"You are not George!"
The Deputy Guardian's voice was cold as he looked at Ace's appearance; he had clearly seen George's portrait from his information source, so he instantly knew it wasn't George.
In fact, all the people in the hall, whether the hall masters or elders, had the same thought, but they were also bewildered because this was the first time they had seen Ace in the sect. After all, with his otherworldly appearance, they would remember him if he lived in the Chief Hall Court.
Soon, they all speculated that the reason the Guardian Spirit told the Deputy Guardian to soul-search George was because it was planning to use a scapegoat.
But it seemed the Deputy Guardian had seen George. Not to mention that once the Deputy Guardian used a soul search on him, even if he hadn't seen George, he would instantly know that this was an imposter with his memories.
Didn't the Guardian Spirit look down on the Deputy Guardian too much? Furthermore, it seemed that even the Grand Elder had been fooled, or she was also in this play since she brought this young man here. But looking at Vincent's dark expression made some of them.
At this moment, the Spirit Guardian's cold voice rang, "Don't worry, he's George. There was a reason he used a disguise tool to hide his actual appearance. You'll know once you used Soul Search on him.
"But let me warn you: If I sense you're doing anything but soul-searching or playing tricks, don't blame me for being impolite. Once you confirm that George isn't the Sky Stealer and is only being framed, I want you all to leave without making any fuss."
Deputy Guardian's eyes narrowed slightly as he didn't weapon spirit tone, and if it had not been for the special reason of the AIG Sect, he would've already attacked.
After all, despite the Guardian Spirit having an advantage in the AIG Sect, the Deputy Guardian has a treasure given to him by an Ascension Lord, just in case the AIG Sect retaliate. This showed how furious and determined the Bank was to capture the Sky Stealer!
But this was the last resort, and since the AIG Sect was cooperative and even allowed him to soul-search while ruining a genius for its survival, the Deputy Guardian retrained himself. On the other hand, Vincent was clenching his fists, his eyes bloodshot, as he saw George moving towards the Deputy Guardian without hesitation. If not for the Guardian Spirit's promise, he would've never allowed this, but this matter was still quite humiliating. 'Power... if only I had power, these bastards wouldn't dare walk over us !' Vincent's eyes showed murderous intent. He had already vowed to change himself and the sect once this matter was over, and if George didn't survive, he'd make sure to repay the bank for this injustice!
The Deputy Guardian didn't care about Vincent at all since Vincent was too weak, and there was no place for the weak in this world. He was looking at George in front of him with scrutiny.
With the Bank's connections and information network, they had already gathered all the information about George, and there was nothing strange except when he left his original sect and showed signs of strange behavior. It was also around this time that he used the same symbols and tricks as the Sky Stealer.
Now, since the theft also took place in the AIG Sect's territory and George happened to be here, the bank was sure that George was the Sky Stealer, or at least that he had a close connection to him.
But this young man seemed calm, and there wasn't any hint of panic in his dark blue eyes; in fact, he seemed completely impassive.
"If you confess and tell the truth, I can show you some leniency. We only want the Sky Stealer and the things he stole," the Deputy Guardian coldly stated while releasing some of his spiritual pressure on Ace, making Ace appear somewhat pale.
"You won't trust me even if I tell you the truth. So, go ahead; I don't want to implicate the AIG Sect or anyone close to me because of my rotten luck. I want to live peacefully and cultivate." Ace pretended to be persistent and righteous, but inwardly, he sneered at this hypocrite.
He had already decided to raid the bank vaults once he had enough power, and then he'd release this information as well. At that time, he wanted to see how the bank would appease those cultivators whose treasures and wealth had gone under the bank's protection.
Furthermore, by allowing the Deputy Guardian to see his 'memories,' which Ace can easily manipulate using Avatar's Fiction Knowledge ability, Ace was planning to make things difficult for a certain someone.
After all, the bank was a terrifying existence. Once they found that George was only a victim, and since they had searched his memories, they wouldn't have any qualms or doubts about him at all.
So, Ace decided to use this chance and divert them towards his natural enemy, who would eventually come after him. He would use a borrowed knife to make things difficult for 'that' guy!
In any case, whether the bank loses or that guy wins, Ace will surely profit from their clash! "After this soul search, I don't think you can achieve that dream. But since you have the determination to stand up for your sect and for the people you care about, as long as you have nothing to do with this, I'll give you an opportunity if you survive!" The Deputy Guardian impassively said before directly placing his hand on Ace's head, and his eyes flashed with gray lightning, "Soul Search!"
Under everyone's complicated gaze, they saw George's head covered in gray spirit Qi. The next moment, George's body began to tremble violently as his complexion began to change.
However, no one moved as they only watched, but the hearts of the AIG sect members were filled with turmoil and emotions as they watched the young man putting his life on the line for the sect despite only being a disciple for a little over six months.
Some even started to resent the Norberg clan, which tried to scheme against George and even showed a murderous glare to the bank members. But the bank managers remained indifferent. They didn't care about a second-grade sect; they were only here to get their things back and salvage their reputation.
But at this moment, someone noticed that the Deputy Guardian's expression started to change. His initially impassive eyes began to widen in utter befuddlement!