“Enlighten Your Majesty, the full fifty strokes have been administered!”

In the square before the Ancestral Temple, the commander of the Spring Death Army, Cao Ji, personally oversaw the caning punishment, which had finally concluded.

For the recipient, it was a torment; for those who bore witness, how could it not be a heart-pounding ordeal?

At this moment, the two nobles kneeling on the ground were as pale as death. Their exposed upper bodies were crisscrossed with blue-purple whip marks, as ferocious as snake prints.

The caning punishment was graded every ten strokes, with fifty being the highest. In principle, this was the lightest form of punishment. However, if the executor intended otherwise, it was not difficult to beat a man to death.

Cao Ji extended his right hand, awaiting the eunuch standing by to take the punishment whip. Then, he turned and returned to his position on the high platform.

The Heavenly Emperor of Qi spoke, “Rise.”

Only then did Tian Xili and Liu Yingqi don their upper garments, swaying unsteadily as they stood.

The cultivation strengths of the two men were unequal, and Cao Ji, as the executor of the caning, had controlled the force precisely. The whips that struck their bodies were limited to the Divine Arrival and Outer Tower levels respectively.

Thus, both men were swaying as if on the verge of collapse.

The Heavenly Emperor spoke again, “If you cannot stand steady, you may withdraw to rest first.”

“This minister… stands steady!” Tian Xili cupped his hands and replied, “Thank Your Majesty for the decree!”

Liu Yingqi also said, “This minister… This minister also…”

*Thud.*

Before he could finish his sentence, he collapsed onto the ground.

Yet, the ground seemed to be covered in thorns, for as soon as he fell, he bounced back up, as if fueled by some hidden strength.

“This minister stands steady!” He gritted his teeth and declared.

Qing Yangzi had gone to fetch Liu Xiao, but had not yet returned.

The matter concerning the Tian and Liu families remained unresolved.

At such a moment, no one was willing to leave the scene. Staying here offered a chance to strive; to leave now was to surrender to fate!

The Heavenly Emperor spoke no more.

The assembled ministers remained silent.

A heavy silence fell over the square before the Ancestral Temple. All awaited the outcome.

Not long after, a eunuch with small steps approached the high platform where the common folk stood, quietly whispering a few words.

Presumably, it was a message permitting them to disperse and return home. Most of the commoners on the scene left. Some, however, remained.

The attending officials and nobles were not so fortunate; they were compelled to await the result here.

The sun gradually shifted, the process agonizingly slow.

Until…

That figure in green, carrying a sword and a person, slowly walked into the square.

A collective sigh of relief swept through the crowd. Whatever the outcome, at least there was one.

Those who were anxious first noticed Qing Yangzi, and then the person he carried – face down, long hair disheveled, hands bound by a broken rope, fingers intertwined.

Jiang Wang held him by the waist belt, so he had carried him all the way.

Some people couldn’t help but frown.

Regardless of his state, Liu Xiao was a Divine Arrival expert. Experts deserved dignity.

How could Jiang Wang bind and carry Liu Xiao in such a manner? Did he not understand his own standing? Did he truly believe himself to be the foremost Inner Treasury realm cultivator, capable of looking down upon Divine Arrival?

To carry the esteemed Divine Arrival cultivator Liu Xiao like this, like carrying a chicken, truly bred dissatisfaction.

Xuan Huai Earl Liu Yingqi felt an intense sense of vicarious shame.

He had received the caning with bared clothes today, and his Liu clan’s Divine Arrival expert was being carried to see the Emperor in such a state. The face of the Liu family was practically being trampled into the mud!

But as he looked at Jiang Wang, he found that he was not experiencing any anger.

It wasn’t that the matter was unworthy of anger, nor was it that today’s ascendant Jiang Wang made him dare not be angry. Rather, he suddenly realized that he truly could not bring himself to be angry.

The Liu clan was already like this…

The Liu clan was already like this!

Being stepped upon a few times was only to be expected.

He felt that he should, that he had resigned himself to fate.

Gao Chang Marquis Tian Xili’s gaze was completely different. His eyes did not fall upon Jiang Wang but remained fixed on Liu Xiao, his killing intent fierce, as if he longed to drink his blood and eat his flesh.

Jiang Wang paid no heed to the gazes of others.

He calmly stepped forward, walking across the vast square.

His sword remained sheathed.

Before entering the city, he had returned his sword to its sheath.

This was an attitude.

He could have carried his sword into the city, signifying his confrontation with Tian Anping.

If the Heavenly Emperor inquired, it wouldn’t be difficult to subtly undermine Tian Anping.

But first, did the Heavenly Emperor wish to see such a display?

Second, putting aside the events within the Hidden Star world, he had no enmity with the Tian clan.

