Upon seeing the appearance of this Lava Elemental, the Ten Elders of Headquarters and the elders on the jury bench rose to their feet in unison.
Amidst the "rustling" sound of chairs being moved, this group of high-ranking masters bowed and said:
"Greetings, Guild Leader!"
Immediately, the sound of chairs moving became even louder. More than a hundred deacons in the audience, as well as members of the Spirit Realm families, almost jumped out of their seats.
Their faces were filled with fear, their bodies tense.
They lowered their heads and bowed, shouting, "Greetings, Guild Leader!"
Guild Leader? The Guild Leader of the Crimson Fire Gang?! Zhang Yuanqing breathed in the scorching air, looking at the fire elemental in astonishment.
He didn't expect this trial to attract a Demigod, let alone that he would meet the highest leader of the Five Elements Alliance in such a way.
He carefully examined the Guild Leader, one of the five Alliance Leaders.
Although it was a body condensed from "lava"-like elemental matter, the facial features and clothing were meticulously detailed, resembling a real flesh-and-blood body. Therefore, he could clearly see the Guild Leader's appearance.
He stood two meters tall, wearing loose training clothes, with red hair reaching his shoulders, a square face, a beard, and thick, bushy eyebrows.
If one ignored the pressure of a Demigod-level expert, the Guild Leader's first impression was... a great bandit.
Jiang Guild Leader ignored the elders and deacons, tilting his head to size up Zhang Yuanqing: "You are Yuan Shi Tian Zun?"
Zhang Yuanqing quickly restrained his arrogance and rebellious spirit, contemplating whether to kneel down and pay homage to the other party. But he had just uttered the bold words of "I would rather die than bow my head."
To kneel down at this moment... what would become of the Celestial Venerable's face?
"I am." So he stiffened his neck, fearlessly looking back at the Lava Elemental.
Unexpectedly, the Alliance Leader nodded in satisfaction: "Indeed, he has some backbone. He's much stronger than this group of good-for-nothings who only know how to bow their heads."
Saying that, he turned his head and looked at the ten elders of Headquarters, again issuing a "buzzing" roar: "I said, what the hell are you guys doing? Cai Qinhe, you answer me. What the hell are you doing? Search Sanyou every day to watch for free synchronously."
Cai Elder straightened up, his dark eye sockets looking at the Guild Leader, "We are judging Yuan Shi Tian Zun."
"Judging your grandmother's ass," Jiang Guild Leader cursed, "Release the man for me."
Cai Elder was neither humble nor arrogant: "Guild Leader, you cannot interfere in the affairs of the Alliance. This is the rule you yourself established."
"Bullshit!" The Lava Elemental's quality was extremely high, uttering fragrant words: "We established this rule back then to allow you to better manage the Five Elements Alliance, not to let you ruin the foundation of the Five Elements Alliance. If we don't intervene, the gang I established and the empire I built will be ruined by you."
"Look at what you ten dogs have done all these years? A few years ago, I heard people say that to be promoted to Elder, one must join the Ten Great Factions. There are no factions outside the ten factions. Why don't you just fly to the heavens?"
He turned his head and "spat" on the ground, ejecting a large lump of lava that burned through the floor.
Such a vulgar act silenced all the elders, who dared not be angry and dared not speak.
The high and mighty Ten Elders lowered their eyes and constricted their gazes, infinitely docile.
Unlike the female Marshal, this newly promoted Demigod, the "crude man" before them was the founder of the Crimson Fire Gang and one of the first The Way of the Extraordinary. No one in the world had a longer qualification than him.
Not to mention the elders of the various branches, even the Ten Elders of Headquarters were his juniors, who had listened to his legends since they were "growing up."
The Lava Elemental "spewed spittle" as he cursed: "Engaging in factional struggles, infighting, wanting to firmly grasp all power in your hands. When you encounter those who refuse to be controlled, your first reaction is to beat them down, tame them, and then win them over to your faction and give them a sweet treat."
"In these twenty years, every time a new force emerges, you immediately snuff it out and then divide it up. Yuan Shi Tian Zun's situation is not a one-time occurrence. How was Fu Qingyang dispatched to Songhai in the first place?"
"You think the Fu family's power is too great, and Fu Qingyang is arrogant and difficult to control, requiring tempering, so you threw him to Songhai to 'hone' him. Do you really think I don't know? I just don't interfere, not that I'm a fool."
"When I occupied the mountains as king back then, your grandfathers hadn't even been born yet."
