Seeing this magma elemental appear, the ten elders of headquarters and the elders in the jury box rose in unison.
Amidst the scrape of desks and chairs, this group of high and mighty Dominators bowed and said, "Greetings, Sect Master!"
Immediately afterward, the clatter of moving chairs sounded even louder as more than a hundred deacons in the gallery and the members of the Spiritual Realm prominent families practically sprang to their feet.
Panic written across their faces, their bodies rigid, they lowered their heads and bowed, calling out in unison, "Greetings, Sect Master!"
The Sect Master? The Sect Master of the Scarlet Fire Gang?! Breathing the scorching air, Zhang Yuanqing stared in astonishment at the fire elemental.
He had never imagined this trial would draw out a demigod, much less that his first meeting with the supreme leader of the Five Elements Alliance would happen like this.
He carefully examined this Sect Master, one of the five Alliance Leaders.
Though his body was condensed from a magma-like elemental substance, his facial features and clothing were rendered in minute detail, looking just like real flesh and blood, allowing him to clearly discern the Sect Master's appearance.
He stood two meters tall in loose martial arts robes, with shoulder-length red hair, a square face framed by a full beard, and thick, bushy eyebrows.
Setting aside the oppressive aura of a demigod, the Sect Master's first impression was that of... a fierce bandit boss.
Sect Master Jiang paid no heed to the elders and deacons. He turned his head and scrutinized Zhang Yuanqing. "You are Yuanshi Tianzun?"
Zhang Yuanqing quickly reined in his defiance and rebellious streak, wondering whether he should prostrate himself in reverence, but he had just finished declaring his grand rhetoric that "you can kill me, but you'll never make me bow."
To drop to his knees and kowtow right now... where would Lord Tianzun's dignity go?
"I am," he said, stiffening his neck and fearlessly looking back at the magma elemental.
To his surprise, the Alliance Leader nodded in satisfaction. "You do have some backbone—far better than these useless cowards who only know how to bow and scrape."
With that, he turned toward the ten elders of headquarters and roared again in a rumbling voice, "I asked, what the fuck are you bastards doing? Cai Qinhe, you answer me! What the fuck are you doing?!"
Elder Cai straightened up, his pitch-black eye sockets staring at the Sect Master. "Conducting the trial of Yuanshi Tianzun."
"Trial your grandmother's balls," Sect Master Jiang cursed foully. "Let him the fuck go."
Elder Cai maintained an even, unyielding tone. "Sect Master, you cannot interfere in Alliance affairs. That is a rule you established yourself."
"Bull-fucking-shit!" The magma elemental unleashed a stream of foul language. "We established that rule back then so you could manage the Five Elements Alliance better, not so you could wreck its foundations!
"If I keep ignoring things, this gang I founded and the realm I carved out will be utterly ruined by you bastards!
"Look at what you ten sons of bitches have done all these years! A few years back, I heard that to be promoted to elder, one had to join one of the Ten Factions. 'No faction outside the ten'—why don't you bastards ascend straight to heaven?!"
He turned his head and spat on the floor, releasing a great glob of magma that burned right through the floorboards.
At such vulgar behavior, the hall full of elders dared not show anger, nor dared they speak.
The lofty Ten Elders kept their gazes lowered, utterly meek.
Unlike the female Grand Marshal, who was a newly ascended demigod, the "vulgar man" before them was the founder of the Scarlet Fire Gang, one of the very first generation of Spiritual Realm Walkers. There was no Walker in the world with greater seniority than him.
Let alone the elders of the branches, even the Ten Elders of headquarters were his juniors, having "grown up" hearing legends about him.
Sputtering sparks as he cursed, the magma elemental ranted, "Factional struggles, infighting, gripping onto every ounce of power! Whenever someone refuses to be kept in line, your first instinct is to beat them down, break their spirit, and then pull them into your factions with a sweet treat!
"Over the past twenty years, every time a new power begins to rise, you snuffed it out immediately and carved it up! Yuanshi Tianzun's situation isn't the first or second time. How was Fu Qingyang packed off to Songhai back then?
"You thought the Fu family was growing too powerful, and Fu Qingyang was too proud and hard to control, needing to be smoothed down, so you threw him to Songhai to be 'tempered'! Did you really think I didn't know? I just stay out of affairs, I'm not an idiot!
"When I was ruling the roost back in the day, your grandfathers weren't even born yet!"
He turned his gaze toward the jury, his fury flaring even hotter. "Why are there no elders from my Scarlet Fire Gang sitting on this jury? Do you look down on my Scarlet Fire Gang?
