Because of the seriousness of the incident, a single day of discussions was nowhere near enough to reach a conclusion.
In the blink of an eye, another day had passed. Under mounting public pressure, the tournament committee had no choice but to release part of its preliminary findings.
At Shrek Academy, Flender had no appetite for food or rest. He kept his attention fixed on every development from the tournament committee.
Shrek Academy's match against Thunder Academy was certain to be canceled. All he could hope for now was that Grandmaster could do something to resolve the matter quickly and prevent it from delaying the tournament any further.
As an "Elder" of Spirit Hall, Grandmaster was brought into the committee's discussions.
Xue Qinghe understood Emperor Xue Ye's position. Although he wanted to resolve the matter peacefully, he could not simply give in. Salas would first have to offer concessions that satisfied the imperial family.
Time was running short. Salas's confidential letter had not yet reached Spirit City, while Grandmaster continued applying pressure, leaving him in an increasingly difficult position.
Within the limits of his authority, Salas was willing to surrender some benefits, but the imperial family remained unsatisfied.
The negotiations reached a stalemate. They argued until evening without reaching any final agreement.
There was, however, one point both sides agreed upon.
Ma Hongjun alone would bear full responsibility for the crime.
Inside the imperial prison, the guards resorted to every method imaginable to force a confession out of Ma Hongjun.
They did not care whether he had been wrongly accused. Their only concern was completing the task assigned to them.
Of course, one person's confession alone was insufficient to close the case. Tang San's testimony was also needed to support the conclusion.
Tang San's interrogators were officials sent jointly by Spirit Hall and the imperial family.
The Spirit Hall official immediately hinted, both openly and subtly, that Tang San should follow their lead, avoid obscuring the facts, and certainly not resist the investigation.
After spending an entire day in prison, Tang San had come to resent Ma Hongjun deeply.
He did not want Shrek Academy to suffer because of this incident. As long as Ma Hongjun alone could take responsibility, he had no intention of opposing the arrangement.
After escorting Tang San into a private interrogation room, the imperial official spoke first.
"Tang San, was Wang Teng's death a deliberate act by Shrek Academy? Rumors throughout Heaven Dou City claim that your academy held a grudge against Wang Teng. Is that true?"
Seeing the Spirit Hall official repeatedly signaling to him with his eyes, Tang San immediately understood. The man had clearly been instructed by Grandmaster.
He did not know where Grandmaster's Papal Decree had come from, but under the current circumstances, everything seemed to be working in his favor.
Having lived through two lifetimes, Tang San remained calm instead of panicking.
"I don't know where those rumors came from, but I can say with certainty that the Shrek Seven Devils never had any conflict with Wang Teng. There was no deliberate attempt to kill him."
"However there is something I think you should know."
"Go on," both officials said, listening intently.
"Fatty... I mean Ma Hongjun his martial soul suffers from an evil fire problem. During the tournament, he often left the academy to relieve the effects of the evil fire. I can't say for certain whether he developed a grudge against Wang Teng during that time."
"During yesterday's match, I could clearly sense that the atmosphere between Ma Hongjun and Wang Teng was unusual."
"Perhaps Wang Teng attacked me because he wanted to prevent my Blue Silver Grass from interfering in his personal conflict with Ma Hongjun."
"After I injured him, Ma Hongjun continued attacking him in retaliation. I believe this had been premeditated on his part, while the rest of us on the Shrek team knew nothing about it."
Tang San's testimony matched exactly the direction the two officials wanted to establish, leaving them highly satisfied.
The Spirit Hall official continued.
"You've only suggested that he may have had a motive. Do you have any concrete evidence to support that claim?"
After a brief pause, Tang San nodded.
"Yes."
"During our regular training sessions, Ma Hongjun always had excellent control over his Spirit Skills. Yet during yesterday's match, he failed to control them twice in succession."
"I think that alone speaks for itself."
After all, Grandmaster was the one who determined how Ma Hongjun performed during training.
Since the Spirit Hall official had deliberately guided him toward this testimony, Tang San assumed Grandmaster had already made all the necessary arrangements.
Hearing this, both officials marked the statement prominently in their records.
Tang San's testimony had been secured.
All that remained now was to obtain Ma Hongjun's "confession."
After asking Tang San a few more routine questions, the two officials put away their notes and left the room.
Before departing, the Spirit Hall official subtly hinted to Tang San that he would be released before long.
Elsewhere.
As he listened to the prison guards' interrogation, Ma Hongjun knew that the moment he admitted guilt, all hope of escape would be gone.
No matter how many times the guards lashed him with their whips, he clenched his teeth and refused to confess.
After finishing Tang San's interrogation, the two investigators arrived at Ma Hongjun's cell.
Compared to Tang San, the difference in treatment was like heaven and earth.
After all, Ma Hongjun had no powerful backing. He was nothing more than a convenient scapegoat.
The two investigators had long since lost the patience they had shown Tang San. One of them barked sternly, "Speak! Did you deliberately murder Wang Teng? Did you get into a dispute with him while visiting a brothel?"
Before coming here, the two investigators had already looked into Wang Teng's recent movements.
Just as Tang San had claimed, Wang Teng and Ma Hongjun had indeed appeared at the same pleasure house around the same time.
Grinding his teeth, Ma Hongjun denied it.
"I didn't! You're framing me!"
"Just wait! Once the Master gets me out, you'll regret this!"
The two investigators sneered inwardly.
Had Yu Xiaogang not abandoned Ma Hongjun, they truly would not have dared frame him because of his status as an honorary elder of Spirit Hall.
But now, whether it was a frame-up or the truth no longer mattered. Whether Ma Hongjun confessed or not, they had already decided to pin all the blame on him.
Ignoring his protests, the two investigators calmly wrote the prearranged "testimony" into their records.
Having been tortured by the prison guards for so long, Ma Hongjun's mind had become hazy. He failed to notice what they were writing and had no idea he had already been abandoned. He still foolishly dreamed that he would make a triumphant comeback one day.
Before long, one of the investigators continued the questioning.
"Did you intentionally fail to control your Spirit Skill during the match, creating the appearance that you accidentally killed Wang Teng in order to escape responsibility?"
Ma Hongjun's Spirit had an inherent flaw. Whenever he used Phoenix Fireline, he first had to gather power.
Once Spirit Power had accumulated in his mouth, it had to be released. Otherwise, the power would surge back into his body and burn him instead.
Everything during yesterday's match had happened in the blink of an eye, too quickly for him to react.
He had first accidentally burned through Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, and by the end, he truly had been unable to stop his attack, resulting in Wang Teng's death.
Ma Hongjun repeatedly insisted that he had been wronged, but the two investigators still recorded a firm "yes" in the testimony.
Throughout the rest of the interrogation, Ma Hongjun remained completely uncooperative, even cursing at the investigators.
At their instruction, the prison guards beat him until he was half dead, leaving him unconscious.
As for signing the confession that was hardly a problem. Even an unconscious man could have his signature and fingerprint provided. There was no need for Ma Hongjun to be awake.
With the necessary testimony in hand, the two investigators wasted no time and immediately returned to report to the tournament committee.
Given the urgency of the situation, the committee quickly announced that Ma Hongjun's trial would be held the following day.
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