Chapter 967 - 52: Unmatched Scheming

Chapter 967: Chapter 52: Unmatched Scheming

"Do you think I’m blind, or that the Divine Emperor Zhong Shan is blind?" Mu Qingge mocked with a cold laugh.

However, as soon as she spoke, the people on the Dao Platform gasped in shock.

The ice-blue eyes of the Divine Emperor Zhong Shan directly looked at her, showing a curious interest.

"What did you say! How dare you insult the Divine Emperor Zhong Shan!" Yan Quan’s face changed immediately.

His shout instantly stirred dissatisfaction among the disciples of Zhong Shan Domain.

Yet, Mu Qingge remained calm, only sarcastically saying, "Which ear of yours heard me insulting the Divine Emperor Zhong Shan? Are you feeling guilty, trying to change the topic?"

’My little Qingge is about to stir things up again.’ Si Mo stood among the crowd, looking at the striking figure of Mu Qingge in her dazzling red attire on the Dao Platform, with a joyful smile on his lips.

He really enjoyed seeing Mu Qingge like this. In his eyes, during moments like these, Mu Qingge seemed like a cute little tiger baring its fangs and claws, making him want to hold her tenderly in his arms.

Li Chao spoke indifferently, "The Ice Needle that shot towards me earlier indeed came from the direction of your Zhuoyu Domain. If the third brother hadn’t reminded me, I might have fainted and fallen by now."

Recalling that scene, Li Chao still felt a bit fearful.

If Mu Qingge hadn’t alerted him, he might have been inexplicably disqualified, which would have brought disgrace to Huan Yue Domain!

Thinking of such consequences, Li Chao gratefully glanced at Mu Qingge, nodding slightly.

People from Huan Yue also stood up, looking displeased towards the direction of Zhuoyu Domain.

"Humph! What Ice Needle? Huan Yue Domain wants to slander people, but you should look at your target. Do you think our Zhuoyu Domain is easy to bully?" Yan Quan retorted coldly, his thick-skinned arrogance was unparalleled.

He not only denied Li Chao’s words but also continued to suppress Mu Qingge: "What wisdom and might the Divine Emperor possesses! How dare you say the Divine Emperor is blind, and even claim you did not insult him!"

"On what grounds can you talk about our Divine Emperor!"

"Are people from Huan Yue Domain always this arrogant and overbearing?"

"This is Zhong Shan Domain, not Huan Yue Domain. If you dare insult our Divine Emperor here, return to your Huan Yue Domain."

"Going back is too simple, they must hand over the culprit and punish them severely. Huan Yue Domain must give us an explanation."

"Yes! Let Huan Yue God Emperor personally apologize to our Divine Emperor Zhong Shan!"

"..."

The disciples of Zhong Shan Domain, stirred by Yan Quan’s words, started directing their animosity towards Huan Yue Domain.

Mu Qingge sneered coldly. She looked at the Divine Emperor Zhong Shan sitting on the Ice Lotus, but only saw his curious expression, seemingly intending to watch the drama unfold.

She retracted her gaze and looked towards Yan Quan’s direction, not missing the mocking cold laughs in Ji Lun’s hostile eyes.

Mu Qingge couldn’t help but laugh inwardly, ’They think that by confusing the audience, they can muddle through and gloss over the cheating manipulations?’

The anger of Zhong Shan Domain disciples made those from Huan Yue Domain tense one by one.

The Fifth Young Master looked at Mu Qingge and frowned, "Why did you say that earlier!" His tone held a bit of reprimand.

Li Chao immediately stopped him: "Fifth Brother, third brother saved us." He could judge that if Yan Quan dared to make a move against him, he definitely wouldn’t spare others.

Thus, Mu Qingge’s reminder not only saved him but also the others.

The Fifth Young Master’s breath hitched, pursed lips in silence, eyes filled with anxiety and helplessness.

After the disciples of Zhong Shan Domain vented enough, Mu Qingge calmly said, "Haven’t you noticed something strange about the remaining people on the Dao Platform?"

Her reminder made those, whether believers or doubters, look around themselves. Even those watching from the Snow Peak started to pay attention.

The Divine Emperor Zhong Shan’s lips curled slightly, a subtle smile flashed without trace. His ice-blue eyes now appeared even more intrigued.

Yan Quan frowned.

He seemed to have not expected Mu Qingge to be attacked so vehemently without defending herself at all, instead clinging to the matter of Zhuoyu Domain.

He wanted to add fuel to the fire, but was preempted by Mu Qingge: "Haven’t you noticed, the disciples on this Dao Platform, Zhuoyu Domain has the most, right? If you compare the Jade Scrolls in their hands, you might even discover something interesting. Their answers, whether right or wrong, are really similar."

What!

Mu Qingge’s words shocked everyone.

Except for the Divine Emperor Zhong Shan who remained expressionless, revealing no thoughts. Meanwhile, Si Mo’s interest was solely in Mu Qingge, watching her dazzling appearance, with other people’s reactions not even on his radar.

Yan Quan and the others, their expressions changed, and their hearts suddenly became somewhat panicked.

Beforehand, they hadn’t calculated that if they compared the Jade Scrolls of all the disciples from the Zhuoyu Domain together, such a scene would appear.

Mu Qingge’s words brought them to realization. It’s impossible to recite five thousand Daoist Collections absolutely without error; there would be slight discrepancies. Everyone has different recording and expression abilities, which results in greater variation in the content of the Jade Scrolls.

