Chapter 801: Among Giants (1)
It was late at night on the 1st of June. The wind suddenly blew violently in the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. Up in the sky, the 107th golden stripe appeared on the hanging hammer. At this point, everyone could see that Zhao Li was on the verge of leaving his seclusion.
Everything had gone surprisingly smoothly. At the very least, that was how it seemed for all these people. Great Xia would soon welcome a top-tier weaponsmith.
The academy would probably welcome a new elder or even a new faculty head soon. Of course, Zhao Li might not accept these appointments. While everyone was waiting in anticipation, the wind rose.
Lightning flashed and thunder rolled.
Boom!
The 108th golden stripe took form.
Everyone looked up expectantly. The Source Qi Secret Grotto faded away, revealing Zhao Li who was floating in the sky with a large hammer in his hand. At almost the exact moment, the aura of a different cultural weapon surged below Zhao Li.
A smaller hammer shot through the roof of the research center and soared into the sky. Holding onto the hammer was the hand of a second individual. Sixty-six golden stripes could be seen on the hammer.
All the onlookers blanked out. Sixty-six golden stripes? Peak profound cultural weapon! Was that...Cui Lang's work? While Zhao Li was working on his weapon, Cui Lang was working on a different weapon?
But now was not the time for everyone to think too much about that. Before long, several individuals greeted joyfully, "Congratulations, Teacher!"
These were the students of Zhao Li. They all looked overjoyed. It was a success! The nonchalant Zhao Li glanced at Su Yu before smiling and saying, "Young Friend Cui has finished your weapon as well. That was faster than expected. What a pity that you were interrupted when I withdrew the Source Qi Secret Grotto."
"It doesn't matter. I have learned a lot from you, Teacher Zhao. This is merely a peak profound cultural weapon. I can easily forge dozens of these for fun at a later time."
Instantly, silence enveloped the area.
With the hammer in hand, Su Yu soared into the sky and floated beside Zhao Li. But for some reason, something felt wrong.
Remembering something, Su Yu expressionlessly formed a white robe around his body with his source qi. He emanated a carefree and unruly aura, causing some of the surprised individuals in the crowd to regain their calm. What an elegant young man.
As for Old Zhao, well, the word elegant was not something one could use on him. He might have a robust and healthy body, but his white hair and his overall presence still gave off the image of an old man. He would never be an eye candy like the youngster beside him.
Zhao Li also stiffened slightly as he recalled something. With an indifferent smile, a shining armor appeared on his body. This was clearly a peak profound defensive armor. The eyes of some people in the crowd lit up with amazement. That was a piece of treasure!
"Congratulations, Master Zhao!"
"This is worthy of celebration, Master Zhao!"
"Great Xia has gained yet another grandmaster weaponsmith!"
The people in the crowd spoke one after another, including some of the earth weaponsmiths. As for Hu Qi, she looked at Su Yu and smiled, "Cui Lang, not bad at all. In my opinion, you will be able to enter the earth grade after taking some time to digest what you learned today. Truly a youth with a bright future ahead of you."
The crowd continued surrounding them. None of them was bothered by the fact that they were unclothed when they first appeared. After so many days of forging, it was normal for their previous clothing to be destroyed. What was the big deal about wearing nothing? It wasn't like they were maidens or something.
Su Yu and Zhao Li remained completely calm and composed. They had merely forgotten about that before leaving the grotto. Furthermore, they were still wearing their underpants so it didn't really matter that much.
While everyone was busy congratulating the two, the air warped as Zhao Tianbing appeared out of nowhere. Marquis Xia had also arrived with him.
Both of them were smiling ear to ear. Zhao Tianbing cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations, Junior Brother. You finally succeeded. I also need to congratulate you for entering the Mountainsea Realm and becoming an earth weaponsmith."
"It's nothing special." Zhao Li calmly replied, "But Young Friend Cui gave me a big surprise. He will definitely reach the earth grade within one year. I hope he can reach the heaven grade in ten years and further develop the path of weaponsmithing!"
The people around them were astonished. Was Zhao Li so impressed by Cui Lang?
Su Yu flashed a flippant smile and said, "You praise me too much, Teacher Zhao. I am only a peak profound weaponsmith right now. But you have taught me the Soul Expanding Art and your weaponsmithing skills. I will not forget this favor. When I become a heaven weaponsmith, I will definitely forge a heaven weapon for you!"
"Hahaha!" Zhao Li laughed, "I'll be looking forward to your advancement."
Zhao Tianbing had an odd expression as he witnessed that exchange. Since when was his junior brother so amiable? Sure, this fellow was quite impressive. But his junior brother had always been a proud person. He would never admit his inferiority to anyone.
Or perhaps the two were able to resonate very well with each other because they were the same type of people?
Su Yu looked at Hu Qi and said, "Senior Hu, you're here as well?"
Hu Qi smiled, "I'm here to witness the forging of a heaven weapon. What a pity that it's only a pseudo heaven weapon. But you did surprise me. I had thought that you would take around five years to reach the earth grade. But I doubt you will actually take that long."
"I'll need to thank Teacher Zhao and Senior Hu for their teachings."
Zhao Li smiled and said, "Young Friend, feel free to visit me when you have the time. We can talk about weaponsmithing. There are only a few weaponsmiths standing at the very top of the field. And you will be among them in the future."
"You praise me too much, Teacher Zhao." Su Yu said, "After receiving your teachings, I am confident I can reach the earth grade. As for the heaven grade, I can only leave that to fate."
"It's only a matter of time."
"..."
The others stared in stupefaction. Wasn't Zhao Li the main character today? Wasn't he the one who had broken through? Why was Cui Lang hogging the spotlight instead? Some were even starting to suspect that Zhao Li would start claiming that Cui Lang was the number one weaponsmith before long. Was he really that amazing?
Nevertheless, nobody questioned his talent. A thirty-five-year-old peak profound weaponsmith on the verge of becoming an earth weaponsmith was still incomparably rare in the Human Realm. Perhaps only the students of Heavenly Forge King had this level of talent.
But considering the fact that Cui Lang wasn't the student of a heaven weaponsmith, nobody could doubt his talent.
Zhao Li stopped before he went too far with the praises and gave Zhao Tianbing a smile. When Zhao Tianbing noticed that, he was greatly surprised. Was his junior brother actually smiling at him?
What happened to his junior brother? It was clear his junior brother was in an excellent mood.
But soon, he realized that his junior brother was still the same person. Zhao Li had been rather polite toward everyone there. But when Marquis Xia stepped forth, Zhao Li's face immediately sank. He didn't even spare the Marquis Xia a look as he turned and returned to his research center.
Before leaving, he tossed the Source Qi Mirror to Old Nie and snorted coldly before saying, "Great Xia seems to have enjoyed using my grotto too much. Just because you have been using it for a while does not mean that it belongs to you. I only wanted to use the grotto for a short while yet some people dared to stop me. In that case, won't the Xia Family's Sky Sundering Saber be mine after I use it for a couple of days?"
Marquis Xia blanked out. How had he provoked this old man? But when he heard of what happened, he glanced at Yuan Qingdong, who had just arrived and frowned with a gloomy expression. After entering his research center, Zhao Li shut the door.
Zhao Tianbing seemed to have understood what Zhao Li was saying. He snorted coldly and said, "Junior Brother, if you can't stay in Great Xia anymore, you can come to Great Zhou with me. No matter what, I still have some status and power in Great Zhou. The Source Qi Secret Grotto was left behind by my teacher and your father. Who dares to take it from you?"
Yuan Qingdong stayed completely silent, acting like they weren't talking about him. He had merely said a few simple words to Zhao Li. And he greatly regretted doing that. Offending two earth weaponsmiths was not something anyone could celebrate.
Cui Lang laughed and said, "Senior Hu, do you think Great Ming can invite Teacher Zhao over for a bit?"
Hu Qi smiled, "If Zhao Li is willing, Great Ming's door will be forever open for him. Brother Zhao..."
At this moment, Zhao Tianbing interrupted with an awkward voice, "Senior Hu, you used to address my teacher as Brother Zhao as well. Can you change the way you address us? Just call us by our names. Don't be shy about it."
This was too awkward. Had this old lady forgotten about that? Back when his teacher visited Great Ming, this old lady had called him Brother Zhao. Why was she addressing Zhao Li the same way? This was so awkward.
