Upon hearing Qiu He's tone, the other elders from the Sky Martial Court no longer protested and fell silent.

Qiu He's voice was still echoing in the hall when…

Bang!

Li Yunzheng, who was sitting next to Lu Zhou, suddenly slammed his hand on the handle of his seat and said angrily, "How dare you!"

The elders of the Sky Martial Court jumped in fright before they looked at Li Yunzheng one after another.

Everyone, including those from Cloud Mountain, was confused.

What was this little emperor trying to do?

Li Yunzheng remained quiet, maintaining the dignified expression on his face. When the pain in his hand finally faded away, he said angrily, "Are you trying to rebel?"

Qiu He was stunned. He quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this matter really has nothing to do with the Sky Martial Court. The Ninth Temple often went against the royal court. When they heard that the Ninth Temple was colluding with the Thousand Willow Monastery, they sent General Che, the General of the North, to investigate the matter. However, General Chen died later. The Grand Duke of Fu gave full authority to the Sky Martial Court to investigate this matter. Court Master Yu was ordered to capture Temple Master Sikong, which resulted in today's consequences. The Sky Martial Court was only acting according to orders."

Although Li Yunzheng did not hold any real power, he was not an idiot. He scoffed lightly before he said, "Why didn't I receive any report from the Grand Duke of Fu? Moreover, who was the one who ordered Court Master Yu to capture Temple Master Sikong?"

"This..." Qiu He did not know how to answer this question. The palace's affairs had always been complicated, and there were many things he could not carelessly say even if he had inside information.

Li Yunzheng turned to look at Lu Zhou and saw Lu Zhou tapping his fingers, indicating for him to continue. Needless to say, with his grandmaster's support, he grew more confident.

"How strange! As the ruler of the country, how could I be unaware of such an important matter? Moreover, if Sikong Beichen is a felon of the royal court, why is he imprisoned in the Sky Martial Court? Shouldn't he be sent to the Supreme Court for trial and imprisonment?"

Everyone knew Li Yunzheng was only asking despite knowing the answer to his own questions. They also knew the little emperor was just putting on a show of strength.

Everyone knew that Li Yunzheng was asking despite knowing the answer.

"Qiu He, tell me, who owns Great Tang? Who makes the decisions?"

Thud!.

Qiu He fell to his knees immediately. "Of course it's Your Majesty! This land is yours so Your Majesty naturally makes the decisions!"

"If it's as you said, then you're all traitors!"

"I… I know my sins! I beg you to forgive me, Your Majesty."

The other elders from the Sky Martial Court fell to their knees as well.

After all, the label of a traitor was not to be taken lightly.

It was unfortunate Li Yunzheng did not have any real power. These elders were all old foxes. At most, they would only play along. It was not like they would lose anything after all.

How could Nie Qingyun not understand these old foxes' thoughts? He said, "Since you know your sins, why don't you apologize with your deaths?"

Qiu He was taken aback.

It was well known that Cloud Mountain and the Ninth Temple had enmity between them that had never been resolved for years. Nie Qingyun and Sikong Beichen were also always at loggerheads. Why was Nie Qingyun speaking up for the Ninth Temple today?

The people from the Sky Martial Court remained silent.

At this moment, a few disciples from the Sky Martial Court carried Sikong Beichen into the hall.

Yao Qingquan and Zhao Jianghe were not present today. After they got injured, they rested on Cloud Mountain for two days before they returned to the Ninth Temple to recuperate. If they were present, what would they think if they saw Sikong Beichen's current state?

Nie Qingyun hurriedly stepped forward to support Sikong Beichen. After a brief examination, he shook his head when he discovered that Sikong Beichen's condition did not look optimistic.

After all, this was the Sky Martial Court, Yu Chenshu's Territory. There were many ways to torture prisoners. Even Ten-leaf elites would not be able to endure it.

Nie Qingyun shook his head again as he reported his discovery, "His Eight Extraordinary Meridians have been sealed, and his Dantian's sea of Qi has been blocked by a unique energy. His internal injuries are quite serious as well."

Bang!

Li Yunzheng slapped the handle of his seat again as he scolded, "Well done, Qiu He! What's the punishment for lynching someone?"

Qiu He kowtowed as he said, "Your Majesty, we've been wronged! Sikong Beichen and the court master were injured during their battle. We didn't lynch anyone!"

The other elders from the Sky Martial Court did not dare to speak at this moment.

