After saying this, the other three True Monarchs all raised their eyelids, faces filled with astonishment!
While they knelt and kowtowed here, it did not mean they sincerely felt guilty. The Wuting guardianship was under the Northern Guardian Lady’s control, including the protection of the Five-direction Corner Tower.
So, should anything go missing, the largest responsibility undoubtedly fell on the Northern Guardian Lady. Their kneeling was merely for show, waiting for the Rotating Martial God to actually mete out punishment—at which time they would collectively blame the Northern Guardian Lady for her incompetence, allowing the Demon Clan to run rampant and even lose the Demon Core that the Martial Gods had sealed within Wuting for a hundred thousand years!
The Rotating Martial God seemingly also pointed the accusatory finger at the Northern Guardian Lady, demanding an explanation from her.
However, the Northern Guardian Lady’s response this time was beyond everyone’s expectations.
Not only did she entirely shrug off the responsibility, but she also specifically called out the incompetence of the three True Monarchs who had remained in Wuting. She even went so far as to criticize the Rotating Martial God, claiming that if it weren’t for his unwarranted interference, his insistent demand that she retrieve the Demon Bone within seven days, she wouldn’t have abandoned her post, and without her abandonment, the thieving demon wouldn’t have succeeded!
How strange.
Since when had Ruan Muhuan become so articulate??
In the past, she wouldn’t even bother to refute baseless accusations.
"God Jiang, is the item lost that filthy hundred-thousand-year-old Dan Jade?" the Southern Guardian Monarch, Wei Pan, asked in a hushed voice.
"The Demon Immortal Saber is also gone," the Rotating Martial God, Jiang Qi, stated coldly.
As soon as these words were uttered, the hall erupted into commotion!
Ruan Muhuan had been calm and poised, prepared for any scenario, but upon hearing that more than just the hundred-thousand-year-old Dan Jade was lost, her lips parted slightly, her thoughts a bit disordered.
This guy!!
His boldness is too much!!
Next to him, the Demon Clan seems like mere children, naive in the extreme!
"Drop everything you are holding, investigate this thief. Within ten days, I need the two lost items found. Otherwise..." the Rotating Martial God, Jiang Qi, gave his command, his gaze blazing like a torch, causing everyone to feel an unbearable scorching intensity.
All True Monarchs and military ministers hurriedly paid their respects and apologized.
"God Jiang, since the initial instigator of this event was the Demon Clan, let’s directly eradicate any power that may harbor the Demon Clan, better to err in killing than let the Demon Clan spirit away those two sacred demon items from Wudou," the Southern Guardian Monarch, Wei Pan, said.
"Yes, the Demon God has only revived a few days ago and is still in a weakened state. It will certainly try anything to escape Wudou, and we absolutely cannot allow it to get away," stated a First-Rank Military Minister.
"The Demon God revived?? How can you, as a first-rank minister, take such absurd folk tales seriously!" Martial God Jiang Qi scoffed with a cold laugh, extending two fingers toward this First-Rank Military Minister!
The force unleashed between his fingers was like a raging wave, sending the First-Rank Military Minister flying out of the hall, skidding across the floor and out into the courtyard...
A deep ravine, a long trail of blood—the members of Wuting were all horrified, their faces ashen!
Even though this First-Rank Wuchen had achieved the Martial Monarch Realm, he was still struck down by the mere fingertip force of the Martial God.
No wonder Martial Monarchs remain in the mortal world while Martial Gods have transcended it; the disparity in strength is indeed too vast.
The hall was deathly silent, everyone listening to the Martial God’s heavy breathing, feeling immense pressure, daring not to speak carelessly anymore.
"If the Demon God had revived, how could it have escaped my surveillance?"
"The Demon Clan is but one suspect. There are many extraordinary techniques in the world. I need you to watch those Foreign Lands, no matter how deeply they’ve rooted themselves in Wudou, you must uproot them for me!"
R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at free𝑤ebnovel.com Only.
Martial God Jiang Qi was clearly aware that the Demon Clan hidden in Wudou had always been under his surveillance, so it was impossible for this event to have been their doing.
Since it was not the work of the Demon Clan, then it must have been done by humans. However, exactly who was behind it, Martial God Jiang Qi couldn’t immediately determine. He needed some clues...
"Southern Guardian, Western Guardian, Eastern Guardian, Northern Guardian—listen well, I’m giving you only ten days. If there are no leads within ten days, come see me after crippling your own meridians!" the Rotating Martial God, Jiang Qi, commanded.
"Yes!" the four True Monarchs responded.
"Northern Guardian Lady, this incident started with the theft by the Demon Clan. You failed to protect the Five-direction Corner Tower. Your guilt is the greatest. However, considering that you managed to retrieve the Demon Bone within seven days and showed noteworthy capabilities, I will spare you punishment for now. But if the situation is not remedied after ten days, I will show you no mercy!" Jiang Qi pointed at Ruan Muhuan, exuding an overwhelming pressure.
Ruan Muhuan found it nearly impossible to breathe, even having to muster all her True Qi to protect herself just to barely remain standing.
The might of a Martial God was not to be underestimated, and at this moment, Ruan Muhuan also understood what Wu Hen had said—this Rotating Martial God clearly didn’t wish for her smooth ascension, evidently setting up obstacles for her.
She had thought that upon reaching the Martial God Realm, they would no longer be as fixated on mortal power struggles; it seemed Martial Gods were no different, at least this Rotating Martial God Jiang Qi still carried the dust of the world...
This realization diminished Ruan Muhuan’s respect for him.
"Only when you become a Martial God will he reason with you."
