Influence

Li Zhu did nothing, as the elder flew him to Judgement Peak, the most dreaded place in the whole sect.

He would have a trial, yet Li Zhu knew that the word of an elder counted much more than that of a disciple, let alone one in the outer sect, who was not even in the core consolidating realm. All he could hope for at the moment was that either the sect would find out the truth, or at least that the punishment would be light.

This was not to say he was not furious, but he would have his revenge at a later date, once he could defy an elder without risking his life.

After a few minutes of dangling in the air, held by the elder, the two reached Judgement Peak, which was composed of Judgement Hall and various buildings, each dedicated to different punishments.

The judiciary system in the sect was strong, and anyone who broke one of the rules could be punished, including elders. That said, elders were definitely more valued, and if the peak lord of Judgement Peak didn't personally step up, there was no way they would get punished.

Between elders, there were still large differences in status. For example, the peak lord of Judgement Peak and the elder in charge of the Flaming Saber Auction House were only second to the Grand Elder, and no one else in the sect would dare defy them.

Status in the sect depended on strength, and even though anyone in the golden core realm would be awarded the title of elder, there were nine stages in that realm, and each represented a massive gap in power, and a just as large gap in status.

The Grand Elder was the most powerful figure in the sect, yet no one knew what stage his cultivation had reached, since he was very secretive and enjoyed seclusion.

Coming back to Li Zhu, he was now being dragged into Judgement hall by the angry elder, awaiting for the trial to be held.

Li Zhu stayed calm, knowing that fighting back at the moment would only worsen the situation, since it would be seen as disrespecting an elder, as well as resisting capture, both of which would not help his case.

Judgement hall was a small building, with only one room, where a judge settled the disputes of the sect, which generally only involved disciples.

Other than the peak lord of Judgement Peak, three elders stayed there, and alternated days they needed to act as judge.

Disciples of Judgement Peak, instead, often had to go fetch disciples that were accused of something, or just roam around the sect, settling small disputes and stopping fights.

Of course, there were advantages of being a disciple in Judgement Peak, and because they were essential for the sect to function, they also received more cultivation resources than any other peak's disciple.

Li Zhu was now face to face with the judge, who was a tall, clean shaven elder.

The judge, seeing a fellow elder so angrily dragging Li Zhu into the hall, asked, "What is this all about, brother Song?"

'Do they know each other? Maybe this guy chose today on purpose because he knew his friend was the judge!?' Li Zhu thought, though at the moment it was only a suspicion, stemmed by the way the judge had addressed the elder.

Li Zhu, fearing the worst, contacted Buddy, using their connection. When he had formed a contract with Buddy, their souls had been partially connected, and although they could not yet communicate clearly in this way, Li Zhu could make his location known. Furthermore, according to what emotions he had, Buddy would understand the general severity of the issue.

The connection between a spirit beast and its summoner was a mysterious one, which had been looked into many times by the greatest experts in the continent to no avail.

Some mad scientists had even tried forming contracts with other humans, yet this had surprisingly not worked, and even caused the death of both people.

Others had tested whether the strength of the spirit beast determined the clearness of the connection, which seemed to be the case after many experiments.

That said, a way to replicate this connection without going through the contract had not yet been found, and many had given up on the research.

The one question that remained on everyone's minds though was, who had invented the contracts between summoner and beast! If they could find the answer to this question, a whole new world of possibilities could open up, but alas, no clues had been found in the last few centuries to direct them onto the right path.

Buddy arrived quickly, sensing the urgency that Li Zhu was feeling. The dog stayed in Shadow Lurk, in order to not be spotted by anyone.

When Li Zhu fused with Buddy and entered Shadow Lurk, experts at one realm of cultivation above his could sense him, but this was not the case with Buddy. For Buddy, Shadow Lurk was an innate skill, so he could display it in its full potential, while Li Zhu would have to gradually learn it, and it would become more useful over time.

