Chapter 163: Finding Out the Spies

Solomon stepped through the shattered doorway and marched onto the courtyard cobblestones. Hundreds of terrified first-year boys poured out of the ruined dormitory behind him. They huddled together in the center of the stone plaza.

The cold night wind swept across the mountain, rustling the torn blue robes of the surviving disciples.

A few minutes later, another massive wave of students entered the courtyard from the eastern gate. The female disciples arrived in a panicked rush.

Vice Pavilion Leader Xian Xue walked at the front of their formation. She possessed a stern face and wore pristine azure robes completely free of blood or dust. She guided the girls toward the center of the plaza, bringing the total assembly to exactly seven hundred students.

Solomon rested Eden’s Penance against his shoulder and scanned the massive crowd. He spotted LSA gray uniforms mixing with the local deep blue martial robes.

Elizabeth stood a few paces to his right. She kept her grip on her steel sword and watched the surrounding students with absolute suspicion.

"They look exactly like a herd of frightened sheep," Solomon muttered to the floating bronze owl. "I bet at least ten of them are holding hidden daggers right now."

[1Fizzy: the paranoia is completely justified.]

[Mezz_3863: literally anyone could be a traitor.]

[GoonLord: DO NOT LET ANYONE SNEAK UP ON THE PRINCESS!]

[Fatal_Beauty: 700 people in one spot is a terrible idea if a bomb goes off.]

[James_hayes: Solo Man scanning the crowd like a hawk.]

[LazyCat: where are the rest of the instructors?]

Solomon tilted his head upward. A solitary figure sat on an elevated stone balcony carved into the adjacent mountain peak.

Master Wu looked down upon the crowded courtyard. The grandmaster remained completely mute and simply observed the gathering from his high vantage point.

Down in the plaza, Pavilion Leader Jin stepped onto a raised stone platform. The blood coating his uniform caught the moonlight. Xian Xue stopped beside him and offered a quick bow.

Jin ignored her greeting entirely. He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a rolled piece of parchment.

"The infiltrators failed to extract their target tonight," Jin projected his voice across the silent courtyard. "However, the attack confirmed a fatal breach in our ranks. We conducted a rapid spiritual review of the patrol logs during the skirmish. I have a list of names right here."

Solomon tightened his grip on his hilt. He wondered if Corvus had successfully delivered his intelligence to the pavilion leader, or if Jin was acting on his own agenda.

"When I call your name, you will step out of the formation and walk to the front of this platform," Jin ordered. He unrolled the parchment and scanned the ink.

"Ryan Miller."

A boy wearing the LSA gray uniform flinched near the back of the crowd. He lowered his head and shuffled forward through the parting sea of students.

"Chen Tao," Jin called out next.

An older local disciple dropped his wooden practice sword onto the cobblestones and joined Ryan at the front.

"Chloe Davis."

"Lin Yao."

"Sam Harper."

"Feng Hao."

Solomon watched the six students line up before the stone platform. They trembled violently under the gaze of the pavilion leader.

[Chi_Master: he got the list ready so fast.]

[Foodball: wait are these the spies?]

[Grim: they look guilty as hell.]

[BloodKnight: A cornered traitor will always attempt a desperate strike. Watch their hands.]

[User12: getting called to the principal’s office but with swords.]

Solomon noticed a distinct pattern among the called individuals. Three of them wore the LSA uniforms, and the other three wore the local Azure Dragon Sect robes. The cultists had successfully recruited from both factions to mask their movements.

"Are you just going to read names all night?" Solomon called out from the crowd. "Because standing around waiting for them to confess seems like a waste of time. They literally tried to murder us ten minutes ago."

Elizabeth glanced at Solomon and shook her head slightly. She disapproved of his casual disrespect toward the sect hierarchy.

Jin rolled the parchment back up and tucked it into his sleeve. He looked directly at Solomon and offered a grim smile.

"We do not need their confessions," Jin stated, resting his hand on the hilt of his curved saber. "The evidence provided by our shadow operative leaves zero room for debate. These six individuals bypassed our surveillance network and coordinated directly with the Nether Fiend Sect."

[Stephen_Wood: Corvus actually did his job!]

[M00N: shadow bro coming in

clutch.]

[Austin: Solo Man taking the credit internally lol.]

The boy named Ryan Miller fell to his knees on the cobblestones. He raised his

hands and pleaded with the pavilion leader.

"They promised us spirit stones and guaranteed safe passage out of the beginner realm!" Ryan shouted, tears streaming down his face. "We never wanted anyone to die! We just wanted to pass the classes!"

"Stupidity is not a valid defense against treason," Jin replied coldly.

Solomon cracked his knuckles and took a step forward. He fully intended to deal with the traitors himself. He wanted to test exactly how far these students had progressed in their secret cultivation.

"Do you want me to handle the trash for you?" Solomon asked, pointing the tip of Eden’s Penance at the kneeling boy. "I still have plenty of stamina left."

Jin shook his head and drew his curved saber. "Sect discipline is handled by the pavilion instructors. You will simply watch and learn what happens to those who betray their comrades."

Solomon stepped directly into the path of Jin’s raised saber. He completely ignored the pavilion leader’s glare and looked down at the six kneeling traitors.

"Dying for a cult that abandoned you seems incredibly stupid," Solomon addressed the weeping students. He rested the flat of Eden’s Penance against his shoulder. "If you reveal the names of every single spy still hiding in this courtyard, I will personally guarantee your safety. I will even throw in a bounty of academy points and spirit stones for your cooperation."

’If they sold out their friends for a quick payout, they will easily sell out their cultist handlers to save their own lives,’ Solomon reasoned, maintaining a bright and welcoming smile. ’Greed is a very predictable weakness.’