He looked at the jury, his anger boiling over even more: "Why are there no elders from my Crimson Fire Gang present on the jury? Are you looking down on my Crimson Fire Gang?"
"A dozen elders, a dozen masters, all know what's going on, but not one person stood up to speak for Yuan Shi Tian Zun, not one person dared to offend these ten little bastards at Headquarters."
The elders of the jury lowered their heads in shame. It had been many years since they had been scolded like this.
"Di Hong, Cai Qinhe, Miao Sen, Lie Yan, Hundred Battles War God..." He called out each name one by one, sweeping his gaze over the Ten Elders of Headquarters, sneering: "Your ability to train dogs is much stronger than mine."
The deacons lowered their heads even further, feeling uneasy. These were not words they could overhear.
But apart from uneasiness, there was a quiet surge of excitement in their hearts. A young genius encountering suppression by a powerful force, the Alliance Leader personally appearing to uphold justice. Such a scene might not happen a second time in their lives.
Guan Ya, Xie Lingxi and others were overjoyed.
With the backing of the Alliance Leader, Yuan Shi Tian Zun could smoothly overcome this tribulation.
Miao Teng'er was also very happy, even though her maternal grandfather was among the Ten Elders rebuked by the Alliance Leader.
Great Elder
Di Hong said with shame: "We have failed the organization's trust. Please forgive us, Guild Leader."
The other nine elders followed suit and bowed. Cai Elder said in a deep voice: "Guild Leader, Yuan Shi Tian Zun's relationship with evil occupations is indeed ambiguous and unclear. It has already exceeded the scope of an undercover agent. Furthermore, although Cai Longshen was at fault, his crime did not warrant death. And Yuan Shi Tian Zun has a history of killing colleagues, making him a repeat offender. In both reason and law, he should be severely punished."
The Lava Elemental sneered: "Don't try to pull that shit on me. Are you talking about the law? Your grandson angered a mentally deranged Yuan Shi Tian Zun on his own accord. According to the law, Yuan Shi Tian Zun should be acquitted."
"Cai Qinhe, the reason you went to such great lengths to hold this trial is simply because you can't swallow this grievance? Your grandson almost killed my child. I can't swallow this grievance either. Should I also put you on trial!"
Cai Elder's expression finally changed: "Guild Leader, are you threatening me?"
"Threatening? I wouldn't threaten an ant that I can crush at any time. You are not worthy!" The Lava Elemental's sharp gaze swept over the Ten Elders, "It seems that these twenty years of delegating power have made you swell to an unmanageable degree."
"I can choose not to interfere in this trial. I will abide by the rules I set. But I must warn you, the positions of the Ten Elders of Headquarters were given to you by me. If I feel that you are no longer worthy of staying in these positions, I can take them away at any time." After saying that, his body disintegrated into bright sparks, which then extinguished.
The ten elders, led by Di Hong, said loudly: "Respectfully farewell, Guild Leader."
The Guild Leader was gone, but the residual heat in the air seemed to linger in everyone's hearts. No one dared to speak. Search Sanyou every day to watch synchronously for free.
In the silent silence, Great Elder Di Hong glanced at Cai Elder again, "Cai Elder, should we uphold the original verdict?"
Cai Elder was silent for a long time, then slowly said: "Detain Yuan Shi Tian Zun. The jury and audience will leave."
The elders and deacons bowed one after another. Immediately, the projector on the ceiling went out, and beams of light disappeared.
The once-packed trial hall was instantly reduced to just the Ten Elders and guards.
Soon, Zhang Yuanqing was also taken out of the trial hall by the guards.
...
Zhang Yuanqing returned to the interrogation room.
The guards left after bringing him here. No one was left to watch over him, and he was not handcuffed. They were very lax.
At this time, Zhang Yuanqing felt a burning pain on his face. He shakily raised his hand and touched his cheek, wincing in pain.
His face was burned.
Touching his eyebrows and hair, he found that they were also charred.
"Just being exposed to it from a distance caused burns. And this was just an insignificant clone... The power of a Demigod is truly terrifying." Zhang Yuanqing muttered in his heart, taking out the Mountain God Scepter.
He held the scepter's green gemstone against his chest, activating the item's healing function.
As the green light swept over him, the burning face became cool, and the burning pain disappeared instantly. The injuries on his arms also healed rapidly.
—Under the Star Official's powerful self-healing ability, the injuries on his arms were already healing quickly.
