147: Chapter 147 Finally Recognized

Furthermore, his status as a descendant of a sinner, the fact that he had taken first place, and the fact that he had just brutally beaten other contestants...

...made him a very suitable scapegoat.

"No, Su Chen isn't that kind of person."

Jiang Luoli rushed out from behind Su Chen, her pretty face pale and tears welling in her eyes as she stubbornly stood in front of him.

"I brought him into the martial artist circles, and we've experienced a lot together."

"He saved me; on the plane, he kept trying to make sure it landed safely. How could he be the killer?"

"Someone must be framing him. Please, my lords, look into this clearly."

The middle-aged man glanced coldly at Jiang Luoli.

"Jiang Family girl, considering you are young and ignorant, and have been deceived by this boy, step aside immediately."

"Moreover... though you carry the Jiang Family bloodline, you have long been a marginal figure."

"If you insist on shielding this descendant of a traitor and murder suspect today, even the Jiang Family won't be able to protect you."

"Don't forget, your elder brother Jiang Fengyu also perished in this attack."

"Can you face your brother's spirit in heaven with your current actions?"

The death of this brother, who had snatched many of her opportunities and led the way in isolating her, actually made Jiang Luoli feel a secret sense of satisfaction.

She gave a cold snort.

"The Jiang Family? We aren't close. Jiang Fengyu's life or death has nothing to do with me, but Su Chen would absolutely never do such things. I guarantee it with my reputation and my life; he was barely even away from me the whole time!"

"Your guarantee?"

The middle-aged man sneered, his voice full of contempt.

"What right does an outcast abandoned by their family have to act as a guarantor? If you don't step aside, don't blame us for treating you as an accomplice!"

The aura of several official martial artists grew even stronger as they slowly closed in, their spiritual pressure weighing down like a mountain, locking off all of Su Chen's escape routes.

The surrounding crowd subconsciously retreated in anger and fear, clearing an open space and isolating Su Chen and Jiang Luoli in the center.

Jiang Luoli wanted to step forward to help, but Su Chen pushed her back with his hand.

He didn't flinch at all, stroking the scabbard of the dust-avoiding sword at his waist.

He didn't like revealing his trump cards, but that didn't mean he didn't have any.

Setting aside the rewards bestowed upon him by the system...

...even the demonic beasts he had tamed on the Snowy Plateau were still under his control with a single thought.

If these official martial artists insisted on smearing him, he wouldn't mind letting them experience the wrath of a common man and the sight of rivers of blood.

Just as the situation reached a breaking point and tensions were at their peak...

The rosy clouds of the east, the moonlight of the west, and the tides of the north.

The three celestial phenomena that had been brewing terrifying pressure suddenly retracted.

The light filling the sky collapsed inward, condensing into three hazy and exquisite silhouettes above the square.

The Transcendent Heroic Spirits, who had not been the focus of everyone's attention, appeared.

They did not fully manifest their true bodies, appearing to still be under some kind of restriction.

But the mere descent of these three phantom images caused the air in the entire square to freeze.

All the clamor came to an abrupt halt, and even those murderous official martial artists couldn't help but stop in their tracks, looking toward where the three had appeared with faces full of awe.

The rosy clouds transformed into a fiery red dress, outlining breathtakingly proud curves; her face was stunningly beautiful yet cold as frost, with crimson eyes like blood.

The moonlight condensed into a simple, elegant white dress; her figure was slender, her black hair like a waterfall, and her face was cold and otherworldly.

The tide was azure, manifesting as a dress of shark-silk; her figure was hazy like rippling water, and her face was ethereal and beautiful, seemingly not of the mortal realm.

Three Transcendent Heroic Spirits descended simultaneously.

And as the three figures slowly condensed...

...Su Chen himself happened to have his back to them.

The moment their figures solidified...

...he suddenly felt a sensation like prickles on his back.

As if something far more dangerous and deadly than the official martial artists in front of him...

...had appeared behind him.

He turned his head sharply to look.

When he clearly saw those three figures, familiar to the depths of his soul...

...his entire body froze.

Zhuge Jinyu.

Cang Mingyue.

Ye Jingjun.

It wasn't a resemblance, it wasn't a hallucination.

It really was them!

The three investment targets whose favorability he had maxed out in the investment worlds.

Su Chen felt the blood in his body rush to his head and then drain away completely in an instant; his hands and feet were ice cold, and his mind went blank.

Every detail from the investment worlds—the wind and snow of Great Gan, the moonlight of Great Ning, the whispers of the ancient mirror, the cold glint of the sword's edge, the tears of the mermaid.

Of course.

What he remembered most clearly was...

...when he had been in utter despair...

...the way they had looked, almost heartbroken.

He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue; the sharp pain allowed him to barely maintain a shred of clarity and avoid losing his composure on the spot.

He subconsciously took half a step back, his body swaying as he nearly lost his footing, only to be caught by Jiang Luoli behind him.

"Su Chen? What's wrong?"

Jiang Luoli sensed something was wrong with Su Chen and asked in a worried low voice, while simultaneously looking with shock and uncertainty at the three stunning figures in the sky that made the world pale in comparison.

She didn't understand why Su Chen's reaction to seeing these three legendary Transcendent Heroic Spirits would be so intense.

Could it be that these three were also Su Chen's enemies?

Her heart couldn't help but turn cold.

If the Hall of Valor was targeting him, she could still barely protect Su Chen's life.

But if these three wanted to target Su Chen, then she wouldn't be able to protect him no matter what.

Just then, the three Transcendent Heroic Spirits floating in the air almost simultaneously cast their gazes down toward the surrounded Su Chen.

Those gazes were incredibly complex.

Under countless stares of awe and extreme envy...

...the three slowly moved forward, their phantoms solidifying slightly as they landed in the center of the square.

In an instant, everyone held their breath.

The martial artists they passed, especially the men...

...felt their hearts beating at a speed comparable to the pounding of war drums.

Seeing the three Transcendent Heroic Spirits with their own eyes...

...they realized that these three legendary, fairy-like figures...

...were, compared to their most vivid imaginations...

...thousands, tens of thousands of times more beautiful.

But.

They didn't stop.

They didn't pause for any martial artist present.

Instead.

They walked straight...

...up to Su Chen and Jiang Luoli.

They stood between Su Chen and those official martial artists.

Ye Jingjun spoke first.

She pointed at Su Chen.

"This man, Su Chen, is the candidate for this seat's Dao companion, for whom I have searched for a thousand years."

"His business is my business."

Zhuge Jinyu's phoenix eyes lifted slightly.

"The matter of Su Chen will be investigated by this Hall."

"The crimes you speak of are full of loopholes; the intent to frame him is plain for all to see."

"This man, I shall protect."

Cang Mingyue was not to be outdone.

She blinked her deep blue eyes.

"This Su Chen, Young Master Su, is the one Yue'er has chosen."

"Whoever wants to seize him must first ask if Yue'er's tides agree."

In an instant, the entire venue was silent.

Dao companion candidate?

This Hall shall protect?

The chosen one?

Three Transcendent Heroic Spirits actually simultaneously, publicly, and explicitly declared they would protect Su Chen.

And from what they said...

...their choice of Su Chen wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision.

The legendary "deceased husband" or "lover" that the three Transcendent Heroic Spirits had waited a thousand years for was actually Su Chen?

What is going on?

How old is this guy?

Is he even twenty?