Gongyang Ying’s body trembled slightly as he quietly asked, "Grandfather, is there a problem?"
"There isn’t a problem per se, but this individual is after all the murderer who killed the third prince, Lu Ding, so a warrant must indeed be issued." Gongyang Ren couldn’t think of any problem either, but the warrant definitely had to be released.
Instantly, a warrant was issued from the Imperial Advisor Mansion to pursue the murderer of the third prince Lu Ding... Sikong Jing!
Suddenly, Aunt Mian said, "Imperial Advisor, should we also pin the murder of Gong Bei Qiang on Sikong Jing?"
Gongyang Ren’s body trembled slightly, a glint appeared in his eyes, and he said emphatically, "Good idea. Let’s covertly spread the word that it was indeed Sikong Jing who killed Gong Bei Qiang, letting Sikong Jing divert the attention of the War Soul Star Palace for us."
Regarding this blame-shifting, Gongyang Ying naturally wouldn’t say anything—the interests of the Imperial Advisor Mansion were of paramount importance.
She didn’t know Sikong Jing, and since he was a martial arts genius from their archenemy, the Long Night Empire, she naturally did not care.
Just as the name Sikong Jing began to spread throughout the War Soul Dynasty, Qiu Qifeng and others had already returned to the War Soul Sacred Dragon Palace, and soon after, their howls of outrage echoed continuously as they pretended to curse Sikong Jing.
They then wept bitterly over the death of Lian Zhiyu, reproaching and punishing various instructors and students.
"Why, why didn’t you intervene to stop that bastard Sikong Jing?"
"What? Lian Zhiyu intended to kill Qiu Baichu? So what, it was an honor for Qiu Baichu to be killed by Lian Zhiyu."
"Now he has even breached the Dragon Soul Battlefield, everyone block off the Dragon Soul Battlefield for me, I want to tear Sikong Jing into ten thousand pieces."
"Damn it, why can’t we enter the Dragon Soul Battlefield? What the hell did Sikong Jing do?"
Qiu Qifeng roared incessantly, and only those in the know secretly kept their silence, thinking that his acting was too damn convincing. They just didn’t know how he planned to quietly let Sikong Jing escape once he emerged from the Dragon Soul Battlefield.
Soon after, there were people from the War Soul Star Palace who intentionally came to the gates of War Soul Sacred Dragon Palace to mock...
It just so happened that at this time, Qiu Qifeng had calmed down, spending time alone with his grandson, Qiu Baichu.
Listening to the mockery outside, Qiu Qifeng sneered coldly, "A bunch of idiots, your Gong Bei Qiang indeed got himself killed, and it was we who purposely had Sikong Jing do it. Mock for what!"
It was not until then that Qiu Baichu truly confirmed that his grandfather and others had intentionally pretended to be absent.
Grandfather had indeed intended for Lian Zhiyu to die.
But Qiu Baichu still felt anxious at heart and gently asked, "Grandfather, what should we do next? Sikong Jing said that as long as he emerges from the Dragon Soul Battlefield, a death warrant will be issued for him. But how should we let him out?"
The War Soul Sacred Dragon Palace was in chaos at present, and though the upper echelons unanimously recognized Sikong Jing, there were still those covertly currying favor with the Main Academy.
One wrong step, and all would be lost.
Qiu Qifeng withdrew his cold smile, his gaze distant as he counter-asked, "Sikong Jing, how did he enter the Dragon Soul Battlefield?"
Faced with this question, Qiu Baichu had no answer; all he saw was Sikong Jing directly entering.
"Then it should be easy. When the time comes, I’ll find a way to let Sikong Jing leave quietly."
"Then we will pretend complete ignorance, attributing everything to Sikong Jing’s remarkable strength and mysterious powers."
Flashes of sharpness gleamed in Qiu Qifeng’s eyes, as the mysteriousness of Sikong Jing was not a new occurrence.
Suddenly, Qiu Qifeng’s tone shifted again, "Of course, there’s another way. Someone suggested directly killing Sikong Jing, so our War Soul Sacred Dragon Palace would have no worries anymore."
