Chapter 626: Luo Zhao Driven Mad

Not only Luo Zhao, but Chen Yue and Feng Yu also twitched at the corners of their mouths.

Only the three of them knew what had happened in that scene, and they naturally understood that fighting Master Feng... at that time, Master Feng was already nearly dead from the fall, lying stiff as a corpse, waiting to be beaten, right?

When had it ever been a mutual defeat?

As for the sneak attack, Master Hong said his vital energy was greatly depleted, and Master Luo had never made a move...

Master Hong, standing to the side, saw Zhang Xuan growing more indignant as he spoke, and he too began to feel dazed... Could it be that I really was beaten by Master Luo? Why don't I have any memory of it?

"You're talking nonsense! We can testify that the situation wasn't like that. Master Feng was already injured..."

Chen Yue could no longer hold back and hurriedly said.

"Master Feng was already injured? Fine, then let me ask you: how was Master Feng injured? Who injured him? A dignified five-star master, if he were struck down, it couldn't have happened without any commotion, could it?"

As if expecting the other to say this, Zhang Xuan flicked his sleeve.

"This..." Chen Yue broke out in a sweat. "Maybe I misremembered..."

Master Feng had blocked Master Hong and the others, fallen from the air, and nearly died—that was already humiliating, and on top of that, he had violated moral principles... This matter absolutely could not be leaked.

Otherwise, if it got out, Master Feng wouldn't be able to live.

Since that couldn't be mentioned, how had he been injured?

After all, in the morning he had just met with the Crown Prince, full of vigor, and by the afternoon he was a pile of mud... There was simply no way to explain it!

"What? Now that I've spoken the truth, you're changing your story?"

Zhang Xuan's fury blazed as if it would burn everything around him. "Even if you don't change your story, the scene just now where you ganged up to bully Master Hong was witnessed by Master Wu. It's not unreasonable for him to speak up now, is it? How can words so clearly colored by emotion be trusted?"

"This..."

Chen Yue's face twitched.

Just now, when they had joined with Luo Zhao to bully Master Hong, Master Wu, though drinking, had certainly seen everything. Now, trying to deny it was impossible...

"Alright, you and Master Feng had better not speak now, because you're clearly in an alliance..." Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

Chen Yue gritted his teeth and was about to speak when the Crown Prince's voice rang out: "Enough, don't speak for now. Let this young brother finish what he has to say!"

In fact, not only had Master Wu seen it, but even during the gift-giving just now, the three of them deliberately bullying Master Hong—he had also witnessed it.

Clearly, the three were in cahoots, so naturally their words could not be trusted.

"Thank you, Crown Prince!"

Zhang Xuan nodded. "Just now, before the Crown Prince arrived, Master Hong was late because he was healing from injuries inflicted by them. They seized the opportunity to bully him mercilessly. You can ask Master Wu about this—I am not lying in the slightest!"

"Master Hong was indeed a bit late," Master Wu nodded.

"Thank you, Master Wu, for speaking the truth."

Zhang Xuan clasped his fists again. "They injured Master Hong, stole his treasure, and deliberately provoked him here, all with the aim of making our Hongfeng Empire lose its quota. Now the evidence is solid. I ask the Crown Prince to make a judgment!"

"A judgment is simple... What you say has some merit, but... you say Master Luo stole Master Hong's treasure. Then let me ask: what kind of treasure was it? Can you describe it in detail?"

The Crown Prince looked over.

As the Crown Prince, he was naturally not a fool. Although this young man's words had no loopholes and were well-reasoned, and Luo Zhao had admitted to many points, he still found it hard to believe that three five-star masters would stoop to robbery.

"Right, you say I stole something. What treasure did I steal from Hong Qian? If you can't say, then you are slandering a master of a higher rank. At the least, your master qualification will be revoked; at worst, you'll be executed on the spot..."

Hearing this, Luo Zhao's eyes lit up, and he quickly shouted.

To catch a thief, you need the stolen goods. You say I stole something from Master Hong—fine, tell me exactly what I stole. If you can't... let's see what you do!

As a four-star master, slandering a five-star—this one charge alone could ruin you forever!

"I've seen shameless people, but never one so shameless! Stealing someone's things and not only refusing to admit it but even acting so righteous... Fine, then I'll make you completely convinced!"

Zhang Xuan snorted coldly, then turned to Master Hong beside him. "I may need to trouble Master Hong again!"

"Trouble me?"

Master Hong shuddered. "Master Zhang, please speak..."

He was now utterly in awe of this fellow.

That mouth of his could turn the dead into the living, and the living into immortals... Today, being late was clearly because he was waiting for him, but it had been twisted into him healing himself...

Combined with the earlier nonsense, everything fell into place without a single hitch!

Even he, the person involved, felt it was reasonable and well-founded—could it be that Luo Zhao, Feng Yu, and the others had indeed stolen his things?

To have prepared so well and spoken so flawlessly, could it be that he had foreseen this when he told him to go find trouble with Master Luo and Master Feng?

If that were really the case... it would be too terrifying!

"It's very simple!"

Zhang Xuan switched to a voice transmission.

"You want me to..."

Hearing this, Master Hong's eyes went wide, his pupils contracting.

