Chapter 563: 562. Chapter 557: Defending His Senior Brother, Zuo Shanwei

562. Chapter 557: Defending His Senior Brother, Zuo Shanwei

"It's my father." Han Qiqi also quickly stood up.

Zuo Shanwei looked utterly bewildered; he had always behaved properly and humbly here, and Han Liudao had always treated him well.

Why then was his tone today so furious?

"Don't worry, I'll go and come right back." Even though Zuo Shanwei was still confused, he had to hurry to meet Han Liudao.

"I'll go with you." Han Qiqi said quickly.

When Zuo Shanwei and Han Qiqi arrived at the North Divine Corner Enforcement Hall, there were already seven people there.

Besides the Divine Lord Han Liudao and the Enforcement Hall Master An Qiuzheng, there was also a young man and four other men and women.

Zuo Shanwei didn't recognize these people, but Han Qiqi's scalp went numb—she recognized the young man and the man and woman beside him.

She understood why her father was so furious.

The young man had a refined, delicate face and appeared gentle as jade, utterly free of any worldly aura.

But Han Qiqi knew perfectly well what kind of being he truly was.

The Director of the Dao Corridor Divine Surveillance Office: Xie Kuangren.

Xie Kuangren was certainly not as gentle as he appeared—he was a ruthless killer, merciless and brutal.

The Dao Corridor had many factions, yet one organization stood entirely above them all.

That was the Dao Corridor Divine Surveillance Office.

The Dao Corridor Divine Surveillance Office existed solely to uphold the One Hundred Thousand Laws of the Dao Corridor.

Many officials within the Surveillance Office came from various factions of the Dao Corridor, yet this did not diminish the Office's prestige and authority within the Dao Corridor.

Once, there had been a faction in the Dao Corridor whose power far surpassed all others.

Even the North Divine Corner and the West Ruins Divine Corner were mere specks before this faction.

That was the Half-God Hall.

As the Half-God Hall grew stronger, it began to believe it could rise above the Dao Corridor itself, ignoring the One Hundred Thousand Laws.

This enraged the enforcers of the One Hundred Thousand Laws: the Dao Corridor Divine Surveillance Office.

Xie Kuangren, alone with a single sword, destroyed the Half-God Hall and slaughtered tens of thousands within it.

The once-renowned Half-God Hall vanished overnight.

Han Qiqi, knowing Xie Kuangren's ferocity, would never be fooled by his gentle facade.

Normally, when the Dao Corridor Divine Surveillance Office acted, it was Xie Kuangren's two subordinates—the man and woman—who came.

Their names were simple: the man was Ji Yi, the woman was Quan Er.

This time, Xie Kuangren had not only sent Ji Yi and Quan Er—he came himself.

Clearly, he took the North Divine Corner seriously.

After all, in the Dao Corridor, the North Divine Corner was one of the top-tier factions.

"North Divine Corner Han Qiqi greets the Director, the Ji Enforcer, and the Quan Enforcer." Han Qiqi bowed respectfully, her tone even more humble.

She vaguely guessed what this was about, for among the visitors, besides Xie Kuangren, Ji Yi, and Quan Er, there were two other men.

Both were Luo Tian Immortals, their faces jet-black, their bodies saturated with toxic qi—they had been poisoned deeply.

She recognized this poison. It was the same poison Zuo Shanwei had once been poisoned with—powerful and terrifying.

Was Director Xie here to use the Ten Thousand Methods Pool to detoxify them?

But from her father's demeanor and Xie Kuangren's expression, that didn't seem right.

Xie Kuangren nodded at Han Qiqi, then his gaze settled on Zuo Shanwei. After a moment, he turned to the two Luo Tian Immortals: "Is this the one?"

The two Luo Tian Immortals hurriedly replied: "Report, Director—it is indeed this man. But when he poisoned us, we didn't notice; only later did we realize we had been targeted by him…"

No sooner had the two Luo Tian Immortals finished speaking than they spat out black blood, pointed at Zuo Shanwei with trembling fingers, and collapsed, faces filled with unbearable resentment.

Zuo Shanwei had already understood—he knew exactly what was going on.

