World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 222 - 144: Capture Yao Xing! Dragon Tribunal!

Chapter 222: 144: Capture Yao Xing! Dragon Tribunal!

Suo Lun’s instinct was to deny his identity, but he quickly caught himself.

If he wasn’t Suo Lun, his first reaction would be to worry about Yan Nai’er, especially since she had already mentioned something terrifying—that she wouldn’t be allowed to leave alive tonight.

If he hurried to deny his true identity, it would only appear suspicious.

Moreover, how could Turing Duo recognize him? Although she had studied with Suo Lun for five or six years, she barely attended school from enrollment to graduation. Besides, the previous Suo Lun, despite having pursued every beauty at Royal City Academy, had never pursued Turing Duo.

The two had virtually no interaction; how could she recognize him at first glance? Not to mention, the current Suo Lun was no longer the previous one but an imposter from Earth named Lanling.

There was only one possibility—Turing Duo was trying to swindle him.

Her father, Duke Turing Tuo, was firmly on Zhi Li’s side, even considered a mainstay by Zhi Li’s side. And Turing Duo herself had always worked on the secret front for Rage Wave Kingdom, clearly understanding the struggle between Zhi Li and himself.

Originally, Zhi Li planned to have Suo Hanyi kill him, which failed. Later, the plan was to trap him on Chaos Stone Island and let him die there. Unexpectedly, not only did he not die, but he also established a considerable foundation on the island and found a giant money tree.

They must also be guessing what Suo Lun’s next move would be.

He would seek military forces; he had earned astronomical amounts of Gold Coin, so the next step would be to find an army.

So, where would Suo Lun look for an army? Out of the three major mercenary cities, the likelihood of him coming to Tianye City was the greatest.

And once he arrived in Tianye City, he would definitely go to the Silver Wolf Legion, because Yan Nai’er was his former lover.

Thus, whoever appeared by Yan Nai’er’s side could potentially be Suo Lun.

Therefore, Turing Duo didn’t really recognize Suo Lun; her accusation was solely based on her own speculation.

Then, based on this deduction, she called out Suo Lun’s name, hoping he would react inappropriately and give himself away.

Meanwhile, she purposefully mentioned that Yan Nai’er wouldn’t live through the night as a further test.

This woman was dangerous; he must not underestimate her.

...

All these thoughts flashed through Suo Lun’s mind in less than half a second, and he had thought through the ins and outs from start to finish.

So what role should he play now? As a man who was determined to win over Yan Shuang, he should now completely forget the fact that he was mistaken for Suo Lun and focus all his attention on Yan Shuang.

"Isn’t the Dragon Temple not supposed to intervene in mundane matters?" Suo Lun sneered, "Could it be that the people in Tianye City are so powerful that, in order to take over the Silver Wolf Legion, they can actually command the Dragon Temple. Oh, and who is this Suo Lun you speak of?"

"Stop pretending." Turing Duo sneered, "We were classmates for six years. Your little mannerisms and the way you look all give you away. Plus, just now, you seemed very skilled at dressing up women and designing clothes. Coincidentally, Suo Lun once designed completely new styles for the courtesans in the Royal City, causing a huge sensation. In this respect, both of you are geniuses."

Far from denying it, Suo Lun looked Turing Duo up and down for a while and said, "Miss Turing, seeing a special woman like you, I am filled with the desire to create again. Give me some time, and I will give you an unparalleled new outfit. The focus will be on accentuating your androgynous beauty, your long legs, your slender bust."

Hearing the words ’slender bust,’ Turing Duo didn’t seem very angry; instead, she shook her head and said, "There’s no need. It doesn’t matter whether you admit it or not. Our target tonight isn’t you, it’s your old lover Yan Nai’er, who is about to face a catastrophic disaster."

Having said that, Turing Duo didn’t give any more opportunities for testing and left directly.

...

As Suo Lun returned to the hall, countless thoughts spun in his mind.

The Dragon Sacred Hall concerned itself with three major laws: anti-Dragon God beliefs, Anti-Dragon Strength Cultivation, and anti-human order.

As long as these three laws were not violated, the Dragon Temple wouldn’t lay a finger on someone or take someone away. They were a lofty, detached power that wouldn’t stoop to use the Tribunal to arrest someone over trivial matters of interest.

So what exactly had Yan Shuang done to violate one of these three laws?

The only suspicion about her was that she had become incredibly strong in less than a year, breaking through to Samurai status at the age of twenty-two. Moreover, she had completely transformed, as if she were a different person.

Hence, her phenomenon seemed to be suspected by the Dragon Sacred Hall of practicing Anti-Dragon Strength Cultivation.

But people who suddenly became as strong as Yan Shuang, although very rare, certainly existed. If on such basis the Dragon Sacred Hall were to arrest people, then they were being far too trivial.

Furthermore, it wasn’t just the Dragon Temple’s people who had come, but also Turing Duo. What was she doing here?

As someone from Rage Wave Kingdom, she wouldn’t truly be running errands for the Holy Temple.

Her purpose should be just one: to prevent the Silver Wolf Legion from falling into Suo Lun’s hands.

The question then arose: of the events that happened today, which was the main focus, and which was secondary?

Was the Dragon Sacred Hall’s arrest of Yan Shuang the main event? Or was preventing Suo Lun from getting the Silver Wolf Legion the priority, thereby using the opportunity to detain Yan Shuang, unravel, and swallow up the Legion?

Current information wasn’t quite sufficient; therefore, Suo Lun couldn’t make a definitive judgment.

