One-Sided Wish

At this moment, the Third Prince and Fourth Prince stood on the banks of the Time River, the air thick with water vapor condensed from time itself, making it difficult for even cultivators of their level to remain standing here.

The two walked upstream together; the Time River surged mightily, each droplet representing a period of time in some region. To find a specific droplet in the Time River was as absurd as talking in one's sleep, but fortunately, they were in Green City, where the regional boost reduced the difficulty of locating the droplet. They eventually pinpointed a droplet from ten days ago, witnessing the Jiang Clan Leader and City Lord Zeng conspiring under cover of night to send people to destroy the temporal node.

They walked further upstream and found the time droplet of Jiang Yixing's blood sacrifice of children. However, their mana was limited; they could only see events from three years ago, and anything further back was difficult to discern.

In those three years, Jiang Yixing had performed blood sacrifices of children every year, pushing himself from Nascent Soul Late Stage to Nascent Soul Peak. The piles of bones beside the altar spoke for themselves.

The matter was now clear: Jiang Yixing cultivated demonic arts, and after the incident, the Jiang Clan Leader and City Lord Zeng joined hands to cover up the evidence.

From the moment they entered the Time River, time outside was frozen for them. Thus, to the onlookers, the two princes vanished and reappeared instantly, without even a single breath's interval.

"I have investigated this matter. Jiang Yixing did not cultivate demonic arts, and City Lord Zeng did not destroy evidence. Are you two satisfied with this conclusion?" The Third Prince stood in the air, looking down at Jiang Li and Yuan Wu Xing, while the Fourth Prince stood by, silent.

As a supervisor, silence meant agreement with the Third Prince's words.

As soon as the Third Prince said this, the Jiang Clan Leader and the others knew the matter was settled and began plotting how to take revenge on Jiang Li and Yuan Wu Xing. These two had nearly driven them to ruin—they would not rest easy without torturing them severely before killing them!

Jiang Li pointed at the Black Robe Man, whose body was trembling slightly, in a rather relaxed tone: "Whether we two are satisfied doesn't matter, but I'm afraid this brother here doesn't quite agree with your conclusion."

Seeing the Black Robe Man showing signs of anger, Yuan Wu Xing quickly hid behind Jiang Li.

Clinging to a powerful thigh—nothing shameful about that.

"You two disgraceful wretches, get the hell down here right now!"

A grand and overbearing aura erupted from the Black Robe Man as the center, sweeping in all directions. Among those present were no lack of Spirit Transformation cultivators, yet none could discern the depth of this aura's owner.

A familiar voice rang in the ears of the two princes, striking like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, startling them so much they nearly lost control of their spiritual energy and crashed to the ground.

Fortunately, both reacted quickly, hastily landing before the Black Robe Man and kneeling neatly on the ground.

"Your sons pay respects to Your Majesty, the Emperor."

Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi sneered as he pulled back his hood: "So you still acknowledge me as your father, do you?"

Seeing this, the crowd hurriedly knelt as well, shouting "Long live the Emperor." Yuan Wu Xing hesitated for a moment, then also knelt.

The kneeling Jiang Clan Leader and his group trembled with fear, a chill running down their spines. Why was the Emperor here? Why was he taking Zhang Li's side? Why was his tone so hostile? All signs pointed to the situation developing against their favor.

The only ones still standing in the entire venue, aside from Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi, were Jiang Li. The crowd was puzzled, but no one dared to speak. The Third Prince, feeling guilty, tried to strike first to divert the Emperor's attention.

"How dare you, Zhang Li! You see the Emperor and do not kneel!"

"Shut up! Haven't you disgraced yourself enough?!" Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi roared. The Third Prince was so frightened he dared not speak another word. The Emperor then turned to the crowd and said, "Rise."

"I ask you, what exactly did you see in the Time River?" Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi inquired.

The Third Prince hesitated, not speaking. The Fourth Prince, feeling less fear, replied, "Father, there are many eyes and ears here. May your son report back in private?"

"There's nothing that can't be said in public. Say it here, in front of everyone. Always speaking in riddles and hiding meanings—I don't recall teaching you that!"

The Fourth Prince hesitated for a moment, then said, "Third Brother and I saw Jiang Yixing using blood sacrifices of children to cultivate demonic arts. The Jiang Clan Leader and City Lord Zeng colluded to cover up the evidence."

"Why did you lie? Do you realize that if Jiang Yixing is let go, these two will face endless revenge, and they might not even leave behind their bones?" Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi pointed at the kneeling Yuan Wu Xing and the watching Jiang Li, treating Jiang Li as if he were truly only at the Nascent Soul Realm.

"Your son feared this matter would implicate the Jiang Human Emperor, harming the nation and the Human Emperor. For the greater good, I chose to conceal the truth."

"A fine 'greater good' indeed. I never knew my Fourth Son's vision had already surpassed mine." Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi sneered. "Tell me, what kind of greater good led you to make a decision that damages the nation's fortune?"

The Fourth Prince laid out everything he knew and had deduced.

"The Human Emperor cultivates demonic arts, and this is what you deduced? Fabricating the Jiang Human Emperor's character and actions out of thin air, completely at odds with reality."

The Fourth Prince, now resigned to his fate, said things he would never dare say normally: "Father, how can you be certain the Jiang Human Emperor did not cultivate demonic arts?"

Knowing he had falsified the Trace Time, the Third Prince, realizing his chances at the throne were now gone, chimed in, "Jiang Yixing is the Human Emperor's cousin. Without the Human Emperor's permission, would Jiang Yixing dare to cultivate demonic arts?"

"How can I be certain? Because the Jiang Human Emperor personally arrested Jiang Yixing and handed him over to us for judgment!" Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi laughed in anger at his two foolish sons' remarks.

If they had simply consulted him, the truth would have been clear, but his two stupid sons insisted on making reckless decisions in areas they knew nothing about.

"The Jiang Human Emperor trusted that Great Zhou is a nation ruled by law, where any crime would receive a fair trial. But what did you do? Deceiving superiors, forming factions, using every means to cover up Jiang Yixing's affair. Do you have any idea that the Jiang Human Emperor watched a full ten days of monkey theater from our Great Zhou?!"

Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi's final words were nearly shouted. The Immortal Beast Xie Zhi, formed from the nation's fortune, flickered in and out of visibility, roaring silently. The Third and Fourth Princes had never seen their father so furious.

Wait—the Jiang Human Emperor arrested Jiang Yixing?

The crowd suddenly realized that the Emperor's words seemed to carry a massive amount of information.

"Brother Ji, calm down. These past few days are worth reflecting on; I did not treat them as a show. If the one applying for the time trace were not me but an ordinary person, would they have received the same treatment? Brother Ji, the path of governing a nation by law still has a long way to go." Jiang Li sighed.

He revealed his true face, and gasps of surprise erupted one after another.

People feared Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi, but they revered the Jiang Human Emperor.

The people of Green City were all too familiar with this face—a bronze statue of it stood at the city entrance.

The Third Prince stood frozen on the spot, all the arguments he had prepared against his father flowing away like water, never to return.

With Yuan Wu Xing's ability, it was impossible for him to have discovered Jiang Yixing. Jiang Li capturing Jiang Yixing and handing him over to the authorities was itself proof that Jiang Li had known nothing of the matter before and had never cultivated demonic arts.

So keeping the Jiang Human Emperor's secret had been nothing but his own wishful thinking.