The referee's attitude toward Tang San was relatively courteous, not showing any hostility despite his earlier actions.
"Shi Nian robbed me?" Tang San sat up, recalling what had just happened.
He only remembered being trapped in an illusion and hadn't noticed Shi Nian's presence at all.
"The ability to use illusions is something only a spirit-type soul master can do. Xiao San's testimony already confirms that the culprit is Shi Nian!" Yu Xiaogang exclaimed loudly.
The referee formed a judgment in his mind and asked a few more questions.
Before leaving, the referee reminded him, "Check your soul-guided device to see if anything is missing."
Tang San hurriedly followed the instruction.
What he discovered shocked him.
The mental imprint on his soul-guided device had been erased, and most of the hidden weapons and metal materials inside were gone. Even several blueprints for hidden weapons had disappeared.
"Referee, you said Lord Dugu saved me? Did he bring back my belongings?"
Losing the hidden weapons wasn't too bad—they were disposable items, so there was no fear of them being mass-produced.
But losing the blueprints was a completely different matter.
With the blueprints, one could recruit blacksmiths to produce unlimited quantities of the weapons.
The referee replied, "Lord Dugu mentioned this matter. However, he considered your things to be worthless and left them at the scene of the robbery. We've already sent people there. If you want to retrieve your items, you can go anytime."
With that, the referee left the rest area.
Tang San didn't dare delay and quickly adjusted his clothes to get up.
"Xiao San, you need more rest," Yu Xiaogang quickly stepped forward to support him.
As Tang San walked toward the door, he anxiously said, "I've lost my things—I can't waste any time."
Yu Xiaogang patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, the organizing committee won't take your belongings. Even if it's urgent, we must wait for the tournament committee to investigate and give you justice."
---
On the other side, Ning Tianchen returned to the student rest area, swaying slightly.
"Boss, weren't you with Dugu..."
Before Chen Huayu could finish, Ning Tianchen immediately made a gesture for silence.
"From now on, remember what I'm about to say. After leaving the arena with Elder Dugu, we went to a nearby teahouse to discuss some matters. Afterward, I returned to the hotel to rest and have only just come back."
Everyone immediately understood that there was more to the story.
"Tang San was indeed attacked by Shi Nian. There are some details I can't explain to you. If anyone asks, just stick to this story," Ning Tianchen reminded them.
After all, robbery wasn't exactly something to be proud of.
Moreover, the matter of the hidden weapon blueprints was significant and shouldn't be known by too many people.
Sun Buyu clapped his hands. "Whatever Tianchen did, he must have had a good reason. Everyone, just follow his instructions."
Oscar chuckled. "In that case, it seems certain that Canghui Academy will be disqualified. Doesn't that mean we'll get another bye in the tournament?"
"What about the principal?" Ning Tianchen asked.
"The principal has been assisting with the investigation for a while now. The results should be out soon," Yu Die added.
Ning Tianchen frowned. "Bone Uncle isn't here?"
Bone Douluo was highly skilled at interrogations—far better than Ke Jie. If he were here, why would they bother looking elsewhere?
Sun Buyu thought for a moment and said, "It seems that not long after you left, Bone Douluo also departed. He hasn't returned since."
Ning Tianchen couldn't help but recall what Dugu Bo had said: "There are strong individuals fighting outside the city."
At the time, he had been solely focused on obtaining the soul bone and ignored the matter.
Considering the current situation, one of the fighters was undoubtedly Bone Douluo.
But who was his opponent?
---
About half an hour later, Ning Fengzhi and the others emerged from the meeting room.
Immediately afterward, the referee announced, "After the organizing committee's interrogation, it has been confirmed that Canghui Academy harmed the participating contestants! Based on the evidence gathered, it has been determined that all the missing contestants were killed by Shi Nian. There is no indication that anyone else was involved in harming the contestants."
Shi Nian's actions were known to the headmaster of Canghui Academy, who also helped cover up the crimes.
Under Ke Jie's interrogation, the person eventually confessed to the criminal acts.
"According to the laws of the Tiandou Empire, the principal of Canghui Academy, Shi Nian, will be sentenced to death. Since he is already dead, his punishment will be changed to posthumous flogging as a warning to others. The vice-principal of Canghui Academy will be executed according to imperial law before the start of tomorrow's match."
"Based on the tournament rules, the organizing committee has decided on the following punishments for Canghui Academy."
"First, their participation rights are immediately revoked, and they are permanently barred from participating in the Soul Masters Tournament. Second, all match results for Canghui Academy will be recorded as losses."
"This punishment is extremely harsh—it might be unprecedented and never repeated," Chen Huayu remarked casually.
"The second-to-last place has appeared," Ning Tianchen suddenly chuckled.
First, the Imperial Second team withdrew, and now Canghui Academy had been kicked out of the tournament.
With that, the remaining teams no longer had to worry about finishing in the last one or two places.
After the punishment was announced, all members of Canghui Academy were taken away by the royal knights of the Tiandou Empire. They would face severe punishment under imperial law.
"I hereby announce that the matches will continue."
After making the announcement, Xue Ye, supported by his attendants, left the tournament venue.
Not long after he left, Gu Rong returned to Ning Fengzhi's side and quietly reported the situation in his ear.
"Tang Hao?" Ning Fengzhi dared not speak aloud, fearing that Salas might overhear.
"Bone Uncle, call Tianchen over—I have something to ask him."
Soon, Ning Tianchen was summoned by Ning Fengzhi to an office.
At Ning Tianchen's request, Ning Rongrong also came along.
"Tianchen, what exactly happened? Shi Nian robbing participants—how absurd!"
Although it sounded absurd, based on the investigation results, all evidence pointed to Shi Nian committing the robbery.
Ning Fengzhi knew that Ning Tianchen was full of clever ideas and suspected that the crime scene might have been deliberately staged by him.
Ning Tianchen didn't hide anything and took out the twenty-thousand-year-old head soul bone from his soul-guided device.
"That's the soul bone stolen from the Tiandou auction house!" Gu Rong immediately recognized it.
When Ning Fengzhi learned that a soul bone was being auctioned, he had prepared a substantial amount of funds to compete for it.
In the end, however, he learned that the soul bone had been stolen.
Never would he have expected that, after all this time, the soul bone would return to their hands.
Ning Fengzhi knew that the person who robbed the soul bone couldn't have been Ning Tianchen.
After some thought, he guessed the reason. "Was this the soul bone that Shi Nian stole?"
Ning Tianchen nodded. "This soul bone isn't clean, and its value is extremely high. If I hadn't let the old man say those words, Salas would have suspected the existence of a soul bone."
"This soul bone suits Rongrong perfectly—let her absorb it."
With that, he handed the soul bone to her.
Ning Rongrong opened her mouth wide, wanting to say something but hesitating.
A twenty-thousand-year-old head soul bone was incredibly valuable—even the young lady of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had never encountered such a precious item before.
"It's a gemstone-type soul bone, perfect for the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul. Rongrong, just accept it," Ning Fengzhi gently stroked her forehead and smiled.
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