It started with a letter.
A single parchment scroll bearing the Celestial Dawn Sect's golden phoenix crest, sealed with black wax—a color reserved for summons, trials, and executions.
Luo Feng didn't react as he broke the seal.
But his disciples saw the change in his expression.
A-Yan peeked over his shoulder. "What's that?"
Bai Xueyin read the first few lines and froze. "They've summoned you… for a tribunal?"
Even Tianya's mouth tightened. "Let me guess—one that you're guilty in before it starts?"
Luo Feng nodded slowly.
"They've accused me of violating Sect Doctrine 27-B: 'Cultivation Manipulation and Unregulated Bloodline Interference.'"
Kaelen hissed. "That's a charge they've used to wipe out entire rogue factions."
"But you're not rogue," A-Yan said.
"No," Luo Feng agreed. "But I'm not exactly obedient, either."
He reread the final line.
"The Tribunal will convene in two days. Your appearance is expected. Voluntary absence will be interpreted as confession."
He folded the scroll.
Burned it.
And said, "Pack light."
They left at dawn the next day.
Bai insisted on coming. So did A-Yan and Tianya. Kaelen remained behind to guard the peak and ensure no one tampered with the seal on the Cinderblade.
As they walked the winding path down from Dawnmist Peak, the system pulsed softly in Luo Feng's mind.
Ding! Host has accepted tribunal summons.Warning: Political event classified as "Layered Hostility." Outcomes may vary based on rhetoric, authority, and discipleship presence.Passive Perk Activated: "Instructor's Presence" – Increases perceived legitimacy when disciples stand with Host.
Host Disposition: Defiant.Recommended Approach: Strategic honesty with targeted rebuttals.
Luo Feng chuckled. "So… tell the truth, but only the parts that hurt them."
The Celestial Dawn Sect had changed.
Once, it had been clean white marble towers and open sky bridges stretching across mountain peaks. Now, the marble was cracked. The bridges guarded. The air stifled.
And standing at the entrance to the inner sanctum was Elder Mo.
Of course.
He wore ceremonial armor—not for battle, but for intimidation. Gold-plated, shoulder-ornamented, completely impractical.
"Mentor Luo," he said, smiling like a snake. "We feared you'd ignore us again."
"I don't ignore ghosts," Luo Feng replied. "I bury them."
Behind him, A-Yan snorted. Tianya smirked. Bai remained silent—but ice flared faintly along her fingertips.
Mo gestured to a side corridor. "This way. Your tribunal chamber awaits."
The chamber wasn't large.
A semicircular council bench lined the far wall, six elders seated behind it. Elder Ji was one of them. So was Qing. And of course, Mo took center position.
The room's spiritual energy was thin on purpose—a neutral field meant to prevent explosions. Or breakthroughs.
Luo Feng stood at the center dais. His disciples sat behind him, silent but watching.
Ji cleared his throat.
"Luo Feng, you are summoned here under the accusation of violating internal cultivation protocols, harboring dangerous bloodlines, and utilizing unregulated growth methods among disciples."
He raised a hand.
A crystal projection bloomed in the air—showing Bai conjuring frost lotuses, Tianya dueling with her cursed blade, and A-Yan slipping through shadows.
"These," Ji said, "are not standard techniques. Nor were they declared to the Sect Registry."
"I didn't know I needed permission to teach survival," Luo Feng said.
Qing leaned forward. "When that survival includes a demonic curseblade, it becomes our business."
Tianya bristled. "I'm not a curse. I'm a person."
Mo chuckled. "You're a threat wrapped in robes."
Luo Feng held up a hand before Tianya could speak again.
"You summoned me for a tribunal. That implies evidence. Not conjecture."
Ji nodded. "Then present your case. If you have nothing to hide, let us judge."
Luo Feng smiled calmly.
And began.
He spoke without pause.
He told them how he found A-Yan—starving, wounded, but desperate to live. How she learned to phase through space not because it was glamorous, but because it let her run away faster.
He told them of Bai—branded a traitor, her birthright sealed because her family feared her potential. How her frost didn't burn because of pride, but because it was the only thing she could still control.
And Tianya—how she arrived half-broken, memory-sick, sword-bonded, and still tried to stand taller than her trauma.
"These aren't accidents," he said. "They're miracles. Not mine. Theirs."
He turned to the projection hovering in the air.
"You see powers you don't understand and call them danger. But if you spent even an hour training them, you'd see what I see."
He stepped forward.
"They don't need regulation. They need mentors."
Ding! Passive "Instructor's Presence" activated.Council Persuasion Influence: +35%Host reputation with neutral Elders increased. Mo's faction unaffected.Bai Xueyin's spiritual aura synchronizing with court array… frost presence detected.Potential disruption event: 42%.
Mo stood.
"Touching. Truly. But none of it explains the system. Your gifts. Your leaps in cultivation after every disciple breakthrough."
The room went still.
Ji frowned. "Mo—"
"No," Mo snapped. "He's hiding something. No man teaches children and walks away with ancient weapons and techniques unless he's using a forbidden tool."
He stepped closer, a crimson talisman glowing in his hand.
"I propose we test him now. Soul-binding scan. It will confirm if he's using legacy artifacts to siphon their strength."
The disciples rose at once.
Bai's eyes flared with frost.
Tianya's blade seal trembled.
A-Yan vanished for a split second, reappearing a breath away from Mo's blind side.
"Try it," she said.
Luo Feng didn't move.
But his voice cut through the tension.
"Stand down."
The girls obeyed—but reluctantly.
Luo Feng looked at Mo.
"You want to scan my soul?"
"Yes."
"Then I want to scan your memory. Let's see how many secrets fall out of your head."
Ji sighed.
"That's enough," he said. "This isn't an execution hearing."
"It will be," Mo muttered.
The session ended with no formal judgment—just a "pending review" and a warning that the Sect Council would deliberate in secret.
As Luo Feng and his disciples exited the chamber, Jinhai waited outside.
He didn't smile this time.
"Careful, Mentor," he said. "You're making people nervous."
Luo Feng walked past him without a word.
Behind him, Tianya muttered, "Let them be nervous. They should be."
Ding! Tribunal event concluded.Result: No penalties applied. Surveillance intensity increased.New title unlocked: "Voice in the Chamber" – Host gains +10% persuasion in formal hearings.System Message: You've been marked. Be ready.