Chapter 2076 - Start Your Performance

When the sun rose the following morning, a sea of people had already gathered outside the city lord’s estate. Practically every expert who’d arrived in the City of the Beginning over the past three days was here.

Of them, the experts of the God Domain’s top factions and strange lifeforms from the River of Epoch’s forbidden zones drew the most attention.

“Look at that! That’s one of the three great divine artifacts of the City of the Beginning, the Drum of Injustice. It’s incomparably wondrous, but its mallet has gone missing, so it’s been left to gather dust. It’s no longer of much use,” someone said softly.

Numerous people had already noticed the enormous divine drum standing to the side of the gates. It was black, and its drum skin was covered in strange, intricate divine markings that shone with mysterious light beneath the radiance of heaven.

This was the Drum of Injustice!

Meanwhile, within the City Lord’s estate, Chief Libationer and City Lord Fa Tianming sat upright in the seat of honor, his face completely expressionless. No one could tell what he was thinking.

Second LIbationer Qin Wenxiao stood beside him, laughing and chatting as if the Chief Libationer weren’t even there.

Third Libationer Lie Xingqu sat alone in a corner, his expression dark. It would have been obvious to anyone that he had a lot on his mind!

“Ol’ Lie, you’d best not forget what we talked about last night,” Win Qenxiao suddenly walked up to Lie Xingqu and said with a smile.

Lie Xingqu’s only response to this was more silence.

The crowd was increasingly curious.

Just what did Qin Wenxiao and Lie Xingqu discuss last night? What could have made the Third Libationer sit obediently in a corner like this?

Fa Tianming frowned; he could sense that something wasn’t right. But then, he smiled. “What did you two discuss last night? Might you share it with the rest of us?”

“Idle conversation, that’s all,” Qin Wenxiao said calmly. “You needn’t concern yourself, Chief Libationer.”

He spoke flippantly, and he gave the Chief Libationer no face at all!

Fa Tianming’s brow furrowed with a nigh imperceptible hint of fury.

A moment later, he laughed. “Very well. I won’t inquire about your business any further, but as unpleasant as it might be, I must warn you that no matter what happens here today, we must act in accordance with the rules!”

This was a warning to both Qin Wenxiao and Lie Xingqu!

But Qin Wenxiao just said solemnly, “You’re absolutely right, Chief Libationer. No matter what happens, we must act in accordance with the rules. No one, no matter who they are, can trample the rules of the City of the Beginning. If they try, I, Qin Wenxiao, will be the first in line to object!”

He was the picture of righteousness!

Fa Tianming laughed coldly to himself, but outwardly, he plastered a gratified smile on his face. “That’s for the best!”

From beginning to end, Lie Xingqu just sat there, saying nothing at all. He was as silent as could be.

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the city lord’s residence, and someone called out, “Su Yi is here!”

......

The bustling crowd outside the city lord’s manor parted.

A young man in blue and a woman in plain, undyed clothing appeared at the far end of the newly opened path.

The woman was entirely ordinary-looking, but when many of the gods and creatures of the forbidden zones saw her, they couldn’t help but be solemn. They couldn’t disguise their dread.

You could change your appearance, but that didn’t change who you really were. By now, everyone had guessed that the seemingly ordinary woman accompanying Su Yi was really Luo Xuanji of the City of the Lost!

But although they viewed her with some measure of awe, the gods weren’t truly afraid. After all, they knew that Luo Xuanji had been badly injured prior to entering the Path of the Ancient Gods. Furthermore, this was not the City of the Lost; not even the ruler of a forbidden zone would dare to act recklessly here!

Only one person here drew more attention than Luo Xuanji: Su Yi!

A Great Realm cultivator rallied his courage and asked, “Senior Su, have you really come here to cause a commotion today?”

Many of the others instantly pricked up their ears.

“When did I ever say something like that? I’m just here to get justice,” Su Yi said with a light, airy smile.

He said he was here to get justice, but who couldn’t read between the lines?

There was no doubt about it. Last night’s news was true. Su Yi had come here to settle the score with Second Libationer Qin Wenxiao!

“Senior Su, all of us know that you were the one who used the Epoch Spark to open the Path of the Ancient Gods. It’s thanks to you that we were fortunate enough to receive this opportunity to undergo trials here,” said that same Great Realm cultivator frantically. “Forgive this junior’s boldness, but I hope you won’t be reckless. Please, don’t come into conflict with those powerful experts. If anything unexpected happens, there’ll be no fixing it!”

Many of the others chimed in their agreement.

Practically all of them were beneath the divine level, and they had no grudge against Su Yi. They were simply grateful to him, and they couldn’t bear the thought of him causing a disaster or making a huge mistake. Thus, they boldly tried to dissuade him.

Su Yi hadn’t anticipated this at all, but a moment later, he smiled, clasped his fist, and continued toward the city lord’s manor without a word.

The crowd knew who was right and who was wrong.

Before long, they watched as Su Yi and Luo Xuanji walked right into the city lord’s estate, in full view of the three libationers and a group of Upper Gods.

The conversation within the grand hall came to an abrupt halt. All eyes were instantly on Su Yi.

Suddenly, an armored, powerfully built guard stepped forth, pointed at Su Yi, and bellowed, “Su Yi, do you know what you’ve done?”

His voice boomed like thunder, resounding throughout the hall. The sound spread outside, too, making the crowd’s ears buzz.

