A green-robed man soon strode in. Upon entering, he merely gave a casual fist clasp to Emperor Ce Ku Huiyi and said bluntly, “Emperor, one of our Rift-Breaking Saint Dao’s ships was robbed in the Moru World. Frankly, when we heard this, we could hardly believe it. In today’s Great Universe, such a thing is simply outrageous. I’m here on behalf of the Rift-Breaking Saint Dao, hoping the Emperor can provide us with an explanation.”
The surrounding officials bristled at his words. This man, merely at the Creation Saint level, was brazenly disrespectful, speaking so boldly without even stating his name. Every person present was at least at the Creation Saint level, yet their anger remained unspoken, none daring to challenge him openly.
Emperor Ce Ku Huiyi, however, showed remarkable patience, asking calmly, “May I know the envoy’s name?”
“I’m Lü Yiren,” the green-robed enforcer replied, his tone carrying little respect.
The Emperor sighed, “Envoy Lü, as soon as this incident occurred, we began investigating. The Moru World issued a warrant immediately and dispatched multiple experts to search for clues. If we find even the slightest lead, the Moru Heavenly Court will spare no effort to apprehend the culprit and deliver them to the Rift-Breaking Saint Dao.”
Lü Yiren said coolly, “I heard two people witnessed the entire event…”
The Emperor was stunned. Was there such a thing? Truthfully, since the incident, he had been worried and anxious—not about catching the culprit, but about facing the Rift-Breaking Saint Dao’s repercussions. He had investigated superficially, more for show, focusing on how to deal with the Saint Dao’s demands.
Lü Yiren sneered, “Zhuo Ting and Fu Juan from Jiubian Sea City were guests in Lord Chong Yi’s cave mansion. After the culprit killed Chong Yi and seized the ship, they let Zhuo Ting and Fu Juan go. How does the Emperor explain this?”
Ce Ku Huiyi cursed inwardly. He had been merely troubled about handling the situation, but learning the culprit spared Zhuo Ting and Fu Juan infuriated him. If you’re going to kill, kill everyone! Why let two go? In fact, the culprit only killed Chong Yi and two protectors, sparing the entire ship. Who wouldn’t silence witnesses? By letting so many go, was this person deliberately trying to make trouble for him, the Emperor?
“Such a thing happened?” The Emperor stood, feigning anger, and declared, “Summon Zhuo Ting and Fu Juan immediately.”
Lü Yiren said indifferently, “By the time you summon them, who knows how long it’ll take.”
The Emperor cursed silently, hoping to buy time. But before he could respond, Lü Yiren continued, “I’ve already invited them. They’re waiting outside. Bring them in.”
The Emperor was startled. People were waiting outside his Heavenly Court, and he hadn’t been informed? Who was so bold as to bypass reporting to him?
As Lü Yiren finished, a bald man escorted a man and a woman inside.
The Emperor instantly realized the bald man was a Fifth Step Great Dao powerhouse. Stationed outside, he likely prevented the guards from reporting. For a Creation Saint like Lü Yiren to enter and handle matters while a Fifth Step powerhouse waited outside showed Lü Yiren’s high status, far above the bald man’s.
“Greetings, Emperor. I’m Zhuo Ting, External Affairs Elder of Jiubian Sea City, and this is Young City Lord Fu Juan,” Zhuo Ting said respectfully, bowing, with Fu Juan quickly following suit.
Ce Ku Huiyi smiled warmly, “So, it’s City Lord Fu’s daughter. How is your father?”
He and Jiubian Sea City’s lord, Fu Leng, were old friends. Seeing his friend’s daughter, he asked with concern, while inwardly apologizing for not recognizing her earlier and blaming the culprit for not silencing witnesses.
Lü Yiren gave a cold huff, clearly displeased with the Emperor’s time-wasting.
Fu Juan bowed again, “My father is well, thank you for your concern, Emperor.”
“Good, good. Tell me everything that happened,” the Emperor said kindly. He feared the Rift-Breaking Saint Dao, but Lü Yiren, relying on their backing, didn’t faze him.
