The crowd thought the King had no way to defend herself, so they went even harder on their attacks.
"This isn't fake! Those rare races about to perform are being controlled by the King's subordinates. Once we break that control, they'll tell the truth themselves!"
"The King's underlings trained a batch of people called the 'Mirror Masters,' ranked from Mirror One to Mirror Ten. That Mirror One has never shown his face, but their ranks are based on strength. His power's probably already at its peak!"
"For the past fifty years, the King and her Mirror Masters have done nothing but evil, committing crimes beyond count. Her personal guards are accomplices too. They helped her hunt down rare races and oppressed our Shi Tribe. For fifty years, we've been living in hell!"
"Honored envoys, please, lend us your strength!"
"Make the King step down! Give the Shi Tribe justice and light again!"
The nobles of the Shi Tribe shouted their accusations while pleading with the envoys.
Everything was prearranged, of course. The envoys from other races played along and nodded.
The first to stand out was the number one-ranked race at the moment—the Di Lie Tribe.
This time, the Di Lie Tribe had brought a team of dozens of powerful cultivators, led by a Mahayana expert at the peak of his realm, Di Qian.
Di Qian looked deadly serious. "Your Majesty, is what they said true? Back then, Su Yuan Zhēnzūn made it clear that races must not slaughter one another. Even if Su Yuan Zhēnzūn hasn't appeared for a thousand years, the rules he set have long become the law of Nanlan Continent. Anyone who defies it will be condemned by all races together!"
"That's right, King, you'd better give us an explanation," said a wolf-headed powerhouse from the Tian Lang Tribe.
"Now that we know the truth, we can't just ignore it. We'll uphold justice for every race!" another envoy added.
Yu Shiyi's expression flickered.
He'd been wondering just how many races these Shi nobles had managed to rope in. Judging from the scene, it looked like they'd bought off all nine major races.
Tsk, tsk.
How much Shi Tribe land did they have to sell to make that happen?
Honestly, the whole tribe—from King to nobles—was already rotten to the core.
Those thoughts flashed through Yu Shiyi's mind, and then he stood up. "My Yu Tribe also believes the King must give an explanation."
The Shi nobles immediately exhaled in relief, their tension easing.
Among the top ten races, they'd managed to sway nine!
No way the King could keep her throne now!
Excitement surged through the crowd, but Shi King Zhi Yue just kept smiling.
Gradually, the noise died down, and everyone began staring at her in confusion.
Di Qian frowned. "King, do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Zhi Yue smiled faintly, then raised her hand.
The crowd tensed up immediately, spiritual energy flaring as defensive barriers came up all around.
But Zhi Yue didn't attack. She simply pointed toward the stage and said with amusement, "Just now, I heard someone claim those rare races about to perform are being controlled by my people?"
"That's right, every previous year—" Shi Mo started speaking, glancing toward the stage.
Then his words froze, and a bunch of question marks practically appeared above his head.
Wait, what the hell…?
On the stage, a table had somehow appeared, covered with tea and snacks. To top it off, a small grill was set up, powered by fire-attributed spirit stones, sizzling with skewers that gave off a mouthwatering aroma.
And those "controlled" rare races? They were sitting there, eating and drinking happily, watching the commotion with grins, like they were enjoying a live show.
Shi Mo: "???"
A chill ran all over him.
Weren't they supposed to be the ones watching the show? Now they'd become the entertainment?
No, no, no.
That wasn't even the main issue!
The real question was—why weren't those rare races under control at all?!
What the hell was going on?!
Emotional Value +500!
Emotional Value +500!
Amid the stunned silence, Yun Jin quietly harvested a pile of Emotional Value points.
The silence was broken by a crisp, cheerful voice—a young elf girl's.
"Senior Yun, your grilled fish's ready." She handed over a skewer.
Yun Jin took it naturally and munched for a moment before realizing the atmosphere felt wrong. She blinked at the crowd.
"Why'd you all stop talking? Go on.
Did you forget where you left off? Let me remind you. You were saying the King's been acting tyrannical, her Mirror Masters and guards helping her do evil, and that you all planned to unite and overthrow her rule."
Then Yun Jin looked at Zhi Yue expectantly.
"The opposing side's finished their argument, now it's your turn to refute it."
Yu Shiyi's lips twitched.
Back in the trial space, Yun Jin had already had that special ability—to make people really, really want to kill her. It'd been a year since then, and she'd somehow gotten even better at it.
Seriously, what was wrong with the Central Continent? They just let a Tribulation-stage cultivator act like this? No one's managed to kill her yet?
"You sure have guts, that friend of yours," Yu Wushisan muttered through voice transmission.
Yu Shiyi forced a stiff smile. He was about to say something when Yun Jin's gaze locked onto him.
"Yu Shiyi! Why's no one talking? You do it." Yun Jin looked at him with pleading eyes. "If nobody answers me, I'll feel awkward. We've met before, right? Help me out here."
Instantly, every gaze turned to Yu Shiyi.
Even Zhi Yue gave him an amused, probing look.
Yu Shiyi was about to lose it.
This Yun Jin was insane!
She was human, pretending to be one of the rare races, and instead of hiding it, she was flaunting it! And now she had to drag him down with her too?!
"Envoy Yu Shiyi, you know this one?" Zhi Yue asked with a sweet smile.
Yu Shiyi ground his teeth. "We've met once before, nothing more."
Yun Jin frowned. "What do you mean, just once? I thought we were the best of friends! Turns out you only saw it as a single meeting."
Now everyone's eyes on him grew even more curious.
Yu Shiyi's jaw clenched so tight his teeth almost cracked.
Was it really impossible to just kill Yun Jin right now? Really impossible?!
Seeing the situation spiral, Shi Mo barked at Yun Jin, "What's your deal?! You're not one of the rare races at all, are you? You're with the King!"