Chapter 643: Being Driven Crazy by Harassment

Luo Zhao wasn't the only one; Chen Yue and Feng Yu also twitched their mouths.

Only the three of them knew what truly happened at the time. They clearly understood that when it came to fighting Master Feng, he had already fallen and was nearly dead, lying stiff as a corpse and simply waiting to be hit. So when did they become mutually injured? And regarding the sneak attack, Master Hong claimed he was severely weakened, but Master Luo hadn't even laid a hand on him.

Master Hong, who was standing nearby, watched Zhang Xuan grow more agitated, and he himself began to feel dazed. "Was I really beaten by Master Luo? Why do I have no recollection of it?" he wondered.

"You're talking nonsense! We can testify that the situation wasn't like that. Master Feng was already injured at the time..." Chen Yue couldn't hold back any longer and blurted out.

"Master Feng was already injured? Very well, then tell me: Why was he injured? Who injured him? A dignified five-star master doesn't get injured without causing any stir, do they?" Zhang Xuan flicked his sleeve, as if he had anticipated this very response.

"Well..." Chen Yue broke into a sweat. "It's possible I remembered it wrong..." Master Feng's act of obstructing Master Hong and the others, then falling from the sky and nearly dying, was already shameful. Moreover, it violated the principles of righteousness. This matter absolutely could not be revealed, or Master Feng's reputation would be ruined beyond repair. Since they couldn't disclose how he got injured, how could they explain it? After all, he had met the Crown Prince that very morning, full of vigor, only to become a pile of mud by the afternoon. There was simply no way to explain it!

"What, I've revealed the truth, and now you're going back on your word?" Zhang Xuan's fury blazed, as if to incinerate everything around him. "Even if you don't change your mind, Master Wu personally witnessed how you ganged up and pressured Master Hong earlier. So, helping him speak now doesn't count for anything, does it? How can such obviously biased statements be trusted?"

"This..." Chen Yue's face twitched.

"Enough. Neither you nor Master Feng should speak now. You are clearly allied." Zhang Xuan waved a hand.

Chen Yue gritted his teeth, about to speak, when the Crown Prince's voice rang out: "Silence for now. Let this young man finish what he has to say!"

In fact, Master Wu wasn't the only one who saw it; the Crown Prince himself had witnessed the scene where the three men deliberately pressured Master Hong while presenting gifts. It was clear that the trio had already formed an alliance, and therefore, their words were naturally untrustworthy.

"Thank you, Crown Prince!" Zhang Xuan nodded. "Before you arrived, Master Hong was injured by them and came late because he was recuperating. They then heavily pressured him. You can ask Master Wu about this; I am not lying in the slightest!"

"Master Hong was indeed a little late!" Master Wu confirmed with a nod.

"Thank you, Master Wu, for your righteous words." Zhang Xuan cupped his fists again. "They injured Master Hong, stole his treasure, and then deliberately provoked him here, all to make our Hongfeng Empire lose its quota. Now that the evidence is conclusive, I ask the Crown Prince to make a judgment!"

"Making a decision is straightforward... and what you've said has some merit. However, you claim Master Luo stole Master Hong's treasure. I'd like to know what kind of treasure it was. Can you describe it in detail?" The Crown Prince looked at him.

"Exactly! You claim I stole. What treasure did I steal from Hong Qian? If you can't tell me, then you are slandering a higher-ranked master. At the very least, your master qualifications will be revoked; at worst, you'll be killed on the spot!" Hearing this, Luo Zhao's eyes lit up, and he quickly roared.

You accuse me of theft; then prove it! Just as you need two witnesses to catch adultery, you need evidence to catch a thief. You claim I stole Master Hong's possessions. Very well, tell me exactly what I stole. If you can't... let's see what you'll do! As a four-star master, slandering a five-star master is a grave offense. This single accusation could prevent you from ever recovering your reputation!

"I've seen shameless people, but never one so utterly brazen! It's one thing to steal something and deny it, but to act so righteously about it... Very well, I will make you utterly convinced!" Zhang Xuan scoffed, then turned to Master Hong. "I might need to trouble Master Hong for a moment!"

"Trouble me?" Master Hong shivered. "Just say the word, Master Zhang..." He was now utterly awestruck by the young man before him. This man's mouth could talk the dead back to life, and the living into deities. His lateness today was clearly due to waiting for Zhang Xuan, yet it had been spun into a story about him healing his injuries. Combined with Zhang Xuan's previous "nonsense," everything now seemed perfectly logical, without the slightest inconsistency! Even he, the one directly involved, found himself convinced by the coherent, well-reasoned narrative, wondering if Luo Zhao, Feng Yu, and the others *had* indeed stolen his possessions. To be able to prepare such a flawless, airtight story... could it be that when Zhang Xuan had earlier told him to go cause trouble for Master Luo and Master Feng, he had already anticipated all of this? If that were truly the case... it would be too terrifying!

"It's very simple!" Zhang Xuan said, lowering his voice to a whisper.

"You want me to..." Hearing Zhang Xuan's words, Master Hong's eyes widened, his pupils contracting in shock.

"Yes, go. Whether we can expose their true colors depends entirely on you!" Zhang Xuan clenched his fist.

