In the center of the gathered Judges lay a half-destroyed black leather scroll. Its edges bore reddish scorch marks, still glinting with embers.
A Judge reported, "There was a Believer here, probably in the process of destroying this, but the Chief Judge sealed the area midway, leaving half of it behind."
Wu Yang was quick to react, snatching the item up before Su Chen could bend down. It was covered in a mysterious, tadpole-like script. The two of them leaned in for a look, but it made their heads spin; they couldn’t recognize a single character.
"This kind of Curse requires a translator... Let’s hand it over to the Judicial Court when we get back." Wu Yang cleared his throat.
Su Chen, however, said, "This might contain crucial information. If we don’t figure it out, the credit we get for this operation could be significantly diminished."
"I can try to translate it..." a voice ca from behind. It was Zhang Yunqing. She said, "I’ve studied Curse Literature."
"I’m not a Black Tuo Follower, so a simple translation shouldn’t be a problem."
Wu Yang hesitated for a mont, but eting the gazes of the other Judges, he had no choice but to hand it over. "Be careful."
No one wanted their hard-earned credit to be diminished.
Zhang Yunqing took the scroll. The upper half was almost completely burned away, leaving only the bottom part.
"This is Dragon-Lizard Demon Hide..." She rubbed it between her fingers. "Even among materials used to record Curses, this is considered High Tier..."
She moved to the side, took out a piece of paper, and began translating, one Curse character at a ti.
This clearly wasn’t sothing that could be finished quickly. Su Chen and Wu Yang went out to patrol the area again.
There wasn’t much left behind. Anything that could be destroyed had been, aside from so materials for performing Black Tuo’s Deceitful Skill, which were nauseating just to look at.
All items that needed to be sealed were sealed. The many Judges conducted another thorough search inside and out, even prying open cracks in the walls. Only after confirming nothing was missed did they prepare to hand the scene over to the Inspector Guard waiting outside.
"I’ve finished the translation..." Zhang Yunqing, her expression grave, hurried over to Wu Yang and Su Chen with a piece of paper in hand.
After a brief hesitation, she handed it to Su Chen first, rubbing her brow. "Su Chen was right. The information in here is astounding..."
"...My Lord in the rift..."
The first thing he saw was a line from a chant. Su Chen scanned it, and just as he was about to commit it to mory, a panel suddenly popped up.
[The Black Tuo Priest (Believer Disguise) has obtained fragnted knowledge belonging to Black Tuo and awakened a new ability.]
[Chant -- Divine Blood Manipulation: Through a complex and devout chant, you can control the Divine Blood belonging to Black Tuo.]
’It was actually absorbed as an ability?’ Su Chen was quite astonished. The translation in his hand was taken by a pensive Wu Yang.
’Or perhaps, this was an ability belonging to the Black Tuo Priests all along, but since I’m in disguise and haven’t had a chance to make contact with Black Tuo, I never obtained it.’
’I wonder how it’s controlled. That egg was able to corrode Wei Yinsuo, so the power of the Divine Blood within it must be impressive.’
As he speculated to himself, Zhang Yunqing continued.
"...Based on an analysis of the chant, this is likely used to control the Black Tuo Divine Blood..."
"Control Divine Blood?" Standing beside Su Chen, Wu Yang’s face filled with horror. Enough had already happened today, but those three words nearly made him lose control.
"Divine Blood... Does this an there’s still Black Tuo Divine Blood in Yingfeng City?"
"Sothing terrible is going to happen, sothing terrible..." Wu Yang’s expression was grim and unsettled.
Zhang Yunqing added, "What’s more troubleso is that the top half was destroyed. We don’t know what was recorded on it, but for it to be recorded alongside information about the Divine Blood, it must have been incredibly important."
"Fortunately, ordinary Believers need to use the Curse to control the Divine Blood, and the Black Tuo Priest here has been contained by the Chief Judge. Nothing major should happen in the short term."
Wu Yang finally snapped out of it and said in a low voice, "Su Chen, this has to be reported imdiately."
"Right." Su Chen nodded grimly. "Submit the translation and the Curse Scroll at the sa ti."
With the discovery of the Divine Blood, Wu Yang had the Judges search the entire place inside and out one more ti. He even halted the handover process, not allowing the Inspector Guard to get involved any further.
"Su Chen, I’m looking for Su Chen..."
