Reaching a deserted place, the Magistrate Gong slapped Clan Leader Jiang across the face, sending him spinning in mid-air before he landed, his mouth full of blood.
"Damned fool, assigning you as the City Lord of Qingcheng was my biggest mistake. If your old ancestor wants to live longer, he should find his own way instead of making us clean up after him!"
"Didn't you say that your ancestor's cultivation of the demonic path was tacitly approved by the Human Emperor? Hurry up and contact the Human Emperor, only his intervention can save us now!"
Clan Leader Jiang grunted, spat out a mouthful of blood, and replied, "The Human Emperor has always contacted us, we have never contacted him."
Magistrate Gong now suspected that the Human Emperor was completely unaware of Jiang Yixing's practice of the demonic path. Even the Human Emperor, who was generally impartial, had never visited the Jiang family.
But it was pointless to investigate these matters now.
"So you're saying that we can't count on the Human Emperor!" Magistrate Gong's face was so gloomy it seemed as if it could drip water. "There's only one plan that might work."
"What is it? To send someone to kill Zhang Li?" Clan Leader Jiang and the ex-City Lord asked eagerly.
"Idiots! If Zhang Li gets killed right after applying for a Time Trace, this would not just be killing Zhang Li—it would be a slap in the face to the royal court. If the court ignores this matter, where would its authority be? When an investigation is eventually made, we will all be doomed!" Magistrate Gong cursed, his hundred years worth of restraint broken twice in one day. Once by Zhang Li, the once by these two fools.
"The third prince has always admired the Human Emperor and wanted to promote us officials who were previously City Lords of Qingcheng. Now, our only hope lies in persuading the Third Prince to shield us during the Time Trace to save our lives!"
"But who among us is qualified to meet with the Third Prince?"
Magistrate Gong laughed coldly, "After becoming the city lord of Qingcheng, I wasn't the only one who got promoted. Their current positions are not low. Once this mess unfolds, none of us can escape. We must ask them for help."
...
"The Human Emperor's cousin cultivates the demonic path and has even gotten the Human Emperor's tacit approval. Could this be true?!"
The Third Prince stood up, his face filled with disbelief.
"Your Highness, it is true. I learned of this during my tenure as an official in Qingcheng and it shocked me greatly."
The officials who had once served as city lords in Qingcheng pulled all their strings, finally getting Magistrate Gong a chance to see the Third Prince.
After entering the capital, Magistrate Gong rehearsed his story multiple times before daring to meet the Third Prince.
"The Human Emperor values his friendships and invests heavily in them. Since he is the Human Emperor, he cannot express his favoritism openly. He probably couldn't bear to see his cousin die, which is why he hinted that his cousin could cultivate the demonic path to extend his life."
"Now, once it's proven that the Human Emperor's cousin has cultivates the demonic path, maybe the fact that the Human Emperor hinted at practicing demonic cultivation will also be revealed. If that really happens, the reputation of the Human Emperor will plummet, Your Highness!"
"If we cover up this issue, the Human Emperor might even thank us when he finds out."
The Third Prince paced around the room a few times, his eyes gleaming with joy as he mumbled words like "reputation of the Human Emperor", "thanks to us", "benevolent Human Emperor unable to endure brother's death", "demonic path outweighs brotherhood". Finally, he said to Magistrate Gong:
"I understand this matter."
...
The Great Zhou Dynasty, Xuanzheng Hall.
Emperor Ji Zhi of Zhou was a man with double pupils. He was tall with a delicate and handsome face and his mere presence exuded an aura of majesty and righteousness.
This wasn't an illusion, but a genuine feeling derived from the nation's fortune bestowed upon him.
The national fortune of the Great Zhou Dynasty was deeply tied to the laws; the fairer the laws, the stronger the national fortune. As the recipient of the nation's fortune, Emperor Ji Zhi would be crushed by the weight of the nation's fortune if he acted unjustly.
Emperor Ji Zhi was reviewing the petition and application to trace back time and asked, "There is a Nascent Soul cultivator in Qingcheng suspected of practicing the demonic path; The City Lord of Qingcheng might be showing favoritism, destroying evidence, and now someone needs to go to Tianqing Prefecture for Time Trace. Who is willing to go?"
The several princes and princesses remained silent. Such tasks would yield no merit if done well but could easily lead to mistakes. Their father usually assigned two people: one to carry out the task and one to supervise. Now, it was merely a formality.
"Your Majesty, I would like to go," said the Third Prince, surprising the other princes and princesses. They weren't sure why he was so proactive. Was he trying to gain favor in the eyes of the Emperor?
"In that case, the third prince will go with the fourth prince accompanying him. This matter is settled. Court is dismissed."
After court had been dismissed, the Third Prince called out to the Fourth Prince.
"Fourth brother, come here."
The Fourth Prince frowned; his relationship with the Third Prince wasn't particularly good. The two of them were both vying for the throne and had countless hidden confrontations. Many ministers in the court had already begun taking sides.
Now that the Third Prince had called him over, the Fourth Prince could only think that it was related to the time trace.
"Third brother, what is it?"
"Are you aware of the background of the case our father has assigned us to Time Trace?"
"Isn't it just about the City Lord of Qingcheng helping a Nascent Soul Cultivator practice the demonic path?"
"The background of that Nascent Soul Cultivator is not simple. He's the cousin of the Human Emperor and the only relative of his generation."
"What?!" The Fourth Prince was taken aback. When he first heard the Third Prince mention that there was a background to this case, he didn't pay much attention to it. As per the Zhou Dynasty's authority, even if the opposition was a Dao Sect wanderer, they still dared to uphold the law, capture the guilty, and pass sentences.
The only exception would be if the other party had a huge background that even the Zhou Dynasty did not dare provoke.
The identity of being the Human Emperor's cousin and only relative met these conditions.
Moreover, if the Human Emperor's cousin practiced the demonic path, would the Human Emperor really not know? The Human Emperor's prowess is beyond imagination. Could he also be practicing the demonic path?
In terms of the Human Emperor practicing the demonic path, should the Zhou Dynasty intervene or not?
yikes, it's terrifying to think about it. No wonder despite having such a large background, the Emperor did not raise this point in court. Once mentioned, no matter whether the Human Emperor's cousin cultivated the demonic path or not, the final result could only be "not"!
The Zhou Dynasty has the right to manage the Human Emperor, but does not have the ability to do so. The Human Emperor, a cultivator at the Mahayana Realm, is not someone the Zhou Dynasty, even with all its powers, could contend with.
The Fourth Prince was quick-witted and swiftly reached a secret agreement with the Third Prince.
Despite their differences, they could temporarily mend their relationship when faced with a matter that could affect the reputation and survival of the Zhou dynasty.
...
The location of the Time Trace was set on the outskirts of Qingcheng, so Jiang Li and Yuan Wuxingreturned to Qingcheng after submitting the application.
In these past few days, Yuan Wuxing had been nervous. Nascent Soul Cultivators and Divinity Transformation Cultivators, who were usually rare, had been continually visiting and both directly and indirectly pressuring him to retract the application. They used reasons such as it would affect the Human Emperor or ruin the overall situation. As Jiang Li heard these repetitive arguments, he just yawned at them, dismissing them politely.
A certain Divinity Transformation Cultivator, who had insufficient self-restraint, was infuriated by Jiang Li's retort that he "knows nothing about the Human Emperor". In his anger, he started a fight with Jiang Li who gave Yuan Wuxing a demonstration of a gifted Nascent Soul Cultivator battling an experienced Divinity Transformation cultivator.
There was a knock on the door and a helpless Yuan Wuxing went to open it once again.