Xiao Yunlong's gaze swept past the King of the Eastern Domain walking ahead, and then turned to the four Eastern Domain Guardians behind him.
Just as he had envisioned, the four Eastern Domain Guardians were all transcendent elders, but to Xiao Yunlong's surprise, one of them was a woman.
All four were over a hundred years old. Although their hair and beards were snow-white, their spirits were remarkably good, and their steps were strong and steady.
After all, they were the Four Great Guardians, responsible for the peace and security of the Eastern Domain, so their cultivation was naturally extraordinary.
In fact, Xiao Yunlong couldn't precisely sense the aura of two of them, only feeling that their martial arts cultivation was unfathomably deep.
As for the other two, they were both super experts at the Half-step Innate True Essence Realm!
"As expected of the Four Great Guardians of the Eastern Domain, their cultivation is indeed formidable!" Xiao Yunlong marveled inwardly.
Of course, the Northern Domain also had four guardians, but since Xiao Yunlong arrived in the Northern Domain, he had never seen those four elders.
Even when Xiao Yunlong inherited the position of the Old King of the North and was crowned, those four guardians had still not appeared to offer congratulations.
In a way, the Four Great Guardians had long transcended the mundane world. They were not responsible to the King of a domain, but to the safety and security of the domain itself!
"Greetings to the Four Guardians!"
Even Wang Kezheng, the Grand Commander of the Eastern Domain, dared not be negligent. He quickly stepped forward, bowed, and clasped his hands in greeting, lamenting, "If we weren't truly driven to desperation, we wouldn't dare to trouble the esteemed presence of the Four Guardians. We implore the Four Guardians to take action this time, to quell the chaos in the Eastern Domain, severely punish the violent perpetrators, and uphold the law!"
The white-haired woman waved her hand and huffed, "There's no need for superfluous talk. Just tell us directly, who dares to act so outrageously and lawlessly in the Eastern Domain camp, and cruelly slaughter and even annihilate the prominent families of important cities like Hucheng!"
It was evident that the King of the Eastern Domain had already briefed the Four Guardians on the general situation on the way.
"Reporting to the Guardians, it is this person, this fellow named Xiao!"
Wang Kezheng pointed directly at Xiao Yunlong and declared, "On his first day in the Eastern Domain camp, this fellow indiscriminately killed the Fourth Commander Wu Shenyong and his son. He then disregarded any negative consequences and publicly executed several Fusang ronin warriors. Furthermore, he broke into my official residence, forcibly abducted and killed the Third Deputy Commander Zhang Quanche. This scoundrel, relying on his superior skills, acts with utter impunity and is extremely lawless!"
He paused here, and before anyone could speak, Wang Kezheng immediately added, "Moreover, simply because I repeatedly argued and debated with this fellow named Xiao and had a conflict with him, this scoundrel actually murdered my entire family of five, including my father and wife. In addition, the Tong family, Cheng family, and Shang family of Hucheng were also killed and annihilated by this scoundrel, his methods of cruelty are simply appalling!"
"We implore the Four Guardians to act swiftly and apprehend Xiao Yunlong to be executed on the spot!"
Upon hearing Wang Kezheng's impassioned speech, the four unsuspecting Eastern Domain Guardians all glared angrily at Xiao Yunlong.
"Are the circumstances Commander Wang just mentioned all true? Did you, the one named Xiao, do these things?" the white-haired woman demanded.
Xiao Yunlong slowly stood up. These four were, after all, the Guardians of the Eastern Domain, and they had made immense contributions to the Eastern Domain and even the Dragon Country in the last century.
To protect the entire Eastern Domain, they had willingly chosen a life of reclusive simplicity, unnoticed by others. This very bearing of shouldering such a great responsibility was enough to earn Xiao Yunlong's admiration and respect.
He smiled and said, "The first few matters Wang Kezheng mentioned were indeed done by me. Many people in the Eastern Domain camp witnessed it firsthand at the time, and there's nothing to hide. I also killed people from the Wang family mansion in Hucheng. As for other families like the Tong and Cheng families, they were not my doing."
"Of course, if Wang Kezheng wants to smear me and frame me, I apologize, but I won't take the blame for this!"
Xiao Yunlong shrugged after speaking and cast a playful glance at Wang Kezheng.
"You, the one named Xiao, are indeed arrogant and presumptuous. Listen to me carefully. Although the King of the Eastern Domain has mentioned your identity on the way here, we, the four of us, as Guardians of the Eastern Domain, only act based on the safety of the Eastern Domain. Therefore, we don't care who you are or what your identity is. As long as you disrupt the safety of the Eastern Domain and threaten the Eastern Domain camp, we have sufficient reason to act and eliminate you!"
One of the elders, whose aura was unfathomably deep, grunted sternly. This person appeared to be the oldest and most senior, and naturally possessed the strongest martial arts cultivation, likely already a true Innate True Essence Realm super expert.
Wang Kezheng quickly interjected, "It's great that this fellow named Xiao has admitted it. As for the other prominent families in Hucheng, let's set them aside for now. Just the actions of this fellow named Xiao in the Eastern Domain camp are enough to threaten the safety of the Eastern Domain. We implore the Four Guardians to act and eliminate him!"
