On the Sun Never Sets Plaza of Undying City, Xu Mu was staring blankly at the young man on the high platform.
The young man rose, and all the people rose with him.
Then, a young man who had endured Xu Mu for a long time angrily rebuked:
"How dare you speak ill of General Ji Chang, you are seeking death!"
Xu Mu looked in the direction of the voice and saw a waiter from a restaurant, his body stained with wine, his face sallow and thin. He and Xu Mu did not know each other.
"In broad daylight, you dare to cover your face with a black veil, I can tell you have no good intentions!"
Before Xu Mu could speak, a similarly dressed restaurant worker beside him sternly accused.
It seemed that by wearing a veil, he had violated heavenly laws.
"If I wear a black veil, am I a bad person?"
Xu Mu found it inexplicable and asked with a playful expression.
"Yes, you are lurking around with a black veil over your face, and you didn't even pay your respects to General Ji Chang. I think you're tired of living!"
The man continued to scold fiercely, and the surrounding people also rose, staring at Xu Mu with suspicion.
In this world, did anyone not know Ji Chang? Was he not deliberately looking for trouble?
Xu Mu found it amusing, then extended a middle finger, slowly brought it to his face, and said to the restaurant worker:
"I understand the logic, but my dear friend, this is cloth, not gauze."
"Gauze and cloth are different, do you understand, gauze?"
"Gauze... gauze..." The waiter, who was as thin as a monkey, repeated the two words with an ugly expression. Then, as if realizing something, his face changed drastically. "Gauze is also not allowed. You are disrespectful to General Ji Chang. I will report you to the authorities!"
"What kind of cup," Xu Mu said, as if looking at someone with an intellectual disability, withdrew his gaze, and then said to the group around him, "I have lived in the deep mountains for a long time and truly do not know any General Ji... Chang. Is it wrong for me to ask?"
"Young friend, I think you should just admit your mistake. No one will believe you."
The middle-aged man, who had spoken to Xu Mu before and noticed that the young man looked old, also reminded him in a low voice.
Indeed, with Ji Chang's reputation throughout the world and in the domain of Gui Ye, it was quite unrealistic for anyone to say they didn't know him. Furthermore, he had contributed so much to Gui Ye and was deeply loved by the people, serving as a role model for children and a great hero.
Such a person, and yet someone openly claimed not to know him.
It was hard not to suspect that he had said it deliberately.
"Lord Ji Chang has done too much for Undying City; his kindness is as deep as a mountain. If you say you don't know him, I'm afraid they will think you are deliberately provoking them."
The stout worker, seeing Xu Mu's silence, continued to provoke him.
As things stood, no one cared whether Xu Mu was wronged. In any case, they were in a bad mood and needed an outlet.
Xu Mu also understood that they were using him as a punching bag.
Ten days ago, he was used as a shield. Ten days later, he was used as a punching bag. Was his life really so pathetic?
"According to you, he doesn't know me either, so shouldn't he apologize to me!"
"Why don't you go ask the Emperor if he knows Ji Chang, and then have the Emperor apologize to him?"
Xu Mu's voice was quite loud, and this remark immediately attracted a lot of attention.
"Actually... the Emperor does know Ji Chang," Nangong Maoguan coughed lightly and whispered into Xu Mu's ear.
Xu Mu's face turned black: "Then what should I do? I really don't know!"
"Whether you know him or not, it's not that important," Ji Chang said from the high platform, seemingly having heard the commotion. "Everyone, today Ji is just a sinner. There's no need to make things difficult for this young brother. If he doesn't know me, he doesn't know me."
After speaking, Ji Chang silently put his helmet back on and returned to his seat.
"His temper has improved a lot." Nangong Maoguan was somewhat surprised. Ji Chang in his memory was not like this. What had he experienced over the years?
Hearing his words, the crowd in the plaza did not do anything excessive, but the stout and thin restaurant workers kept glaring at Xu Mu.
Xu Mu shook his head slightly, then ignored these people and shifted his gaze to a young man in fine clothes sitting on the high platform. His eyes suddenly turned icy.
He remembered this face.
It was this person.
"The Guards did not go to the Western Mountain front line. The casualties are clear to everyone, so I will not elaborate further here."
Yin Zhongxiu skipped over a large section of numbers and continued,
"Of the 372 extraordinary individuals, 34 died, 108 were severely injured, 227 were lightly injured, and 3 were missing."
"Two of the missing have had their remains found, and one was likely killed by the palm strike of a Level Four tiger demon, leaving no remains."
At this point, thinking of the solitary figure of the young man standing there before his death, Yin Zhongxiu felt a pang of pain.
Yin Shuer felt the same way, but in addition to the heartache, her eyes held a trace of murderous intent.
