The Attack of the Wastrel

Seeing that there were really two of Rong Yuan, the Demigods that had besieged Pan Wuyang looked at each other and stopped in doubt. 

Pan En took the opportunity and spoke loudly, “Gentlemen please stop, we are truly innocent! This Third Prince of the Xia Kingdom is obviously a fake to provoke the relationship of the North Qiu Kingdom and everyone. All of you must certainly refrain from falling for it!”

After he shouted, a group of people who were fighting began to separate. Mei Ying’s face was full of indignant anger as he stood impatiently in front of Ding Wei and looked him in the eye, “Boy, do you know who I am? Rong Yuan is my godson, how could I possibly not recognise him? Rather, where did you find this fake? You better come clean immediately!” 

Mei Ying spoke in an assertive manner but he was in fact uncertain inside. 

The spiritual treasure that could change one’s appearance has been extraordinary since the ancient times. Not only could his appearance be exactly the same as Rong Yuan, even their breath would be identical such that Demigods would not be able to identify any flaws. Both Rong Yuan and Su Nian had cultivations of Martial Lords. If they were trying to deceive everyone deliberately, it would truly be indistinguishable. 

“How could Rong Yuan be a fake? The one behind you is definitely the imposter,” Ding Rou hurriedly clarified before Ding Wei could speak. 

How could her Rong Yuan be an imposter? The two of them had been together for many days. She was certain that the person by her side was the same lover that slept with her every night. On his back was a scratch that was left behind by her passion from last night. Such detailed marking was impossible to counterfeit. 

“Exactly, who doesn't know that my sister and Rong Yuan are about to marry? Both of them have been inseparable during this period, how could he possibly be fake?” Ding Wei added. 

“This…” Mei Ying was worried. He had also heard the news of Rong Yuan and Ding Rou. Now that both versions of Rong Yuan looked so alike, he dared not decide on who was fake. But deep in his heart, he was biased towards the one with Gu Lingzhi. After all, he has viewed Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan as a pair in his heart. Ding Rou? Who was she? 

“Senior Mei, why are you scratching your head over this situation? Can’t you tell which is the real Rong Yuan? The one deceiving and confusing everyone is certainly the imposter! Who doesn’t know that the Xia Kingdom’s Third Prince has been with the princess of the Dayin Kingdom this whole month? I don’t know where this imposter came from but it would be better to finish him off so that he won’t cause any more chaos!”

Pan En actually directed his men to surround Rong Yuan after speaking. The people who originally stood around Rong Yuan also stepped back subconsciously. 

The news released by Rong Yuan earlier was shocking enough to make them resentful towards the North Qiu Kingdom, but that was all under the circumstances of the truth. Now that there was a turning point, they held a hint of hope in their hearts that this version of Rong Yuan was a fake. After all, if the authenticity of the matter was determined, it would mean that the countries behind them would engage in a war with the North Qiu Kingdom. And this is an outcome that nobody wished for. 

Seeing how the crowd had wavered, Pan Wuyang laughed coldly, “Who doesn’t know that the North Qiu Kingdom is the strongest kingdom in the entire continent? Do you know how many people are eyeing this position, wanting to replace it? Shouldn’t everyone be able to guess what this imposter was trying to do? 

As soon as Pan Wuyang said this, his subordinates that were hidden in the crowd finally found the chance to respond, “That’s right! This imposter has a bad intention and almost caused us to wrongly accuse the  North Qiu Kingdom. If we had really sent this fake news back to our kingdoms, it would have brought about a huge misunderstanding.”

“Yes, yes, this imposter is too vicious. He is playing with everyone’s lives in the entire continent.” 

Such echoes came from different directions and also shifted the hearts of the people towards Pan Wuyang’s side. 

Upon seeing this scene, Rong Yuan sighed. Without caring about the North Qiu’s guards approaching, he looked towards the “Rong Yuan” beside Ding Rou.

“How much longer are you going to act? You’ve already entered the bridal chamber multiple times, aren’t you going to let your princess see the real identity of her husband?”

This sentence alone caused everyone to be stunned instantly. Ding Rou’s heart was filled with a sudden wave of panic. Upon seeing the presence of two versions of Rong Yuan, her anxiety had reached its peak. She could not even look at the Rong Yuan beside her. She acted fierce in countenance but was actually weak inside. She screamed while facing Rong Yuan, “Shut up, you imposter! Your death is imminent yet you still dare to lie?”

Rong Yuan shrugged after hearing the words and took two steps back. He stood behind Su Ruo just before the North Qiu guards could surround him and whispered, “Senior Su, the Spiritual Medicine was of an emerald green color.” 

Su Ruo was briefly stupefied before she realised that Rong Yuan was talking about the Accelerating Advancement Pill. After taking the medicine, she has never once mentioned the color of the elixir to anyone. Since this version of Rong Yuan could accurately say it, he was definitely the real one. 

On the other hand, Su Nian opened his mouth to speak. Seeing Ding Rou’s apprehensive eyes, he held tighter onto his partner’s hand that wanted to break free and restored his original gentle tone, “His Highness is right. My Princess, we’ve been married for quite a while. I can’t always let you think that the man sharing the same bedroom with you is someone else.”

