Chapter 2285 - 2274: Criminal

But having finally caught someone who knew the truth, how could Lin Zifeng just let him go? With a roar, his Heavenly Painting Halberd whipped up a gust of force and suddenly stabbed toward Jiang Xuefeng’s back.

"Sss..."

The rampaging, powerful Elemental Power dyed the Heavenly Painting Halberd gold. Even though Lin Zifeng held back, that terrifying power still slashed Jiang Xuefeng’s long robe to shreds. On the exposed skin of his back, faint beads of blood oozed out.

"Don’t move. If I thrust this spear down, you’ll die here on the spot. I think you understand very well: the root of all this—if you don’t push me to the absolute limit, I will never kill."

Lin Zifeng’s face was dark, his voice cold. Although Jiang Xuefeng had withdrawn his own Elemental Power, his guard was in no way relaxed. After all, this bastard had just been trying to take his life!

"I’ll ask you: the ones who blood-washed the Martial God Marquis Mansion—were they a few old men?"

At these words, the vicious look on Jiang Xuefeng’s face suddenly showed a trace of shock, and he blurted out, "How do you know that?!"

How do I know? How could I not know!

Right now Lin Zifeng wished he could tear that Green-clothed bastard into pieces. He had no mood to explain anything to Jiang Xuefeng and continued in a low voice, "The Lianyun Empire is really feeling mighty these days. To protect your own country, you want me, Lin Zifeng, to be your scapegoat?"

With a cold snort, Jiang Xuefeng wasn’t stupid; how could he not realize Lin Zifeng had already seen through everything? But since both of them knew, he couldn’t be bothered to waste words. His tone grew indifferent. "Hmph, I’m merely following His Majesty’s orders. Your status in the Lianyun Empire is that of a criminal who tried to assassinate the Emperor!"

A criminal...

A trumped-up charge like that, why would Lin Zifeng care? He let out a cold laugh. "Noisy. Take me to see that fat Liu. How could I, Lin Zifeng, ever acknowledge a crime like this?"

What Lin Zifeng said was exactly what Jiang Xuefeng had been hoping for. As long as they returned to the palace, with his own strength combined with the dozen Military Generals in the hall, they would absolutely be able to kill Lin Zifeng!

He just never thought: since Lin Zifeng dared say such things, he obviously wasn’t afraid of those Military Generals.

You Green-clothed lot can scare people into flipping black and white, but I, Lin Zifeng, will not lose to you!

The spear tip, flickering with Golden Light, pressed against the back of Jiang Xuefeng’s neck. The two figures flashed a few times and landed at the palace gates.

"Boom..."

The dull thud of their landing made the Military Generals, who had been discussing strategy, fall silent at once. But an Instant later, all eyes shifted to Lin Zifeng standing behind Jiang Xuefeng!

They had all seen Lin Zifeng’s portrait. The man they dreamed of cutting into a thousand pieces had delivered himself to their doorstep—how could they not be delighted?

Among them, a man in dark-gold Armor narrowed his eyes. He suddenly drew the Sword at his waist and was about to charge forward, but was halted by a furious shout from Liu Jihong.

"Stand down!"

The monarch had spoken; they had no choice but to obey. Though they stopped in place, the cold gleam of their weapons and the sword-like chill in their gazes were all locked onto Lin Zifeng.

Liu Jihong had ordered them to hold because he didn’t want Lin Zifeng, in a fit of rage, to kill Jiang Xuefeng.

And another thing: to defeat Jiang Xuefeng and yet remain completely unscathed—Lin Zifeng’s strength was clearly not to be underestimated.

Though Liu Jihong’s expression was gloomy, he was inwardly cursing already. Those mysterious people had threatened him to hunt this man down, fine—but they never told him Lin Zifeng’s strength was this terrifying!

Complaints aside, Liu Jihong was deep-minded. In just a brief moment, he weighed the pros and cons. From Jiang Xuefeng’s description, the weakest of those mysterious figures was in the Early Stage of the Saint Realm, and the strongest had already reached the legendary level of a Thunder Tribulation Expert!

Whereas Lin Zifeng was merely at Saint Peak. Compared to those people, how he should act was obvious.

Right then and there, Liu Jihong made up his mind: even if he had to sacrifice every minister in the hall, Lin Zifeng had to die!

"Who are you? Tell that fat Liu to come out. Your Lianyun Empire is feeling pretty high and mighty, daring to pin a crime on my head!"

At last, it was still Lin Zifeng, face full of a cold smile, who broke the silence first. He really hated the way Liu Jihong was looking at him.

"Hmph. Boy, I’ve heard of you. But listen carefully: right now, the one who decides the fate of the Lianyun Empire is me, the current Emperor—Liu Jihong!"

With the enemy before him, Liu Jihong naturally had to show his imposing aura. After a cold snort, his hands retreated into his sleeves, clasped behind his back. Lin Zifeng could not see that he was gripping the Azure Dragon Jade Stone.

"So you’re that fat Liu’s old man. Tsk tsk, truly a ’wise ruler’ of your generation. Acting like this, aren’t you afraid that if Dongfang Haoxuan knows from the underworld, he’ll never rest in peace?!"

Seeing Liu Jihong’s contemptuous demeanor, Lin Zifeng couldn’t be bothered with polite talk. His rampant, domineering aura surged to the extreme; each word he spoke was no weaker than Liu Jihong’s.

What Lin Zifeng didn’t expect was that Liu Jihong remained completely unmoved. He ground his teeth and snarled, "Hmph, you criminal who tried to assassinate my imperial son. Marquis Ziyi clearly died by the hand of you, this criminal. If he knows in the underworld, he will never forgive you!"

"Forgive your fucking mother! Turning black into white—never thought the Beiyao Ancient Clan had such ability, that they could make you this afraid."

Raging on all fronts, Lin Zifeng even spat curses. As soon as the words left his mouth, he clenched his fists tight and said darkly, "I’ll ask you one last time: Dongfang Haoxuan—who exactly killed him?"

The death of Dongfang Haoxuan was something everyone present knew deep down. But Liu Jihong had already decided to offend Lin Zifeng, so he didn’t hesitate at all. He roared, "You criminal, still dare to prattle on? Marquis Ziyi—wasn’t he killed by you?!"

Liu Jihong’s enraged and imperious shout echoed again and again in the hall, but in Lin Zifeng’s ears, it sounded utterly ridiculous.

"Hahahaha... Good, good, good. What a fine word, ’criminal.’ Then today I, Lin Zifeng, will show you all what a criminal really is!"

At this moment, Lin Zifeng did not grow more furious—instead, he laughed. His originally sharp, well-defined face twisted into something savage and distorted. Every word dripped with chilling killing intent.

Lin Zifeng laughed not only at Liu Jihong and the others for flipping black and white, but also with a hint of helplessness toward himself.

If his strength surpassed that of Green-clothed and the others, then today, standing here, Liu Jihong would probably have thrown aside even the dignity of a monarch to come down and greet him personally.

But the reality was that Liu Jihong sat high above. With his sole will, he’d sentenced Lin Zifeng to death. From top to bottom, the Lianyun Empire would never let him go!

"Hmph, foolish tyrant. You think that just because you can’t afford to offend Green-clothed and his lot, you can afford to offend me, Lin Zifeng? Today I’m going to see just how you shrimp Soldiers and crab Soldiers think you can restrain me!"

(Once I finish writing the Third Parallel Universe, then find the Holy War, and finally return to the Mortal World for a world-shaking battle, this will be the end.)