Next was to endure the reproductive desires... He sat calmly on the interrogation chair, letting time slowly pass.
Half an hour later, the door to the interrogation room opened, and a young investigator entered, placing a cell phone sealed in a bag on the table, saying: "You can leave now! After discussing the matter, the elders of Headquarters believe that your behavior in the dungeon was inappropriate, but understandable. Colluding with evil occupations was a misunderstanding."
Having expected this, Zhang Yuanqing snorted: "The Ten Elders are done discussing? You seem very unconvinced!"
The young man, who was obviously from the Cai Elder's faction, repeated with a straight face: "You can leave now."
Zhang Yuanqing smiled mockingly, waved his hand to summon the phone, "snapped" his fingers, and disappeared as starlight.
At the edge of the flower bed by the gate of the Investigation Department, starlight rose. Zhang Yuanqing looked down at the high tenting and quickly walked out of the courtyard of the Investigation Department building.
Why haven't I recovered after half an hour? It seems the amount of gold stored is a bit exaggerated... Zhang Yuanqing muttered in his heart.
This was why he chose to leave using Star Escape.
Walking out of the gate, Zhang Yuanqing immediately saw the familiar business car parked by the roadside, with the door open. The white-clad Qian Gongzi was sitting in the inner seat.
"Boss." Zhang Yuanqing smiled and quickly approached, "You received the notice of my acquittal so quickly?"
Fu Qingyang watched him get into the car, closed the door, and the business car started, merging into the traffic.
Qian Gongzi said unhurriedly, "There was no need for a notice. Jiang Guild Leader was invited by me."
I knew it... Zhang Yuanqing consciously offered flattery, expressing his admiration for his boss: "Boss is indeed the boss, even the Alliance Leader can be invited. The Alliance Leader doesn't usually interfere in affairs."
"That's why it had to be Jiang Guild Leader." Fu Qingyang opened the car refrigerator, took out a wine glass, and signaled his trusted subordinate to pour wine, while saying: "If I had asked that trash Marshal to stand up for you, it would have been a matter of using power to suppress others, which would not be convincing. But it is reasonable and justified for the Guild Leader to stand up for his descendants. Moreover, Jiang Guild Leader has a violent and upright temperament, and with Jiang Ju's relationship, it is easier to persuade him."
"If it were the other three, even if I dragged you to kneel and pay homage, it would be difficult to persuade them. I might not even be able to see them."
Are you mocking me with this kneeling and paying homage... Zhang Yuanqing poured wine for his boss, feeling happy: "Cai Elder tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead. Well, sorry, I still couldn't control myself."
Although he safely survived this tribulation, he still let Headquarters see his rebellious spirit.
From a certain angle
it could be said that Cai Elder's goal had actually been achieved, but he had suffered a thousand losses for every eight hundred enemies killed.
Fu Qingyang glanced at him, "I had already anticipated it."
Zhang Yuanqing felt a little ashamed.
Fu Qingyang took a sip of red wine and said lightly: "In the past, I always habitually demanded things of you from my own perspective: be low-key, be patient, think things through before acting, and don't be impulsive... This is my style of doing things, but you and I are different."
"I can't demand things of you based on my principles. How would that be any different from Headquarters forcing you to bow your head?" Saying this, he glanced at his subordinate, who was becoming increasingly excited, and shook his head: "After this incident, you should have a better understanding of the Five Elements Alliance. The Ten Elders have absolute hegemony in the official system. The only ones who can suppress them are the five Alliance Leaders, but the Alliance Leaders happen to not interfere."
"The elders of the various branches have all been tamed. There is nothing wrong with this in itself. Hegemony can reduce internal friction and make the organization more cohesive. But The Way of the Extraordinary have long lifespans, and the rule of ten old guys will gradually make the official system rigid and inflexible, lacking vitality."
"There are big problems within the official system."
Zhang Yuanqing instantly understood Fu Qingyang's meaning: "Boss, I will assist you in entering Headquarters, sweeping away the accumulated diseases, and reforming the Five Elements Alliance."
Fu Qingyang smiled: "Yuan Shi, you are not lacking in wisdom, but your character is not suitable for an official career. You should be glad that the Five Elements Alliance is not a real officialdom. The Way of the Extraordinary ultimately respect martial power."
"You are level six now. Enter the Killing Dungeon at the end of the year and be promoted to Dominator. By that time, even if your rebellious spirit ossifies, you won't have to be afraid." At the Saint stage, you are at most the mainstay of a large organization.