There couldn’t be another answer that matches the correct content exactly.

For example, if the original sentence ’there are three eggs and five stones in the basket’ is recorded slightly differently as ’there are three eggs and five rocks in the basket,’ and if such slight discrepancies multiply, it becomes suspect.

Moreover, the content of the Daoist Collections is far more complex than such sentences, making similar errors and discrepancies even more unlikely.

If such a possibility is magnified infinitely among Zhuoyu Domain’s disciples, then there’s only one possibility.

"Zhuoyu Domain is cheating." Understanding Mu Qingge’s implication, Zhuang Shan said in a deep voice.

Zhuoyu Domain is cheating?

Zhuoyu Domain is actually cheating!

Instantly, this statement caused an uproar.

On those Snow Peaks, the elders of Zhuoyu Domain immediately looked displeased. They were indeed wronged because this matter was a plan by Yan Quan and the disciples, which hadn’t been disclosed to them.

The time had arrived, Mu Qingge continued, "Earlier, when I finished recording and was resting, I accidentally discovered Zhuoyu Domain’s disciples secretly passing Jade Scrolls between each other. Afterward, they exhausted their Divine Sense and secretly took out Ice Needles, trying to attack others and feign exhaustion and fainting. With such tactics, Zhuoyu would have the most winners this round."

The crowd was in an uproar.

With Mu Qingge’s explanation, they seemed to have sensed something amiss.

Especially the disciples from Zhong Shan Domain and Wei Yi Domain, who currently had so few people standing on the Dao Platform.

"This is the Four Divine Domains’ Daoist debate, held in Zhong Shan Domain, right under Divine Emperor Zhong Shan’s watchful eyes, how dare Zhuoyu Domain act so boldly, aren’t they just assuming Divine Emperor Zhong Shan is blind? Who exactly is insulting Divine Emperor Zhong Shan, them or me?" Mu Qingge shouted coldly, righteously.

No one expected things to turn out this way.

And Yan Quan didn’t foresee that Mu Qingge would be so formidable, with a few words she revealed their cheating scheme, and even turned the previous framing against them.

"Sharp-tongued." Yan Quan said hatefully.

At this moment, Ji Lun hated Mu Qingge to the core. Not only had they opposed him earlier, but now they were ruining his plans.

He retorted through gritted teeth, "What you say is just your side of the story, do you have evidence?"

Mu Qingge raised an eyebrow playfully, "Evidence? You’re asking for evidence?" Her gaze was filled with mockery. "I’ve already said, whether it’s cheating, take out all your Jade Scrolls and compare them, and it will naturally be obvious. As for the ambush..." She looked at Li Chao and smiled, "Isn’t my Eldest Young Master from Huan Yue Domain also a witness?"

Li Chao lifted his head, his gaze icy cold, "Correct! The Ice Needle aimed at me was shattered by my own hand. This is the best evidence!"

"Eldest Young Master, you’re mistaken." Mu Qingge suddenly spoke, with a playful tone under Li Chao’s puzzled eyes and Yan Quan’s gloomy expression, "The best witness is Divine Emperor Zhong Shan."

She looked at Divine Emperor Zhong Shan and spoke brightly, "Do you all really think that everything you’ve done could escape Divine Emperor Zhong Shan’s notice?"

At this moment, Mu Qingge finally brought out the stifling presence of Divine Emperor Zhong Shan.

She had already spoken so clearly with evidence and logical arguments, and even complimented Divine Emperor Zhong Shan. If he continued to feign ignorance, wouldn’t it imply that as a dignified Divine Emperor, he couldn’t see the petty tricks happening in secret?

Clearly, he saw it. Even if he hadn’t seen it, now he must act as if he had. Otherwise, where would his dignity be?

’What a clever little fellow. He has forced this Emperor to the point where I must follow his lead.’ Divine Emperor Zhong Shan thought to himself. His ice-blue eyes sparkled with immense interest.

"The people from Zhuoyu Domain are so shameless!"

"Not only shameless but despicable!"

"It’s too much! I’ve said, why do we have so few people left from Zhong Shan Domain. It turns out these fellows cheated with such underhanded methods."

"Disqualify them!"

"Yes, they shouldn’t be allowed to participate in the next competition. Otherwise, we won’t even realize if we’re being ambushed."

Everyone was outraged.

The elders from Zhuoyu Domain thought it unwise, and decisively pleaded with Divine Emperor Zhong Shan: "Divine Emperor Zhong Shan, indeed this matter is the fault of these youngsters. But please consider that they are merely eager to win, and spare them in their momentary folly. Among them, there are those who’ve relied on their own abilities until now. If everyone’s disqualified, wouldn’t they be unjustly treated?"

Divine Emperor Zhong Shan finally spoke slowly, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger. "Compare the Jade Scrolls of all Zhuoyu Domain’s disciples. Those with similar contents will be disqualified. The rest continue the competition. If anyone dares to tamper again, thinking this Emperor is too old to see clearly, then all of Zhuoyu Domain’s people should leave Zhong Shan Domain early. Moreover, I will personally write to inform Zhuoyu Divine Emperor about this matter."

Divine Emperor Zhong Shan’s decision left Mu Qingge somewhat disappointed. She glanced at Divine Emperor Zhong Shan, her brows slightly furrowed.