Seeing Miles Shen's smug face, Liam Yang almost wanted to rip his mouth apart right then and there. He smiled and said, "Whatever, say whatever you like. If you want to call me your grandpa, that's fine too."
This line got a lot of people laughing, unable to hold back. Miles Shen fumed, "You—"
"Did I say anything wrong?" Liam Yang asked.
Elder Hugh Hu looked at the two, both seemed reasonable, so he asked, "How did you run into the Demon Tiger back then?"
"Here's how it happened: they caught the person beside me, and to stop me from using my techniques, they lured me into Tigerlock Cavern. Inside, I really couldn't use any spatial arts, so I had to fight head-on. In the end, I barely managed to rescue her, but they kept chasing me. With no way out, I ran deeper inside and then ran into the Demon Tiger. It slashed me up pretty badly, and somehow, it broke out." Liam Yang explained.
After Liam Yang finished explaining, Elder Hugh Hu shifted his gaze to Miles Shen and asked, "Is that how it went?"
"No, they went there to release the Demon Tiger. It has nothing to do with us," Miles Shen said.
"Then why were you there?" Liam Yang smiled and asked. Miles Shen wasn't stupid—he wouldn't admit he was chasing after Lin Fei. He replied, "You caused trouble in my Shen Family, so of course I chased you. Wherever you went, I followed. Clearly, you lured me there."
"That lie's pretty impressive, but I won't believe it. Seniors, it's up to you now." Liam Yang hoped these elders wouldn't get fooled.
Elder Hugh Hu looked at Liam Yang, then at Miles Shen, and finally said, "Whoever's lying, that's easy enough to test."
"Elder Hugh Hu, what method do you have?" Miles Shen asked curiously.
"Our Heaven's Guardian Hall has the Heavenly Oath Stele. Swear in front of it, and if you lie, it'll be obvious—your soul will be annihilated," Elder Hugh Hu said.
Hearing this, Miles Shen was shocked inside. If that was true, he'd be doomed, but he still pretended to stay calm. Liam Yang didn't say anything, so he wasn't worried.
So, under Elder Hugh Hu's lead, everyone went to the so-called Heavenly Oath Stele. Liam Yang saw that the stele was incredibly tall—he couldn't see the top with the naked eye.
"The Heavenly Oath Stele..." Miles Shen muttered.
"Alright, who wants to go first?" Elder Hugh Hu asked with a smile. Liam Yang and Miles Shen exchanged glances, then Liam Yang smiled, "I'll go."
After that, he explained what had happened just now again, then smiled, "That's all."
"Your turn," Elder Hugh Hu said to Miles Shen. Miles braced himself and started explaining. As for Liam Yang, standing under the Heavenly Oath Stele, at first he felt nothing, but after a while, it was like a huge force was suppressing his soul.
"I didn't lie—why is this happening?" Liam Yang wondered to himself. When Miles Shen finished speaking, Liam Yang was suddenly locked by a beam of light.
Seeing this, Miles Shen was overjoyed. "Senior, see? I told you he was lying!"
"Still trying to argue?" Elder Hugh Hu glared fiercely at Liam Yang.
"What do you mean, Senior?" Miles Shen asked curiously. Elder Hugh Hu explained, "Only those who tell the truth will be wrapped by this light. As for soul annihilation, that was just something I made up. So, do you have anything else to say?"
Hearing that, Miles Shen realized he'd been tricked and tried to run, but Elder Hugh Hu slammed him to the ground with a single palm. Miles struggled to lift his head, "I was wrong, Senior, please spare me."
"Hmph, you really think you're clever? What do you take Heaven's Guardian Hall for? Disgraceful! Eric Xue, lock him up—and that woman too," Elder Hugh Hu ordered.
Eric Xue replied loudly, "Yes." He grabbed Miles Shen with one hand and walked toward Madam Blaze, who knew she couldn't resist and surrendered quietly.
After they left, Elder Hugh Hu said, "Sorry for causing you trouble."
"It's nothing, Senior. Using such wisdom to help me out, I'm grateful. Now that things are settled, can we leave?" Liam Yang asked.
"No," Elder Hugh Hu replied.
"Why not?" Liam Yang asked suspiciously.
"Of course, it's about you and the Demon Tiger. We want to know exactly what you did and what happened that made the Demon Tiger break free," Elder Hugh Hu asked curiously.
Liam Yang explained what happened at the time. After listening, Elder Hugh Hu frowned, "That doesn't make sense. The Demon Tiger should've needed to absorb a lot more blood before breaking free. Why did it break out just from touching you?"
"Maybe my blood's just special," Liam Yang joked.
"Is that so? Then give me some to study." Elder Hugh Hu waved his hand, and a drop of Liam Yang's blood flew to him.
Liam Yang stared, "Senior, that's robbery."
"I'll compensate you. Letting you stay here for a day will be good for you. As for you, young lady, you'll wait outside the Heavenly Oath Stele," Elder Hugh Hu said, then left.
Liam Yang and Faye Lin looked at each other. Liam was curious about what Elder Hugh Hu meant—could cultivating under the Heavenly Oath Stele really make him stronger? He said, "I'll give it a try."
"Alright," Faye Lin said, then stepped aside.
As Liam Yang stood under the Heavenly Oath Stele, he felt the same soul-suppressing sensation as before. Not only that, his whole body felt light and airy.
The feeling was ethereal and peaceful—it even made him want to sleep.
Faye Lin watched Liam Yang curiously. Meanwhile, Miles Shen and Madam Blaze were locked up together. Madam Blaze helped Miles Shen up and asked, "How are you?"