Tribulation of Myriad Races

Feng Ji was left in the middle of the room. Nobody was keeping watch over him. With three Invincibles present, that was pointless.

Feng Ji spoke honestly, “This trial is pointless. Like I said previously, I am the killer. Do whatever you see fit to me.”

Marquis Xia calmly said, “There were several high-stage Mountainseas among the victims. You’re only a third-stage Mountainsea. How did you manage to kill them?”

“Ambush.”

Feng Ji smiled, “I caught them by surprise and attacked while they were defenseless. I knew them so I asked them out for a chat. Because of that, I was able to easily kill them.”

“Why did you kill them?”

“Personal grudge.” Feng Ji said, “Some of them scolded me in the past and some targeted me in the past. I am a petty person so I decided to kill them when I found the chance to do so.”

“Do you know who they are?”

“Yeah.” Feng Ji smiled, “A few of them are from the military. But after killing the first of them, it no longer mattered if I killed more. The punishment will be the same. Thus, I killed more after killing one.”

“Why did you lose your consciousness near the Great Wu capital?”

“I succumbed to my injuries.” Feng Ji sighed and said, “During my last assassination, my target noticed it and counterattacked. That injured me greatly. I tried to escape, but I ultimately fainted before I was apprehended.”

Marquis Xia continued asking calmly, “Are you sure you were the killer?”

“Yes.”

“This is punishable by death. Are you aware?”

“Of course. I’m not afraid of death.”

Marquis Xia nodded and looked at the Invincibles before saying, “Martial Uncles, Feng Ji has admitted to killing all those people. The motive is personal grudge. He killed through sneak attacks. I have no other questions.”

Some of the people in the crowd frowned. The Invincibles remained silent.

After a short while, someone knocked on his table. Marquis Xia looked over and saw an individual clad in armor. Clearly, this was someone from the military. The armored individual gloomily said, “Lords and Marquis, Feng Ji was babbling nonsense! General Liu was an eighth-stage Mountainsea who had fought in many conflicts against the demonic beasts of the Rising Sky Sea. He was very strong. Even a seventh-stage Mountainsea wouldn’t be able to kill him so easily through a sneak attack.”

He clenched his teeth and said, “You claimed that you killed him due to a personal grudge. He scolded you in the past. But I have known General Liu for many years. I am sure that he didn’t even know you. How is it possible for him to scold someone he didn’t even know?”

“Also, I visited the place General Liu was killed. Traces of intense battle could be found there, and no third-stage Mountainsea could leave these traces. Feng Ji, you’re talking absolute nonsense!”

That general was furious. This Feng Ji had been talking nonsense since he entered the room. And the Xia Family was also annoying. They were basically allowing Feng Ji to make whatever claim he wished.

The general clenched his teeth and said, “Lords, I would like to submit a request to have the military take part in the questioning as well. The marquis is not familiar with these affairs. He asked the wrong questions. The military has specialized interrogators for this task.”

Marquis Xia smiled and said, “Is that what you think? I personally believe that my questions were excellent. Just look at how I was able to make the suspect confess to everything. Well, I guess we’ll let the three kings decide.”

The three Invincibles remained silent. Finally, Silk Destroying King spoke, “The military will be allowed to send an interrogator here. But unless absolutely necessary, avoid any extreme measures. We do not want to taint the trial with unneeded baggage.”

It was somewhat of a taboo to use extreme measures such as memory reading. Doing so, one would end up prying on the secrets of an expert. Thus, this was something that one would not do unless absolutely necessary.

As for the ability to rewind time and verify the past, it could only be carried out for recent incidents. These murders had happened such a long time ago so that wasn’t possible. Silk Destroying King wanted to try, but that would be very troublesome. He could definitely do so if he had been at the crime scene right on the day it happened.

Before long, a Mountainsea interrogator from the military stepped forth. The questions posed by this interrogator were much sharper than Marquis Xia’s questions.

“Feng Ji, why did you fake your death in the Luminous Domain Mansion?”

Feng Ji indifferently asked, “Is that related to this case?”

“Yes. Your infiltration into the Six-Winged Divine Sect and everything after started from your fake death.”

Feng Ji laughed and said, “Must you insist on asking these questions? Will you even trust me? And if you do trust me, will you be able to seek justice for it?”

“…”

The interrogator frowned. Marquis Xia’s calm voice rang out, “Just answer the question honestly.”

