Sovereign of the Three Realms

“What did you say!? The Wang father and son were captured by the Peafowl Guard?!” At Shura hall, the Moon Monarch abruptly shot to his feet when he heard his subordinate captain’s report. His face looked as dark as black bean paste.

“Yes… Captain Kong had mobilized more than a hundred Peafowl Guards, and they were all among the best of the best. They had come prepared.”

“What was their justification? They can’t have detained them without a reason, can they?” The Moon Monarch obviously couldn’t accept this outcome.

“They said that the Wang father and son stole the Longevity Pill pill recipe from Sacred Peafowl Mountain! The evidence they provided was actually quite convincing,” This captain actually started defending the Peafowl Guard in order to exonerate himself. With this proof, he could at least prove that the Shura Guard present at the scene weren’t completely powerless!

“The Longevity Pill recipe? How does it possibly belong to Sacred Peafowl Mountain?” The more the Moon Monarch heard, the more confused he became. Did they seriously believe the other party’s claims? Just like that?

“My lord, they produced a Longevity Pill of their own which was of better quality than any the Majestic Clan’s pills. Almost no one present could debunk this piece of evidence, and that included the Majestic clan lord himself. In the end, the Majestic clan lord even brought up the Eternal Celestial Capital in an attempt to defend himself, but the Peafowl Guard accused him of colluding with foreign forces and leaking the Sacred Peafowl Mountain’s top secret pill recipe instead. Therefore, the criminal charge on him only worsened.”

The expression on the Moon Monarch’s face grew darker and darker. He cursed under his breath, “Not good enough to accomplish anything, yet good enough to ruin everything!”

No one knew if he was cursing his subordinate or the Majestic clan lord. Still, this matter was of the utmost urgency. The Moon Monarch understood that a criminal charge like this was a serious matter.

If the fake criminal charge they fabricated could enable them to arrest the Wei father and son in the first place… then the charges against the Majestic Clan were enough to doom the entire clan to death tens or hundreds of times over. This was especially true for the last charge where they were accused of colluding with foreign forces and leaking a top secret pill recipe. There was no doubt that the Majestic Clan would be exterminated down nine generations if the other party really wanted to go all the way with the sentencing. In fact, it might even drag other forces into the mess. That was why the Moon Monarch could no longer stay silent. He understood that this matter had gone out of his control, and that it was time to ask for instructions from the great emperor.

Emperor Shura was also a little surprised when he heard the Moon Monarch’s report. “How can such a thing have come to be? Tell me the details” Although Emperor Shura was a little surprised, he showed no signs of panic whatsoever. A great emperor’s bearing alone was something none of his subordinates could compete with.

The Moon Monarch responded, “Those great clan lords were all present that day. Should I call them in so that you may question them closely?”

The clan lords entered, each badly masking fear on their faces. They weren’t normally this cowed when they met Emperor Shura, but that was not the case today. They had allowed the Peafowl Guard to detain the Wang father and son right before their eyes. But despite their worries, Emperor Shura obviously wasn’t looking to place blame, merely nodding indifferently, “There’s no need to hold back. You were wise not to butt heads against the Peafowl Guard in those circumstances, for our losses would have only been bigger. They would have had even more excuses to cause trouble for us.”

Emperor Shura truly deserved to be called the ruler of a region. His words immediately dispelled their worries. “Now speak. The more detailed, the better.”

And so the clan lords gave Emperor Shura a complete report of the situation that had happened. Since he was hearing this from his subordinates’ point of view, Emperor Shura frowned and asked them a question, “You were there. Do you think that the Majestic Clan had stolen from Sacred Peafowl Mountain, or do you think that they were framed?”

“I think they were framed!”

“I think they were framed too.” None of them were saying what they really thought of the situation.

“Speak truthfully,” Emperor Shura’s expression darkened.

The clan lords exchanged anxious glances with each other. The truth was, they thought that the Majestic clan lord and his son looked extremely suspicious. After all, the evidence produced by the Peafowl Guard had been extremely solid. Moreover, the Majestic clan lord and his son had sidestepped the question every time these clan lords had pressed them about the origin of the Longevity Pills. But how would they dare tell the truth to Emperor Shura?

“Your Majesty, the situation at the time was extremely disadvantageous for the Majestic Clan. In the end, not even the Majestic clan lord himself could think of something to defend himself. He simply told us to tell you that he was wronged.”

“Indeed. Regardless of whether the Majestic clan lord is wronged, we can’t just stand by and do nothing to help him, can we? Your Majesty?”

Emperor Shura looked indifferent, “It would seem that all of you do think that the Majestic clan lord and his son stole the pill recipe from Sacred Peafowl Mountain.”

The clan lords were all stumped for words.

“Absurd!” Emperor Shura humphed coldly, “I know the Majestic clan lord. He is not such a careless person. One, if he really did steal the pill recipe from Sacred Peafowl Mountain, the first thing he would do is to report the theft to me. Two, there is no way he would openly sell the Longevity Pills. After all, is it not the same as telling Sacred Peafowl Mountain that he had stolen their pill recipe? Therefore, there is no doubt that the Majestic clan lord is being framed for a fabricated crime!”

The Moon Monarch stood up abruptly, “If this is a fabricated crime, please allow me to lead a group of men and demand the Majestic Clan’s release from Sacred Peafowl Mountain, Your Majesty.”

