Of course, from Hua Lidian’s expression, one could tell that he didn’t care much about Sikong Jing being aware of the intelligence.
Sikong Jing, however, cast his gaze downwards, contemplating in silence, "Mo Ci suddenly sent Ling’er to the west to prevent her from hearing my name... In any case, this is good for me."
With that thought, Sikong Jing smiled satisfiedly.
This unusual smile did not escape Hua Lidian, who curiously asked, "Young brother, what makes you smile?"
Sikong Jing looked up and replied softly, "Wang Ge’s heading west, which is good."
Instantly, Hua Lidian was full of question marks, while someone hurriedly interjected, "Young brother, forget about Wang Ge for now. Look at where our Long Night Empire’s foremost genius, Sikong Jing, is ranked."
Even though Wangyou Sect was within the borders of the Long Night Empire, the people of the Empire did not consider them one of their own.
Now, they were more concerned with the ranking of their own Sikong Jing.
Upon hearing this, Sikong Jing showed a peculiar expression but still scanned downwards and found his name in the 420th spot, marked clearly as: Sikong Jing of the Long Night Empire... noted for being expelled from the Long Night Saint Dragon Palace.
"420th, how could it be so high?" Someone exclaimed in surprise, looking at Hua Lidian incredulously.
Just last month he was ranked at 698, and this month he leaped to 420, which was preposterous.
"Indeed, even if Sikong Jing defeated Seventh Prince Ji Ming, it shouldn’t be this high. Ji Ming is ranked just over 500," someone else commented, unable to help airing doubts, as advancing in higher rankings grew increasingly difficult.
Every advancement was a significant improvement, considering that the other competitors were Martial Arts geniuses who were also progressing each month.
Hua Lidian smiled and responded, "It’s not preposterous. Last month, Sikong Jing not only defeated Ji Ming but also killed Lu Ding of the Holy Dragon General Academy and the War Soul Dynasty, who was ranked at 481 last month."
At these words, a collective gasp was drawn from the crowd.
Yet, someone still asked, "Did Sikong Jing defeat Lu Ding on his own? Wasn’t he taken down by a master of the Long Night Saint Dragon Palace?"
The public only knew Sikong Jing led his family to execute Lu Ding in vindication of their honor, but they had not witnessed the direct confrontation.
Hua Lidian nodded emphatically, "According to my investigation, Sikong Jing did indeed defeat Lu Ding on his own. Isn’t that right, young brother?"
As Hua Lidian spoke, he turned his smile towards Sikong Jing...
Inwardly, Sikong Jing was profoundly startled. Overlord Commerce was indeed terrifying; even under the close-knit unity of the Long Night Saint Dragon Palace, they could figure out he had defeated Lu Ding alone. Such a power was too frightening.
And when he had defeated Lu Ding, the only person by his side was Su Yuexi.
Finally, Sikong Jing nodded affirmatively, "Correct!"
Hua Lidian revealed a ’just as I thought’ expression, then addressed the crowd, "Then there is no problem with this ranking."
Some wondered how this ordinary-seeming youth knew, but quickly they brushed off the thought, returning to their own tables where someone sighed, "The Long Night Saint Dragon Palace really picked up a treasure."
"What treasure? They picked up a calamity, and Sikong Jing has been expelled already," another person retorted with a scoff.
"Dammit, the Long Night Saint Dragon Palace is really causing a stir."
At that moment, someone expressed indignantly, "They’ve offended so many important figures, even daring to provoke Wangyou Sect, and ultimately caused the Beigong Commander to be killed, which is damn outrageous."
Some were provoked to anger, cursing at the Long Night Saint Dragon Palace.
Sikong Jing maintained his silence; the assassination of the Beigong Xianfeng was an inescapable responsibility of his...
Just then, the tough-looking man also cursed aloud. "If anyone’s to blame, it’s that Sikong Jing. It’s all because of him."
The Wangyou Sect was indeed seeking Sikong Jing, and word of it had spread.
Moreover, he disregarded the affairs of the two massive empires and directly slew Lu Ding without care, leading to an even more terrifying war.
However, someone else said with a laugh, "I think it’s the fault of the Long Night Star Palace. If they hadn’t been so blind, Sikong Jing would’ve just been a student there, and all this wouldn’t have happened."
No sooner had these words been spoken than people around began to mock the Long Night Star Palace loudly...
But in just a moment, the surroundings were suddenly covered with a terrifying murderous intent.
The next instant, an extremely cold voice rang out, "Who just said that my Long Night Star Palace is blind?"
As soon as these words were uttered, the surroundings fell deathly silent, and the crowd’s complexions turned pale under the oppressive killing intent. Then, rustle by rustle, figures wearing star-spangled robes marched over from the direction of the ship’s cabin.
The leader was a middle-aged man, unmistakably dressed as an instructor from the Long Night Star Palace.
Behind him, there were a dozen other instructors and dozens of students.
In an instant, the faces of the people in the crowd turned even paler, especially those who had bad-mouthed the Long Night Star Palace, each of them with their heads lowered, swallowing hard.
Even though the Long Night Star Palace had been expelled from the Long Night Imperial City, they were still not to be trifled with by ordinary people, and it was said that in the past two months, they had already chosen a site to build a new palace and were about to start anew.
Suddenly, a group of Xingluo Palace students drew their weapons, pointing them directly at the people around Sikong Jing, and the leading middle-aged instructor shouted again, "Why the silence now? Who was it that bad-mouthed my Long Night Star Palace? Step forward!"
Everyone’s necks tensed up, and at that moment, the brutish fellow laughed loudly, "Isn’t that Master Bai?"
"Just now it was... he, he, and him who insulted the Long Night Star Palace. Their words were really foul," he said.
With a sinister smile, the brute pointed his finger, singling out everyone who had spoken ill.
They immediately collapsed in their chairs and then "thump, thump" fell to their knees, all trembling and tongue-tied.
And as for their feelings towards the brute, they were seething with hatred.
Master Bai at the front looked on with satisfaction at the scene before him, then turned to the brutish fellow and asked, "You’re pretty good, do you know me?"
The brute nodded in response and said, "Instructor Bai Weicang, the son of Bai Changwu, the Institute Master of the Martial Arts Institute of the Long Night Star Palace—who doesn’t recognize him?"
"I am Zou Fu, a relative of Eunuch Zou from His Majesty’s side," the brute introduced himself.
Bai Weicang nodded indifferently, not deeming it necessary to acknowledge further.
A mere relative of an eunuch was not worthy of his attention.
But just then, Zou Fu pointed at Sikong Jing and said coldly, "Oh, and this kid also spoke ill of the Long Night Star Palace."
Zou Fu, a relative of Eunuch Zou, was commanded by the Eldest Prince to spread rumors far and wide about the prowess of Cheng Yusu.
And that kid, along with Hua Lidian, dared to express a different opinion, essentially slapping him in the face...
Zou Fu wouldn’t dare to mess with Hua Lidian, but a plain kid like that was fair game. Even if he hadn’t insulted the Long Night Star Palace, Zou Fu was determined to bite back and issue a hefty punishment.
Heh heh, now to see if the kid would kneel—it was all about provoking his unwilling furious roar.
With the Long Night Star Palace in its current state of fury, surely they wouldn’t listen to any explanation and Hua Lidian wouldn’t get involved in conflicts; it was unlikely that he would stand as a witness for a kid he had merely encountered by chance.
True enough, after hearing Zou Fu’s words, Bai Weicang immediately turned to Sikong Jing and barked, "Boy, kneel down!"