Thud!
The man's body crashed heavily onto the ground. Despite his remarkable cultivation, the impact left him seeing stars and on the verge of vomiting.
The man struggled to rise, but Emperor Jingzhong had already stepped forward.
With a flick of his sleeve, a streak of light swept across the man's face. It was as though a sharp blade had passed over his skin, scraping away a thin layer of something from his features.
His true appearance was revealed.
Every pair of eyes fixed on his face in an instant.
The man hurriedly clapped a hand over his face, as if terrified of being recognized.
Emperor Jingzhong seized him by the collar and lifted him up. "Everyone, take a good look — does anyone recognize this fellow? Is there anyone like this in our rogue cultivator world?"
Held firmly in Emperor Jingzhong's grip, the man was completely immobilized, his face deathly pale.
"Don't recognize him. Don't recognize him at all."
"This fellow's bearing — one look and you can tell he's no rogue cultivator."
"Young Lord Zhen, this man doesn't belong to the rogue cultivator world."
"Even if he were one of ours, sabotaging the Rogue Cultivator Assembly makes him nothing but scum."
"Exactly! Faking and fraud — and it's only thanks to Young Lord Zhen's Divine Ability that we caught him. Otherwise, this fellow would have fooled us all!"
"People like this should be hacked to pieces!"
"Indeed! If everyone pulled stunts like this, the spiritual medicine market would be in utter chaos. Everyone passing off inferior goods as premium — in the end, it's us rogue cultivators with limited knowledge who suffer!"
"Young Lord Zhen, how do you plan to deal with this man?"
In any world, facts spoke louder than anything else. The man had been glib-tongued and full of tricks, but faced with irrefutable evidence, his true nature was ultimately laid bare.
This was especially true for those rogue cultivators who had begun to doubt Young Lord Zhen because of the man's words. Now feeling they had been duped, they clamored one after another, wishing they could tear the fellow to shreds.
"Young Lord Zhen, if you won't kill him, leave it to us!"
"Exactly! This impostor posed as one of us. He deserves death!"
"Let Emperor Jingzhong handle it!"
Emperor Jingzhong smiled faintly. "Young Lord Zhen, you've probably guessed where this man comes from. If you're worried about making enemies, this old man will do the deed."
Jiang Chen replied evenly. "There's no need. I would feel terrible if my Myriad Glass Kingdom's affairs caused all of you to be implicated."
As he spoke, Jiang Chen stepped forward and suddenly struck, slamming his palm down onto the man's dantian.
Bang!
A surge of concealed force erupted, striking the man's meridian core. In an instant, his dantian and sea of qi were destroyed.
The man's entire body went limp, collapsing to the ground like a pile of slack mud. With his cultivation crippled, even the gods themselves could not restore it.
"Guards, throw this fellow out of Glazed Royal City."
Seeing Jiang Chen's handling of the matter, the rogue cultivators below erupted in approval.
"Young Lord Zhen, I'm sorry. I almost doubted you just now."
"That's right, we all understand now. Young Lord Zhen is a man of integrity. From now on, no matter who tries to smear his name, I won't believe a word of it."
"Not a single word. Young Lord Zhen is nothing like the cunning type."
After this little episode, the rogue cultivators' trust in Jiang Chen had only deepened.
True gold fears no fire. Jiang Chen smiled faintly. "Everyone, I apologize for the spectacle. I hope it hasn't dampened anyone's spirits. The trading assembly shall continue! To prevent anyone from slinging further mud at me, the trading area of my Peacock Sacred Mountain will be made fully open — so that everyone can observe!"
"Young Lord Zhen, you're aboveboard and fair. We trust you completely!"
Jiang Chen's string of actions had undoubtedly won him even greater admiration.
"Grandmaster Dongye, this time, you truly made a grave misjudgment." Emperor Wushuang's tone turned suddenly cold, tinged with mockery.
He could tell that Grandmaster Dongye almost certainly knew the truth behind the matter.
Yet Grandmaster Dongye wore a face full of righteous solemnity. He pressed his palms together toward Jiang Chen. "Young Lord Zhen, this poor monk misjudged the situation. The Diamond Dharma Eye ability still has its limits — this poor monk was discourteous."
The monk's face neither reddened nor his heart quickened. He refused to admit any connection to the impostor, instead chalking it up to his own error in judgment.
Jiang Chen smiled faintly but did not expose him. Things had gone far enough — best to quit while ahead. There was no point in falling out with the Temple of Heavenly Sound over this.
"Grandmaster Dongye, a single misjudgment is nothing. I only hope that when the Temple of Heavenly Sound cultivates the Diamond Dharma Eye, it won't keep misjudging things. Some people have the hearts of wolves — the Temple of Heavenly Sound is a place of purity, and it would be a shame for it to be used."
Jiang Chen's words were loaded with veiled implications, clearly pointed at someone.
Grandmaster Dongye remained expressionless. "Young Lord Zhen speaks with hidden meaning. This poor monk finds it terribly difficult to understand. When I return, I shall contemplate it at length."
The man was truly impenetrable — impervious to any approach. To be this shamelessly hypocritical, even Jiang Chen couldn't help but admire the monk's thickness of skin.