“Sit!” Emperor Shura’s tone wasn’t strong, but there was a dignity within it that brooked no disobedience. Even an unyielding person like the Moon Monarch had sat back down involuntarily upon hearing his words. He actually felt no annoyance or disobedience at all. “You won’t get them back even if you do go. In fact, you might even be captured by them,” Emperor Shura sounded as collected as ever.

“What should we do then?” The Majestic clan lord was the Moon Monarch’s sworn brother. He was the most anxious person out of all present.

“We must go back to the root of the issue in order to settle this matter. Although the Majestic Clan hadn’t stolen the Longevity Pill recipe, all of this started because the Majestic Clan suppressed House Wei.” While Emperor Shura might not interfere with worldly affairs, his insight was ever clear and precise. His vassals were silent, but they all had to admit that Emperor Shura’s words were true. It was patently obvious that the Peafowl Guard was taking revenge against the Majestic Clan.

The Moon Monarch raised his eyebrows, “Your Majesty, should I do the same thing as before and return the ‘favor’ to the Coiling Dragon Clan? We’re not afraid to trade blows with each other.”

“Do you really think that a golden opportunity like that will arise again?” Emperor Shura asked indifferently.

The Peafowl Guard had planned out their scheme perfectly, with more than sufficient evidence to back it up. There was nothing they could do to prevent the capture of the Majestic clan lord and his son. It would only be foolish to return the favor to the Coiling Dragon Clan without being able to produce evidence any more convincing than what they had right now. They would definitely become a public enemy.

The Moon Monarch thought for a moment before letting out a depressed sigh, “Then what do we do?”

“How fares the Wei father and son?” Emperor Shura suddenly asked.

“They were interrogated for a bit, but I didn’t go too far with the torture.” The Moon Monarch replied.

“Didn’t I tell you not to torture them?” Emperor Shura frowned.

Moon Monarch’s eyes looked a little evasive, “That father and son were just too repulsive. I couldn’t stand them, so I punished them a little secretly. It didn’t leave signs that ordinary people would notice, however.”

“Absurd! The main reason we captured them is to coerce them into giving in to our interests. It was already bad that you privately tortured them, and it has only worsened with the capture of the Wang father and son!”

The Moon Monarch said angrily, “They will torture the Majestic clan lord and his son too, won’t they?”

“The evidence they have will survive an inspection, but the evidence you created to frame the Wei father and son is not nearly as solid before a public investigation. Therein lies the difference.” Emperor Shura sighed softly, “Never mind, it is already too late for recrimination. We can only contact the other great emperors and pay Emperor Peafowl a visit.”

“But I thought that Emperor Peafowl has gone into closed door cultivation.”

“Then we shall wait until he comes back out,” Emperor Shura said indifferently.

“Rumor has it that he’ll be coming out in half a month.”

Emperor Shura waved his hands, “Treat the Wei father and son well during this half month, and don’t cause any more trouble during this period. I shall resolve this personally when Emperor Peafowl surfaces.”

At this point, it was obvious that Emperor Shura’s side was at a disadvantage. Emperor Shura was a formidable character, and he was very good at taking stock of a given situation. He knew when to withdraw when the tides were unfavorable. This incident would only grow bigger if they retaliated, and it obviously wouldn’t go well for them judging from how the winds were blowing right now. After all, the source of this incident was the Majestic Clan.

Although Emperor Shura had laid down a basic response of passivity, Sacred Peafowl Mountain wasn’t quite cooperative. Many pill stores in Farmer God Market found themselves in trouble after the Majestic clan lord and his son were captured. Every day, a group of mysterious pill masters would visit a pill store and destroy them. The pills provided by these pill stores would be analyzed and criticized mercilessly by this group of mysterious pill masters. All kinds of dark secrets would be spilled in the process.

The pill kings of the attacked pill stores came out to defend their reputation, but they were all beaten by a single mysterious pill master. The pill master would debate so eloquently that they could do nothing but accept their defeat in dejection. These visits quickly grew to become a daily phenomenon. Moreover, the pill stores that were attacked all belonged under Emperor Shura’s subordinates. Not only were the Majestic Clan’s shops attacked, other great clans’ pill stores were dragged in as well. Within a short period of time, every great clan beneath Emperor Shura were scared of being the next one visited. It was obvious that this mysterious pill master and his destructive visits had become everyone’s nightmare as of late. It didn’t matter how powerful the pill kings they had sent were. The end result was always the same: They were completely and utterly exposed by that mysterious pill master!

These pill stores suffered horrendous blows to their reputation and lost a large majority of their business very quickly. Moreover, these defeated pill kings were so discouraged that they almost all quit their jobs. It was obvious that their defeat was so bad that they no longer had the face to keep working in Veluriyam Capital. As such, a vicious cycle began to grow. The pill stores of the great clans beneath Emperor Shura lost seventy to eighty percent of their business because of this mysterious pill master. They had practically become the joke of Farmer God Market.

Thankfully, this mysterious pill master chose his targets well and never once attacked innocents. All of the pill stores he chose belonged to Emperor Shura, and he never once went after an innocent pill store. Therefore, not only did the other forces not feel sad for their competitors, they were even rejoicing on the inside. Their business had obviously improved since so many other shops were crippled to the point of vanishing overnight. To them, this mysterious pill master and his antics was a major windfall. They only hoped that this mysterious pill master would never stop. Ideally, they hoped that he would take down all the pill shops that belonged to Emperor Shura. Unfortunately for them, after ten or so days, just when Emperor Shura was readying himself to deal with him, the mysterious pill master vanished, like he had never existed in the first place.