https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-574-Golden-Chucang-s-004-Nurturing-Mystic-Realm-/12920431/
Chapter 573: Investigation
Chapter 573: Investigation
Up ahead, Song Li's face stiffened as he turned around, his eyes blinking rapidly, desperately signaling to Song Yufeng to stop talking.
Although Song Zhihao had only recently been promoted to the position of Senior Elder of the Vortex Ship, he was already a powerful figure within the family. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been assigned to guard this "Grand Thunderstone Vein."
If he truly angered this elder, he might not be executed on the spot, but the elder had countless ways to secretly retaliate, and there was a high chance of being severely injured on the spot.
Song Yufeng seemed completely oblivious to Song Li's signals, and his words continued without pause.
This completely exhausted the patience of Song Zhihao above, who, as a newly promoted clan elder and already part of the upper echelon, had been treated with the utmost respect for decades. His every word carried weight and authority.
Facing Song Yufeng's repeated provocations and doubts, how could he endure it? "With solid evidence, you still stir up trouble and disrupt order. According to the family code, you shall be stripped of your Flame Ancestor Quotient and expelled from the family!"
As he spoke, the fourth-rank aura he had just restrained surged once more, pressing down on Song Yufeng's aged body below.
"Elder Zhihao, please!" Song Li exclaimed.
Song Zhihao's reaction was beyond Song Li's expectations. Stripping the Flame Ancestor Quotient and expelling someone from the family were punishments for grave offenses. Song Yufeng's previous actions did not warrant such a severe consequence.
However, Song Zhihao paid no heed to Song Li's changing expression. His eyes darkened, and his attitude was resolute.
Just before his aura fully pressed down on Song Yufeng, he added one last sentence in a calm tone.
"Do you want the Ancestor to preside over justice? As the guardian in charge of this Thunderstone Mine, I am the Ancestor here!"
His words were spoken with such conviction that they felt completely natural, as if he truly were the Ancestor within the Thunderstone Mine, towering over everyone like the sky above.
Behind Song Li, Song Yufeng's cloudy eyes remained unmoved. Under the gaze of Song Zhihao, Song Li, Song Lu, and the countless mine slaves around them, he slowly took out an object from his Flame Ancestor Quotient—a jade stone emitting a subtle black glow.
The moment he caught sight of the faint black glow emanating from the jade stone, Song Zhihao's pupils in the sky constricted.
He seemed to have connected some dots in his mind.
The coldness and malice that had been etched on his face softened, replaced by a hint of doubt.
Before he could ponder further, Song Yufeng, who was holding the jade stone below, spoke again.
"I request the Ancestor to preside over justice!"
As he spoke, the aura of life above him pressed down, and the dark energy within him surged, slowly infusing into the jade stone in his palm.
With the infusion of this dark energy, the jade stone, which had only been emitting a subtle black glow, suddenly erupted with intense black light, rising from Song Yufeng's palm into the air.
The next moment, in front of tens of thousands of onlookers in the Thunderstone Mine, an overwhelming dark light enveloped the entire mine sky. When the darkness dissipated, a colossal warship projection appeared in the mine's sky.
"Song Clan members, pay your respects to Chi Ancestor!"
As the massive warship projection, blocking out the sun, became clear, all the Song Clan members in the Thunderstone Mine bowed in unison.
Inside the projection of the Heaven Ruin Skydome, Song Chi paid no attention to the greetings. He shifted his gaze downward, focusing on Song Yufeng, who was covered in blood.
"What happened here?"
His voice echoed through the projection, reaching every corner of the mine. Song Chi was surprised.
Song Yufeng was the manager of the Dragon Spine Branch in the Morning Star Brightland, appointed by the family when Song Chi first arrived there. At that time, Song Yufeng had just been added to the family registry and was not yet well-known. Despite this, he had wholeheartedly assisted Song Chi, helping him greatly.
Song Chi had even promised to repay him for his kindness, which was why he later gave Song Yufeng a Projection Imperial Stone.
He had assumed that Song Yufeng would use it in the Alien Domain, but he never expected it to be used here, which surprised him.
However, since Song Yufeng had already activated it, Song Chi didn't say anything. He directly asked about the specific situation that had occurred here.
Below the projection of the Heaven Ruin Skydome, Song Zhihao, who had just recovered from his shock and panic, quickly spoke up: "The newly promoted Admiral of the Vortex Ship, Song Zhihao, greets Chi Ancestor. The situation is as follows..."
Before he could finish, a powerful dark energy emanated from the projection of the Unyielding Ship, enveloping Song Zhihao.