Feng Ji calmly said, “It’s simple. Back then, I encountered some people in the Luminous Domain Mansion. For the sake of a treasure in the mansion, they tried to silence me. Of course, there is no proof since it has been so long. Some of you might not even believe me. And it’s not like you can do anything even if you choose to trust me.”

He looked to the right of the room and smiled at a few individuals there, “And some of the people who had tried to kill me back then are still alive today. Qian Jun, am I right?”

A ninth-stage Cloudbreach frowned and said, “Feng Ji, there is no grudge between us. Why are you accusing me out of nowhere?”

Feng Ji shrugged, “See? Like I said, it’s pointless to speak the truth. It has been decades since then. What’s the point of talking about that? Back then, some academy geniuses tried to kill me. They had powerful backers. What could I do apart from feigning death? I nearly died for real. And that only happened because my injuries were too heavy. Otherwise, who would want to live a life in hiding?”

Feng Ji was never a talkative person. Thus, he stopped talking after saying all that. It had been too long and he did not have any proof. The incident had happened inside the sealed Luminous Domain Mansion. How could anyone investigate the incident?

Were they going to allow the Invincibles to examine the memories of those people? Just because of his words?

In that case, they would need to examine the memories of Sunmoons as well if he claimed that those Sunmoons were involved. This would never happen. He was still a criminal. Nobody would take his words seriously. They would only believe that he was trying to drag more people down with him. Feng Ji was no fool. He knew how pointless it would be.

Marquis Xia said, “We can investigate this matter at a later date. Let’s set that aside for now.”

The interrogator nodded and said, “You claimed that you infiltrated the Six-Winged Divine Sect under Chen Yong’s arrangement. And Chen Yong’s arrangement was approved by Principal Wan. Is there a record of that? Is Principal Wan present? Is there any proof of that? How do we know that you have not betrayed humanity long ago? And if you have betrayed humanity, we need to know the reason for Chen Yong and Principal Wan to lie on your behalf.”

Yuan Qingdong wasn’t qualified to ask for these records, but in the current setting, the interrogator had the authority to ask these questions. They couldn’t take anyone’s words at face value. Solid proof was required or the same excuse would be used to protect the other cultists as well.

Great Han King said, “Acting Prefect Xia, can Principal Wan leave his seclusion for now?”

Marquis Xia shook his head, “He’s trying to enter the Sunmoon Realm. This might disrupt his breakthrough.”

“…”

At this moment, the benefit of not being an official Sunmoon became clear. Wan Tiansheng was trying to break through. Nobody could disturb him. An odd look appeared on the expressions of many people there.

Was that true? Was Wan Tiansheng really still a Mountainsea? It was more likely that this was merely an excuse.

Su Yu secretly laughed.

That was such a strong excuse. Was this why Principal Wan had been hiding his cultivation for so long? So that he could use that as an excuse to avoid any unwanted confrontation? Such a breakthrough could not be disturbed easily.

And that was the only excuse he could use. Was he supposed to say that he was affirming his dao instead? The breakthrough of a minor realm couldn’t be used as an excuse either since such a breakthrough wouldn’t last too long. And such a breakthrough could also be interrupted without much loss. Meanwhile, interrupting a major breakthrough attempt might even result in death.

“Did the academy not leave a copy of the record with Great Xia?”

Marquis Xia answered, “Nope. Our academies are allowed to operate independently. They are under the jurisdiction of both the prefecture and the holy land. Thus, they can be very independent at times. I believe everyone here is aware of that.”

“Is Principal Wan the only person with access to these records?”

“Only the principal has the authority to handle documents pertaining to top-secrets.”

“…”

The people in the room were left somewhat speechless. The case would remain stuck unless Wan Tiansheng left seclusion. But that wouldn’t happen so easily.

Marquis Xia said, “Is Feng Ji’s status as a spy related to the murders?”

“We still need to make things clear.”

The interrogator said, “If he was a spy authorized by the academy, the academy would also need to take partial responsibility for the murders. And if he wasn’t, why did Chen Yong and Principal Wan lie for him? This is very important.”

Feng Ji said, “I was deployed to the Six-Winged Divine Sect by Chen Yong and Principal Wan. But when I saw how the cultists were still living well despite their numerous crimes, I was corrupted. Is there a problem with that?”

He took all the blame with no hesitation whatsoever. But the confession had come too easily, making it hard for the others to believe him.

The atmosphere turned heavy. Was Chen Yong the only person involved or was Wan Tiansheng involved as well? If even Wan Tiansheng was implicated, things would become even more troublesome.

After all, that was the sixth principal of the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.