As the two walked downstairs, Su Chen only spoke to Wu Yang after confirming Bu Siqi had left. "Senior Brother Teng has t with an incident. Give the Incantation Scroll. Everyone stay here and do not leave; the matter concerning the Divine Blood must be reported upward by first."
"Alright." Wu Yang agreed without the slightest hesitation. "Until news arrives, absolutely no one will leave."
Su Chen nodded, taking the Incantation Scroll as well as the original translation.
Exiting the main hall, quite a lot of people had gathered on the streets outside. Su Chen looked up and vanished into the shadows with a few flickers.
'ng Qi's disguise is exceptionally flawless. Even face-to-face, Chong Jingtian couldn't see any flaws, nor could he discover anything during ntal guidance. Now that he's dead with no evidence left behind, it's like mud dropping into your pants—even if it's yellow mud, people will insist it's sh*t...'
Su Chen constantly switched various ans of transportation. 'The troubleso part lies in how to prove ng Qi actually had a problem.'
'What about testing his flesh and blood? No... he already went through that when entering the Adjudication Court.'
'It's impossible to completely clear Old Teng of suspicion, but his status isn't ordinary either. As long as doubtful points erge regarding ng Qi, coupled with Old Xia's existence, it will be impossible to deal with him too quickly.'
'This is enough.'
He didn't have a way to cleanly and decisively prove ng Qi had a problem in three strikes and five chops either; he could only try his best to take a roundabout approach.
'I wonder if ng Qi is truly dead, or if only a physical shell died...'
This abrupt news caused Su Chen's thoughts to race wildly. 'But at the very least, a potential threat has been wiped out temporarily. Even if it was rely a physical shell, the price of forging it must be extraordinary; otherwise, there wouldn't be only one ng Qi until now.'
Su Chen rembered clearly. Back then, ng Qi had already transford into Chu Xuan's appearance, but ultimately still chose to use his original physical shell.
This ant that even if the other party transford into Chu Xuan, he still had no confidence in genuinely deceiving Chong Jingtian. Only ng Qi was the absolute perfect disguise.
'Tsk...' Thinking up to the very end, Su Chen couldn't help but grin again. 'Old Teng is truly a fierce man.'
Pausing his footsteps, Su Chen subrged into the shadows. Looking up, he saw he had already arrived at his destination. However, this place wasn't the Adjudication Court, but rather an exceedingly ordinary-looking residential district.
His figure gradually vanished, fading into the spatial interstitial layer. 'I hope finding those guys won't consu too much ti.'
First sending away Bu Siqi, then locking Wu Yang and the others down inside the old lair of the Priest of Black Buddha... the ti discrepancy generated should be enough.
...
Adjudication Court, Judgnt Hall.
Personnel in the Judgnt Departnt were sparse. Because it was responsible for internal investigations, it was very unpopular.
Usually, human traces were sparse here, but today, there were people completely filling the inside and out.
Within the brightly lit grand hall, four black iron chairs were placed upon the elevated platform. Chong Jingtian sat right in the center, his expression gloomy to the absolute extre.
Jiang Shumo and You Shan were both here. There was also one other person, his face like cold iron, his eyes as sharp as a falcon's, exuding an aura that warned strangers to stay far away.
The Eighth Chief Inquisitor, Lei Tieyan! The primary person-in-charge of the Judgnt Departnt, who practically never interfered with the Adjudication Court's other affairs.
Quite a few people stood on the two sides; all of them were at the Director level. So had their brows tightly knit, while others carried a sense of gloating in others' misfortune.
Ming Lin and the others were all present, their expressions complex as they looked at the corpse lying horizontally below the steps. It was none other than ng Qi.
anwhile, Teng Liang wore heavy shackles that flashed with certain profound symbols.
"You said ng Qi is a mber of the Evil God Cults. Do you have evidence?" Lei Tieyan slowly opened his mouth, his tone lacking any ripples.
"No." Down below, Teng Liang shook his head. "But I saw it with my own eyes."
