, only for Huang Yifan to stop him in his tracks.

Old Man Shen's cultivation base was completely crippled, so he was naturally unable to struggle free from Huang Yifan's grasp, but that didn't stop him from trying.

"Let go of me! I'm going to see Gao Qingyu! Fang Che has made so many contributions, the most significant one right here under my watch, yet all he gets in return is a trip down the Path of Self-Inquisition?! Where's the fucking justice!

“Either you kill me, or you let go of me right now! I became a useless old cripple for you and the others! Finally, there's a child that's showing me respect and affection, and you have to take that away from me as well! I'm just a waste of food and resources anyway, I'll go die right now so none of you have to ever look at me again and feel as if you owe me!"

Huang Yifan didn't dare to use too much force for fear of hurting Old Man Shen, and the two of them got into a tussling match.

"There's no point in going to Gao Qingyu! He also tried to stop Zhao Shanhe, but it was no use!"

"Then I'll go to Zhao Shanhe!"

Old Man Shen was struggling with all his might, and it was clear that he really was prepared to lay down his life for this cause.

In the end, Huang Yifan came out on top, and he pressed his hands firmly down onto Old Man Shen's shoulders, forcing him to sit down on his bed before yelling in his face, "Think about it! Does Fang Che not seem suspicious to you? Have you not noticed any telltale signs that he could be a demonic church member?"

"You look more like a demonic church member to me than anyone else, you fucking scummy, rat-looking bitch! Let go of me or I'll killy myself right now!"

He then spat directly onto Huang Yifan's face to drive home his point.

Huang Yifan wiped the spit from his face with his shoulder, then said, "I know you don't trust my judgment, but surely you trust Master Nine!"

"Master Nine?"

Old Man Shen immediately calmed down a little upon hearing this.

"Did Master Nine say that Fang Che is a demonic church member?"

Huang Yifan heaved a resigned sigh, then began speaking through voice transmission.

"What I'm about to tell you is highly confidential, so don't go telling anyone else."

He knew that there would be no way to convince Old Man Shen to settle down unless he provided some background information, so he gave him a recount of what Dongfang Sansan had said about Fang Che.

Old Man Shen's temper slowly died down, and after hearing Huang Yifan's story, he asked, "Did Master Nine really say that?"

"Of course!"

"Even so, I still don't believe it! There's no way he should be sent to the Path of Self-Inquisition!"

Old Man Shen had completely calmed down at this point, but his anger had turned to confusion.

"There's no way you can convince me that such a good kid could be a spy for the demonic churches."

"I didn't believe it in the beginning, either," Huang Yifan said. "I exerted mental pressure upon him to the point that he fell unconscious, yet even then, he still didn't crack. If Master Nine hadn't forbidden me from entertaining the idea of Fang Che's innocence, I would probably still be convinced of his innocence even right now."

"You interrogated him in the past?" Old Man Shen asked.

"I did, so don't worry about him. His mental fortitude far exceeds his peers, and I wouldn't be surprised if he could emerge safely from the Path of Self-Inquisition. In that case, this would become a blessing rather than a curse," Huang Yifan consoled.

All of a sudden, a thought seemed to have occurred to Old Man Shen.

"Hold on, you just said Master Nine forbade you from thinking that Fang Che's innocent?"

When has Master Nine ever done something like this? Why would he do this?

He turned his gaze to Huang Yifan, and it was clear to him that the latter was not a good keeper of secrets.

With that in mind, an epiphany seemed to have taken shape in his mind, and a hint of elation flashed through his eyes, but he immediately disguised it by flying into another false rage.

"I don't care if he's a spy for the demonic churches or not! All I know is that he's been very good to me!"

"Do you hear yourself right now?" Huang Yifan snapped. "Do you even know right from wrong anymore?"

"I'm just an old fucking cripple who can't even kill a rat! What does it matter if I know right from wrong or not?"

"... I suppose that's true," Huang Yifan murmured.

"Piss off!"

Huang Yifan was kicked out of the room, following which Old Man Shen closed the door and the curtains, casting the room into complete darkness as he fell into deep thought.

After a long silence, he sighed, "All I can do is pray for you now, my child."

***

Meanwhile, Yin Shengong had also received a report from the mole in the White Cloud Warrior Academy top brass.

Night Demon is being suspected of having ties with the demonic churches? Someone reported him to the southeastern headquarters? Zhao Shanhe just so happened to be in the area? And this is all because of what happened to the Su Clan? Just for that, they've taken him to the Path of Self-Inquisition?!

Yin Shengong could feel a wave of irrepressible fury rising up in his heart.