Chapter 492: Chapter 492: The Great Purge
Zhang Tianshun was at his residence, drinking with several elder martial brothers, and when they got excited, naturally women became the topic of conversation.
“Just you wait and see. In just a few days, Lu Xiaoqing is going to come to me willingly,” Zhang Tianshun excitedly told those present.
“Pssh, I don’t believe it,” one man scoffed.
“Exactly. You’ve spent so much time on Lu Xiaoqing, has she ever paid attention to you?” Another disciple of the Martial Sect also teased Zhang Tianshun.
Zhang Tianshun wasn’t pleased, and huffed, “You just wait and see. When it happens, I won’t even let you touch her.”
“You better remember us, your elder brothers, if you really manage to get your hands on Lu Xiaoqing,” several of them told Zhang Tianshun.
Zhang Tianshun had a smug look on his face, flushed with alcohol, and seemed to be fantasizing about Lu Xiaoqing submitting to him. His face was painted with a lecherous expression.
Suddenly, the courtyard door was kicked open. Zhang Tianshun was furious. Someone actually dared to kick his door. It was as if they didn’t give a damn about him.
“Who the hell has the audacity?” Zhang Tianshun immediately started cursing. His status in the Martial Sect was high, and his master was one of the upper-level rulers of the Sect. He didn’t spare a thought for the lower-ranking disciples except for a few.
The others also turned their heads. When they saw the newcomers, they were shocked and instantly sobered up.
However, Zhang Tianshun was still drunk. He could barely see the faces of the intruders as he continued to hurl abuse.
Qing Jianzi and Fang Lin entered the court with stern faces. The Martial Sect disciples who had been drinking with Zhang Tianshun suddenly broke out in cold sweats, standing aside and not even daring to breathe.
“Zhang Tianshun!” Qing Jianzi shouted loudly, the sound echoing like a huge bell which woke Zhang Tianshun from his drunken stupor.
Zhang Tianshun sobered up and his face changed dramatically when he saw Fang Lin and Qing Jianzi.
“I’m sorry for not being there to welcome you two,” Zhang Tianshun quickly bent his waist, saying with a trembling voice.
Zhang Tianshun was incredibly anxious, unsure of the reasons behind the arrival of these two great figures. But judging from the fact that they kicked his door down, they were clearly not here for pleasant reasons.
“Zhang Tianshun, do you recognize me?” Fang Lin stepped forward and asked with a look of amusement.
Zhang Tianshun nodded repeatedly, “Who in the Purple Mist Sect wouldn’t recognize Elder Brother Fang? Elder Brother Fang is joking.”
Fang Lin nodded, then asked with a smile, “Since you recognize me, do you know how you have offended me?”
Zhang Tianshun quickly shook his head, looking terrified, “I’m certain I haven’t done anything to offend Elder Brother Fang. Please don’t make things difficult for me.”
“Make things difficult for you? We heard what you were saying earlier.” Fang Lin laughed coldly.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Tianshun felt a chill coursing through his body, the cold swear on his brow multiplied.
The others at the sides also winced inwardly. This was a disaster. Provoking these two was bad news and this situation wouldn’t end well.
“I-I was just rambling because of the alcohol. They were just drunken words.” Zhang Tianshun stuttered.
Fang Lin didn’t bother with him anymore and turned to Qing Jianzi.
“He’s a disciple of the Martial Sect, I’m not qualified to teach him a lesson,” Fang Lin said casually.
Qing Jianzi understood what Fang Lin’s intentions were. Without any hesitation, he aimed a palm strike at Zhang Tianshun.
“Ahhhhhh!” Zhang Tianshun screamed. His arm was broken by Qing Jianzi. The intense pain nearly made him faint and his face twisted in agony.
“Forgive us, Elder Brother!” The other Martial Sect disciples immediately fell to their knees, begging for mercy from Qing Jianzi and Fang Lin.
Qing Jianzi gave them a cold glance, not saying anything.
“Zhang Tianshun, we will investigate everything you’ve done. Each incident will be looked into and you will have to pay,” Qing Jianzi warned.
When Zhang Tianshun heard this, his heart was filled with despair. They were clearly set on making things hard for him this time.
“My master is…” Zhang Tianshun barely began speaking before Fang Lin interrupted him.
“Don’t bother mentioning your master. He won’t be able to escape the blame either. He will suffer the same punishment when the time comes,” Fang Lin spoke impatiently.
At these words, Zhang Tianshun slumped to the ground, his expression vacantly reflecting his despair as if he had taken a heavy blow.
That day, some major incidents occurred in the Purple Mist Sect.
Sect Master Han Luoyun ordered several high-level officials in the Purple Mist Sect to be incarcerated in the Demon Suppressing Cave. The charges were framing disciples and misusing power.
In addition, a group of elders from the Pill Sect and the Martial Sect were stripped of their elder status and also locked up in the Demon Suppressing Cave, accused of persecuting disciples and conspiring for personal gains.
Moreover, a group of disciples were questioned, and some old incidents were dredged up to be settled, case by case.
Soon, the entire sect was shocked, especially those who had been involved in murky deeds in the past; they were uneasy.
Of course, some people didn’t care, assuming the higher-ups were just putting on a show. They believed they were untouchable because they had backers, and so felt secure.
However, they all ended up being stunned. Not only them, but also their so-called backers were completely uprooted.
Within only the Pill Sect, elders such as Zhao Dengming, Yu Zhen, and those close to the Elder Gu Daofeng during his term were all disciplined. Some were incarcerated in the Demon Suppressing Cave, others were stripped of their elder status.
Because the operation was too efficient, many people didn’t even have time to react, let alone deal with it.
This overhaul was initiated by Fang Lin. He had found Han Yinyue and managed to coordinate this enormous purge with Han Luoyun.
In reality, even if Fang Lin didn’t mention it, Han Yinyue had already prepared various measures to root out the parasites within Purple Mist Sect.
Han Yinyue had a formidable grip over Purple Mist Sect, with countless informants and vast pieces of incriminating evidence. Now that everything was exposed, those who wanted to resist to the end were collapsing one after the other.
Most of the disciples and elders hailed this purge. They had long felt that the sect needed cleaning up, for it was full of corruption.
Of course, such an act did meet with significant resistance. There was not a small amount of opposition among those at the top.
The reason they gave was that such a purge would harm the power of the sect, and some matters didn’t need to be investigated.
The real reason, however, was that the purge was harming their self-interests, hence the strong opposition.
But Han Yinyue was very firm, and publicly listed all the evidence. The high-level officials were all dumbfounded, their attempts to extinguish the flames only succeeded in setting themselves on fire.