After speaking, Wang Kezheng cast a fierce glance at the King of the Eastern Domain from the corner of his eye.
The King of the Eastern Domain felt helpless but could only brace himself and say, "Four Guardians, please take action!"
The white-haired woman who had spoken earlier nodded and huffed, "Indeed, based on this fellow named Xiao's rampant killing and lawless behavior in the Eastern Domain camp, I think we should do this: we will capture him and cripple his martial arts cultivation, and then investigate the matter of the other prominent families in Hucheng being annihilated."
"I agree!" an elder with white hair nodded.
"I agree as well. Anyone who acts violently and kills people in the Eastern Domain camp, threatening the safety of the Eastern Domain, must be punished accordingly. It's one thing if we don't emerge from seclusion, but now that we are present, we cannot stand idly by!"
The other two elder guardians also expressed their stances.
The elder with the highest seniority said sternly, "In that case, you, the one named Xiao, should cripple your own cultivation to save us the trouble. If it is later clarified that the prominent families of Hucheng were not actually killed by you, we will spare your life and cripple your martial arts cultivation as punishment for your rampant behavior in the Eastern Domain camp!"
As he spoke, the other three guardians stepped forward and surrounded Xiao Yunlong.
Seeing this, the others could only retreat slightly, as the aura exuded by the Four Great Guardians was too formidable.
Wang Kezheng couldn't help but smile upon seeing this, thinking that this scoundrel named Xiao was finally going to die.
Once Xiao Yunlong's martial arts were crippled, it wouldn't matter who annihilated the prominent families like the Tong and Cheng families of Hucheng. Wang Kezheng would then have countless ways to crush someone who was worse off than crippled.
Facing the powerful and imposing aura of the Four Great Guardians, Xiao Yunlong stood firm, his expression unchanged. He suddenly threw his head back and laughed heartily.
"What are you laughing at, boy? Does that mean you're unwilling to act on your own? If that's the case, then we'll have to take action!" one of the elder guardians shouted.
"Naturally, I'm laughing at how naive and utterly foolish you are!"
Xiao Yunlong let out a cold snort, then continued, "To think you are the Four Great Guardians of the Eastern Domain, yet you jump to conclusions based solely on Wang Kezheng's words, looking at the surface of things and not the essence. It seems that because you've been away from the secular world for too long, staying in the deep mountains, you've become so simple and easily deceived!"
"We are simple and easily deceived? Ridiculous! You, the one named Xiao, you just admitted it yourself. We didn't force you, and we didn't jump to conclusions or wrongly accuse you!"
Two of the elder guardians grinned and sneered.
Xiao Yunlong no longer wanted to waste words. He pointed directly at Wang Kezheng and said, "Four of you, don't you find it strange that the entire Eastern Domain camp has become abnormal, with Commander Wang Kezheng being the one in charge? Even the King of the Eastern Domain has to look at Wang Kezheng's face to act!"
The chief elder guardian huffed, "Ordinary affairs of the Eastern Domain are not our concern. We are only responsible for maintaining the safety of the Eastern Domain!"
The moment he heard Xiao Yunlong's words, Wang Kezheng's heart lurched violently, and a chill shot up from the soles of his feet to his forehead. He almost lost his footing.
Fortunately, he had experienced major events. On the surface, he remained composed. Wang Kezheng swallowed and quickly said, "Four Guardians, this fellow named Xiao is always glib and cunning. You must not be deceived by him. We implore the Four Guardians to act swiftly and apprehend this brute!"
Xiao Yunlong, however, was too lazy to pay attention to Wang Kezheng anymore. He continued to look directly at the chief guardian and said, "If I say that the King of the Eastern Domain before you is fake, will the four of you not bother to investigate?"
"What did you say? The King of the Eastern Domain is fake? How is that possible!"
Although the chief guardian said this, he still turned to look at the King of the Eastern Domain with his three companions.
The King of the Eastern Domain's head buzzed, and he stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to say for a moment.
"Absurd, utterly absurd! You, the one named Xiao, you must be crazy to say the King of the Eastern Domain is fake! His Royal Highness, the King of the Eastern Domain, is standing right here in front of everyone!"
Wang Kezheng repeatedly sneered, using it to mask his inner panic.
Even Jun Bufan, Tang Bowen, and others were greatly surprised. Although they had some doubts before, they had never expected the King of the Eastern Domain to be an imposter.
The King of the Eastern Domain maintained a pretense of composure and said, "What a joke! I hold the King's Seal, how could I be fake!"
As he spoke, he did not forget to take out the Eastern King's Token in front of everyone!
The chief elder guardian frowned and grunted sternly, "You, the one named Xiao, you should be well aware of what it means to question the identity of the King of the Eastern Domain, especially on the grounds of the Eastern Domain camp. You had better provide evidence for this matter. If you cannot, you will surely die today, and we will not spare you!"
"If you want evidence, what's so difficult about that!"
Xiao Yunlong smiled faintly, then turned to look at the King of the Eastern Domain before him!