The middle-aged steward's gaze fell on the long spear lodged in the chest of the long-haired young woman; blood was still dripping from the weapon. His eyes grew cold as he stared at Joe Di. "You, a mere ant who just arrived in Cauldron Haven, dare to commit violence here? Come with me to the Law Enforcement Hall!"
Joe Di swallowed the words he was about to say, his tone turning cold as well. "Steward Lewis, Cauldron Haven has always been a city of freedom, equality, and democracy in the starry skies. When did it become a place ruled by your iron fist, where your word is law?"
To go with Steward Lewis to the Law Enforcement Hall—if Joe Di wanted to stay alive, he would never do something so foolish.
Steward Lewis was furious, but before he could speak, Joe Di clasped his fists to the crowd of cultivators watching and said, "Fellow Daoists, this Steward Lewis arrived here and, without asking me a single question, only listened to one side before trying to take me away. The reason? Because I am a mere rogue cultivator, while the other party knows Steward Lewis. I truly don't understand when Cauldron Haven became a place where Steward Lewis alone can decide a person's fate. And apparently, as long as you know Steward Lewis, no matter how serious your offense, you can stand above the law of Cauldron Haven."
"Ha! Well said. Just a mere steward, and he thinks he controls all of Cauldron Haven. Truly acting above the law. I wonder if City Master Mi is aware of this?" A sarcastic voice rang out from the crowd.
Steward Lewis was startled. He had assumed that Joe Di, a newly arrived, insignificant Immortal Lord, would not dare utter a word if taken away. Only now, when Joe Di boldly confronted him, did he realize that someone so brazen as to pin the daughter of the Thousand Maple Guild's leader with a spear was not someone easily bullied.
Now that Joe Di had spoken so loudly about the matter, if word reached the City Master... no, even if it only reached the Hall Master, Steward Lewis's career would be finished.
Thinking of this, Steward Lewis said coldly, "Then tell me—what exactly happened here?"
Joe Di replied with disdain, "A steward who can't even handle this much doesn't deserve the title. But today, I'll explain what really happened. I trust that everyone here has clear eyes and won't all be like Steward Lewis—disregarding the laws of Cauldron Haven and oppressing rogue cultivators as they please."
A murderous glint flashed in Steward Lewis's eyes, but even if he wanted to kill Joe Di, he didn't dare do so openly here.
Joe Di pointed at Huang Quan and said, "I am Joe Di, proprietor of the Starry Skies Immortal Teahouse. This woman and her shop staged a fake Liora Starfruit auction on the street to scam passing cultivators. My little tree root pet happened to pass by, and they forcibly dragged it in, then deliberately pushed it next to the fake Liora Starfruit, knocking it over. Many here saw what happened next—they demanded my tree root pet pay for the fruit, severed one of its arms, and pinned my junior sister to this stone pillar."
The cultivators finally understood what had happened—it was Huang Quan who struck first.
"Ha ha..." The middle-aged man who had rushed out from the shop laughed. "What makes you say our Liora Starfruit is fake? My shop just happened to use a real Liora Starfruit for the auction—what's wrong with that?"
The surrounding cultivators fell silent; everyone knew the Liora Starfruit was surely fake. If it were real, only a fool would auction it off on the street. Still, the middle-aged man had a point—unless you could produce evidence, it was considered genuine.
Joe Di sneered and raised an orange Alchemist Badge. "I am a Third-Rank Certified Immortal Alchemist of the Cauldron Haven Alchemist Guild. I know a thing or two about Liora Starfruit. When it falls to the ground, the area should be lush and vibrant with life. But look—do you see any trace of vitality here?"
It was obvious—no one even needed to look. The Liora Starfruit was clearly fake. Steward Lewis frowned, surprised that Joe Di had such credentials as a certified alchemist.
The middle-aged man sneered, "What I am selling is a mutated Liora Starfruit—it's worth even more, and its properties differ from ordinary ones."
"If you have nothing else to say, then come with me to the Law Enforcement Hall." Steward Lewis stared at Joe Di icily. Joe Di's words sounded impressive, but in this situation, taking him away was justified. Plenty had seen the tree root pet knock over the Liora Starfruit, and Joe Di's claims, no matter how convincing, were just empty talk. Even if everyone believed him, it still wasn't evidence.
Joe Di snorted disdainfully. "Everyone, step aside. Let me show you something."
Instinctively, the crowd parted. Joe Di produced hundreds of array flags and began tossing them down in rapid succession.
In less than half a stick of incense, a series of clear, continuous images appeared in the void: from the street auction of the Liora Starfruit, to Rootling squeezing in to watch the commotion, being shoved, and then knocking over the Liora Starfruit.
