Feng Xin stood closest to the two, looking at Xie Lian with undisguised shock. Mu Qing's eyes trembled, trying to control his surprise with a hint of excitement. Shi Qingxuan laid Ming Yi flat and said, "Qianqiu, is there some misunderstanding? If the Crown Prince is the legendary National Teacher Fangxin, how come you didn't recognize him until now?"
At this moment, a man nearby said, "Qingxuan, you might not know this. The legendary National Teacher Fangxin was always aloof and mysterious, never showing his true face, always wearing a silver mask. Prince Taihua probably never saw his true face before."
The man speaking stood with arms crossed at a distance, none other than Pei Ming. Shi Qingxuan, seeing him, was displeased and flicked his whisk, saying, "If that's the case, then no one has ever seen what the National Teacher Fangxin looks like. Why is General Pei so sure that the Crown Prince of Divine Joy is the National Teacher Fangxin?"
When Shi Qingxuan and Xie Lian acted, they were often amusing, but once they reached the Heavenly Court, they changed, becoming very dignified and careful with their image. At this moment, a snow-white figure appeared from behind the hall.
As soon as he arrived, everyone felt relieved. The few divine officials who had been chattering in the hall quickly stood in their places, bowing and saying, "Emperor."
Jun Wu raised his hand slightly, and everyone straightened up again. Jun Wu walked over, brushing past Xie Lian, and patted his right arm. Fresh blood had been dripping from Xie Lian's sleeve, but with that pat, it stopped immediately.
After checking Ming Yi for a moment, Jun Wu said, "No serious harm. First, take care of the Earth Master."
Four divine officials who were also healers came forward to lift Ming Yi and took him away. Shi Qingxuan seemed to want to follow and check, but looking at the situation in the Divine Martial Hall, he was still uneasy and stayed put.
Jun Wu returned to the throne and said, "What's going on? Why is Taihua holding onto Divine Joy and not letting go, and why is Divine Joy keeping his head down?"
Lang Qianqiu glanced at Xie Lian again, seeing him still silent, and surrounded by divine officials, not worried about him escaping, he let go and turned to Jun Wu, bowing, "Emperor, this person, hundreds of years ago, under the name Fangxin, killed my family and brought disaster to my country. I want to duel with him, and I ask the Emperor to witness it today!"
In the Divine Martial Hall, even those who hadn't heard of the National Teacher Fangxin quickly used the Spirit Communication Array to check. What they found shocked them. Just in time, Ling Wen also explained to everyone as requested, "The National Teacher Fangxin was the savior and mentor of swordsmanship to the Crown Prince of Eternal Peace, Lang Qianqiu. The reason he was listed as one of the demonic masters is because of the infamous bloodbath of the Eternal Peace royal family at the Gilded Banquet."
Shi Qingxuan asked, "What is the Gilded Banquet?"
Ling Wen explained, "Wind Master, the Gilded Banquet was originally a type of feast popular among the nobility of Celestial Music. It was named so because the utensils, dishes, and musical instruments used at the banquet were all exquisitely crafted from gold, extremely luxurious."
After the founding of Eternal Peace, they initially announced to the world that they would eliminate the extravagant customs of the previous dynasty and focus solely on solving the people's problems. However, after a few decades, they learned everything and went back to the old ways.
Ling Wen continued, "On the night of the Eternal Peace Crown Prince's seventeenth birthday, a Gilded Banquet was held in the palace. And the National Teacher Fangxin... it was during this Gilded Banquet that he, with a sword in hand, killed all the Eternal Peace royalty present."
Golden cups overturned, blood red as wine.
"Only the belated Eternal Peace Crown Prince Lang Qianqiu escaped, but he was also nearly silenced."
This upheaval was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Eternal Peace. If not for Lang Qianqiu's popularity and efforts, a rebellion would have surely erupted. After stabilizing the situation, the Eternal Peace royal family summoned all the extraordinary talents in the world to hunt down the fugitive culprit, finally capturing him. Lang Qianqiu personally killed the demonic master Fangxin and sealed his body in a triple coffin, buried deep in the ground.
However, the Eternal Peace royal family was still severely weakened, and from then on, they gradually declined and were replaced by the next dynasty.
Lang Qianqiu stared hard at Xie Lian, saying, "Why did you do it? I never understood. You said you couldn't stand us sitting in these positions, but I never believed it. I didn't think you wanted to seize the throne. Now I finally know why."
The divine officials were dumbfounded, whispering among themselves.
"This is revenge!"
"Isn't it revenge? The Divine Joy Kingdom was destroyed, so he wanted to destroy the Eternal Peace Kingdom too. The people of Eternal Peace killed his father and mother, so he wanted to kill the father and mother of the Eternal Peace Crown Prince, an eye for an eye."
"But it wasn't Lang Qianqiu's generation that destroyed the Divine Joy Kingdom. His anger is misplaced..."
"I thought the laughingstock of the three realms was just a fool, but it turns out he's a ruthless character, going to the enemy country as a national teacher to stir things up, and then wiping out the entire royal family in one move, impressive..."
Xie Lian sensed Jun Wu's gaze on him and closed his eyes. After a moment, he heard Jun Wu say, "Taihua, what evidence do you have to identify Divine Joy as Fangxin?"
Lang Qianqiu said, "The one who taught me swordsmanship was the National Teacher Fangxin. How could I not recognize his moves?!"
The undercurrents surged even more.
"Stirring things up is one thing, but why go the extra mile to teach the enemy crown prince swordsmanship?"
"No wonder after his third ascension, he never touched a sword, afraid of revealing himself."
