Chapter 564: The Free Ones Are the Most Expensive (Please give full-book subscriptions on Qidian)

"The Spirit Judgment Hall hereby formally summons the Fourth Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Beng."

At the residence of Xue Beng in Heaven Dou City, two squads of Spirit Hall knights blocked the gate.

Xue Beng stood at the entrance, surrounded by his retinue, his head full of question marks: "What does this mean? What summons? The Spirit Judgment Hall?"

The leading knight took out a pale gold sheet of paper, held it up before his eyes, and said, "Given the Fourth Prince's noble status, this summons was personally signed by the Chief Judge."

"Chief Judge? Qin Jian? What is he playing at?"

Xue Beng frowned as he took it and read line by line, his face gradually turning as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Because that paper not only stated his identity, age, gender, and so on, it also listed almost every evil deed he had committed from childhood to the present.

From bullying the weak to petty theft, it was all crystal clear, even including the times, locations, and the names of the victims involved.

These were things even he himself couldn't remember!

"You are slandering me! Don't even think about me cooperating with you!"

Xue Beng fiercely slapped the gold paper onto the knight's face.

"Fourth Prince, the Chief Judge told us to inform you that if you do not arrive at the Shenpantai tomorrow, we will dispatch the Judgment Hall to apprehend you."

The knight put away the summons, still performing his duty as he spoke.

Xue Beng was furious: "He, Qin Jian, is the Chief Judge of the Spirit Hall, not the Chief Judge of our Heaven Dou Empire. By what right does he demand my presence?"

The knight calmly said, "The Chief Judge says that the Fourth Prince is a Spirit Master, and when a Spirit Master commits evil, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Spirit Hall. Moreover, this matter has already been announced to the entire Dalu. If the Fourth Prince stubbornly resists, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family will be disgraced because of it."

Xue Beng: "..."

Bang, bang, bang...

After the Judgment Hall left, Xue Beng decisively smashed everything within his line of sight that could be smashed.

"Xue Beng, he is right. You must find a way to defend yourself..."

Prince Xuexing appeared beside him and said in a low voice, "Currently, public opinion seems to be leaning toward Xue Qinghe, but after all, we have no evidence for those things of his. Yet, these things of yours are all true. Even if you were acting at the time, some things were indeed done too far..."

"If I hadn't truly done them, Xue Qinghe would have long since discovered my disguise!"

Xue Beng clenched his fists and growled: "They are just a bunch of lowly commoners. For me, for the Heaven Dou Empire, even if they had to die, isn't that as it should be? What is wrong with that?!"

Xuexing shook his head and said, "In normal times, no one would pursue whatever the Imperial Family does. But now is the time when you and Xue Qinghe are competing. It involves the reputations of both of you, plus the Spirit Judgment Hall is meddling in it. Their prestige among the commoners has risen sharply now. If you don't respond seriously, you will really lose the hearts of the people. By then, even if Xue Qinghe is brought down, you won't be able to ascend the throne."

Xue Beng's fists tightened: "I knew Qin Jian was the key to breaking the deadlock. Once he stands on the opposing side, the chance of winning becomes extremely slim. It's a pity his strength... is actually stronger than Dugu Bo's..."

"Didn't the Star Luo Empire try to surround and kill him before? Intelligence shows he commanded the Forest King, the Titan Giant Ape. Therefore, his identity is very likely a Soul Beast..."

Xuexing said in a low voice, "In that case, his strength is explainable... However, even the Star Luo Empire was forced to back down by him, you..."

"I didn't surround and kill him!"

Xue Beng said coldly, "I have studied his methods; they are mostly upright, open schemes. As long as I don't provoke him, he has no standing to deal with me. At most, he can just harp on those past events. But what if something happens to Xue Qinghe?"

He turned abruptly: "Imperial Uncle, please go and contact the royal clansmen, just follow the rhetoric we thought of earlier... I will find Dugu Bo to go to that newly built Tang Sect together..."

"Good."

Xuexing did not hesitate...

The entire Heaven Dou City was thrown into chaos by the successive events, especially after those ten thousand copies of the Judgment Verdict from Qin Jian were distributed.

Countless people passed them around, discussed them, their expressions excited.

Judging the royal family, how topical is that?

Some quick-witted merchants even took Qin Jian's judgment document, printed tens of thousands of copies, and sold them to those eager to see them, making a fortune...

"Sigh, it's a pity there is no intellectual property protection law in this world. These people should have given me a cut..."

The next day, the square in front of the imperial palace was a sea of people.

On the high Shenpantai, hundreds of Spirit Masters from the Judgment Hall stood quietly. Qin Jian sat in the main seat without hesitation, while Xue Qinghe sat beside him.

"Intellectual property protection law? What is that?" he asked curiously.

"It's nothing much, just protection for the providers of original content. Besides, even if there were an intellectual property law, it would be useless; it also depends on whether the country will vigorously rectify it..."

Qin Jian rested his head on his hand and said: "Otherwise, piracy will still be rampant, infringing on the rights and interests of original creators, and even causing a bizarre situation where some consumers take pride in 'freeloading'... It's pathetic and lamentable... In the end, it will only make the homogenization of works more serious. Everyone copies each other, and no one is willing to spend a lot of effort on original work..."

"Many people don't understand a simple truth: the free ones are the most expensive... The development of an industry requires protecting original creators. Otherwise, content will increasingly trend toward the bottom, and in the end, it will be a mess, and no one will have good works to watch..."

A big question mark appeared on Xue Qinghe's forehead: "?"

"How come I didn't understand your long-winded speech?" He rolled his pretty eyes.

Qin Jian pinched her small hand and chuckled: "Nothing, just venting... I actually suggest that when things are settled, you introduce a plagiarism income tax, deduct 80% of the profits from those pirates, and then just give me half. That way, everyone has soup to drink."

"Oh..."

Xue Qinghe said indifferently: "Just a bunch of merchants. If you are unhappy, you can arrest them all and sentence them."

Qin Jian: "..."

So, in a world dominated by Spirit Masters, merchants have no status...

"Fourth Prince Xue Beng has arrived!"

Just then, a loud noise came from the sky, and Xue Beng made a flashy entrance.

He was seen wearing fine robes, followed as usual by Dugu Bo and Prince Xuexing. He walked onto the Shenpantai with his head held high and chest out, looking so at ease that it was as if he weren't here to be judged, but rather like the judge himself.

"Fourth Prince Xue Beng really came? Isn't he afraid of being judged? I heard that Spirit Masters who are judged are all sent by the Spirit Judgment Hall to Death Canyon for unified imprisonment..."

"He is the Fourth Prince, after all, with a noble status. How could he really be judged? I suspect this is a play, used to whitewash him."

"That shouldn't be. Haven't there been a lot of unfavorable news about the Crown Prince recently? It looks like the Fourth Prince has ideas about the throne and the Crown Prince is fighting back, right? Everyone who knows, knows about this kind of thing..."

"..."

At least ten thousand people had gathered under the Shenpantai. Fortunately, there were no infectious diseases here, so they could gather without needing to quarantine...

"Where is my seat?"

Someone guided Dugu Bo and Prince Xuexing to sit on the side, leaving only Xue Beng standing in the center of the Shenpantai, looking around freely.

Qin Jian rested his head on his hand and said indifferently: "You? The one being judged naturally stands in the center to await judgment."

(End of chapter)