Chapter 499 Defiance

The Lingjing Xingzhe's (spiritual realm walker) identity is special and not subject to ordinary laws. The Tribunal of the Investigation Department of the Five Elements Alliance is specifically used to handle cases involving Lingjing Xingzhe.

The laws used to punish Lingjing Xingzhe are also different from the laws known to the public. There is no concept of human rights, with the death penalty as the main punishment and imprisonment as a supplement.

On the one hand, the Lingjing Xingzhe with superpowers pose too great a threat to society, like a ticking time bomb. Talking about human rights with a bomb is the most inhumane behavior.

On the other hand, some criminals possess extremely strong talents. If they are not sent back to the spiritual realm in time, they may grow rapidly by frequently entering and exiting dungeons, eventually becoming Saints, or even Dominator-level powerhouses.

Therefore, sending them back to the spiritual realm in a timely manner is the simplest and most efficient solution.

The tall and imposing Tribunal gate was wide open. Zhang Yuanqing, escorted by two investigators, walked through the long corridor, through the three-meter-high gate, and into the magnificent, cathedral-like Tribunal.

The layout of the Tribunal is similar to that of a court, with a judge's seat, an audience seat, and a prosecutor's seat, but no lawyer's seat.

In addition, behind the judge's seat, there are ten chairs, high above, overlooking the entire venue.

Today is a special day. The official legendary figure, Yuanshi Tianzun, will be tried in the Tribunal of the Investigation Department with the highest specifications.

For this reason, the guards of the Investigation Department went to work an hour early, sealed off the building, guarded all entrances and exits, and strictly prohibited anyone from entering or leaving.

Dominator-level leaders personally maintain order at the scene.

Their main purpose is to prevent criminals from becoming desperate and resisting with force to escape.

At this time, the huge Tribunal was silent. The judge's seat, the audience seat, the prosecutor's seat... were all empty.

Only the guards, dressed in formal attire and wearing various badges, stood upright by the aisles and seats, like well-trained ancient guards.

Zhang Yuanqing was taken to the "defendant's seat."

The defendant's seat is a large black iron chair, without carvings or openwork, with a simple and unsophisticated appearance.

The young investigator unlocked the handcuffs and said in a deep voice:

"Put your hands on the armrests."

As Zhang Yuanqing did so, he read the item information that appeared in his field of vision:

【Name: Seat of Silence】

【Type: Instrument of torture】

【Function: Imprisonment】

【Introduction: An interrogation chair crafted by a craftsman at the request of a general. It can silence people and prevent them from moving. The general personally experienced it and was very satisfied with the effect of the chair. But tragedy struck: the craftsman who made the chair did not know how to undo the imprisonment, and the general was trapped on the chair, and no one could save him. Fortunately, the general's deputy was a fire demon.】

【Note: General: You broke my hands, you old Sixth.......】

The price of escaping the Seat of Silence is breaking both hands? The price is a bit high. Not to mention how to break my arms while being restrained, once my arms are broken, my combat power will plummet, and I'm afraid I will be directly subdued by the "guards" around me...

I can't speak anymore. Is this to prevent me from defending myself? While reading the item information, Zhang Yuanqing was surprised to find that he had lost the ability to speak.

As for the overly lively "note," he was used to it.

The training at Qinfeng Academy made him realize that the essence of the spiritual realm is likely a combination of multiple props of unimaginable quality.

For example, moral value is a causal prop.

Even rule-based props can have self-awareness, and higher-level causal props are no exception.

Things with thoughts are prone to being mischievous.

After Zhang Yuanqing took his seat, he waited for ten minutes until a middle-aged man in a black suit with deep nasolabial folds entered the Tribunal.

The middle-aged man glanced at Yuanshi Tianzun on the "Seat of Silence," coldly looked away, sat down in the prosecutor's seat, glanced at his watch, and said to the guard standing aside:

"It's time!"

The guard bowed and took off the intercom, saying loudly:

"Court is now in session!"

Accompanied by a series of "click" sounds, the projectors above the seats were activated, casting beams of fluorescent blue light onto the seats, transforming into men and women in formal attire.

Young, middle-aged, old... a total of more than one hundred people.

These are all high-level deacons (level 5-6) from various branches, the group with the highest level and power below the elders.

He saw Guan Ya, Xia Shuzhi Lian, Sun Miaomiao, Zhao Chenghuang, Yin Ji and other acquaintances. Except for Xia Shuzhi Lian and Yin Ji, whose levels met the requirements, Guan Ya and others came in through connections.

--Level 4 Saints are not qualified to attend.

In addition, the Xingzhe (walkers) from the Lingjing (spirit realm) families also attended the trial, but the number was very small, no more than ten in total.

Among them were Xie Lingxi and Xie Su, as well as a beautiful woman, delicate and charming, like a lilac after rain.