"Yes, go on. Exposing his true face depends on you!"

Zhang Xuan clenched his fist.

"Go? Go my foot..."

Recalling what the other had whispered in his ear, Master Hong swayed and nearly cried.

You're not exposing his true face—you're trying to get me killed...

"Don't worry. Just think back to the duel between Ruohuan Gongzi and Qin Lei, and you'll understand!"

Seeing his struggle, Zhang Xuan offered a word of comfort.

"Young Master Ruohuan and Qin Lei?"

Hong Shi was startled.

Under normal circumstances, someone of Young Master Ruohuan's strength could not possibly make it into the top eight. His opponent at the time was Qin Lei, and even Hong Shi himself thought the former had no chance of winning.

But then... that guy splashed a bowl of meat soup on Qin Lei's face, and Young Master Ruohuan pulled off an upset...

Thinking about it still seemed miraculous, and now it was clear that this fellow's method was undoubtedly the same.

However, he had to admit that what he was now asking Hong Shi to do was indeed somewhat similar to what Young Master Ruohuan had done back then.

"Fine!"

Knowing that the other party was also acting for his own good, Hong Shi hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth, stood up, and strode over to the opposite Luo Shi.

"What trick are you up to now?"

Seeing that this guy, instead of saying what treasure he had snatched, had actually brought Hong Shi over, Luo Zhao was full of confusion.

"There's something I need to trouble Luo Shi with; I hope you'll cooperate!"

Zhang Xuan picked up his wine glass and drank on his own, ignoring the question, while Hong Shi stood before him, cupping his fists and speaking sincerely.

"Cooperate? Why should I cooperate?" Luo Zhao gritted his teeth.

You've already turned black into white; why should I cooperate with you and wait to be framed?

"If you don't cooperate, that means you have a guilty conscience, and there's no need to continue. Don't worry, what's true can't become false, and what's false can't become true!" Hong Shi said.

"Fine, I'll cooperate. How do you want me to cooperate?"

Hearing this, knowing that if he really didn't cooperate, it would mean he had a guilty conscience and dared not face it, and then he would be unable to defend himself, Luo Zhao gritted his teeth and snorted.

Cooperate then; I'll just see what tricks you can pull.

Anyway, as long as you can't say what treasure I snatched, no matter how many reasons you have, I'll have the upper hand.

"Stand up, put your hands behind your back, and don't move!"

Hong Shi beckoned.

"Hmph!" Although Luo Zhao was about to explode with rage, he still stood up and put his hands behind his back.

"Ah, right, hold that pose, keep still..."

Hong Shi adjusted the other's posture again, found a position most comfortable for himself, then suddenly raised his hand and slapped him across the face.

Slap!

The slap landed on the face, crisp and loud.

"Gah?"

The crown prince was stunned.

Master Wu was dumbfounded.

Everyone in the room stood frozen.

So this... was the cooperation you mentioned?

Hold still and let you hit me?

"Fuck you, Hong Qian, I'll kill you..." Luo Zhao snapped out of it after a moment, finally realizing what had happened.

His head was spinning from the slap, two or three teeth knocked loose—if he didn't go berserk now, he'd truly be an idiot.

Telling me to stand still and keep my posture, I thought it was for something else, but it was just so you could line up a slap across my face...

Hong Qian, I, Luo Zhao, will never rest until you're dead...

Luo Zhao went completely mad, ignoring the crown prince and Master Wu on the stage, he raised his palm and struck at Hong Qian.

Whoosh!

True qi like a blade, wind howling, before it even reached him, it tore the air into distortion.

A master of the sixth level of Mortal Transformation, both in insight and strength, had reached an extremely high realm; with full force, even a great mountain could be reduced to powder in the blink of an eye, let alone a person.

Whoosh!

The attack landed on empty air. Looking closely, he saw that Master Hong, who had just slapped him, had somehow returned to his seat, holding a glass of fine wine, looking utterly at ease, as if nothing had happened.

"You die..."

His eyes reddened, Luo Zhao roared.

Since becoming a master, when had he ever suffered such humiliation—being made to pose in public just to be slapped...

Could there be anything more infuriating?

He shook his body, about to charge over and fight this Hong Qian to the death, when the young man who had spoken earlier shouted in a righteous tone.

"Enough, Master Luo! This is the crown prince's palace, a banquet hall. What do you mean by starting a fight and trying to kill someone?"

Luo Zhao almost burst into tears.

You know this is the crown prince's palace?

And you still let that bastard Hong Qian slap me? Knocked my teeth all over the floor?

I'm the one who got hurt, yet you speak so righteously... as if you were the one doing the hitting...

Furious to the point of exploding, Luo Zhao turned to Master Wu and the crown prince: "Hong Qian insulted me. Please allow me to fight him to the death..."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted again by the young man not far away.

"Crown Prince, Master Wu, you wanted to know what treasure he stole from Master Hong, didn't you? To avoid unnecessary trouble and prevent anyone from thinking I'm lying, I'll write it down right now!"

Without another word, he flipped his wrist, produced a set of scholar's four treasures, dipped the brush in ink, and began writing with bold, flowing strokes.