Chapter 4037: Shatter Peak’s Shackles Are Shattered

The change in High Elder Shatter Peak’s attitude was almost comical. Earlier, he had scrutinized Zhenyu carefully and questioned every inconsistency in the story. Now his doubts seemed to have evaporated.

From Shatter Peak’s perspective, the reasoning was straightforward. Daoist Bone Ruler was stubborn... Painfully stubborn. The man followed rules so rigidly that people joked his bones had probably turned into rulers after cultivating the Dao of Discipline for too long.

Convincing him to overlook a minor offense was difficult enough. Convincing him to erase thousands of years of accumulated violations should have been impossible. Yet Zhenyu had arrived and within a short conversation, Shatter Peak’s entire disciplinary history had disappeared.

That was evidence he could understand.

’Heavens let me have some peace.’ Daoist Bone Ruler sighed.

Perhaps this was another reason he found the Wild Peak exhausting. Their standards of proof were bizarre. High Elder Shatter Peak finally looked toward the restraints surrounding him and frowned.

Then he looked at Daoist Bone Ruler. "What are you waiting for?"

Daoist Bone Ruler stared at him.

High Elder Shatter Peak gestured toward Zhenyu. "You heard my ancestor."

Zhenyu stroked his beard. "Indeed."

Daoist Bone Ruler slowly turned his gaze toward him. For the briefest moment, the Transcendent Immortal wondered whether it would be socially acceptable for the Head of the Law Division to scream.

He decided against it.

With another pulse of Immortal Qi, his identity token activated.

CLICK!

The first restraint around High Elder Shatter Peak released.

CLICK!

Then the second.

The formations surrounding the High Elder dimmed one after another as the prison officially recognized that its occupant no longer possessed any active charges. The final restriction vanished and High Elder Shatter Peak rolled his shoulders.

CRACK! CRACK!

His bones popped loudly and a grin spread across his face. "Finally!"

BOOM!

His aura erupted before Daoist Bone Ruler immediately glared at him.

High Elder Shatter Peak paused. "What?"

"You have been free for three breaths," Daoist Bone Ruler said slowly. "Do not make me regret this."

High Elder Shatter Peak looked down at himself then at Zhenyu before a broad smile appeared on his face. "Or What? What are you going to do? Arrest me again?"

Daoist Bone Ruler’s grip tightened around his token. Lin Mu had to exert considerable effort to keep Zhenyu from laughing. High Elder Shatter Peak had clearly realized that the balance of power had shifted dramatically.

Daoist Bone Ruler noticed Zhenyu’s faintly amused expression and felt a headache developing.

"Senior," he said, turning toward him, "I have fulfilled my promise concerning High Elder Shatter Peak. I would strongly suggest that we proceed calmly from this point onward."

Zhenyu gave him a thoughtful look. "Calmly?"

"Yes."

"Of course."

Daoist Bone Ruler relaxed slightly.

Zhenyu nodded with great seriousness. "I am always calm."

High Elder Shatter Peak immediately nodded. "Wild Peak cultivators are famous for being calm."

Daoist Bone Ruler stared at the two men.

One had blasted his way out of the Mad Demon Depths, nearly crushed him beneath mountains and a tsunami, insulted the supreme Ancestor of the sect, and casually walked through the Void.

The other had accumulated enough disciplinary offenses to turn his personal record into several volumes. And now they were standing side by side claiming that the Wild Peak was famous for calm behavior.

Daoist Bone Ruler closed his eyes.

That thousand-year seclusion was beginning to sound better with every passing moment.

***

With High Elder Shatter Peak finally unbound, Zhenyu watched the man stretch his limbs for a few moments before turning his attention back toward Daoist Bone Ruler. The brief amusement in his expression faded, and the atmosphere immediately became serious again.

High Elder Shatter Peak’s imprisonment had been troublesome, though it had always been secondary to the reason Lin Mu had begun this entire performance in the first place.

"Now that my junior is freed, there is the other matter," Zhenyu said, his deep voice causing Daoist Bone Ruler’s expression to tighten. "The main one."

Daoist Bone Ruler knew exactly what he meant.

"You should have already received the relevant proof," Zhenyu continued.

"I did," Daoist Bone Ruler replied.

The answer came quickly, yet there was something strange about his tone. It was subtle enough that most people might have missed it, but Lin Mu had spent far too much time dealing with merchants, sect elders, nobles, and people trying to carefully maneuver around uncomfortable truths.

Zhenyu recognized hesitation immediately and narrowed his eyes. "Don’t tell me there is a ’but’ in the next sentence of yours."

Daoist Bone Ruler’s mouth opened before closing again.

"I..." The old man almost looked embarrassed. "I do."

Zhenyu stared at him for a few breaths before letting out a tired sigh. "Of course you do."

High Elder Shatter Peak looked between them, thoroughly confused about what they were discussing.

Zhenyu folded his arms across his broad chest. "So what is it? Has the Law Division already discovered some miraculous way of twisting the situation against the Wild Peak again? Or have your people conveniently decided that the evidence itself is unacceptable?"

There was a bite to his words that made several nearby Law Division guards uncomfortable, though Daoist Bone Ruler did not take offense. Considering everything that had happened, he could understand Zhenyu’s suspicion.

Lin Mu himself had expected this as the recording had never been intended to end the matter instantly... It was simply the first spark.

Taegong had powerful people supporting him, and whoever they were, they had enough influence to hide him even after the Wild Peak had torn through parts of the Vault Division searching for him.

They had managed to keep Little Bull’s imprisonment concealed and had arranged circumstances so thoroughly that the Wild Peak had repeatedly ended up appearing like the aggressor.

Giving the recording to Daoist Bone Ruler was the same as lighting a fire beneath their feet. And when someone’s feet started burning, they would struggle. Lin Mu wanted them to struggle.

The more they moved, the more traces they would leave behind.