"Over a dozen elders, over a dozen Dominators, all knowing full well what's going on, yet not a single one stood up to speak for Yuanshi Tianzun! Not a single one dared offend these ten little bastards from headquarters!"
The elders in the jury lowered their heads in shame. It had been many years since anyone had cursed at them like this.
"Dihong, Cai Qinhe, Miaosen, Lieyan, Baizhan Junshen..." He called out names one by one, his gaze sweeping over each of the Ten Elders of headquarters, and sneered, "You're far better at breaking dogs than I ever was."
The deacons lowered their heads even further, their hearts trembling in dread. Words like these were not something people of their station were meant to hear.
Yet beneath the panic and unease, a quiet surge of excitement stirred within them. A young genius suppressed by absolute power, only for an Alliance Leader to personally appear and uphold justice—a spectacle like this might never happen again in their lifetimes.
Guan Ya, Xie Lingxi, and the others were overjoyed.
With an Alliance Leader backing him, Yuanshi Tianzun could safely weather this storm.
Miao Teng'er was delighted too, even though one of the Ten Elders being furiously berated was her grandfather.
Grand Elder Dihong said with shame, "We have failed the organization's trust. We beg the Alliance Leader's forgiveness."
The other nine elders bowed along with him. Elder Cai said in a heavy voice, "Sect Master, Yuanshi Tianzun's relationship with evil classes is indeed murky and suspicious, far exceeding the scope of an undercover operation. Furthermore, though Cai Longshen was at fault, his offense did not warrant death, whereas Yuanshi Tianzun has a prior record of arbitrarily killing a colleague, making him a repeat offender.
"By both reason and law, he must be severely punished."
The magma elemental sneered. "Cut the fucking crap with me! You want to talk law? Your grandson brought it on himself by courting death, provoking a mentally deranged Yuanshi Tianzun! By law, Yuanshi Tianzun should be acquitted without charge!
"Cai Qinhe, you went through all the trouble of staging this grand trial simply because you couldn't swallow your anger! Well, your grandson nearly killed my boy, and I can't swallow my anger either! Should I put you on trial too?!"
Elder Cai's expression finally changed. "Sect Master, are you threatening me?"
"Threatening you? I don't threaten ants I can crush at will—you're not worthy!" The magma elemental's piercing gaze swept over the Ten Elders. "It seems twenty years of devolved authority have made you arrogant beyond measure.
"I can stay out of this trial. I made the rules, and I will abide by them. But I must warn you: your seats as the Ten Elders of headquarters were given to you by me. If I ever decide you no longer deserve to sit in them, I can take them away at any moment."
With that, his body dissolved into bright sparks, which then extinguished.
Led by Dihong, the ten elders called out loudly, "We respectfully see off the Sect Master."
The Sect Master was gone, but the residual heat in the air seemed to linger in everyone's hearts. No one dared utter a word.
In the silence, Grand Elder Dihong glanced at Elder Cai again. "Elder Cai, do we uphold the original verdict?"
Elder Cai remained silent for a long time before speaking slowly, "Detain Yuanshi Tianzun. The jury and gallery are dismissed."
The elders and deacons bowed one after another. Soon, the ceiling projectors shut down, and the beams of light vanished.
The courtroom, which had been packed to capacity moments before, was left with only the Ten Elders and guards in the blink of an eye.
Before long, Zhang Yuanqing was also escorted out by the guards.
Zhang Yuanqing returned to the interrogation room.
The guards left as soon as they brought him inside. No one stayed behind to watch him, nor was he handcuffed; security was remarkably lax.
Only now did Zhang Yuanqing feel a stinging burn across his face. Trembling, he raised a hand to touch his cheeks, grimacing in pain.
His face had been scorched.
Touching his eyebrows and hair, he found them singed and curled as well.
"I got burned just by being nearby, and that was merely an insignificant avatar... The might of a demigod is truly terrifying."
Muttering to himself, Zhang Yuanqing retrieved the Mountain God Scepter.
He pressed the emerald gem at the top against his chest, activating the item's healing function.
As green light swept over him, his stinging face cooled down, the burning sensation vanished, and the injuries on his arms rapidly healed.
—Under an Astromancer's formidable regenerative abilities, his broken arms were already close to recovering anyway.
Next came enduring the breeding urge... He sat calmly on the interrogation chair, letting time tick by.
Half an hour later, the door to the interrogation room was pushed open. A young investigator walked in, placed a phone sealed inside a bag on the desk, and said, "You're free to go! After deliberation, the headquarters elders concluded that while your conduct in the dungeon instance was improper, it was justifiable under the circumstances. The matter of colluding with evil classes was deemed a misunderstanding."
