Chapter 715: Convincing People with Virtue, I Really Want to Beat Everyone to Death

“Using Qin Yun’s incident as an excuse to target Su Chen—they truly never give up!” Qing Cang shouted angrily. His cold, stern gaze then fell upon Qin Yun. “Qin Yun, what are you plotting now?”

“I’m not plotting anything,” Qin Yun shook her head and sighed. “I was born and raised here. Although I intended to strike at Su Chen before, the Bronze Sect is my home after all. How could I sit back and watch the Royal Court overthrow it? They underestimate me too much.”

“Is that so?” A strong flash of suspicion crossed Qing Cang’s eyes, but he didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he asked, “What exactly did you do in the Flame Fire?”

Zou Wen had only mentioned that the Prison King would use this incident as leverage, but he didn’t know much about what Qin Yun had actually done inside the Flame Fire.

Qin Yun fell silent for a long moment before answering. “Nothing much. Just to survive, I cooperated with the Residual Spirit, sacrificed and killed the other Morning Stars, and trapped the Prison King’s Spirit Body inside.”

“You personally killed the Morning Stars from the other Sects?” Qing Cang’s eyelids twitched. Being killed by the Spirit of Sun and being killed by Qin Yun were two entirely different things.

He stared coldly at Qin Yun. “No wonder the Prison King is confident he can hold off the other Sects.”

With the Royal Court’s strength, they had the upper hand against any single Sect in a one-on-one confrontation. It was only when the Five Great Sects united that the Royal Court would be put at a disadvantage.

Lin Langtian and He Chengying’s hearts also sank. Everyone understood that if one fell, the rest would follow, but when bitter grudges were involved, things changed.

Behind every Morning Star who had died in the Flame Fire stood a massive faction.

Qin Yun had essentially severed their greatest reliance. Once news of this spread, the internal factions of the major Sects would explode in uproar. They would inevitably seek to execute Qin Yun, and by extension, they wouldn’t show any mercy to the Bronze Sect either.

What the Prison King wanted wasn’t for the others to truly stand idly by, but to delay them. As long as he created a time gap, the Royal Court could secure the final outcome.

Even if the other Sects managed to pacify their internal strife and then mobilize to support the Bronze Sect, it would be too late.

“What are your plans regarding this?” Qing Cang, having already guessed the Royal Court’s intentions, turned his gaze to Qin Yun.

Qin Yun looked up and said solemnly, “Use this matter to publicly execute me immediately. Announce it to all the major Sects. At the same time, contact Senior Brother Chu Lingyuan and inform him of this.”

Hearing this, a flash of astonishment passed through the eyes of Lin Langtian and He Chengying.

After a long silence, Qing Cang shook his head. “I can no longer contact Chu Lingyuan. I suspect the Prison King has already made his move.”

As soon as he first learned of the situation, he had tried to contact Chu Lingyuan, but there had been no news even now.

“As for a public execution…” Qing Cang pondered. If it would help, he would have killed Qin Yun immediately, but this incident was merely an excuse for the Royal Court.

Even if they killed her now, the Royal Court would still find something to say. They could question the authenticity of her death and demand her corpse as a pretext to continue their plans.

Lin Langtian hesitated briefly before whispering, “The Ancient Kings have already agreed to a sacrifice every three months. This means the Royal Court must wrap things up within these three months. Otherwise, they won’t be able to explain themselves the next time they communicate with the Ancient Kings.”

Using this incident to execute Qin Yun probably wouldn’t raise any objections from the Bronze Ancient King. However, making further moves against Su Chen, or even the Bronze Sect, would be completely unjustifiable.

The Royal Court’s goal was to obtain results within three months and ensure the other Sects couldn’t rush to aid the Bronze Sect.

“Three months…” Qing Cang furrowed his brows deeply. “Since the Royal Court is making a move, they must be fully prepared. We can’t utilize the Flame Fire; we’re merely maintaining it with the power left behind by the Ancient Kings…”

He knew the situation with the Flame Fire very well. The core Fog Ashes had not been purified yet; they were only maintaining a balance, not completely resolving the issue.

If they had the Flame Fire providing energy, let alone three months, even three years wouldn’t be a problem. Now, he wasn’t entirely sure if they could hold out for three months…

Qing Cang wondered if Su Chen could purify the core Fog Ashes, though the core was entirely different from the outer and middle layers—it wasn’t just a simple increase in intensity.

If it were anyone else, he definitely wouldn’t harbor any hope, but with Su Chen, perhaps it was worth a try. Unfortunately, Su Chen had only recently advanced to Tier Seven, and his strength had yet to reach its peak. If they could wait a bit longer, their chances of success would likely be greater.

Lin Langtian cast a glance at Qin Yun and secretly transmitted mental fluctuations. “Senior Brother Qing Cang, two of the seven Chairmen have been taken away by Senior Brother Chu Lingyuan. Only we remain in the Sect, leaving us weaker than ever before. If Venerable Qin Yun truly repents, perhaps…”

Qing Cang’s face darkened, but he gave no direct response. He merely ordered, “Issue an alert order first and activate the highest defense mechanism. Mobilize the Bronze Guard Army. At all subordinate Commands, all High-tier Professionals must remain on standby at all times.”

Right at that moment, hurried footsteps suddenly echoed. An armor-clad man arrived with a panicked expression and spoke urgently, “Master Qing! Su Chen… Star Seed Su Chen! He… he… he disappeared!”

“Disappeared?”

In an instant, every gaze in the room turned toward him. Even Qin Yun cast an uncertain and bewildered look.

“What do you mean he disappeared?”

Qing Cang’s figure suddenly appeared in front of him, a hint of panic flashing in his eyes. He hadn’t reacted like this even when he first learned that the Royal Court’s three Morning Stars were coming.

“He’s just gone…” the messenger said hastily. “I went to your Floating Island to look for him under your orders, but I found that he had activated a temporary lockdown. I couldn’t reach him, so I had to forcefully lift the lockdown using your warrant.

“As a result, I searched up and down the Floating Island but couldn’t find any trace of Star Seed Su Chen. I also checked the port’s transit records and found that he hadn’t left either…”

As his voice faded, Qing Cang had already vanished.

He Chengying and Lin Langtian exchanged a glance, feeling a vague sense of unease. The Royal Court was intending to make a move against Su Chen, yet Su Chen had inexplicably vanished from within the Copper Heart…