Scheme

Gaofeng roused awake as he heard loud voices all around himself. He found himself half-naked in the middle of the weapon-hall, and the voices he heard was those of his fellow students shouting indignantly at Gaofeng. When he finally awoke fully, he instantly knew why they were shouting so loud, as he could see another half-naked figure shivering with blood dripping down her legs and tears filling her eyes. It was Zhang Jing. Gaofeng looked like he was caught in the act as he attempted to leave the area, however he was quickly stopped by Shen Hai who had just arrived at the scene. Shen Hai simply raised his hand and everyone else became silenced. After giving Gaofeng a stare as if from the depths of hell, Shen Hai turned to Zhang Jing and asked, "What happened, are you alright?". At this, the tears which were filling Zhang Jing's eyes were finally shed, and she attempted to explain the sequence of events in-between sobs.

Zhang Jing managed to explain that "We were sparring late, and completely alone…." She started crying again as she continued, "After winning three times in a row…he…he said that he would claim his prize… and then he pinned me down." Only her quiet sobs filled the room as she attempted to gather herself once again. "He…I can't bring myself to say it all. It was… all unwilling on my part." Shen Hai felt his heart ache at this statement and turned to Gaofeng. Great wrath filled his voice as he exerted his aura upon Gaofeng's body, "Do you have anything to add to this? If not I will sentence you immediately." Gaofeng paled at this statement, and stuttered out a confession "It's…true… What she said is true." He looked down, and Shen Hai took it as a sign of his shame. "I see… you are ashamed, but this kind of immoral behavior has no place in our Holy Temple. I sentence you to dea…"

In the middle of this final word which would forever end Gaofeng's life, a soft voice spoke up "Shen Hai, I was the victim of this immoral behavior, but I don't wish for anyone to be directly killed because of me. Could you… Perhaps sentence him to somewhere he can be imprisoned where his life and death are in the hands of heaven?" It was actually the victim, Zhang Jing, who spoke up for Gaofeng at this moment. Such a situation was truly unexpected, but even Shen Hai admired her for her benevolence. He sighed lightly before he waved his hand and stated, "Since you wish to plead on his behalf, let it be so. I sentence you to be thrown into the 10th valley where you will live out the rest of your short miserable life. This sentence is effective immediately."

The other disciples gasped at this statement, as due to their status they had also heard some rumors about the ancient 10th valley. Their information was quite flawed compared to Gaofeng's, however. Even so, they all knew that being sentenced to live in the 10th valley was akin to a crueler sentence, as death was practically guaranteed, but this death would be a horribly painful death of their soul slowly being refined by the Yin specters roaming the valley. However, nothing was absolute, and there still existed the slimmest possibility of Gaofeng managing to eek out a lowly existence in the 10th valley. Although these cultivators of different royal backgrounds were shocked at the punishment, they still found it to be deserved. Gaofeng wouldn't care about what mere ants thought about his punishment, however.

The other disciples left together, but Zhang Jing stayed behind to watch Gaofeng be exiled into the 10th valley. Naturally, Shen Hai wouldn't delay, and so he wrapped his incredibly powerful qi around the two youths and brought them with him to the entrance of the 10th valley. One moment they were in the weapon-hall and in the next they were floating near a white barrier keeping a sea of darkness at bay. This was a sealing barrier which acted as a protection against the devilish Yin qi and death qi spreading outside of the valley, and it was personally maintained by each new Holy Abbot to ensure complete safety of the disciples of the Holy Temple.

When they arrived at the barrier, Shen Hai landed on the ground with the two youths in tow. Preforming incantation after incantation, and utilizing his immense energy, Shen Hai created an opening in the barrier. The other side's demonic and deathly qi immediately began to ooze out of the opening, but Shen Hai's qi held it in check. Not wanting to waste any more time on this wicked person, Shen Hai utilized his energy to forcibly push Gaofeng through the opening and a good distance further for good measure. Then the barrier was resealed completely and Gaofeng was stranded on the other side. Gaofeng didn't exactly feel like he was stranded, however, as a wide smile emerged on his face. Everything was going according to plan.

The truth of what had really happened was thus: Gaofeng had convinced Zhang Jing to play the role of the victim for him to get an opportunity to enter the 10th valley. Normally a crown princess would never agree to such a scheme because it included convincing others that their purity was tainted. However, Gaofeng went all out to convince her by revealing his true family name. When Zhang Jing understood his true identity, it wasn't too hard to convince her, as he could easily give her multiple kingdoms if he truly wanted. The repayment Zhang Jing asked for, however, was simply a future favor. She knew that with his identity, one favor would be worth more than her entire future kingdom.

Gaofeng had unhesitatingly agreed to this demand, as he knew that she was taking a great risk for his sake. Her absolute confidence in him truly stirred his heart and he would not let those expectations down. Thus, he absolutely had to accomplish his goal within the 10th valley. Gaofeng utilized his powerful heart-realm in addition to his soul to discover any anomalies before they arrived, and started traveling in the direction of the Ocean of Blood. He walked steadily, making sure not to rush into unnecessary danger. The road to the Ocean of Blood was quite long, but Gaofeng didn't even break a sweat as he continued walking.