A Cultivator from the Law Enforcent Team braced himself and stepped forward. He bent down to Iron Head’s level and asked cautiously.
"The Yu Family’s Foundation Establishnt Ancestor, Yu Gongshi, sheltered his clansn and sold people to the Four Demon Sects. The evidence is irrefutable, and we have already captured him. Go and summon the steward of this Marketplace. There are other criminals here, and we require your assistance to apprehend them all."
Yinjiao, afraid his senior brother Iron Head was too clumsy with words and would misspeak, stepped forward to answer in his stead.
The expressions of the Law Enforcent Team mbers present changed drastically. This was a truly heinous cri.
After exchanging looks of dismay, the sa Cultivator who had stepped forward to ask questions turned and left to summon the steward.
Only then did Yinjiao release all the Yu Family mbers from his Five Clouds Pouch.
With a flick of his spear, Iron Head flung Yu Gongshi from its tip, tossing him into the pile of people.
Yu Gongshi’s spine had already been shattered. The fall struck the injury directly, and he began to scream incessantly.
The more discerning mbers of the Law Enforcent Team could tell at a glance that many of the Yu Family’s elite disciples were in the crowd. Nearly half of the Shuijing Yu Family’s combat power was here.
They looked at Iron Head and the other three, sowhat dumbfounded. ’These four look like re children, so how can their Magical Power be so profound?’
Before long, a Cultivator in brocade robes ca flying hurriedly over on a Spiritual Artifact. He was nad Peng nglin and had the appearance of a young man. He was a direct descendant of the Liao Kingdom’s Royal Family. Though not yet eighty years old, he already possessed a Fifth Layer Foundation Establishnt Cultivation. The Liao Kingdom’s Royal Family regarded him as a Golden Core Seed.
In a weak, frontier nation like the Liao Kingdom, anyone who showed a chance of reaching the Golden Core realm would be treated as a Golden Core Seed and hold an extraordinary status within their clan.
By this point, the area inside and outside the Marketplace’s main gate was packed with spectating Independent Cultivators. Watching a great figure from the past fall and beco a prisoner was their favorite kind of entertainnt.
Peng nglin was filled with displeasure. ’Even if Yu Gongshi committed a great cri, he is still the ancestor of a Foundation Establishnt Clan. He should be afforded a shred of dignity. How can he be humiliated like this—spine broken, put on display like a monkey for everyone to gawk at?’
Furthermore, the Yu Family was under the jurisdiction of his Longwu Marketplace. With a case this big, his position as steward would likely be jeopardized.
Peng nglin’s ability to advance to the Fifth Layer Foundation Establishnt at such a young age was a testant to his outstanding aptitude, but the nurous "tributes" from the Foundation Establishnt Clans under his jurisdiction as the Longwu Marketplace’s Steward were just as important.
There were plenty of his own kinsn within the Royal Family eyeing his position.
Subconsciously, Peng nglin wanted to turn this major incident into a minor one, and the minor one into nothing at all. At the very least, he had to suppress the matter and handle it internally within the Marketplace, preventing word from spreading.
"Judge Yang," he began, "you claim the Shuijing Yu Family has been selling people, but do you have any proof? Besides, having so many mbers of the Yu Family crowded here in disarray creates a terrible scene. Why don’t we first detain them in the Law Enforcent Team’s dungeons? We can interrogate them thoroughly, and once we’ve established concrete proof, we can then request the Demon Suppression Army to co and carry out the formal punishnt."
Iron Head was getting dizzy from all the talk and subconsciously looked to his junior brother.
Yinjiao understood perfectly. ’If we really let this steward take over these Yu Family mbers, we’ll probably never be able to extract any useful evidence. Instead, it will just give the Yu Family enough ti to cover their tracks, destroy evidence, and extricate themselves from the situation.’
"Apologies, but we are acting on our master’s orders. Until our master arrives, no one is to touch these criminals."
He bluntly rejected Peng nglin’s request and showed no intention of producing the Jade Scroll that served as evidence. He didn’t even ntion the Wei Family.
The mont he saw Peng nglin, Yinjiao knew this steward was completely unreliable. Even if he were forced to mobilize the Law Enforcent Team with irrefutable evidence, he would only sabotage their efforts in secret.
Peng nglin spread his hands.
"The Shuijing Yu Family was granted an Iron Certificate by the Six Sects to establish their lineage here in my Liao Kingdom. If you move against them and assault their clan lands without ironclad proof, I’m afraid that would violate the rules set down by the Six Sects. What’s more, it would make every other family in the Liao Kingdom feel insecure, shaking the very foundations of the nation. Wouldn’t that just give the Four Demon Sects the very opportunity they’re looking for?"
He spoke eloquently, his words flowing like a river.
