Chapter 638: The Curse
As the words fell, the door of Tribunal Number One was pushed open. Accompanied by the "clatter" of chains, Yuan Shi Tianzun entered the hall escorted by two guards.
His legs were in shackles, a black wooden ring encircled his neck, a yellow paper talisman was affixed to his chest, and his hands were bound by roots.
Inside the hall, everyone looked at this young man entering the "execution ground"—once a favored son, the most prominent genius of the official side.
Like most criminals, he was expressionless, his demeanor numb and empty, his former brilliance gone.
The photographer turned the lens, focusing on Yuan Shi Tianzun, capturing his expression and gait, and synchronizing it to the forum.
After the guards escorted Yuan Shi Tianzun to the defendant's stand, one of them announced loudly:
"Report, the defendant Yuan Shi Tianzun is present, spirit body sealed, spirit power sealed, physical body sealed. Tribunal Number One seal!"
From the beginning of its construction, Tribunal Number One considered the various means by which criminals might attempt to escape, such as teleportation,遁术 (escape techniques), stealth, and entering instances.
Therefore, powerful sealing arrays were arranged within the walls, ceiling, and floor, even able to isolate the summoning of The Way of the Extraordinary by the spirit realm.
After reporting, the two guards retreated a few steps and stood like javelins on either side of the defendant's stand.
Elder Cai's face was calm, and his voice was loud:
"The court is now in session. First, let the prosecutor state the case."
Secretary Zhou at the prosecution table stood up smoothly and said loudly:
"Chief Justice, on behalf of the Investigation Department, I will explain the case. On October 1st, Elders Raging Tides of Ruthlessness, Nine Bends River, and Biologist were ordered to go to Jin City to eliminate a group of evil professionals. During the process, they were attacked by Yuan Shi Tianzun, and Elder Raging Tides of Ruthlessness died in the line of duty."
While speaking, the photographer gave Zhang Yuanqing another close-up, deliberately showing it to the official The Way of the Extraordinary watching the live broadcast.
The live broadcast thread surged with comments, condemning Yuan Shi Tianzun.
Elder Cai nodded slightly and looked at Yuan Shi Tianzun, saying faintly, "Defendant!"
Elder "Yellow Sands Hundred Battles" from Songhai stood up and said forcefully, "Chief Justice, I represent the Patrol Department to defend the defendant Yuan Shi Tianzun."
Yuan Shi Tianzun was a member of the Songhai Patrol Department and also belonged to the White Tiger Legion, so he naturally had a "defense attorney."
Originally, this task was most suitable for Fu Qingyang, but since he was in the spirit realm, Elder "Yellow Sands Hundred Battles," a high-ranking member of Songhai and a member of the White Tiger Legion, had to stand in.
After completing the formalities, Elder Cai said, "Please provide evidence, Prosecutor."
Secretary Zhou was prepared. While opening his briefcase, he said:
"We have sufficient evidence to accuse Yuan Shi Tianzun. These are the photos and audio recordings taken by drones at the time."
He took out several photocopies and a USB drive and handed them to the guard.
With Elder Cai's authorization, the guard opened the projector and played the audio from the USB drive, while the photos were circulated among the Ten Elders and elders.
Secretary Zhou continued:
"In addition, Nine Bends River, Biologist, Luo Shen, and Old Man and Dog were present at the time and witnessed Yuan Shi Tianzun's crime... Also, Xie Su, the head of the Xie family, was an accomplice of Yuan Shi Tianzun. On the day of the incident, he blocked the rescue of Elders Nine Bends River and Biologist, causing Elder Raging Tides of Ruthlessness to die at the hands of Yuan Shi Tianzun."
"The testimonies of the witnesses and Xie Su are all here. Please review them, Chief Justice." He handed a stack of testimonies to the guard.
After the Ten Elders finished reading, the photographer immediately held up the equipment, giving long close-ups of the photos and testimonies.
Secretary Zhou said loudly:
"Since the birth of the spirit realm, the orderly The Way of the Extraordinary of the five major gangs, in order to maintain social harmony and the safety of the country and its people, have been at the forefront of the fight against evil professionals.
"After the establishment of the Five Elements Alliance, we have become more organized and disciplined, and the confrontation with evil professions has become more frequent. For more than twenty years, our comrades, relatives, and superiors have constantly fallen on the front lines."
Secretary Zhou's voice grew louder and louder:
"It is because of their sacrifices that we have today's stability. Yuan Shi Tianzun's collusion with evil professions and murder of an elder is a principled mistake. According to the Five Elements Alliance law, he should be sentenced to death! Please, Headquarters, please, Chief Justice, give Elder 'Raging Tides of Ruthlessness' justice.
