Chapter 138: The name of a sinner
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Three days later, Su Yu woke up from his secluded meditation.
He had broken through to Third Level Holy King and his biological limits had visibly improved. His body was studier and would not be easily injured by minor attacks.
His spirit energy had also grown by thirty percent. Coupled with the Stage One Upper Tier Sigh of Ice, the amount of spirit energy he possessed was double that of a typical Third Level Lower Tier Holy King!
His cultivation had been stabilised. Su Yu prepared to exit his meditation.
Just before he exited his meditation, Mo Wu stuffed a letter into the secret chamber with a cold expression.
"Hmph! You should come out and take a look at your senior's condition!"
Senior? Su Yu was lost. He ripped open the letter; it was a plea for help!
The letter was from three juniors from Li Guang's family. The person who had requested Su Yu's help was Zhao Guang!
Back at the Shenyue Island, Zhao Guang was told he had a medium grade yellow class constitution. He had arrived at the Liuxian faction together with Xia Jingyu, Qin Xianer, Liu Guang, and the rest.
Su Yu had entered the faction in a hurry and had yet to meet up with him.
To his surprise, the first news Su Yu had gotten from him was a plea for help!
They were both disciples of Li Guang, but Su Yu did not spend much time with Zhao Guang. They weren't exactly considered friends.
But he was the eldest disciple of Li Guang, Su Yu could not stand aside when he was in danger. Otherwise, he could not face Li Guang's spirit.
He had owed Li Guang too much!
Whoosh—
The stone gate opened and Su Yu vanished. In the Outer Sanctum, at the External Affairs Division there stood two ten foot long bronze pillars.
One was the Pillar of Glory. Disciples who had made immense contributions to the Outer Sanctum would be immortalized there forever.
The other was the Pillar of Shame. Disciples who had brought shame and humiliation to the faction would have their names marked there.
One for glory, one for shame. Their purpose was to remind the Outer Sanctum disciples that contributing to the faction would mean glory, and smearing its name meant shame.
The Outer Sanctum disciples were lectured once every three days in order to instill loyalty to the faction within them, as well as the concepts of glory and shame. The Pillar of Glory and Pillar of Shame played the most important part in the lectures. Especially for Outer Sanctum disciples who had just joined the faction, when their sense of belonging to the faction was at its weakest.
Newcomers faced strict expectations; they had to be taught the factions values of honor and shame, as well as loyalty, every day in front of the Pillars of Glory and Shame.
The lecture for the day had long since ended, but there was a group of people surrounding the Pillar of Shame.
In the middle of the crowd was Zhao Guang, his knees on the ground.
His hair was disheveled and his appearance was haggard. His once healthy face was not withered and scarred.
Who would have thought he was the respected eldest disciple of the Sanctuary? He did not differ much from a beggar.
"Zhao Guang, the three-day deadline is over. If you do not repent sincerely, you shall have to accept the faction's punishment!" Behind Zhao Guang was a youth. He was standing with his hands behind his back, his face wearing a merciless smile.
His cultivation level was a scary Third Level Peak Holy King!
He was the infamous Li Nian from the External Affairs Division. As the manager of the External Affairs Division, his role was to assist the two masters in dealing with the miscellaneous affairs of the disciples daily lives.
Many people did not know that he had another identity; he was the brother of Li Hao. He was brought into the Liuxian faction thanks to Li Hao. They had a friendly relationship.
Zhao Guang was kneeling, his long hair covering his face. He remained silent.
"The names carved on the Pillar of Shame are people who committed extreme crimes. They are the shame of the faction. The External Affairs Division asked you to condemn the people on the bronze pillar, why do you not do so?!" Li Nian cried, full of justice. Deep in his eyes, there was evidence of cold intentions.
Zhao Guang's lips parted slightly, weakly sighing. "I cannot do that!"
"Stubborn! It is obvious that you cannot differentiate good from bad. You have an evil heart!" Li Guang's gaze turned cold as he grunted. "I'll give you two choices; one, condemn the name of the sinner! Second, cleanse the name of the sinner with your blood!"
A pathetic smile crept across Zhao Guang's haggard face. "I will never condemn!"
"Then we shall execute the rules of the faction and use your blood to cleanse the name of the sinner!" Li Nian was merciless, suddenly striking Zhao Guang's back with his palm!
How scary was a blow from a Third Level Peak Holy King? Even though Zhao Guang had reached Half Holy King, he was like an ant in front of Li Nian.
Spit—
Under the heavy impact, Zhao Guang's organs shook. He spat out a mist of blood.
It was like a sunset of blood, splattering on the bronze pillar and turning the name of a sinner red.
"Condemn him, or bleed?" Li Nian asked again mercilessly.
Zhao Guang had been kneeling for the past three days and was extremely weak, but he bore with the intense pain in his organs, shivering as he wiped the blood away from his lips. Zhuo Guang laughed in pain. "I still cannot do it!"
"Hmph! Stubborn!" Li Nian suddenly struck!
Spit—
Once again he spat out blood, splattering all over the bronze pillar.
This time, the cloth on Zhao Guang back was blasted to shreds. The energy from the strike had passed through his entire body and out through his chest.
People could see the strike had destroyed a part of his organs. At this rate, he would be beaten to death.
"I'll ask you again. Condemn or bleed?" Li Nian had a mocking tone. The more Zhao Guang struggled, the more excuses he had to execute him where he knelt. This had been Li Hao's order, to toy with those close to Su Yu until they died!
Zhao Guang sprawled on the ground after taking the strike. His ribs were broken.
He no longer had the strength to push himself up and continue kneeling.
His wrinkled head was laying pathetically on the icy ground. While his long hair covered his face, it could not mask the perseverance he had in his weakened eyes.
