Chapter 20: With a Single Word, He Suppresses a Third-Rank Elder! 【Confucian Art: Draw a Prison Upon the Ground!】

Watching the farce at the Court of Judicial Review,

the common people could only stare in speechless disbelief.

What was going on?

Was this not supposed to be a case against His Highness the Prince of Qin?

Had they not come here precisely to see His Highness the Prince of Qin?

So how had it already ended before His Highness even arrived?

In other words, the defendant had not even appeared, and the case was already over?

Which meant that today, they might not get to see His Highness the Prince at all.

“Hold it!”

At that moment, a furious shout suddenly burst from the crowd.

Boom!

A powerful aura surged skyward, directly forcing the surrounding common people back.

A black-clad figure with his face covered shot out from the crowd. Behind him, a flaming bird apparition let out a sky-shaking cry as it lunged straight into the great hall.

It was a Third-Rank Elder of the Five Aggregates Sect!

The very Arcane Dao force that had stood behind Drunken Immortal Tower.

The sect stronghold had been destroyed, and he had heard that even Empress Chu Lan was implicated. He had come to get a clear answer.

But

even he had not expected that the very moment he arrived, he would see his own disciple Liu Sangui being seized.

Their sect did indeed cooperate with the Empress and had done quite a number of things for her.

But under the Empress’s banner, they had done even more things for themselves!

If Liu Sangui were taken away, then once they started pulling up the radish, the mud would come with it…

No matter what, he had to snatch the man away!

“Get out of my way!”

The black-clad man had struck far too suddenly.

He grabbed Liu Sangui by the collar. The wings of the apparition behind him spread wide, and with Liu Sangui in tow, he prepared to fly off into the air and escape.

As for Minister Wang’s official seal, it was already too late to use Great Xia’s national fortune to suppress him again.

The black-clad man had chosen precisely this moment.

As long as he got out of the Court of Judicial Review, the vast sky would be his to roam!

And yet, the instant he leapt upward, a calm but unquestionable voice descended from the heavens.

“How presumptuous!”

Those two words were light as drifting smoke, yet as heavy as ten thousand jun.

Boom!

The elder felt an indescribably terrifying pressure descend upon him.

The spiritual energy within his body was completely suppressed.

His knees bent, and he crashed down to his knees in the great hall, shattering the bluestone floor beneath him.

“Who?!”

The Third-Rank Elder struggled to raise his head and look toward the source of the voice.

Outside the Court of Judicial Review, the crowd had parted like a receding tide.

Xu Tian, clad in a simple azure robe, walked forward step by step.

Behind him was Su Can, dressed in a Flying Fish Robe and leading a squad of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

“His Highness the Prince of Qin!”

“It’s His Highness the Prince of Qin!”

The common people erupted into cheers, their wish finally fulfilled.

For them, the whole point of coming here had been to catch a glimpse of the Prince of Qin.

As for the Court of Judicial Review putting the Prince of Qin on trial, at most that could only ever have been a formality.

But if the Court of Judicial Review had really gotten carried away and dared detain the Prince of Qin, then they would have shown them whether they dared storm the Court of Judicial Review or not!

As for suppressing a Third-Rank Elder with a single sentence…

His Highness the Prince of Qin was a Confucian Sage descended into the world. Was that not only natural?

Xu Tian stopped at the entrance to the great hall and looked at the elder still struggling to rise. He shook his head slightly.

“This is an important seat of the Court of Judicial Review. How could it tolerate vermin like you running wild?”

“Bind him.”

Su Can gave a sharp shout and directed a squad of Embroidered Uniform Guard forward. They immediately trussed the man up from head to toe.

“Big Brother Xu, I know this old bastard. He’s an elder of the Five Aggregates Sect.”

Su Can stepped forward, tore off the black-clad man’s face covering, and a vicious gleam flashed in his eyes.

“This is good. Very good indeed. The Five Aggregates Sect is truly in for a blessing now. Heh, heh, heh…”

Ignoring Su Can’s strange laugh, Xu Tian turned toward the presiding judges who had come before him and asked mildly,

“My lords, may I ask when the questioning is to begin?”

“The questioning? The questioning is already over! The plaintiff disrupted the court and has already been taken into custody.”

Minister Wang pulled out the jade pendant and handed it over to Xu Tian, smiling so broadly that he looked almost radiant.

