Chapter 567: The Tumultuous Trial (Two in One)

Seeing the crowd in the hall begin to sway from Mantou's words, the bald old man's eyes darkened.

"What a load of nonsense."

He spoke coldly, then fell silent.

Just as everyone thought the matter was settled, the fourth figure sitting near the front picked up his microphone again.

"I still think we should reconsider. Some things cannot be rushed."

Here we go again...

The crowd was left stunned.

They had assumed it was enough for the figure in the front to speak up once. They never expected this—

This was blatant bullying.

The situation had been somewhat unclear, but with this second statement, most would definitely change their minds. In other words, the girl on stage's proposal had practically been sentenced to death.

"Objection."

However, right at that moment, something completely unexpected happened.

Among the ten principal figures, the sixth figure suddenly spoke up.

"I feel that Old Sin City and New Sin City have been separated for too long. The disparity in their current living conditions is simply too massive."

"If they merge, integrating the residents of both sides would be a challenge."

"Especially after the representative of Old Sin City expressed such a strong desire for independence, I believe this matter requires careful reconsideration."

As the voice faded, the fourth figure turned to look at the sixth. Beneath his mask, his gaze turned profound.

Suddenly, the crowd behind them felt as if a gust of wind had kicked up inside the hall.

The invisible wind swept up from the ground, surging so rapidly that it instantly hoisted everyone's nerves into the air, making them feel like birds liable to plummet in a gale at any moment.

Here it comes.

The crowd held their breath; the sixth figure was also from the Eerie Capital.

And he was from the oldest and most mysterious family in the Eerie Capital—

Fear.

Two Divine Envoys from the same great Domain, publicly clashing.

Things were getting very interesting.

"I still think it requires consideration," the fourth figure spoke again.

"I agree, but what we should be considering is how incompatible the two are," the sixth figure fired back without backing down.

For a moment, no one in the crowd dared to speak.

In their minds, this no longer had anything to do with the poor girl on stage. It was clearly a Domain dispute with deeper motives and more complex intentions.

It was highly likely the Fear family didn't want New Sin City pursuing the legendary hidden treasures of Old Sin City, so they deliberately intervened.

And Mantou, standing on stage, was nothing but a sacrificial pawn in their rivalry.

The fourth figure looked at the sixth. "Given your family's current situation, did you ask your brother before provoking more enemies for yourselves?"

"I don't care."

The sixth figure chuckled. "I've got enough enemies not to care about one more anyway. My brother only taught me to never back down from trouble. He never told me to yield when someone is making threats right at our doorstep."

"If you have a problem with it, use your One-Vote Privilege."

The fourth figure fell into silence.

After a long while, he spoke coldly: "Your family will hate you to the bone for what you've done today."

At those words, everyone present felt their pupils contract.

If the earlier exchange was just a clash of opinions, this was a naked threat.

And he had committed a massive taboo, the kind most strictly forbidden at their level.

Leave families out of it.

Having cultivated to this point, the vast majority of them had experienced too much, seen too much, and enjoyed too much.

Life and death were fated, and wealth determined by heaven; this was the conclusion brought about by time and experience.

Whatever happened, they could shoulder it themselves. At worst, it was just death.

Saying they weren't afraid would be a lie, but there was a limit to that fear. They had seen it all in this lifetime; dying wouldn't be a loss.

However—seeing through life and death for oneself was one thing; one's family was another matter entirely.

The fourth figure was clearly threatening the other members of the Fear family. Everyone could feel the temperature in the air drop as a chill spread through the room.

Sure enough, the very next second.

With a bang, the sixth figure slammed his foot onto the table, yanking off the hat that covered half his face, and glared at the fourth figure. "You fucking want to die, don't you?!"

The crowd's eyes went wide, including Mantou on the stage.

Her chestnut-brown eyes visibly trembled, because the face revealed by the figure looked incredibly similar to the person she held dearest.

It was also a camera head, with the same pitch-black lens and scarlet eyes beside it. The only difference was that this camera was a vintage European model equipped with a Screen, and it even had a tiny mustache above the photo slot.

She seemed to understand. Her gaze shifted as she began to search carefully.

Yi Ji was here.

Where was Yi Ji?

She tried to control her gaze, but just the thought of her Yi Ji watching made her feel like the tears she had just held back were about to spill.

Where was Yi Ji...

Mantou's expression gradually grew anxious.

But right at that moment, a familiar voice echoed by her ear: "Stay calm, Mantou."

It was Yi Ji's voice.

Mantou quickly lowered her head, hiding the tears that had just welled up.

"I'm here."

Mantou blinked repeatedly.

She waited for Yi Ji's next instruction.

With Yi Ji here, she didn't need to worry about anything else.

