116: Chapter 116 Step-by-Step Schemes
"Stop him quickly!"
Seeing this scene, Steward Shi Zixing could no longer sit still. An urgent voice rang out as he wanted to stop the disheveled middle-aged man's actions. If he hadn't been too far away and the situation hadn't been so sudden, he would have already charged forward!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several figures shot over at incredible speed, but whether it was intentional or not, they actually failed to stop him. They could only watch helplessly as the disheveled middle-aged man charged forward, followed by a deafening explosion that shook heaven and earth.
Boom!
Amidst the intense flames, those several young men were directly blasted into fragments, turning into tiny pieces of flesh, with a faint aroma of cooked meat wafting through the air.
Fortunately, those several figures acted in time, preventing the explosion from spreading and containing it within an extremely small area. Otherwise, the entire Qiulan Garden would have mostly collapsed.
A Nascent Soul Cultivator had just self-detonated to his death, and even took several Nascent Souls with him, avenging his daughter!
If you said he feared neither life nor death, yet he watched his daughter die tragically without doing anything!
If you said he was a coward afraid of death, yet he had the courage to go down together!
The complexity of human nature was fully revealed in this moment!
After the explosion, everyone present looked grim, especially Li Han, because his people had died again. Their numbers were already small, and now several had died within a single day. This matter had to be addressed!
Li Han looked at Steward Shi Zixing with a gloomy expression and said coldly, "Fellow Daoist Shi, you must give me an explanation for this matter!"
Steward Shi Zixing was completely dumbfounded. How was he supposed to give an explanation? The person was dead. Did he have to go to the underworld to find him?
Steward Shi Zixing was also extremely dissatisfied with these people from the Eastern Region in his heart. Their various actions were simply appalling, but if the Island Master didn't step in to resolve this, his own words carried no weight!
Even if he tried to be tough, he couldn't do it!
But while Steward Shi Zixing couldn't muster toughness, someone helped him be tough. Just as Li Han's voice fell, the surrounding people immediately refused to accept it and began clamoring.
"What explanation? They deserved to die! Can't people even seek revenge?"
"We've long been fed up with your actions, and now you still want an explanation? Dream on! If you can't accept it, get the hell back to the Eastern Region!"
"Get back to the Eastern Region!"
"Get back to the Eastern Region!"
"..."
A massive wave of sound shot straight into the clouds, echoing endlessly above Yaoguang City. Rolling sound waves spread out like ripples.
Instantly, the entire Yaoguang City erupted. Many people rushed towards the direction of Qiulan Garden, wanting to see what exactly had happened.
Not long after, what happened here spread throughout the entire Yaoguang City, causing even more people to gather at Qiulan Garden.
At this moment, Steward Shi Zixing had fallen into a dilemma where he was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. This matter was already beyond his ability to handle. If handled poorly, causing a mutiny would be troublesome.
He understood all too well why the crowd was joining in the clamor. If today they sacrificed others to quell the matter, tomorrow it would be their turn.
No one was willing to become that person, to die without a clear reason!
And haven't many such people died recently?
Taking advantage of today's opportunity to stir things up, making the Eastern Region people wary, even forcing them to restrain themselves—that was their goal!
Ning Yuan looked at the chaos around him, his eyes slightly narrowed as a trace of a smile flashed by. His instigation had taken effect, even exceeding expectations!
That Nascent Soul Cultivator's self-detonation was simply the best fuse, directly igniting everyone's anger!
Originally, Ning Yuan hadn't had such an idea; it was merely a spur-of-the-moment thought to see if he could cause some trouble for Li Fenglei, making his position as Island Master unstable.
Given the relationship between him and Li Fenglei because of Tao Yao, things definitely wouldn't be easily settled. If there was a chance to stir up hatred for Li Fenglei, he naturally wouldn't let it pass!
The entire Yaoguang City began to riot. A large number of people were dissatisfied with the Eastern Region people, and they all began to take action, voicing protests. There were even quite a few who resorted to violence, and countless more who took advantage of the chaos.
In such a situation, if no one suppressed it, what would happen in the end, no one knew!
Fortunately, at this moment, two Void Refining auras suddenly appeared, then their pressure enveloped the entire city, causing everyone to stop their actions and look up at the figures high in the sky.
One of them was Li Fenglei. His face was frosty, his eyes gloomy, surrounded by a baleful aura. He was like a cold, venomous snake, completely different from before!
The other was the master of Tianshu Island, the Venerable Tianshu. He wore a starry magic robe, his hair interwoven black and white, his face and skin as ruddy as a baby's, showing no signs of age. He had a black-and-white chest-length beard!
The Venerable Tianshu smiled lightly as he stroked his beard, slightly turning his head to look at Li Fenglei: "Fellow Daoist Li, how do you think this matter should be handled?"
After years of war and a series of events including the tragic death of the Old Ancestor, Li Fenglei had become much more gloomy. His hatred for Ning Yuan, who had incited the three-way melee, had reached its peak!
Moreover, Tao Yao had been... by him. This further fueled Li Fenglei's hatred for Ning Yuan, making him increasingly paranoid, with a tendency to develop a Heart Demon. Fortunately, he was no ordinary person and even managed to turn misfortune into a blessing, achieving a Breakthrough to Void Refining.
Hearing the Venerable Tianshu's words, Li Fenglei naturally wanted to defend his own people, but given how things had developed to this point, if he defended them again, his position as Island Master would become unstable.
Li Fenglei's eyes flickered uncertainly. After pondering for a moment, he said, "I wonder if Fellow Daoist Tianshu has any ideas?"
"Hehe, naturally I have some ideas! I've heard a little about your actions these past few days. If you don't show some restraint, I'm afraid your position..." The Venerable Tianshu said with a chuckle, his meaning clear. Li Fenglei naturally understood.
Probably no one had come out to stop all this in recent days because of the Venerable Tianshu's plan—to suppress him a bit and destabilize his position.
Perhaps he could also gain a wave of popular support, making the Cultivators of the Seven Star Sea Region grateful to him and boosting his own prestige.
What a clever scheme!
Li Fenglei sneered coldly in his heart. Now you come out pretending to be the good guy? We're all old foxes; what's with playing innocent?
But Li Fenglei certainly couldn't say these things. After all, he understood the principle of having to bow under someone else's roof!
Li Fenglei said coldly, "Fellow Daoist, speak your mind directly."
The Venerable Tianshu said, "Since Fellow Daoist wants to secure your position as Island Master, besides showing some restraint, you naturally need to win over the people. Either demonstrate strength or offer benefits!"
This old ghost!
Li Fenglei cursed inwardly. This was forcing him to spend money to avert disaster while further suppressing him—another trap!
Li Fenglei said coldly, "I don't have that much money."
"Then I'm afraid I cannot help Fellow Daoist," the Venerable Tianshu said with a faint smile.
Hearing this, Li Fenglei immediately choked, veins bulging on his forehead, teetering on the edge of rage but forced to suppress it. After taking a deep breath, he said:
"I have a compromise. We can have people compete in an arena. As long as they win three consecutive matches, they can receive rewards like Magic Treasures and Medicinal Pills. What does Fellow Daoist think?"