“This was contraband seized from the plaintiff. Consider it a token of apology to Your Highness.”

“Hm?”

Xu Tian froze for a moment.

When he had come, he had prepared for quite a long while. He had even thought through how to cite the classics, how to reason people into submission, and had even come up with several famous sayings to further enhance his Confucian Dao prestige.

And yet… that was it?

“It’s… over already?”

Xu Tian could not help asking a little unwillingly.

“It’s over, it’s over.”

Minister Wang waved both hands in quick succession.

“Your Highness may take your leave…”

At that moment, the surrounding common people also began speaking one after another.

“That’s right, Your Highness. There’s no problem anymore. We all saw it with our own eyes. No one will be allowed to slander you.”

“Exactly! Anyone who wants to slander His Highness the Prince of Qin will have to get past us first.”

“Your Highness may rest easy…”

Amid the noisy chorus of voices, Xu Tian, who had only just arrived, was sent back out of the Court of Judicial Review in a daze.

As he walked back, his heart still felt somewhat unsteady.

This matter truly had gone beyond his expectations.

Still, when he looked at the jade pendant in his hand, a warm smile appeared on his face.

【Obtained a Jiemen Pendant...】

【Confucian Art obtained: Draw a Prison Upon the Ground.】

【Draw a Prison Upon the Ground: Please do not step outside this circle! By consuming Vast Righteous Qi, you may designate an area. For a period of time, no one may enter or leave.】

……

The imperial palace, Kunning Palace.

Chu Hao ran all the way in, panting heavily as he rushed into the great hall.

“Elder Sister! Good news! Tremendous news!”

The moment Chu Hao entered, he began shouting loudly, unable to conceal the excitement in his voice.

Hearing that, Empress Chu Lan’s hand trembled involuntarily, and a trace of hope entered her tone.

“What good news? Is Liu Sangui safe? Did that group from the Court of Judicial Review back down?”

Chu Hao shook his head violently, like a rattling drum.

Chu Lan raised a brow and leaned forward slightly.

“Then did that envoy from the Shan Kingdom get the matter done? Did he really force Xu Tian to lose face and suppress him for once?”

Chu Hao shook his head again.

Suddenly, something seemed to occur to Chu Lan.

She drew in a deep breath. A flicker of excitement flashed through her eyes as she lowered her voice and tested the waters:

“Could it be… that the Court of Judicial Review has gone mad as well and actually arrested Xu Tian?”

Chu Hao scratched his head. All the excitement drained from him as he answered awkwardly, “Well… Liu Sangui got arrested, and then an elder of the Five Aggregates Sect made a move to snatch him away, but he got suppressed and taken as well…”

The smile on Chu Lan’s face froze instantly, and her whole body stiffened.

A long while passed before she finally pointed at Chu Hao, her voice shaking slightly.

“T-this is what you call tremendous news?”

“It is good news, Elder Sister!”

Chu Hao swallowed and hurriedly explained:

“Liu Sangui never implicated us!”

Thinking back to the situation just now, he gave his analysis with great care:

“That elder was mad too. He actually dared make a move, and in the end Xu Tian suppressed him directly. The man did not even manage a grunt! He was hauled away before there was even a trial!”

“It never got tied to us at all. Even if they trace it back in the future, we can still do what we did with the Zhao Family and cut ties at once.”

He looked at his elder sister, who stood there stunned, and proudly lifted his chin.

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

Chu Lan opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but in the end it only turned into a powerless sigh.

She looked at her younger brother speechlessly, waved a hand, and leaned back with a weary expression.

“Fine, fine… We won. We won again.”

She rubbed the space between her brows, lifted her teacup once more, and her tone grew serious.

“For the next few days, stay quiet and behave yourself. I have received word that the Shan Kingdom’s Second Prince has already entered the capital in secret. The situation is chaotic enough already. Do not go out causing trouble again.”

On the surface, Chu Hao nodded obediently, but inwardly he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

The Second Prince had arrived?

Then he had definitely come for that secret stronghold in the western outskirts of the capital!

That place was hiding a supreme treasure.

If the people of the Shan Kingdom got there first, or if it were moved away, then would that not mean he had lost out completely?

He had already recruited more or less enough men from the black market.

It was time for him to act.

The Heaven and Earth Mountain and River Cauldron was already gone. This treasure, he had to get it no matter what!