Jiang Shumo frowned deeply. "You had Bu Siqi deceive away with fake news in order to test him. Yet during the testing process, you discovered sothing amiss with him, so you struck a fatal blow. This explanation... isn't it a bit too far-fetched?"
Teng Liang shook his head, "No. I never intended to kill him; I rely wanted to subdue him. He committed suicide."
"Suicide..." Jiang Shumo's face turned dark, pointing at the corpse on the ground. "You're saying he knew he was no match for you, and fearing he wouldn't be able to explain himself after being captured, he simply committed suicide?"
"I've never thought about the reason, but your guess should be very accurate," Teng Liang echoed.
Jiang Shumo was rarely left at a loss for words.
Lei Tieyan remained expressionless. "Now the corpse is placed right here. Ever since ng Qi entered the Adjudication Court, there wasn't the slightest shred of evidence tying him to the Evil God Cults. Yet now you've killed him, and you cannot produce any evidence to prove it."
"Since this is the case, tell why you were so utterly certain he had a problem."
"Hmm..." Teng Liang thought for a mont and said, "Intuition."
Lei Tieyan sternly rebuked, "Teng Liang! Don't think that just because you are Xia Hanshi's student, I won't dare to kill you!"
"Murdering a Core Seed is a cri punishable by death!"
"Chief Inquisitor." Soone on the side suddenly spoke. Looking fat, plump, and amiable, he said, "Teng Liang is a backbone of our Adjudication Court. Without a reason, he definitely wouldn't do this out of nowhere."
"Perhaps he was bewitched and guided by the Evil God Cults, leading him to strike continuously over and over again."
"Strike continuously?" Jiang Shumo cast a glance over. "Xue Fei, are you saying he also committed the murder of Chu Xuan?"
"It is possible." Xue Fei nodded. "It should be investigated. Since Teng Liang's statents are firmly resolute, why not have Chief Inquisitor You examine his mories?"
Jiang Shumo coldly snorted, "Teng Liang is a 5th-tier professional. Forcefully examining his mories... do you want to break his mind and make him die right here on the spot!?"
"There always must be a resulting conclusion," Wei Yufan spoke mildly. "Furthermore, with Chief Inquisitor You's abilities, she will definitely minimize the damage."
"We can't just wrongly execute Teng Liang. In the absolute worst-case scenario where his mind truly suffers a problem, the Adjudication Court can also take care of him for a lifeti."
Ming Lin couldn't help but frown. Executing him so hastily was clearly Lei Tieyan trying to intimidate him. On the contrary, Wei Yufan's proposed thod had a feasible probability of being passed.
Chong Jingtian took in everyone's expression changes, his face looking very unpleasant.
As the Chief Inquisitor, his stance was aligned with the overall gains and losses of the entire Adjudication Court. Right now, no matter what the circumstances were, it had already beco the worst possible result for him.
If Teng Liang didn't have a problem, then ng Qi had a problem. For a person who had just beco a Core Seed to actually be a mber of the Evil God Cults... wasn't this slapping his face?
If ng Qi didn't have a problem, then Teng Liang had a problem. As an honorary director, a 5th-tier professional, and a student of a Chief Inquisitor, to actually fall victim to the sches of the Evil God Cults and slay one of their own Core Seeds... this was an even greater humiliation!
Just as the hall fell into silence, a figure entered from outside, drawing everyone's gazes.
It was Su Chen...
'Why did he only arrive now?' Ming Lin sighed inwardly. In this situation, even if Xia Hanshi returned, without any evidence, it would probably be impossible to protect Teng Liang short of completely tearing face with the Adjudication Court.
"Su Chen..." Chong Jingtian frowned. Without even needing to think, he knew what Su Chen was here to do.
"Chief, I have a matter to report." Su Chen walked straight past Teng Liang.
"I already know about the matter regarding the Priest of Black Buddha. Stand to the side," Chong Jingtian interrupted indifferently.
'Priest of Black Buddha? What Priest of Black Buddha?' Everyone was stunned; they still hadn't heard about this matter.
"It's not about that..." Su Chen shook his head, pulling out the Incantation Scroll from his embrace. "Please take a look."