"Grandfather, I oppose," Qiu Baichu exclaimed, his eyes widening with excitement.
The words of opposition were definitive and resolute!
Qiu Baichu’s gaze became unwavering—he absolutely could not allow Sikong Jing to die.
Upon hearing this, Qiu Qifeng stared back at him and asked, "Why? As long as we hand over Sikong Jing’s body to the Holy Dragon General Academy, we can settle everything once and for all, and you would no longer be in danger."
Shaking his head vigorously, Qiu Baichu said tearfully, "But Grandfather, if we do this, we will have lost our backbone."
He clenched his fists tightly, not wanting the resistance he had so painstakingly built to crumble here.
If he really betrayed Sikong Jing, he feared his own martial arts would be affected as well.
Thinking this, Qiu Baichu continued, "Grandfather, Sikong Jing saved my life, and he has inspired the disciples of the War Soul Sacred Dragon Palace with the fervor to resist the oppression of the Holy Dragon General Academy. I do not want us to become disheartened."
Qiu Baichu’s words were somewhat disjointed, but his intent was clear. He did not want to lose the fire in his heart.
Otherwise, they would be no different from walking corpses—it might be better to be dead.
Just then, Qiu Qifeng could not help but laugh, gently patting Qiu Baichu on the shoulder as he said, "Don’t worry, since I chose not to save Lian Zhiyu, I prepared myself for a fight to the death..."
"Grandfather supports your choice, but be prepared—your path may be fraught with thorns now," he added.
Upon hearing this, Qiu Baichu let out a long sigh of relief. He had really feared that his grandfather would kill Sikong Jing to protect him. He was fully prepared for whatever the future may hold, even if it meant his death.
He had said he would be Sikong Jing, and with that, he was prepared to die.
Time passed, day by day.
Qiu Qifeng and others pretended to attack the Natural Formation of the Dragon Soul Battlefield but still could not penetrate it.
The rumor that Sikong Jing was the murderer behind Gong Bei Qiang’s death, initially pushed secretly by the Imperial Advisor Mansion, gradually became accepted as fact. The War Soul Star Palace also arrived at the gates of the War Soul Sacred Dragon Palace, claiming they wanted to jointly break into the Dragon Soul Battlefield’s Natural Formation and kill Sikong Jing together.
But, of course, Qiu Qifeng would not agree... He was only pretending that he couldn’t get through the Natural Formation.
Inside the Imperial Advisor Mansion, Gongyang Ying calmed down as well, but a thorn remained in her heart—would Shihun return?
In the midst of these undercurrents, a cold figure of a middle-aged woman appeared on the streets of the War Soul Imperial City.
Step by step, she approached the gates of the War Soul Sacred Dragon Palace and coldly said, "Did Sikong Jing intentionally kill Gong Bei Qiang and Lian Zhiyu to lure me out? Could there be traps waiting for me inside the War Soul Sacred Dragon Palace?"
The middle-aged woman was none other than Wangyou Sect Master, Mo Ci.
After being injured in two failures at the Long Night Saint Dragon Palace, Mo Ci had become exceedingly cautious. With Sikong Jing stirring up such trouble after arriving at the War Soul Dynasty, she was convinced it was a trap for her.
Especially at the War Soul Sacred Dragon Palace, she dared not enter lightly...
"The reputation of Sikong Jing is growing ever larger, already reaching the top hundred of the East Plain Thousand Tyrant List. If this continues, we cannot prevent Wang Ge from finding out. We need to capture him quickly and find a way to let him die in front of Wang Ge," she thought.
The chill in Mo Ci’s eyes intensified, and then she vanished from the front of the War Soul Sacred Dragon Palace, silently waiting for Sikong Jing’s emergence.
This time she needed patience, and would not give Sikong Jing any chance to escape.
Yet she did not believe Sikong Jing could hide in the War Soul Sacred Dragon Palace forever, for the strong members of the Holy Dragon General Academy and even the Xingluo General Academy would surely arrive soon, and they were determined to kill Sikong Jing to avenge their grievances.
At that moment, Mo Ci was also convinced that Gong Bei Qiang was indeed killed by Sikong Jing.