Divine Emperor Demon Emperor

Noticing Elder Puzhu’s gaze on him, Lin Yun smiled faintly. "Is something wrong, Elder Puzhu?"

"Haha, it’s nothing," Puzhu replied with a smile. "I was just wondering what you’ve been through. A person’s cultivation speed is determined by their innate talent, but their character must be forged through hardship."

"Forged through hardship? Perhaps," Lin Yun murmured, his gaze drifting to the distant horizon as he heard Puzhu’s words.

While Lin Yun and Puzhu were talking, the four disciples who had just left Lin Yun were taken directly to Chang Jing’s residence by his men.

Seeing Chang Jing’s grim expression, the four of them dropped to their knees with a THUD the moment they entered the main hall. They began explaining frantically, "Senior Brother Chang Jing, you have to believe us! We didn’t say anything to Lin Yun, and we never thought of betraying you, Senior Brother Chang Jing."

Listening to their tearful pleas, Chang Jing said coolly, "Why are you all panicking? Have I said anything? Your panic... could it be you have a guilty conscience?"

Hearing this, the four men’s hearts sank. Chang Jing was indeed suspicious of them.

Looking at the four men kneeling on the floor, Chang Jing said flatly, "Alright, you can go back. Remember, if anything happens in the future, you are to report to me first."

Chang Jing showed no emotion on the surface. The four left Chang Jing’s residence, terrified the entire way. The calmer Chang Jing acted, the more they believed he wanted to kill them to silence them.

"What should we do?" Back in one of their courtyards, the four gathered to discuss.

"Senior Brother Chang Jing is definitely suspicious now, and our masters aren’t in the palace. I think we should lie low for a while. Let’s wait for our masters to return before deciding anything," one of them said.

Hearing this, the other three immediately grew tense. "You mean... run?"

"Yes. This matter is too important to Senior Brother Chang Jing—he’s staked his own cultivation on it. He’s going to be extremely cautious. He’d rather kill an innocent person than let a potential threat go. He already suspects us. If we stay, our chances of survival are next to none," the man explained.

The other three fell into deep thought at his words.

If they really ran now, Chang Jing would definitely assume they had betrayed him. But if they didn’t run, what if Chang Jing really decided to kill them? And right now, their masters weren’t in the palace.

Although killing a fellow disciple would result in severe punishment from the Punishment Hall, given Chang Jing’s methods, the four had no doubt he could eliminate them without anyone ever knowing.

They were torn. To run would be to admit their guilt. Not to run meant risking being secretly murdered by Chang Jing.

After agonizing over it for a long time, the four finally steeled their resolve. No matter what, their lives were the most important thing. Staying alive was all that mattered.

"Alright, we’ll listen to you, Senior Brother," one of them said.

With the first man’s agreement, the four quickly decided to leave Flawless Palace for now and wait for their masters’ return before making any other plans.

They agreed to leave that night and returned to their respective courtyards to pack.

On the surface, Lin Yun and Chang Jing’s death match didn’t seem to have changed anything in Flawless Palace. But underneath, the entire palace was now seething with undercurrents.

The Outer Sect and Inner Sect Disciples might not have sensed anything, but the Direct Disciples could clearly feel it. The atmosphere in the Direct Disciple and Core Disciple Areas was extremely tense that day.

「Night slowly fell.」

The Flawless Palace grew much quieter. Many disciples had returned to their residences—those who needed to cultivate did so, and those who needed to rest, rested.

「By midnight.」

The Direct Disciple Area was deserted. The four men gathered in one of their courtyards. Deep in the night, they didn’t even dare to light a lamp.

"I’ve already scouted the area. No one’s around. Let’s go, quickly," one of them said to the other three.

The three nodded in agreement. However, just as the four were about to flee under the cover of darkness, dozens of shadowy figures suddenly appeared from all around the courtyard, instantly surrounding them.

"I was originally going to give you a chance, but I see you truly do have a guilty conscience. In that case, you have no one to blame but me." With the four men surrounded, Chang Jing’s voice suddenly rang out. As he spoke, he walked in from the courtyard gate with a cold sneer on his face.

The moment they saw Chang Jing, all four of them collapsed to the ground. Having been caught by him, it was easy to imagine that they had no chance of survival. Especially at such a critical time, Chang Jing would show no mercy.

"Senior Brother Chang Jing, I know you won’t believe anything we say now, but the four of us have followed you for so many years. We can swear to the heavens that we have never betrayed you, Senior Brother Chang Jing," the leader of the four said.

Hearing this, the other three also spoke up.

"Senior Brother Chang Jing, we have always been completely loyal to you! If we weren’t afraid you’d suspect us, we would never have resorted to such a desperate measure."

"Senior Brother Chang Jing, we’ve followed you for so many years. Even if we haven’t made great contributions, we’ve certainly worked hard. We hope you’ll consider our many years of toil and trust us just this once."

Listening to their pleas, Chang Jing’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. This was the most critical time for him; he couldn’t afford a single mistake. Therefore, even without proof that these four had betrayed him, Chang Jing would not let them live. Better to kill the innocent than let a potential threat escape.

"Whether you’ve betrayed me or not, this is my most critical moment. Since you all claim to be so loyal to me, then do one last thing for me," Chang Jing said coolly.

Hearing this, the four despaired. It wasn’t hard to tell from Chang Jing’s tone that he had no intention of letting them go today.

"Hahahaha..." With no hope of survival, the leader of the four suddenly burst into laughter.

"Senior Brother Chang Jing, Lin Yun used us, and we have no complaints. You suspected us, and we have no complaints about that either. But what I never expected was that after following you for so many years, we four brothers would end up being used by you as well. Hahahahaha..."

His laughter was filled with bitterness. When it died down, he looked at Chang Jing, his eyes devoid of any light, like a pile of dead embers.

"Senior Brother Chang Jing, you plan to use our four corpses to frame Lin Yun again, don’t you? I’m guessing our bodies will turn up in Lin Yun’s courtyard tomorrow."

Hearing the man’s words, which were filled with utter despair, Chang Jing didn’t deny it. He replied coolly, "Since ancient times, history has been written by the victors. Since you claim to be loyal to me, then use your corpses to prove it."

It had to be said that Chang Jing was truly cruel and merciless. He could abandon his own men without a second thought. Even in death, they couldn’t escape the fate of being manipulated by him.

In Chang Jing’s heart, it seemed that as long as he could achieve his goal, anyone was expendable.

(Chapter 19. Please add to your library, vote with a Monthly Pass, recommend, and reward!)