With the other hand, Su Nian touched his face and rubbed against the part that was near to his ear. A layer of mask, that was as thin as cicada’s wings, began to peel off his face and revealed his true nature. Ding Rou exclaimed as soon as Su Nian’s face appeared. She could no longer bear such a blow and passed out. 

“How could it be you?!” Ding Wei cried furiously and could not believe what he saw with his eyes. If “Rong Yuan” was fake, then his sister had been… 

“Rascal, you’re shameless!” Thinking of such an unbearable conclusion, Ding Wei roared and attacked Su Nian. 

Su Nian did not shy away but calmly moved Ding Rou who was in a coma. Ding Wei, who was afraid of accidentally hurting his sister, withdrew his attack. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Su Nian moved his feet quickly and threw out a Spiritual Talisman containing fire-based spiritual energy. He then retreated in the direction of Rong Yuan. 

It was a huge amount of changes in just a short time. Even the guards who were ordered to surround Rong Yuan did not react in time. They stupidly looked at Su Nian, who had restored his original appearance, with a single thought in their hearts. This time, it’s really over…

The identity of the real Rong Yuan had already been determined. Pan Wuyang’s face was so gloomy that it could not possibly sink any further. While everyone was immersed in the dramatic scene, Gu Lingzhi had already finished feeding Hua Qingcheng a potion and voiced out, “The Pan Family of the North Qiu Kingdom has the ambition of a wolf. Not only did they want to make use of the Restrictive Shield to get rid of the Martial Artists from other kingdoms, but they have also sent countless spies to hide in these kingdoms over the last thousand of years. As soon as the time was ripe, the strength of these kingdoms would be crumbled from inside. If any seniors were to be interested, I can show you all what I’ve obtained from the North Qiu Royal Family.”

She befooled others with tricks and risked destroying her own reputation. However, Gu Lingzhi did all these in order to lure the Pan Family into sending their Demigods into the Sacred Lands. Additionally, she made use of Pan En, who had loosened his guard, to steal the secrets of North Qiu’s communication with spies from other kingdoms. 

No matter how the North Qiu chicaned, they would not be able to wash these facts away. 

The truth was out and the events that came afterwards were like a domino effect. 

The enraged Martial Artists, who came from other kingdoms, wiped out all of the North Qiu Kingdom’s personnel in the Sacred Lands. Even Pan Wuyang failed to escape the fate of destruction and was killed on the spot by Mei Ying and a few other Demigods. 

However, they would have to face the North Qiu Kingdom’s revenge for their actions. 

Within a short span of time, Rong Yuan managed to establish a simple cooperative relationship with several Martial Artists from the other Kingdoms. 

Before the main palace stood a stone house that the North Qiu Royal Family had originally built as a temporary residence. A group of noble Martial Artists had gathered inside with faces of worry about the future. 

“Lady Gu, previously, you said that you wanted to show us something from the North Qiu Royal Family. I wonder what it is?” A demigod named Wu Liguo asked. 

He was a Demigod from the Muji Kingdom which had only three Demigods in total. He had a high reputation in the Muji Kingdom such that even their Royal Family had to be courteous to him. 

No one felt that there was anything wrong to make such a request at this moment. 

While looking at Wu Liguo, Gu Lingzhi lowered her eyes to cover her disdain. Perhaps even the Royal Family of the Muji Kingdom was not aware of this, but the Demigod that was groomed by them and had the best cultivation resources in the entire kingdom, turned out to be a spy that was sent by the North Qiu Royal Family more than a thousand years ago. Over the years, he had crafted a good image and his disciples included more than half of the outstanding children of the strong clans of the Muji Kingdom. 

If no one were to reveal his identity, it was not difficult to imagine what would happen when the North Qiu Kingdom’s soldiers arrived at the Muji Kingdom. With just a wave of his arm and by putting in some good words for the North Qiu Kingdom, he could induce the civilians of his kingdom to obey them. It was a terrible outcome to imagine. 

There were quite a few people in the other kingdoms who occupied important positions like this. 

With this in mind, Gu Lingzhi thought back to how the Sacred Maiden had thought of sealing Zi Zi within the Fenlan Painting and sighed, admiring her foresight. 

If it was not for Zi Zi who was addicted to treasure hunting and searching the North Qiu’s Royal Palace, how could they possibly have found those confidential documents in the Secret Chamber filled with seals and traps?

Seeing the look on Wu Liguo, it was obvious that he bet that Gu Lingzhi would be unable to find any useful information. He had purposely come to put her in place and restore some reputation for the North Qiu Kingdom. However, she was not one to be underestimated.

“Lady Gu? Why are you not talking? Unless you have deceived us previously? Was there no evidence of the North Qiu sending spies to hide in other kingdoms?” Wu Liguo sneered, seeing how Gu Lingzhi remained silent. How would anyone be able to enter the North Qiu Kingdom’s Secret Chamber, where the confidential documents are placed, without alarming the rest? Even if he knew where half of the traps were laid, he would still be unable to enter without startling others. Moreover, how could Gu Lingzhi, who was still a mere Martial Practitioner, possibly get in?