Liu Lie had no grudges against Ling Xiao, his feelings toward Ling Xiao were purely born of jealousy!
He felt that Ling Xiao had received too many good things, which is why he would constantly slander him.
Another reason was that Liu Lie clearly had a secret love for Tantai Lingzi.
However, Tantai Lingzi seemed to be more interested in Ling Xiao, which left a bitter taste in his heart. How could he pass up an opportunity to tarnish Ling Xiao’s reputation?
"You’re talking complete nonsense!"
Shangguan Lei couldn’t hold back anymore, although he was currently aligned with the faction of the Demonflame Celestial on the surface, if he didn’t stand up for Ling Xiao in such a situation, he wouldn’t be worth a damn as a friend.
Ling Xiao had been good to him, he couldn’t just keep silent.
"Shangguan Lei! Mind your language!"
Elder Jin said coldly.
"Elder Jin, why scare a disciple? Shangguan Lei, if you have a different opinion, feel free to speak up without fear."
Sect Leader Chang Yueying asked with a smile.
She was still very eager to know the true cause of the situation.
"Reporting to the Sect Leader, in the first trial, Ling Xiao defeated the Black-Winged Roc, helping junior brother Zhao Zhi to acquire the Black Winged Roc Martial Soul, which also meant saving the lives of many trial disciples.
In the second trial, if not for his extraordinary strength in defeating numerous monsters, it’s likely that no one would have been able to pass the second trial this time.
In the third trial, Ling Xiao even found very suitable cultivation locations for me, Leng Hao, and Dai Yuling, allowing us to make significant breakthroughs in our cultivation levels.
Even in the end, if it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have been able to enter the fourth trial!"
Upon hearing the former statement, everyone just frowned and looked puzzled because Shangguan Lei’s account was very different from other disciples’ testimonies.
But at this point, all that was left for the crowd was shock.
"You’re saying you entered the fourth trial?"
Sect Leader Chang Yueying asked in astonishment.
"Yes, surely the results of the disciplines’ trials have been tallied already, you’ll know once you check."
Every disciple who came out had a performance record reflected by the Moon Blossom Pagoda, so there was no way to falsify it.
"Hurry, bring Shangguan Lei’s results!"
Chang Yueying urged anxiously.
"Final results: Entered the fourth trial! Obtained one thousand two hundred Moonlight Points! Earned an Immortal-grade Treasure! Received a set of Gold-top Level Martial Arts, with cultivation level breaking through to the late stage of the Seventh Level of Transcendent Realm!"
When Chang Yueying read out such results, the entire audience was shocked.
Shangguan Lei only had a Transcendent Realm Fourth Layer cultivation level when he entered the Moon Blossom Pagoda, and this guy actually received an Immortal-grade Treasure and Gold-top Level Martial Arts!
His Moonlight Points were even better than what the historically outstanding Sect Leader Chang Yueying and the Demonflame Celestial had managed to obtain.
This was the first thought in many people’s minds.
Shangguan Lei was no genius, his strength was not strong, on what basis did he achieve this?
"Master, quickly arrest this Shangguan Lei. He colluded with Ling Xiao, Dai Yuling, and Leng Hao to deliberately entrap the other trial disciples. Everything he said is false! How could he possibly obtain such results if he didn’t sabotage the other disciples?"
Bai Feifei suddenly shouted loudly.
"Yes, it must be so. This disciple also feels that Shangguan Lei is very close to Ling Xiao, so they are in cahoots."
Liu Lie chimed in too.
"We can all testify!"
Previously eliminated competitors like Ming Tian and Situ Jun all stepped forward, accusing Shangguan Lei.
"Shangguan Lei, what else do you have to say?"
Elder Jin asked furiously.
"Every word the disciple has said is true!"
Shangguan Lei spoke loudly.
"To be so shamelessly obstinate at this point! Come, confiscate his Immortal-grade Treasure and Gold-top Level Martial Arts, lock him up in the Enforcement Hall for now, and punish him together after the Pagoda Climbing Ceremony!"
Elder Jin shouted sternly.
"It’s a misunderstanding, there must be some mistake, it can’t be ."
Shangguan Lei’s master shouted.
But it was no use; he was merely a Half-step Celestial and nobody took his words seriously.
"Master, you need not worry, the innocent will clear themselves, I will be alright!"
Shangguan Lei believed that once Ling Xiao came out, the truth would be revealed, and he would certainly not change his story to slander Ling Xiao.
With Liu Lie eliminated and Shangguan Lei detained, there were six people left in the Moon Blossom Pagoda.
Ling Xiao, Dai Yuling, Leng Hao, Tantai Lingzi, Wu Yang, Qin Wu.
"I didn’t expect it, Shangguan Lei actually broke the record set by Demonflame Celestial and Sect Leader Chang Yueying, accumulating twelve hundred Moonlight Points and receiving so many treasures, his cultivation level also breaking through to the late stage of the Seventh Level of the Transcendent Realm, utterly remarkable. I wonder how the rest will do?"
"Humph, Shangguan Lei colluding with Ling Xiao, Dai Yuling, and Leng Hao, is unforgivable. No matter how good their results are, they are useless now. Fortunately, there are three other people. At this rate, they will surely break the record too."
"Unforgivable? People can say whatever they want, with two-faced lies. Until the very end, nobody knows the truth. Just wait and watch the show."
Within the Moon Hua Sect disciples, opinions were not unanimous.
Especially the Outer Disciples, nearly all of them believed that Ling Xiao was not that kind of person, and they firmly stood on Ling Xiao’s side.
After all, Ling Xiao was still an Outer Disciple to this very moment.
If Ling Xiao really won the first place in the Pagoda Climbing Ceremony, then everyone in the Outer Sect would receive generous rewards from the Sect.
And that would be much more than just superficial glory.
Now, individuals like the Supreme Head Teacher, Elder Jin, and Demonflame Celestial harbored entirely different thoughts.
No matter what, they wished that Ling Xiao would be eliminated quickly. The boy was full of surprises, being able to enter the fourth level, which was absolutely inconceivable.
Conversely, the Golden Light Heavenly Lord, Guanghan Celestial Venerate, and Yang Dan Lin felt happy and proud for Ling Xiao.
Frankly, they were also surprised that Ling Xiao had made it this far, completely shattering their earlier predictions.
Initially, they felt that if Ling Xiao could enter the third level, it would already be a miracle, and whether he joined the Inner Sect or stayed in the Outer Sect, he would receive significant support from the Sect.
But now, they felt a mixture of joy and concern.
Ling Xiao’s achievements were unexpected, but this notoriety had certainly accumulated as well. Despite believing that Ling Xiao must have been framed out of jealousy by many, without evidence, they couldn’t prove it.
Shangguan Lei might indeed have spoken the truth, but he was now locked up, and even his Immortal-grade Treasure and Gold-top Level Martial Arts had been taken away.
"Sect Leader, I propose that we grant the Immortal-grade Treasure and Gold-top Level Martial Arts to Ming Tian! This child is a rare genius, who has fallen into such a state only because he was plotted against by Ling Xiao, we must compensate him."
Elder Jin suddenly spoke up.
"What about my obedient disciple then?" The Supreme Head Teacher was somewhat displeased.
After all, within the Moon Hua Sect, even the Inner Sect Elders used nothing more than Immortal-grade Treasures, so these Treasures were extremely valuable. The Supreme Head Teacher was not going to hand them over to Elder Jin’s disciple so easily.