Martial Saint with Passives

’Xie Songnian!’

Xu Qingshan sighed and patted his shoulder. "The dead are gone. All we can do now is make the true culprit pay the price they deserve!"

"Yes, Master." Jiang Che took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the killing intent that roiled within him.

...

Leaving his master’s meditation chamber and walking the path back to his own courtyard, Jiang Che found he wasn’t nearly as relieved as he’d expected to be.

It was immensely satisfying to know that old dog Xie Songnian was finally going to face justice.

But he couldn’t shake the feeling that things...

...seemed to be going a little too smoothly.

’With that old fox Xie Songnian’s cunning and caution, how could he have left behind so many incriminating loose ends?’

’He colluded with the Demon Sect and plotted for the Sect Leader’s position. How could something so monumental be exposed so easily?’

’Could it be... that the death of his son, Xie Xingwen, made him lose his composure and act so recklessly?’

He considered it and felt it was a strong possibility.

After all, Xie Songnian had schemed for half his life, and a large part of his motivation had been to pave the way for his son.

Now that his only son was gone, his pillar of support had crumbled. It was logical that his actions would become frantic and extreme.

’Ah, forget it. Regardless, that old dog is a dead man this time!’

Jiang Che shook his head, deciding not to dwell on the details any longer.

As far as he was concerned, the best possible outcome was the elimination of his greatest threat, Xie Songnian.

He would leave the rest to the Sect Leader and the General’s Mansion.

The only thing he had to do now was seize every moment to continue increasing his own strength!

...

「A few days later.」

After an anxious wait by the entire martial world of Cangzhou Prefecture, the results of the investigation led by the General’s Mansion were finally announced.

The announcement, posted throughout the city by the Qilin Army, was rigorously worded and clearly organized.

The investigation team declared that after several days of tireless and meticulous investigation by the Iron Eagle Guard, they had indeed identified and arrested several Demon Sect spies hidden within the Demon Extermination Alliance and the various other sects.

It was these spies, coordinating from both inside and out, who had leaked the intelligence that led to the recent tragedy.

The announcement also included a list of the spies’ names and their confessions. The chain of evidence was complete and seemed irrefutable.

However, when everyone read the final part of the announcement, they were all left dumbfounded.

There, written in black and white, it said—

"Upon investigation, it has been determined that Vice Sect Leader Xie Songnian of the Cangyun Sect was also deceived and framed by Demon Sect spies. He himself was unaware of the Demon Sect’s conspiracy. In light of his past merits in forming the alliance and purging the Demon Sect, and considering he tragically lost his beloved son in the last operation to exterminate the Demon Sect, his circumstances are pitiable. Now that the righteous path has suffered such a heavy blow, we must work together with one heart and remain united. We must not fall into disarray due to the Demon Sect’s attempts to sow discord, which would only grieve our allies and delight our enemies! Therefore, Xie Songnian is found not guilty and is reinstated to his original post. We hope all sects will set aside their previous suspicions and overcome this crisis together!"

This result was like a bolt of lightning from the heavens, striking everyone senseless!

Acquitted and released?!

Xie Songnian... was actually innocent?!

The martial world of Cangzhou Prefecture erupted in an instant!

"How is that possible?!"

"Are you kidding me! So many sects were annihilated and so many disciples brutally killed, and in the end... they just arrest a few low-level scapegoats?"

"Xie Songnian is innocent? If he’s innocent, then pigs can fly!"

Countless Martial Artists who had lost family and fellow sect members to the Demon Sect’s chaos simply could not accept this outcome!

Furious and indignant, they gathered once more, attempting to storm the alliance headquarters to demand a "real" explanation!

This time, however, they were not met with explanations, but with the cold, deadly glint of the Qilin Army’s spear tips!

Under the iron-fisted, unchallengeable authority of the General’s Mansion, no matter how much dissatisfaction or resentment they harbored, everyone was forced to accept the absurd outcome.

Immediately after, some of the high-ranking sect members and Patriarchs of Noble Families who were on good terms with Xie Songnian, all of whom had previously remained silent, stepped forward to "clear his name."

"Alas, Vice Sect Leader Xie is the one who’s suffering the most! The very alliance he founded was infiltrated by traitors, his own son was brutally killed by the Demon Sect, and now he has to endure these false accusations. It’s enough to make anyone who hears of it weep!"

"The Lord General is wise! At such a critical moment, there must be no internal strife among the righteous path. Otherwise, we’ll just become a laughingstock for the Demons of the Demon Sect!"

Amidst this chorus of "sincere" support and manufactured sentiment, public opinion about Xie Songnian miraculously... reversed in just a few short days.

He transformed from a "suspected traitor" that everyone wanted to see punished into a tragic hero—one who had been framed by the Demon Sect, endured great humiliation, and even lost his beloved son.

...

"What... what in the world is going on?!"

Jiang Che stared at the freshly delivered copy of the *Cangzhou Wind and Cloud Chronicles* in his hands, his heart filled with shock, rage, and a creeping... icy chill.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he rose and headed for Yunhai Courtyard once more to seek an audience with his master, Xu Qingshan.

Inside the meditation chamber, Xu Qingshan was playing a game of Go by himself. The black and white stones were locked in a fierce, tangled battle across the board.

His expression was far calmer than Jiang Che had expected.

"Master!" Jiang Che strode in. "Xie Songnian... he was acquitted! How could this happen?! Master... I wasn’t lying! I saw him colluding with the Demon Sect with my own two eyes!"

Xu Qingshan slowly placed a white stone on the board, completely surrounding and killing a large, struggling group of black stones.

"I know."

He set the stone down, his voice low and hoarse.

"I know you weren’t lying. I... know all of it."

"Then why?!" Jiang Che pressed, bewildered.

Xu Qingshan rose and walked to the window. He stared out at the gloomy sky, silent for a long while before he finally spoke.

His voice carried a weariness and powerlessness that Jiang Che had never heard before.

"Because these waters... are far murkier than we ever imagined."

"Che’er, you must remember this. In this world, the truth sometimes doesn’t matter. What matters... is what the people at the very top want the truth to be."

"This matter ends here. Do not investigate it, do not ask about it, and certainly do not mention it to anyone else."

He turned around, his gaze locking onto Jiang Che with grave intensity.

"From this day forward, there is only one thing you must do—"

"Survive. And then, get stronger, no matter the cost!"

"Prioritize... protecting yourself."

Jiang Che gazed into his master’s bloodshot eyes, which were filled with solemnity and worry. The towering rage in his heart gradually gave way to an icy chill.

"I... understand."

He... understood.

He finally understood.

...