A flash of surprise brushed past Chong Jingtian's eyes. He reached out a hand, and the Incantation Scroll in Su Chen's hand floated up.
Accepting and unfolding it, You Shan and Jiang Shumo beside him also looked over. Sweeping their gazes across the original translation text, the expressions of the three plumted drastically.
Chong Jingtian even demanded urgently, "Where was this discovered? Did you find that thing!?"
The expressions of the crowd down below were filled with shock and doubt. They had no idea exactly what matter could cause three Chief Inquisitors to lose their composure like this.
"It was inside the old lair of that Priest of Black Buddha. We turned the place upside down and searched it completely several tis, but didn't find it," Su Chen shook his head and said.
"This is truly a highly eventful, troubled ti..." Suppressing the surging emotions in his heart, the gaze Chong Jingtian used to look at Su Chen was inevitably complex. "If you hadn't discovered the old lair of this Priest of Black Buddha this ti, I'm afraid we would still be kept in the dark. This is a massive rit."
'Su Chen discovered the old lair of a Priest of Black Buddha?'
Ming Lin couldn't help but feel astounded. What kind of ghostly luck was this?
Wei Yufan's expression changed slightly, and he coldly snorted in a low voice.
Everyone fell silent. Su Chen really had fished up a massive catch.
"It is what ought to be done. Senior Brother Teng Liang frequently admonishes , saying I must put the Adjudication Court first at all tis," Su Chen said in a deep voice.
Chong Jingtian sighed. He knew it.
"rits and faults cannot offset each other," Jiang Shumo opened his mouth to speak. "Su Chen, I know what you want to do. But right now, there is only one problem. Once you resolve it, Teng Liang will be safe and sound."
"That is... the evidence linking ng Qi to the Evil Gods."
"I am willing to guarantee it with my life!" Su Chen raised his head and declared loudly.
On the two sides, so people silently sneered, while others felt a swelling of emotions. Teng Liang looked at his back, unaware of what he was thinking.
Zhong Ming arrived even later than Su Chen. Having just barely rushed back right at this mont, he still had no idea what had happened and simply stood to the side.
"You are acting impulsively from emotion," Jiang Shumo shook his head. "Step back."
With a wave of his hand, Su Chen was pushed to the side by an invisible force. Ming Lin tugged at him, signaling him not to speak for now.
Lei Tieyan's voice was cold and hard, "This matter involves a Core Seed and an honorary Director. Every single inquisitor is watching."
"Teng Liang, I only ask you this: if you truly have clear conscience, do you dare to accept a mory examination?"
Su Chen knit his brows slightly. Teng Liang was a 5th-tier professional! How could he possibly be subjected to a mory examination?
"I..." Just as Teng Liang was about to speak, an inquisitor hurriedly entered the main hall from outside. With a bizarre expression on his face, he reported:
"Chief, there is a Believer of Black Buddha outside who ca forward, saying he wants to report an undercover spy of the Faceless Ghost inside the Adjudication Court."
As these words fell, the entire grand hall subsequently fell silent. Even Teng Liang couldn't help but turn his head.
"What?" Chong Jingtian suspected he had misheard. Or perhaps the sequence of consecutive events had made his head spin, causing him to actually hear such unimaginably bizarre words.
"Bring him here!" A sharp glint flashed through Jiang Shumo's eyes. "Bring him directly here."
"Collect the corpse. Teng Liang, step to the side."
Everyone was mystified.
Not long after, an individual who was sealed completely utterly solid walked up. The black vertical eye symbol was engraved upon his bald head.
"Lost lambs, the Priest sends his regards to everyone here." The Believer of Black Buddha looked around, carrying a sense of haughty arrogance.
'Priest... the Priest was captured ages ago.' Everyone secretly complained in their hearts, yet absolutely no one said a word.
Chong Jingtian said indifferently, "You want to report a spy within the Adjudication Court to sow discord?"
"Heh..." The Believer of Black Buddha chuckled derisively. "You all are nothing more than lambs destined to die; what need is there to sow discord? It is rely My Lord showing pity, unwilling to see you continue being toyed with by the Faceless Ghost."
