Zhou Emperor Visits

"Excuse me, is Zhang Li here?"

This was the third person today asking that question. Yuan Wu Xing felt like putting up a sign outside the door that read "Zhang Li is not here."

"Yes, you're also here to persuade Senior Zhang to withdraw the petition?"

The newcomer wore a cloak, their face obscured. When they heard Yuan Wu Xing's question, a sharp glint flashed in their eyes.

"So many people have already come looking for Zhang Li? I thought our Great Zhou was open and clear, not so full of filth and rot."

"Right, you're the twenty-first or twenty-second, I've lost count. Take my advice—give up."

"You must be Yuan Wu Xing, the owner of this house. You misunderstand—I'm Zhang Li's friend. I heard he came to Great Zhou and came specially to catch up with him."

Yuan Wu Xing was about to say something when he heard Jiang Li call out from inside the room: "Wu Xing, let him in. He really is my friend."

Since Jiang Li had spoken, Yuan Wu Xing naturally invited the cloaked man inside with all courtesy.

"If I hadn't recognized your handwriting on the petition, I wouldn't have known you were in Great Zhou. Why didn't you tell me? I would have welcomed you."

"I only came home to handle some business and leave. Who knew it would drag in such a long chain of people."

The newcomer took off his cloak, revealing a handsome face with well-proportioned features. The most striking thing was his double pupils.

"The, the Emperor!"

Yuan Wu Xing blurted out, stunned to the point his mind went blank.

"You haven't told him who you are yet, Jiang Li?" Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi glanced at the shocked Yuan Wu Xing.

"Can't help it. He started badmouthing me the moment we met. How else was I supposed to learn things from him?" Jiang Li shrugged helplessly, adjusting his features slightly to return to his original appearance.

"You, ah no, you are Jiang Human Emperor?!"

The moment Jiang Li changed back to his original form, Yuan Wu Xing's mind went completely blank, abandoning all thought. When he came to his senses, his face was bright red.

He had been all mysterious, telling Jiang Li things like "the Infant Theft Case has Jiang Human Emperor's backing," "Jiang Human Emperor indulges his cousin in cultivating the Demonic Path," "Jiang Human Emperor himself cultivates the Demonic Path."

Yuan Wu Xing wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi looked at Jiang Li with a half-smile: "If Lao Bai finds out you're a Dao Sect Emissary, he'll be so happy he won't sleep for a year."

"Temporary identity, temporary identity." Jiang Li felt uncomfortable under Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi's gaze and quickly changed the subject, pulling out an Image Retention Orb.

Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi circulated a bit of Mana and saw the contents of the Image Retention Orb.

The Jiang Clan Leader and City Lord Zeng attempting to destroy evidence, the Jiang Clan Leader and City Lord Zeng conspiring with Prefect Gong, Prefect Gong contacting successive Qing City Lords to use their connections and link up with the Third Prince, and so on.

The Jiang Clan Leader and the others thought they were being secret enough, but they didn't know that as they acted, a pair of cold eyes had been watching them, faithfully recording everything with the Image Retention Orb.

"Hoo—" Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi let out a long breath. "I've troubled Brother Jiang with this. With these things, it's enough to catch them all in one net. The Qing City Faction is deeply intertwined—it's my fault for not being careful in my appointments."

"Jiang Yixing told a lie that I made him cultivate the Demonic Path, and everyone believed it. They even filled in the gaps themselves—that I never go home to maintain an image, that I'm secretly cultivating the Demonic Path, that the Human Emperor is the biggest Demonic Path boss, that Faith Power is vital to me, and so on. But not a single person thought Jiang Yixing was lying. Not a single person thought I really never go home."

Jiang Li sighed: "We work hard to make the world peaceful and beautiful, yet there are always those who think the world is dark. But I also bear some responsibility for this. As the strongest, I only focused on my own cultivation and neglected the possibility that someone might use my name to bully others, even if that person is a relative I haven't seen in five hundred years."

Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi sighed along with him: "Yes, the Great Zhou National Fortune is closely tied to Legal Justice, yet there are always those who think that as long as they have the right connections, they can bend the law and escape punishment. Some even dare not punish people from other dynasties, thinking this falls under diplomacy and politics, not the scope of law, and they feel smug about being considerate of the Emperor's will and caring for the nation. As the Emperor, my heart is very tired too."

Jiang Li and Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi exchanged a glance and sighed in unison: "People turn a blind eye to what's right in front of them and always love to imagine things!"

Yuan Wu Xing's eye twitched. Watching the two great figures sighing at each other gave him a feeling of their image crumbling.

Even though he was part of that "imagining things" crowd.

"But this is understandable. As the Human Emperor, how many people would dare question you? Yuan Wu Xing, is it? Having a cultivator like you who upholds justice is Great Zhou's fortune!" Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi patted Yuan Wu Xing's shoulder firmly to encourage him.

Yuan Wu Xing quickly stood up straight and shouted, "Yes!"

Outside Qing City, near the Space Node, a crowd had gathered. People from around Qing City had come to see what a Time Rewind looked like—it was an extremely rare spell involving the Time Dao.

One big reason the Jiang Clan Leader and the others hadn't expected Jiang Li to apply for a Time Rewind was that such applications were too few and far between; you might not see one in ten years.

Many parents who had lost children had also come from other cities, wanting to see if their child had really been stolen by Jiang Yixing.

The Third Prince and Fourth Prince stood side by side in the air, eyes slightly closed, hands behind their backs, chests out, their yellow robes fluttering.

The Jiang Clan Leader and City Lord Zeng stood together, completely unbothered, even a little amused.

The two princes had reached an agreement to join hands and cover up the truth. They didn't believe Jiang Li and Yuan Wu Xing could turn things around. Unless the Zhou Emperor came in person or the Human Emperor questioned the result, there was no way to overturn it. Even if other dynasties or major sect leaders came, it would be useless! But would the Zhou Emperor and the Human Emperor come here?

Ridiculous. No way.

They looked over at Jiang Li's side and noticed a man in a black robe and hood standing next to Jiang Li and Yuan Wu Xing. A skulking rat of a man, clearly not a good person.

"The time has come. Prepare for the Time Rewind." The Third Prince and Fourth Prince opened their eyes and swept their gazes across the crowd.

Countless people looked up, their attention focused on the two princes.

The two princes' hand seals changed with lightning speed, leaving layers of afterimages that drew gasps of admiration.

As they silently chanted incantations, their voices like the buzz of mosquitoes, a feeling of being separated from the present by an age welled up in everyone's hearts. This sense of distance wasn't spatial—it was temporal. The two princes' figures gradually faded, eventually disappearing completely, leaving this time and space.

Some cultivators tried to seize the opportunity to comprehend the Time Dao, only to fall into a Time Heart Demon. If their companions hadn't noticed in time and snapped them out of it, they might have woken up over a hundred years later, though for those cultivators, it would have felt like no more than a thought.

The Great Zhou Royal Family cultivated the Time Dao, which required someone to act as a Guardian.

"The two nephews have skilled techniques. Their seal speed is quite good for their cultivation level." Jiang Li commented on the two princes.

"Hmph, Brother Jiang doesn't need to save face for me. These two brats are clearly showing off. If they needed this many procedures in a real fight, they'd have been killed long ago." Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi snorted, dissatisfied with his two sons. "When this is over, I'll make sure they get some serious practical training."

Yuan Wu Xing stood between the two great figures, trembling, not daring to interrupt.