Hu Qi blanked out slightly. She was only using that form of address out of courtesy without thinking too much. She glanced at Zhao Tianbing. Was this fellow reminding her of her age? She snorted at him. Read full story at novel_fіre.net
With a flat tone, she said, "As cultivators, we only take one's merit into consideration, not age. What do you think about that, Principal Zhao?"
Zhao Tianbing gave a hollow laugh. Sure, sure. He definitely wasn't interested in getting into an argument with her. No matter how she spun it, nobody could deny that it was awkward for father and son to share the same form of address.
This was an assembly of Sunmoons and earth weaponsmiths. Su Yu might not be as high in rank, but he was still able to stay calm in their midst. No matter, what, he was a peak profound weaponsmith. He naturally had to maintain a certain level of confidence.
Chapter 802: Among Giants (2)
Zhao Tianbing moved on from the topic and smiled at Su Yu, "Young Friend Cui, you have incredible weaponsmithing skills. And you even managed to obtain the teachings of my junior brother. His eyes have always been keen when it comes to talent. Let me thank you on his behalf for helping him with his weapon."
Su Yu smiled, "You're too polite, Principal Zhao. I was learning from Teacher Zhao, not helping him. I should be thanking him instead."
Hu Qi interrupted and said, "Are you not going to thank me as well? Without the Heavenly Forge Art I taught you, would you have lasted so long? Why do you keep calling him teacher? Are you planning to join Great Xia? Why are you only calling me Senior Hu? Looks like you're still as realistic as ever."
Su Yu's heart skipped a beat as he hurriedly said, "Teacher Hu, what are you saying? I merely lacked the courage to call you that. With my teacher around, wouldn't he be jealous if I call you teacher as well?"
"You sure are good with your words, brat." Hu Qi laughed and said, "You seem to have benefited greatly from this. You should return to Great Ming and focus on reaching the earth grade as soon as possible. We're all old while you're still young with a long road ahead of you. I reckon you can become the faculty head of the Great Ming Cultural Research Academy's Weaponsmithing Faculty the next time you return."
At this time, Zhao Tianbing said, "Heavenly Forge Art? So you can be considered a weaponsmith from Heavenly Forge King's line. What a pity that he's not here today. He would have officially taken you under his wing if he was present."
Hu Qi said, "In weaponsmithing, it is better for one to walk their own unique path. Cui Lang has learned both the Heavenly Forge Art and Soul Expanding Art. He should expand his horizons and not limit himself to a single legacy. This will benefit him more."
They no longer talked about Zhao Li. That fellow was too much of an eccentric. He had actually left when everyone was here to congratulate him. It was pointless to talk about that fellow.
Hu Qi said, "It's rare to see so many of us gathered in one place. Since I'm the eldest here, let me suggest a gathering to talk about weaponsmithing. We can find a place and take our students there as well. Cui Lang, you were Zhao Li's assistant during this forging. With his temper, he probably won't be interested to tell us anything. Are you interested in telling us about the process?"
The moment that offer was made, the eyes of the surrounding earth weaponsmiths lit up with excitement. Zhao Li's temper was too terrible. It would be hard for them to get an answer out of him. But Cui Lang was also there during the forging!
Even Elder Chen got excited as he asked, "Young Friend Cui, are you interested in joining us in this gathering? Apart from the Heavenly Forge King's teachings and the Zhao Family's teachings, there are many other weaponsmithing teachings in the Human Realm. This is a good chance for us to exchange pointers and learn from each other."
Almost all the earth weaponsmiths were also Sunmoons. Mountainsea earth weaponsmiths were very rare. At this moment, about eight Sunmoons were looking at Su Yu expectantly.
Zhao Tianbing said, "Young Friend, Senior Hu was right. This is a rare chance. Apart from Heavenly Forge King and the First Divine Sect master, all the other top weaponsmiths of humanity are here."
Hu Qi said, "What are you waiting for, Brat? Just agree already. Do you want us to beg you? If you agree, we will benefit from what you share. And you will also benefit from what you can learn from us. Also, if you encounter any trouble in the future, feel free to look for these old fellows for help. They are all upstanding and important individuals. They can easily solve any minor issue you might encounter in the future."
The others were also waiting for his answer while smiling. They were indeed important individuals regardless of their origin. After all, they were earth weaponsmiths. They would be a big shot wherever they went. For example, Great Xia's Elder Chen was a big shot even Marquis Xia had to pamper all the time.
In fact, even an Invincible descendant like Yuan Qingdong did not amount to much before these earth weaponsmiths. He was nearby with his friends from the holy land, but all the earth weaponsmiths ignored them.
Why? Because these earth weaponsmiths were important enough to do so. They could do well wherever they went. Even the Invincibles of the various prefectures would welcome them with open arms.
For example, Zhao Tianbing had been able to join the conversation of three Invincibles not long ago. As for the Heavenly Forge King, he was even more aloof. After all, the Invincibles were the ones who would need his help every now and then, not the other way around.
Perhaps the son of Great Yuan King, who was also Yuan Qingdong's father, might be able to join the conversation of these big-shot weaponsmiths. But Yuan Qingdong himself was nearly not qualified.
Su Yu lowered his head with a smile on his face. He knew that Hu Qi was doing this to help him amass support.
Behind the seven earth weaponsmiths were even more profound and yellow weaponsmiths. These were basically the majority of the weaponsmiths in the neighboring prefectures. The favor of these people would be very valuable as these were the people who even Invincibles couldn't neglect. And it wasn't like these earth weaponsmiths were weak. Almost all of them were Sunmoons.
"In that case, I'll be embarrassing myself with the little knowledge I have. Seniors, we should look for a suitable venue. I'll pay for it since I'm going to be the one seeking guidance from all of you."
"Hahaha, fine. Let's go together."
The weaponsmiths were all in a good mood. When Marquis Xia saw that they had formed a clique of only weaponsmiths, he felt quite helpless. He wanted to use this chance to recruit Cui Lang, but these damn fellows had formed their own clique and excluded him. What could he do?
At the same time, Yuan Qingdong and his friends were also being subjected to the same treatment. Yuan Qingdong seemed indifferent as he was already used to this. In fact, he even looked aloof standing there silently, as though he didn't deign to associate himself with these weaponsmiths. But the other Sunmoons around him were still not used to such treatment.
The woman in the group smiled and offered, "Principal Zhao, maybe we can join in as well--"
Zhao Tianbing turned to look at them. Hu Qi was the one to give a straightforward reply, "Forget it. You're not from the same field so you won't understand anything. It's pointless." ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel-fire.ɴet
The woman laughed awkwardly, but inwardly, she was furious. Yuan Qingdong remained expressionless. He had guessed that this would happen. Thus, he had been staying silent. It was obvious that these weaponsmiths didn't deign to associate with outsiders like them.
Instead, he looked at Marquis Xia and smiled, "Marquis, since Elder Zhao has completed his weapon, when will we proceed with Feng Ji's trial?"
Marquis Xia glanced at him and said, "There's no rush. The sky is already dark. We'll do it tomorrow."
"Feng Ji?"
Hu Qi suddenly said, "This has caused such a big ruckus. Acting Prefect Xia, you won't mind us listening in during the trial, right?"
Note the word "us" instead of "me" she used.
She knew that Su Yu definitely wanted to go. But it was also inappropriate for him to be there with his current identity. Thus, she decided to give him a proper reason to go. Invincibles would definitely be present during the trial.
And with so many earth weaponsmiths present, the Invincibles wouldn't dare to rashly scan them. Not even Invincibles were stupid enough to offend so many earth weaponsmiths at the same time. After all, they still needed the help of these weaponsmiths to forge the weapons required by those from their respective prefectures, right?
Mountainseas and Sunmoons required earth weapons. Just because Invincibles did not require earth weapons did not mean that their subordinates wouldn't need the service of earth weaponsmiths.
Marquis Xia smiled and said, "Of course. Since Senior Hu is interested, there won't be an issue. I'll be waiting for all of you tomorrow."
He was very polite toward the earth weaponsmiths.
Initially, the other earth weaponsmiths weren't too interested in the trial. But since Hu Qi had said so, they didn't mind going along with it. Zhao Tianbing said, "We're agreed, then. We will talk about weaponsmithing through the night before attending the hearing tomorrow. Great Xia is truly getting more and more..."
He stopped there and said something else instead, "After my junior brother stabilizes his cultivation, I'll try to get him to share some of his experience with us as well."