But when the familiar voice spoke again, it wasn't an instruction or a method.

"You did great just now, Mantou. Thank you for your hard work."

It was close.

So very close.

The tears were on the verge of pouring out to drown those gem-like eyes.

Mantou's hands, resting on the stage, trembled slightly.

Fortunately, she had been keeping this posture, and with everyone's attention locked on the two arguing principal figures, no one noticed.

Yes.

She knew her Yi Ji had arrived.

She had done all of this simply because she didn't want to disappoint him.

The person who had left everything to her and chosen exile in another world—she didn't want him to think she hadn't grown, that she was still a deadweight.

Even though she knew he would never think of her that way.

But she would think that way.

"Mantou, I'm not entirely confident about this."

Yan Jing spoke slowly. "Time was a bit tight. I made some preparations, but they might not work."

"If—and I mean if—we don't succeed in the end."

"Don't blame yourself. You've already done your best; the fault is mine."

"Some things in this world are just like that. They don't go our way just because we want them to. If we fail, just open up Old Sin City's permissions and let those people search it. As long as the residents in the city are safe, let them do whatever they want with everything else."

"You don't have to nod. I know you're listening."

Mantou didn't nod. She controlled the suppressed emotions in her body. In truth, the moment she heard Yan Jing say 'the fault is mine,' she was on the verge of losing it.

Thankfully, Niaoniao inside her body desperately yelled at her to stop, allowing her to hold it back.

"Alright, that's it. Once they're done arguing, just act like nothing happened and continue your speech."

Mantou pursed her lips and nodded silently in her heart.

On the other side, facing the sixth figure's fury, the fourth figure sneered coldly, throwing the sixth figure's own words right back at him: "If you have a problem with it, use your One-Vote Privilege."

"You think I wouldn't dare?!"

The sixth figure was seething with rage.

But the next second, he sat back down and sneered, "But there's no need to use that on a guy like you."

Clearly, he had seen through his opponent's objective.

He wanted him to waste a One-Vote Privilege on a small Domain like Old Sin City.

That way, he could seize the initiative during the subsequent review process for the Cat Ship.

Among all the principal figures, the vast majority were planning to use their One-Vote Privilege in the next round!

This was an 'open secret' everyone knew.

"Heh."

The fourth figure chuckled and didn't say another word.

"Does anyone else wish to speak?"

Seeing the argument finally conclude, the female host on the stage raised her microphone—her palms already drenched in sweat—and looked at the crowd.

"We, Five Elements Heaven—"

Suddenly, a figure in the crowd stood up. "—support the independence of Old Sin City."

The figure spoke plainly, leaving the people around him momentarily stunned.

What kind of show was this?

Publicly declaring support was an extremely rare occurrence.

Because the voting was anonymous.

Standing up publicly could certainly draw votes, but it would also offend people.

Especially when a principal figure had already voiced a second objection. Who would be stupid enough to step forward at a time like this?

But the representative of Five Elements Heaven stood up, and did so decisively.

The crowd looked toward the front row, sensing that the fourth figure's gaze had turned unnatural.

But the very next second, another figure stood up. "We, Slumber Valley, support the independence of Old Sin City."

It wasn't over.

Immediately after, another figure followed. "We, Rootless Duckweed, support the independence of Old Sin City."

"We, Long Mirror Lake, support the independence of Old Sin City."

"Peace Heavenly Kingdom supports the independence of Old Sin City."

"We, Glacial Era, support the independence of Old Sin City."

Finally, a beautiful silhouette stood up.

Not only that, she removed her hat and mask.

Her skin, bones, and even her hair were nearly transparent, every single strand radiating a bone-piercing chill.

Bing Yao.

Yan Jing's expression was calm.

The conflict had begun.

Down below the stage, the crowd was in an uproar.

If the crowd still couldn't tell that someone was acting as Old Sin City's mastermind behind the scenes, they wouldn't have been qualified to sit in these seats in the first place.

The key question was—

Who was it?

Who was willing to offend a Divine Envoy just to make Old Sin City independent?

And what had they offered to make so many Domains agree?

"Tsk—"

The figure in the fourth seat lowered his gaze, his hand involuntarily tightening around the microphone.

He had forgotten the last time he had suffered a loss.

But today, the person hiding in the dark didn't just want him to suffer a loss—they wanted to do it in front of all these people.

"Hehe..."

The fourth figure sneered, his smile sending chills down everyone's spines.

"I don't care who you are, or what your goal is. Everyone who casts a vote against me... I will track down exactly who you are."

Beep!!! The host activated a device in her hand, issuing a warning sound.

Publicly threatening others was obviously not permitted by the Gods' Association.

But the fourth figure just smiled and looked at the host. "And the same goes for you."

Thump, thump, thump!!!

