For the first time, a fierce sense of unfairness arose in Oscar's heart.
Why?
Just because he had the evil fire phoenix?
On the other side.
Zhu Zhuqing stood like a statue that had melted into the shadows.
Her hearing was far sharper than an ordinary person's, and every word exchanged between Ma Hongjun and Oscar reached her ears.
Her expression instantly darkened, frost gathering deep in her eyes.
Her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
* Beasts!! *
Those two words screamed silently in her heart.
She looked at the woman being paraded onstage like a trophy, then at the smug men below, and felt wave after wave of nausea.
Were these the companions she had once entrusted everything to?
Were these the Shrek Seven Devils?
What a joke!
On the Judgment Platform, Yu Xiaogang's malicious voice interrupted everyone's thoughts.
He looked at the trembling female Soul Master and spoke in a gently coaxing tone:
"Don't be afraid."
"Tell us everything you saw and everything you went through!"
"With our Tang Sect seeking justice for you and the Heaven Dou Empire backing you, you need not fear any evil force!"
The female Soul Master trembled even harder.
She slowly raised her head. On her pale face, her eyes were hollow and lifeless, as though her entire soul had been drained away.
Every gaze in the plaza focused on her.
Countless stares pierced her like countless needles, leaving not an inch of her unscathed.
At last, she raised her arm with difficulty.
Her index finger trembled slightly in the air before pointing straight at Ning Lin in the center of the Judgment Platform.
"It... it was him..."
Her voice was hoarse and broken, as though it had been scraped with sandpaper.
"It was him!"
"In a dark alley on Vermilion Bird Avenue... he forcibly... violated me..."
Boom!!
At those words, the entire Judgment Plaza erupted!
The sliver of doubt that Prince Xue Xing's intervention had stirred vanished like smoke.
The victim had identified him herself!
What more was there to say?
"Kill him!"
"Scum like him doesn't deserve to be city lord!"
"Death by a thousand cuts! He must be put to death by a thousand cuts!"
The waves of angry cries rose higher and higher, threatening to overturn the entire Square.
The atmosphere plunged straight to freezing point.
The spectators who did not know the truth switched sides once again, their gazes brimming with contempt and hatred as they looked at Ning Lin.
Among the Shrek group.
Xiao Wu's face grew somewhat pale.
She clutched the hem of her clothes tightly, watching the triumphant Tang San on the platform, her heart a tangle of emotions.
She knew Tang San's character all too well.
For his companions, for the "justice" he believed in, he would stop at nothing.
Today, to protect Ma Hongjun and preserve his own glorious image, Tang San had done just that.
Ning Lin would most likely die here.
Was this really right?
For the first time, Xiao Wu began to waver over Tang San's actions.
On the High Platform.
In the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's seating area.
Ning Fengzhi watched the young man below, composed and in complete control, and the admiration in his eyes burned ever brighter.
Excellent!
What a Tang San!
With such a disposition and such methods, he truly was a dragon among men!
He wanted this young man to become his son-in-law more and more.
That willingness to stop at nothing was little different from his own back in the day.
After all, when he had sought to secure his position as sect master, he had secretly eliminated far more than one or two political rivals.
On the Douluo Continent, where strength reigned supreme, every mighty figure's illustrious reputation was inevitably accompanied by countless pools of blood and withered bones.
No one cared about those unfortunate souls who had died unjustly.
In the end, the world would only praise the victors and sing of their achievements.
What a pity, though.
Ning Fengzhi's gaze swept over Ning Lin on the platform with a semblance of regret.
He had thought quite highly of this young man before.
Talent, courage, intelligence—he had been outstanding in every respect.
But now, compared with Tang San, he ultimately lacked a little polish.
In the end, he was nothing more than a whetstone.
Ning Fengzhi's thoughts reflected those of most representatives of the various factions who had come to watch the trial.
With matters having reached this stage, whether Ning Lin had truly been wronged no longer mattered.
What mattered was just how forceful the methods of the Tang Sect—or rather, Tang San—had proved to be.
They needed to reassess their relationship with the Tang Sect.
As for Ning Lin...
Who would care about a pawn destined to be sacrificed?
Under the eyes of the multitude.
Ning Lin looked at the female Soul Master accusing him, his expression somewhat complicated.
Did he regret it? A little.
Had he not meddled, how could he have brought this enormous trouble upon himself?
But if someone asked him whether he would save her if he encountered the same situation again...
Ning Lin laughed at himself inwardly.
Most likely, he still would.
Some things had to be done, even when one knew they should not be.
That was something in his bones. He could not change it.
He slowly lifted his head, facing the storm of curses and accusations. His gaze passed through the milling crowd and finally settled on Tang San's face.
Tang San, what fine methods.
The corners of Ning Lin's mouth curved upward in a mocking smile.
He suddenly spoke.
His voice was not loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.
"Tang San."
Everyone's gaze converged on him.
Ning Lin ignored those stares and simply looked steadily at Tang San.
"Let me ask you this."
"Of the three grave charges used to frame me, 'evading taxes and lining my own pockets' and 'colluding with the Spirit Hall Empire and selling military intelligence'—haven't those two now proved to be entirely unfounded?"
Tang San's pupils contracted slightly, but he did not answer.
Ning Lin did not need him to answer.
He continued on his own, his voice growing louder.
"Then all that remains now is the third charge: 'violating a female Soul Master in the street.'"
His gaze turned to Prince Xue Xing, then to all the Heaven Dou Empire's ministers on the High Platform.
"Even if!"
"Even if this charge holds!"
Ning Lin's voice suddenly rose, resounding like a great bronze bell and shaking everyone to their core!
"I, Ning Lin, am the Heaven Dou City Lord personally appointed by Xue Ye, and an earl of the empire!"
"Surely this alone isn't enough to warrant a death sentence?"
“Under Heaven Dou Law, what sentence does this crime warrant?!”
Indeed.
Even if the charge held, did an imperial earl and the Heaven Dou City Lord really deserve a death sentence for it?
When had Heaven Dou Law become so harsh?
For a moment, a trace of bewilderment appeared on the faces of the people who had just been seething with outrage.
Ning Lin's words had calmed them down.
On the High Platform, Prince Xue Xing's expression shifted repeatedly. His lips moved, but not a single word came out.
He wanted to refute Ning Lin, only to find that every word he had spoken was reasonable.
Under imperial law, forcibly violating a commoner woman was indeed not a capital offense for a noble.
At most, he would be stripped of his title, made to compensate the victim, and imprisoned for a time.
Tang San had indeed overstepped his authority!
Everyone's gaze once again converged on Tang San in unison.
They wanted to see how the newly appointed master of the Tang Sect would respond to this question that pulled the firewood from beneath his cauldron.
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