The fourth update! Striving for a fifth one—One, as these maidservants pointed fingers, some faintly revealed expressions of schadenfreude, though they dared not show it openly.

It turned out that Young Master Jun had rushed out last night, and among the guards, there wasn't a young man his equal. In his urgent search, he heard a girl’s heartbroken crying coming from a room. Following the sound, he found a nearly naked rogue youth forcing himself upon a maidservant, his face split in a lewd grin. Before Jun Moxie could even ask what was happening, he struck the youth unconscious with a single palm, rescued the girl, and then hauled the unlucky fellow back with him...

Even Jun Moxie hadn't anticipated that, in his haste, he had inadvertently done a good deed, sending the Chen family’s despicable, womanizing, second young master onto the path of no return.

The situation instantly took a sharp turn, leaving everyone—including Cao Guofeng and Zhan Mubai—stunned speechless!

If this corpse belonged to the Chen family’s second young master, then where on earth was that genius with the Ethereal Body?

Taking advantage of the moment, Zhan Mubai recounted his own ordeal, emphasizing one key point: If I truly killed him, why would I still be clutching a piece of black cloth? Since you all admitted to losing sight of him before, with my abilities, Zhan Mubai, let alone one piece of black cloth, I could have destroyed thousands of pieces of evidence without a trace!

Besides the Chen family members, which of these Saint Emperors and Saints actually cared that the Chen family's second young master was dead?

Everyone was focused on a single matter: Where did that genius with the Ethereal Body disappear to? That was the real crux of the issue!

If this whole affair was a conspiracy, then wouldn't the fierce battle between Cao Guofeng and Zhan Mubai have been entirely unjust?

Cao Guofeng, possessing higher cultivation, was probably fine, but Zhan Mubai was a mess: his clothes were shredded, his face was bruised and swollen, his body covered in injuries. His face was practically ruined; a section of his beard was sheared off, both eyes were blackened like a panda’s, his lips were puffed up like sausages, and Bai Qifeng had knocked out two of his teeth—a textbook image of a ruined wreck. And that was only superficial; he harbored considerable internal injuries!

This would be unbearable for an ordinary person, let alone a Saint Emperor! What an immense humiliation!

Cao Guofeng and Bai Qifeng exchanged glances, momentarily unsure of what to do!

Who could have imagined that the eight of them, the peak experts of the world, Saint Emperors all, could have been so thoroughly manipulated by someone?

Yet, at the same time, they quietly breathed a sigh of relief: as long as that genius wasn't dead, no matter who currently held him, the day would come when they found him!

But Zhan Mubai was panting heavily, his eyes blazing with fire as he glared at Cao Guofeng and the others, spitting venomously, “‘Cao Guofeng! You son of a bitch, I—I swear we are irreconcilable enemies!’ Now that the injustice was finally cleared, Saint Emperor Zhan could loudly proclaim his grievances with righteous indignation! With his teeth missing, his speech whistled when he spoke; Zhan Mubai felt like dying on the spot. Earlier, being pummeled like a sandbag in full public view!

And that thunderous curse must have been heard throughout the entire [City Name]!

How was he supposed to deal with this? Did he take that beating for nothing? There had to be an explanation!

Saint Emperor Zhan wept, tears streaming down like rain.

In his entire life, besides when he was a child, Zhan Mubai only cried under one specific condition: when he felt overwhelmingly wronged, and only after that wrong had been rectified. Now, Saint Emperor Zhan was crying. I suffered too much... I was so wronged... As he thought this, Zhan Mubai suddenly recalled something critically important: This body here is fake. I’ve proven my innocence, but... where is the real person? His eyes darted rapidly, the more he thought, the more plausible it seemed, the more right it felt: As soon as the black-clothed figure was tossed in, Cao Guofeng and the others followed right after. Damn it, even catching an adulterer couldn't be this perfectly timed... At this critical juncture, who would frame me? Besides my rival, Cao Guofeng, who else?

