The sacred grounds of Buddha Sect were steeped in sorrow and anguish.This content is © .

Ting Chan had died.

No one had expected such a tragedy.

Elder Ting Feng conducted the funeral while the other elders observed the ceremony with sorrow in their eyes.

The disciples were weeping openly as they kneeled before Ting Chan's altar, their heads low as they chanted scriptures for their former chief.

His death was a great loss to Buddha Sect.

"Who is it?"

There was an unexpected commotion at the gates. Elder Ting Feng looked up and frowned slightly. After instructing the other elders to take charge of the ceremony, he marched briskly towards the gates.

A dozen disciples had gathered at the gates with staffs and had surrounded Jiang Ning, Liu Heng and Liu Zong.

"They're from Qingshan Sect. Are you Jiang Ning? You murderer!"

"I can't believe the nerve you have, turning up at our doorsteps after you've killed our chief. Let's kill him!"

"Don't let him escape!"

The disciples were overcome with rage.

The fires of fury that were alit within them could burn Jiang Ning alive.

Jiang Ning simply stood there with no expression on his face. He didn't seem to be fazed by their threats.

"I'm here to pay my respects to Master Ting," he said mildly. "Shouldn't you at least let me do that before you kill me?"

"You're not worthy!"

"Murderer! All this talking is just a waste of time!"

The disciples charged at Jiang Ning.

Murderer!

In their eyes, Jiang Ning was the murderer who had killed Ting Chan. Who else could it be?

They knew that Jiang Ning had secretly learned Buddha Sect's Vajra Fist and he had used the Vajra Fist to kill Ting Chan.

They had to kill him to avenge Ting Chan.

With a thunderous roar, more disciples joined the charge. The faces of Liu Zong and Liu Heng paled. It had been as they had predicted. Coming to Buddha Sect had been akin to seeking death. "Stop!" someone thundered suddenly.

Elder Ting Feng had appeared at the gates and was staring at Jiang Ning. "Everyone, stop right now."

They were no match for Jiang Ning. Trying to fight him was akin to suicide.

The elder had come to the conclusion that Jiang Ning wasn't the murderer some time ago. He had inspected Ting Chan's wounds and had been certain that the murderer wasn't Jiang Ning. "He's not the one who killed Ting Chan," said Elder Ting Feng.

The disciples froze in stupor.

"Elder Ting Feng, did you just say that he's not the murderer?"

"That's right. It's someone else. He's here to pay his respects to Master Ting. Let him in." The elder nodded.

The disciples parted and let Jiang Ning through. The eyes that followed Jiang Ning fixedly as he walked past them were still red with fury.

Jiang Ning walked right up to Elder Ting Feng.

"This way, please," said the elder.

Jiang Ning walked next to Elder Ting Feng as the latter led the way into the courtyard, down the corridor and for the great hall, where the altar had been placed.

Two rows of disciples flanked Jiang Ning as he walked down the hall. They were all staring at him with looks filled with intense and unfathomable emotion.

He did not pay them any heed as he

walked through the crowd and

arrived before the altar. He got

himself three incense sticks, lit them

with the burning candle, then walked right up to the altar and bowed three times.

"Master Ting, I pray that you rest in peace." He turned and extended a slight bow towards the elders. "My condolences."

Elder Ting Feng and his fellow elders returned the bow.

Jiang Ning placed the incense stick in the incense burner, then walked to the side of the hall so that he would not disrupt the ceremony.

His intentions had been to pay his respects to Ting Chan all along. He had felt truly sorry when he had heard about the latter's death.

During the negotiation, Ting Chan

had been the only one out of the six

sect leaders who had genuinely strived for peace and stability inside the mountain. Unfortunately he had messed up someone else's plan.

Jiang Ning had come to pay his respects and that made him a guest. Elder Ting Feng wasn't a man who didn't know his etiquette.

He instructed someone to receive Jiang Ning and invited him to take a seat. After he had attended to other matters at hand, the elder approached Jiang Ning.

"Buddha Sect thanks you for

traveling all the way here to pay your

respects," said Elder Ting Feng.

"We'll be chanting scriptures for our chief for the next few days before we bury him. Unless there are any other matters you wish to discuss with us, I'm afraid that we cannot let you remain here."

The look on his face was somber.

"Ting Chan died an unjust death," said Jiang Ning. "Are we going to let the murderer escape scot free?"

Something flashed across Elder Ting Feng's face when he heard what Jiang Ning had said.