She had spent the past few days desperately recovering her strength, with the sole purpose of making the person who framed Xu Mu pay a heavy price at this grand assembly. Even if she couldn't win, she had to make that person look ridiculous and let the whole world know of his actions!
The girl's eyes coldly fixed on Wang Jue, who was sitting not far away. The latter, whether it was due to Yin Zhongxiu's words, Yin Shuer's gaze, or someone else's, involuntarily shivered.
Another period of time passed, and Yin Zhongxiu continued to speak incessantly.
"Finally, Vilitan left using a pre-prepared teleportation array. The Lord Tiger Demon couldn't stop him either."
"And we were the lucky survivors under the tiger demon's attack."
"Why did it suddenly stop? What were those two world-shattering lightning strikes? No one knows."
Yin Zhongxiu finished speaking and then took half a step back, turning off the amplification artifact.
Just now, he had recounted everything that happened from discovering the source of pollution in the Western Mountains to their escape.
Every word was accurate, including his gamble with the lives of the Fengqing Village people and the use of the swordsman to clear the source of pollution.
And on the Sun Never Sets Plaza, countless citizens were staring blankly, as if listening to heavenly scriptures, trying to process what they had just heard.
Although this was a world of extraordinary individuals, most people would never witness a Level Three extraordinary battle in their lifetime.
The only time they might witness one would likely be when they were about to die.
And the extraordinary individuals sitting on the high platform were also shocked.
Because through Yin Zhongxiu's account, the extraordinary abilities displayed by the defector from the Golden Tent Royal Court were simply inconceivable.
The ability to control other extraordinary individuals' actions, the ability to prevent them from using their powers, attacks that combined multiple elements, formations that absorbed the source of pollution from a distance to promote one's own advancement... all sorts of things that defied everyone's understanding of extraordinary abilities.
"The Heavenly Scroll, truly worthy of being one of the Eight Great Sacred Relics."
An extraordinary individual sighed, attributing all these phenomena to the Heavenly Scroll.
"It's a pity that our realms are not high enough, otherwise we would have definitely participated in this encirclement," an old man on the high platform said.
"It can be confirmed that Vilitan has left Gui Ye and is no longer within the jurisdiction of our Five Divisions. As for whether he can escape the pursuit of external Level Four or even Level Five domain lords, that is not our concern."
Yin Zhongxiu allowed them to discuss for a while, then waved his hand:
"Indeed, it is not our concern."
"Everyone should learn from the incident of the source of pollution in the Western Mountains."
"Places like Qinghai Town, Yuncheng, and Shaliu Cave, the pollution you are guarding is no less than that of the Western Mountains. This time, our First Division was able to resolve the crisis, and luck played a significant role. However, we cannot always place the lives and safety of the people on luck."
Yin Zhongxiu turned his head and reminded the cultivators on his left and right.
Everyone sat up straight, showing no signs of negligence.
Although Yin Zhongxiu's words had a tone of an elder advising the younger generation, no one found it inappropriate.
Because among them, although some were on the same level as Yin Zhongxiu, he was recognized as the strongest fighter among Level Three individuals in the domain of Gui Ye. It was acceptable to let him have some leeway.
More importantly, what he said was the truth.
After understanding the entire process of the Western Mountain incident, the governors of the Second, Third, and Fourth Divisions all made their own calculations.
Then they realized that if Vilitan had caused these troubles in their own territories, they would have no choice but to face ruin, without exception.
In contrast, here, even if Vilitan had successfully advanced, Undying City might not have fallen.
Because there were two more trump cards here.
"So, Governor Yin, did you find the last one from Feng... Oh, right, the swordsman from Fengqing Village?"
After a moment, a hunched old man with a white beard, wearing a red robe, asked curiously.
He also admired Yin Zhongxiu's vision and courage in making such a gamble in a major event.
However, without the swordsman who single-handedly cleared two sources of pollution, Yin Zhongxiu would likely have been the loser.
"Did you find him?" Yin Zhongxiu repeated the question, then shook his head. "A powerhouse of this level, even if you know he's in Fengqing Village, you can't find him just by wanting to."
"His continued absence proves that he does not wish to be found, so we cannot find him."
As he said this, the man's gaze slowly shifted to Wang Jue of the Third Division, who immediately tensed up.
Wang Jue's uncle also became alert, wondering if Yin Zhongxiu truly intended to act against them, disregarding the interests of their family.
"The swordsman's apprentice is dead."
"Although our First Division's report states that he died accidentally, I believe everyone knows the truth of what happened."
Yin Zhongxiu said, shifting his gaze to below the high platform.
Facing the surging crowd, the man sighed with complex emotions:
"How could he swallow this indignity?"
"So I think he should have come."