"Danji, what was it you said before? One person's actions, one person bears the responsibility?"
Jiang Chen's voice emerged from the void, calm and detached, ringing in everyone's ears, making their eardrums tremble and their hearts quake.
With a light whistle from Jiang Chen, every Gold-Munching Mouse on the scene froze as if struck by an immobilization spell. They all immediately ceased whatever they were doing, standing docilely in place without taking another step.
Jiang Chen smiled faintly, gazing at Emperor Danji: "Danji, I can't be bothered to waste words with you. Now, I'll give you one chance. Either you surrender without a fight, or every cultivator here will be buried alongside your ambitions."
These words were almost verbatim what Emperor Danji had said to Jiang Chen earlier.
Emperor Danji's face shifted between green and purple, his eyes flashing with fierce killing intent — fury, unwillingness, frustration, and a hint of helpless madness all swirling within that gaze.
Looking at the young man not far away who spoke and laughed with complete composure, Emperor Danji felt jealousy burning through his chest.
He could not accept this scene — could not accept that such a young genius was looking down on him from above, addressing him in the tone of a judge.
And yet, he was utterly powerless to change it.
Jiang Chen's gaze swept coldly across everyone present.
"Which of you will tell me — should I keep giving orders to completely crush you all? Or should I spare your lives and let you scrape by in wretched survival?"
Jiang Chen's tone carried unmistakable mockery.
The ones who had been shouting at Jiang Chen earlier, each acting as if they wanted to tear him apart and devour him raw — now, under the pressure of Jiang Chen's gaze, not a single one dared meet his eyes.
"Does your current disgraceful display do justice to the ancestors of the human race?"
"Does your partisan bullying — oppressing the good and cowering before the evil — truly make you anything other than the scum of humanity?"
These very words had been spoken by these people moments ago. Now Jiang Chen returned every last one of them, completely unchanged.
All the cultivators, driven down by the force of Jiang Chen's gaze, hung their heads one by one, not daring to look at him, afraid that even a single glance might provoke a misunderstanding.
At this moment, even Emperor Danji was stunned by the endless tide of Gold-Munching Mice.
"I told you long ago that I would teach you a lesson. After this lesson, who lives and who falls — that is for heaven to decide."
"Remember, this is not the first time you've offended me, nor the first time you've targeted the Glazed Tile Royal City. Once you've done something, you must pay the price!"
Now *this* is what you call judgment!
Everyone was silenced like cicadas in winter, not one among them daring to utter a single word of rebuttal. Hearing Jiang Chen say they must pay the price, their hearts clenched with dread.
Was Jiang Chen going to continue?
At this moment, Emperor Danji finally recovered his composure and roared: "Jiang Chen, you little thief, what are you so arrogant about? Relying on these stinking rats?"
"Yes, you're very impressive, with all your devious tricks! But do you think that with these rat swarms, you can wipe out the entire human race?"
"Jiang Chen, you conspire with foreign races, betray the human race, and now you've summoned beastkind to fight against your own human brethren. It seems everything I said was exactly right — you are the scum of humanity!"
Hearing these words from Emperor Danji, the Northern Alliance members all turned pale with shock. A surge of anger rushed up in many of their chests.
Wasn't Emperor Danji just asking for death? Even if he wanted to die, why drag everyone else down with him?
But Jiang Chen, upon hearing this, showed not a trace of anger. Instead, he chuckled leisurely: "Danji, your Pill Fire City really is first-rate when it comes to slinging accusations and throwing mud."
"Betraying the human race?" Jiang Chen's tone turned sharp as a blade. "Danji, and *you're* qualified to say that?"
Jiang Chen's icy gaze shot toward Emperor Yunlan standing beside Emperor Danji, his voice cutting like a knife: "Danji, tell me — who exactly is this Emperor Yunlan beside you?"
Emperor Danji started. "What do you mean?"
Jiang Chen laughed heartily: "What do I mean? In the Secret Realm of Chenxiang Valley, your Pill Fire City's Yunlan openly defected to the ancient Heavenly Demon Lord! Along with the Second Palace Master of Tianhe Palace, Emperor Luoqi of the Undying Heavenly Capital, and some bullshit master from Tianyin Temple... You should have seen it — these self-proclaimed elites of the Upper Eight Regions, how obnoxiously and pathetically they groveled before the Heavenly Demon Lord."
Emperor Danji was trembling with rage: "Jiang Chen, don't you dare slander me!"
"Slander you?" Jiang Chen said with disdain. "Does your Pill Fire City even merit my slander? Do you think the so-called Emperor Yunlan standing beside you is still your Pill Fire City's Yunlan?"
"Do you think the people who returned from Chenxiang Valley are still the same people they were before?" Jiang Chen's tone was flat and detached, and these words sent chills down everyone's spines.
What did that mean?
What did he mean they weren't those people?
Jiang Chen's words left the Northern Alliance members utterly bewildered.
"You accuse me of conspiring with foreign races? Of destroying the Boundary Stele Realm? Yes, the Boundary Stele Realm was indeed breached at one point — but that was the doing of the Nandou Li Clan. Hmph, if not for me, the Nandou Li's heavenly-level powerhouses would have already stormed into human territory. If not for me, the ancient Heavenly Demon Lord would have broken free of his seal and returned to wreak havoc in human territory. If not for me, Emperor Yunlan and the other dogs who defected to the Heavenly Demon Lord would have returned to your side, leading every last one of you into the demons' traps. You fools — blind as bats, completely oblivious that imposters had returned to your midst, and you still have the nerve to fight amongst yourselves here?"
Jiang Chen hadn't wanted to explain before, because these people wouldn't have believed a word of it.