"Give an account to the deceased predecessors and the entire orderly camp."
These words were impassioned and inspiring.
Whispers came from the audience, and many people showed expressions of heartache and anger.
The comments in the live broadcast room surged again. Comments demanding severe punishment for Yuan Shi Tianzun, such as "death penalty," "utterly heinous," and "unforgivable," flooded the live broadcast room.
Elder Cai collected the evidence and struck the gavel, "Silence!"
He then looked at Yellow Sands Hundred Battles and said:
"Now, let the defendant rebut."
Yellow Sands Hundred Battles was prepared. He said loudly:
"First, I question the actions of the three elders, including Raging Tides of Ruthlessness. Jin City is not under their jurisdiction. Cross-province arrests of evil professionals are the work of the Patrol Department. Why did they appear in Jin City?
"Secondly, as far as I know, the evil professionals being besieged by Raging Tides of Ruthlessness are the staff of the No Trace Hotel in Jin City. Everyone may not know what the No Trace Hotel is. Let me briefly explain. The leader of the No Trace Hotel's spirit realm id is 'Past Without Trace,' a law-abiding Voidmancer trying to redeem himself.
"In the mission to capture the Devil's Eye, Yuan Shi Tianzun was ordered to infiltrate the hotel and get to know that group of special evil professionals. In the last trial against Yuan Shi Tianzun, a psychic was mentioned. Her deeds of opposing the evil camp and assisting the orderly camp should be known to everyone. That psychic is a member of the No Trace Hotel.
"Finally, according to my post-incident investigation, there are a total of four hotel members hiding in the 'Chonghua Community' where the incident occurred, all at the Saint stage. May I ask, does a group of this size need three elders to be dispatched?"
After a pause, Elder Yellow Sands Hundred Battles said loudly:
"In summary, I have reason to suspect that the real purpose of this operation was to lure out Yuan Shi Tianzun. This was a hunting operation targeting Yuan Shi Tianzun.
"Chief Justice, I have finished."
Obviously, Elder Yellow Sands Hundred Battles had done his homework. As a Sovereign-level scout, he had insight into the truth behind the incident.
However, Yellow Sands Hundred Battles did not believe that Yuan Shi Tianzun could escape punishment. Killing an elder was a fact, and it was natural for the orderly to hunt evil, so no one could find fault. Clarifying this matter was just to try to get a life sentence.
As long as he didn't die, there was still hope.
In the live broadcast room, the speed of the grassroots The Way of the Extraordinary's speeches suddenly slowed down, and some people began to think.
Whispers also arose in the audience.
Secretary Zhou immediately said, "Elder Yellow Sands Hundred Battles means that as long as evil professionals are used as bait, Yuan Shi Tianzun can be lured out. Am I to understand that Yuan Shi Tianzun's collusion with evil professions is conclusive evidence?"
"I object!" Yellow Sands Hundred Battles said loudly, "What I mean is..."
The point he wanted to highlight was that the female psychic had saved Yuan Shi Tianzun, and Yuan Shi Tianzun's rescue was based on the purpose of repaying a debt of gratitude.
"Objection overruled!" Elder Cai interrupted coldly, not letting him speak, "Prosecution, continue."
Secretary Zhou sneered inwardly, but on the surface, he was righteous and said:
"Please, Elder Yellow Sands Hundred Battles, stop using the capture of Devil's Eye to deceive people. How long has Devil's Eye Heavenly King been captured? Yuan Shi Tianzun's mission to contact evil professions has long been completed. However, not only did he fail to draw a clear line with evil professions, but he also had ambiguous relations with the female psychic. The female psychic's sacrifice to save him in the Five Elements Chaos instance is evidence, and his angry killing of Elder Raging Tides of Ruthlessness to save evil professionals is also evidence. Chief Justice, I believe that Yuan Shi Tianzun's collusion with evil professions is clear and the evidence is sufficient. There is no need for further debate."
These words were reasonable and well-founded, and the fact was that they instantly pulled back the "approval rating."
The discussion in the live broadcast room resumed.
Secretary Zhou continued:
"Let me explain the so-called 'entrapment' operation by Elder Yellow Sands Hundred Battles. We were not targeting the group in Jin City. The goal of our operation was to kill the entire criminal gang of No Trace Hotel, because Past Without Trace had obtained an item to advance to Demi-God and was in the critical moment of seclusion."
A stone caused a thousand ripples.
Not to mention the live broadcast room, even the scene was slightly boiling.
Many people didn't know the details of the case at all. When they heard this, they felt their scalps tingle.
The birth of a Demi-God is a major event in the world. As the known limit of The Way of the Extraordinary, a Demi-God is an existence that can affect the world pattern.
