“Did everyone hear that? General Ji Ning is truly being targeted by the Sea Clan. His every move is under their surveillance. Otherwise, do you think he could have reached the capital safely?”
Many had overlooked this, but Ling Xiao’s reminder made them realise something was off.
“This ghost-masked man is right. It seems someone really wants General Ji Ning’s life, setting a trap to lure him in!”
“It must be the Sea Clan!”
“No way, could the national teacher and this vice-dean really be the Sea Clan’s Yin-Yang Demon King and Lightning Demon King?”
“If that’s true, it’s terrifying!”
With just a small action, Ling Xiao completely shifted the crowd’s stance in the plaza.
From doubting Ji Ning to now believing his words.
“Mr. Ghost Mask, this general’s affairs have nothing to do with you. Please take Lady Yanran and step aside!” Ji Ning was grateful to the ghost-masked man but didn’t want to drag more people into this, so he had to decline Ling Xiao’s goodwill.
“General, you’re mistaken!” Ling Xiao shook his head slightly. “This matter not only concerns me but is of great importance!”
“Concerns you? Could you be…?” Ji Ning suddenly realised—could this ghost-masked man be a warrior from the Tianlong Continent?
“Exactly as the general suspects. I’m a warrior who barely survived the Tianlong Continent. I personally witnessed the Yin-Yang Demon King and Lightning Demon King destroy the Holy City!” Ling Xiao nodded.
At these words, Sikong Zun grew visibly tense, as did the warriors in the plaza.
Another witness daring to stand up against Sikong Zun? That was bold.
“Can you prove my words?” Ji Ning asked.
Ling Xiao paused, then looked at Sikong Zun and said calmly, “A mighty Lightning Demon King masquerading as a human in Phoenix Academy—doesn’t that feel beneath you? I don’t know if the national teacher is the Yin-Yang Demon King, as I’ve never seen him, and the Yin-Yang Demon King’s appearance is ever-changing, hard to pin down. But there’s no doubt Sikong Zun is the Lightning Demon King!”
“Well done! Such courage! The Tianlong Continent still has warriors like you. The Holy Dynasty isn’t completely rotten!” Ji Ning clapped in approval.
“Ridiculous! Just some masked nobody daring to accuse me based on mere words?” Sikong Zun sneered.
“Yeah, who is this guy hiding behind a mask?”
“Is he too ashamed to show his face?”
“His words aren’t exactly reliable, then.”
Sikong Zun, cunning as ever, regained the upper hand with a single sentence.
But Ling Xiao remained unruffled, smiling faintly. “The Lightning Demon King wants to see my face, no doubt to kill me in secret. I’m just an ordinary warrior, no match for you, so naturally, I must protect myself. But proving you’re Sea Clan is simple. Whether I remove my mask is irrelevant!”
The plaza fell silent, everyone eager to hear how he’d prove Sikong Zun was Sea Clan.
“Sea Clan and humans differ in many ways. Some Sea Clan look identical to humans, but their blood is blue! That’s the first difference!” Ling Xiao said calmly. “Some skilled impostors can disguise their blood as red, but there’s another major difference most people don’t know. Human celestial veins always appear as a deep-sea-like liquid, while Sea Clan or humans altered by them have celestial veins that undergo various changes.”
“Dare the vice-dean of Phoenix Academy prove it?”
“Hahaha, why not?” Sikong Zun laughed. “I don’t need to do this, but to prove my innocence before all these warriors of the Phoenix Continent, what’s the harm?”
With that, a drop of bright red blood fell.
The first difference was disproved.
Then, Sikong Zun channelled his celestial energy, making his skin nearly transparent, revealing his celestial veins to all the warriors.
They were a deep-sea-blue liquid.
“Well, ghost-masked man, got nothing to say now?” Sikong Zun sneered.
But some in the crowd chuckled quietly, thinking Ling Xiao was sly.
“Fool!” Ji Ning cursed.
“Exactly, this guy’s a fool!” Sikong Zun pointed at Ling Xiao. “He tried to help you but ended up helping me!”
“I’m calling you a fool! You’ve posed as a human all these years and don’t even know human celestial veins aren’t fixed in form? Only Sea Clan veins are a constant deep-sea blue!” Ji Ning shouted.
Sikong Zun was stunned.
Posing as a human for years, he’d only focused on his cultivation and the True Demon Empire’s affairs, never caring about any human, not even his disciples.
So he knew next to nothing about human celestial veins.
In the plaza, filled with Phoenix Continent warriors, the few human warriors didn’t dare speak up.
The humans on the platform, altered by the Sea Clan, stayed silent too.
Thus, when Sikong Zun confidently displayed his celestial veins, no one warned him it was a trap.
“No need to say more, I trust. Sikong Zun is Sea Clan, no doubt about it! And it’s well-known the True Demon Empire was founded by the Sea Clan!” Ling Xiao smiled faintly. “Whether he’s the Lightning Demon King doesn’t matter. What matters is he’s Sea Clan, an ambitious alien! Whether we’re human, Phoenix Clan, or others, we’re all descendants of the Holy Dynasty. The Sea Clan isn’t!”
“He planned meticulously, setting a trap to force General Ji Ning to come here and die. Even if the general is clever, it’s useless. Knowing it’s a death trap, he had to come, or the nation would be doomed!”
Ling Xiao’s voice was calm, but countless Phoenix Empire warriors in the plaza broke into cold sweats.
Terrifying!
If this man’s scheme succeeded, the empire would lose a vital general, making future wars far more difficult.
“What happened on the Tianlong Continent is a bloody lesson. Sikong Zun infiltrated the Heavenly King Sect, called the Holy Emperor his brother, then killed him. Do you think you can coexist peacefully with such a person?” Ling Xiao’s voice suddenly rose.
“No way!”
The crowd roared with indignation!
“Utter nonsense! Shut your filthy mouth! Where’s the empire’s patrol? This man dares slander the national teacher and Phoenix Academy’s vice-dean. Arrest him!” Sikong Zun, losing his composure, shouted.