"You're too kind, Principal Zhao. With your presence, the talk tonight will be an interesting one."
"..."
The weaponsmiths continued chatting with each other. During this time, Su Yu waved at the nearby Bai Junsheng and said, "Little Bai, take us to a nice place to talk. Since you spend all your time fooling around, you should know such a place, right?"
Bai Junsheng felt incomparably gloomy. Little Bai? Holy shit! When they met not long ago, Cui Lang still addressed him as junior brother. Why did that change into Little Bai?
"I'm not familiar with Great Xia..."
He muttered softly to himself. But with so many big shots here, refusal wasn't an option. Thus, he awkwardly said, "Yes, of course. I'll show the way, Seniors."
He then started walking away with an embarrassed expression. He decided to find a random place that was large enough to fit all these people. In any case, these weaponsmiths probably wouldn't care that much. Before long, the group left the area.
This was a group of Sunmoons, Mountainseas, and Cloudbreaches. Su Yu could be considered one of the weaker ones among the group, but he enjoyed a rather high status. Thus, he walked right behind the Sunmoons alongside the Mountainseas.
After the weaponsmiths left, the woman beside Yuan Qingdong spoke with a furious expression, "What an arrogant bunch."
Yuan Qingdong shot her a glance and indifferently said, "Don't look for trouble. Every single one of them is a treasure in the eyes of the Invincibles. These are the VIPs of the various prefects. If you don't want to get yourself blacklisted by the entire weaponsmithing industry, learn to be patient. It would be embarrassing for someone your age to end up forced to apologize to these weaponsmiths by the Invincible from your family."
Did she not notice how even Marquis Xia was still smiling despite being ignored? Sure, sufficient strength could allow one to be arrogant. But they were all Sunmoons here. Being both earth weaponsmiths and Sunmoons, they would naturally enjoy a higher status than a mere Sunmoon. Only a fool would make a big fuss out of this.
Yuan Qingdong had smartened up considerably. He had learned to keep a low profile when he was outside the holy land. Just look at how calm he had been despite the numerous hardships he had been subjected to recently. Just endure and everything would be fine.
The people of the various prefectures did not care about the holy lands that much. Perhaps for these people, only the Invincibles in the holy lands were worth respecting, not the holy lands themselves. And there was nothing the others from the holy lands could do anything about that. For example, Zhu Tiandao had openly called them a bunch of servants.
Generally, only the second sons or branch families would be sent to settle down in the holy lands. Meanwhile, the main branches would remain in their respective prefectures. Thus, even the Invincibles were more biased toward the prefectures. Thus, the holy lands wouldn't benefit from getting into a conflict with the prefectures.
In the past, Yuan Qingdong had thought that the holy lands were the leaders of humanity. But after leaving for the outside world, he finally realized that he was completely wrong. He sighed inwardly. In truth, he didn't even feel like getting involved in Feng Ji's trial. But he had no choice. However, participating might get him in trouble as well. For example, Hong Tan. That was a massive trouble that might happen.
It was becoming increasingly obvious that Great Xia was trying to protect the multiple character faction. Thus, he would offend both Hong Tan and Great Xia. If Xia Longwu could break through successfully, even more trouble would come knocking in the future. But even if he were to fail the advancement, Great Xia King alone was troublesome enough.
After leaving the holy land, Yuan QIngdong finally understood how naive he had been. And now, there were numerous undercurrents in Great Xia. Any carelessness might result in his death even if he was a Sunmoon and an Invincible descendant.
Way too many people were connected to the multiple character faction.
Chapter 803: Among Giants (3)
Not far away.
Su Yu and the weaponsmiths entered a large building. At the hall, he saw that the environment there was nice. The smell and the location were also good. He was smiling, but inwardly, he was cursing.
What kind of place had the idiot Bai Junsheng brought them to? The real Cui Lang would probably love this place. But this was a group of master weaponsmiths. Why did Bai Junsheng bring them here as well? It was so ridiculous that Su Yu was actually impressed.
He did not make it clear what place this was. He didn't know if those weaponsmiths knew it, but he decided to ignore it. He reckoned that they wouldn't mind even if they knew. Before long, everyone sat down and started talking about weaponsmithing.
The earth weaponsmiths and Su Yu started exchanging pointers. Su Yu no longer lacked experience and foundation. Thus, he was able to converse well with these earth weaponsmiths. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.
At the same time.
Marquis Xia had just gathered all the information about Cui Lang. After reading through the information several times, he handed the documents to Xia Huyou and said, "Take a look and see if you can discover anything."
Xia Huyou read through the information and enviously said, "The people of Great Ming are experts when it comes to having fun. This Cui Lang...his life has been a lot more interesting than ours..."
"What are you focusing on? Did I tell you to focus on that?"
Marquis Xia was somewhat furious. Did he tell the little fatty to read about Cui Lang's past escapades with women?
Xia Huyou laughed awkwardly and continued reading. After a while, he rubbed his chubby chin and said, "There's nothing special about him. But he was only a yellow weaponsmith previously. His growth is way too fast. Did he grow rapidly after he went into hiding to escape Senior Cheng Mo?"
He was now a peak profound weaponsmith. Of course, according to some testimonials, Cui Lang was only an early or middle profound weaponsmith previously. He had only reached the peak profound grade due to Zhao Li's help.
Old Zhao had actually helped an outsider right after their first meeting. This was truly surprising. After going through the information several times, Xia Huyou did not find anything suspicious.
Marquis Xia said, "Pay close attention. We still don't know if there is any issue with Cui Lang, but Old Zhao's Soul Expanding Art is being coveted by many people. This Cui Lang is too flippant. Be careful lest he ends up leaking the Soul Expanding Art everywhere."
Xia Huyou nodded, "I understand. Su Yu knows the Soul Expanding Art as well. I already knew it was strong before this. This incident has further proved that fact. What a pity that Elder Zhao is too difficult to deal with. If possible, maybe I can try to learn from Su Yu instead."
"Su Yu..."
Marquis Xia blanked out slightly before going through the information yet again.
Suddenly, he asked, "Does Su Yu know how to forge weapons?"
"Huh?" Xia Huyou answered blankly, "No. He only learned the Soul Expanding Art from Elder Zhao, nothing else. In fact, he had only visited Elder Zhao three or four times during his time in the academy."
"Are you sure?"
While rapping on the table, Marquis Xia said, "Do you think Su Yu is aware of Feng Ji's trial?"
"He's in seclusion to recover from his injuries. I doubt so."
Suddenly, Xia Huyou's expression changed as he said, "Second, Granduncle, you mean..."
Marquis Xia shook his head, "I was only curious. Soul Expanding Art, Zhao Li, Su Yu, Cui Lang, and weaponsmithing. Cui Lang has appeared out of nowhere with an incredible level of talent. I'm wondering if he's related to Su Yu."
Xia Huyou laughed, "Second Granduncle, don't be too suspicious. This Cui Lang is a peak profound weaponsmith."
"But he was an early profound weaponsmith before this." Marquis Xia countered, "Su Yu knows the Soul Expanding Art. With his talent, if he spends some time to train hard, will it be hard for him to reach the early profound grade?"
"..."
Xia Huyou shook his confused head and said, "But he's too busy for that. It's currently June, and he only joined Great Ming around a month ago. And during that time, he had to cultivate, advance, battle Shan Xiong, and recover from his injuries..."
But suddenly, Xia Huyou stopped talking. Was that really impossible?
Marquis Xia said, "Whatever. It honestly doesn't matter."
He left one thing unsaid. When Cui Lang was in Nanyuan, there were several deaths there. And those who were dead were the ones who had offended Su Yu. When Marquis Xia first heard about that, he had wondered if Su Yu had sent some people over. Or perhaps it was Great Ming. But...was it possible that Su Yu himself was the killer?
Su Yu...Cui Lang? But one of the dead was a ninth-stage Cloudbreach!
"Fire character, elemental escape technique, powerful physical body, and willpower at the level of a Mountainsea..."
Recalling the report he received, Marquis Xia sighed and said nothing else. It was normal for a weaponsmith to have a fire character.
As for the elemental escape techniques, Marquis Xia was aware that Su Yu was capable of transforming into wind, water, or even shadow to escape. After all, there was a shadow race member in Hong Tan's research center.
With the Soul Expanding Art, numerous characters, and a character technique, it wasn't too surprising that the commander in Nanyuan would misjudge the strength of the killer.