But after the Liora Starfruit hit the ground, it didn't vanish—instead, the middle-aged man who had rushed out from the shop picked it up.
Even a fool could see it was a fake Liora Starfruit. The shopkeepers had conspired against Rootling and ended up thoroughly exposed.
"That's an Echo Array..."
"Amazing..."
Someone in the crowd exclaimed in admiration. Although these events had just taken place, for an Echo Array to be set up in half a stick of incense and restore everything so clearly, the array master had to be top-tier.
The Echo Array reconstructs previous events by layering and repeating immortal essence fluctuations. The longer the time since the event, the harder it is to restore.
Joe Di sneered inwardly—Echo Array? His array was far more than a simple Echo Array; it couldn't possibly produce such clear images. The array he used was so advanced that even a Sixth-Tier Immortal Array Master couldn't set it up. Only as an Immortal Array King, a seventh-tier master, could he achieve this.
"Heh, the ones who shoved my tree pet earlier are now ganging up on me, accusing me of ruining the Liora Starfruit. Truly impressive—so powerful, so clever." Joe Di finished his mocking words, then suddenly grabbed a cultivator with only Golden Immortal cultivation and threw him to the ground at his feet. This Golden Immortal was the very person who had shoved Rootling moments ago. Now, in Joe Di's grasp, he had no power to resist.
Earlier, a group had gathered to watch the street auction—clearly, they were all in on it together. Rootling was lured in and set up from the start.
Steward Lewis's face darkened. He glared at the middle-aged man and said, "Swindling people on the streets of Cauldron Haven—you'll come with me to the Law Enforcement Hall."
"No need..." Joe Di said, and the Azure Veil Blade on his back suddenly swept up a flurry of blade shadows. The blade shadows exploded, and even though the middle-aged man was a late-stage Immortal Lord, he couldn't escape—he was firmly trapped by Joe Di's blade intent.
"Splurt!" A flash of blood erupted—the middle-aged man was slain on the street by Joe Di.
"You dare kill someone in broad daylight?" Steward Lewis shouted, then grabbed at Joe Di again. "Since that's how it is, you will come with me to the Law Enforcement Hall."
Joe Di kicked the Golden Immortal he had just subdued aside and flashed out of the way.
"Splurt!" Even though the Grand Ether Immortal hadn't exerted any force, the Golden Immortal still turned to blood mist under his grasp.
The Grand Ether Immortal's face turned ashen with rage. He was certain the Golden Immortal hadn't been killed by him, but rather by a seal restriction set by Joe Di.
Before the Grand Ether Immortal steward could act again, Joe Di declared loudly, "According to Article 363 of Cauldron Haven's Liberty Law, if anyone in Cauldron Haven deceives, coerces, or frames innocent cultivators—so long as there is evidence and the scheme is exposed—they may be killed without mercy. Steward Lewis not only acts as if he's above the law, but also disregards Cauldron Haven's regulations. Relying on his connections to this shop, even when I have irrefutable evidence, he still wants to drag me to the Law Enforcement Hall in public. I have to ask—does Cauldron Haven have any liberty at all?"
"Right, right! Does Cauldron Haven have liberty or not? As a steward, openly defying the city's laws—so impressive, truly!" The same sarcastic voice rang out from the crowd again.
This sarcastic voice had helped him twice now, and Joe Di was very curious who it belonged to.
Steward Lewis was startled, suddenly recalling this law. Cauldron Haven really did have a few statutes allowing for summary execution, but no one had ever dared kill anyone here, so over time, people had forgotten such laws even existed.
In an instant, Steward Lewis understood what was happening. This Joe Di was absolutely deliberate. He knew Lewis was upset and purposely killed someone to provoke him, laying a trap. In his haste, Lewis had fallen right into it.
"Who says Cauldron Haven has no liberty?" A dignified voice rang out, and a tall, thin man in blue robes stepped down from the void.
"Master Dui..." Steward Lewis's voice trembled as he saw the blue-robed man.
Master Dui ignored Steward Lewis, grabbed him like a chick, and turned to Joe Di. "I am aware of this matter. Your evidence is sufficient—you may handle it as you see fit."
"Thank you, Master Dui." Joe Di stepped forward to express his gratitude. He couldn't gauge Master Dui's cultivation at all—Cauldron Haven truly was full of powerful figures.
Master Dui nodded, then turned and stepped away, vanishing in an instant.
No sooner had Master Dui left than a yellow-robed cultivator landed before Joe Di, his voice icy as he stared at him. "Was it you who nailed my daughter here?"
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)