At this moment, Song Zhihao experienced the same overwhelming pressure that Song Yufeng had just endured. However, Song Chi was measured in his actions, and the pressure only caused Song Zhihao's words to halt abruptly, without causing him any harm.
After all, Song Chi was still unaware of the cause and effect of the situation and couldn't yet determine who was right or wrong.
"Let him speak!"
Upon receiving Song Chi's signal, Song Yufeng promptly recounted the entire incident in detail.
As the story concluded, the oppressive aura emanating from the battleship projection above the mine intensified once more, weighing down on the creatures below, making it difficult for them to even breathe.
Within the battleship projection, the clone of Song Chi that had been projected alongside him was now filled with anger. The oppressive force emanating from the entire battleship projection was tenfold, even a hundredfold stronger than what was felt outside.
According to Song Yufeng's earlier account, someone at the Thunderstone Mine had apparently been stealing from the clan and hoarding clan resources, and upon being discovered, they had killed the witness without hesitation and even framed a dead person for the crime of embezzling clan resources. It was as if they had the power to cover up the sky with one hand.
If this was indeed true, Song Chi couldn't even begin to imagine the extent of corruption within the clan, despite the efforts of the leaders who had worked tirelessly for the family's prosperity.
As he thought about this, his gaze shifted to Song Li, who was standing in front of Song Yufeng.
He had a vague recollection of this person.
"Are you from the Inspection Hall?"
"Reporting to Ancestor Chi, I am your grandson, Song Li, currently the captain of the 6th Inspection Squad under the Inspection Hall."
Upon hearing this, Song Chi nodded slightly.
"In that case, tell me, is what Song Yufeng just said true?"
Song Li didn't respond immediately but took a moment to organize his thoughts. Under the watchful eyes of Song Zhihao, whose eyes were fixed on him from above, he slowly spoke:
"Reporting to Ancestor Chi, I cannot confirm the truth, but this case does have several suspicious points."
Without waiting for Song Chi to ask, Song Li proceeded to explain the doubts he had.
"First, Song Xing was personally killed by Elder Zhihao, claiming that Song Xing had embezzled clan resources. Even if this were true, there was no need to kill him on the spot. The proper procedure would have been to capture him and hand him over to the Inspection Hall. It's not as if he was a Vortex Ship Admiral of the same rank, where a simple gesture could suppress him. Elder Zhihao's actions indeed carry a hint of trying to cover up the truth."
"Secondly, according to our investigation, although Song Rongxing did indeed sneak into the depths of the mine, Song Lu, the overseer, did the same."
"Lastly, according to the family records we checked before coming here, Song Lu's ship has been of mediocre combat strength among its peers for the past two hundred years. However, after being assigned to this Thunderstone Mine, he not only quickly rose to the rank of Cruiser Ship Admiral but also possessed a formidable ship among his peers. Interestingly, he rarely ventured into alien domains, instead choosing to stay within the confines of this mine for most of the time."
As Song Li clearly articulated these three suspicious points, Song Lu's eyes widened in surprise, and he immediately refuted:
"Captain Song Li, did you see that I rarely participated in alien domain explorations? I happened to obtain a significant artifact several decades ago during one such exploration, so it's not unusual for my ship to have slightly higher combat strength!"
Song Chi didn't bother responding to this meaningless defense. He withdrew the shadow energy surrounding Song Zhihao, restoring his ability to speak.
"Zhihao, do you have anything to say about these points? Think carefully before you answer!"
Hearing Song Chi's calm inquiry, Song Zhihao's heart tightened. He was all too familiar with Song Chi and well aware of his position within the clan.
However, his response was swift.
"Ancestor Chi, you can't just believe one side of the story. The reason I killed Song Xing is that over the past few decades, he has embezzled a massive amount of clan resources. He had more than a hundred low-grade Thunder Crystals and over ten intermediate-grade Thunder Crystals, which is unforgivable!"
"As for Song Lu, I'm not aware of his situation."
Within the projection of the Heaven Ruin Skydome, a faint smile appeared on the corner of Song Chi's clone's mouth.
"Good, since you've said it yourself, as a high-ranking member of the family, I naturally believe you. However..."
His tone shifted as he turned to look at Song Lu below.
Understanding the implication, Song Zhihao heaved a sigh of relief. His eyes flickered, and he said softly:
"Ancestor Chi, if this person is indeed suspicious, should I have someone take him for interrogation?"
Song Chi didn't hesitate and shook his head.
"No need, I can make him talk."
As he spoke, a wisp of shadow energy shot out from the projection of the Heaven Ruin Skydome.
The shadow energy precisely struck Song Lu's forehead, causing his face to change abruptly. The previous tension faded, and he looked up respectfully at the projection of the Heaven Ruin Skydome, as if it were his entire world at that moment.