These two were poisoned with the exact same toxin he had been poisoned with; if it wasn't Ding Huan who did it, he'd cut off his own head.

Without asking, Ding Huan must have disguised himself as Zuo Shanwei to poison them—and these two fools had no clue, while Zuo Shanwei had no way to explain.

Xie Kuangren stared coldly at Zuo Shanwei; though he hadn't moved, the overwhelming pressure of his aura nearly crushed Zuo Shanwei's breath.

These poisoned men arrived, spoke one sentence, and died—what else could this be but murder to silence them?

Zuo Shanwei was certain Xie Kuangren's power far surpassed Han Liudao's—perhaps even approaching the Semi-Transcendent realm.

"Director, if you will grant me a chance to explain, I, Zuo Shanwei, will clarify this matter completely." Zuo Shanwei did not immediately defend himself—he first requested the right to speak.

He understood the One Hundred Thousand Laws: they had not collapsed in the Dao Corridor precisely because everyone, before the Laws, was equal and had the right to speak.

At least on the surface, everyone had that right—so he was certain Xie Kuangren wouldn't believe only one side.

Of course, this right was predicated on the fact that you hadn't struck first.

"Speak." Xie Kuangren uttered only one word.

Zuo Shanwei bowed respectfully: "This disciple was poisoned by this very toxin, and by fortune joined the North Divine Corner; after months of effort, I barely purged it."

"For these past months, I have not left the North Divine Corner even once. I sent only one message—to my master, explaining how to detoxify."

"My master replied, saying he had already detoxified and is now wandering the Dao Corridor, telling me not to worry."

Xie Kuangren's gaze turned to Han Liudao.

Han Liudao immediately stood and said: "I can vouch for this—since Zuo Shanwei arrived at the North Divine Corner, he has never left the Divine Lord's compound; this is confirmed by the array surveillance."

Han Qiqi quickly added: "For the past while, Senior Brother Zuo has been detoxifying, then spent all his time discussing Dao with me—he could not have left to poison anyone."

Zuo Shanwei continued: "Only my master, myself, and my senior brother have ever seen this toxin. My master and senior brother are both virtuous people—they would never use such poison…"

"You just lied." Xie Kuangren's icy gaze locked onto Zuo Shanwei.

When Zuo Shanwei claimed his master and senior brother were virtuous, a faint ripple in his Dao resonance betrayed him—he could not hide it from Xie Kuangren.

"Zuo Shanyi, do you dare to lie?" Han Liudao roared, his killing intent instantly enveloping Zuo Shanyi.

It was obvious that if Zuo Shanyi gave even a single wrong word in his answer, Han Liudao would kill him.

For Han Liudao, this was no joking matter.

With the lesson of the Half-Divine Hall still fresh, he was unwilling to let his own North Immortal Horn follow in the Half-Divine Hall's footsteps.

Zuo Shanyi's face went pale, and he said in a trembling voice, "I'm sorry, I, I…"

"I'll give you one last chance. Repeat carefully what you just said." Xie Kuangren's tone grew even colder.

"Junior Brother Zuo, this wasn't done by you—can't you just come out and say it openly?" Han Qiqi's eyes were reddening.

She was somewhat disappointed in Zuo Shanyi. He could have simply told the truth—why did he have to lie?

Zuo Shanyi gritted his teeth and said, "My master is a man of great kindness. It's just that my senior brother Ding Huan has a somewhat heavy killing intent. He once wiped out an entire immortal clan over some trivial matter.

At the time, my master wanted to drive him out of the immortal sect. I couldn't bear it, so I pleaded on his behalf and asked my master to keep him. This time, when master was poisoned, he also volunteered to come out and seek the antidote immortal pill for master…"

"Junior Brother Zuo, you actually concealed things for a person like this…" Han Qiqi's tone clearly carried strong displeasure.

Zuo Shanyi did not reply, but his mood was visibly low.

Clearly, he had guessed that this matter was done by his senior brother, but he could not betray his senior brother.

"Why is it that these two poisoned people had been holding on all this time, yet the moment they saw you, the poison flared up and killed them?" Xie Kuangren's tone remained cold.

