Disgust, curses, scorn...
Countless gazes sharp enough to kill shot toward Shrek Academy's camp like arrows, all pinning one fat man with unerring precision.
Ma Hongjun's face had turned the color of pig liver.
It was a color steeped in shame, anger, terror, and venomous resentment.
"You... you're talking nonsense!"
His lips trembled as he tried to shout his denials, but his voice came out as shrill as a chicken being strangled.
"You're spitting blood at me! This is slander! I didn't do it!"
Yet his defense was utterly feeble.
The scars faintly visible on the female Soul Master's body, and the bone-deep terror that could never be feigned, were the most direct evidence.
Under thousands of contemptuous gazes, Ma Hongjun's eyes strayed uncontrollably toward the mangled figure on the Judgment Platform, slumped like a heap of mud.
Yu Xiaogang.
At that moment, he suddenly understood.
He understood the despair and madness of having every disguise stripped away, of having one's filthiest, most disgraceful side laid bare in broad daylight.
So they were the same kind of person after all.
Tang San's brows had knitted into a knot.
His expression was dark as stagnant water.
One unforeseen turn followed another.
The trial he had so carefully orchestrated had devolved completely into a farce exposing his own camp's scandals.
At this point, killing Ning Lin according to the original plan was impossible.
Public opinion had swung entirely to the other side.
But no matter what, the Tang Sect's dignity and Shrek's reputation could not be lost!
Even if he lost today's game, he had to fight to the death and tear a chunk of flesh from the board!
"Enough!"
Tang San's voice, infused with tremendous soul power, instantly drowned out the entire crowd's discussions.
His gaze swept across everyone, carrying the majesty of a god's inheritor.
"This woman has been bewitched by the Spirit Hall Pope's evil arts! Her mind is clouded, and everything she says is the ravings of a puppet controlled by someone else!"
"Her testimony is utterly untrustworthy!"
Tang San's words rang with force as he tried to turn the situation around through sheer resolve.
Yet he had overestimated his own authority and underestimated where people's loyalties lay.
No matter how he argued, everyone present had already reached their own judgment of right and wrong.
Could the female Soul Master's terror be fake?
Could Yu Xiaogang's impotent fury be fake?
Hu Liena's accusation, steeped in blood and tears, Bibi Dong's profound love, Ning Lin's self-sacrifice to fulfill her wish... could all of that really be erased with the words "bewitched by evil arts"?
Though the murmurs in the crowd grew quieter, their skeptical, contemptuous gazes settled on Tang San with even greater conviction.
Within Shrek's camp.
Xiao Wu stared blankly at that familiar yet unfamiliar back. For the first time, bewilderment and disappointment filled her bright, dewy eyes.
She murmured to herself, so softly that only she could hear.
"Brother San... wasn't like this before."
In her heart, her Brother San had always been that upright, kindhearted young man who would do anything for his companions.
Not this Tang Sect master who would turn black into white and call a deer a horse just to uphold a lie.
Zhu Zhuqing's lovely face remained stern, conflicting emotions stirring in her Hell Spirit Cat eyes.
She said quietly, "In the Star Luo Empire, I've seen plenty of this sort of black-and-white reversal and scheming deceit."
She paused, a trace of self-mockery in her voice.
"But I never thought I'd one day see it from the Tang Sect, which prides itself on 'justice.'"
"And performed so clumsily, too."
Beside her, Ning Rongrong's face had already gone deathly pale.
Just then, a calm voice sounded from the center of the Judgment Platform, reaching every person's ears clearly.
It was Ning Lin.
From beginning to end, he had never once looked at the female Soul Master. His gaze had remained fixed on Tang San.
"Tang San."
Ning Lin spoke slowly.
"Even now, are you still going to keep up this act?"
"Earlier, you secretly attacked me with a deadly poison."
"If not for my unusual constitution, I probably wouldn't even have been able to speak just now."
"Do you dare admit it?"
Tang San's pupils abruptly contracted.
He had done it with utmost secrecy, convinced his plan was seamless!
How did Ning Lin know?!
No, he couldn't possibly know! He had to be bluffing!
Tang San's thoughts raced, but his expression remained unchanged as he said gravely, "Utter nonsense! I, Tang San, have always acted openly and honorably. How could I resort to such despicable means?"
"You're stopping at nothing to escape your guilt now, even fabricating lies like this!"
"Openly and honorably?"
Ning Lin smiled, a hint of amusement in his expression.
"How very open and honorable."
Tang San knew he had no ground to stand on. Continuing to argue would only expose more flaws.
He drew a deep breath, murderous intent surging in his eyes!
There was no point in saying more!
If reason wouldn't work, then he'd use his fists!
"Bibi Dong!"
Tang San abruptly turned toward the Pope, his voice thundering.
"As Pope of the Spirit Hall Empire, you dare openly interfere in our Heaven Dou Empire's internal affairs, manipulate witnesses, and muddle the truth!"
"Today, I, Tang San, will carry out heaven's justice and take you down, you vile woman!"
The instant his words fell, the five experts behind him—Tai Tan, Bai He, Yang Wudi, Niu Gao, and Dugu Bo—unleashed their soul power together!
Brilliant soul rings soared skyward!
Terrifying pressure crashed toward Bibi Dong at the center of the Judgment Platform like a massive, tangible wave!
They were going to attack outright!
Everyone thought the Heaven Dou Imperial Family would immediately step forward and join the Tang Sect in punishing Bibi Dong.
Yet what happened next caught everyone by surprise.
Within the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's camp, before Emperor Xue Beng could speak, Prince Xue Xing stepped forward beside him.
The prince, long renowned for supporting Tang San and Shrek, wore a solemn expression as he declared:
"Sect Master Tang San, you are mistaken."
"Today's affair arose from Ning Lin's old grudge with Spirit Hall, as well as your Tang Sect's private grievances with them."
"From beginning to end, this has been a dispute between your two sides alone."
Prince Xue Xing's voice echoed clearly across the Square.
"This is not an internal matter of Heaven Dou."
"This affair has nothing to do with our Heaven Dou Empire."
Boom!
Those words were like a thunderbolt of earth-shattering force detonating inside Tang San's mind!
His expression changed drastically!
Nothing to do with the empire?
What did that mean?
The implications of that signal were far too enormous!
Since its founding, the Tang Sect had been deeply bound to the Heaven Dou Empire. The Tang Sect supplied the empire with elite fighting power, while the empire provided the Tang Sect with resources, land, and political protection.
The Tang Sect was like a vine parasitizing the great tree of Heaven Dou, drawing nourishment from it and growing at tremendous speed.
But now, the great tree it depended on for survival was actually going to... turn against it?!
Were they going to pull the firewood from beneath the cauldron at the most critical moment?!
Before you continue