In the witness seat was Huang Taiji, with a serious expression and an unsmiling face.

In the jury seat were elders, including Fu Qingyang, Gou Zhanglao (Dog Elder), Gaofeng Zhanglao (High Peak Elder), Luoshen Zhanglao (Luoshen Elder)....... whom Zhang Yuanqing was familiar with.

Zhang Yuanqing's eyes swept across the audience, made eye contact with Fu Qingyang, and then looked at Cai Zhanglao (Cai Elder) in the judge's seat.

This Cai Zhanglao was shrouded in a thin mist of water, his eye sockets had no pupils, but were flickering with black light, like two dark pools. There was a black water droplet mark between his eyebrows.

He was not as old as imagined, with a full head of black hair and slightly frosted temples, looking more like a middle-aged man in his prime.

With each breath, dense water vapor spewed from his nostrils, and the sound of wind and thunder could be faintly heard from the projector's speakers.

Non-human, like a god or a demon!

Zhang Yuanqing stared at Cai Zhanglao for a few seconds, and suddenly felt his breathing quicken, his lungs burning, and the breath he exhaled became hot.

He was sick.

Although the symptoms were mild, he was indeed sick.

Just by staring at Cai Zhanglao's holographic projection, he developed mild symptoms.

Zhang Yuanqing was startled and couldn't help but think of the Plague God's skill - Spread!

As everyone knows, the core skill of the Plague God is disease, but disease needs to be spread.

"Spread" itself is an active skill that allows diseases to be silently spread to the target's body through air, contact, water, bodily fluids, and other means.

Zhang Yuanqing never expected that even a virtual holographic projection could become a means of transmission.

How terrifying is a peak Dominator.

He didn't dare to look any further, and moved his gaze away from Cai Zhanglao, looking behind him.

On the ten chairs above everyone else, sat nine Chief Elders, all of whom had non-human traits, their spiritual power was too powerful.

The level 9 peak Dominators had long transcended mortals in their life level, and their spiritual power characteristics were prominent in their hair, face, hands, feet, and other places.

Only the Grand Elder of the Central Court, Di Hong, was restrained and gentle, as majestic as a mountain, but still maintained a human appearance, without showing any abnormalities.

While Zhang Yuanqing was observing the elders, gazes were also focused on him, whether they were audience members or elders, their expressions were somewhat complicated.

Cai Zhanglao said loudly:

"Court is now in session!

"The order of this court is that the prosecution makes accusations, the witness provides testimony, and irrelevant persons, including the defendant, shall not interfere with the court's proceedings."

"Listeners shall not interfere with the order of the court, shall not interrupt, and shall not make noise."

His voice was not loud, but it was clearly transmitted to everyone's ears, carrying a faint sound of wind and thunder.

The middle-aged man in the prosecutor's seat immediately stood up, reciting the document:

"I am Lingjing ID Nulang Jingtao (Furious Wave), the leader of the Third Group of the Investigation Department. When reviewing Huang Taiji's dungeon strategy report, we found that there were omissions, concealments, and false reports of details.

"After verification, it was confirmed that Cai Longshen was killed by Yuanshi Tianzun because Yuanshi Tianzun was dissatisfied with the distribution of loot.

"According to Article 3 of the Five Elements Alliance regulations, killing or seriously injuring colleagues shall be punished with the death penalty or life imprisonment, depending on the severity of the circumstances.

"This department believes that Yuanshi Tianzun's criminal facts are clear, the evidence is indeed sufficient, and there is precedent, so please ask the presiding judge to impose the death penalty and execute it immediately."

There was a low noise from the audience seat. They didn't expect the Investigation Department to ask for Yuanshi Tianzun's life right away.

After listening, Huang Taiji in the witness seat immediately said:

"Presiding Judge, I have something to say."

Cai Zhanglao said lightly: "Silence!"

The words wrapped in wind and thunder immediately suppressed the noise.

He glanced at Huang Taiji nonchalantly: "Speak!"

Under everyone's gaze, Huang Taiji said in a deep voice:

"Nulang Jingtao's accusation is not entirely true. I explained in my testimony that Cai Longshen relied on..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the middle-aged man: "Presiding Judge, I believe that statements irrelevant to the case should be prohibited."

Cai Zhanglao said lightly:

"Huang Taiji, you only need to talk about the facts related to the case. There is no need to say more about statements unrelated to the case. If there is a next time, I will prohibit you from speaking."

What is a statement unrelated to the case? Are the testimonies unfavorable to your grandson unrelated to the case?

Zhang Yuanqing moved his lips, but couldn't speak.

He didn't even have the opportunity to defend himself.

