It turned out that the leader of the Righteous Alliance, ******, had already arrived long ago. He had simply been blending into the crowd without revealing himself.
He allowed Madam Jia to make a scene there because he naturally had his own aims.
As the clan head of the Jia family and the current alliance leader of the Righteous Alliance, he had to rely on the support of Changle Immortal Island.
He would never block whatever Madam Jia wanted to do.
Moreover, Jia Lin and Jia Yun were also members of the Righteous Alliance, and they were his own kin. Since Ling Xiao had killed them, he certainly hoped Ling Xiao would be eliminated as well.
However, now he had no choice but to step forward.
He understood Ji Ning’s temperament very well.
If Ji Ning were truly enraged, the man would genuinely dare to slaughter the entire Jia clan.
****** smilingly led Madam Jia away.
On the way, Madam Jia asked with grief and indignation, “Alliance Leader, don’t you want revenge?”
“Revenge is absolutely necessary. That Ling Xiao must die without question, but today he cannot be killed.”
****** shook his head as he spoke.
“Why? Alliance Leader, your strength should be greater than that Ji Ning, shouldn’t it?”
“It’s not because of Ji Ning.”
“Then is it because of those tens of millions of ants?”
“No, not that either.”
“Then why?” Madam Jia was confused.
“Haven’t you noticed? There has always been a woman standing beside Ling Xiao. That woman is the Moon Goddess from the Tianlong Continent. Her strength is probably not far below mine. If a fight broke out, both sides would very likely end up heavily injured, and in the end it would only benefit that old fox Feng Ming Wu Liang.”
****** sneered coldly, “Rest assured, Ling Xiao must die. I can guarantee you that.”
“Very well. Everything will be decided by the Alliance Leader.”
Madam Jia also drew in a sharp breath of cold air. If that Moon Goddess was truly as powerful as ****** had said, she had just walked through the gates of hell and back.
…
Madam Jia left.
Sikong Zun once again fell into despair.
It seemed his only choice now was to fight for his life. Otherwise, no one would be able to save him today.
Feng Ming Wu Liang glanced at Sikong Zun, let out a helpless sigh, then stepped onto the high platform and announced loudly, “My subjects, I am heartbroken at this moment.
Our fine general Ji Ning nearly suffered an unjust execution.
Lü Chenglong even lost his life protecting Ji Ning at the hands of traitors.”
As he spoke these words, he glanced at Ji Changran, who was already on the verge of death, his flesh nearly torn to shreds by his own scratching. A chill unexpectedly ran through Feng Ming Wu Liang’s heart.
The scorpion-men’s deadly poison was truly terrifying.
For Ji Changran to still be alive right now was far more agonising than being dead.
Everyone watched him, waiting to hear what he would say next.
“Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, I must apologise to General Ji Ning and to the late General Lü Chenglong. I was deceived by wicked men and made an erroneous judgement. I am guilty.”
As he said this, he actually began weeping bitter tears, looking for all the world as though he had lost his own father.
Many soldiers and commoners were moved by him and started sobbing loudly, wiping away snot and tears.
Yet a trace of disgust flickered in Ling Xiao’s eyes.
He was certainly good at putting on an act. This Feng Ming Wu Liang was probably the real mastermind behind Ji Ning’s wrongful accusation.
It was a pity Ling Xiao had no proof.
Without evidence, Ling Xiao could not touch him, because Ling Xiao did not wish to kill an innocent person by mistake.
But Sikong Zun had to die today, no matter what decision Feng Ming Wu Liang ultimately made. Ling Xiao had already resolved himself on this point.
“General Ji Ning has rendered outstanding service. Right here today, I shall publicly announce that I bestow upon Ji Ning the title of Protector Grand Preceptor and Prince Side-by-Side, with rank equal to an imperial prince. He is granted one hundred qing of fine farmland, one manor, and an amount of gold and spirit stones. From now on, he may live in comfort within the imperial capital.”
How insidious!
This Feng Ming Wu Liang was clearly promoting Ji Ning while stripping away his real power. Although Protector Grand Preceptor and Prince Side-by-Side sounded far more prestigious than Great General, and in truth the rank was indeed higher, they were empty titles.
Under normal circumstances, such titles carried no military command.
Ling Xiao gave a quiet, cold laugh. Perhaps this was for the best. Ji Ning was too loyal and righteous. Holding military authority made him a target for others.
Without troops under his command, the threat he posed to many people would naturally diminish, and he would no longer stand in anyone’s way.
Feng Ming Wu Liang was not finished speaking.
“Lü Chenglong was unparalleled in loyalty and bravery. His tragic death this time was a terrible injustice. I specially posthumously confer upon him the title of Earl of Loyalty and Righteousness, and the title may be inherited by his descendants.”
For Lü Chenglong, this posthumous honour held little meaning. After all, the man was dead, and he had never married or had children, so there were no descendants to inherit anything.
This man had truly devoted his entire youth to the nation, yet he had died such a wrongful death.
Rumour had it that anyone who passed through the Gate of Heavenly Selection could obtain a “divine spark”.
This divine spark could consecrate any deceased person as a god.
Although such a god would generally be of low rank and far inferior to one who had cultivated to godhood, it was still a chance.
The gods of the Mysterious Realm were said to dwell in a place mortals could not see, controlling the natural changes of the realm as well as birth, ageing, illness, and death.
But this was, after all, only legend.
In the past hundred thousand years or more, only a handful of people were said to have obtained a divine spark, and even those cases could not be verified.
Because anyone who obtained a divine spark would generally use it themselves and would never give it away.
Even so, it remained a glimmer of hope.
Since the dead could not be brought back to life, this was the only method Ling Xiao could think of.
He hoped it was not just a fantasy.
“Great General Ji Ning, are you satisfied with my handling of the matter?”
After announcing his decisions, Feng Ming Wu Liang looked at Ji Ning and asked.
“The Emperor’s technique of promoting while demoting is truly chilling. Does Your Majesty believe I, Ji Ning, will willingly accept being bound hand and foot? I followed Jia Lin to the imperial capital. Do you still suspect me?”
Ji Ning gave Feng Ming Wu Liang no face at all. He tore the imperial edict to shreds with his words and let everyone witness this emperor’s heartlessness and shamelessness.
Feng Ming Wu Liang felt both fury and regret in his heart.
He had never imagined Ji Ning would act this way.
Given Ji Ning’s previous temperament, he should never have done something like this. It must be Ling Xiao’s influence.
Yet Feng Ming Wu Liang did not realise that people always change.
After experiencing such a drastic upheaval, with his best brother killed before his eyes and himself, despite all his loyalty to the sovereign and love for the country, subjected to a hollow promotion that stripped away his power, Ji Ning’s heart had long since grown cold.
Once his heart wascold, there was no longer any need to save face for this emperor. He would say whatever needed to be said.
“It seems the Great General has misunderstood. Alas, if that is the case, what would the Great General prefer?”
Feng Ming Wu Liang forcibly suppressed his anger as he asked.
“Whether I receive rewards or not is unimportant. A-Long has no need of your honours either. I only ask that Your Majesty execute the traitors and give us justice. That will be enough!”
Ji Ning said calmly.
He no longer wished to continue serving this emperor. It was truly meaningless. If not for the more than a hundred thousand people of Northern Desert who were willing to follow him, he would even prefer to retire from the world and cultivate his martial path. That kind of life would be far freer.
But for now, he could not step down. He still had to be the general of the Northern Desert people, his own general.
