Huang Shi remained quiet for a few seconds, staring at the people who had just arrived—more specifically, at the person who was directly in front of him.
This person was called Li Jiang, and he was wearing a black robe with crimson outlines that distinguished him from the rest of the people with him.
He wore black gloves and black boots and had a calm and icy expression, as if he didn't care for the life and death of anyone around him.
His cultivation base sent a powerful and suffocating pressure at the surroundings, causing the people who were scrambling around panicking to suddenly pause in fear, as they quickly realized that if they did any unnecessary movements, they would be branded as an accomplice to the assassin and be punished.
Definitely at least at the Nascent Profound Realm, although I don't know how strong his actual cultivation base is.
After finalizing his thoughts, he slowly opened his mouth, speaking in a similarly calm tone.
"It wasn't me; someone else here killed him."
Hearing the words coming from his mouth, one of the other members of the Disciplinary Hall behind Li Jiang suddenly spoke with a sneer:
"You waste! You still dare try to twist the truth when the evidence is right before us! Even if you did pretend to be a cripple, there's no use trying to get out of this right now! Just obediently follow us back to the Disciplinary Hall and wait for your punishment!"
The person who just spoke was a man named Zhang Hao, and he was one of the more powerful of the lackeys following behind Li Jiang; as from the fluctuations of his cultivation base, it was revealed that he was already at the 8th level of the Elementary Profound Realm.
Hearing the words coming from this bastard's mouth, Huang Shi's temper once again flared as he then looked him straight in the eyes and spoke with an ice-cold voice:
"Do you believe me when I say that if you dare open your mouth again, I will burn your face off?"
Zhang Hao, feeling the powerful pressure coming from Huang Shi's cultivation base, suddenly shivered as his expression changed into one of fear.
Even though he didn't see the entire confrontation between Huang Shi and Tian Ju, from the words of the onlookers behind him, it was clear that it was a one-sided beatdown, even though he was struggling to believe it.
And yet, Zhang Hao couldn't help but try to put on a tough front, as he didn't want to lose face in front of his direct superior, as he once again opened his mouth to retort.
And yet, before he could do so, Li Jiang raised his right hand, gesturing for him to remain quiet as he looked over at him with an icy expression.
Seeing that gaze of irritation, Zhang Hao felt a sickening fear in the pit of his stomach as he quickly shut his mouth, not daring to offend this superior of his.
Li Jiang, on the other hand, was put in a dilemma. The reason for this was that he and Tian Ju were actually accomplices serving the same master, and the plan was quite simple.
First, Tian Ju would try to openly provoke Huang Shi, stoking his anger and compelling him to retaliate with force.
If Huang Shi was truly as useless as what people said, then he would see to it that Tian Ju succeeded in his mission and crippled Huang Shi for good, before stepping in at the right moment to prevent him from being killed and "arresting" Tian Ju for his mistake.
If Huang Shi was not useless and somehow managed to beat Tian Ju, he would instead wait for the opportune moment to intervene and help fend off Huang Shi and try to pin the blame on him, leading to his arrest through false charges.
Unfortunately for the both of them, what they didn't expect was that not only was Huang Shi stronger than Tian Ju, he was so vastly superior that Li Jiang didn't even have any time to react before Tian Ju was already on the ground begging for mercy.
It was to the point that he was actually willing to betray their master and expose his identity to Huang Shi, which their faction obviously couldn't accept; and so, one of their assassins quickly made the move to end his life to prevent any sort of leakage.
After remaining quiet for a couple of seconds, Li Jiang opened his mouth to speak, asking a simple question to Huang Shi:
"Even if it is true that you didn't kill Tian Ju, you are still considered an accomplice because you left him half-dead. Do you confess to your crimes?"
Hearing the words spoken from Li Jiang's mouth made Huang Shi sneer as his expression turned into one of disdain.
"Are you stupid? This idiot was trying to intentionally provoke me to attack and then tried to cripple me right in front of all these people, and now, when I try to defend myself, you somehow shift the blame onto me? Are you sure you are a member of the Disciplinary Hall and not just some scoundrel?"
Hearing the sharp words coming from Huang Shi's mouth made all of the people watching this tense situation freeze, as the tension was so palpable they felt suffocated, as they all thought the exact same thing:
Since when was young master Huang Shi so good with his words! This person is clearly not the same waste that they knew of for the past 18 years!
Li Jiang remained silent for a couple of seconds as his expression remained unreadable before slowly opening his mouth and stating a reply:
"Do you have any proof of your claims?"
Huang Shi, as if expecting this answer, suddenly laughed out loud as he pointed at the people around him.
"These people can prove my innocence. You can just ask around here and you'll hear the same answer."
The people who saw that Huang Shi had forced them into involving themselves in the situation suddenly froze as their expressions changed simultaneously.
They were about to refute Huang Shi's words when they suddenly saw the look in his eyes—an ice-cold expression like they were looking at a thousand-year-old glacier, like it was daring them to lie and see for themselves the consequences.