Having anticipated this, Zhang Yuanqing chuckled, "The Ten Elders finished their discussion? You seem rather unhappy about it!"
The young man, visibly an adherent of Elder Cai's faction, kept a rigid face and repeated, "You're free to go."
Zhang Yuanqing gave a scoffing laugh, beckoned the phone into his hand, and snapped his fingers with a crisp pop, dissolving into starlight.
In a flowerbed near the edge of the Investigation Department's front gate, starlight emerged. Zhang Yuanqing looked down at the prominently pitched tent between his legs and walked swiftly out of the courtyard.
*Why hasn't it settled down after half an hour? Looks like the treasury has an outrageous amount stockpiled...* Zhang Yuanqing grumbled inwardly.
That was why he had chosen to leave via Starlight Shift.
Stepping out the main gate, Zhang Yuanqing immediately spotted the familiar business van parked along the curb. Its sliding door was open, and Money Prince, dressed in clothes as white as snow, sat on the far inner seat.
"Boss!" Zhang Yuanqing broke into a smile and quickly approached. "You got the notification of my acquittal so fast?"
Fu Qingyang watched him climb in, closed the vehicle door, and the van pulled out, merging into traffic.
Only then did Money Prince say in an unhurried voice, "No notification was needed. I was the one who asked Sect Master Jiang to come."
*I knew it!* Zhang Yuanqing dutifully offered up flattery, expressing his admiration for his boss. "As expected of the boss! You could even move an Alliance Leader, and the Alliance Leaders never meddle in affairs."
"Which is why it had to be Sect Master Jiang." Fu Qingyang opened the mini-fridge, took out wineglasses, and signaled his trusted subordinate to pour the wine as he said, "If I had asked that piece of trash, the Grand Marshal, to speak for you, it would have been seen as using sheer power to bully others, which wouldn't convince anyone. But for the Sect Master to stand up for his own kin is reasonable and entirely justified. Moreover, Sect Master Jiang has a fiery, upright temperament, and with Jiang Ju involved, he was much easier to persuade.
"Had it been any of the other three, even if I dragged you along to drop to our knees and kowtow, we could hardly have swayed them. In fact, I wouldn't have even been able to see them."
*Is that remark about dropping to our knees and kowtowing meant to mock me?* Zhang Yuanqing poured wine for his boss, in high spirits. "Elder Cai really went for wool and came home shorn this time. Well... sorry, I still couldn't control myself back there."
Though he had weathered the ordeal safely, he had still exposed his rebellious streak to headquarters.
From a certain perspective, Elder Cai had actually achieved his objective, albeit at the cost of injuring eight hundred enemies while losing a thousand of his own.
Fu Qingyang shot him a sidelong glance. "I already anticipated as much."
Zhang Yuanqing felt a little sheepish.
Fu Qingyang took a sip of red wine and said calmly, "In the past, I habitually held you to my own standards—keeping a low profile, showing patience, thinking twice before acting, and never acting on impulse. That is my way of doing things, but you and I are different.
"I cannot impose my principles upon you. Doing so would make me no different from headquarters trying to force you to bow."
At this point, he glanced at his visibly delighted subordinate and shook his head. "Through this incident, you should understand the Five Elements Alliance better now. The Ten Elders hold absolute hegemony over the official organization. The only ones who can rein them in are the five Alliance Leaders, but the Alliance Leaders don't get involved in administrative affairs.
"The elders across the branches have all been domesticated.
"There is nothing inherently wrong with that—hegemony reduces internal friction and makes an organization more cohesive. But Spiritual Realm Walkers have long lifespans, and rule by ten old fogies will gradually turn the official organization rigid, stagnant, and devoid of vitality.
"The internal rot within the official organization runs deep."
Zhang Yuanqing instantly caught Fu Qingyang's drift. "Boss, I'll help you enter headquarters, clear away the chronic malaise, and reform the Five Elements Alliance."
Fu Qingyang smiled. "Yuanshi, you do not lack wisdom, but your temperament is ill-suited for politics. You should be glad the Five Elements Alliance is not a true bureaucracy; among Spiritual Realm Walkers, martial might is what matters in the end.
"You are level six now. At the end of the year, you will enter the killing trial and ascend to Dominator. When that time comes, even if that rebellious bone of yours develops spurs throughout your entire body, you'll have nothing to fear."
In the Saint stage, one was at most a pillar of a major organization.
