Chapter 12: The Zhou Emperor’s Visit
“Excuse me, is Zhang Li here?”
This was already the third person to ask this question today. Yuan Wuxing was seriously considering putting up a sign outside that read, “Zhang Li is not here.”
“Yes. Are you also here to persuade Elder Zhang to withdraw the petition?”
The visitor was draped in a cloak, their face hidden. Upon hearing Yuan Wuxing’s words, a sharp glint flashed in their eyes.
“So, many people have already come looking for Zhang Li? I thought Great Zhou was an open and just nation, free from such filth and corruption.”
“Yeah, you’re the twenty-first or twenty-second person—I’ve lost count. Take my advice and give up.”
“You must be the owner of this house, Yuan Wuxing. You’re mistaken. I’m a friend of Zhang Li. When I heard he had come to Great Zhou, I came specifically to catch up with him.”
Just as Yuan Wuxing was about to respond, Jiang Li called out from inside the room, “Wuxing, let him in. He really is an old friend of mine.”
Since Jiang Li had spoken, Yuan Wuxing politely invited the cloaked figure inside.
“If I hadn’t recognized your handwriting on the petition, I wouldn’t have even known you had arrived in Great Zhou. Why didn’t you let me know? I would have welcomed you properly.”
“I originally planned to take care of some personal matters and leave, but who knew it would drag in so many people?”
The visitor pulled back their cloak, revealing a handsome face with well-defined features. But the most striking detail was the double pupils in his eyes.
“Y-Your Majesty?!”
Yuan Wuxing gasped, his mind going completely blank.
“You haven’t told him who you are yet, Jiang Li?” Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi glanced at Yuan Wuxing with an amused expression.
“Well, what choice did I have? The moment we met, he started badmouthing me. How else was I supposed to get the truth out of him?” Jiang Li shrugged helplessly. His features shifted slightly as he returned to his original appearance.
“You… no, wait—you’re the Human Sovereign?!”
The moment Jiang Li returned to his true form, Yuan Wuxing’s mind went completely blank. When he finally regained his senses, his face turned beet red.
He had just been confidently telling Jiang Li about how the Human Sovereign secretly supported child trafficking, protected his cousin’s demonic cultivation, and might even be practicing demonic cultivation himself.
Yuan Wuxing wanted nothing more than to dig a hole and crawl inside.
Zhou Emperor Ji Zhi smirked. “If Old Bai knew you were a Dao Sect Envoy, he’d be so excited he wouldn’t sleep for a year.”
“Temporary identity, temporary identity,” Jiang Li quickly clarified, feeling uncomfortable under Ji Zhi’s gaze. He swiftly changed the subject, pulling out a Recording Sphere.
Ji Zhi infused a trace of spiritual power, and the Recording Sphere began playing its contents.
Clan Leader Jiang and Former City Lord Zeng scheming to destroy evidence.
Clan Leader Jiang and Former City Lord Zeng meeting Prefect Gong to plot.
Prefect Gong contacting former Qing City Lords to leverage their connections and reach the Third Prince.
These men thought they had been discreet.
What they didn’t realize was that, the entire time, a cold, detached gaze had been watching them—faithfully recording every action with the Recording Sphere.
“Phew—” Ji Zhi let out a deep breath. “Jiang Li, I appreciate your efforts. With this evidence, we can take down the entire Qing City Faction. Its deep entanglements are a result of my own failure in selecting officials.”
“Jiang Yixing made up a blatant lie about me encouraging his Demonic Cultivation, and everyone just believed it without question. They even concocted their own theories—saying that my refusal to return home was just an act, that I was secretly practicing Demonic Cultivation, that I was actually the greatest demonic cultivator of all, and that my Power of Faith was essential to me.”
“Yet not a single person thought to consider that Jiang Yixing was lying. Not one person believed that I actually never went home.”
Jiang Li sighed. “We dedicate our lives to making the world peaceful and just, yet there are always people convinced it’s shrouded in darkness and corruption. But I do bear some responsibility in this. As someone standing at the pinnacle of power, I focused too much on my own cultivation and ignored the possibility that people might be exploiting my name for personal gain—even if that person was a relative I hadn’t seen in five hundred years.”
Ji Zhi sighed as well. “It’s the same in Great Zhou. Our National Fortune is tied to our legal system—the more just the law, the stronger our nation. Yet some people still believe that with the right connections, they can manipulate justice and escape punishment. Others even refuse to prosecute people from foreign dynasties, thinking it’s a matter of diplomacy rather than law enforcement. They pat themselves on the back, thinking they’re being thoughtful and patriotic. It’s exhausting to be an emperor.”
Jiang Li and Ji Zhi exchanged glances and sighed in unison.
“People ignore the truth right in front of them and would rather make up their own stories!”
Yuan Wuxing’s eye twitched as he watched these two supreme figures lament their struggles. Somehow, their mighty images were collapsing in his mind.
After all, he had been one of the people making up stories too.
“But in a way, it’s understandable. You’re the Human Sovereign—who dares to question you? Yuan Wuxing, is it? Having someone like you, who seeks justice, is truly a blessing for Great Zhou!” Ji Zhi clapped Yuan Wuxing’s shoulder firmly as a sign of encouragement.
Yuan Wuxing immediately stood up straight and shouted, “Yes, Your Majesty!”
Qing City Outskirts – Near the Spatial Node
A massive crowd had gathered. The citizens of Qing City had come to witness the Time Reversal firsthand—a spell involving the Dao of Time, a phenomenon so rare that cases requesting Time Reversal happened maybe once in ten years.
Many parents whose children had gone missing had even traveled from other cities, desperate to see whether Jiang Yixing had truly stolen their children.
The Third Prince and Fourth Prince stood in mid-air, their eyes half-closed, arms folded across their chests. Their imperial yellow robes fluttered in the wind.
Standing together, Clan Leader Jiang and Former City Lord Zeng showed no sign of concern—in fact, they almost seemed amused.
With both princes agreeing to suppress the truth, how could Jiang Li and Yuan Wuxing possibly overturn the verdict?
Unless the Zhou Emperor personally arrived or the Human Sovereign himself questioned the results, there was no chance of the case being reversed.
Even if the leaders of other dynasties or the Sect Masters of major sects came, it would be meaningless!
But the Zhou Emperor and the Human Sovereign coming here?
What a ridiculous joke.
They glanced toward Jiang Li and Yuan Wuxing, noticing a mysterious figure in a black hooded cloak standing beside them—suspicious, sneaky, clearly not a good person.
“The time has come. Begin the Time Reversal.”
The Third Prince and Fourth Prince opened their eyes and surveyed the scene.
Countless eyes turned toward them as they began forming intricate hand seals at an astonishing speed, leaving behind afterimages in the air.
As their voices murmured an ancient incantation, the crowd felt a strange sense of displacement, as if time itself was shifting.