Emperor Xueye frowned slightly and fell into deep thought.
Ning Lin was indeed an honest and upright official, a fact he was well aware of.
A murmur of surprise rippled through the crowd below the stage.
"Second crime, colluding with the Spirit Empire, I deny it!"
Ning Lin's voice rang out again, more resounding than ever.
"I was born and raised in the Heavenly Dou Empire. All my relatives and friends are citizens of the empire. I have never had any private dealings with anyone from the Martial Soul Empire! May I ask Sect Master Tang, who have I colluded with? And when and where have I betrayed what military intelligence?"
"If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext!"
This question was powerful and resounding, striking right at the heart of the matter!
"I also deny the third crime, which is assaulting a female Soul Master in the street!"
Ning Lin's voice suddenly rose, his gaze like a sword, piercing straight at Ma Hongjun behind Tang San!
"Such despicable acts were committed by Ma Hongjun, the Evil Phoenix, one of the Shrek Seven Devils! I saw injustice and tried to stop him, but you all twisted the truth and falsely accused me!"
"To protect the reputation of your companions, you must sacrifice an outsider like me, Tang San. Is this your Sea God's Light, your path of justice?!"
boom!
These words caused an uproar in the entire room!
Countless gazes instantly shifted from Ning Lin to Ma Hongjun, whose face had turned deathly pale!
Finally, someone among the people could no longer contain themselves and shouted out loud.
"I remember now! Lord Ning is a good man! Three years ago, my family suffered a disaster, and it was Lord Ning who opened the granaries and distributed grain, saving the lives of my entire family!"
"Yes! And last winter, when the city was hit by a snow disaster, Lord Ning personally led his soldiers to shovel snow, and even gave his own cotton-padded coat to a beggar who was about to freeze to death! I saw it with my own eyes!"
"Lord Ning could never be a corrupt official! He even uses his own salary to help the poor!"
"Exonerate the city lord! There must be some injustice involved!"
In an instant, voices of support rose and fell.
The will of the people is the most basic scale.
They remember those who are kind to them.
The atmosphere on Shrek's side instantly became strange.
Xiao Wu frowned even more deeply. She anxiously tugged at Tang San's sleeve and whispered, "Third Brother... what exactly is going on? What Lord Ning said... could it be true?"
Her intuition told her that things were not that simple.
A hint of hesitation appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's face as her gaze swept back and forth between Ning Lin and Ma Hongjun.
Ning Rongrong then looked at her father.
A glint flashed in Ning Fengzhi's eyes, and he whispered to the Bone Douluo beside him, "Gu Rong, what do you think of this matter..."
Bone Douluo chuckled: "This is getting interesting. This kid doesn't seem to be lying."
On the other side, Yu Yuanzhen, the patriarch of the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex family, also revealed a hint of amusement on his eternally unchanging, stern face.
The Tang Clan wanted to establish their authority, but it seemed they had kicked a hornet's nest.
At this moment, the most shocked person on the field was none other than Tang San himself.
There was no trace of composure left on his face.
wrong!
how so? !
Where is my poison?
The "Yin-Yang Death Powder," a mixture of eight-cornered ice grass and fiery apricot blossom, along with dozens of rare poisons from around the world, is colorless and odorless. It is lethal upon contact with blood, and the higher one's soul power, the faster it takes effect!
Let alone a Soul Emperor, even a Title Douluo would suffer a stagnation of soul power and a fate worse than death if caught off guard!
Why was Ning Lin unharmed?
He stared intently at Ning Lin, trying to find even the slightest trace of pretense on the other's face.
No.
There was nothing there.
Ning Lin remained calm and composed, showing no signs of poisoning whatsoever!
A thought suddenly exploded in Tang San's mind!
This guy... has a way to defend against poison! He can even cure my poison!
Instantly, alarm bells rang in Tang San's mind!
The danger level of Ning Lin in his mind suddenly increased several levels!
Ning Lin ignored Tang San's dark and gloomy face, and his voice once again echoed across the square.
This time, he began to recount what happened on the day of the incident.
"Three days ago, at dusk, on Suzaku Avenue in Tiandou City."
"After finishing my official business, I was about to return home when I heard a woman calling for help coming from a dark alleyway."
"I followed the sound and saw Ma Hongjun of your Shrek Seven Devils pinning a female Soul Master against the wall, intending to do something indecent!"
Ning Lin's voice was clear and steady, as if he were narrating something perfectly ordinary.
"The woman fought back desperately, but she was no match for him. Seeing this, I naturally had to step in and stop her."
"I knocked Ma Hongjun away with one palm and saved the woman."
"Unexpectedly, Ma Hongjun became enraged and started cursing at me, and even tried to hit me."
"Just then, Sect Leader Tang, you arrived with your Shrek Academy companions."
Ning Lin's gaze fell on Tang San again, a cold smile playing on his lips.
"After you found out what happened, instead of punishing your culpable companion, you chose to target me, an outsider, in order to protect him and maintain the ridiculous reputation of your Shrek Seven Devils!"
"You subdued me on the spot and then coerced and bribed the victim to make her falsely accuse me!"
"Distorting the truth and fabricating charges!"
"Tang San, is there a single lie in what I said?!"
The truth has been laid bare!
After a moment of deathly silence, the entire trial square erupted in chaos!
"What? Is that really the case?"
"That fat man is the real culprit? Sect Leader Tang framed Lord Ning to protect him?"
"I knew it! How could City Lord Ning do such a thing!"
"The Shrek Seven Devils? Successors of the Sea God? Bah! They're a den of snakes and rats, utterly shameless!"
The soul masters and ministers who had originally supported the Tang Sect were now looking at each other in astonishment.
They never imagined that a trial that should have been a foregone conclusion would turn out this way!
"Silence! Silence!"
Prince Xuexing slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and glared at Tang San.
"Tang San! Is what City Lord Ning said true? How dare you abuse your power and frame loyal officials in my Heaven Dou City!"
Tang San's expression was beyond just looking ugly.
It was a dark purple color, a mixture of shock, anger, humiliation, and murderous intent.
He meticulously planned everything, including all the evidence and procedures, and even used a rare poison as a final precaution.
But what he didn't expect was that Ning Lin not only wasn't afraid of his poison, but also dared to reveal the truth in front of the whole world!
He's finished.
The reputation of the Tang Sect and the Shrek Seven Devils are now in grave danger!
And in a corner of the crowd.
Xiao Wu was completely stunned.
She stood there, stunned, and released her grip on Tang San's sleeve.
She didn't want to believe Ning Lin's words.
She refused to believe that her upright, kind, and always righteous third brother would do such a despicable and shameless thing.
(End of chapter)