Marquis Xia shut his eyes. Cui Lang...Su Yu!
How brazen.
But that level of talent was truly astonishing. Marquis Xia could hardly believe that someone was actually capable of becoming a peak profound weaponsmith in only a few months. If he hadn't linked all the clues together, he never would have guessed that Cui Lang was actually Su Yu.
Did Su Yu even have the time to practice weaponsmithing? And was it so easy to reach the peak profound grade just because one started to learn? If it was that easy, Great Xia wouldn't have been stuck with only one earth weaponsmith for so many years.
Of course, that had changed with Zhao Li's advancement, increasing that number by one. Even someone who knew Su Yu well like him found that hard to believe. Others would probably not think of that possibility at all.
Most people were still unaware of the similarity of all the killed individuals in Nanyuan. Only Great Xia knew as they had the full list of those who had entered Su Yu's home before. And since most people couldn't find any similarity between the dead individuals, many believed that someone was trying to stir up trouble.
Nobody suspected Su Yu. Marquis Xia was the only person who had directly linked all those deaths to Su Yu. And since Cui Lang was also in Nanyuan at the time, he had no choice but to link Cui Lang with Su Yu.
"If Cui Lang is actually Su Yu, Old Zhao's attitude would be perfectly understandable. He didn't pick Cui Lang because of his eccentric nature. Rather, he knew that was Su Yu. He was trying to cover for Su Yu. Hu Qi was also doing the same. In that case, Hu Qi probably knows his identity. Apart from Hu Qi and Zhao Li, is there a third person?"
Marquis Xia looked in Heart Cultivating Pavilion's direction. Was that fellow aware as well? Would Su Yu mess with some of their plans with his arrival? That damn brat had a terrible temper. He was not one to swallow his grievances for the future.
During Feng Ji's trial, Chen Yong would definitely be exposed as the actual killer. Humanity would then label Chen Yong as a traitor. There was no avoiding that unless they could provide proof of the crimes performed by the dead military officials. How would Su Yu react to that?
"He might be weak, but he has an incredible ability in troublemaking. He better not create yet another big trouble and ruin our plan!"
At that thought, he looked at Xia Huyou and said, "Tomorrow, you will try to rope in Cui Lang. Stick to him during the public trial."
"Huh?" Xia Huyou was confused. What was his second granduncle trying to do?
Cui Lang? Su Yu? An odd look appeared in Xia Huyou's eyes as he nodded, "I understand. By the way, the three Invincibles are holding a public trial in Great Xia during the absence of both Father and Great Grandpa. Will there be any trouble?"
"Nope." Marquis Xia said, "It will be fine. After all, we're in Great Xia. Your great grandpa is not dead yet. Even the three Invincibles need to think carefully before creating trouble here. Don't worry."
"Fine." Xia Huyou asked, "Should we move our army around tomorrow? The three Invincibles might not create trouble, but we still need to be on guard against others. Should we move the secret soldiers and station some Mountainseas and Sunmoons around the city? If anyone dares to create trouble, we can cut them down and claim that they're cultists."
"..."
Marquis Xia gazed at Xia Huyou silently.
Holy shit! When did this little fatty become so ruthless? Was he worried that his old man was not in enough trouble?
"Are you trying to inherit the throne earlier?"
Xia Huyou flashed an innocent smile and said, "What are you saying, Second Granduncle? Am I that kind of person? Great Xia has been staying patient for way too long. To be honest, the people under us are getting restless. We need to show the world that Great Xia's blade is still sharp."
Marquis Xia beamed and said, "If our blade is too sharp, would anyone still dare to enter Great Xia? From your father's generation, Great Xia's blade has stopped being sharp. Without your father around, Great Xia's blade has turned into a blunt blade."
"Blunt blade..."
Xia Huyou pensively asked, "You mean..."
Marquis Xia lazily said, "Comprehend it yourself. When a blade is blunt, how should we make it sharp again?"
"Grind it."
"Grind it?" Marquis Xia smiled and said nothing.
Xia Huyou raised his brow. After a while, he nodded, "I understand. I'll be taking my leave, Second Granduncle."
What did the brat understand? Marquis Xia did not ask. Nor did Xia Huyou make it clear. Grinding a blunt blade is a dumb solution. One could simply cut more people down and the blade would naturally become sharp again.
When was Xia Family's blade the sharpest? When they were beheading someone. Their sharpest blade had always been reserved for the cultists. Often, the cultists would lose their heads before the blade had even fallen fully. Their blade was simply too murderous. After walking out of Marquis Xia's room, Xia Huyou looked up at the dark sky.
"Heh..."
After a while, he grimaced. Fine. They shall retire their blade for now. It was still too early to grind their blade. As for whether Cui Lang was Su Yu, he couldn't be bothered to think too much about that.
He would naturally find out during their meeting tomorrow. But tomorrow wouldn't be a good day. He could only hope that Cui Lang or Su Yu wouldn't cause more trouble for them. Check latest chapters at novel
Chapter 804: Trial (1)
Inside a club.
Su Yu and the earth weaponsmiths were talking and laughing. He talked about Zhao Li's weapon forging and praised Zhao Li's skills. He also made it clear that he had only provided a tiny bit of assistance during the process.
As he spoke, the others asked about the things they were curious about. After a while, they moved on to talk about other topics related to weaponsmithing.
A peak earth weaponsmith like Zhao Tianbing was someone who had studied the teachings of numerous different weaponsmithing paths. With his wide base of knowledge, a simple explanation from him could easily resolve the problem that had troubled someone for a very long time. Thus, this was an exciting night for all these weaponsmiths.
The lower-ranked weaponsmiths might not be able to understand everything that was being said, but they were still fully engrossed in listening to the earth weaponsmiths. They memorized everything regardless of whether they understood it or not. A gathering of so many earth weaponsmiths was extremely rare.
Slowly, the sky turned bright again.
By the time the sun was fully out, the earth weaponsmiths were finally done talking. Zhao Tianbing looked at the two military officials stationed outside the room and said, "General Liu, what is the venue of the trial today?"
The two Mountainseas remained outside. They had been standing guard there for an entire night.
One of them turned around and saluted Zhao Tianbing before answering, "Principal Zhao, we have been notified that the trial will be held in the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy at eight in the morning."
"In the academy?"
Zhao Tianbing was surprised, "Why?"
The general replied, "The marquis and the kings said that since Feng Ji originated from the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy, the truth should be unveiled there as well."
Zhao Tianbing nodded and looked at the others. "Everyone, let's take a look. Feng Ji...sigh. I hope it's a misunderstanding. We are truly in troubled times."
Elder Chen, the sole earth weaponsmith of Great Xia, nodded with a frown, "Everyone knows that Feng Ji isn't the main issue here. But if that person is implicated as well, great trouble will arise."
The others knew who he was talking about, so nobody said anything. Su Yu said nothing either. Since they still had some time before the trial, they continued chatting for a little while. When it was time to leave, they departed under the lead of the two Mountainseas.
Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.
Once again, the academy became the center of attention.
Feng Ji used to be a member of the Knowledge Seeking Realm. Many years ago, he feigned his death and infiltrated the Six-Winged Divine Sect. Because of that, he was once a fugitive wanted by the Knowledge Seeking Realm.
Subsequently, Chen Yong proved that Feng Ji was spying on the cult at his behest. And that was an arrangement with Wan Tiansheng's approval. Not long ago, news of this was spread everywhere, with Feng Ji being called a hero. But in the blink of an eye, he was implicated in the murder of five Mountainsea military officials. Understandably, this became a hot topic in the entire Human Realm.
The so-called public trial was supposed to only involve some experts and the upper echelons of humanity. But news of this had been spreading everywhere. At this point, it was pointless to find out the identities of the ones who had been spreading these rumors. Everyone in Great Xia was talking about Feng Ji.
Even the missing Chen Yong who was closely related to Feng Ji and Wan Tiansheng who had approved Feng Ji's infiltration mission was constantly being talked about. Was Feng Ji strong enough to kill those military officials?
He wasn't. In that case, were Chen Yong and Wan Tiansheng involved? Wan Tiansheng had been in seclusion for a very long time. Was he really in seclusion? Had Chen Yong gone missing because he was running from his crimes? Even Wan Tiansheng was implicated because he was the one who had confirmed Feng Ji's identity as a spy. With Feng Ji's arrest, his credibility was brought into question.
