Chapter 434: Judgment

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The next morning.

Tang San had just opened his sleepy eyes when he sighed and patted Xiao Wu's head. "You had all that heavenly nectar last night, and you're still not satisfied?"

"This is your punishment!" Xiao Wu said, pouting, clearly holding a grudge against Tang San for Gu Yuena's "provocation" the day before, proving how accurate the saying was: Rabbits are quite vengeful creatures.

"Alright, I accept my punishment. Do as you wish." Tang San stretched lazily, leaning back against the bed, while sensing the rhythmic flow of Xiao Wu's blood and energy. "Looks like your internal organs are about to reach the level of the divine repository, aren't they?"

"Of course!" Xiao Wu boasted, twisting her waist playfully. "I mean, look who I am—I'm the gifted Xiao Wu! My Divine Bone and Golden Flesh Technique is almost perfected, so you better work harder to keep up."

"First thing in the morning, and you're already like this? Have you no shame?" Guang Ling was roused by the sound of cosmic forces colliding and rubbed her eyes, looking at them in disbelief.

"Exactly."

"Seriously, no shame at all."

Ning Rongrong and Huo Wu also awoke, equally speechless at the scene. But not wanting to be outdone, they joined in, sharing insights on refining their blood energy.

By the time the sun was high in the sky, the four women and one man had finally finished washing up and dressing.

"Yesterday, fourteen people from the Sun Moon Empire tried to launch a night raid. We ignored it—do you think that's fine?" Xiao Wu asked with a hint of worry. The previous night, she had been entirely focused on refining her blood energy and hadn't extended her spiritual senses to check the situation outside.

"Don't worry, they've all been captured." Tang San stretched again, leading the group to the rooftops of Soul Sea City at a speed beyond the average person's sight. There, they began practicing the Cosmic Meditation Technique, directly absorbing the sunlight to refine their spiritual power.

With their cultivation growing stronger and their physical bodies more enhanced, the women could now directly absorb sunlight to train their spiritual power as well. In the future, once their essence, energy, and spirit reached a certain level, they too would be able to transform their souls into primordial spirits, laying the foundation for immortality.

After their morning practice, Marshal Ge Long personally arrived to invite Tang San and the others to attend the interrogation of the prisoners captured during the night raid.

Ge Long had naturally observed their training, but he dared not ask too many questions. Aside from the fact that self-created soul techniques were closely guarded secrets, the sheer power of Tang San and his companions discouraged any attempts to steal their methods. Even if someone managed to learn them, they couldn't openly use them without facing the wrath of the Spirit Hall.

When Tang San arrived at the courtroom, he saw that Luo Qiu and the thirteen Moonlit Elves had been fitted with silver belts around their waists and their hands bound, sealing their soul power.

These belts, known as Soul-Sealing Belts, were soul devices developed by the Spirit Hall, with Tang San and Guang Ling's assistance. By understanding the flow of soul power through the body's meridians, they had created these devices to block that flow entirely.

Due to their rarity and the expensive materials used—such as deep-sea silver and moonstone—only powerful soul masters were given these belts. Even a Level 98 expert like Luo Qiu couldn't break free easily.

For the other Sun Moon Empire captives, the methods used were much rougher. A punch to the gut or cutting the tendons in their hands and feet was enough to prevent their soul power from circulating. While this also effectively sealed their abilities, whether they could ever "unlock" the seal depended purely on luck.

Ge Long invited Tang San and his companions to take their seats, then walked to the main position and sat down. "Now that everyone is here, let the judgment begin."

"As Marshal, I will be in charge of recording the proceedings. I leave the interrogation to you all."

Marshal Ge Long prepared his pen and paper as Xue Beng started the interrogation with a direct question: "What's your name? What rank do you hold in the Sun Moon Empire? And what's your purpose here?"

The questions were straightforward, but Luo Qiu remained silent, completely ignoring Xue Beng. Her gaze instead roved over the others, lingering a bit longer on Tang San.

Xue Beng, seeing that she wasn't responding, felt his pride being hurt. Just as he was about to explode in anger, Zhu Zhuqing interrupted him, saying, "It doesn't matter if she doesn't answer those questions. Names can be changed, identities faked, and as for her purpose, it's nothing we don't already know—either to conquer Soul Sea City or gather intel on us."

Luo Qiu glanced at Zhu Zhuqing with some surprise, noticing the mismatch between her delicate appearance and sharp insight. Smiling, she commented, "I thought you were just a pretty face. Didn't expect you to have a good head on your shoulders. But you've also just revealed something—you're not all on the same page, are you?"

"We're not hiding that," Zhu Zhuqing admitted openly. The alliance between Tian Dou, New Tian Dou, Star Luo, and the Spirit Hall was merely temporary, a union of convenience. She herself didn't mind maintaining a closer relationship with Tang San, but that didn't extend to the soul masters under her command.

It was something obvious to anyone who paid attention—there was no point in concealing it.

Luo Qiu chuckled. "Well then, you really should be thanking the Sun Moon Empire. If it weren't for us, you might still be fighting amongst yourselves."

"This is an entirely different matter," Ning Fengzhi interjected, his gaze sharp. "Now, why don't you tell us how many strong fighters the Sun Moon Empire has left? You might yet save your own life."

"There are still two more at the ninety-eighth level, but they're on the Sun Moon Continent and haven't crossed over with us," Luo Qiu responded, her eyes turning toward Tang San, who was casually sipping his wolfberry tea and seemed entirely disinterested in the interrogation. "As for those who did make it to Douluo Continent—well, it looks like this handsome young man here might have already taken care of the rest."

Hu Liena frowned. "You don't care about their deaths?"

"Why should I? My relationship with the emperor of the Sun Moon Empire is purely a partnership." Luo Qiu's words were blunt. "If any of you can wrest the Throne of Eternal and Creative Divine Seals from his grasp and provide my Moonlit Elves with a safe haven, we'd gladly switch sides."

"Driven purely by self-interest?" Tang San remarked as he finished steeping his tea. He took a sip, his tone calm. "It's human nature to seek benefits and avoid harm. But defecting enemies are rarely trusted. The higher-ups are always suspicious. If you betray your current allies today, who's to say you won't stab us in the back tomorrow? It's only natural for people to guard against that."

"That depends on whether the leader is open-minded," Luo Qiu responded with a faint smile, completely unafraid, while Ge Long and Xue Beng furrowed their brows.

Wasn't that a thinly veiled criticism of rulers?

"You've got quite the sharp tongue for a bandit!" Xue Beng sneered and turned to Marshal Ge Long. "There's no need for a trial. Just take her out and execute her."

But Ge Long didn't react. Instead, he calmed Xue Beng down, saying that the interrogation had just begun. If it were going to end so quickly, there would have been no need to gather everyone in the first place. He could've just had the prisoners executed from the start.

(End of chapter)