The Spirit Beast World's First Public Trial Assembly

Before the nine-tier Feather God Heavenly Ladder, twenty-four remnants of the Heavenly Crane Tribe were bound hand and foot and locked inside birdcages Officer Ye had prepared in advance.

Under Officer Ye's personal planning and leadership, a public trial platform modeled after the courts of his previous life was erected, and the first Public Trial Assembly in the history of the Spirit Beast World began.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Seated in the chief judge's position, Ye Kong struck the table three times with a hammer formed from spiritual power, announcing the opening of the assembly.

To Ye Kong's left, Zong Qingfeng, temporarily representing the Flying Bird Tribe's Spirit Beasts as a juror, rose to his feet. He stroked his graying hair and began reading from his script:

"This assembly is the first public trial in the history of the Spirit Beast World. It will ensure a fair, open, and just trial process, conducting a comprehensive judgment of the crimes committed by the Heavenly Crane Tribe and its subordinate races!

Through this form of public judgment, we aim to punish evil and eliminate wrongdoing, improve the customs of the Spirit Beast Tribe, and strive to eradicate demonic scum like Feng Xingkui! Let this serve as a warning to others!

The presiding judge for this assembly shall be our universally acknowledged great benefactor, Young Master Kong Ye.

For the coming period, I, Zong Qingfeng, shall work alongside our friend Lu Hou of the Heaven-Reaching Ape Tribe in assisting with the trial.

Miss Chi Hongwu of the Phoenix Tribe and Mister Lu Duowen of the Heaven-Reaching Ape Tribe shall serve as the assembly's clerks and make written records.

That concludes this court's statement!"

After Zong Qingfeng finished and sat down, Lu Hou rose as well. Doing his utmost to maintain a solemn expression, he called out with great novelty:

"Now! Please invite the representatives of the victims to come forward and accuse the twenty-four members of the Heavenly Crane Tribe!"

At those words, the captains of the various Beast Tribes, including Huo Zhi, stepped onto the platform. Zong Teng used his spatial traversal ability to rush to the front, then dropped to his knees before the three people on the tribunal with a thud. Tears and snot streamed down his face as he cried out hoarsely:

"Honorable judges, you've finally come today! My tragically murdered cousin and my clansmen can finally live to see this day!"

I told you to set an example, not to make it this exaggerated!

Ye Kong's face stiffened. This was supposed to be a proper accusation assembly, so why had it turned into a mourning session? Had Zong Teng gone mad trying to curry favor?

What Ye Kong had not expected was that with Zong Teng's kneeling and crying, Huo Zhi and the other Flying Bird Spirit Beast captains were reminded of their own grief. One after another, they too knelt on the ground and began wailing loudly.

Through tears and sobs, they cursed Feng Xingkui for the countless fellow tribesmen he had harmed with several of his subordinates while he was alive.

Some had female cousins or sisters targeted by him and ruined through every sort of deception and coercion; some had been targeted by that group themselves and, after becoming objects of their lust, had lived miserable lives within their clans; others had acquired some treasure, only to be forced to hand it over once Feng Xingkui learned of it...

Seeing the scene descend into chaos, Ye Kong had no choice but to stand up. He pulled out a homemade wooden signal gun and fired three shots into the sky, then shouted at the gathered Spirit Beasts:

"Get up! No kneeling!

Feng Xingkui, who led the harm against you, is already dead. The rest are right here, waiting for you to take your Revenge! I am not worthy of your kneeling! All of you, stand up and speak with your heads held high!"

"Han Shan, Xu Kun, bring Feng Hui out first. Let everyone speak of his crimes!"

"Yes, Presiding Judge!"

Han Shan and Xu Kun, both massive as mountains and resembling the two celestial generals Heng and Ha, each carried a spiked club generously sponsored by Comrade Huo Yang. They dragged the most severely injured Feng Hui out of the cage.

Then they struck him twice with their clubs, forcing him to kneel before the victimized Spirit Beasts.

Seeing that the situation had finally been brought somewhat under control, Ye Kong pointed at Zong Teng and called out:

"Zong Teng! Since you were the first to shout earlier, we'll start with you again. Tell us whether Feng Hui followed Feng Xingkui to your clan and committed evil!"

Seeing that the beasts were still agitated, Ye Kong pressed both hands downward and soothed them:

"I understand everyone's emotions, but they're all here today. None of them can escape!

Once the process is complete, we'll directly execute those who deserve death and eat roast crane together! I guarantee everyone will vent this resentment in their hearts!

No matter how today's deeds may be judged a thousand years from now, once these records are spread after we leave, Feng Xingkui and his ilk will stink for ten thousand years!

Please also consider the difficulty of the two clerks' work and try to remain orderly."

After those words, the beasts finally calmed down. They stared fixedly at Feng Hui and the other cranes, whose faces were ashen, while recalling old events they had never wished to remember.

