After rebirth, the eldest sister voluntarily abdicated and gave way to the wise.

Chapter 603 What do you think should be done with him?

The Second Elder's eyes were cold and his voice stern, showing no favoritism whatsoever despite their status as his personal disciples.

Si Chuan nodded in greeting, then turned around, his gaze sweeping over Jiang Liqian's slightly reddened eyes before landing on Xu Youan, who had been keeping his head down.

When he was at Zhenfeng, he rarely spoke except when he was by Jiang Liqian's side. Now he was even more silent, like a lotus in the dark night, his features barely discernible.

With a slight sigh, Si Chuan gently bowed down and knelt before him in front of all the elders and peak masters.

"Junior brother, don't worry. As long as the formation peak is still standing, you'll be fine. Trust your senior brother, okay?"

Xu Youan's dark eyelashes trembled, but she remained silent.

After saying this comforting word, Si Chuan didn't ask anything more. Instead, he turned around, straightened his back, and looked directly at the Second Elder sitting on the throne: "Second Elder, the reason is still unclear. It's not necessarily true that Junior Brother has committed a heinous crime. I dare to ask you to remove the Immortal Binding Rope and Soul-Seizing Nails first. Junior Brother's body has always been weak and he simply cannot withstand such torture."

Upon hearing this, some elders and peak masters couldn't help but roll their eyes—he was weak? Then what about those disciples from various sects who were nearly killed by his single formation? What about the injuries on Gu Chengxue, the chief disciple of the Sacrificial God Sect, and Xu Zisheng, an elder disciple of the Taikun Sect?

Perhaps he didn't use his full strength, otherwise half of those people would have died, let alone captured him so easily!

Despite the murmurs and gasps from inside and outside the hall, Si Chuan remained unfazed and firmly added, "This disciple guarantees that he will not flee, nor will he harm anyone."

The Second Elder was known as the "Iron-Faced Yama," and it was absolutely impossible for him to show favoritism. But what Si Chuan said made no sense. Although everyone had witnessed him brutally murdering Hu Yuheng, the eldest prince of the Fox Clan, no one knew why he had killed him.

What if Hu Yuheng attacked Xu You'an first, intending to take his life?

That's the age-old rule of the cultivation world: the strong live, and the weak die.

Therefore, the question of whether it is a crime or not becomes irrelevant.

Almost without hesitation, the Second Elder, just as Si Chuan had said, waved his sleeve and untied the Immortal Binding Rope from Xu You'an's body. However, the Soul-Seizing Nail was not pulled out and still firmly threatened the Returning Void Sea in Xu You'an's dantian.

"The crime will not be lightly judged, but the person cannot be easily escaped either," the Second Elder said.

Si Chuan pursed his lips, his face tense, and suddenly knelt down, bowing to the Second Elder. He said in a clear voice, "This disciple is willing to take the blame for Junior Brother's Soul-Seizing Nail. If he escapes in the chaos, this disciple is willing to atone with his life. I beg the Sect Leader, Elders, and all my senior uncles and aunts to have mercy."

Bai Yi also knelt down: "Sect Leader, there must be some reason for this. Tianqian Sect is not a place of life and death for evil sects, and Junior Brother is not a vicious villain. I beg you to reconsider, Sect Leader. I am willing to take the blame for Junior Brother."

Xu Youan kept his head down, his hands clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He bit his lower lip until it bled, and tears welled up in his eyes, but he swallowed them all back down.

The Second Elder hesitated at this moment. He turned his head to look at Qingzhi in the main seat. The other peak masters were also moved by the feelings between the brothers of the Array Peak and pleaded for Xu You'an.

Qingzhi did not make a decision immediately. His cold gaze swept over Xu Youan, who was kneeling on the ground. A hint of mockery and disgust quickly flashed in his eyes. Finally, he looked at Jiang Liqian, who was standing to the side in a daze and had no idea how to react.

He spoke up and asked her, "You're his senior, what do you think should be done with him?"

All eyes followed Qingzhi's words and fell on Jiang Liqian. The air gradually quieted down as everyone held their breath, waiting for her answer.

Under such scorching and unbearable gaze, Jiang Liqian slowly, very slowly, raised her head.

She opened her lips, but no sound came out no matter how many times she tried to open and close them.

Si Chuan watched anxiously from the front and was about to turn around to say something when he suddenly felt an extremely cold gaze falling on his head—it was the sect leader's warning to him, and also the final tolerance for his rudeness.

Suddenly, his throat tightened, and his junior sister's voice rang out from behind him.

"Reporting to the sect leader, this disciple believes that... it is too late today, and a public trial should be held on another day. The sect competition is not over yet, so he should be imprisoned in the water dungeon and kept under guard until the competition is over before dealing with this matter."

Si Chuan and Bai Yi's expressions changed simultaneously: "Junior Sister!"

The Second Elder frowned: "The sect competition has already been suspended, wait..."

“Even if it is interrupted, disciples from each sect must return to their sects to report. The water prison is extremely sturdy; he won’t escape.”

The Second Elder raised his eyes and looked at Jiang Liqian. Jiang Liqian did not flinch or dodge. She unleashed the aura of a powerful being from the Void Realm, instantly making everyone hold their breath.

After a long standoff, perhaps out of camaraderie or the thought that fellow disciples might be able to glean some information privately, the Second Elder finally relented.

For the first time ever, the disciples of the Discipline Hall who were waiting on the side were stunned, especially Ji Huaiche, who had been very nervous about her and Xu Youan. He had already thought about how he would swallow his pride and plead for mercy if Jiang Liqian got angry and made a scene for the Second Elder.

The Second Elder, who was in charge of interrogation, agreed to Jiang Liqian's suggestion, and everyone's attention returned to Immortal Venerable Qingzhi.

The aloof and ethereal sect leader showed little expression; he simply lowered his eyelids and uttered a single word: "Agreed."

The Soul-Capturing Nails were removed and replaced with the Indestructible Water Prison Chains, which are frost-free and suppress spiritual power. Just a touch of their chilling energy is enough to cause a normal cultivator to collapse, or even turn them into a mentally unstable madman.

There was another important reason why the Second Elder agreed so easily: the Water Prison was not a peaceful place. It was known as one of the three cruelest tortures of the Tianqian Sect. Few disciples were imprisoned there, and similarly, very few disciples came out unharmed.

Every minute and every second, the Water Cold Chains tightly gripped the person's consciousness, causing them unbearable pain, yet leaving them nowhere to cry out in agony.

Torture to extract confessions has always been a favorite tactic of interrogators.

Even so, the disciples of various sects were still inevitably disappointed. After all, they had sent him from afar hoping to see Xu You'an punished for his crimes, or to uncover some earth-shattering secret, or even the most mundane love and hate, which they could talk about with great interest.

"Don't worry, they won't wrong an innocent disciple." Seeing Jiang Liqian walking out absentmindedly, Xu Zisheng quickly stepped forward, gently squeezed her shoulder, and comforted her.

Jiang Liqian shook her head, then slowly nodded.

As she walked further outside, Gu Chengxue stopped her.

“I’ll stay here,” he said, looking into her eyes, “until you make your decision.”

Jiang Liqian gave him a cold look and walked away from him without saying a word.