Biochemical Martial Arts: Supreme Heavenly Venerate

The next morning, Lin Rui brought Wang Sen and Li Li to the Imperial Censor's office, which was already crowded with officials.

The reason for this was that Yu Wendan had come forward at the southern city post station to accuse the veteran of three dynasties, Zhao Yang, of possibly being a foreign Heavenly Demon, causing a huge stir throughout the capital and leading to political instability.

Anyone with an interest could tell that someone was fanning the flames behind the scenes.

Even before the commander of the Assassination Bureau, Lin Twelve, could start a formal investigation, the matter had already become well known throughout the city. It was clear that someone was creating public opinion to force the court to conduct a serious investigation into Zhao Yang.

Therefore, the Imperial Censor's office today gathered not only many of Zhao Yang's students and former officials, along with the honest and upright officials, but institutions such as the Cabinet, the Ministry of Punishments, and the Dali Temple also sent representatives to observe.

The scene at the Imperial Censor's office was as crowded as Lin Rui's mentorship banquet from the previous day, though the rank was slightly lower as most wore blue and green robes.

The Emperor and the three Divine Envoys had also sent confidants to keep abreast of the situation.

The ranks of these individuals were not high, with the highest being no more than seventh grade.

Until it was confirmed that Zhao Yang was involved with the demonic, these top figures of the Great Song Dynasty would not pay too much attention to the matter, at least they would not appear too concerned.

Lin Rui even spotted Prince Zhou Buqi, who wasn't there yesterday.

This prince had an impressive appearance, with a dignified and majestic bearing, and every move he made exuded a natural nobility.

Lin Rui paid much attention to this man, as he had almost been killed by one of the prince's henchmen back in Silvermoon County.

Lin Rui specifically asked his senior sister, what grudges did this prince have with the Third Divine Envoy? Why did he try to scheme against their master with the "Heart of God Tea" not long ago?

Meng Weiyun had explained that the prince was essentially backed by the Emperor.

The Emperor might not have intended to harm their master, yet if the prince could bring down the Third Divine Envoy, the Emperor would not mind and might even be pleased.

Moreover, this Prince Zhou Buqi was very close to the two Divine Envoy candidates.

Immediately, Lin Rui understood the situation, thinking to himself, how could this be allowed? A mere prince dared to provoke his master using the Emperor's authority? That was lawless.

When Prince Zhou Buqi saw Lin Rui, his expression was not very pleasant.

He had received news the previous afternoon. After his mentorship banquet, Lin Hao's first directive upon taking office was to order the Twentieth Bureau to interrogate Yuan Chengkai, the former governor of Shazhou, about his potential collusion with demonic forces.

The second directive was related to Prince Zhou Buqi—he said he had heard the public sentiment, and rumors were circulating that the prince was indulging in luxury and debauchery, oppressing the locals. In the capital region, he was seizing property by force, annexing land indiscriminately, and practicing all kinds of evil. Therefore, Lin Hao ordered the Ninth and Tenth Bureaus to investigate the prince's unlawful matters thoroughly.

The Ninth and Tenth Bureaus' commanders were the Emperor's hawks and dogs fostered within the Imperial City Division, usually on good terms with Prince Zhou Buqi, addressing each other as brothers. Yet Lin Hao had them investigate the prince, which was an utterly despicable and malicious move.

Prince Zhou Buqi knew that these two commanders must be troubled now—if they conducted the investigation fairly, they might offend him, their good brother. If they didn't investigate or did a sloppy job, and should they commit offenses in the future, they would be in huge trouble.

When Prince Zhou Buqi heard the news, he was both shocked and angry, so disturbed that he couldn't sleep all night.

When Prince Zhou Buqi arrived, he also saw Lin Hao's protective demon, Blood Blade Consort, standing behind Lin Hao in a unique violet magic aura specific to an emperor-ranked demon, which caused him heartache.

However, what he cared about more now was the Heavenly Demon Test scheduled for today, as it was very important both for Prince Zhou Buqi and many of his friends.

The one presiding over today's Heavenly Demon Test for Wang Sen, Li Li, and Yu Wendan, was a fourth-grade Imperial Censor named Song Lian.

This official sat in the hall with a serious face and a somewhat distracted gaze.

When Song Lian had initially agreed to conduct the Heavenly Demon Test for Lin Rui's subordinates, he was quite happy, as the test was a minor matter for which the Imperial Censor's office had a specialized Array and Magic Artifact that did not require additional arrangements, and thus did not require much effort.

To provide a small favor to the new commander of the Assassination Bureau, why not do it?

Song Lian could never have imagined he would end up involved in such an incident, being caught in a storm shaking the entire court.

Now, including himself, the futures of many upright officials and those in the Imperial Censor's office depended on the result of Yu Wendan's Heavenly Demon Test.

After Lin Rui arrived, he was seated to the left of Song Lian by the staff of the Imperial Censor's office, almost parallel to Song Lian. Sitting below him were several high-ranking third and fourth grade officials from the Imperial Censor's office as well as a group of nobles including Prince Zhou Buqi, yet nobody thought this was inappropriate.

The Imperial Censor's office has been established for hundreds of years and the officials were accustomed to the elevated status of the 'commander of the Assassination Bureau'.

If the three Divine Envoys were the messengers of the gods, then the commander of the Assassination Bureau represented the will of the three Divine Envoys and the Divine Dragon Hall.

