This was a gamble with no losses; even if Ning Bei failed, the Ice God's position would still be a safety net.
With Ning Bei's return, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's machine, covering the entire continent, began to operate at full speed again. Every day, disciples carried large quantities of pills to Ma Yinglong's Pharmacy, the Extinction Sect branch, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's offices across the continent.
The outbreak of the plague unfolded as expected across the continent, especially in Tian Dou City. Due to the early arrival of many Tang Sect disciples, the Tian Dou soldiers hadn't had time to screen them before several outbreaks of the plague occurred, causing immense damage to Tian Dou City. Fortunately, Tian Dou City was adjacent to Seven Treasure City, and the toxins were quickly contained by the deployed Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School disciples before they could spread further, minimizing the empire's losses.
However, even with timely rescue efforts, many civilians lost loved ones and friends in this plague outbreak, and the survivors were filled with hatred for the plague.
Amidst this chaos, a rumor quietly spread among the people.
"Did you know? This plague was caused by the recently infamous Tang Clan, and their leader, Tang San, is a vicious thug with a blue face, fangs, and three heads and six arms."
"The Tang Clan? No wonder! I've heard they're always involved in murder and robbery; it's no wonder they could commit such heinous acts."
"Damn the Tang Clan! Give me back my wife and children! I'll fight them to the death!"
"Tang San? Is that the evil king Tang San who destroyed the Star Luo royal family for a woman? He's truly committed countless evils! Doesn't he worry about his sons not having enough 'things'?"
"..."
As always, ordinary people didn't bother to verify the truth. The already grief-stricken masses found a rare outlet, and naturally, they all spat and condemned Tang San, not mentioning that the plague was indeed Tang San's doing, and there was no question of framing him.
But some people always like to think they're clever. Master Yu, the paralyzed man from head to toe at Shrek Academy, is a typical example. When his beloved disciple's infamy spread, this greasy middle-aged man, who always considered himself a wise man, became jealous and indignant.
"This is a frame-up! This is a blatant frame-up! Erlong, do you think Xiao San is capable of doing such a thing?"
"This..."
Liu Erlong and Flander, standing to the side, remained silent upon hearing Yu Xiaogang's roar. Originally, they had absolute trust in Tang San, but after Oscar's warning, a hint of doubt had arisen in their hearts. Only Yu Xiaogang firmly believed that his disciple was pure and untainted by the mud.
"Xiao Gang, even if we believe Xiao San now, it won't make much difference. With all this word, even if Xiao San didn't do it, it's hard to say!"
"What do you mean even if he didn't do it? Xiao San didn't do it! He couldn't possibly do that! I warned him several times before I left. How could he do something so rebellious?"
Seeing that Liu Erlong also didn't believe Tang San, Yu Xiaogang became even angrier. His legs, which had been paralyzed for many years, almost regained feeling from anger. He was about to point at Flander and Liu Erlong and scold them for being easily swayed.
"No, no, that's not what I meant. I meant…"
Just as Liu Erlong was stammering, unsure how to explain to appease the master's anger, a snicker slowly entered the ears of the three of them.
"Teacher Erlong, you don't need to explain anything more to this hypocrite. He's no good either, being able to teach a disciple like Tang San."
"Hong Jun!!"
While Liu Erlong and Yu Xiaogang were stunned, Flander was the first to recognize the voice of his beloved disciple, Ma Hong Jun, and turned around to look at him with a look of surprise.
"It's me, teacher."
Ma Hongjun held Flander, his mentor who had watched him grow up, in high esteem, and bowed to him with a smile.
After hearing Oscar's story, Flander was deeply worried about his disciple Ma Hongjun, and even regretted countless times advising him to follow Tang San on his journey.
"It's good you're back...it's good you're back!"
Flander rushed to his disciple's side, patting the fat man's shoulder repeatedly and looking him up and down.
A heartwarming scene of master and disciple reunion flashed before his eyes, but some people couldn't stand it.
"Hmph, do you know what you just said? Framing a classmate, is this how you behave?"
"Xiao Gang... this... Hong Jun didn't mean that."
Flander, who had intended to be a peacemaker, was quickly stopped by Ma Hong Jun. Passing his mentor, Ma Hong Jun glanced disdainfully at the half-paralyzed Grandmaster.
"Teacher, you don't need to defend me. What I just said was exactly what I meant. Tang San is a complete hypocrite, a truly evil person, and a truly wicked one at that."
"You...you..."
Grandmaster, seeing the fat man's disrespect, trembled with anger, pointing a shaky finger at him, unable to utter a word.
Flander, stopped by his disciple, began to think seriously. He believed that although Ma Hongjun was sometimes unreliable, he wasn't the type to joke about matters of principle.
"Hongjun, what's your basis for saying that?"
"Hmph, of course I have my basis. Look at my current cultivation level."
As he spoke, Ma Hongjun entered his Martial Soul Possession state, and seven soul rings—two yellow, two purple, and three black—surged in succession.
Seeing his disciple reach the Soul Saint level, Flander felt a mixture of joy and deep worry.
"Hongjun, didn't you just reach the Soul Emperor level when you left a year ago? What happened?"
"What happened? It's all thanks to that bastard Tang San. Almost all the disciples of the Tang Sect rely on killing enemies to plunder their cultivation. I was afflicted by the Evil Fire at the time, knowing my days were numbered, so I recklessly accepted this evil method of advancement. After all, I wanted to experience the feeling of being powerful before I died. Tang San knew the flaws of this method and never used it himself."
The fat man's cultivation was undeniable; even if the three didn't believe him, they couldn't refute him. Seeing the master begin to despair, Ma Hongjun recounted the plague incident.
"Teacher, do you know what's going on with the plague that's breaking out everywhere?"
"What's going on?"
Hearing this, Flander became interested. He also wanted to know how this was related to the infamous Evil King Tang San.
"That's because when Tang San helped Tang Sect disciples, including myself, improve our cultivation, he injected an extremely difficult-to-detect toxin into everyone's meridians. Normally, it wouldn't erupt when suppressed with other medicines, but if those people betrayed and left, the Tang Sect members, without the medicine to suppress it, would trigger the toxin's eruption after overusing their soul power, turning them into terrifying poison gas bombs."
"What?"
After hearing the fat man's explanation, Liu Erlong and Flander were both terrified. They never imagined that the plague currently ravaging the continent was all caused by Tang San alone.
(End of Chapter)