Meeting a Venerable

On the fourth day of immersing himself in cultivation.

Ding ding ding!

An email arrived. Zhou Lin entered the Virtual Universe with some displeasure. His cultivation was at a critical stage, and he was already close to comprehending the third layer.

Once the Void Body was complete, he would have hope of beginning the Myriad Tribulations Primordial Scripture.

Mission details: Although the Myriad Gods Hall has already been eradicated, many of the people manipulating things behind the organization have yet to receive their due punishment. Their identities have now been determined.

After Zhou Lin clicked in to take a look, his expression darkened. The backers involved were actually all members of the Luojin Universe Nation's imperial family.

Some were Immortals, while others were World Lord level.

The Immortals were Third Prince Chen Ming, Nineteenth Prince Wu Ying, and Sixth Prince Apolshido.

All three possessed Army Lord Immortal strength.

There were also dozens of World Lords, but they were all distant descendants of the imperial family.

Mission requirements: "Venerable Luojin has captured everyone involved with the Myriad Gods Hall and imprisoned them in the Imperial Palace on Luojin Imperial Capital Star. Zhou Lin, please proceed there and conduct the trial."

There were only a few possible verdicts: death, imprisonment, or acquittal.

"How is this supposed to be a mission?" Zhou Lin fell silent. He suspected that the missions assigned by the Virtual Universe Company were all more or less the same. This one also involved a trial.

The intentions of the higher-ups were obvious. They wanted to see whether the people below would bend the rules under pressure or act too tactfully.

Thus, for nearly every Domain Lord from the Primal Secret Realm, while they served as Great Officials of the Frontier, the company would do its best to assign them missions of this kind.

"An ordinary Domain Lord might only be asked to judge the subordinates of a King."

Zhou Lin shook his head. It was only because of Palace Master Tianshi that he was being sent to judge the descendants of Venerable Luojin. Otherwise, how could something like this happen?

Moreover, Zhou Lin was somewhat puzzled. Logically speaking, for a Venerable-level figure—especially Venerable Luojin, whose strength was said to rival that of a Universe Overlord—

how could it possibly come to the point where his descendants were put on trial?

"Wan Shen, Wan Shen." Zhou Lin murmured the name several times, pondering what secret might be hidden behind the mission.

But thinking any further would be useless. He could only take things one step at a time.

Zhou Lin did not call for his guard team to accompany him. Instead, he told Aido and the others to remain in the manor. There was no point in bringing a large crowd to meet a Venerable.

Luojin City, deep within the Imperial Palace.

"You've completely disgraced me!" Venerable Luojin was furious. Even his shout contained a will impact, causing the three princes below to suffer unbearable headaches.

Venerable Luojin was the oldest Universe Country Lord, and his strength had nearly reached the level of a Universe Overlord. His reputation was illustrious.

The restrictions of the Imperial Palace hummed, completely concealing the disturbance within. Otherwise, when a Venerable grew furious, his voice would echo across a million kilometers.

"Father," Third Prince Chen Ming hurriedly said, "although we indulged the Myriad Gods Hall, fundamentally, we only wanted to enjoy the resources. Their affairs have nothing to do with us."

The other two princes also began making various tearful pleas.

According to the information Zhou Lin had obtained, they truly were not lying.

"Hmph!" Venerable Luojin's gaze was gloomy, as if he could see straight through their hearts.

A long while passed before Venerable Luojin finally spoke. "Something is wrong. If there's anything you have to say, you'd better say it now. Otherwise, once that Zhou Lin arrives, even I won't be able to protect you."

Venerable Luojin was certain that something was amiss.

He was a dignified Universe Country Lord. Even if his descendants slaughtered innocents and brought disaster to an entire star region, the Virtual Universe Company would normally give him some face.

At the very least, things would not sink to the point of having outsiders judge them.

Unless they had offended a true great figure. The case of Venerable Shihuo was proof of that. He had disciplined King Yanzhu because Hong had lodged a complaint with Lord Xujin.

Venerable Luojin had countless descendants, and quite a few of them had become Immortals.

What he could be certain of was that whatever was involved behind the scenes was definitely not something as simple as killing innocents or bullying the weak.

Thud! Thud!

Heavy footsteps came from outside the hall.

"Greetings, Venerable Luojin." Led by an attendant, Zhou Lin entered the great hall and first bowed respectfully.

"Mm."

Venerable Luojin did not put on airs. Instead, he responded with a calm grunt.

Zhou Lin also carefully examined this legendary Country Lord.

He was more than two meters tall, with dark red skin. His armor was the same color as the Luojin Stone outside, making it clear that he greatly favored this color.

"You know what the three of them did. Don't take me into consideration," Venerable Luojin added. "Even executing all of them would be fine."

Zhou Lin was somewhat stunned.

He was a dignified Universe Country Lord, yet he was willing to abandon his own descendants just like that?

The two of them stood in different positions and naturally considered different things.

Looking at the matter from the standpoint of a subordinate, Zhou Lin could not see what the other party was worried about.

Venerable Luojin was not afraid of them indulging in slaughter. What did such a small matter amount to?

"Third Prince Chen Ming." After pondering for a moment, Zhou Lin turned directly toward the third prince, who was bound by dark chains. "I sentence you to one hundred million years in prison."

He had read all the information. The third prince had been the first to support Hai Yue, but he had only been seeking enormous profits.

The slave trade that covered the entire Universe Nation, along with a great deal of other illegal business, involved sums of money so vast that even Marquis Immortals would be moved.

In any country, the slave trade was divided among many major merchants.

But in the Luojin Universe Nation, it had been monopolized by the Myriad Gods Hall.

Over all those years, the funds this group had funneled to the three princes were probably no less than the inheritance Huyan Bo had left for Luo Feng.

How terrifying.

"For the sake of money, you stopped at nothing. Although you did not personally participate in the acts themselves, indulging evil still makes you partially responsible."

Zhou Lin looked toward Nineteenth Prince Wu Ying again. "I sentence you to one hundred million years in prison."

The standards given by the Virtual Universe Company this time ranged from one million years to one hundred million years, with the highest punishment being death.

The two men's expressions dimmed, and they lowered their heads dejectedly.

In truth, this result had already shown them considerable leniency. Setting aside their identities, under normal circumstances, anyone else in their place would have received the death penalty.

Zhou Lin had not shown favoritism. He was merely following the rules.

As for Sixth Prince Apolshido—

"I sentence you to death." Zhou Lin's gaze was sharp as he looked toward Venerable Luojin above. "Esteemed Country Lord, I suspect that he is already a servant of the Aliens. Please restrain him immediately!"

"What?!"

"Impossible!"

Chen Ming and Wu Ying cried out below. At the very top, however, Venerable Luojin had already expected this. He swiftly acted and sealed Apolshido's divine power.

Boom!

Zhou Lin felt an immense, terrifying pressure sweep over him.

Under Venerable Luojin's pressure, all of Apolshido's Immortal Divine Power was sealed, leaving him unable even to self-detonate.

"Father, I've been wronged!"

Apolshido said urgently, "Your son is guilty of indulging the Myriad Gods Hall, but being a servant of the Aliens is completely baseless."

His face was anxious, and he pleaded incessantly.

Zhou Lin and Venerable Luojin merely watched him coldly.

"Country Lord, there's no need to execute him in haste. Investigate the matter thoroughly first," Zhou Lin reminded him.