“‘Damn it!’ Zhan Mubai slammed his fist into the ground and roared with surging fury: “‘Cao Guofeng! You have the nerve to call me despicable? You are the one who has sunk to the lowest depths! To monopolize an Ethereal Body genius as your disciple, you could stoop to such measures!’” Ever since realizing the mistake, Cao Guofeng had been thoroughly awkward and apologetic; all his anger had long vanished, leaving only guilt. Especially seeing his old friend Zhan Mubai beaten into a state beyond recognition, he felt ashamed to the point of invisibility, stammering, wanting to say something but unable to form the words.

He calculated in his mind: the only thing he could do now was to apologize profusely to his old friend, and then he must properly mentor his friend’s grand-disciple; even if he wasn't the ideal successor, he couldn't afford to ignore it!

Hearing Zhan Mubai’s roar, he could only offer a wry smile, his imposing aura completely gone: “Brother Zhan? Why speak like that? I know you are upset. I apologize to you. Later, bring your grand-disciple to my place, and I will certainly cultivate him diligently...”

Zhan Mubai leaped up, absolutely furious, and stalked to Cao Guofeng in two steps, grabbing his lapel. He tilted his head, squinted maliciously, and snarled: “‘Bah! You thief crying thief! Dare you say none of this was your setup? Bah! I must have been blind to have been friends with a scoundrel like you for hundreds of years! Now that your scheme is exposed, you think an apology will settle things? You still want to take my grand-disciple under your wing? Forget it! Do you think I’d entrust my grand-disciple to you? To raise him into a vile little man!’” His spittle sprayed across Cao Guofeng’s face. Cao Guofeng awkwardly wiped himself off and hissed: “What nonsense are you spouting? Don't lose your dignity—a dignified Saint Emperor, shouldn't you care about your reputation? I am sincerely apologizing to you. You said your grand-disciple was already in mortal danger—and now you say this...” “‘Dignity? Reputation?’”

Zhan Mubai roared in grief and indignation: “‘My dignity was already thrown into your latrine by you! My reputation was already wiped clean by you, Cao Guofeng! Now that your plot is revealed, you use my grand-disciple to hold me hostage, is that it? I’ll tell you plainly: even if I truly become childless and without heirs, I won’t need your help! Cao Guofeng! Hand over my disciple now, and from this day forward, we shall mind our own business! Otherwise, today, only one of us will walk out alive between you and me!’”

Cao Guofeng was dumbfounded, stuttering: “Wh—what disciple? What are you talking about?” Zhan Mubai roared: “‘My disciple with the Ethereal Body! Cao Guofeng, you are truly cunning. Knowing I would contend with you, you decided to strike first, using sleight of hand—not only killing that Chen family second boy and smashing his head in to frame me, but then playing the victim yourself to mislead everyone while you secretly hid your disciple! Isn't that what happened?’” Cao Guofeng stared blankly at him, truly unable to believe that the person opposite him had such sharp wits, capable of twisting something completely baseless into such a coherent narrative, even turning the tables to frame him!

“‘Nonsense! What rubbish are you spewing!’” Cao Guofeng was genuinely trembling with rage now—even his hair and beard were shaking. He now truly understood the feeling Zhan Mubai had just experienced.

Losing a disciple was already embarrassing, and now this mess was being pinned on him! Zhan Mubai felt his analysis was flawless and logically sound, relentlessly shouting, while everyone around tried to mediate, though their words carried hidden meanings. For instance, Hai Wuya said: “‘Brother Zhan, it’s best to discuss this later. Brother Cao has always been upright; it won’t be too late to discuss it after he has calmed down in a few days...’” And How Zhi Qiu added: “‘Brother Zhan, this matter cannot be rushed; it’s better to wait and see slowly?’” Both their statements conveyed the same implication, aligning with Zhan Mubai’s viewpoint: judging by the current situation, that genius must have been secretly hidden away by Cao Guofeng, perhaps even being part of a grand deception orchestrated by the seven Saint Emperors of the Illusory Palace, substituting the peach for the plum.