"Don't tell me I only killed his natal demon beast on the Sixth Heaven battlefield. Even if I really killed him... so what?"

That final question, like a resounding drumbeat, combined with Chen Qian's calm and collected tone, caused Gao Zhengjie's eyes to narrow, a fleeting look of surprise and anger crossing his face, and even the surrounding nobles were moved.

It wasn't that Shen Qian's words made much sense; in fact, everyone knew the truth. What truly astonished everyone was that Shen Qian dared to contradict Wang Hou in public!

His words, seemingly reasonable, were tantamount to pointing his finger at Gao Zhengjie, the Marquis of Fierce Bones, and telling him... you're just talking nonsense.

boom!

A fierce aura surged from Lieguhou almost instantly.

Even without directly taking action, the king's anger caused the surrounding spiritual energy to be crushed towards Shen Qian under the king's mental perception.

The air seemed to be collapsing silently, and the threat of death instantly enveloped Chen Qian.

At this moment, Chen Qian also felt a bit emotional. Even though he had almost reached the peak in the mountains and seas, he still felt like a primary school student facing an adult when facing the direct pressure of kings and nobles.

However, Shen Qian was not flustered, and did not even move an inch, because Wu Wei could not sit idly by and watch Lie Gu Hou attack him after he had said all that.

Sure enough, with a flash, Wu Wei appeared in front of him, and all the turmoil subsided.

“Lord Liegu, what Shen Qian said is not wrong. The Nine Heavens Battlefield has its own will. If Shen Qian really violated the rules, how could he have entered the Nine Kings Secret Realm so openly in the end?”

Wu Wei spoke calmly, but the focus was not on what he said, but on how he personally shielded Shen Qian from the might of the Marquis of Fierce Bones—that was an attitude.

Marquis Liegu was speechless for a moment, only staring at Wu Wei, as if an invisible storm was colliding between them.

Just then, a faint voice came from high above: "I have been in charge of the Martial Arts Department for hundreds of years, devoting myself to the human race. I have worked hard until now, and I have only one daughter. However, my bloodline was destroyed on the battlefield of the Nine Heavens, and I was killed by Shen Qian in front of everyone!"

The voice that suddenly rang out was clearly indifferent, but the overwhelming hatred it contained chilled everyone to the bone.

Duke Tianning!

Shen Qian also raised his head.

Above the clouds, a colossal face composed entirely of wind and clouds emerged, its enormous eyes reflecting only the image of the person in front of it.

Shen had never met Tianning Gong, but the feud between the two had a long history.

From the very beginning, Shen Qian was targeted by the Jingcheng Martial Arts Bureau, which directly led to the Bureau's expulsion from Jingcheng. Later, in the snowstorm, Shen Qian directly broke through the Bureau's plan to target that C-level "door".

Jiang Huan, the senior disciple before Shen Qian, stormed into the Martial Arts Department alone to demand justice, smashing the department's plaque that had stood for hundreds of years, which was tantamount to slapping Tian Ning Gong hard in the face.

Now, in the battle for the Nine Heavens, Shen Qian directly ended Ning Zhaoyi's life. In a sense, the enmity between the two is irreconcilable.

Shen Qian didn't know if the Duke of Tianning was actually present, but facing the Duke of Tianning's wrath, Shen Qian realized that there could be such a stark difference between top-tier nobles.

If Marquis Liegu and Marquis Zhao of Qin felt like a storm in the dead of winter, fierce and irresistible, then the Duke of Tianning before him was like an abyss with no end in sight. Not to mention staring at him, even getting close to him instilled a fear deep in one's bones.

Shen Qian remained calm, wanting to see what reason Tianning Gong would use to target him.

Personal grudges... can never be brought to the table.

The Duke of Tianning clearly knew that these few words were not enough; his voice transformed into rolling thunder, crushing the hearts of everyone present.

"Fang Fan is certainly a suspect, but Shen Qian himself is not clean either. Just as Qin Zhaohou said, how could he be so prescient in that world of spirit witches?"

Lord Tianning sneered, "I also know a little about the Spirit Witch Clan. With an array built on the foundation of the entire world, plus two experts at the late stage of the Mountain and Sea Realm, how can a mere Shenqian withstand them?"

"In my opinion, it is most likely that Shen Qian and Fang Fan colluded to slaughter all the young geniuses of our human race. After killing three people, they saw that things were not going to work, so they changed their plans and pretended to save others to gain their trust and portray themselves as heroes. I dare to say that Shen Qian must have a bigger scheme!"

The Duke of Tianning's words were spoken without any attempt to conceal them from anyone, which caused quite a stir in the world.

Everyone was stunned, because Tianning Gong's remarks came from a completely different perspective, turning the whole matter upside down.

If we follow his logic, then Shen Qian is not only not a hero who saved everyone, but it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a traitor.

Even Wu Wei was slightly taken aback, and then frowned.

Deep down, he naturally didn't believe Tianning Gong's nonsense, since the other party's desire for revenge against Shen Qian was practically written all over his face.

The problem is that... Marquis Liegu, Marquis Qin Zhao, and Marquis Zhaoyuan all showed expressions of agreement, clearly indicating that they were all on the side of Duke Tianning.

However, the Duke of Tianning's remarks are not entirely unreasonable.

"Therefore, I propose that the Martial Arts Department take the lead, with the Royal Council overseeing, to thoroughly investigate Shen Qian and seek justice for the group of geniuses who lost their lives innocently in this Nine Heavens War!"

The Duke of Tianning finally revealed his true intentions and said coldly.

Just as Wu Wei was frowning and about to speak, someone beat him to it.

And this person was none other than himself before he sank in.

"Lord Tianning said that with my strength, it is impossible for me to thwart the Spirit Witch Clan's conspiracy, let alone to simultaneously contend with a powerhouse at the seventh and eighth levels of the Mountain and Sea Realm?"

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