"Do you think I'm a fool?" Li Yunzheng stood up and walked to Sikong Beichen's side. He pointed at the wounds on his body.

Some of the wounds on Sikong Beichen's body were new and some were old.

Qiu He was stunned. He looked at Sikong Beichen with a dumbfounded expression on his face. He really did not know which b*stard had secretly beaten Sikong Beichen! Whoever that person was truly had caused a lot of harm today!

At this moment, Lu Zhou finally spoke up. He said tonelessly, "Stand down."

Li Yunzheng stepped aside and returned to his seat.

Lu Zhou pushed his hand out toward Sikong Beichen and a few blue lotuses emerged from his palm.

The elders from the Sky Martial Court looked at the blue lotuses in shock and disbelief. They knew about the golden lotus and the black lotus, but what with this blue lotus that suddenly appeared out of nowhere?

The powerful vitality energy from the blue lotuses surged into Sikong Beichen's body. They healed him greatly. The bruises on his face gradually faded away, and his wan expression also slowly disappeared. Soon after, he slowly opened his eyes. With Nie Qingyun's help, he lifted his head. His messy white hair made him look incredibly pitiful.

The first person Sikong Beichen saw was Lu Zhou. He smiled faintly and said, "B-brother Lu…"

Lu Zhou asked expressionlessly, "Who hurt you?"

Sikong Beichen looked to the left and to the right. When he saw the disciples from the Evil Sky Pavilion, Cloud Mountain, and the Thousand Willow Monastery, he knew he was safe. Then, he said, "I couldn't really see. It's too dark underground." He had to take three deep breaths before he could continue speaking. "However, Yu Chenshu is one of them…"

Lu Zhou nodded. "Help him sit down."

Nie Qingyun brought Sikong Beichen to the left and helped him sit down.

Lu Zhou looked at Qiu He and the other elders and said, "Tell me, how should we settle this score?"

Qiu He and the others were so confused that they could not be any more confused. Yu Chenshu was already dead. Was it not enough?

"I really don't know who beat up Sikong Beichen. Usually, only the court master and those close to him are allowed to enter the underground prison. Apart from that, no one is allowed to enter!" Qiu He became more and more agitated as he spoke.

At this moment, a loud voice rang from outside.

"The Grand Duke of Fu has arrived"

A middle-aged man with a broad face wearing an official uniform and a brocade hat slowly walked in with his hands on his back. His footsteps were steady; when he walked, he looked imposing and awe-inspiring. Four guards carrying sabers trailed after him as they walked into the hall.

After entering the Sacred Rites Hall, the Grand Duke of Fu, whose name was Cui An, came to a stop. His eyes were like those of a hawk as they swept past everyone. First, it was Qiu He who was kneeling. Then, it was the people from Cloud Mountain who were standing on the right. Finally, it swept past the calm Lu Zhou, the dispirited Wang Shizhong, and landed on the young emperor, Li Yunzheng.

Cui An finally said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

"What are you doing here?" Li Yunzheng asked.

"Your Majesty, there are many traitors around, and it's not safe. Please return to the palace." Cui An was, naturally, different from those low-ranking officials who were easily suppressed. When he spoke, his voice was sonorous and powerful. He did not even give Li Yunzheng a chance to speak and only flicked his sleeve.

The four people standing behind Cui An immediately walked toward Li Yunzheng.

Upon seeing this, Wang Shizong cried out in his heart as an ominous feeling rose in his heart. He hurriedly took a few steps back.

Li Yunzheng's brows were tightly knitted. He felt a heavy pressure on his chest, causing him to feel like he could not breathe. Such a thing had happened to him many times. If this had happened in the palace, he might not have cared so much and would just swallow his anger. However, today was different from the past. He had already been shown hope, and this so-called official who supported the country wanted to kill his hope? How could he not feel suffocated?

Li Yunzheng turned to look at Lu Zhou with a pleading expression on his face as he called out, "Grandmaster..."

Lu Zhou waved at Yu Zhenghai and Yu Shangrong.

The duo naturally understood their master.

When the four guards finally arrived, two energy swords and two energy blades sliced across the guards' necks at lightning speed.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The four guards' eyes widened in shock as they fell to the ground; they did not even have time to react. Blood flowed out of their necks and seeped into the wooden brown floor in the Sacred Rites Hall.

Upon seeing this, the Grand Duke of Fu, Cui An, frowned.