Heaven Dou City, Tang Sect headquarters.
This place had become the heart of power in the Heaven Dou Empire, where every word and action could shake the balance of the continent.
Today, Tang San, the Tang Sect's sect master, stood on the raised platform before the Council Hall.
He wore a sea-blue robe, his features handsome and his bearing transcendent. Carried by his soul power, his voice rang throughout the Tang Sect and across half of Heaven Dou City.
"Ning Lin, city lord of Heaven Dou City, holds office yet neglects his duties!"
"He stands guilty of three crimes!"
"First, evading taxes and lining his own pockets, leaving the Heaven Dou Treasury empty and our soldiers on the front lines short of provisions!"
"Second, colluding with the Spirit Hall Empire, maintaining secret dealings and selling the empire's military intelligence—a traitor to the empire!"
"Third, depraved conduct and an attempt to assault a female Soul Master in the streets of Heaven Dou, an outrage to gods and men alike!"
Tang San's voice rang clear, filled with an air of righteous grandeur, as though he were the embodiment of Heaven's will pronouncing judgment upon a sinner.
"He shall answer for all his crimes! The evidence is irrefutable!"
"In my capacity as sect master of the Tang Sect and Imperial Preceptor, I hereby announce that three days from now, at a quarter to one in the afternoon, City Lord Ning Lin shall be publicly tried in Heaven Dou Square!"
"Let his punishment serve as a warning to others and uphold the laws of the realm!"
As his voice faded, the entire city erupted in an uproar.
Inside the Tang Sect headquarters, however, the deputy sect masters wore markedly different expressions.
"Third Brother, that's impossible!"
Xiao Wu was the first to step forward, her large eyes filled with confusion and anxiety.
"I've met City Lord Ning Lin several times. He's an upright man. How could he possibly do something like this?"
She looked at Tang San, hoping to find some room for reconsideration on her husband's face.
Yet Tang San merely gazed at her calmly.
"Xiao Wu, you can know a person's face without knowing their heart."
To one side, Zhu Zhuqing's lovely face was frosty, and she said nothing.
The aura around her grew heavier, while turbulent waves surged through her heart.
Ning Lin... how could that be?
That unfailingly courteous, gentle man who kept Heaven Dou City running in perfect order was a scoundrel who colluded with the enemy and betrayed his country? And he would assault a female Soul Master in the street?
This was nothing short of a fairy tale.
Yet those words had come from Tang San himself.
Ning Rongrong, sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, declared her position without hesitation.
She gave a soft snort, a carefully measured trace of disgust on her face.
"Hmph, he's utterly disgraced our surname, Ning!"
"Third Brother is wise! Scum like him must be severely punished. We must never show him leniency!"
The Tang Sect's dungeon.
Dark and damp.
The air reeked of rust mingled with blood.
Two thick iron chains pierced Ning Lin's shoulder blades, suspending him against the wall. He was drenched in blood, his body a wretched ruin.
His soul bones had been forcibly torn out, the bones of his limbs broken in multiple places. An overwhelmingly tyrannical surge of soul power had battered his meridians until every inch threatened to split apart.
Agony washed over him in waves, tossing his consciousness back and forth between lucidity and stupor.
His memories, too, had become fragmented.
He remembered now.
Yesterday, on Vermilion Bird Avenue, the busiest street in Heaven Dou City.
Ma Hongjun, the "Evil Fire Phoenix" of the Shrek Seven Devils—that grotesquely obese man—had stopped a passing female Soul Master. His eyes were blood-red, and a foul aura of flame radiated from his body.
His evil fire had erupted again.
"Little beauty, come with Fatty here, and I'll make sure you eat the finest food and drink the best wine!"
Ma Hongjun laughed lewdly, his thick, greasy hand reaching straight for her collar.
The female Soul Master screamed in terror and struggled desperately, but how could she stand against a Soul Saint?
As city lord of Heaven Dou City, Ning Lin happened to be patrolling the area.
Duty bound him to act. He could not simply watch.
"Ma Hongjun, please conduct yourself with dignity!"
Ning Lin intervened, his voice stern.
"Abducting a woman in broad daylight—what regard do you have for the laws of the Tang Sect and the Heaven Dou Empire?"
But with evil fire clouding his mind, Ma Hongjun would hear no reason.
"Get lost! Keep your fucking nose out of Fatty's business!"
Ma Hongjun flew into a rage and lashed out with a Phoenix Fire Line.
Ning Lin was merely a Soul Emperor in his sixties. How could he match the long-renowned Ma Hongjun?
He defended himself with all his strength, yet was still grievously wounded in an instant.
In the final moment before scorching flames swallowed his vision, all he saw was Ma Hongjun's ugly face, hideously twisted by lust and fury.
When he woke again, he was already here.
Then came Tang San's sanctimonious pronouncement of judgment.
"Heh... hehehe..."
Ning Lin began to laugh softly. His hoarse laughter pulled at every wound, making his entire body spasm with pain.
Yet the light in his eyes only grew brighter, burning with bone-deep hatred.
He was a transmigrator.
He knew better than anyone what sort of man Tang San was.
Hypocritical. A slave to double standards. Those who obeyed him prospered; those who opposed him perished!
That fat pig Ma Hongjun had an even longer trail of vile deeds. Relying on his reputation as one of the Shrek Seven Devils, he had ruined countless innocent women, only for Tang San to cover it all up.
This time, Ning Lin had interrupted their little pleasure and become a thorn in their eyes.
And so the assailant had become the victim, while the man who stood up for justice became a criminal guilty of monstrous sins.
What a fine Tang Sect!
What a fine Sea God Tang San!
When you want to condemn a man, why worry about finding an excuse?
They meant to kill him outright and cut off all future trouble!
Hatred!
Towering hatred churned in his chest!
He refused to accept this!
Why should he pay the price for this pack of hypocrites' filthy deeds?
Just as Ning Lin's emotions surged and he stood on the brink of despair.
An emotionless mechanical voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
[Ding!] [Extreme emotional fluctuations detected in the host. The will to survive and the desire for revenge have reached the critical threshold...] [Binding requirements met.] [History Alteration System officially activated.]
Ning Lin froze.
A system?
[This system can select an "associated individual" who has crossed paths with the host and edit that individual's past, thereby changing the course of history.] [Each successful historical alteration will grant the host corresponding rewards based on its impact.] [Warning: editing history carries extreme risks. Please proceed with caution.]
To Ning Lin, that icy notification sounded no less beautiful than a heavenly melody!
Change history!
This was his only chance to survive!
[Searching for the host's first editable associated individual...] [Search successful!] [Associated individual: Bibi Dong.]
The name that appeared in his mind instantly unlocked Ning Lin's long-sealed memories.
Bibi Dong...
The Last Pope of Spirit Hall, founder of the Spirit Hall Empire, and one of Tang San's greatest enemies in this life.
Their paths had indeed crossed for a time.
That had been many years ago, when Ning Lin had just graduated from the Soul Master Academy and taken his first steps into the world.
Back then, he had been deeply passionate about Soul Master theory, especially the obscure body martial soul field.
He had published several articles in succession on "The Possibility of a Second Awakening for Body Martial Souls" and "A Hypothesis on Resonance Between Spiritual Power and Body Martial Souls."
Those theories, considered shocking and outrageous at the time, had drawn the attention of an influential figure.
That person was Bibi Dong.
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