Lang Qianqiu said, "This time I went to the Ghost Market and clashed with the Blood Rain Flower..."
Hearing him mention the Ghost Market and Hua Cheng, many divine officials shivered, and Lang Qianqiu continued, "When I was twelve, I was captured by a group of bandits during a trip. They took me to the streets, with guards chasing after them, fighting fiercely. Suddenly, a bruised street performer reached out with a branch, and with just a couple of moves, he knocked away two swords and saved me.
"The bandits and guards fought each other to exhaustion, and this performer took me and ran, eventually returning me to the palace. Out of gratitude, my parents invited him to stay, discovered his great skills, and asked him to become the national teacher, teaching me swordsmanship for five years. I couldn't be more familiar with his swordplay, and there's no way I could be mistaken."
Mu Qing softly said, "Prince Taihua, you say you saw a shadow, but no one else seemed to see it. Isn't that just your word against his?"
His words seemed to defend Xie Lian, but it was subtle. He surely knew it was already a foregone conclusion, and the more he questioned, the more Lang Qianqiu would want to prove it, which wouldn't help Xie Lian's situation at all. As expected, Lang Qianqiu said, "Fine! Bring a sword!"
Many martial gods in the hall carried swords with them, and upon his shout, someone immediately tossed a sword over. Lang Qianqiu grabbed the sword and pointed it at Xie Lian, saying, "Take it! Let's have a match right now, no holding back, and see if our sword styles are the same, and if I was taught by you!"
Everyone thought it was reckless to duel in the Divine Martial Hall, but considering the bloodbath at the Gilded Banquet, with the Crown Prince's entire family killed, they could understand his agitation. Shi Qingxuan, still worried about Xie Lian's injury, said, "Qianqiu, the Crown Prince injured his right arm saving you from Hua Cheng's attack. How can he duel you?"
Hearing this, Lang Qianqiu suddenly extended his left palm and struck his own right arm heavily. With a cracking sound, his right arm burst into a mist of blood, hanging limp and bloody. The injury was undoubtedly severe, and all the divine officials were shocked. Xie Lian was also taken aback, looking up and saying, "What are you doing?"
Lang Qianqiu said, "The Wind Master is right. You indeed injured an arm saving me, so I'm returning the favor. But saving me is saving me, and killing my family is also a fact. I know you can wield a sword with both hands, and your swordsmanship is extraordinary. Let's duel with our left hands, and if you're a man, pick up the sword!"
Xie Lian looked at the sword, then at him, and finally shook his head slowly, saying, "I swore many years ago never to kill with a sword again."
Hearing this, Lang Qianqiu recalled the scene when he arrived that night, just in time to see the black-robed figure withdrawing the sword from his parents. His eyes turned blood-red with rage, and his left hand holding the sword trembled. Shi Qingxuan flicked his whisk, entangling the sword and pressing it down, saying, "I think there's a misunderstanding here. Since the National Teacher Fangxin always wore a mask, maybe someone impersonated him to harm others? What do you think, Emperor?"
Everyone turned to the jade throne above. Jun Wu said, "Divine Joy."
Xie Lian bowed and said, "Yes."
Jun Wu said, "Do you admit to what Taihua said?"
Xie Lian said, "I do."
That single "I do" was cold and completely different from his usual tone, causing Feng Xin, Mu Qing, and Shi Qingxuan's expressions to change.
Jun Wu nodded and asked, "Was the National Teacher Fangxin who bloodbathed the Gilded Banquet you?"
After a moment of silence, Xie Lian suddenly looked up and said, "Yes, it was me!"
That resolute answer left no room for maneuver. Lang Qianqiu said, "You've admitted it, that's good."
It had been said before, in the Heavenly Court, there were countless divine officials with mortal blood on their hands. But honestly, there weren't many who caused such a commotion over these old debts. Probably because those mortals didn't have a descendant like Lang Qianqiu who ascended to the heavens and held the divine official accountable.
Previously, Pei Su had General Pei to protect him, but in the end, he couldn't avoid being exiled to the mortal realm. And Xie Lian had no backing, so it would depend on whether Jun Wu still had any affection for him and wanted to protect him.
However, the divine officials never understood Jun Wu's attitude towards Xie Lian. During the first ascension of the Crown Prince of Divine Joy, he was naturally favored; during the second ascension, they fought, and Xie Lian stabbed Jun Wu several times before being captured; during the third ascension, they got along quite peacefully, as if forgetting the past, and Jun Wu even granted Xie Lian a new palace in the best location of the Immortal Capital, making it hard to figure out. As a result, many ears were perked up, waiting to hear how the one above would handle it.
Unexpectedly, before Jun Wu could speak, Xie Lian spoke first. He said, "Divine Joy has an unreasonable request."
Jun Wu said, "Speak."
Xie Lian said, "I ask the Emperor to remove my celestial status and banish me to the mortal realm."
Some divine officials were surprised, even a bit impressed. After all, no one wanted to be banished; ascending was so difficult. Climbing so high only to fall, just thinking about it would be regrettable. To directly ask Jun Wu to banish him, they couldn't do it. But some divine officials were indifferent, thinking that since it had come to this, retreating might be better than stubbornly denying it. Besides, Xie Lian had been banished twice already, so a third time wouldn't be a big deal, and he might be used to it by now.
Lang Qianqiu, however, said, "You don't need to banish yourself. Your ascension is your achievement. I just want to duel with you."
Xie Lian said, "I don't want to fight you."
Lang Qianqiu said, "Why? You didn't mind fighting me before. This battle will end everything!"
Xie Lian said calmly, "No reason. If you fight me, you'll surely die."