The trial was held at Great Xia Cultural Research Academy's Discipline Hall. A blockade had been formed around the hall.
This might be a public trial, but not everyone could attend it. Only those with sufficient strength and status could be there. After all, this trial might result in the exposure of some highly secretive matters. And these matters would not be leaked to the masses.
When Su Yu and the weaponsmiths arrived, the hall was already surrounded by the academy guards and Martial Dragon Guards.
The atmosphere was solemn.
Some of the students who were passing by could only stare curiously. They wanted to enter as well, but they couldn't. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ n0velfire.net
One of the Mountainseas who had brought the weaponsmiths here softly said, "The academy elders, Sunmoon experts, representatives of the various prefectures, representatives of the holy lands, family members of the victims, and Invincible descendants are all allowed to attend the trial."
He was hinting that there were too many weaponsmiths present. And not all of them could enter. After all, there were several Invincibles present. They couldn't allow the place to turn too clamorous and chaotic.
Zhao Tianbing said, "Profound weaponsmiths and above can enter. The rest can stop here. Make an arrangement for them to meet some local weaponsmiths. They can exchange some pointers with each other."
"Yes."
One of the Mountainseas answered. He was relieved. He did not dare to offend these weaponsmiths. After all, the military required a large amount of weapons every year. Some of the weapons could be mass-produced, but the experts would require custom-made weapons.
If only profound weaponsmiths and earth weaponsmiths were allowed to enter, the number would be far more manageable. There were only about twenty of them. But if they included the yellow weaponsmiths as well, there would be fifty of them.
A look of despair covered Bai Junsheng's face. He wanted to enter as well! Alas, he was not a profound weaponsmith yet.
Su Yu remained completely silent, acting like he was a mere onlooker. With a smile, he followed the group into the hall. Right at that moment, several individuals arrived.
When Su Yu turned to look at them, he blanked out. Those were familiar faces. Hong Tan with an indifferent expression, Bai Feng with a cold expression, and Wu Jia with her head lowered. All the members of the multiple character faction were here.
"Elder Hong!"
Zhao Tianbing offered his greeting. When Hong Tan saw Zhao Tianbing, he forced a smile onto his face, "Principal Zhao. I wanted to meet you yesterday, but I wasn't able to find the chance. Allow me to thank you for your assistance toward Su Yu."
"Don't worry about it."
Zhao Tianbing knew that Hong Tan wasn't in the mood to chat so he didn't say much either. After a short exchange of pleasantries, he stood aside and allowed Hong Tan's entourage to enter first.
When Hong Tan's group left, one of the weaponsmiths spoke through voice transmission, "Will Hong Tan flip out this time?"
"He's already in big trouble. The moment they verify that Chen Yong was the murderer, Hong Tan might end up implicated as well. He won't have the chance to flip out. I reckon Great Xia's multiple character faction will be finished for real this time."
"You never know. Hong Tan has yet to release his disassembly method. Even if he's implicated, nobody will touch him unless they have proof of direct involvement."
The weaponsmiths had complicated emotions as they talked about this topic.
Just as they were about to step into the hall, Zhao Li arrived. He acted like he didn't see them and entered the hall without sparing them a look.
"Junior Brother!"
Zhao Tianbing called out in greeting. He was quite surprised. Why was his junior brother here as well?
Zhao Li merely nodded at him. That caused Zhao Tianbing to become even more curious. Had his junior brother really changed? His junior brother seemed to be rather amiable as of late. In the past, his junior brother would always ignore all his greetings.
That thought had barely crossed his mind when Zhao Li said, "Zhao Tianbing, Chen Yong is Su Yu's martial uncle and I'm Su Yu's teacher. Thus, I'm also somewhat related to Chen Yong as well. If he's labeled a traitor, I will be implicated as well. At that time, you need to step forth and argue against that unfair judgment."
Zhao Tianbing laughed. So that was why. He had been wondering about his junior brother's amiable attitude. It turned out that his junior brother simply needed his help. Zhao Li would only be nice when he required help. He had never changed even after so many years.
"Got it. Junior Brother, why aren't you staying in seclusion to stabilize your cultivation? You've just broken through. You can't let this affect your future."
Zhao Li ignored him and entered the hall.
Zhao Tianbing did not mind. He looked at the others and said, "Let's go. Sigh. I spoiled my junior brother when he was a kid. That was why he grew into such an unruly man."
The others didn't feel anything after hearing those words.
But Su Yu felt quite uncomfortable. After all, Zhao Li was someone over a hundred years old. Thus, he felt quite awkward listening to Zhao Tianbing speak about Zhao Li with the same tone one would use when speaking about a little boy.
Then again, Zhao Li was still very young when the fourth principal died. Zhao Tianbing was the one who had raised him, so it wasn't wrong for Zhao Tianbing to speak this way.
Chapter 805: Trial (2)
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Finally, they stopped delaying and entered the hall. The Martial Dragon Guards stationed there knew about these weaponsmiths so nobody stopped them from entering.
The Discipline Hall had always been a place for trials and hearings.
There was a large courtroom in the building. This was the same room where Mountainseas or even Sunmoons had been put on trial in the past. Of course, those trials were mostly for the purpose of internal investigation. Back then, Great Xia Cultural Research Academy had a lot of Sunmoons.
At the moment, the Invincibles, Marquis Xia, and the representatives of the various prefectures had yet to arrive. Instead, a lot of curious onlookers had arrived. The center of the large room was left empty. The empty space was surrounded by chairs arranged in three directions. Many of the chairs on the two sides were already occupied.
Su Yu saw a lot of people, including some familiar faces. Apart from Hong Tan's group, almost all the elders of the academy were present as well. Yuan Qingdong was also there, accompanied by several Sunmoons.
Even Zhou Hongbo's group he met in Nanyuan was here as well. Su Yu was unsure if they were here as the representatives of the holy lands or as descendants of Invincibles. Huang He and the others who had traveled alongside him to Great Xia City were nowhere to be seen. They were probably not important enough to be allowed entry.
Su Yu also saw Zhou Mingren among the crowd. He was already a Sunmoon, and he was maintaining a low profile. He sat silently at an inconspicuous corner of the room with a few other individuals. Liu Hong was actually one of the individuals beside him. Su Yu didn't know what was Liu Hong's current status. Perhaps he had become one of Zhou Mingren's trusted subordinates.
Su Yu also saw Wu Qi, who was seated beside Wu Yuehua. He also saw Xia Yuwen with Vice Principal Xia Changqing. Zhou Hao was not present. Perhaps he was still too weak to be allowed in here.
There were a lot of familiar faces. Xia Yunji and company could be seen nearby Hong Tan. They had probably managed to stabilize their cultivation recently as Su Yu could see that they had reached the eighth and ninth stages of the Mountainsea Realm. He wondered if they had fully absorbed their inherited characters.
Before long, Ji Hong entered the room. He said nothing and sat down on a random seat. After a while, Administrator Hu and General Zhao arrived. Next, the representatives of the various prefectures arrived one after another.
More and more people had arrived. At this point, there were nearly two hundred people in the room. There was a terrifying number of Sunmoons present. These people had arrived from Great Xia, the holy lands, and the various prefectures. Including the Sunmoon weaponsmiths, there were dozens of them here.
Suddenly, someone sat down beside Su Yu.
When he looked over, he saw that Xia Huyou and Xia Chan had arrived. Noticing Su Yu's gaze, Xia Huyou smiled and said, "Brother Cui, are you fine with me sitting here?"
"Yes."
Su Yu smiled indifferently, "You're the heir of Xia Family. You can naturally sit wherever you want."
"Don't say that. Invincibles will be present today. I'm nothing." Xia Huyou grinned, "Brother Cui, I saw you when you completed your profound weapon yesterday. You looked great. Someone with your ability can do well everywhere. Brother Cui, have you ever considered moving to Great Xia? I personally think that Great Xia is a great place..."
The surrounding people were paying attention to the conversation out of curiosity. But when they heard that the person from Xia Family was merely here to rope in Cui Lang, they lost interest.
Xia Chan was fully ignoring the two. She had heard of Cui Lang's reputation. A womanizer like him might not be rare in Great Ming, but these people were usually viewed with disdain in Great Xia. The women of Great Xia were more proud and independent.
She had nothing to say about Xia Huyou's attempt to recruit Cui Lang. He was indeed a talented weaponsmith. She wouldn't stop him, but she wouldn't help him either. Xia Huyou maintained a smile on his face and kept talking even when Su Yu was only giving perfunctory replies.