“They're attacking Su Yi already?” Many of the onlookers looked stricken. They hadn’t anticipated that Su Yi would be interrogated immediately upon arrival!

Some of the crowd recognized the powerfully built guard’s voice. This was Di Bao, the leader of the city’s guards, and the mightiest warrior serving beneath the Second Libationer!

Su Yi ignored him completely. He didn’t spare Di Bao so much as a single glance.

Instead, he swept his gaze across the hall and said, “Come on, then. Begin your performance. I hope you won’t disappoint me.”

“???” The crowd didn’t know what to make of this.

Chief Libationer Fa Tianming frowned but said nothing.

The Greater Gods laughed coldly.

Di Bao and the other guards seethed with murderous intent.

Third Libationer Lie Xingqu looked uncertain.

Second Libationer Qin Wenxiao, however, said coldly, “Su Yi, do you plan to die unrepentant? Someone, bring Zhou Bing!”

Two guards instantly stepped into the hall carrying a corpse. Its eyes were wide with terror.

It belonged to Zhou Bing!

The entire hall was in uproar, and a clamor of voices arose outside.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“Zhou Bing is dead?”

“Don’t tell me that Su Yi killed him?”

“I’m sure of it. Don’t forget that Su Yi arrived in the City of the Beginning just yesterday, and that Zhou Bing and Lie Leng instantly took action against him. They tried to escort him to the city lord’s manor, but Su Yi refused!”

“That’s not all! Everyone there heard Zhou Bing say in no uncertain terms that he would punish Su Yi severely in accordance with the rules!”

“Now, just one night later, he’s dead! Who could possibly believe that Su Yi wasn’t involved?”

“No wonder the Second Libationer brought so many people with him. They’re likely already certain that Su Yi is the killer, and they’ve come to hold him accountable!”

...Similar discussions rose up, one after another.

Meanwhile, within the hall, the atmosphere was stifled and tense.

Many of the gods glared at Su Yi, their expressions not the least bit friendly.

Su Yi glanced at Zhou Bing’s corpse. He couldn’t help but laugh dryly. “Blatantly fabricated charges? I can’t believe you’d try such a paltry little trick in public. It’s almost insulting.”

He really hadn’t anticipated that someone like Second Libationer Qin Wenxiao would resort to such second-rate schemes. The Second Libationer had killed his own subordinate just to frame him!

“‘Fabricated charges?’” Qin Wenxiao said coldly. “I’m the Second Libationer of the City of the Beginning. What need do I have to frame an outsider like you? Su Yi, yesterday, everyone saw you and Zhou Bing come into conflict. Now, he’s dead. How could you possibly be uninvolved?

“Do you have any proof?” said Luo Xuanji.

“Countless people witnessed your argument yesterday,” Qin Wenxiao said expressionlessly. “Isn’t that proof enough? And how could Su Yi possibly have left proof when he killed Zhou Bing?”

Another round of discussion ensued, but Su Yi just laughed.

When there was no evidence, the most suspicious person was presumed the most likely culprit. This was an instinctual reaction.

Such tricks were commonplace, but they were hard to argue against.

Fortunately, Su Yi hadn’t come here to waste time arguing, nor had he even considered trying to prove his innocence.

Instead, he said directly, “So a city guard died, and you just assumed I’m the culprit?”

“Of course not,” said Qin Wenxiao. “I know you aren’t convinced, but you are the most likely suspect, so we’ll have to arrest you until we’ve uncovered further proof. If it turns out that you’re really the killer, we’ll naturally punish you severely. If you aren’t the killer, you’ll be declared innocent and free to leave.”

It might have seemed like he was taking a step back, but in truth, he was advancing by retreating. His real goal was to take Su Yi into custody!

Furthermore, it was hard to find fault in his words, but everyone knew that things wouldn’t end well for Su Yi after he was taken into custody!

After all, anyone at all perceptive could tell that the Second Libationer had it in for Su Yi. Would he

really

look for proof? Only an idiot would have believed that!

But no one argued. The Chief Libationer watched coldly from the sidelines, while the Greater Gods watched on gleefully, their expressions full of feigned pity.

What confused Su Yi and Luo Xuanji was that Lie Xingqu had remained completely silent this entire time. Still, Su Yi had never counted on Lie Xingqu’s aid, and he wasn’t all that disappointed.

Meanwhile, outside the city lord’s manor, numerous onlookers broke out in cold sweats on Su Yi’s behalf.

These were all people who’d made it to the Path of the Ancient Gods. Even a fool would have realized that the Second Libationer was targeting Su Yi, and that the accusations wouldn’t hold up to any real scrutiny, and none of these people were fools.

But at least for now, there was no way of arguing against his methods! Su Yi was indeed the most likely suspect. Was there any reason they shouldn’t arrest him pending further investigation?

There wasn’t!

In a sense, Second Libationer Qin Wenxiao really was assiduously carrying out the rules. That was the most frustrating, stifling part.

Ultimately, this was the City of the Beginning, the three libationers’ territory, and it was up to them to decide how to enforce its rules.

If Su Yi resisted, that too would be breaking the rules, and he’d be punished severely! If he didn’t resist, he’d similarly find himself in grave peril!

But then, against all expectations, Su Yi sighed. “I thought you’d at least put on a perfunctory show of legality. I wouldn’t have thought you couldn’t even be bothered to do that much.”

They’d gathered in such numbers and put on such a grand show, only to frame him with such coarse, transparent methods. They obviously didn’t take him at all seriously. Otherwise, they could never have been so flippant!