This was the case with all spirit beasts he would fuse with, since the fusion skill did not allow him to gain absolute knowledge of a spirit beast's skill, rather it just allowed him to start practicing it.

Because of this, often times fighting without being fused could be a good option, since his summons would have more proficiency in their skills than Li Zhu could ever achieve.

Li Zhu did not have this on his mind, though, as he showed the pill bottle to Buddy, communicating his intentions.

Meanwhile, the angry elder had begun to speak up: "This disciple stole my pills, before escaping to Phoenix Peak, and acting as though he had bought them himself! I request that he be punished, and the pills be returned to me, the rightful owner!"

As Buddy grabbed the bottle of pills from Li Zhu's hands, the latter defended himself, "That is simply not true, and I can prove it. I bought these pills from a disciple of Phoenix Peak, Yu Hui. As for why this elder is wrongly accusing me, it is because I outbid him during the auction a few days back, which was witnessed by hundreds. If elder wishes to be fair, simply ask Yu Hui, and he will prove my claim." Li Zhu would not back down, since he was in every way on the right side of this argument.

Surprisingly, the judge showed no change in his expression, and simply declared, "There is no disciple of Phoenix Peak called Yu Hui, and I know this because there are only twelve disciples living there, all of them famous in the sect. For lying to me, and stealing the pills of an elder of the sect, what do you think your punishment should be?"

While speaking, the judge had become increasingly furious, incredulous of the audacity of Li Zhu, that was apparently lying to his face.

'Yu Hui is not a disciple of Phoenix Peak? Damn, I messed up! Yu Hui is probably not his real name, yet now I need to pay for his lies' Li Zhu was quite angry at Yu Hui, yet he could not do anything at the moment, so the best option was simply to bargain his way into a lighter punishment.

Fortunately, Buddy now had the bottles of pills, which, being inanimate objects, could be carried into the shadow lurk. Buddy had brought the pills back to the outer sect housing, where they would temporarily be safe.

"Judge elder, there has been a mistake…"

"No, there is no mistake, and your failure to accept your sins will cost you, lad! I am done with this nonsense; you are exiled to Solitude Peak for one month! Humph!" the judge had really gotten angry, yet the way he was so quick to ignore Li Zhu's pending explanation, made one suspect this man's authenticity, and his motives.

Not only did he ignore the claim about the auction bidding, but the judge was also very quick to assign a punishment, before even listening to the whole story. All this seemed suspicious, yet elders had the power of law in the sect, and Li Zhu could be instantly killed if he fought back.

"That is unfair! I will not…"

As Li Zhu tried to speak up, the judge interrupted him once again, ordering, "Bring him to Solitude Peak, and watch him closely, I do not want him getting out!' and with that, ten inner disciples at the core condensing realm reached Li Zhu, before dragging him off.

As Li Zhu was being humiliated this way, he heard the angry elder say to the judge, "Thank you, brother Yin, I owe you one!"

LI Zhu tried to remain calm, yet fury could be seen in his eyes. He did not resist the punishment, and was actually quite willing to stay in Solitude Peak for a month. Fortunately, since Buddy had the spirit pills, Li Zhu could have them back at any time, so he could use this chance to cultivate in peace.

Solitude Peak was a place of extreme Yin, where the sun never hit. Ice covered the whole mountain, and its many caves contained deadly spirit beasts, which thrived in the cold.

Many disciples had frozen to death while on this peak, yet Li Zhu was not overly worried, he was starting to see this punishment as an opportunity to temper his body.

Although he was going to make the best out of this situation, that was not to say he was willing to accept the behavior of those two elders without a fight, and they were now both targets of his.

His impression of the Flaming Saber Sect had yet again changed, though this time it was for the worse. Both elders had gone against justice, and punished him for a crime he did not commit. For Li Zhu, his was akin to a provocation, and he would not take this lying down.

'You can exile me to the deadliest place on this world, but the moment I come back, you better watch your back!'