"Three Invincibles will be here for this trial. Great Han King will be representing the Knowledge Seeking Realm, Silk Destroying King will be representing the War Shrine, and Great Song King will be representing the Invincibles and military stationed on the Allheaven Battlefield."
Su Yu asked with surprise, "Has this matter attracted the attention of even those in the Allheaven Battlefield?"
"Of course." Xia Huyou sighed, "If only regular Mountainseas were dead, it naturally wouldn't cause such a big ruckus. But these dead Mountainseas were either retired soldiers or those still on active duty. For example, the one from the Rising Sky Sea was actively serving there. Killing these Mountainseas is different from killing other Mountainseas."
"Sigh." Xia Huyou said, "This won't be easy to deal with."
Su Yu appeared quite indifferent as he said, "What's so difficult about that? If it was Feng Ji, just behead him. If it was anyone else, penalize them according to the laws as long as you have sufficient proof. I'm only curious about the motive behind the killings."
Su Yu curiously said, "Were they enemies? Or had Feng Ji turned into a real cultist after being undercover for so long?"
"We're not sure. Just wait for the trial. Feng Ji is taking the blame for all the kills, but we need further investigation to know the truth."
Su Yu nodded and said nothing else. At that moment, someone appeared in the room. It was Marquis Xia. He took a seat on the main rostrum of the hall. At the same time, three other individuals appeared out of nowhere. When one looked at them, one would have an illusion that they had been there all along. Everyone in the hall stood up and bowed.
"We greet the three kings."
"Be at ease."
Great Han King's voice rang out and everyone sat down again. Apart from the era of war, one could rarely see three Invincibles together nowadays. Sure, such scenes would definitely occur every now and then, but regular people wouldn't be made aware of it.
The sounds of discussion in the room faded away. Most people stopped talking, and even those who were still conversing were doing so through voice transmissions. A pin-drop silence enveloped the room.
Marquis Xia knocked on his table and solemnly said, "I will be summarizing the case that has resulted in the public trial today. Over the past few months, five Mountainseas from different prefectures of the Human Realm have been assassinated."
"General Liu Qi of Rising Sky Sea, General Sun Ran of Great Tang, General Xie Rong of Great Qi, Great Shang...Great Wu..."
After listing the names, Marquis Xia continued, "Five Mountainseas have been assassinated within the Human Realm. In Great Wu, the assassin exposed their trail. A general from the Great Wu Army gave chase and ultimately discovered an unconscious Feng Ji in the wilderness outside their capital city.
"Feng Ji had only regained his consciousness after the general arrived. The general has arrived here today. We will find out more about this later.
"Everyone knows what happened next. Feng Ji confessed to killing all those Mountainseas. As for the process, motive, and whether there are any co-conspirators, they are still unknown. Neither Great Xia or Great Wu have reached a conclusion on this matter.
"Feng Ji used to be a genius researcher of Great Xia. Nineteen years ago, he entered the Luminous Domain Mansion. He was then rumored dead. Subsequently, it was verified that Chen Yong had saved him and sent him into the Six-Winged Divine Sect as a spy."
After giving an introduction on Feng Ji's past, Marquis Xia said, "Today, Great Han King, Great Song King, and Silk Destroying King will trial Feng Ji themselves. As the homeland of Feng Ji, Great Xia is only responsible for providing the venue and ensuring fairness during the trial. Great Xia won't be involved in anything else."
Only his voice could be heard in the hall. Nobody argued. With three Invincibles present, nobody dared to say anything useless. Suddenly, someone knocked on the table in front of them.
Marquis Xia looked over and asked, "Faculty Head Hong, do you have anything to say?"
Hong Tan nodded and said, "With the three kings present, I wish to make something clear. I don't know what is going on with Feng Ji. I only know that my first student, Chen Yong, left to save Feng Ji several months ago. But now, he has gone missing. We don't know if he's dead or alive. Several months ago, Great Ming made the eight great families mount a rescue expedition and kill the Six-Winged Divine Sect members who were creating chaos in Human Realm. But even today, the two Sunmoons of the Six-Winged Divine Sect are still alive and free while my student has gone missing. Can I trouble an Invincible to check if my student is still alive?"
Everyone's eyes flickered. After a short silence, Great Han King replied, "That is an acceptable request. Wait a moment. We will verify if Chen Yong is still alive shortly."
"Thanks, Great Han King." Hong Tan said, "Have the two Sunmoon cultists been punished?"
After yet another short silence, Great Han King, "The eight families will take responsibility for their dereliction of duty."
"Thank you for upholding justice, Great Han King."
Hong Tan stopped talking.
Seeing that nobody else was saying anything, Marquis Xia said, "Take Feng Ji here."
A short while later, two Mountainseas and a slim middle-aged man entered the room. Feng Ji walked in front of the guards No restrictions had been placed on his body, but he still looked slightly pale.
After entering, he bowed, "Criminal Feng Ji greets the three kings and Marquis Xia."
He was calling himself a criminal.
Marquis Xia frowned slightly and said, "Feng Ji, with three kings present, speak honestly. You are not in the position to determine whether you're guilty or not. Nobody can hide the truth from an Invincible."
"Feng Ji understands."
Su Yu had been staring at Feng Ji since he entered the room. He looked thinner than he was during their previous meeting. He also looked older than before. He was no longer the same high-spirited middle-aged man. There were some wounds on his body. Clearly, he had yet to make a full recovery.
With Feng Ji's appearance, the crowd became active again. Undulations from voice transmissions constantly appeared. Everyone was conversing through voice transmissions.
Xia Huyou was also speaking through voice transmission, "Brother Cui, do you know Feng Ji?"
"No."
"Have you never met him before?"
"No."
Xia Huyou said, "That's good to hear. It's good that you have no involvement with him. Do you know Elder Chen Yong?"
"No. But I've heard about him from Su Yu."
"You know Su Yu?"
"We met a few times."
"Had he ever mentioned that he's my sworn younger brother? Each time we meet, he'll call me big brother with a loving voice. I subjugated him with my tyrannical presence during our first meeting. He was so impressed with me that he begged me to take him as my subordinate. Had he ever told you all that?"
Su Yu remained indifferent as he said, "Nope. Are you sure you're not lying, Prince Xia? I doubt anyone will believe this." The source of this content ɪs NoveIＦire.net
"Why should I lie to you?" Xia Huyou continued speaking through voice transmission, "You must not be aware of this, Brother Cui. Su Yu had learned all his cultivation methods from me. All those cultivation methods came from the Xia Family. But since we don't lack money, we allow him to profit from our cultivation methods."
Su Yu didn't even deign to give a reply. This guy must have gone crazy. Was this fellow here to test him out? He ignored the little fatty and focused only on Feng Ji's voice.
Chapter 806: Trial (3)
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Feng Ji was left in the middle of the room. Nobody was keeping watch over him. With three Invincibles present, that was pointless.
Feng Ji spoke honestly, "This trial is pointless. Like I said previously, I am the killer. Do whatever you see fit to me."
Marquis Xia calmly said, "There were several high-stage Mountainseas among the victims. You're only a third-stage Mountainsea. How did you manage to kill them?"
"Ambush."
Feng Ji smiled, "I caught them by surprise and attacked while they were defenseless. I knew them so I asked them out for a chat. Because of that, I was able to easily kill them."
"Why did you kill them?"
"Personal grudge." Feng Ji said, "Some of them scolded me in the past and some targeted me in the past. I am a petty person so I decided to kill them when I found the chance to do so."
"Do you know who they are?"
"Yeah." Feng Ji smiled, "A few of them are from the military. But after killing the first of them, it no longer mattered if I killed more. The punishment will be the same. Thus, I killed more after killing one."
"Why did you lose your consciousness near the Great Wu capital?"
"I succumbed to my injuries." Feng Ji sighed and said, "During my last assassination, my target noticed it and counterattacked. That injured me greatly. I tried to escape, but I ultimately fainted before I was apprehended."
Marquis Xia continued asking calmly, "Are you sure you were the killer?"
"Yes."
"This is punishable by death. Are you aware?" Googlᴇ search novelfire(.)net
"Of course. I'm not afraid of death."
Marquis Xia nodded and looked at the Invincibles before saying, "Martial Uncles, Feng Ji has admitted to killing all those people. The motive is personal grudge. He killed through sneak attacks. I have no other questions."