After wiping away all his tears and snot, Zong Teng composed himself. With killing intent covering his face, he pointed at Feng Hui and said in a hoarse voice:

"Half a year ago, he and Feng Xingkui, along with several others, concealed their auras with treasures and secretly infiltrated the territory of my Sky Peng Tribe without informing us.

At the time, the talented younger generation of my clan was organizing a training expedition. Those bastards lay in ambush and raped and murdered five of my clansmen, including one of my cousins! Their methods were unimaginably cruel!

Later, they were captured by our patrolling elders, yet their attitude was exceedingly arrogant..."

As he spoke, Zong Teng remembered the sorrowful events and truly began to weep aloud.

He had not been particularly close to that distant cousin, but what these people had done had trampled the honor of the Sky Peng Tribe completely into the dirt!

For him, the son of the Clan Leader, this was an enormous humiliation as well!

With his usual arrogant and domineering temperament, if Feng Xingkui had not had a Heavenly Sovereign behind him, and if Zong Teng had been able to defeat him, he would have beaten Feng Xingkui countless times long ago.

Seeing that he was not pretending this time, Ye Kong did not stop him. Instead, he immediately signaled Lu Hou through voice transmission to have Lu Lutong and Lu Kaizhi take out and wash more of Feng Xingkui's internal organs while they handled his corpse.

Zong Qingfeng's face was dark as water. Killing intent surged endlessly in his eyes as he looked at Feng Hui and the other cranes, nearly solidifying into substance.

A subordinate race of the mighty Kunpeng Tribe had actually been treated like a private garden for Feng Xingkui to roam at will. He had even dared to insult and murder them wantonly. What a disgrace to the beasts!

The elders of his clan could not possibly have been unaware of these matters. It seemed they still feared Feng Xingkui's background and were unwilling to offend his grandfather over such things.

Given Zong Qingfeng's understanding of those elders, they might have long since grown accustomed to it. What a pity, though—his hair might have turned white, but he, Zong Qingfeng, was not old yet...

After Zong Teng finished crying, Huo Zhi stepped forward next. One Spirit Beast captain after another voiced their grievances and suffering. Once the floodgates of pain had opened, the cries of these Spirit Beast geniuses carried for dozens of miles.

As the sun traveled from the east to the west, the defendants on the platform shifted from Feng Hui to other Heavenly Crane Tribe geniuses, then to several subordinate races of the Cold Crane Tribe.

Meanwhile, Chi Hongwu and Lu Duowen, who were responsible for the records, quickly filled stack after stack of written documents...

In the ancient city beneath the night sky, the final musician of the Cold Crane Tribe, who had been responsible for playing music to entertain Feng Xingkui and his group, was released on the spot after it was determined that he had no criminal record. He was offered an apology and compensation, and with Officer Ye's final strike of the gavel, this Public Trial Assembly officially came to an end.

The even more exciting Roast Crane Feast officially began!

Fifteen crane Spirit Beasts judged by the three members of the tribunal to be guilty beyond redemption were executed on the spot by the enraged crowd, revealing their true forms.

Lu Lutong and Lu Kaizhi, whom Ye Kong had dispatched long ago to prepare everything, set up ten enormous roasting racks. After processing the sixteen thousand-zhang cranes, including Feng Xingkui, they skewered them over the fires.

As a shower of Officer Ye's specially made "Great Thousand cumin" and "Great Thousand black pepper" fell, a long-lost fragrance began drifting through the entire Feather God Hall ruins on the wind.

This time, there was no need to warm up the crowd. Once Ye Kong sliced off the first piece of meat, the beasts who had waited so long could no longer suppress the fury and hatred in their hearts. They rushed forward and began feasting heartily.

Having discovered for the first time that there were no Spirit Beasts he could eat, Ye Kong silently walked aside and sighed with the vegetarian Four Great Vajras.

The Flying Bird Spirit Beasts ate almost while crying, occasionally shouting something as well. Their wildly fluctuating emotions made even Ye Kong's scalp tingle.

Especially the eight crane Spirit Beasts who had been released. Their emotions were nearly the most intense among all those present. Several of the women practically wanted to devour the now-charred Feng Xingkui alive and sleep on his skin. One look was enough to tell that they were pitiful victims who had suffered the deepest harm.

"Too bad Brother Lion isn't here. Otherwise, none of these guys could probably eat as much as him...

Still, if they can eat this fiercely, then when that guy was following me back then, he probably didn't go hungry, right?"

Under the moonlit night, Officer Ye relaxed and cast off the weight on his shoulders, beginning to miss Jinjiu Master, whom he had not seen for more than a year.

His senior brother had said that guy's strength was comparable to Zong Qingfeng and Feng Xingkui, so there was no need to worry about his safety. But that fellow had never seemed especially clever. He hadn't been tricked by other Spirit Beasts, had he?

Little Meng Xin politely asks for continued reading, bookmarks, and recommendations.