It was June 22nd on Wednesday in the ninth week of the semester.
This would be a day that would go down in history.
Because this was the day of the old devil’s trial.
The old devil had been captured at the military base on the outskirts of Songhai city, and the Master of Shadow Stream, Jiang Liuyue, who had been trapped in the stone ghost mask at that time, had also been arrested.
The plan to capture the old devil had been discussed beforehand, so the old devil had been straightaway sent to Songhai First Prison where he would be directly put on trial.
The truth was that since the day of the old devil’s arrest, online news had exploded and netizens flooded public forums. There were tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of comments on any news that had to do with him. Looking at this, one could see the impact which the old devil had on society — this was the person who had struck terror in the heart of the entire Huaxiu nation, who had led the biggest dark force faction back then under the title “Devil Emperor Gua Pi”.
Wang Ling had always felt that if there had been an award for the biggest force of darkness, it would definitely have gone to the old devil’s Gua Pi Army.
…
At six o’clock that morning, in an interrogation room at Songhai First Prison, the old devil, still in Jiang Liuyue’s body, sat obediently in a wooden chair. He was still wearing the Spirit Shackles, and was facing Warden Liang, General Yi, Secretary Dakang and senior prison directors.
Fully eight people stood in a row before him, with a video camera recording live on the side.
In order to showcase the importance which the government placed on this matter as well as in response to some online rumors and news, General Yi this time had adopted an open and transparent attitude towards this trial, which would be broadcast live.
“Are you ready?” General Yi tilted his head and asked a staff member on the side.
“We’re ready, General Yi. Once the presenter on the outside cuts to the live broadcast, the light on the video camera will turn green and we can start right away.”
The staff member bent over, pointed to the camera in front of him, and said softly, “Earlier, the presenter did an opening ahead of the live broadcast, and currently we top TV ratings. We already hit twenty million online views less than five minutes into the opening… If this trend continues, once the trial starts, we’ll probably break a hundred million views.”
Hearing this, General Yi’s eyes abruptly darkened. He hadn’t expected that the devil could still have so much influence after so many years.
“What is General Yi thinking?” The staff member asked when he saw General Yi’s deep gaze.
“Nothing…” General Yi pressed his fingers to his head. “It’s just that the higher-ups told me that audience ratings for this live broadcast of the trial shouldn’t exceed those for the New Year Gala, so the situation is a little awkward now.”
Staff member: “…So, shall we begin?”
General Yi looked at the old devil and took a deep breath. “Let’s rehearse it first.”
Staff member: “…”
…
Five minutes later, as soon as the staff member said “Begin,” the old devil, who was facing the camera, straightaway lowered his head cooperatively and began to confess.
“My venerable self was wrong, really wrong. I shouldn’t have invaded the National Palace just because I had personal problems. Destroying the people’s property and threatening their safety have a very negative impact on society…”
General Yi: “Then what about the deliverymen from before?”
The old devil: “My venerable self is very sorry about the Riceball Takeout incident… but I preserved all the souls of those deliverymen. Previously, the news said something about the souls of those deliverymen scattering after they accidentally wandered into the sunlight. Actually, I preserved all their souls in the Purple Gold Gourd’s small world.”
General Yi nodded and swept his gaze over the matters listed on paper before asking, “Can you tell everyone in simple terms how you were arrested?”
“Before the battle, I intended to infiltrate the small world and absorb the vitality of this bunch of kids in order to activate the Body-Turning Array and be resurrected. But most unfortunately, my plan failed. After that, I was trapped by the Five Elements Great Array and had no way to escape.”
The old devil raised his head and stared at the camera. “In the end, I lost to General Yi’s Palm Sword.”
General Yi held out four fingers. “Do you know… the things you have done can only be described in four words!”
Everyone: “To raise everyone’s hackles!”
General Yi: “Another four!”
Everyone: “Completely insane and ridiculous!”
The old devil: “…”
“Now that we’ve bore witness to your testimony, according to protocol, you will be sent to the Supreme Cultivation Court. Is there anything else you would like to say?”
Right after General Yi said this, the staff member on the side at that moment suddenly yelled, “Cut!”
General Yi frowned. “What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
A female director came up to General Yi with a slightly awkward expression and said in his ear, “There’s nothing wrong with the basic process, but the expression of emotions isn’t quite right.”
After saying this, she looked at the old devil and said, “From the sentence ‘My venerable self was wrong’… Mr Devil Emperor should look a little more downcast; the best would be if you can express the kind of grief and loss you get from a family being torn apart and ruined.”
The old devil: “…”
The female director: “Putting aside how challenging it might sound, if Mr Devil Emperor can squeeze out a few tears, that would be great.”
The old devil: “…”
The female director looked down at the script in her hands. “And on another point, about General Yi using his Palm Sword: can Mr Devil Emperor describe it in detail? We’ve written the script; later Mr Devil Emperor can take a good look and spend two or three minutes memorizing it. When you talk about it later, you should show your fear of the Palm Sword.”
The old devil: “…”
General Yi: “…”
After hearing the female director’s words, even Secretary Dakang was stupefied. “…Is this necessary?”
“During the rehearsal with General Yi, the higher-ups were also watching, and they agreed that this part needs to be emphasized. On one hand, it will reflect General Yi’s prowess, and on the other, it can also raise spirits in society and set a widespread example for current cultivation students,” answered the female director.
General Yi: “…”
“There is also another thing that General Yi and Secretary Dakang both need to decide on,” the female director continued.
“What is it?”
“During the earlier opening by our presenter outside, the CEO of Cultivation Hardware and Concealed Weapons Technology, Evil Monarch Jun Xie, as well as Chief Ai of Five Elements Sect and Chief Xu of Exploding Sky Sect sent congratulatory bullet messages…”
Secretary Dakang raised his eyebrows. “Isn’t that a good thing? They’re famous in the cultivation world, and can have a significant impact in spreading optimism in society!”
“The problem is that after these congratulatory bullet messages, Chief Xu of Exploding Sky Sect sent three thousand yachts as a gift, then Chief Ai of Five Elements Sect refused to be outdone and sent three thousand and one yachts. Later, Lord Jun Xie also followed suit… In just three minutes, we already have more than ten thousand yachts. The presenter outside wants to ask whether we should express our thanks?” said the female director.
General Yi and Secretary Dakang: “…”