Could it be that I am the cruel villain?

Finally, straight to the point.

The atmosphere in the courtyard instantly turned tense beyond measure.

"Roar—"

A suppressed low roar came from next door, not too loud but unmistakably the voice of Ao Qing. Even Gu Miyun's expression changed slightly, seeming somewhat helpless.

There aren't many people on this mountain he can't afford to offend, and Sister Ao Qing is one of them. Plus, she's protective just like Master Liu. Listening to her displeased tone, she must think I've come up the mountain to cause trouble.

However, I am here on the Sect Master's orders to investigate, which already shows the wisdom expected from a Sect Master.

If I were to come personally or summon Jiang Feng over, it would more or less arouse suspicion, especially from Liu Tangxi. I'm sure a verification in front of her would immediately rupture the carefully smoothed-over relations between both parties.

The Sect Master believes he cannot bear such a loss.

Swordmaster Peak was nearly annihilated to shield the sect from disaster before; it's not entirely his fault, but he must bear at least half the responsibility. Honestly, Liu Tangxi has already been very understanding; she knows that if the Sect Master hadn't acted decisively back then, the losses to the Cultivation World would have been even greater.

Otherwise, with the temperament of the contemporary Sword Immortal, after gaining sufficient power, guess who she wouldn't dare to kill.

So now, when facing the other disciples of Swordmaster Peak, including Liu Tangxi herself, Gu Yuanshan is exceptionally careful and considerate in both actions and words, adopting a conciliatory approach. If one acted out of curiosity and suspicion to verify her identity, even if Liu Tangxi didn't get angry on the spot, relations would quickly plummet to freezing point.

But if Gu Miyun comes, the situation changes.

"I think..."

The young man finally put down the teacup and answered.

"He should be captured immediately and executed on the spot! Better to kill wrongly than to let slip!"

"What!?"

His hand shook, nearly spilling the cup.

Not to mention Gu Miyun, even Ao Qing watching from next door was taken aback. With a momentary confusion on her cute spiritual beast face, she even wondered if Jiang Feng had lost his mind; are you setting a trap here?

The question was straightforward, yet here you are contemplating your peculiar way of demise?

"No, you..."

"I say capturing him isn't enough. We should search his home, have the evidence, torture him to confess about accomplices. Our sect has a few Soul Cultivator seniors, right? After tormenting him to death, we should destroy his Divine Soul, use the Soul Searching Technique to extract all his memories, and then eliminate everyone involved!"

At this point, Jiang not only felt no shame but became more exhilarated, expression revealing grit teeth, looking like he's sworn enemies with Evil Cultivators.

"Scum like this, dregs of the Cultivation World, should be slain swiftly, ensuring they never reincarnate. In addition, I propose a massive hunt for Evil Cultivators afterward, ensuring no chances are missed."

"Don't say that family should be spared from blame; how many hidden threats have been let go because of this?"

"I say treat them all the same. Capture all their family descendants in front of those Evil Cultivators, execute them one by one, destroy their Divine Souls, letting them die in rage and despair."

"And we can't let them die so easily; they should be captured, stripped of their cultivation, and taken back to the sect for human experiments. If famine comes, we can even make them into jerky for..."

"Stop, stop!" He hurriedly raised his hands.

Both hands raised up, thinking if Jiang Feng kept talking, Purple Cloud Palace would become some millennia-old evil sect. Is this kid really from Swordmaster Peak?

How the hell is he harsher than the Evil Cultivators? Not only proposing slaughtering a family for cultivating a technique, but also suggesting conducting human experiments — can a person even conceive of such things?

And what's that last part about making jerky? Famine? Are you feeding Evil Cultivator's meat to refugees? Are you even human? Wait a minute, those who refine blood and flesh can regenerate, seems kind of reasonable.

Listening made his heart skip, especially paired with Jiang Feng's expression of hatred for evil, making it hard to distinguish what was exactly going on — momentarily doubting his own grandpa.

He heard the sect elders mention that near annihilation of Swordmaster Peak was linked inextricably to his grandpa; could grandpa be looking for an excuse for him to stir up trouble?

However, such doubts only lasted a moment, as rationality quickly prevailed. That boost earlier convinced him that Jiang Feng did indeed have some flesh refining technique, mostly confirming his grandpa's suspicion that he acquired Xuan Xiaozi's belongings.

"Master Jiang, you... aren't you supposed to say something about staying true to yourself?"

"Like, despite obtaining opportunities, as long as one stays true to oneself, maintains a steady heart, and harnesses power for justice, or that extraordinary people do extraordinary things, wielding the sword by the person rather than the sword wielding the person — I've thought of the words for you."

"And you tell me to annihilate? No, bro, your methods are harsher than the Evil Cultivators!"

Big eyes stared into small eyes.

Both were a bit dazed; one thinking the other came purposely to test him, so he mustn't show any flaws, even if pretending to be crazy and foolish, he had to muddle through, or he'd not only find it hard to stand in the sect but also implicate his senior sister.