The captured foreigners were all at Golden Core stage or above.
They had lived a long time, and quickly realized they’d been made scapegoats.
At this very moment, they were utterly certain—the events in Zhongxin Cheng tonight were the work of the Lishi!
Those from Bo Xing’s Ascension Platform, after impulsively shouting out the truth, probably started regretting it right away.
A conflict between two orthodox factions that ended up tearing down an entire city—this kind of event was truly disastrous.
But no matter what, an explanation had to be given to the countless residents of Bo Xing’s Zhongxin Cheng.
And the best scapegoats, without a doubt, were them.
Seeing themselves and the other captured foreigners, they all understood.
These sly orthodox cultivators!
The foreigners were so furious they nearly spat blood.
How to put it…
Though the logic in their deductions was all wrong, their conclusion was, in fact, correct.
This was the solution that Li Yunxian and those from the Ascension Platform had discussed.
After all, Su Wenjing’s abilities had already been shown off back in Qingxing.
Looking at the state Zhongxin Cheng was left in—no one dead, not even anyone injured.
If foreigners had done this, would that make sense? Was it possible?
Anyone could see Su Wenjing had used his innate power.
And as for the supplies that had been stolen from the Bo Hai Chamber of Commerce, Li Yunxian had already handed them over to the combined forces at the Ascension Platform.
The other side would surely return them to the Bo Hai Chamber of Commerce in due course.
As for why, though only accomplices were captured, items that should’ve been in the hands of the real masterminds—who hadn’t been caught—ended up with official personnel…Smart people just shouldn’t ask.
Hmm…
Anyone with half a brain could analyze the situation. Maybe they could quibble about whether Lishi was responsible, but there was no doubt that the ones who acted were from the orthodox side.
Could the blame be pushed onto the foreigners?
Of course it could.
The foreigners, fearing the impact of things authorized by Lishi, deliberately tried to smear Lishi’s name by disguising themselves as orthodox cultivators and committing this atrocious act!
…Even though people from the demonic path would never sacrifice themselves so nobly for others.
The entire excuse was utterly far-fetched.
But in this world, there’s no such thing as a zero probability event.
To those who questioned it, all you had to do was ask: could this have happened?
If the answer was yes, then that was enough.
Since it was possible—and they’d truly captured a bunch of foreigners in Zhongxin Cheng.
And not just any foreigners, but Golden Core and above.
If they hadn’t done it, what were so many of them doing in Bo Xing’s Zhongxin Cheng?
That’s physical evidence!
Of course, excuses are one thing, reasons are another; relying solely on such nonsense, there’d surely be many who wouldn’t accept it.
Though they couldn’t get any dirt on Lishi, in order to maintain official dignity, the authorities still had to mete out some form of punishment.
As for what that punishment was…
During the meeting, Li Yunxian declared firmly to the officials: “Ban all Lishi-authorized shops and related stores from promoting any Lishi-related information.
“Especially, no Lishi personnel are allowed to appear in any advertisements.
“At most, under the shop name or trademark, indicate it’s officially authorized, and add a small, rational symbol.”
When Li Yunxian—using the alias ‘Gingko’—said this in the meeting, she was completely righteous and left no room for debate.
Everyone present fell silent.
Was this punishment severe?
Of course it was.
For most factions, it was as good as banning publicity and growth in reputation!
But Lishi was famously different.
The first Lishi representative to ever appear before the public—Li Yunxian herself—her infamous reaction to those promotional displays was already well-known across the net.
Was this punishment, or a reward?
No one dared say, no one dared ask.
In any case, that was the extent of Lishi’s “punishment.”
If anyone felt this wasn’t a punishment but a reward…well, that reward could generously be given to them too—and then ask if it was reward or punishment.
With these matters settled, Li Yunxian and her group’s role in this affair could truly be called a voluntary favor, even a “sacrifice.” So the follow-up work had nothing to do with them.
As for the city now lying in ruins…in Interstellar terms, this wasn’t a big deal.
They’d dealt with plenty of disasters like this before.
Everyone was a pro when it came to infrastructure repair.
Besides, given the current reports, the Old City and Town-Sealing Artifact were so intertwined, demolition and reconstruction were already necessary for safety.
Now was the perfect time to build a new city, just like over in Qingxing.
All in all, maybe they should even thank Li Yunxian and her group for the “favor” of tearing down those buildings and saving them a ton of work.
***
Meanwhile, Li Yunxian and Su Wenjing were already at the teleportation array area.
The word from the combined forces was to lock down the teleportation array, which meant there were no other random people around.