Some of the people in the crowd frowned. The Invincibles remained silent.
After a short while, someone knocked on his table. Marquis Xia looked over and saw an individual clad in armor. Clearly, this was someone from the military. The armored individual gloomily said, "Lords and Marquis, Feng Ji was babbling nonsense! General Liu was an eighth-stage Mountainsea who had fought in many conflicts against the demonic beasts of the Rising Sky Sea. He was very strong. Even a seventh-stage Mountainsea wouldn't be able to kill him so easily through a sneak attack."
He clenched his teeth and said, "You claimed that you killed him due to a personal grudge. He scolded you in the past. But I have known General Liu for many years. I am sure that he didn't even know you. How is it possible for him to scold someone he didn't even know?"
"Also, I visited the place General Liu was killed. Traces of intense battle could be found there, and no third-stage Mountainsea could leave these traces. Feng Ji, you're talking absolute nonsense!"
That general was furious. This Feng Ji had been talking nonsense since he entered the room. And the Xia Family was also annoying. They were basically allowing Feng Ji to make whatever claim he wished.
The general clenched his teeth and said, "Lords, I would like to submit a request to have the military take part in the questioning as well. The marquis is not familiar with these affairs. He asked the wrong questions. The military has specialized interrogators for this task."
Marquis Xia smiled and said, "Is that what you think? I personally believe that my questions were excellent. Just look at how I was able to make the suspect confess to everything. Well, I guess we'll let the three kings decide."
The three Invincibles remained silent. Finally, Silk Destroying King spoke, "The military will be allowed to send an interrogator here. But unless absolutely necessary, avoid any extreme measures. We do not want to taint the trial with unneeded baggage."
It was somewhat of a taboo to use extreme measures such as memory reading. Doing so, one would end up prying on the secrets of an expert. Thus, this was something that one would not do unless absolutely necessary.
As for the ability to rewind time and verify the past, it could only be carried out for recent incidents. These murders had happened such a long time ago so that wasn't possible. Silk Destroying King wanted to try, but that would be very troublesome. He could definitely do so if he had been at the crime scene right on the day it happened.
Before long, a Mountainsea interrogator from the military stepped forth. The questions posed by this interrogator were much sharper than Marquis Xia's questions.
"Feng Ji, why did you fake your death in the Luminous Domain Mansion?"
Feng Ji indifferently asked, "Is that related to this case?"
"Yes. Your infiltration into the Six-Winged Divine Sect and everything after started from your fake death."
Feng Ji laughed and said, "Must you insist on asking these questions? Will you even trust me? And if you do trust me, will you be able to seek justice for it?"
"..."
The interrogator frowned. Marquis Xia's calm voice rang out, "Just answer the question honestly."
Feng Ji calmly said, "It's simple. Back then, I encountered some people in the Luminous Domain Mansion. For the sake of a treasure in the mansion, they tried to silence me. Of course, there is no proof since it has been so long. Some of you might not even believe me. And it's not like you can do anything even if you choose to trust me."
He looked to the right of the room and smiled at a few individuals there, "And some of the people who had tried to kill me back then are still alive today. Qian Jun, am I right?"
A ninth-stage Cloudbreach frowned and said, "Feng Ji, there is no grudge between us. Why are you accusing me out of nowhere?"
Feng Ji shrugged, "See? Like I said, it's pointless to speak the truth. It has been decades since then. What's the point of talking about that? Back then, some academy geniuses tried to kill me. They had powerful backers. What could I do apart from feigning death? I nearly died for real. And that only happened because my injuries were too heavy. Otherwise, who would want to live a life in hiding?"
Feng Ji was never a talkative person. Thus, he stopped talking after saying all that. It had been too long and he did not have any proof. The incident had happened inside the sealed Luminous Domain Mansion. How could anyone investigate the incident?
Were they going to allow the Invincibles to examine the memories of those people? Just because of his words?
In that case, they would need to examine the memories of Sunmoons as well if he claimed that those Sunmoons were involved. This would never happen. He was still a criminal. Nobody would take his words seriously. They would only believe that he was trying to drag more people down with him. Feng Ji was no fool. He knew how pointless it would be.
Marquis Xia said, "We can investigate this matter at a later date. Let's set that aside for now."
The interrogator nodded and said, "You claimed that you infiltrated the Six-Winged Divine Sect under Chen Yong's arrangement. And Chen Yong's arrangement was approved by Principal Wan. Is there a record of that? Is Principal Wan present? Is there any proof of that? How do we know that you have not betrayed humanity long ago? And if you have betrayed humanity, we need to know the reason for Chen Yong and Principal Wan to lie on your behalf."
Yuan Qingdong wasn't qualified to ask for these records, but in the current setting, the interrogator had the authority to ask these questions. They couldn't take anyone's words at face value. Solid proof was required or the same excuse would be used to protect the other cultists as well.
Great Han King said, "Acting Prefect Xia, can Principal Wan leave his seclusion for now?"
Marquis Xia shook his head, "He's trying to enter the Sunmoon Realm. This might disrupt his breakthrough."
"..."
At this moment, the benefit of not being an official Sunmoon became clear. Wan Tiansheng was trying to break through. Nobody could disturb him. An odd look appeared on the expressions of many people there.
Was that true? Was Wan Tiansheng really still a Mountainsea? It was more likely that this was merely an excuse.
Su Yu secretly laughed.
That was such a strong excuse. Was this why Principal Wan had been hiding his cultivation for so long? So that he could use that as an excuse to avoid any unwanted confrontation? Such a breakthrough could not be disturbed easily.
And that was the only excuse he could use. Was he supposed to say that he was affirming his dao instead? The breakthrough of a minor realm couldn't be used as an excuse either since such a breakthrough wouldn't last too long. And such a breakthrough could also be interrupted without much loss. Meanwhile, interrupting a major breakthrough attempt might even result in death.
"Did the academy not leave a copy of the record with Great Xia?"
Marquis Xia answered, "Nope. Our academies are allowed to operate independently. They are under the jurisdiction of both the prefecture and the holy land. Thus, they can be very independent at times. I believe everyone here is aware of that."
"Is Principal Wan the only person with access to these records?"
"Only the principal has the authority to handle documents pertaining to top-secrets."
"..."
The people in the room were left somewhat speechless. The case would remain stuck unless Wan Tiansheng left seclusion. But that wouldn't happen so easily.
Marquis Xia said, "Is Feng Ji's status as a spy related to the murders?"
"We still need to make things clear."
The interrogator said, "If he was a spy authorized by the academy, the academy would also need to take partial responsibility for the murders. And if he wasn't, why did Chen Yong and Principal Wan lie for him? This is very important."
Feng Ji said, "I was deployed to the Six-Winged Divine Sect by Chen Yong and Principal Wan. But when I saw how the cultists were still living well despite their numerous crimes, I was corrupted. Is there a problem with that?"
He took all the blame with no hesitation whatsoever. But the confession had come too easily, making it hard for the others to believe him.
The atmosphere turned heavy. Was Chen Yong the only person involved or was Wan Tiansheng involved as well? If even Wan Tiansheng was implicated, things would become even more troublesome.
After all, that was the sixth principal of the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.
Chapter 807: Troublemaker (1)
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Feng Ji kept claiming that he was the killer, refusing to explain himself. This was a very troublesome case to handle.
The interrogator asked question after question to no avail. In his fury, he finally started considering torture. He furiously said, "Feng Ji, think carefully. If you remain stubborn, you will die."
Feng Ji ignored the threat.
Seeing that Feng Ji was indifferent, the interrogator sighed. Torture was actually quite pointless against someone who was not even afraid of death. And Feng Ji didn't have any weaknesses. If he had a family or children, they could probably make use of that.
But he had no one. Threats were useless against him. When the interrogator was feeling extremely helpless, someone spoke up, "Everyone, may I ask some questions?" Everyone looked over. It was Zhou Mingren. A lot of them were astonished. Wasn't Zhou Mingren supposed to be keeping a low profile?
He ignored everyone and softly said, "Can I ask a few questions?"
Marquis Xia gave him a deep look before nodding, "Yes."
Zhou Mingren smiled and looked at Feng Ji. "Feng Ji, since you are prepared to die, I reckon you won't leak anything even if your memories are searched. If my guess is right, you are probably prepared to detonate yourself once an Invincible tries searching your memories."
Feng Ji said nothing. A clamor erupted in the hall.
