Although he had no desire to risk his life for the Yuntian Four Righteous Ones, watching them die in front of these people and then having to answer for it afterward—Even if Old Third Jing wouldn't bear direct responsibility, it would certainly give others ammunition that could affect his future prospects.
If he hadn't been present, that would have been one thing. But he was right here. Seeing it happen and doing nothing, standing by while people died—that would definitely cause him trouble.
So he gave Jiang Chen a bitter smile and said, "Young Master Shao, Brother Shao. I, Old Third Jing, am a scoundrel, and I really shouldn't be saying anything at a time like this. But… I still have to speak up. These Yuntian Four Righteous Ones are complete scoundrels, but their backers are not small. Killing other members of the Yuntian Society might not matter much. Killing the Four Righteous Ones, however, would essentially be a declaration of war against the Moon God Sect. I don't know what grudge you have with the Yuntian Society, but if you can avoid killing the Four Righteous Ones, you really should. Unless you're dead set on declaring war on the Moon God Sect. I know you came to Frost Moon City not to make enemies… so…"
Third Master Jing's words were extremely tactful. He didn't want to use the Moon God Sect to threaten Jiang Chen and the others, because he knew this group was just as proud.
If he tried to use the Moon God Sect to pressure them, it might backfire. After all, they genuinely had the strength and the nerve to offend the Moon God Sect.
The Peerless Emperor glanced at Jiang Chen, clearly waiting for him to make the call.
If it were up to the Peerless Emperor alone, the Yuntian Four Righteous Ones would have been dead already.
Killing them would undoubtedly be the most satisfying solution. But Jiang Chen couldn't make that choice just yet. He needed to extract information from the Four Righteous Ones—specifically, who they had handed his father over to. Who exactly had been the intermediary, and to whom had his father been delivered.
These threads had to be untangled.
Alive, he needed to see his father; dead, he needed to see the body. That was Jiang Chen's bottom line.
If his father, Jiang Feng, had truly been killed by these people and was no longer in this world, Jiang Chen would go on a slaughter. And when that happened, it wouldn't be as simple as wiping out a single Yuntian Society.
"Brother Mo, subdue them first."
If it were Jiang Chen's own strength, he clearly wouldn't be able to handle the Yuntian Four Righteous Ones, let alone capture them alive. But for the Peerless Emperor—an emperor-level powerhouse who had been famous for countless years—it was no difficult task.
The Yuntian Four Righteous Ones still tried to resist, but under the Peerless Emperor's overwhelming pressure, their struggles were futile. They were subdued one by one in short order.
Jiang Chen grabbed one in each hand, and Long Xiaoxuan did the same, carrying them inside.
Third Master Jing wore a bitter expression and made to follow them in, but the Peerless Emperor's gaze turned sharp. "Halt."
Setting aside the fact that the Peerless Emperor had just displayed his emperor-level divine abilities, even without having struck a blow, the oppressive aura of an emperor-level powerhouse alone was enough to freeze Third Master Jing in his tracks.
"Senior… please, you must tell Young Master Shao not to be reckless. Killing the Yuntian Four Righteous Ones will bring endless trouble!" Third Master Jing wasn't truly fond of the Four Righteous Ones. He simply didn't want their deaths to damage his own prospects.
"What he does is his decision. I won't open my mouth to dissuade him," the Peerless Emperor said, then strode away.
Third Master Jing stood at the entrance with his large entourage, unable to go in and unwilling to leave. It was an excruciatingly awkward position. In the end, they decided to keep watch right there.
Even if it was just for appearances, they had to hold their ground.
The Yuntian Four Righteous Ones were completely restrained, though their minds were still clear. Being tossed onto the ground by Jiang Chen and Long Xiaoxuan like dead dogs left them seething with frustration.
"The Yuntian Four Righteous Ones!? I spit on that—you few pieces of trash deserve to carry the word 'righteous' in your title?" Jiang Chen was furious just looking at them.
Long Xiaoxuan eagerly stepped forward and kicked each of them twice, sending the Four Righteous Ones grimacing in agony.
Restrained and unable to move a muscle, they were essentially human punching bags with zero defensive capability. Taking several solid kicks from Long Xiaoxuan was more than unpleasant.
Liu Zhen walked over at this point.
When the Yuntian Four Righteous Ones saw Liu Zhen, they showed faint surprise. They clearly recognized him.
"You?" the second of the Four Righteous Ones, Beigong Ming, blurted out. "Who exactly are you? You—how could you—"
Liu Zhen looked at the Yuntian Four Righteous Ones sprawled on the ground like dead dogs and felt deeply satisfied. Back when he had come to the Yuntian Society, not even one of their lowliest lackeys had spared him a second glance. They had treated him as though he were invisible, with less regard than a stray dog.
Now, these four haughty leaders of the Yuntian Society were lying before him in utter wretchedness, and it felt incredibly gratifying.
"Why can't I be here?" Liu Zhen laughed with deliberate exaggeration. "Did you ever think that with all the evil you've done, your reckoning would eventually come?"
"Pah!" The fourth of the Four Righteous Ones glared with eyes full of hatred. "Who do you think you are? Even if I've hit a rough patch, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Since when is it your turn to laugh at me?"
If this were the old Liu Zhen, even facing a down-on-their-luck Yuntian Four Righteous Ones, he wouldn't have had the nerve to put on airs in front of them even if you gave him ten times his courage.
But after witnessing Jiang Chen and the others perform one miraculous feat after another, Liu Zhen's mindset had undergone a profound transformation.
Hearing the fourth one still talk so tough, Liu Zhen's anger flared, and he spat a thick glob of phlegm directly at him.
Splat!
It stuck right to the fourth one's cheek, gooey and utterly revolting.