The figure sitting in the first position rapped on the table. "Silence!!!"

Judging by this figure's voice, he was quite old.

He looked at the fourth figure and said coldly, "Please observe the rules."

"Why should I?" The fourth figure sneered. "Back then, it was you people begging me to join here, wasn't it?"

"You'd better not push me into not wanting to play this game anymore."

The hall fell into absolute silence.

Looking at the fourth figure, no one in the crowd dared to speak.

They couldn't stand the fourth figure's attitude, but they didn't dare gamble. If he really found out they had voted against him, they would definitely meet a miserable end.

This guy was a lunatic.

It was better to just vote against the independence—many people made up their minds.

However, right at that moment.

A hoarse voice rang out.

"Path of Destiny supports the independence of Old Sin City."

Those words were like a heavy sledgehammer striking a bell.

It jolted the crowd out of their previous shock, only to plunge them into an even greater one.

They watched as a figure stood up from his seat and threw off his cloak.

It was someone wearing a tiger mascot suit.

His entire body was covered, save for his head, which lacked the mascot hood and was instead covered by a normal mask.

But even so, through the mask, one could vaguely tell there was an incredibly handsome face underneath.

"I said, I support the independence of Old Sin City. You get it?"

The crowd clicked their tongues. They could all feel the eyes of the fourth figure shooting flames.

Path of Destiny!

This was no small Domain.

Among the Second Level Domains, Path of Destiny's status was practically second only to the recently vanished Great Prison. It was a genuinely powerful Domain in both name and reality.

More importantly, numerous minor Domains under Path of Destiny relied on it to survive.

With Path of Destiny taking the lead, Old Sin City's independence was essentially secured.

On stage, Mantou stared at the figure smiling at her, stunned once again.

Although the mascot hood on his head was missing.

She still instantly recognized who he was.

It was Mr. Tiger...

Mantou gulped.

Mr. Tiger had come too.

Of course, she knew exactly who Mr. Tiger had come for.

There were so many Domains—and the only reason they would publicly support Old Sin City was—

Yi Ji.

Mantou clenched her fists, praying silently that no more accidents would happen.

However, it seemed the fourth figure finally couldn't hold back.

"Good! Very good!"

The fourth figure laughed heartily. "You guys know how to play! You really know how to play."

"I don't know who you are, but you'd better not let me find you."

"Since you want to play like this, then—"

"I invoke my One-Vote Privilege."

The smile on the fourth figure's face vanished with his final words.

He glared coldly at the dumbstruck crowd, then ripped off his hat and mask, throwing them onto the floor.

It was an extremely pale, clean face, exuding a faint demonic charm between the brows. But the most striking feature was the two patches right below his eyes.

They were thickly covered in dark red blood vessels, looking like magma flowing from a volcanic crater.

"Come on!!! Come at me!!!!"

The fourth figure looked at the standing figures, laughing as he practically roared. "Are you going to keep coming?! Huh?! You nobodies don't even have the right to sit at the table! Are you still going to try?!"

"And you!"

The fourth figure glared at the sixth figure who had just revealed his face. "Didn't you want to use your One-Vote Privilege?! Use it! Come on! Use it right now!!!! I don't have a family! Come on! Bring it on!!!"

Looking at the fourth figure's arrogant display, the sixth figure desperately wanted to stand up and blast him with his own One-Vote Privilege.

But in the end, he held back.

Even though it was his two nephews who had requested this of him, this was as far as he could go.

Things hadn't been going too well for the family lately.

If he really provoked another Divine Envoy, even he wouldn't be able to handle the fallout.

Forcing the other side to burn a One-Vote Privilege right now was already a massive win.

As for getting angry—

The other party belonged to the Wrath Lineage. No one understood anger better than him, and there was no need to provoke him while he was infuriated.

"You win."

He clapped his hands, a mocking smile on his face.

"I win! Of course I win!!!"

The fourth figure didn't care at all if the other side was mocking him. He spread his arms wide and laughed. "Come on! Do you have any other tricks?! Come on! Kill me!!!"

In the waiting room.

Yan Jing's expression was grim.

Before the meeting, he hadn't expected the person stepping up to be from the Wrath Lineage.

Nor had he expected the guy to have this kind of personality.

What a pity...

His eyes flickered, preparing to concede.

In his mind, a new plan had already taken shape.

That guy had better never step foot into Old Sin City.

But right then, just as the fourth figure laughed wildly.

Something Yan Jing never anticipated happened.

The figure sitting in the ninth seat picked up a communication device and answered a call.

Then, he stood up and spoke. "My apologies for the interruption."

"Pure Blood Heavenly Kingdom."

"Invoking our One-Vote Privilege."

"We support the independence of Old Sin City."