"I can't do it! I, Zhao Guang, cannot condemn even if I die!"
He let out a long howl. The howl carried his indignance, his fury, and his grief.
"Hmph!" Li Nian's fierce gaze wavered, suddenly striking!
Spit—
This time, Zhao Guang's body suffered immense trauma. His back turned bloody.
His vision turned dark. The intense pain caused him to slip into a semi-comatose state.
The people watching were all shocked. He could not condemn that sinner, even if it meant death. Why was he so stubborn? Was he truly unable to differentiate between good and evil?
They could not understand, but they could not sympathize with him!
Those more intelligent than the rest all had looks of disgust and indifference. "Was this person really unable to differentiate between good and evil? Why is he so persistent in refusing to condemn the sinner?"
"What persistence? He's most likely a lunatic. After all, he originated from an island, his mental faculties and logic cannot be compared to a mainlander's."
"There's a point there. These kinds of people are better off dead. Without a moral compass, they will definitely harm others in the future."
No one could sympathize with Zhao Guang's persistence. In their eyes, he was a radical person that they were disgusted by.
Li Nian let out a cold laugh but continued to wear a stern expression. "According to the rules of the faction, you only have three days to repent and we can only punish you up to three times. If you continue to commit such errors, I will execute you in accordance with the rules of the faction! Not this is your last chance. Condemn or die!" Li Nian grunted.
Zhao Guang was weak and his vision was blurry, but his eyes remained fixed to the Pillar of Shame, staring at the name that was soaked in his blood.
A tear of grief escaped his eye. His voice was trembling, carrying his grief and pity. He wept to the heavens. "I cannot do that! For… that's the name of my teacher!"
Soaked in blood was a blurry name, eroded with age.
The name was… Li Guang!
"The people who birthed me are my parents, but my teacher raised me! how could I, Zhao Guang… condemn him?" Zhao Guang let out a shout of grief with his weak voice. A sense of loss welled up in his chest.
He had been abandoned in the forest at birth and had been surrounded by wild beasts. It was Li Guang who had adopted him.
He had regarded Zhao Guang as his own son, patiently teaching him. It was due to that that Zhao Guang was who he was today. To him, Li Guang was his teacher as well as his benevolent father!
How could he condemn Li Guang? He could not!
Even if shame was to soak his teacher's blood, even if he was to die in front of his name—Zhao Guang could not.
The crowd was silent.
Many unfeeling faces wore grave expressions, shocked.
The hearts of those who once thought that Zhao Guang was asking for it and those who had thought that Zhao Guang deserved death were touched by this revelation.
A strange feeling of awestruck deep into their souls.
He… was not willing to condemn his teacher, even if he was going to die.
Surprise, shock, and other complicated feelings spread into the hearts of those present. It was as though they could see the disciple's gratitude for his teacher, kneeling in front of his name for three days and three nights.
No one could speak, their hearts filled with shock.
It turned out that three days ago, Zhao Guang was suddenly called out to condemn Li Guang's name on the bronze pillar.
As a person who had violated a female disciple a hundred years ago, Li Guang's name was on the Pillar of Shame.
Zhao Guang had long noted the name of the wronged Li Guang in previous lectures. He intentionally avoided Li Guang, condemning the other sinners on the pillar.
It was until three days ago that Li Nian was determined to make him condemn Li Guang alone.
He did not agree and was punished to kneel for three days to repent.
But no matter how much he reflected, he could not condemn Li Guang!
Especially now that he knew that Li Guang… had passed on!
As his disciple, he was unable to be by Li Guang's side when he passed. That was a regret that he could not get over in his life. How could he bring himself to condemn Li Guang after his death?
He could condemn anyone else on this world, but he could never condemn Li Guang!
Zhao Guang's eyes were filled with pity, his mouth was full of blood. He let out a pathetic laugh. "My teacher, Li Guang, he was wronged! He was not a sinner!"
A shout of grief was followed by an indignant laugh. It was filled with anger at fate as it struck the heavens.
"Hmph! Even if he was your teacher, you should not try to bewitch the crowd! His crimes have long been decided. How could it be easily topped by a small disciple like you?" Li Nian grunted loudly.
A killing intent showed itself in his eyes. He maintained his look of justice, mercilessly grunting. "Outer Sanctum disciple Zhao Guang, you are unable to differentiate between good and evil and is unwilling to repent. You tried to distort the truth! Now, as the manager of the External Affairs Division, I will decide on your sentence on behalf of the faction!"
"To prevent Zhao Guang from harming anyone in the future, he shall be executed on the spot!" Li Nian let out a low grunt.
The surrounding disciples did not think that it was appropriate, but no one dared to stand up against the decisions of the External Affairs Division.
If they dared to help, they might be executed together with him!
Zhao Guang was sprawled on the ground, unable to move. He still managed a loud pitiful laugh. "Kill me! One day, my teacher's name will be erased from the Pillar of Shame, for he was wronged!"
The sound carried Zhao Guang's final determination, reverberating around and piercing through to the heavens.
He had not condemned Li Guang in the face of his death. He could stand proud when he met his teacher in the underworld.
Li Nian laughed. Everything had gone smoother than imagined. The more persistent Zhao Guang was, the more justified his execution became!
"Die!" Li Nian let out a low grunt, his palm striking down!
Crack—
At this moment, a strange chill descended like a raging wave! The surrounding people became cold as if they had plunged into a land of ice without any clothing.
The temperature wasn't the only thing that turned cold, as a freezing aura filled the room.
"If you kill him, your entire family shall be buried with him!" An icy cold voice pierced through to the heavens, reverberating around the faction!
It was as if a king had returned.