Zuo Shanyi's face grew paler still: "I, I… I really can do this. My master passed down to me a divine ability called the Way of Gathering Poison.

This divine ability, after planting the poison-Dao rhythm into an opponent, can be triggered through the familiar perception of the poisoned person."

Zuo Shanyi did not finish the rest of his words, but everyone understood what he meant.

Someone had disguised themselves as Zuo Shanyi to poison these two people. Now that these two saw Zuo Shanyi's face again, their emotions shifted, and the poison-Dao rhythm was triggered, killing them.

Since Zuo Shanyi's master could pass down this poison-Dao to Zuo Shanyi, naturally he could pass it down to his senior brother as well.

Although Zuo Shanyi was forced to speak these things, every single one of his words pointed to Ding Huan as the poisoner.

"Is this the Great Poison Dao technique among the Three Thousand Great Daos?" Xie Kuangren was utterly shocked within.

Zuo Shanyi was not talking nonsense, because he knew of the Way of Gathering Poison. Although he himself could not practice it, he was very clear that it was content within the Great Poison Dao technique.

"Yes." Zuo Shanyi lowered his head, his mood growing ever more dejected.

It was as though he knew who had done the poisoning.

Xie Kuangren also had a reckoning in his heart. Since it was not Zuo Shanyi who had administered the poison, and the poisoner had even disguised himself as Zuo Shanyi,

it was obvious that Zuo Shanyi's senior brother was the greatest suspect.

"Until I have fully investigated the cause, you remain a major suspect. I am now placing you under house arrest at North Immortal Horn for ninety days, awaiting my investigation into the full story. Do you have any objections?"

Xie Kuangren stared at Zuo Shanyi.

For how many years had the Great Dao Corridor never had anyone dare to strike first and kill, yet this time someone actually dared to poison.

If he did not root this person out, would not the order that the Great Dao Corridor had painstakingly built up over the years be destroyed?

Zuo Shanyi's face was neither sad nor joyful; he merely bowed and saluted: "This junior is willing to accept."

In his heart he was furious. Although he had, in a roundabout way, told Xie Kuangren that the poisoner was Ding Huan, he knew clearly that Ding Huan's scheme had succeeded.

At least within these ninety days, he could not obtain the qualification to advance to Immortal Sovereign.

Now he could only hope that Xie Kuangren would kill Ding Huan, letting him vent this grievance.

But he also knew this matter was very slim. Xie Kuangren looked like a man of dignified bearing, calm and stern.

In truth, he was just a brute who relied on his overwhelming strength. If this man could also kill Ding Huan, he would be willing to eat shit.

……

Great Dao Corridor plaza.

If the elimination round made the Eternal Wasteland Divine Ability Academy famous,

then now the Eternal Wasteland Divine Ability Academy was at the height of its glory, because after the three main rounds of the Combat Arts Competition, the Eternal Wasteland Divine Ability Academy still firmly held four of the top ten slots.

And that was not the most shocking part. The most stunning thing was that the top three and the fifth place were all disciples of the Eternal Wasteland Divine Ability Academy.

The elimination round had only shown that the four disciples of the Dao-Seeking Class of the Eternal Wasteland Divine Ability Academy had abundant immortal essence.

In the main Combat Arts Competition, everyone realized just how powerful and terrifying the divine abilities of these four participating disciples of the Eternal Wasteland Divine Ability Academy were.

Especially Seeing Ji Xing—his blade momentum like flowing ten thousand sands—nobody could withstand even three exchanges.

Do you think the Eternal Wasteland Divine Ability Academy was only strong in combat arts?

After the first three rounds of the main Array Dao Competition, the Eternal Wasteland Divine Ability Academy likewise held first and third place.

After three rounds of the Artifact Dao Competition, the Eternal Wasteland Divine Ability Academy's Lei Zuocheng was still in second place.

And after three rounds of the Talisman Dao Competition, the Eternal Wasteland Divine Ability Academy's Qian Xunhao Yi had risen to first place.

An academy like the Eternal Wasteland Divine Ability Academy—it would be hard not to become famous.