Ling Tianchen's face was so dark it looked ready to drip water.
Honestly, if beating Lu Qingshan up would make him shoulder the blame for good, he would gladly applaud with both hands.
But he thought a level deeper.
Once they laid hands on the old bastard, given his character, he would surely go around crying injustice afterward.
Then those loose tongues outside would probably say they had lashed out in humiliation, beaten a confession out of him, and deliberately made the ill-reputed Azure Cloud Sect their scapegoat!
That would only make this scandal even uglier!
There was only one way they could avoid criticism and truly salvage their dignity.
Someone had to step forward voluntarily, admit to being the mole planted within the Alliance, and take responsibility for everything!
Only then would their being fooled count as "understandable," rather than make them a laughingstock for the whole world!
At that thought, Ling Tianchen's brow twitched as a plan came to him. He then silently sent Lu Qingshan a voice transmission.
"Elder Lu, I'd like to discuss something with you."
Lu Qingshan, who was already scared out of his wits, froze at once. He sharply turned toward Ling Tianchen, every hair on his body standing on end as his vigilance shot to its peak.
This man had risen to the position of Alliance Leader, and his underhanded methods were infamous!
But Lu Qingshan also knew that if he ignored the Alliance Leader, even if he escaped death today, he would not escape punishment.
"A-Alliance Leader Ling, what is it?"
Lu Qingshan could only steel himself and answer through a voice transmission as well.
"Ahem!" Ling Tianchen cleared his throat and transmitted, "Elder Lu, I know this has nothing to do with you."
"But you've seen today's gathering yourself. I invited