Yinjiao simply hugged his sword, closed his eyes, and turned a deaf ear. As a mber of the Royal Family and a steward of many years, Peng nglin was a master of prevarication and evasion. They were no match for him in a war of words, so it was best to simply ignore him.
This ti, they had already captured the Yu Family’s ancestor, exceeding their master’s orders. All they had to do was guard the prisoners until their master arrived; he would take care of everything else.
Iron Head followed his lead, taking the Big Spear out of his Storage Bag once more and leaning on it as he stood guard over the Yu Family mbers.
Seeing this, Peng nglin’s face twitched violently.
"Judge Yang, this is the main gate to my Longwu Marketplace. By blocking it like this, you are impeding foot traffic. You had best move sowhere else," he said in a cold voice.
With Demon Cultivators currently running rampant, hardly anyone was entering or leaving the Marketplace. His words were a clear sign that he was preparing to use other ans against Iron Head and his companions.
Yinjiao opened his eyes and looked directly at Peng nglin.
"Steward Peng, do you really insist on doing this? This was originally just a matter of dereliction of duty. Are you determined to make it a confird case of collusion with the Four Demon Sects?"
Peng nglin flew into a rage, but mixed within his fury was a trace of fear and apprehension.
He was enraged that these Qi Cultivation disciples from a Major Sect showed him no respect whatsoever, and terrified that they had pinpointed his deepest fear.
Yinjiao saw straight through his fierce-on-the-outside, timid-on-the-inside facade and went back to resting with his eyes closed.
Peng nglin’s face flushed beet-red. He was quite handso and normally fancied himself a noble, wealthy young master. He never imagined that today, in both looks and bearing, he would be completely outshone by a small child who appeared to be no older than nine.
Jealousy gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake.
Just as Peng nglin was about to spout more harsh words, THWACK! Sothing hit him on the head, and a foul, viscous fluid splattered onto his clothes.
He turned to look and saw it was a human head. The substance on his clothes was foul-slling, congealed blood. His face went white with fury!
"Who is it! Who dares to humiliate so!"
Just as Peng nglin was about to fly up to find the person who had thrown the head, the Marketplace’s Wenshu grabbed him desperately. He pointed at the head, trembling so hard he couldn’t form a complete sentence.
"Have you lost your mind?"
Peng nglin was about to slap the Wenshu to his senses when the head suddenly drew his gaze like a magnet, holding it fast.
He stared for a long ti before saying with so hesitation,
"This... this looks like the head of Xin Jingang from the Illusion Demon Sect."
Only then did the Wenshu nod emphatically. This Xin Jingang had also been a Demon Sect True Disciple active in the Liao Kingdom. He had once abducted and tortured seven local Female Cultivators to death; his victims included both Independent Cultivators and disciples from various clans.
Before his words had even faded, another head smashed down on Peng nglin.
"Chi Huawen of the Dark Spring Demon Sect!"
This Demon Cultivator had ambushed and killed the Foundation Establishnt Ancestor of the Shangbang Cai Family, draining all of his Essence Blood. He had even kept the ancestor barely alive to avoid detection by the Cai Family. Afterward, he flayed the man’s skin, wore it like a cloak, and used it to trick his way into the Shangbang Cai Family’s estate. If the Demon Suppression Army had not arrived in ti, the Shangbang Cai Family would have been annihilated.
The final head landed on Peng nglin, rendering him completely speechless.
Because it was the head of Yan Gao from the Profound Sun Demon Sect, the one whose evil reputation had been most prominent recently, the one who had even killed a Yu Hou of the Demon Suppression Army.
Peng nglin’s entire body began to tremble violently. He had already guessed who had thrown these heads.
Though the man was rumored to possess tyrannical Power of Magical Combat, Peng nglin had never imagined he could be this powerful.
Even the spectating Cultivators burst into an uproar. They never expected that the Great Demon Cultivators—whose very nas made others turn pale—had died so unceremoniously.
Peng nglin’s waist buckled, and he suddenly fell to his knees, kowtowing forcefully on the ground.
"Demon Patrol Envoy! My Lord Demon Patrol Envoy! I was just possessed, montarily confused! I absolutely did not collude with the Four Demon Sects!"
He could feel countless mocking and derisive gazes upon him, filling him with sha and rage, but he did not slow the pace of his kowtows in the slightest.
Yang Jing slowly materialized in mid-air. He looked down coldly at Peng nglin’s pathetic state and let out a cold snort.
"Arrogant before, obsequious now. The thought is laughable."
He glanced at the apprehensive mbers of the Law Enforcent Team.
"The Steward of Longwu Marketplace has deliberately obstructed a Demon Patrol Envoy in the act of Subduing Demons. He is under heavy suspicion of colluding with the Four Demon Sects. Are you not going to apprehend him?"
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