The chamber erupted into chaos, voices rising in a symphony of disbelief and heated discussion. Elders exchanged skeptical glances, their expressions shifting between astonishment and suspicion. The tension in the room was palpable, the air heavy with unease.

  “Crossbred it?” an elder exclaimed, his voice laced with incredulity. His sharp gaze fixed on Kai, as if searching for the hint of a lie. “That’s preposterous. You can’t crossbreed with a blood tree.”

  Another elder stepped forward, nodding firmly in agreement. “Elder Han speaks the truth,” he declared. “A blood tree does not produce flowers for pollination until it matures into a demonic tree. That would mean Kai had allowed this blood tree to become demonic.”

  “No! I didn’t let it become demonic at all! I crossbred it by grafting!” Kai exclaimed, his voice firm but tinged with urgency.

  The room fell into an eerie silence, the weight of Kai’s words hanging in the air like a heavy mist. Even the faintest rustle of robes as the gathered elders and disciples shifted uncomfortably was enough to break the oppressive quiet. All eyes were fixed on Kai, their expressions a mixture of astonishment, confusion, and skepticism.

  “Grafting?” one elder finally repeated. His sharp gaze bore into Kai as though trying to peel back the layers of his claim to find the lie hidden within. “You’re saying you crossbred a blood tree by... grafting it?”

  Murmurs began to ripple through the chamber, the tension escalating as elders leaned toward one another, exchanging hushed, hurried words. It was clear that the method Kai described was entirely foreign to them, an idea so unorthodox it seemed preposterous. Centuries of accumulated knowledge and tradition had not prepared them for something so unconventional. To these seasoned cultivators, the idea bordered on heresy.

  “Explain yourself,” Long Bo commanded, his tone heavy with suspicion.

  Kai swallowed hard but stood his ground. “I cut branches from the blood tree and grafted them onto normal fruit-bearing trees,” he explained, his voice steady despite the judgmental eyes on him. “I repeated this process multiple times, refining the technique, until I managed to produce a tree that bore the fruit you now hold—the meat fruit.”

  Long Bo’s gaze bore into him, a mix of skepticism and intrigue glinting in his eyes. He turned to the assembled elders, his tone sharp. “Have any of you ever heard of such a method for crossbreeding plants?”

  One by one, the elders shook their heads, their expressions ranging from disbelief to begrudging curiosity. Elder Han, the sect’s foremost expert on spirit flora, finally stepped forward, stroking his beard as he spoke. “Honorable Leader, I have never encountered or read about such a method in all my years of study.”

  Long Bo turned his piercing gaze back to Kai. “Where did you come up with such a method?”

  “I got the idea… from a dream.”

  The words fell from his lips almost without thought. The room went silent again, this time more profoundly than before. The elders stared at him, their faces a mix of disbelief and suspicion, as if they were unsure whether to laugh or condemn him.

  “A dream?” Long Bo repeated, his voice carrying a mix of amusement and doubt. “You’re telling us that you came up with this method from a dream?” His eyes searched Kai’s face, trying to discern the truth.

  “Yes,” Kai said, his voice quieter now but firm.

  Truthfully, the idea had come to Kai during one of his strange dreams—dreams that always felt more vivid and real than mere figments of his imagination. In those dreams, Kai wasn’t himself. He was Mike, a man from another world entirely, living a life vastly different from his own. Mike was a hobbyist gardener, an enthusiast of plants in a world that seemed utterly disconnected from Kai’s own reality.

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  In one of those dreams, Mike had experimented with various methods of plant cultivation, and Kai vividly recalled how Mike would often use grafting to combine different types of plants. He remembered seeing Mike cut the branches of one tree and graft them onto another, creating new hybrids with unexpected traits.

  But what disturbed Kai the most was how these memories of Mike’s gardening came to him so naturally, almost as if they were his own. He had tried to brush it off as nothing more than strange dreams, the kind of fantastical visions anyone might have during a restless sleep. But the more he thought about it, the more he wondered if they weren’t just dreams. The knowledge he gained from them had been practical—too practical. It had allowed him to do things that others thought impossible, like grafting branches from the blood tree onto ordinary fruit-bearing trees. That technique had worked, just as it had in the dream.