Huang Taiji was silent for a moment, avoided the details of Cai Longshen's fear of battle, and said:

"Yuanshi Tianzun did kill Cai Longshen, but in order to save the doomed situation of the law and order camp, he forcibly devoured the soul of a Dominator-level boss, resulting in mental confusion and a great change in temperament.

"And the one who was truly dissatisfied with the distribution of benefits was Cai Longshen. He tried to seize the loot, which stimulated Yuanshi Tianzun."

Yuanshi Tianzun forcibly devoured the soul of the boss?

The audience suddenly understood. This could explain why Yuanshi Tianzun killed someone.

It is well known that the sequelae of the Night Wanderer's soul devouring are extremely great. When it accumulates to a certain amount, the spirit will be disordered.

Moreover, Yuanshi Tianzun devoured the soul of a Dominator-level Boss.

In addition, there was another detail that the audience had not known before - Cai Longshen tried to seize the loot.

It was Cai Longshen who was dissatisfied with the distribution of benefits.

"Presiding Judge, I object!" The middle-aged man raised his hand. After obtaining Cai Zhanglao's consent, he looked at Huang Taiji and said:

"You said in your testimony that Yuanshi Tianzun has a life-saving prop bestowed by the Day Wanderer, which is a consumable item. It was by relying on that consumable item that he suppressed the boss.

"As everyone knows, the Day Wanderer can clear the pollution of negative emotions. How can you be sure that Yuanshi Tianzun's madness is not fake?"

Huang Taiji was stunned.

The honest and simple character of the Earth Spirit is destined to make him a pragmatic person.

He really couldn't prove it. The other party's questions were reasonable and difficult to refute.

The middle-aged man snorted, "Presiding Judge, I don't think this question needs to be discussed anymore."

Huang Taiji frowned and said:

"No, I really can't prove that Yuanshi Tianzun is really crazy, but you also have no evidence to prove that he is pretending to be crazy."

No, Lao Huang, Godfather, you should propose the Tiger Talisman lie detector... Zhang Yuanqing was anxious.

There are no lawyers in the courtroom. Huang Taiji, who is acting as a witness, is his lawyer, but Huang Taiji's character is obviously not suitable for arguing in court and engaging in verbal battles.

If it was Fu Qingyang, he would have already killed this Nulang Jingtao with his words.

The middle-aged man Nulang Jingtao did not respond to Huang Taiji. He did not need to provide evidence. He only needed to raise questions and make "mental disorder" a point of doubt.

He turned to the next page and said loudly:

"The second thing, according to Huang Taiji and Jiang Ju's dungeon strategy report, in the Five Elements Chaos dungeon, a psychic turned against the evil camp in order to save Yuanshi Tianzun.

"Presiding Judge, according to Article 1 of the Five Elements Alliance regulations, colluding with evil professions and being ambiguously unclear with evil professions is punishable by death.

"This department believes that Yuanshi Tianzun's criminal facts are clear, the evidence is indeed sufficient, and there is precedent, so please ask the presiding judge to impose the death penalty and execute it immediately."

The noise in the audience seat became louder.

Colluding with evil professions is a serious crime, the most serious crime ranked first.

Huang Taiji said in a deep voice:

"That evil profession has a special identity. When the Songhai Branch arrested the Demon Eye, it took the initiative to ask Yuanshi Tianzun to go undercover in the evil profession team..."

Fu Qingyang told him about this.

The night before the trial, Qian Gongzi approached him. The two had anticipated the development of today's trial and realized that the Bee Woman was a loophole.

Huang Taiji learned about the relationship between Yuanshi Tianzun and the Bee Woman from Fu Qingyang.

At that time, he felt quite gratified. This proved that Yuanshi Tianzun was not a "black police" without a bottom line. His contact with the Bee Woman was undercover in nature, and the backer behind the Bee Woman was Wanshi Wuhen (Traces of the Past).

A legendary figure who is in the darkness but thinks of the light.

Undercover... Xie Lingxi in the audience seat breathed a slight sigh of relief.

She was so scared just now that her little heart was about to explode. The matter of Yuanshi Gege (older brother) killing Cai Longshen could be argued.

But colluding with evil professions is indeed a capital crime.

However, as soon as she breathed a sigh of relief, she heard the old man from the Investigation Department say loudly:

"I object!

"Presiding Judge, it is true that Yuanshi Tianzun was ordered to go undercover, but this does not prove that he did not collude with evil professions.

"The Five Elements Chaos is a death-type dungeon. Evil and law and order camps must fight to the death. Just imagine, what kind of relationship would make that psychic willing to sacrifice herself to save Yuanshi Tianzun?

"Yuanshi Tianzun has an affair with evil professions. This is an indisputable fact."

Xie Lingxi's beautiful face changed slightly, and then she heard the murmurs of the audience around her.