Zhou Mingren continued speaking calmly, "Do you think you can hide everything with your death? If my guess is right, your friend must have requested something of you before abandoning you. He's not worried about anything else, but his student, who he views as a daughter, is someone he will always worry about. His teacher and student are all in a difficult situation. I believe he didn't send you back to take the blame for him, right?"
Feng Ji said nothing, but his emotions were turning unstable.
"Do you think he can survive this? Even if you die for him, do you think he will stop? If he's willing to turn around, he would have done so when the Six-Winged Divine Sect withdrew. But he didn't Clearly, he is prepared to go all the way on this path. Feng Ji, why seek death? If people keep dying after your death, you would have died for nothing.
"Are you sure that he will let go of his grudge after you die? Do you think that he will stop? Impossible. Everything you're doing here is pointless, do you understand? You will only let him down. He must have said something similar to you, right?"
Feng Ji trembled slightly. Not far away, Hong Tan shut his eyes. Zhou Mingren was right. Chen Yong wouldn't stop. Feng Ji could die for Chen Yong today. But what about the future deaths? Could Feng Ji still take the blame after his death?
Hong Tan suspected that his student would probably do something big today. He wouldn't allow Feng Ji to take the blame for him. Hong Tan understood his student well. That would never happen.
Right at that moment, Marquis Xia's eyes flickered. He silently took out a voice transmission talisman and checked the incoming message. At the same time, many people in the room did the same.
Soon, someone interrupted the trial and said, "Can we stop this temporarily? I have something to report to the three lords."
Great Han King seemed to be in deep thought when he heard that. He softly said, "Speak."
"Lord, just a moment ago, a Mountainsea was killed in Great Jin."
"..."
Silence descended.
Great Han King asked, "Is it similar to the previous deaths?"
"Yes."
A clamor erupted in the room. Feng Ji's face sank. Read full story at ɴovelfire.net
Great Han King sighed, "Got it."
He looked at Feng Ji and said, "Feng Ji, just say something. Your silence is already pointless."
Feng Ji solemnly said, "I already said all I have to say."
Zhou Mingren said, "Feng Ji, must you do this? He did not send you back to die. Why seek death? What's the point? His student is right here..."
"Old bastard! What are you trying to say?"
Wu Jia's head had been lowered the entire time, but she suddenly looked up and glared at Zhou Mingren with red eyes.
Su Yu trembled when he saw the sight of that. Why did that carefree senior sister of his turn into this? His departure and his martial uncle's incident seemed to have greatly transformed this girl. Zhou Mingren glanced at her and said nothing.
Marquis Xia was the one to berate her, "Wu Jia, sit down. How brazen! Hong Tan, keep her under control. How can she be without manners in the presence of Invincibles?"
Hong Tan patted Wu Jia's shoulder and said, "Sit down. The little girl has the tendency to scold me for no reason. No matter what, I'm her grandteacher. She should learn to respect me."
He looked at Zhou Mingren and smiled, "Old Zhou, don't misunderstand her. The girl was venting her anger on me since her cultivation hadn't been smooth for the past few days. I guess I should stop spoiling her. I'll be sure to discipline her after this."
Zhou Mingren said, "It's fine. Do as you please, Elder Hong."
Pressed down by Hong Tan, Wu Jia was unable to move. She lowered her head and returned to silence.
Zhou Mingren continued, "A similar murder has just happened in Great Jin. The culprit is very likely to be the same person. In that case, Feng Ji is probably not the murderer. But he might be an accomplice. Or this might be an accomplice of his trying to divert blame from him. Whatever the case, the latest murder is definitely not performed by Feng Ji.
"Feng Ji, you can no longer hide anything. If I were in your position, I would try my best to protect myself and fulfill my friend's wish. That is better than seeking a pointless death. What do you think?"
A look of pain covered Feng Ji's eyes. Why? He knew that Chen Yong was definitely the one who had performed the latest murder to divert the blame from him. Why? Was Chen Yong really not going to turn around from this?
Chen Yong's request sounded in his mind again and again. Take care of Jia for him… Zhou Mingren's words caused endless pain in Feng Ji's heart. He was not afraid of torture. He wouldn't give any Invincible the chance to search his memories. But was there still a point in dying? He clenched his teeth tightly.
At this time, Hong Tan finally addressed Feng Ji, "Feng Ji, don't take the blame rashly. Don't die for the sake of something like loyalty. Just speak the truth."
Hong Tan scanned the room and coldly continued, "Everyone here must be curious if my student was the murderer, right? Feng Ji, if you saw what happened, just speak the truth. If you didn't see anything, be honest about it as well. Don't take the blame just because you personally believe that Chen Yong is the murderer. We should not let human emotions cloud our judgment when upholding justice."
"Also, who can be sure that the murderer is Chen Yong?" Hong Tan said, "Even if the murderer has the same appearance and aura, there are too many people out there with great disguise abilities. Do you think that Chen Yong will be judged guilty based on some words? If that's sufficient, I would like to confess that I had personally witnessed Old Zhou killing his student, Zhou Pingsheng. Don't mind me, that was a random example."
"Is something the truth just because I claim that I saw it?" Hong Tan sneered.
Someone among the crowd was offended by the sneer. He shouted furiously, "Hong Tan, what is the meaning of this?"
Hong Tan nonchalantly said, "What do you mean? I mean nothing. My student is missing. Feng Ji is dumb and weak. I doubt he knows anything, but even if he did see something, who can guarantee that what he saw was the absolute truth? We can only be sure of the truth when we caught the murderer red-handed. Are you familiar with the concept of innocent until proven guilty? In fact, I have been suspecting that my teacher was assassinated by a human Invincible back then. Can I get that Invincible punished just by putting forth a name?"
The moment those words were said, intense source qi and willpower undulations erupted inside the room. His words shocked everyone there. This was the very first time Hong Tan had ever said those words. He had actually uttered those words in the presence of three Invincibles.
Great Han King frowned and said, "Hong Tan, don't speak nonsense."
Hong Tan smiled and bowed, "Forgive me, Great Han King. That was merely a random example. Some people keep believing that they can definitely corner me and my student. But in the world of cultivation, anything is possible. Is it very difficult to commit a crime after disguising yourself as someone else?"
Right after that, his appearance changed to Zhou Mingren's appearance. Then, he changed to Marquis Xia's appearance. He said, "What can something like appearance prove? As for aura, what can you sense if I'm stronger than you? Unless you can catch someone red-handed, laying the fault on anyone is nothing but a joke."
Zhou Mingren and the others frowned silently. Meanwhile, Feng Ji's eyes lit up. Su Yu exhaled in relief. This grandteacher of his was finally doing something after spending the majority of his time in seclusion or outside the academy.
Hong Tan said, "I suspect that my student is dead. He's being made a scapegoat for someone else. I am confused as to why the Sunmoons of the eight families spared the two Sunmoons of the Six-Winged Divine Sect. I am also doubtful about one thing. Prior to that, the Six-Winged Divine Sect had been allowed to travel unimpeded in the Human Realm. Just who is covering up for them? Who has been protecting them? I suspect that my student is either dead or imprisoned somewhere..."
Hong Tan sighed, "Lords, if you can help me locate my student, I'll be thankful. Sigh. As for the dead military officials, the fellows from the Six-Winged Divine Sect must be the culprit. Should we launch a manhunt on their two surviving Sunmoons? We can try killing them and see if there are any new murder cases. If the murder stops, then we can be sure that they are the murderers."
The expression of Yuan Qingdong, who had been staying silent, suddenly changed as he sent a voice transmission somewhere. Meanwhile, he continued staring blankly without saying anything.
Immediately after, the woman beside him shouted, "Hong Tan, you're twisting facts with sophistry!"
Hong Tan said, "Holy Envoy Zhang, what do you mean by that? Did I say anything wrong? Be specific."
The woman said, "If Chen Yong isn't the murderer, why did Feng Ji take the blame? Also, the Sunmoons of Great Xia and Great Ming were also involved in the hunt for the two cult Sunmoons. How were they supposed to find an opportunity to commit these murders with so many Sunmoons on their tail? I wish to invite Director HHou and General Zhao to testify. I want to see if they will lie in front of Invincibles."
Hong Tan smiled, "Do what you want."
The woman then looked at the Invincibles. Great Han King remained silent. Great Song King was the one to reply, "In that case, let's have Hou Zhen and Zhao Rui testify. Where are they?"