Bald Vulture was so frightened that he broke out in cold sweat and knelt on the ground hurriedly. “Before this, I did not even know that this was Mr. Mo let alone set up a trap together with True Fire Sect. Please understand, Your Majesty!”

Elder Zhang of True Fire Weapon Workshop glared at Su Zimo with deathly eyes as though he wanted to rip off a piece of the latter’s flesh!

This person in front of him was Mo Ling?

The same Mo Ling who was known as the number one Weapon Refinement Master in the Great Zhou Dynasty and could customize supreme-grade spirit weapons?

How old was this person?

He was merely in his twenties. Despite having a deep-rooted foundation spanning thousands of years in the capital, True Fire Weapon Workshop lost to a young man like this!

The other True Fire Sect elders were also in a state of panic and looked terrified upon hearing the news.

Upon seeing this, the commander of the White Hawk guards, Bai Yuhan, sighed to herself.

In reality, if the green-robed cultivator before them was a commoner, even if He Xing provoked him first, the Emperor of Great Zhou would definitely take on the side of True Fire Sect and the Scarlet Vulture guards out of political consideration.

That person would not have been able to avoid death!

However, that green-robed cultivator had another identity all of a sudden!

At least in the capital of Great Zhou, the identity of Mo Ling was more than enough to go against True Fire Sect and had enjoyed unprecedented influence in the past two years.

True Fire Sect and the Scarlet Vulture guards could only consider themselves unlucky bumping into him.

Pondering for a moment, the emperor declared loudly, “True Fire Sect bullied others with their authority and instigated the spirit lion to injure others. Also, He Xing provoked Mr. Mo and deserved to die.”

“Bald Vulture, you were from True Fire Sect and could be considered as half a disciple of theirs. it was clear that you were biased in this matter. Furthermore, you could not manage your underlings and failed to control the situation immediately, that is a dereliction of duty.”

If the Scarlet Vulture guards had stood out to uphold justice after Pang Ming instigated the spirit lion to injure others, Su Zimo would not have killed anyone on the streets.

It was precisely because of the Scarlet Vulture guards’ actions that Su Zimo harbored a killing intent upon seeing Xiaoning bullied helplessly by the people of True Fire Elixir Workshop and Azure Frost Elixir Workshop!

The emperor continued, “Bald Vulture, your punishment shall be a year without salary and break days. If anything similar happens again, you will definitely be severely punished!”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The emperor waved it off. “Alright, all of you can leave now. Mr. Mo, stay behind.”

With the dust on things settling, the ten elders of True Fire Sect, Bald Vulture, the bearded man and Bai Yuhan left the Rain Admiration Pavilion.

The ten elders of True Fire Sect suffered a huge blow.

Before this, True Fire Weapon Workshop’s reputation in the capital had already plummeted after losing to Mo Ling.

And now, of all people, True Fire Elixir Workshop bumped into Mo Ling once more, resulting in the death of one of their most promising Elixir Refinement Master of the younger generation – it was a terrible loss.

“Mo Ling, Mo Ling…”

Elder Zhang gritted his teeth. With a darkened expression, his eyes were filled with endless hatred.

…

Rain Admiration Pavilion.

“Mr. Mo, you’re quite the schemer.”

After everyone left, the emperor looked at Su Zimo with a faint smile and said something baffling.

Su Zimo’s expression was unchanged and he did not reply.

The emperor smiled and changed the topic. “Mr. Mo, there’s still a month before the sect competition. After it’s over, the ancient battlefield will be opened up. What plans do you have?”

“There are huge opportunities within the ancient battlefield and I naturally want to explore it. When the time comes, I’ll partake in the sect competition,” Su Zimo said.

The emperor laughed. “Given your capabilities, I’m sure you will take a spot in the weapon ranking list without even taking part in the sect competition.”

“How about this, I’d like to invite you as one of the judges for the sect competition. At that time, you can give some pointers to the talents taking part. I’ll reserve the number one spot on the weapon ranking list for you so that you can enter the ancient battlefield with everyone after the sect competition. How does that sound?”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Su Zimo cupped his fists in thanks and paused for a moment before continuing, “Your Majesty, the supreme-grade spirit weapon that you customized previously is already done…”

“I’ll leave it with you first. When the time comes, I’ll get someone to retrieve it,” The emperor replied casually.

Su Zimo was slightly stunned. While he was puzzled, he did not ask further.

Worried about Xiaoning, Su Zimo bowed and bid farewell before leaving the Rain Admiration Pavilion under the lead of guards.

Just as Su Zimo left the Rain Admiration Pavilion, a squad of the Imperial Army was patrolling in the area. Their leader was clad in golden armor and had a cold expression, scrutinizing the surroundings with a sharp gaze.

The gold-armored Imperial Army soldier happened to see Su Zimo leaving the Rain Admiration Pavilion and was about to look away when his expression changed, seemingly recalling something.

“Hmm?”

The gold-armored Imperial Army soldier narrowed his gaze and followed in the direction of Su Zimo.

Su Zimo moved swiftly and in the blink of an eye, the only thing left in the view of the gold-armored Imperial Army soldier was his back view.

“It’s him?”

“How is that possible?”

The gold-armored Imperial Army soldier muttered and his eyes flickered in thought.

A few years had passed and the change in that person’s body was too great.

Logically speaking, that person could not cultivate because he did not have a spirit root.

If not for that familiar green clothes and that delicate side profile, the gold-armored Imperial Army soldier would not have linked the two of them as the same person.

The gold-armored Imperial Army soldier hesitated for a moment and killing intent flashed in his eyes. Turning to a guard behind him, he ordered, “Continue patrolling. I need to go out for a while.”

“Understood!”

The Imperial Army behind him bowed in response.

The gold-armored Imperial Army soldier stealthily followed in the direction Su Zimo left in.

…

Rain Admiration Pavilion.

Not long after Su Zimo left, a scholarly man flew over – it was Perfected Lord Ming Ze.

Perfected Lord Ming Ze smiled bitterly. “It seems like that Mo Ling had truly guessed the identity of Your Majesty previously. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so composed today.”

“Interesting. To think that he would have thought of using my power to break out of the situation.”

The emperor smiled as well and asked, “What’s the name of that girl from Azure Frost Sect who was injured by the spirit lion?”

Perfected Lord Ming Ze replied, “I heard she’s called Su Xiaoning and is siblings with Mo Ling. Her background is unknown and no one heard her mentioning anything either, but according to the other disciples, she’s rather close with the third princess in Azure Frost Sect.”

The emperor frowned.

He analyzed, “There’s only two possibilities if their surnames are different. First, Mo Ling’s surname is Su. Second, Su Xiaoning is only a younger sister acknowledged in name. No matter the possibility, it proves that Su Xiaoning holds a lot of weight in Mo Ling’s heart!”

The emperor nodded, his eyes shining with wisdom as he said slowly, “On the surface, He Xing’s death was because he struck first and wanted to punish Mo Ling. In reality, it’s clear that Mo Ling was the one who lured He Xing into attacking because he wanted to stand up for his younger sister. That was why he killed He Xing on the streets!”

“That’s right, that He Xing was stupid enough to want to try and punish Mo Ling without making clear of the situation. He did not expect to lose his life instead,” Perfected Lord Ming Ze shook his head and sighed.

The emperor said casually, “I gave him a hint earlier on that I believe he understood.”

“Yes, the fact that you didn’t expose him in front of everyone is a huge favor, Your Majesty. As for Su Xiaoning’s identity, perhaps the third princess might know something about it,” Perfected Lord Ming Ze replied.

“Yes.”

The emperor nodded. “Xue’er is coming back soon.”