As the saying goes, a single stone can stir a thousand ripples.
The moment Jiang Ran’s words fell, the crowd’s first reaction was a collective "Whoa."
’So he really did kill him!’
Then they began to whisper and murmur amongst themselves.
The gossip covered all sorts of theories.
Dong Huai Zong ignored the surrounding idle chatter, his face a mask of fury as he stared at Jiang Ran:
"You! You actually admitted it!?"
"What if I admit it? And what if I don’t?"
Jiang Ran sighed.
"Thunderbolt Hall came here full of aggression. Would you really back down just because I denied it?
"I imagine that even if I didn’t confess today, you would still arrest me on the grounds of ’suspicion of killing Chi Lin’.
"After all, ever since your Third Hall Master showed up, hasn’t your Thunderbolt Hall been trying every trick in the book to get your hands on the Jiaowei?"
Dong Huai Zong laughed heartily.
"This has nothing to do with the Jiaowei.
"But you killed my third brother, so Thunderbolt Hall must make you pay with your life!"
"Hold on!"
Jiang Ran held up a hand.
Dong Huai Zong’s brow furrowed. "What else do you have to say?"
"I hear Thunderbolt Hall has a reputation for being chivalrous.
"But based on my brief and shallow understanding, your method is to appear to walk the Righteous Path of the Martial World, while secretly resorting to treacherous schemes.
"Otherwise, why first hire the Death Building to take our lives, and then, at the critical moment before a victor was decided, appear as saviors, intending to wipe both us and the Death Building out in one fell swoop?
"That way, you would have earned a good name and achieved your goal..."
As Jiang Ran spoke to this point, Dong Huai Zong’s expression had turned extremely ugly. He wanted to interrupt, but Jiang Ran stopped him with a wave of his hand.
"Don’t talk just yet... Now, where was I?
"Oh, right. Your underhanded tricks are, I must say, quite impressive.
"So, I’d always thought you people had some brains.
"But seeing you today, I’ve clearly overestimated you.
"From your actions today, it seems you want to use Chi Lin as a pretext to kill me and take the Jiaowei in front of the entire martial world.
"But the problem is... even if you kill me, what makes you think the Jiaowei will be yours?"
Dong Huai Zong was stunned. He saw Jiang Ran sweep his gaze over the crowd and say with a smile:
"If I die, or if I am captured, the Jiaowei will become an ownerless object.
"Then anyone present today can fight for it.
"Your Thunderbolt Hall may be powerful, but are you really strong enough to kill everyone here on Sunset Plateau today?"
"This..."
Dong Huai Zong’s face went from cyan to white and back again. He could feel thousands of gazes from all around landing on him.
Looking around, he found that, sure enough, the vast sea of Jianghu People were all looking at them with anger in their eyes.
He was tempted to say a few words to smooth things over, but on second thought, ’Thunderbolt Hall has dominated the martial world for years. As one of the Thirteen Gangs, we have a reputation for acting with reason. Can I let that persona crumble just like this?’
So he forced himself to stay silent, merely letting out a cold snort.
"What are you snorting about?"
Jiang Ran was amused. "Are you trying to say you’re only here for Chi Lin, and not for the Jiaowei at all? Then do you dare, in front of all the heroes of the world, to swear an oath? Say, ’Today, I will only kill Jiang Ran and will not touch the Jiaowei in the slightest! If I break this vow, may my entire family die.’"
"You... You’ve gone too far!"
Hearing this vow, Dong Huai Zong felt a fire of rage surge in his heart and couldn’t stop himself from cursing at Jiang Ran.
But once those words were out, everyone from the martial world on Sunset Plateau understood.
Jiang Ran hadn’t been lying... This was exactly Thunderbolt Hall’s plan.
’Otherwise, why would you get flustered and start cursing?’
But Jiang Ran seemed to have the ability to let spit on his face dry on its own. He paid it no mind, simply giving a light wave of his hand.
"To be honest, it would have been better if Thunderbolt Hall’s First Hall Master, Gu Renlong, had come himself today.
"You, the Second Hall Master, are a bit lacking.
"You don’t have enough cunning or depth, not to mention the ability to remain impassive when Mount Tai crumbles before you. You wear all your thoughts right on your face.
"For him to entrust such a huge matter to you... it seems he might not really care that much about the Jiaowei zither after all."
"You! Say what you will, Chi Lin was ultimately killed by you, and today you must pay with your life!!!"
Dong Huai Zong roared in anger and was about to lead his men forward to kill him again.
"Hold on!"
Another voice entered his ears.
Dong Huai Zong flew into a rage.
"Who is it now? Is this ever going to end!?"
His biggest regret right now was that when Jiang Ran had said "Hold on!" just now, he had actually held on.
It allowed Jiang Ran to lay out their entire plan, putting them in this passive position.
Now, looking toward the source of the voice, he saw that it was Liu Zongming of the Fragrance Academy.
His anger immediately stalled.
The Fragrance Academy was not to be underestimated. It had pulled itself out of the mire back in the day, undergone several transformations over the years, and now, under Liu Zongming’s leadership, although its fame didn’t rank among the One Sect, Two Assemblies, Five Swords, Seven Sects, and Thirteen Gangs...
...its strength was not far behind.
Therefore, even in his fury, he couldn’t just unleash his anger. He suppressed his temper and spoke:
"Dean Liu, what guidance do you have for me?"
"I wouldn’t dare."
Liu Zongming’s polite remark only infuriated Dong Huai Zong further. ’If you wouldn’t dare, then why are you speaking up?’
Then he heard Liu Zongming say:
"This old man has understood what Young Hero Jiang said just now.
"This old man feels that the matter at hand cannot be clarified in just a few words.
"In this old man’s opinion, we should wait on this matter for now. After this Tea and Zither Appreciation Gathering is over, we can discuss the details.
"Otherwise, just the matter of Thunderbolt Hall hiring the Death Building to assassinate Young Hero Jiang... it would be very difficult to sort out the details."
"That brat Jiang Ran is spouting nonsense! How can you take him seriously, Dean Liu?"