"Go? Go to hell..." Recalling what Zhang Xuan had just whispered, Master Hong swayed, nearly bursting into tears. "You're not exposing his true nature; you're trying to get me killed..."

"Don't worry," Zhang Xuan said, sensing his hesitation, "just think back to Young Master Ruohuan's battle against Qin Lei, and you'll understand!"

"Young Master Ruohuan and Qin Lei?" Master Hong was taken aback. Normally, with Young Master Ruohuan's strength, he shouldn't have been able to reach the top eight. At the time, he was battling Qin Lei, and even Master Hong himself thought Ruohuan had no chance of winning. Yet, that guy ended up splashing a bowl of meat soup on Qin Lei's face, and Young Master Ruohuan achieved an unexpected victory... It seemed miraculous then, and now it was clear it must have been Zhang Xuan's strategy. He had to admit, what Zhang Xuan was asking him to do now was indeed quite similar to what Young Master Ruohuan had done.

"Alright!" Knowing that Zhang Xuan was doing this for his own good, Master Hong hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth, stood up, and strode towards Master Luo, who was standing opposite him.

"What trick are you playing now?" Luo Zhao was filled with confusion, seeing that Zhang Xuan, instead of revealing what treasure had been stolen, had instead sent Master Hong forward.

"There's something I'd like to trouble Master Luo with; your cooperation would be appreciated!" Zhang Xuan lifted his wine cup and drank casually, ignoring Luo Zhao's question. Meanwhile, Master Hong stood before Luo Zhao, cupping his fists with a sincere attitude.

"Cooperate? Why should I cooperate?" Luo Zhao gritted his teeth.

"You've already twisted black into white! Why should I cooperate with you, just to be framed?"

"If you don't cooperate, it will look like you're guilty, and we won't need to continue. Rest assured, the truth cannot be faked, and a lie cannot become the truth!" Master Hong stated.

"Fine, I'll cooperate. How do you want me to cooperate?" Luo Zhao gritted his teeth and scoffed, knowing that if he truly refused to cooperate, it would imply guilt and an unwillingness to face the situation, leaving him with no way to defend himself later.

"I'll cooperate then. Let's see what tricks you can pull. As long as you can't specify what treasure I supposedly stole, I hold all the cards, regardless of your elaborate excuses."

"Stand up, put your hands behind your back, and don't move!" Master Hong gestured.

"Hmph!" Luo Zhao, though on the verge of exploding with rage, still stood up, placing his hands behind his back.

"Ah, yes, that's the pose, hold it, don't move..." Master Hong adjusted Luo Zhao's posture once more, then, finding his own most comfortable stance, suddenly raised his hand and delivered a resounding slap across Luo Zhao's face. The sound was crisp and loud.

"What?" The Crown Prince was bewildered. Master Wu was dumbfounded. Everyone in the room stood frozen.

"This is... the cooperation you spoke of? Standing still so you could hit me?"

"You son of a... Hong Qian, I'll kill you!" Luo Zhao froze for a moment, then finally reacted. His head spinning from the slap, two or three teeth dislodged, he would truly be a fool not to go mad now. He had been told to stand still and hold the pose, thinking it was for some serious matter, only to find it was just to set him up for a slap in the face. "Hong Qian, I, Luo Zhao, will be your sworn enemy until death!"

Luo Zhao completely lost control. Ignoring the Crown Prince and Master Wu on the dais, he raised his palm and lunged at Hong Qian. *Whoosh!* His true qi was like a sharpened blade, and the wind howled around him. Even before his attack reached its target, it distorted the very air. A Sixth Reincarnation Master, having attained an extremely high level in both knowledge and power, could pulverize a mountain in the blink of an eye with a full-strength attack, let alone a person.

His attack struck empty air. When he looked closer, he saw that Master Hong, who had just slapped him, had somehow returned to his seat, leisurely sipping a cup of fine wine, a look of utter tranquility on his face, as if nothing had happened at all.

"You'll die...!" Luo Zhao's eyes turned red as he roared.

Since becoming a master, he had never endured such a profound humiliation – being publicly positioned to receive a slap. Could anything be more outrageous than this?

His body swayed as he was about to charge forward, intending to fight the insulting Hong Qian to the death, when he heard the young man's righteous rebuke ring out.

"Enough, Master Luo! This is the Crown Prince's palace, a banquet hall. What do you mean by attempting to fight and kill people here?"

Luo Zhao was on the verge of tears. "You know this is the Crown Prince's palace? And yet you let that scoundrel Hong Qian slap me and knock out my teeth? I'm clearly the one who was harmed, yet you speak with such conviction and righteousness, as if *you* were the one doing the beating..."

Fuming, Luo Zhao turned to Master Wu and the Crown Prince. "Hong Qian has insulted me. I implore you, sirs, to grant me permission to fight him to the death..."

Before he could finish, the young man nearby interrupted him again. "Crown Prince, Master Wu, weren't you just asking what treasure he stole from Master Hong? To avoid any unnecessary complications and to ensure no one thinks I'm speaking carelessly, I will write it down now!" Without another word, he flicked his wrist. The four treasures of the study appeared before him. Dipping his brush in ink, he began to write with bold, flowing strokes.