When Xu Mengqing finished speaking, everyone present was shocked, staring at him in disbelief.
Seeing their expressions, Xu Mengqing sighed, "I knew you'd all react this way."
"Little Xu, what's going on? Why didn't I know about this?" Fu Deqing's face turned pale as he urgently questioned Xu Mengqing.
"What exactly happened? Just tell us everything," Lin Qian said, his interest piqued. He was particularly curious about the claim that the Blackhorn King had swallowed Yue Liqun's wife whole.
Could the Blackhorn race really be capable of such a thing—swallowing other races alive?
"You all know that I've always been the closest to Yue Liqun," Xu Mengqing began, looking around at the others before sighing again.
The others nodded. It was true—Xu Mengqing and Yue Liqun had always been the best of friends. Otherwise, Xu Mengqing wouldn't have challenged Lin Qian in the first place.
Originally, Xu Mengqing's plan had been to defeat Lin Qian and win a refining potion for Yue Liqun.
The result, of course, was clear—Lin Qian had kicked him away with a single strike.
"Actually, only I know about this. If it weren't for the current circumstances, I wouldn't have told you," Xu Mengqing said softly, looking at the group before continuing, "Yue Liqun is actually Yang Junyue!"
"What?!"
Upon hearing this, everyone in the courtyard, except for Lin Qian, was utterly shocked, their faces showing disbelief at what they had just heard.
Seeing their reactions, Lin Qian became even more intrigued. It seemed that Yue Liqun's true identity was quite well-known in the Ancient Forest World.
"Yue Liqun... he's actually Yang Junyue!" Fu Deqing, who had been standing in stunned silence, now found himself lost in thought, recalling his first encounter with Yue Liqun.
At that time, Yue Liqun had been covered in wounds, looking travel-worn and exhausted. No matter where or when, he always needed to eat—a lot.
Fu Deqing had always found his disciple's strange eating habits odd. Why did he eat so voraciously, causing his body to become so bloated and flabby? Now, it seemed clear that it was all a disguise.
"What exactly is the significance of Yue Liqun's true identity? Why does it shock you all so much?" Lin Qian asked Wang Qiongxing, his curiosity growing.
Wang Qiongxing's expression was complex as he bowed to Lin Qian. "Your Majesty, this Yang Junyue, though born human, became the son-in-law of the Blackhorn King's third son..."
As Wang Qiongxing slowly recounted the story, Lin Qian began to understand who this Yang Junyue really was.
The Blackhorn King had many offspring, but his third son was particularly outstanding, and his youngest daughter, Shen Li, was even more exceptional.
However, the entire Ancient Forest World was shaken when a human named Yang Junyue married Shen Li, becoming the son-in-law of the Blackhorn King's third son.
At that time, most of the four tribes had already rebelled against the Blackhorn Kingdom, so they looked down on Yang Junyue for becoming the Blackhorn race's son-in-law.
But this wasn't enough to make Yang Junyue so notable. After all, becoming a son-in-law to the Blackhorn race wasn't something that would normally draw such attention.
The real shock came a hundred years ago when Yang Junyue was suddenly declared a wanted man throughout the Blackhorn Kingdom.
According to the reports, Yang Junyue had taken advantage of the trust of the Third Prince's household and poisoned his father-in-law, the Blackhorn King's third son, before personally killing his Blackhorn wife, Shen Li, and fleeing without a trace.
This incident caused a massive uproar across the Ancient Forest World, leading to an unexpected respect for Yang Junyue among the human race, who had previously looked down on him...
It was clear he was a man of great courage!
But now, hearing this from Xu Mengqing, it seemed the truth wasn't as straightforward as it had appeared.
They had all heard Xu Mengqing say that Yue Liqun—Yang Junyue—had become single-minded and stubborn because his wife was swallowed alive by the Blackhorn King.
Xu Mengqing sighed deeply before continuing, "One night, he got incredibly drunk, and without using his soul power to dispel the effects of the alcohol, he told me the whole story..."
"That night, he was talking with his wife about their insights on cultivation when the Blackhorn King suddenly visited their mansion."
"Shen Li, being his granddaughter, naturally went to greet him."
"According to Yang Junyue, the Blackhorn King seemed very unusual that night, his body emanating a black aura mixed with blood-red energy. His bloodshot eyes fixed on Shen Li, and he began to breathe heavily."
"I will never forget that night." A deep voice suddenly came from the courtyard entrance, and a corpulent figure appeared before them—it was none other than Yue Liqun.
"Her own grandfather suddenly opened his mouth wide, and a powerful suction force surged from it, swallowing my wife whole!" Yue Liqun cried, his fat hands covering his face. "Not a drop of blood was shed—my wife was swallowed alive by her own grandfather."
"My father-in-law witnessed the scene and, enraged, fought that beast, telling me to escape!"
"From what I later heard, I'm certain that my father-in-law met the same fate."
Tears streamed down Yue Liqun's face as he sobbed. "Both my father-in-law and Shen Li believed that different races should live together without distinction—that no one should enslave another, and that this was the future of the Blackhorn Kingdom. They were different from the other Blackhorns; they never discriminated against me for being human, never..."
"I hate myself for being so weak. If I had been at the Life and Death Stage, with true power, Shen Li might not have died. I was unwilling to accept it, so I abolished my cultivation and started over, but nothing changed!"
Yue Liqun's words caused everyone, including Lin Qian, to react with surprise. The man standing before them, who had reached the Awakening Stage, had once abolished his own cultivation after reaching the Life and Death Stage, only to start again!
Abolishing one's cultivation made regaining strength exponentially harder.
"It's natural that nothing changed. The effects of the Transformation Fruit were still stored in your meridians and dantian. Abolishing your cultivation doesn't change that," Lin Qian said coldly, now understanding why Yue Liqun had so little confidence in himself.
It seemed that Yue Liqun had been desperate to gain power, even to the point of abolishing his own cultivation to start anew, only to find it futile. Unable to achieve his revenge, he had become despondent, blaming everything on the inherent weakness of the human race.
Bang!
At that moment, Yue Liqun suddenly knelt before Lin Qian, bowing his head to the ground with a loud thud. "Your Majesty, I beg you—grant me the refining potion. Once I've gained enough power, I'll slay the Blackhorn King with my own hands, and then I will take my own life to atone!"