Recalling these words from Wu Hen, Ruan Muhuan had previously hesitated, worried that by absorbing the hundred-thousand-year-old Dan Jade, she would certainly attract the Martial Gods’ suspicion and retribution. Now she realized that they would only dare to question and pursue her when her strength and status were not on the same level as theirs!
...
The ministers departed.
Only the Martial God Jiang Qi and the Western Guardian Monarch remained in the hall.
The Western Guardian Monarch was androgynous, draped in a long robe reminiscent of peacock feathers.
Standing beside Martial God Jiang Qi, a cold glint shone in the monarch’s eyes. Only after ensuring that the Northern Guardian Lady Ruan Muhuan had completely vanished from sight did they retract their gaze.
"God Jiang, why not strip her of her position? As the guardian of the Five-direction Corner Tower, is it not her responsibility that the East-West was lost? Why bother saving her face at this stage?" Western Guardian Monarch Duan Yongle inquired.
"She has earned a high reputation over the years. Without proper reason, demoting her would lead to other martial gods questioning my suppression of the martial cultivator’s pride," Martial God Jiang Qi replied.
"What about the matter concerning the East Bright Alliance, then? Is it to be put on hold?" Duan Yongle asked.
"The loss of Demon Pill Jade and the Demon Immortal Saber has a far greater impact than that of Nuwa’s people. The news will surely reach the other martial gods soon. If I fail to handle this well, it will be difficult to proceed to the Cang Chu Divine Realm..." Martial God Jiang Qi said.
"Just thinking of these low-class Human Clan using such means to erode our continent makes me lose sleep!" Duan Yongle said.
"Haven’t your people already found the hidden mountain seas of Nuwa God End? The people within the East Bright Alliance are merely husks, not their true spiritual essences. Even if we annihilate them completely, it won’t harm their very foundation," Martial God Jiang Qi said.
"We still need some more precise clues," Duan Yongle said.
"Then I shall ask that woman again," Martial God Jiang Qi said.
"Good!"
"Hehe, such a foolish person..."
Jiang Qi left the great hall and headed towards a sealed tower in a secluded part of Wuting.
Though the sealed tower was extravagantly luxurious on the inside, the exterior was heavily guarded, preventing anyone inside from going out and anyone outside from getting too close.
Jiang Qi dissipated his Martial Breath, approaching the tower like a noble martial artist, slowly making his way inside.
Inside the tower was a woman.
She was dressed in beautiful silk, disinterestedly playing chess with a maid—Go, to be precise. When she saw Martial God Jiang Qi approaching, her eyes lit up, and with a smile curling on her lips, she fluttered into Jiang Qi’s arms like a little swallow.
"You’re back, I’ve been so bored here," the silk-clad woman grumbled in complaint.
"Many things have happened recently, requiring attention."
"So, you really are a Martial God, the most noble and powerful person in this Wudou?" The woman could no longer contain her joy.
She never expected that the man she met in a Spirit Mountain Martial Temple was actually the most dazzling figure in the True Martial Continent. Even though they had been together for two years and she always had her suspicions, it was only today when she surreptitiously witnessed the entire Wuting bowing to him that she realized the man before her was an extraordinary personage.
"I suppose so, but the Martial God Realm is but the smallest glimmer of light amongst the countless stars of the Sky Dome..." Martial God Jiang Qi said.
The silk-clad woman’s eyes instantly filled with excitement and anticipation.
Qin Hefang would never have imagined that the stories she read about in novels would happen to her. Compared to those plots about traveling back to ancient times to become a once-in-an-era empress, her encounter with this Martial God was obviously an even more transcendent existence, hardly less significant than a tumultuous romance with a Heavenly God!
"How wonderful, I’ll see who dares to underestimate me now!" Qin Hefang said, hugging tightly.
Martial God Jiang Qi smiled, but his eyes betrayed an uncontrollable disgust!
The woman before him was his childhood friend.
But she was no longer the one he knew!
"Having been honest with you, why aren’t you being honest with me?" Martial God Jiang Qi said.
"But I’ve already told you everything..."
"I want to meet the real you. You must realize you’re completely different from my cousin. She is she, and you are you. You are full of extraordinary ideas, you cheer me up when I encounter bottlenecks in martial arts, you tell me stories I have never heard before, you even teach me how to treat people with equality and kindness. You are the most thoughtful and unique woman I’ve ever known. I want to meet the real you, not the you that you are now..." Martial God Jiang Qi implored sincerely.
"So, I should descend to your True Martial Continent in my soul form, and we can meet at the Spirit Mountain Martial Temple?" Qin Hefang said.
"I want to go to your world, to see the place where you live. Only there can I see the truest you, right?" Jiang Qi said.
"This..." Qin Hefang hesitated.
Find more chapters on freewebnovel
"Don’t you trust me?" Jiang Qi countered.
"We are bound by rules. How about this—I can stay for you, with my true life and soul, and remain in your True Martial Continent. But I cannot take you to our world," Qin Hefang said.
"You still don’t trust me. I am merely seeking psychological comfort. After all, the Demon Clan possesses abilities to occupy the bodies of others. As a Martial God, I must be responsible for the billions of beings on this continent. All I need is some assurance..." Jiang Qi said.
"I..." Qin Hefang was at a loss for words, her heart torn.
"Never mind, I don’t want to trouble you. My love for you is greater than the heavens; even if you are of the Demon Clan, it is you I love. I can forsake my role as a Martial God. All I need to know is that you won’t bring harm to these beings. I trust you, and even if you are of the Demon Clan, you must be a kindhearted Demon Saintess. Should the eighteen Martial Gods condemn you, I will bear the punishment for you!" Jiang Qi declared.