Yuanshi Tianzun's mental state cannot be determined. It is a bit far-fetched to say that he is pretending to be crazy.

But the fact that he has an unusual relationship with evil professions does not require evidence.

The psychic's behavior is the best proof.

What kind of relationship would make a person willing to sacrifice himself to save a person from an opposing camp?

"Terrible..."

Xie Su muttered to himself in a low voice.

Guan Ya's face was extremely ugly, not because the psychic had an extraordinary relationship with Yuanshi, but because she had searched her brains and couldn't think of any rebuttal.

No one will believe that evil professions have a conscience.

Yuanshi, who was saved by an evil profession at the cost of her life, will not be able to clear himself no matter what he says.

Cai Zhanglao's trump card is here.

In the audience seat, everyone who had a relationship with Yuanshi Tianzun felt a strong sense of powerlessness and worry.

Huang Taiji sat in silence. He felt that he had been checkmated.

Only Fu Qingyang was expressionless. From his attendance until now, he had always had a paralyzed face without any emotional fluctuations.

Cai Zhanglao, who was sitting high in the judge's seat, said lightly:

"Please ask the witness, does that psychic have a relationship with Yuanshi Tianzun that transcends friendship? You only need to answer yes or no."

Huang Taiji's lips moved, and he was silent for a long time: "Unable to determine!"

In the audience seat, a buzzing discussion sounded.

At this time, answers like "unable to determine" and "do not know" are actually a kind of default.

"Silence!" Cai Zhanglao said in a deep voice:

"This court has listened to the witness's testimony and the evidence submitted by the prosecution. The debates in the court were verified by the Tiger Talisman and are true and valid. This court confirms this and now announces the verdict.

"This court believes that the defendant Yuanshi Tianzun killed his colleague Cai Longshen and colluded with evil professions. The evidence is indeed sufficient and the charges are established. In view of the defendant Yuanshi Tianzun's illustrious achievements and great contributions, the punishment can be mitigated according to law.

"The judgment is as follows: The defendant Yuanshi Tianzun is sentenced to three months in prison, a fine of 1 billion, the confiscation of the Sacrificial Heaven Set, and the deprivation of all merits and treatment.

"The judgment is established and will be executed immediately!"

The noise spread in the audience seat, and the high-level deacons could no longer restrain themselves and discussed it.

"Yuanshi, it's over..." Sun Miaomiao's face turned pale.

Cai Zhanglao not only wants to take away Yuanshi's Sacrificial Heaven Set, but also wants to destroy his image and nail him forever on the pillar of shame for colluding with evil professions.

He killed his colleague and colluded with evil professions, but the official took into account his past merits and showed leniency, only imprisoning him for three months and fining him money and props.

Outsiders will not only say that the headquarters suppressed geniuses, but also believe that the headquarters has already shown leniency and is affectionate and righteous.

Looking at Yuanshi Tianzun again, he committed a capital crime but escaped the judgment of justice and is destined to be despised.

There is no better way to kill someone than to attack their heart.

Guan Ya, Yin Ji, Zhao Chenghuang and others are even more transparent about what Sun Miaomiao can see.

In this trial, Cai Zhanglao almost destroyed the reputation that Yuanshi Tianzun had worked so hard to accumulate.

This is Cai Zhanglao's revenge, and it's just the beginning.

"Dad, what should we do?" Xie Lingxi grabbed her father's sleeve.

"Alas..." Xie Su sighed lightly. This young genius who rose like a comet is about to fall into the abyss.

Nulang Jingtao left the prosecutor's seat and walked to Zhang Yuanqing, saying coldly:

"Take out the Sacrificial Heaven Set."

Zhang Yuanqing lowered his head and said nothing.

From the beginning of the announcement of the verdict, he had been lowering his head.

"Take out the Sacrificial Heaven Set." Nulang Jingtao repeated again, his voice calm: "The Seat of Silence only imprisoned your hands, you can still open the inventory and throw out the set."

Zhang Yuanqing still ignored him.

Nulang Jingtao scolded:

"Yuanshi Tianzun, how dare you defy the headquarters?"

A purple-gold pumpkin hammer left the inventory and fell out of the void. A virtual figure left the body and caught the hammer.

"Bang bang!"

Two heavy sounds, broken bones and tendons.

The head-lowered Zhang Yuanqing suddenly stood up.

The deacons in the audience seat were taken aback. Yuanshi Tianzun's attitude... is he going to turn against the headquarters?

"Whirring..."

Urgent footsteps sounded, and the guards in the tribunal immediately surrounded him, fully alert.

Zhang Yuanqing seemed not to see the heavily guarded guards, and looked directly at Cai Zhanglao and the nine elders high above.

Finally able to speak, he grinned and said:

"I'm not convinced!"

........

ps: Correct typos after updating.