What is the concept of adding a Demi-God to the evil camp?
For the orderly camp, it is no different from a disaster.
The colleagues responsible for the cleanup operation are undoubtedly heroes, and Yuan Shi Tianzun deserves to die even more.
Secretary Zhou spoke eloquently:
"In order to prevent the emergence of a Demi-God among evil professions, after receiving the information, Elder Cai immediately reported it to the Alliance Master and implemented the operation to capture the No Trace Hotel gang overnight. Now, the two Alliance Masters have personally taken action to quell the disaster, but there are still no results, and there is no news."
Saying that, he took out another USB drive and handed it to the guard. After the guard inserted it into the computer, the projector projected the information from the USB drive onto the screen.
The photographer immediately switched the camera to the screen.
The Saints in the audience and the elders on the jury all turned their gazes.
The screen displayed Lin Zichong's personal information.
Secretary Zhou held the remote control and said loudly:
"After cleaning up this group of evil professions, we used DNA sampling and facial recognition to find out their real identities. The good people in Elder Yellow Sands Hundred Battles' mouth are full of blood debts."
"This person's name is Lin Zichong, the spirit realm id is Chief Instructor Lin Chong, a level 6 Mist Master, from a rural area. He colluded with his father to obstruct development. When he failed to blackmail compensation, he killed the No. 12 construction worker and has been on the run ever since."
"Yang Xuehai, the spirit realm id is Role Model, a former middle school teacher, was imprisoned for repeatedly sexually assaulting female students. After being released from prison, he retaliated against the female students he had defiled and brutally murdered them, worse than beasts."
"Niu Tianfang, the spirit realm id is Fangfang, had a dispute with her husband and murdered her dear husband while he was sleeping. Afterward, she has been on the run ever since."
"Xiao Zhishan, the spirit realm id is Sweetheart Red Devil, engaged in flesh trade in high school. In order to obtain higher profits, she blackmailed four male classmates, falsely accusing them of rape. After losing the lawsuit, she brutally murdered the four and has been on the run ever since."
"Zhao Xintong, the spirit realm id is Zhao Xintong. As a child, she played with fire at home and locked the door, burning her biological mother and stepfather to death. At a young age, she had a viper's heart. Recently, she pushed a classmate down the stairs, causing serious injuries."
"Zhu Mingzhong, the spirit realm id is Good Minister Chooses Master to Kill, a hooligan during his student days, a bad student in the eyes of teachers and classmates, and spent many years with social idlers who did not do their jobs properly. He had been to a juvenile detention center for repeated extortion, blackmail, and theft."
"Kou Beiyue raped and killed his sister and went on the run. After hooking up with Yuan Shi Tianzun, Yuan Shi Tianzun used his position to forcibly erase his criminal record and whitewash him into a good person."
Secretary Zhou held the remote control and clicked on them one by one. Behind each person's information was a judgment from the local court.
At this time, the live broadcast room was already boiling.
"Can these guys redeem themselves? Even a dog can become a Buddha."
"Each and every one of these things makes me grind my teeth. Fortunately, they are dead. Good riddance."
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"All evil people, they deserved to die."
"Yuan Shi Tianzun actually whitewashed that Kou Beiyue? This, this, this... he has fallen, alas!"
"I was really blind at the beginning to admire this kind of scum. Die."
"Severely punish Yuan Shi Tianzun. He has touched the official bottom line. Resolutely sentence him to death."
On the judge's seat, Elder Cai turned to look at Yellow Sands Hundred Battles and said faintly, "Please, defendant, rebut."
Elder Yellow Sands Hundred Battles looked at the audience and saw angry faces, discerning the suppressed anger and the heartache of hating iron for not becoming steel.
These elite Saints all thought this way, let alone the grassroots The Way of the Extraordinary watching the live broadcast.
He knew that the general trend was over, sighed softly, and said, "The defendant gives up."
Elder Cai nodded and picked up the gavel.
"I have something to say!"
A calm voice echoed in the hall.
The Saints and elders present, as well as the Ten Elders in the chief seats, looked at the young man who had not said a word from beginning to end.
The photographer quickly turned the camera and gave Yuan Shi Tianzun a close-up.
Surprisingly, Elder Cai did not interrupt him, but nodded in agreement: "Say it!"
Secretary Zhou curled the corners of his mouth.
Yuan Shi Tianzun, you better continue to be a rebel and let the entire officialdom see your rebellious bone.
The reason he just enumerated the crimes of those stinky rats was to stimulate Yuan Shi Tianzun.
"Regarding those heinous evil professions, I have another version here. Would you like to hear it?" Zhang Yuanqing said softly:
"Yang Xuehai, a middle school teacher, was falsely accused of sexual assault by a female student and was unjustly imprisoned for ten years. After regaining his freedom, he wrote letters every year, wanting to regain his innocence, but was rejected time and time again."