Nothing more needed to be said—the two official personnel simply left.
After greeting those from Kuixing, Su Wenjing was the first to step onto the array.
A flash of light—and soon, Su Wenjing appeared at the Kuixing teleportation zone.
The reception staff, seeing Su Wenjing alone, looked surprised. “It’s just you? Wasn’t it supposed to be two people?”
Su Wenjing nodded. “Yes, two people. You’ll need to swap out the energy stones. She’ll be here in a moment.”
The reception staff looked puzzled.
He’d been assigned to receive them, and knew Su Wenjing was actually at the Tribulation Crossing stage, which required a lot of energy. The teleportation array was well-stocked with spirit stones for this purpose.
After all, sending one Tribulation Crossing expert plus another of lower cultivation was usually no problem.
Why swap the spirit stones?
But, since this person had once been at the Tribulation Crossing stage, he knew better than to pry.
Those responsible for the living quarters of the two great Tribulation Crossing experts were clear: just follow their orders.
Soon, the staff arranged for the energy to be swapped.
A moment later, a second teleportation request came through.
The staff approved it.
Another figure appeared.
This time, Li Yunxian made no attempt to hide her cultivation.
Since she’d be meeting someone of equal cultivation at Kuixing, there was no need for any tricks—it would only make her a laughingstock.
The reception staff was stunned upon seeing her cultivation.
A Golden Core?
Within the time rift, Li Yunxian had spent quite a long while. After stabilizing her foundation-building body, she consumed the Soul-Tempering Material she’d prepared in advance, pushing herself a step further.
Then, from the corner of her eye, she noticed something strange.
The staff glanced at the teleportation array’s remaining energy indicator.
The spirit stone energy pack that had just shown as full was now only one-third remaining.
The staff’s face went blank.
Having just welcomed Su Wenjing, he understood exactly where all that energy had gone.
No wonder he was told to swap the energy stones.
What were these Tribulation Crossing masters up to? Why did they all love to disguise themselves as low-level cultivators?
Was pretending to be weak and eating tigers so much fun?
The staff grumbled inwardly, but kept a calm expression as he led them to the reception lounge.
Before long, the two mighty Tribulation Crossing experts of the Yinhai Star System arrived in the room.
The two first focused their gaze on Su Wenjing.
After all, they’d communicated recently, so they were more familiar with Su Wenjing and instinctively saw him as the one in charge.
But soon, they sensed something off and turned to Li Yunxian in surprise.
That aura…
Only now did the two great experts notice that, as they sat down, Li Yunxian took the front-most seat.
This implied she held more authority.
Judging from their demeanor, it was obvious this was intentional.
The two exchanged glances.
No need for further words—just this subtle cue told them Li Yunxian’s cultivation was just as they suspected.
The two fell silent.
What was going on in this Shenzhou? Why did it seem so terrifying?!
One planet, two Tribulation Crossing experts was shocking enough, but both had even retrained themselves from scratch?
What kind of Tribulation Crossing hell was this Shenzhou?
Since their following conversation was confidential, the rest of the staff withdrew.
With four Tribulation Crossing experts in a room, there was no worry of eavesdropping.
As hosts of Kuixing, the two mighty experts introduced themselves to the newcomer.
“Hello, I’m Min Juan.” The female expert spoke first, addressing Li Yunxian.
Soon after, the male expert added, “My name is Tang Shaoqi.
“You may have heard of me.”
The two experts:
Li Yunxian introduced herself as well. “I’m Li Yunxian.”
They had, in fact, heard this name before.
Tribulation Crossing cultivators weren’t cut off from the web.
Especially not someone as notorious as Li Yunxian.
From her appearance in the Wanwu World until now, two years had passed.
During that time, her name had never disappeared from the internet.
Anyone who went online would have seen her name.
Not to mention, they all knew Su Wenjing’s recent trip from Kuixing to Bo Xing was to assist Li Yunxian.
Yet, despite knowing so much about her, they had no idea she was also at the Tribulation Crossing stage!
Now, remembering all the things Li Yunxian had done…they weren’t sure what kind of expression to show.
Wasn’t this Tribulation Crossing cultivator a little too lively?
Of course, no one would say something so tactless out loud.
Min Juan and Tang Shaoqi simply paused, then politely replied, “We’ve heard much about you.”
Seeing their expressions, Li Yunxian laughed without reservation.
She never cared much for what others thought, only for a clear conscience.
And now wasn’t the time for such talk.
“We can discuss other matters later. For now, let me tell you what I discovered in the Town-Sealing Artifact,” Li Yunxian said.