Walking from the balcony back to the hall, he swiftly turned these thoughts over in his head, then he approached Yan Shuang and said, "Come with me."

The two reached a secluded spot on the balcony when Suo Lun said, "It’s people from the Dragon Temple who want to capture you."

"The Dragon Temple?" Yan Shuang replied, "The Elders’ Council of Tianye City shouldn’t be able to command the Dragon Temple to harm me."

The Elders’ Council of Tianye City might not be able to command them, but Zhi Li of the Rage Wave Kingdom certainly could.

Suo Lun said, "When the Dragon Temple dispatches the Sanctuary Tribunal to capture someone, it must involve one of three major principles: anti-Dragon faith, Anti-Dragon Strength Cultivation, or anti-human order. In my view, the sudden increase in your cultivation is the reason they are targeting you. However, this does not seem to be enough reason for the Tribunal to capture you, so I am wondering what other reasons there might be."

Yan Shuang nodded, her gaze fixed on the distance, but she did not respond.

At that moment, a pitch-black carriage drove in from outside, and everyone it passed knelt to the ground.

This was the carriage of the Dragon Sacred Hall Tribunal.

Yan Shuang’s gaze then shifted back to Fang Qing in the hall before she nodded and said, "I know what to do now."

...

The carriage of the Sanctuary Tribunal stopped in the courtyard, and two women in black robes descended, each with a white dragon embroidered on their chest.

These were the adjudicators of the Dragon Temple, both with a chilling aura, as they entered the hall.

Suddenly, the entire venue fell silent. Everyone, including Fang Qing, bowed respectfully to the two adjudicators.

Although Fang Qing’s status in the Dragon Temple was far above that of these two adjudicators, wearing the black robes with the white dragon signified the power of Dragon judgment, before which everyone had to show reverence and hold their breath.

The two adjudicators approached Yan Shuang, and one of them asked, "Miss Yan Shuang, is it?"

"I am," Yan Shuang replied coldly.

"Please come with us to the Sanctuary Tribunal," the leading adjudicator said.

"For what reason?" Yan Shuang asked.

"We suspect you of anti-Dragon faith, Anti-Dragon Strength Cultivation, and anti-human order," the adjudicator stated.

As soon as she said this, not only Suo Lun but everyone present was utterly astonished.

According to Suo Lun’s estimate, at most, there would be a suspicion of Anti-Dragon Strength Cultivation, as Yan Shuang’s martial strength had increased very abruptly.

He had not expected that all three major principles could possibly be violated? In the history of thousands of years, it seemed that no one had ever been accused of violating all three principles.

Yan Shuang asked, "May I ask, on what grounds do you suspect me of violating these three principles?"

"You will find out at the Tribunal. If you are innocent, we will not only release you but also compensate you," the adjudicator proclaimed.

What a joke, the nearest Tribunal was in the City of Rage Wave thousands of miles away, and once inside, no one knew how long it would take to emerge. By that time the Silver Wolf Legion would have long been swallowed up. Moreover, once in the Tribunal, one’s spirit would endure inhuman torment, creating wounds that could never be healed.

And it was at this moment that the Yao Xing within Suo Lun’s heart suddenly spoke!

"Master, do not let your emotions waver; they are looking for me, for Yao Xing."

Yao Xing continued, "Or rather, they are using the pretext of searching for Yao Xing to capture Yan Nai’er, seizing the opportunity to allow someone to take over his army."

Suo Lun’s expression remained unchanged, but his heart gave a fierce thump.

The Dragon Temple is searching for Yao Xing? No wonder, Yao Xing indeed violated the three major principles since it devours Dragon Force and seeks to destroy the world.

Yao Xing added, "When I descended to this world, the Dragon Temple would have had omens. And at that time, Yan Nai’er was also in the Demon Mountain Range; after leaving that place, her cultivation and spirit underwent earth-shattering changes, so they have reason to suspect."

Suo Lun asked internally, "Then why don’t they suspect me, why have they not come for me?"

Yao Xing replied, "Because the hosts of Yao Xing do not belong to this world; they are outsiders. To their eyes, you are Suo Lun, a person of this world, so they have not sought you."

Suo Lun said, "However, even if Yan Nai’er has transformed, she is still a person from this world, isn’t she?"

Yao Xing stated, "Therefore, someone is using the pretext of capturing Yao Xing to arrest Yan Shuang and imprison her in the Tribunal, then using the opportunity to swallow her Silver Wolf Legion. The upper echelons of the Dragon Temple are well aware that Yan Shuang is not a host of Yao Xing."

Suo Lun understood that this too was the handiwork of Zhi Li.

There was only one purpose, to prevent Suo Lun from acquiring the Silver Wolf Legion. Even if he was unsure whether Suo Lun had arrived in Tianye City, by disbanding the Silver Wolf Legion and capturing Yan Nai’er first, he would preempt Suo Lun’s advantage.

At this moment, Suo Lun also deeply felt the darkness within the Dragon Temple. The capture of Yao Xing was supposed to be a sacred and supreme matter, yet it had been exploited by worldly power.

If according to the theory that the hosts of Yao Xing are from another world, then knowing full well that Yan Shuang is not the host, the Sanctuary Tribunal still wants to take her into custody, which is evidently a collaboration with Zhi Li.

So why would the Dragon Temple cooperate with Zhi Li? What role did Fang Qing play in it?

But no matter the intrigue involved, the current dilemma had to be overcome; Yan Shuang absolutely must not be taken by the adjudicators to the Tribunal.