Benevolent Sovereign Ji Long fell silent, but Prince Li Ji Yuan stepped forward and spoke.
"Your Majesty, Great Zhou and the Heaven Temple have supported each other like arms and hands in resisting the Devil Race for all these years. Through so many years of battle, we can be said to be as close as comrades-in-arms.
"Yet this matter before us may affect the relationship between Great Zhou and the Heaven Temple. I ask Your Majesty to handle it with caution, lest it affect the grand undertaking of resisting the Devil Race."
Prince Li Ji Yuan's words ostensibly considered Great Zhou's interests, but in truth, he was using this method to remind Benevolent Sovereign Ji Long to aid the Heaven Temple.
As soon as Prince Li Ji Yuan spoke and set this precedent, those court officials who had sided with the Heaven Temple stepped forth one after another to offer their counsel.
"Your Majesty, this minister recommends a thorough investigation. We must give the Heaven Temple an explanation as quickly as possible, or it may inevitably affect the situation on the Human-Demon Battlefield."
"Your Majesty—"
In no time at all, more than thirty court officials had stepped forward to remonstrate. This was already nearly one-third of the officials presently in court.
It showed just how terrifying the Heaven Temple's infiltration was.
With every word of counsel from an official, Benevolent Sovereign Ji Long's expression darkened another degree. This succession of officials offering their advice one by one was like forcing the palace; Benevolent Sovereign Ji Long's face became so gloomy that water seemed ready to drip from it.
However, Great Zhou's court officials fought back fiercely as well.
The first to leap out was the Minister of War. "With merely a few pieces of circumstantial evidence, you can convict one