Once one reached Dominator, however, things changed completely. Dominator—as the name implied, a sovereign ruling a domain.
By then, Yuanshi would have far more options. Headquarters could still attempt to suppress him, of course, but it would have no effect.
After all, the Ten Elders' aim in suppressing Yuanshi was not to drive him to rebellion, but to domesticate him.
They likely saw that Yuanshi Tianzun was growing too quickly, and the method of polishing his rough edges through grassroots training was no longer working, which was why they used the Cai Longshen affair to beat him into line.
Yet Fu Qingyang knew very well that this approach would never work.
Yuanshi Tianzun had lost his father at a young age, lacked maternal affection, and had grown up living under someone else's roof. Deep down, he was reclusive and sensitive; when provoked by external pressure, he experienced an intense stress response.
This personality destined him to respond to kindness, never to force.
The harder they pressed him, the more he would fight back.
Yet the Ten Elders of headquarters had never bothered to empathize with or understand Yuanshi Tianzun. That was what Fu Qingyang referred to as the arrogance of those in power.
They had held power for far too many years, and arrogance had seeped into their very bones.
"After this incident, headquarters' impression of you will hit rock bottom. Your talent and potential will lead them to choose tolerance, but they will no longer groom you as a successor," Fu Qingyang said in a low voice. "But that doesn't matter. You never needed to rely on them in the first place; I will pave the way for you."
Yuanshi was unsuited for maneuvering through officialdom, but that was precisely what Fu Qingyang excelled at.
"From now on, my benefits and treatment will be reduced, and the materials and money I can exchange merits for will be affected... Those are minor things. Boss, could Elder Cai try to assassinate me?" Zhang Yuanqing frowned.
If he defected from the official organization, he wouldn't have this sort of worry, since assassination and retaliation would be a certainty.
Instead, this halfway, unresolved state was the most agonizing.
"Retaliation is inevitable. The more powerful such figures are, the fewer bottom lines they have. Selling your intelligence to evil classes, hiring assassins to eliminate you—all of that is possible, or even targeting your family." Fu Qingyang finished his wine in one gulp. "However, I already wiped your background records when you killed Wei Yuanzhou. Very few people know your true identity, and I will handle it properly."
Zhang Yuanqing breathed a sigh of relief.
Fu Qingyang suddenly narrowed his eyes. "Elder Dog has also seen your dossier. In terms of both seniority and rank, he outstrips me. If Elder Cai obtains your information through him, there would be nothing I could do. Aren't you worried?"
Zhang Yuanqing lowered his head. "I trust Elder Dog's character, and I trust Boss's capability."
Fu Qingyang gave an "mm," withdrew his gaze, and said casually, "You should check the official forum. It's quite lively right now!"
*Honestly, I hate Scouts...* Zhang Yuanqing grumbled inwardly, taking out his phone as told.
Elder Dog and Zhang Zizhen were most likely old acquaintances; Elder Dog wouldn't harm the son of an old friend, which was why Zhang Yuanqing had no concerns on that front.
Even so tiny a detail hadn't escaped Fu Qingyang's notice.
Powering on the phone, he logged into the forum.
The stickied thread atop the forum was:
#Trial Concluded: Yuanshi Tianzun Acquitted Without Charge#
Zhang Yuanqing tapped into it and skimmed through. The poster was the Songhai Branch, and the content was very formal, stating only that following an investigation by headquarters, all suspicions of colluding with evil classes were cleared, and that Cai Longshen's death was a common accident within dungeon instances rather than an intentional murder by Yuanshi Tianzun.
Naturally, it made no mention of Cai Longshen's actions in the instance either.
As an official branch, the Songhai Branch certainly could not show blatant bias, so there was nothing amiss with the post's contents.
What Fu Qingyang meant by "lively" was not the Songhai Branch's post, but the threads posted by the deacons who had attended the trial.
#Yuanshi Tianzun Declares Himself Born Proud with Bones of Defiance, Lambastes Headquarters in Open Court#
#Elder Cai Abuses Public Authority for Private Grudges, Destined to Lose All Face#
#Alliance Leader Appears in Courtroom to Uphold Justice for Yuanshi Tianzun#
Looking at the screen flooded with threads, Zhang Yuanqing was dumbstruck. "Boss..."
Fu Qingyang nodded. "They're all internet shills I hired. It's time for our counterattack."
He paused, then added, "The threads posted by Fire Demons have nothing to do with me."
To make others speak the truth required enticing them with profit; to make Fire Demons speak the truth, one only needed to infuriate them.
Most Fire Demons possessed an upright and fiery disposition.
Chapter 499