"Ancestor Chi..."
Song Zhihao's eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly concealed it.
Song Chi paid no attention to his reaction and asked:
"I ask you, did Song Xing have a grudge against you?"
"The first question was asked, and below, Song Lu seemed like a different person, respectfully answering, 'Yes, sir.'
Song Chi immediately asked the second question.
'Why did Song Xing die?'
'Sir, he was personally killed by the Zhihao Clan Elder.'
Below the battleship projection, Song Zhihao's breathing had slowed to an extreme, and without realizing it, his fists clenched tightly.
However, this did not stop Song Chi's third question from following closely:
'Why kill Song Xing?'
'Sir, because Song Xing...'
His voice trailed off abruptly.
Seeing this sudden change, Song Yufeng and Song Li, who were below, all had their faces change, filled with questions as they looked up.
Coincidentally, a faint voice also came from the projection of the Heaven Ruin Skydome.
'Did you sign a confidentiality agreement? How interesting!'
Muttering to himself, Song Chi's voice suddenly changed.
'Zhihao, what do you think?'
This sudden change in tone startled Song Zhihao, who was already feeling increasingly anxious.
By now, those with a keen eye could guess the gist of the matter.
Taking advantage of his moment of shock, another beam of shadow energy shot out, this time not landing on Song Lu's brow, but on Song Zhihao.
These two consecutive beams of shadow energy naturally came from the Master-Servant Contract component.
The Master-Servant Contract component emphasizes mutual consent, and if forced to sign, the success rate would be greatly reduced.
Therefore, Song Chi seized the opportunity when his mind was in a daze and cast the contract light to increase the success rate, and with his rank being two levels higher than the other party, he successfully completed the contract signing.
As Song Zhihao's terrified expression turned back to one of respect, Song Chi quickly issued an order.
'Tell me everything that happened, leaving nothing out.'
'Yes, master.'
After signing the Master-Servant Contract, Song Zhihao did not lose his own consciousness, but he could not resist the orders of Song Chi, his master. In the end, he had no choice but to carefully recount the entire incident.
'Hahaha! This is the new generation of the family, embezzling clan assets, killing fellow clansmen, and being selfish and greedy... It's disgusting!'
Hearing Song Zhihao admit that he had personally sent Song Lu to secretly trade for the Thunder Crystal and then killed Song Xing to cover it up, Song Yufeng, who was below, burst into a loud laughter.
This laughter was filled with profound sorrow, hatred, and an indescribable heart-wrenching pain.
At one time, this elder had also loved the family deeply, taking pride in being a member of the Dinghai Song Clan, and had dedicated his entire life to the family.
Back then, he would never have imagined that the family he loved so much would deteriorate to such an extent in just a few hundred years.
Song Chi did not stop him, or perhaps he himself was feeling the same way at that moment.
He clearly remembered how much better the family's atmosphere used to be compared to the present. There might have been competitions between different branches, but they were always within the rules and healthy. It was never like this.
After a long silence, his voice, slightly hoarse, echoed throughout the entire mine:
'The family has developed too quickly in the past few hundred years, and our strength has indeed increased significantly. However, we never expected that it would also breed so many worms and degenerates. The family will soon give all the clansmen a satisfactory explanation for this matter!'
After saying this, he made some new arrangements for the future management of the Thunderstone Mine.
After completing these tasks, the illusory body of the Heaven Ruin Skydome slowly solidified, carrying Song Zhihao, Song Lu, Song Li, Song Yufeng, and the others, returning to the Dragon Spine Continent, tens of thousands of light-years away.
Dragon Backbone Divine Mountain, Dragon Whale Hall.
After listening to Song Chi's full account, the expressions of the six people in the hall turned extremely ugly.
In the entire family's three thousand years of inheritance, such a situation was extremely rare, let alone when the instigator was a Vortex Ship Captain.
Previously, they could not have imagined it.
'This matter must be dealt with as soon as possible, and I believe this is not an isolated incident!'
'I agree. The family has developed too quickly in the past few hundred years, to the point where many young clansmen are restless and extravagant. The family's atmosphere has indeed been negatively influenced in recent years.'
'In the end, we miscalculated. We focused solely on enhancing the family's strength and neglected internal management, allowing some people who have achieved success without effort to rise.'
'Investigate, we must investigate thoroughly. All those who are corrupt and evil must be executed after the investigation. We cannot let them go unpunished!'
'Otherwise, after carrying the Dragon Spine Song Clan's legacy for tens of thousands of years, who knows how rotten it will become!'
(End of Chapter)
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