'When I instructed him, did he really give off this kind of vibe that makes people want to forcibly beat him to death?' Su Chen looked at the nurous inquisitors who had already silently clenched their fists.
Chong Jingtian also couldn't be bothered to argue with this madman, directly asking, "Who do you want to identify?"
"I don't know." The Believer of Black Buddha shook his head, speaking with absolute righteousness and confidence.
"He truly is a madman." Even Jiang Shumo laughed out of anger.
"The disguised person bears the will of the Faceless Ghost, and the thods used are exceptionally eerie. You cannot detect him, nor can I," the Believer of Black Buddha said.
'Bears the will of the Faceless Ghost?' Everyone's expressions filled with shock and doubt. 'What does this an... an Evil God Vessel?'
Su Chen similarly wore an expression filled with shock and uncertainty to match the crowd. Naturally, he had absolutely no idea whether ng Qi actually bore the will of the Faceless Ghost. But under these circumstances, the more exaggerated the lie, the better the effect would be.
"So, what exactly did you co here to do!?" Chong Jingtian relentlessly questioned.
"The upper echelons should all be gathered here, right?" The Believer of Black Buddha looked around. "I possess the ans to verify it, but you cannot interrupt ."
"His fox tail has been exposed! This evil demon is here to cause destruction! Kill him!" soone yelled loudly.
Others shook their heads. "This guy is rely a regular believer, not even a fanatic, and he has been strip-searched thoroughly. What kind of incident could he possibly cause?"
"Before coming here, I had already prepared myself to return to My Lord's embrace," the Believer of Black Buddha said concisely.
"Do it; let us see..." Jiang Shumo made the decision.
The Believer of Black Buddha instantly began to chant in a low voice, "...The God of No Face, the false mask of all living beings..."
"Isn't this the chant of Black Buddha? This is the chant of the Faceless Ghost..." A high-ranking inquisitor heard the anomaly.
"This... this, what the hell is this!? Corpse mutation!?" A shocked and uncertain shout echoed from the back.
Following the voice, everyone looked over, only to see several fragnted grayish-white chains surfacing on the body of ng Qi's corpse, which had been placed in the corner. Floating silently, they looked like tentacles.
"Why is it a corpse!?" The Believer of Black Buddha paused his chant, unable to help but feel surprised. "So you guys actually discovered it too!?"
ng Qi genuinely had a connection to the Evil God Cults!?
The crowd was overwheld, completely not expecting that the one to provide evidence would actually be a Believer of Black Buddha.
The four Chief Inquisitors, including Chong Jingtian, looked at those gradually withering grayish-white chains with grave expressions. They actually hadn't sensed the thod these things used to appear at all. It seed ng Qi genuinely had a massive problem.
Yet, this Believer of Black Buddha who abruptly popped out was fairly strange as well. Was it a bit too coincidental? To show up exactly not long after ng Qi died?
"Is this it?" Lei Tieyan's tone was incredibly cold.
"Your Adjudication Court recently had a Core Seed die, right? Take a look at his talent to see if there have been any changes," the Believer of Black Buddha said again.
Jiang Shumo waved his hand, and very quickly, soone brought over a talent-testing device.
ng Qi's corpse was intact, so while ntal talent couldn't be tested, his physical talent could still be examined.
The mont the device was placed upon him, an ink-colored pillar of light penetrated out, instantly drawing everyone's gazes.
"Ink Jade... When did he..." Ming Lin was stunned. The expressions of the others were also extrely astonished.
"Frequently chant My Lord's revered na to show gratitude." As the Believer of Black Buddha finished speaking his final sentence, he cleanly and sharply ended his own life.
Thud!
The corpse crashed heavily onto the floor, and also crashed heavily upon the minds of everyone present.
The result already seed glaringly obvious. Nine tis out of ten, sothing was wrong with ng Qi.
Furthermore, according to the hints given by this Priest of Black Buddha, Chu Xuan was actually murdered by ng Qi.
But why did this entire matter feel so strange!?
(End of this chapter)
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