"Lin Zichong's father was beaten to death by a hooligan, and he broke his leg and was bedridden for recuperation. Then his mother was forced to death. There was no one to turn to for help, so he had to repay the blood debt."
"Xiao Zhishan was violated by four boys in high school. Those criminals relied on their family background to cover the sky with one hand. She was unable to resist and had to endure being played with for a year. When she could no longer bear it, she killed those four beasts."
"Kou Beiyue's sister died in the Copper Sparrow Tower controlled by the Red Moon Security. Not only did he watch his sister being killed, but he also bore the guilt of killing his sister and wandered around like a dog, unable to return home."
"Niu Tianfang was subjected to domestic violence by her husband for many years. No one cared about her. She killed her husband out of desperation."
"Zhu Mingzhong encountered violence during his student days. No one stood up for him, no one maintained order. He was psychologically traumatized and went astray."
"Human Drifter, his mother was abducted to a remote area for more than ten years, imprisoned for more than ten years, and abused by his father and hated by his mother since childhood. He was adopted by the captain of the Nanming City Public Security Bureau and continued to stand guard on the border after his adoptive father's death, fighting against criminal groups and the Spirit Power Society with great dedication. An evil professional diligently doing the work of an orderly professional."
"Poison Chaser, he made many meritorious contributions to the officialdom and could have been transferred from the border long ago. He didn't leave, he blocked the flood for a lifetime, and no enemy, no matter how strong, made him lose his fighting spirit, but he was driven to despair by the people he protected."
Zhang Yuanqing slowly stood up. He got up very slowly, as if his shoulders were carrying something.
He looked at the Ten Elders, then glanced around the audience, making a desperate cry for those insignificant "sinners":
"Who caused all of this? Why did they become evil professions? Why did they encounter these things? Who has ever cared about them? Never...
"Who drove them to desperation? It's you, who claim to be orderly! From beginning to end, all they wanted was justice, but even such a trivial wish was not fulfilled until death, because you are high above and you cannot see their grievances and shame. They are just stinky rats in the gutter, and their lives are not even worth a blade of grass.
"You are all partners of justice, you are so noble."
The scene was silent.
Suddenly, the sound of crying came from the audience.
Guan Ya, Xie Lingxi, and Sun Miaomiao all covered their faces, their shoulders shaking.
Miao Teng'er buried her face in Ling Jun's arms, and Yin Ji stared at him blankly.
Ling Jun, Xiahou Aotian, Zhao Chenghuang, Xia Shuzhi Lian... and some of the "classmates" who followed Zhang Yuanqing to advance to Saints in the Slaughter instance at the beginning, these people who always trusted him, suddenly understood the reason why he killed the elder in anger.
They were struck by lightning and felt pain like a knife.
But more passersby are more willing to believe the evidence and the court's judgment.
After a brief silence, the speeches in the live broadcast room exploded:
"Here we go again. It was like this at the last trial. Is he a bewitching demon? He is so good at bewitching people."
"Good speech, but I believe in the evidence more than his empty words."
"Don't be fooled by him, everyone. It is a solid fact that he killed the elder and colluded with evil professions. Will evil professions redeem themselves? What nonsense, is he trying to deceive a three-year-old?"
"Hurry up and sentence him to death. It's annoying to look at him."
Elder Cai picked up the gavel and tapped it gently on the table, announcing:
"Yuan Shi Tianzun colluded with evil professions and harmed an elder. The basic facts are clear and the basic evidence is sufficient. According to Articles 1 and 2 of the Five Elements Alliance Law, this court decides to sentence him to death, confiscate all props and property, and execute him immediately!"
None of the nine elders behind him objected.
A round of applause rang out in the audience.
The live broadcast room was flooded with "applause" emoticons.
Zhang Yuanqing slowly swept across the hall. At this moment, Devil's Eye Heavenly King's curse echoed in his ears:
"Yuan Shi Tianzun, I curse you. One day, when you see the darkness of human nature, when your grievances cannot be redressed, when justice is forced by power, and when the weak become lambs, I curse you to become like me."
Zhang Yuanqing laughed loudly, laughing so hard that he leaned back and forth, laughing with tears streaming down his face.
In the midst of the wild laughter, his hands, bound by roots, opened the inventory and grabbed a stamp with exquisite patterns drawn with deep blue ink.
As soon as the stamp left the inventory, a dialog box popped up:
【Exchange item: Fragment of Lunar Origin.】
【Exchange?】
"Exchange!"
The wildfire in his heart broke out.
.......
ps: I will update and correct the typos later.