That is, at the city gate, the confrontation had arisen due to his bearing the imperial decree. He had no reason to oppose Tian Anping.

He truly had no need, nor was he willing, to make enemies with a top-tier clan.

He walked to the center of the square, set down Liu Xiao, and supported him to stand steady. Liu Xiao remained standing dully.

At this, everyone noticed that Liu Xiao’s state was not right.

Where was Jiang Qing Yang intentionally humiliating him? The truth was, the current Liu Xiao was fundamentally incapable of acting on his own; he could only be carried!

The weak-breathed Liu Yingqi suddenly took a step forward, then abruptly stopped.

In the end, he did not dare to make an offensive move.

Jiang Wang then bowed and said, “Your Majesty, Jiang Wang is fortunate to have not disgraced his mission!”

“Qing Yangzi,” Jiang Ru Mo spoke and asked, “What is the matter with Liu Xiao?”

He, of course, could see Liu Xiao’s state. Thus, he was asking how Liu Xiao had become like this.

“I do not know either,” Jiang Wang replied. “When I rushed to Ji City, Liu Xiao was in this state, suspended at the city gate. I untied him and brought him directly back to Linzi, without delay on the road.”

The nobles and officials in the square were without exception shaken!

Liu Xiao had not bound himself; before Jiang Wang arrived, he had already been subdued! And it seemed his divine sense had been damaged!

“Then, what about Tian Anping?” Jiang Ru Mo asked.

Jiang Wang replied, “Completely unharmed.”

At this moment, Tian Xili’s eyes blazed with extreme joy, whether true emotion or an intentional disguise.

Meanwhile, Liu Yingqi immediately turned his head and bowed to the Heavenly Emperor, saying, “Your Majesty, the Tian clan has broken the agreement! Tian Anping dared to disobey the order and break through!”

His reaction could be said to be swift, but it was already too late.

From the beginning, Liu Xiao’s forceful rush to Ji City was a step in the wrong direction!

Liu Yingqi’s struggles today at the grand ceremony were a reflection of his struggles over the past nearly ten years. He had exhausted his unremarkable talents, pouring his heart into restoring the glory of the Liu clan. But the successive deaths of the Liu Old Master and Liu Shentong had long since severed the foundation of the Liu clan.

No matter how he struggled, it was in vain.

The Heavenly Emperor asked, “Qing Yangzi, in your view, what is Tian Anping’s cultivation?”

Jiang Wang said impartially, “He should still be in the Inner Treasury realm, but he has already surpassed my understanding of the Inner Treasury realm. In my view, he seems to have refined the Inner Treasury room into Ji City!”

In truth, the scene of the Inner Treasury room floating in the air was something Tian Anping had actively displayed to him. It seemed precisely for his explanation here before the Ancestral Temple.

From this perspective, Tian Anping was not entirely insane.

The various nobles and officials in the square were inwardly shocked beyond words.

This Tian Anping, whose Golden Body and Jade Marrow had been broken, whose Saint Tower had been bombarded, and whose realm had been suppressed for ten years, could unexpectedly develop new patterns within the Inner Treasury realm!

There were so many talents in the world; if one only sought “new,” it was not difficult.

The difficulty lay in being not only “new” but also strong enough!

To be able to subdue Liu Xiao, a Divine Arrival cultivator, into such a state, how could Tian Anping not be strong?

From Inner Treasury, Outer Tower, to Divine Arrival, this was the orthodox path of cultivation refined by human race predecessors over countless ages.

In Jiang Ru Mo’s view.

This act by Tian Anping was not about developing new paths, but rather, being limited by Inner Treasury cultivation, he skipped over the restrictions of cultivation to advance and elevate his combat power. Given that he had once achieved Divine Arrival, and was an absolute world prodigy, it was indeed possible for him to do this.

As for the more specific circumstances, he had not witnessed them personally and could not judge.

Only this external manifestation of the Inner Treasury realm was indeed unbelievably strange…

On the Dan Platform, the Heavenly Emperor said, “You acted on my behalf; what you saw is what I see. Since Tian Anping did not break realm, he has not disobeyed the order. As for this Liu Xiao…”

Liu Yingqi looked over, flustered and pleadingly.

In this moment of fate, Liu Xiao himself stood there dully, his lips slightly parted, his eyes wide and round, as if still trapped in some form of fear.

A venerable Divine Arrival cultivator, at this moment, did not even know whom he should fear.

Truly a sorrow!

“Xuan Huai Earl, take him back and nurse him back to health.”

The Heavenly Emperor seemed to sigh imperceptibly, rose from his seat, and walked outwards.

The attendant Han Ling, silently following, hurriedly issued a proclamation—

“Depart!”

And Liu Yingqi once again knelt, heavily kowtowing his head to the ground: “Thank Your Majesty for your grace!”

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