But it's different at the Dominator stage. Dominator, as the name suggests, one who dominates a region.
At that time, Yuan Shi's options will be too many. Of course, Headquarters can also suppress him, but it won't have any effect.
After all, the purpose of the Ten Elders suppressing Yuan Shi is not to force him to rebel, but to tame him.
They probably saw that Yuan Shi Tian Zun was growing too fast and that the grassroots path of training and sharpening his edges wasn't working, so they used the Cai Longshen incident to beat him down.
But Fu Qingyang was very clear that this path wouldn't work.
Yuan Shi Tian Zun lost his father at a young age and lacked maternal love. Living under someone else's roof, his heart was lonely and sensitive. When he encountered external stimulation, he would have a very strong stress response.
This kind of personality meant that he only responded to soft approaches and not hard ones. The more you suppressed him, the more he would resist.
But the Ten Elders of Headquarters did not empathize or try to understand Yuan Shi Tian Zun. This was what Fu Qingyang meant by the arrogance of those in power. They had been in power for too many years, and arrogance was etched into their bones.
"After this matter, Headquarters' impression of you will be extremely poor. Your talent and potential will make them choose to tolerate you, but they will no longer train you as a successor."
Fu Qingyang said in a deep voice: "But it doesn't matter. You don't need to rely on them anyway. I will pave the way for you."
Yuan Shi is not suitable for mixing in the official system, but this is exactly what Fu Qingyang is best at.
"The welfare benefits will be reduced in the future, and the materials and money exchanged for merit will be affected... These are all minor matters. Boss, will Cai Elder assassinate me?" Zhang Yuanqing frowned.
If he rebelled from the official system, he wouldn't have these concerns because retaliation was inevitable.
Instead, it was this ambiguous state that was the most uncomfortable.
"Retaliation is inevitable. The more this kind of big shot, the more unscrupulous they are in their actions. Selling your information to evil occupations, hiring assassins, are all possible, and they might even target your family." Fu Qingyang drank his wine in one gulp. "But your family background was destroyed by me when you killed Wei Yuanzhou. Not many people know your true identity. I'll take care of it."
Zhang Yuanqing breathed a sigh of relief.
Fu Qingyang suddenly narrowed his eyes: "Dog Elder has also seen your information. In terms of qualifications, he is higher than me. In terms of position, he is also higher than me. If Cai Elder obtains your information through him, I can't do anything about it. Aren't you worried?"
Zhang Yuanqing lowered his head: "I believe in Dog Elder's character, and in Boss's ability to handle things."
Fu Qingyang "hmmed" and withdrew his gaze, saying casually: "You can take a look at the official forum. It's very lively!"
Seriously, I hate Reconnaissance... Zhang Yuanqing muttered in his heart and took out his cell phone as instructed.
Dog Elder and Zhang Zizhen were likely old acquaintances and would not harm him, the son of an old friend, so he didn't have that concern.
Even such a small detail was noticed by Fu Qingyang.
He turned on his phone and logged into the forum.
The pinned post on the forum was:
#Trial Ends, Yuan Shi Tian Zun Acquitted#
Zhang Yuanqing casually clicked on it and glanced at it. The poster was from Songhai Branch. The content was very official, only saying that after Headquarters' verification, the suspicion of colluding with evil occupations had been ruled out. Cai Longshen's death was a common accident in the dungeon and not intentional murder by Yuan Shi Tian Zun.
Of course, it didn't mention what Cai Longshen had done in the dungeon.
As an official branch, Songhai Branch certainly couldn't have obvious bias. The content of the post had no problems.
What Fu Qingyang meant by "lively" was not the post from Songhai Branch, but the posts from the deacons who had attended the trial.
#Yuan Shi Tian Zun claims to have been born arrogant, with a rebellious spirit, and publicly rebukes Headquarters#
#Cai Elder abuses his power for personal gain and is destined to lose face#
#Alliance Leader appears in court and stands up for Yuan Shi Tian Zun#
Zhang Yuanqing looked at the screen full of posts, stunned: "Boss..."
Fu Qingyang nodded: "They were all bought water armies. It's our turn to counterattack."
After a pause, he added: "The posts by Fire Devils have nothing to do with me."
To get others to tell the truth, you need to lure them with benefits. To get Fire Devils to tell the truth, you just need to anger them.
Most Fire Devils are still very upright.
Top address:
Mobile: Thank you for your collection!