“Yes,” Fu Juan responded, then said, “My senior brother Ting and I were drinking tea with Lord Chong Yi, discussing the Eternal Life Conference in the Central World. Then, Zong Quan, a Yin Bu enforcer from the Fourth Saint Court of Waizeng Heaven, stormed in with a Tingdao Ship enforcer, claiming Chong Yi had scammed his Dao crystals and demanding to settle old scores…”
Everyone fell silent. They all knew what “old scores” meant—the Rift-Breaking Saint Dao’s unscrupulous dealings had finally met resistance.
“Zong Quan’s strength was terrifying. Lord Chong Yi had no chance against him. If he hadn’t spared me and Senior Brother Ting, we wouldn’t be here,” Fu Juan said, finishing in one breath.
In truth, there wasn’t much to say: Lan Xiaobu stormed in, subdued Chong Yi, and they escaped.
“Zhuo Ting, is this accurate?” The Emperor turned to Zhuo Ting.
Zhuo Ting stepped forward, “Exactly as Junior Sister Fu said. The enforcer was powerful. If he hadn’t shown mercy, we’d be dead.”
Zhuo Ting knew Fu Juan omitted one truth: the Zong Quan who killed Chong Yi was likely fake. They had deduced this, but it would be harder for others to do so later.
He also understood why Fu Juan didn’t mention it. The fake Zong Quan only targeted Chong Yi, who had scammed him, and let them go. Moreover, he spared everyone on the Tingdao Ship. As newcomers to the Great Universe might not know the ship’s vile practices, they were well aware. Like them, Fu Juan disdained the Rift-Breaking Saint Dao, so she chose not to reveal Zong Quan’s false identity. They knew it would eventually be uncovered, but that was another matter.
“Summon Qin Ang, Lord of the Fourth Saint Court,” the Emperor said gravely, as if determined to resolve the matter today.
Though Lü Yiren and the bald man knew the situation, they also understood that some things, even within their power, required restraint. Taking Zhuo Ting and Fu Juan to the Rift-Breaking Saint Dao would mean openly breaking with the Moru World. The Saint Dao was powerful but not enough to casually antagonize an entire world. They collected resources, not aimed to dominate.
Besides, bullying a world’s Heavenly Court as a top-tier daoist stronghold would break unspoken rules, which were the most dangerous in any realm.
The hall fell silent, none knowing what others were thinking.
Fortunately, teleportation arrays connected all saint courts and the Heavenly Court in the Moru World. Within the time it takes an incense stick to burn, a visibly anxious Qin Ang entered the hall, bowing, “Emperor, Qin Ang of the Fourth Saint Court greets you.”
“I heard your court’s Zong Quan killed the Tingdao Ship’s Lord Chong Yi?” the Emperor asked calmly, his tone neutral.
“Emperor, I only recently learned of this. I was about to come explain,” Qin Ang said hurriedly. “Zong Quan has been stuck at the Creation Saint level for countless years. With his talent, he’ll likely never surpass it. How could he kill Lord Chong Yi? Even without Zhuo Ting and Young Lord Fu present, a Yin Bu enforcer like Zong Quan couldn’t kill a rift-breaking ship’s lord. Someone’s framing our Fourth Saint Court. I beg the Emperor to uphold justice for us.”
He spoke in one breath, his tone laced with fear and urgency. If it was confirmed Zong Quan robbed the ship, the Fourth Saint Court could face destruction. Even if Zong Quan had done it, Qin Ang would deny it, knowing the stakes.
Meanwhile, Lan Xiaobu appeared outside an ordinary dao city, Guyuan Dao City. Controlling the Seven Realms Stone to reach Tianmo City wasn’t a quick task, and suspecting the Rift-Breaking Saint Dao’s influence, he decided to gather information.
But as he arrived at Guyuan Dao City, he saw a massive monitoring screen at the city gate displaying a warrant for Zong Quan, with his image clearly shown.
