77 Chapter 1234: Public Execution (2/2)

After nearly six whole days of flight, the majestic infrastructure of the Qingyuan City was finally within view.

On the way back, Zhang Xuan had received two messages from Sun Qiang.

Firstly, they had headed to the royal palace to save Liu Yang. While they had managed to rescue Liu Yang, the latter had accidentally killed Chu Tianxing in a moment of rage.

Secondly, Liu Yang had abruptly left Qingyuan City, and there was no one who knew where he was.

Judging from the timing, it seems like Chu Tianxing was killed around the time that the will of the other Vicious dissipated. Chu Tianxing was bound to the other Vicious by a soul contract, so the death of the other Vicious' will would have resulted in his death too… Zhang Xuan swiftly deduced as soon as he received the messages.

In a show of loyalty toward Vicious, Chu Tianxing had offered his soul toward the other Vicious to establish a soul contract between them. A soul contract bound the life of the contractor to the contractee, such that the death of the contractee would result in the death of the contractor. Naturally, when the other Vicious died, Chu Tianxing lost his life as well.

Thus, even though it was only a conjecture on Zhang Xuan's part, he had a feeling that Liu Yan did not actually kill Chu Tianxing. Rather, it was a coincidence that Chu Tianxing's soul dissipated at that moment, resulting in the death of his physical body.

After all, even though Chu Tianxing was incapacitated at that moment, he was still a Half-Leaving Aperture realm expert. It did not make sense for Liu Yang to be able to kill him with a single punch.

If that was the case, Liu Yang and the others could only be convicted of unlawfully barging into the royal palace to cause trouble. With Zhang Xuan's influence from the successful pavilion crashing, he should be able to resolve the issue with ease.

Just that… why isn't Sun Qiang replying to my messages? Zhang Xuan frowned in worry.

Even though the matter was not a big deal according to what he had seen so far, the problem was that Sun Qiang had not replied a single time to him despite sending eight messages over the days. This left him worried that a mishap might have occurred.

Furthermore, Liu Yang's disappearance had also left him feeling a little unnerved within. Many days had already passed, so had they found him yet?

With a mind filled with doubts, Zhang Xuan finally arrived in the aerial space above Qingyuan City. He maneuvered the aerial saint beast to land at the accommodation that the Combat Master Hall had prepared for him.

”Principal Zhang, you have finally returned!”

As soon as Zhang Xuan landed, he saw Ruohuan gongzi running over with a mix of anxiety and relief on his face.

Noticing the peculiarity in Ruohuan gongzi's expression, Zhang Xuan asked with a frown, ”What's wrong?”

”Something bad has happened!” Ruohuan gongzi exclaimed. ”Liu Yang's act of killing Emperor Chu Tianxing has caused an uproar throughout the Qingyuan Empire! In order to appease the crowd, a master teacher named Song shi has ordered the public execution of Butler Sun and the other poison masters who participated in the raiding of the royal palace that day at noon!”

”A public execution of Sun Qiang and the poison masters?” Zhang Xuan's eyes narrowed in astonishment as his expression turned livid.

He quickly glanced at the sky and noted that the sun was nearly directly overhead. It was nearing noon!

In other words, Sun Qiang and the others could be executed at any moment!

”Yes! The entire Xuanxuan Faction has headed over to the square, intending to raid the execution platform. The only reason I stayed was to inform you of the matter as soon as you returned!” Ruohuan gongzi said anxiously.

”Raid the execution platform?” Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up.

Those fellows sure were gutsy.

The members of the Xuanxuan Faction did wield fighting prowess far surpassing that of their cultivation realm, but the problem was that their cultivation was still too low. Most of them were not even at Half-Saint yet, so how were they intending to stop the execution?

They would be captured by the soldiers guarding the execution platform before they could start anything!

”Bring me to the square right now!” Zhang Xuan bellowed authoritatively.

There was no time to be lost. If those fearless fellows really started something, it would be difficult to resolve this matter peacefully anymore.

Thus, Zhang Xuan grabbed Ruohuan gongzi and swiftly made his way for the royal palace.

While making his way over, he quickly had Ruohuan gongzi fill him in on the details.

”Who is that Song shi master teacher you spoke of earlier? How does he have the authority to order Sun Qiang's execution?”

Pretty much all of the master teachers in the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion were his students, and owing to their gratitude for his enlightenment, they would not execute Sun Qiang and the others recklessly without conducting a proper investigation of Chu Tianxing's death.

”Based on what we have gathered thus far, Song shi is a quasi 8-star master teacher from the Qianchong Empire. As he's an envoy dispatched by the headquarters, the other master teachers have no choice but to heed his orders,” Ruohuan gongzi explained.

”He's from the Qianchong Empire?” Zhang Xuan frowned.

”That's right. After Chu Tianxing's death, the officials, nobles, and even soldiers of the royal court have been crowding outside the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, demanding justice for Chu Tianxing. Unable to withstand the pressure from the populace any longer, Song shi eventually made this judgement,” Ruohuan gongzi said.

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Indeed. For the emperor of a Conferred Empire to be killed so easily, if the Master Teacher Pavilion was unable to give a proper explanation for the matter, wouldn't everyone start fearing for their own lives?

”Where's Liu Yang?” Zhang Xuan asked grimly.

”After that raid on the royal palace, Liu Yang suddenly vanished. Song shi had all the master teachers comb Qingyuan City and its vicinity, but they were still unable to find him. We have no idea where he went. In fact, we believe that the reason Song shi intends to execute Butler Sun and the other poison masters is to force Liu Yang to appear. If they apprehend the culprit behind Chu Tianxing's death, they will at least be able to explain the matter to the Qingyuan Empire and restore some of the Master Teacher Pavilion's credibility,” Ruohuan gongzi explained.

”Un.” Zhang Xuan nodded.

Chu Tianxing's death in the heavily fortified royal palace had most probably scared the nobles and the officials of the Qingyuan Empire, as this meant that Sun Qiang and the other poison masters could effectively bypass any defense and kill anyone they wanted, and there was nearly nothing they could do to prevent it.

If they did not offer them a proper explanation, there was no way the other officials and nobles would let this matter rest. In fact, they might even start swaying public opinion against the Master Teacher Pavilion, and with the influence that they wielded, that could have proved troublesome.

”I can understand the difficult position that the Master Teacher Pavilion is in, but if they think that I will allow them to kill Sun Qiang and the others… over my dead body!” Zhang Xuan uttered coldly.