  Even as he stood before Long Bo and the elders, Kai couldn’t shake the feeling that the line between his dreams and reality was becoming dangerously blurred. He wasn’t sure where the knowledge came from, but he knew one thing for certain: it worked. And now, whether by bad luck or fate, that knowledge may have somehow gotten him into this situation.

  Long Bo turned his piercing gaze towards the disciple who had arrested Kai, his voice carrying a sharp edge. “Do you have any further evidence to present? As it stands, this fruit you found is inconclusive at best.”

  The disciple hesitated, looking uneasy under Long Bo’s scrutiny. He cleared his throat and responded, “Um… no. The fruit and Kai’s visits to the mortal villages were all the evidence we had. We believed it was sufficient for the arrest.”

  “Clearly,” Long Bo replied, his voice tinged with frustration, “it is not sufficient.”

  “But—” the disciple stammered, his face flushed with frustration, “he was seen in the mortal villages, engaging with people there. It’s suspicious. And the fruit—”

  “That does not make him a demonic cultivator,” Long Bo interrupted, his tone sharp as he cut through the disciple’s argument. “Kai has already explained that his visits to these villages were for the purpose of acquiring feed for the animals under his care. There is nothing unusual or nefarious about this. Anyone in his position would do the same.”

  The chamber fell silent for a moment as Long Bo’s words sank in. The elders exchanged glances, some looking thoughtful, others still uncertain. Long Bo’s authority, however, was undeniable.

  He looked back at the disciple with a commanding gaze. “You cannot make such accusations based on circumstantial evidence alone. Now, I ask again—do you have any additional evidence to support your claim?”

  The disciple opened his mouth but faltered, the weight of Long Bo’s words settling heavily on him. He glanced down at the floor, clearly struggling to find a defense.

  Long Bo’s eyes narrowed, and the room fell into a tense silence as he addressed the gathering with a voice heavy with authority. “I will not tolerate baseless accusations. To do so would not only tarnish this sect’s integrity but would also harm its reputation in front of others.” His gaze shifted deliberately towards the members of the Emerald Tortoise Sect, who had been silently observing the proceedings from a corner of the room.

  Kai had been with the Ember Sword Sect long enough to witness firsthand the depths of corruption within its ranks. He had seen the inner sect members act with impunity, their power unchecked by any real oversight. From the way they bullied the outer sect disciples to the way they disposed of those who no longer served a purpose, it was clear to Kai that the sect was built on a foundation of cruelty and favoritism. Long Bo, as its leader, was no exception. Yet, the presence of the Emerald Tortoise Sect members, who were known for their strict codes of conduct and their powerful influence within the righteous alliance, seemed to put a damper on the usual undercurrents of corruption.

  Kai had no illusions about the system he was caught in. He knew that, without the Emerald Tortoise Sect’s watchful eyes, the outcome would likely be very different. He could almost imagine the inner sect disciples, fueled by their own arrogance, dragging him out to the stables and disposing of him without a second thought. But with the Emerald Tortoise Sect present, Long Bo had no choice but to put on an air of legitimacy, to maintain a semblance of fairness. It was a fleeting moment of justice, but it was justice nonetheless.

  Kai clenched his fists, his mind racing with the knowledge that, even with the Emerald Tortoise Sect’s presence, his future was far from certain. He could still sense the resentment in the room—the lingering suspicion and hostility in the eyes of the inner sect disciples, the way they studied him as if he were already guilty. But for now, he could take solace in the fact that at least there was a chance—a slim chance—that he might not be silenced by the sect’s corrupt hierarchy.

  The room grew still, the tension thickening as all eyes turned to Long Bo. His voice, commanding and final, broke the silence. “If there is no further evidence to present, then I shall give my final verdict.”