Just as they finished packing everything up, soone burst into the hall. He wore the Heavy Armor of a Judge, and his voice was rushed and anxious.
The mont he entered, he locked onto Su Chen and rushed forward.
"Senior Brother?" Su Chen looked over in surprise. The newcor was Bu Siqi, but his face held an unprecedented level of anxiety. The words that ca out of his mouth were a bombshell:
"Teng Liang... he killed ng Qi!"
Wu Yang and the others standing near Su Chen were completely floored by this news. They froze on the spot, staring blankly at Bu Siqi.
What had they just heard?
’Teng Liang, a student of Chief Judge Xia and one of the honorary heads of the Punishnt Departnt, killed ng Qi, the rising star who just beca a Core Seed?’
’It can’t be true, right?’
’ng Qi was killed?’
Su Chen was shocked. A mont later, he couldn’t help but reflect on this senior of his. ’Truly swift and decisive.’
"What happened? Why would the Director kill ng Qi?" Wu Yang, a loyal subordinate of Teng Liang, was the first to ask, his tone frantic.
"This isn’t the ti to talk about that. Su Chen, co with , quickly..." Bu Siqi grabbed Su Chen and turned to leave.
"Senior Brother, Senior Brother..." Su Chen called out repeatedly, but Bu Siqi, his face dark, ignored him and kept pulling until his hand suddenly grasped at empty air.
He turned around, stunned, only to find that Su Chen had sohow broken free of his grip.
The others nearby were still in shock and didn’t notice Su Chen’s brief, stuttering flash.
’Instantly entering the space between dinsions and then reappearing... that’s a good way to dodge attacks and traps,’ Su Chen thought. His gaze on Bu Siqi was serious, his voice cold. "Senior Brother, calm down!"
"You can’t help anyone when you’re in such a panic."
His tone was stern. Bu Siqi looked dazed, but for so reason, the anxiety in his heart actually subsided a little.
"Now," Su Chen said, "you need to tell exactly what happened!"
As if he had found a strong pillar to lean on, Bu Siqi took a deep breath. He was about to speak, but then he glanced at the pairs of eyes all around them and pulled Su Chen toward the second floor.
After finding an empty room, he finally began his account. "It’s like this..."
"...That’s it?" Su Chen was speechless after hearing the whole story.
’I thought Teng Liang must have discovered so clue to act so decisively, but it turns out it was just a pure display of violent aesthetics.’
’I never expected my little hint would make Teng Liang target ng Qi so relentlessly.’
’Of course, the most crucial factor was Old Xia. His words before he left were what made Teng Liang take my suggestion so seriously.’
"...What’s the situation now?" Su Chen asked.
Hearing Su Chen’s question, Bu Siqi, much calr now, said in a low voice, "All the Judges present saw it. There’s no way to cover it up."
"The body has been taken back to the Judicial Court, and the Chief has initiated an ’Internal Review.’ Those people who are at odds with our Teacher will definitely do everything they can to add fuel to the fire."
"If we can’t prove there was sothing wrong with ng Qi, Old Teng is finished."
’This was no small matter. Besides, Xia Hanshi’s faction had made plenty of enemies over the years.’
Su Chen pondered for a mont, then said, "Senior Brother, you go back first. Do everything you can to contact our Teacher."
"The Teacher isn’t here in person; just passing on a ssage won’t be much use." Bu Siqi understood his aning and said helplessly, "Old Teng was too ruthless. There’s no room for de-escalation. Even if the Teacher were here himself, he couldn’t protect him by sheer force if we can’t prove ng Qi was a problem."
"Just listen to . Go contact him, and tell the Teacher..." Su Chen instructed in a low voice.
Bu Siqi frowned slightly, but looking at the solemn Su Chen, he could only trust him. "Alright, I’ll go contact him now."
Su Chen said, "I’ll head back to the Judicial Court as soon as I wrap things up here."
Bu Siqi couldn’t help but say, "What’s there to wrap up? Co back with ! As a Core Seed, your words will carry so weight."
Su Chen patiently explained, "We discovered a Black Tuo Priest here, along with another major incident. This is a huge contribution. I have to handle it properly and present it, then use that opportunity to express my opinion. Otherwise, what am I going to do, just go up there and talk empty words?"
"A Black Tuo Priest?" Bu Siqi was startled, not expecting sothing so major to have happened here as well.
Su Chen had a point, so Bu Siqi didn’t say any more and prepared to leave in a hurry.
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