Therefore, when past commanders stepped down from their role, their future prospects could not be compared with those of ordinary officials of the Imperial City Division.

All of them entered directly into the third grade, either becoming 'Protector Commanders' of various regional commands, controlling several states' Imperial Dragon forces, and holding ceremonies equal to the military governors; or they took important positions within the Imperial City Division in the capital, wielding significant power.

What was surprising was that just when the Heavenly Demon Test was about to begin,

A breathtakingly beautiful girl supporting an illustrious-looking, emaciated old man in a second-grade official's robe entered the Imperial Censor's office.

The girl was none other than Zhao Yingxu, whom Lin Rui had met once before, and as for the old man, he should be the Second Rank Imperial Censor Zhao Yang.

Upon his arrival, all the officials in the hall rose to their feet, with most of them bowing respectfully and addressing him as Elder.

Even Lin Rui rose and clasped his hands in greeting, and the Imperial Censor Song Lian even tried to offer his seat to Zhao Yang.

Zhao Yang, however, smiled and waved his hand, "No need for such formalities, I came here today because I heard that someone had accused me of being an alien Heavenly Demon. Out of curiosity, I wanted to see what was going on, and who would bear a grudge against me, attempting to frame my entire family? Let the Heavenly Demon Test proceed as it should today. I dare not interfere or cause any disturbance, just arrange a place for me to observe, Song Lian."

Then he politely returned the gesture to Lin Rui, "I have troubled the lord with my affairs; please bear with me, Lord Lin."

He looked at the exceptionally young face of 'Lin Hao' and felt a pang of emotion, as the life and death of his family and himself now depended on this man.

Zhao Yang knew that if he was unwilling to bow to the Jin family, his identity would be exposed, and he certainly could not withstand the consequences.

The safety of the Zhao family's departure rested with the Commandant of the Assassination Bureau.

The ability of this Lord Lin and the intensity of his pursuit would determine the life and death of the entire Zhao family.

Zhao Yang had in his hands numerous pieces of leverage and incriminating evidence against the Emperor and the first and second Divine Envoys, enough to bring them down if exposed to the gods, making it impossible for them to escape the consequences.

This would make the three of them cautious and wary, not daring to investigate too deeply.

The third Divine Envoy, however, was very young, having served for less than fifty years, and for most of that time, he had been sidelined, holding no real power.

And youth meant cleanliness and innocence, leaving Zhao Yang without effective means to restrain him.

"Fair enough!" Lin Rui's expression was cold and distant, and his voice indifferent, "Combatting treachery and suppressing demons is Lin Hao's duty, what trouble is there to speak of?"

He then sat down directly and urged the neighboring Imperial Censor Song Lian, "Imperial Censor Song, it's getting late, let's start soon. We'll begin with my two subordinates."

Seeing this, the people below nodded slightly, thinking to themselves that the character of the Commandant of the Assassination Bureau was indeed as upright and incorruptible as rumored, fearless of power and with a firm and pure conduct.

Only Prince Han's face turned sullen; he knew this Lin Hao was not only tough but also vengeful, with a cruel and malicious nature. Continue reading on My Virtual Library Empire

The first to undergo the Heavenly Demon Test was Wang Sen, who initially felt a little apprehensive. But as he stepped onto the Array platform, he calmed down entirely and began to face the situation indifferently.

What was there to worry about? Man dies and birds soar free, immortal for ten thousand years.

The key was that Lin Rui had performed surgery on him the night before, bolstering Wang Sen's confidence.

Brother Rui's skills in surgery and Arrays were truly masterful.

In Wang City County, Lin Rui only knew some intermediate-level Arrays, and the talismans he drew by hand were crooked; he seemed a bit rusty with surgeries, stumbling and bumbling.

Yet, when Lin Rui operated on the two of them the night before, he was swift and efficient, embedding the high-ranking Arrays under their skin in one smooth process, and the inscriptions of all the runes were drawn in a single stroke, incredibly skilled.

Furthermore, the master of rituals brought by Zhou Yunfei exceeded expectations; he turned out to be an 8SS-level, a two-star Marshal.

He seemed to be Zhou Yunfei and Professor Han's teacher, making him Lin Rui's grandmaster, who had personally taken action for Lin Rui's sake this time.

This master did not directly confront the Imperial Censorate or them, but instead, employed a special method from a distance to baffle and shield nearby perceptions of the Divine Dragon Hall's war dragons, preventing their Heavenly Demon Test from reaching maximum detection.

The testing process then went smoothly, just as Lin Rui had said.

Wang Sen relied on the unique advantage of his 'Xuanwu Sacred Body' to enter a 'hibernating' state within his flesh and soul, akin to an animal's winter slumber, thereby reducing the chances of the Heavenly Demon Test detecting anomalies in his body and soul.

The Arrays and medicine provided by Lin Rui further reduced the likelihood of his being discovered.

At that moment, Lin Rui's expression suddenly changed as he looked forward.

With the protector dragon mark on his forehead, he had clearly sensed a war dragon's consciousness descending towards the direction of the Imperial Censorate.

However, as the will of this war dragon approached, it veered off, as though caught in a labyrinth, wandering the skies.

Was it his grandmaster who had taken action? The cultivation of this technique was excellent.

What surprised Lin Rui was that he could trace the source of the technique through the will of the war dragon, vaguely sensing his grandmaster's general location.

After Wang Sen passed the Heavenly Demon Test, next was Li Li, who also safely got through.

The day before, Lin Xi had taken over his shift, allowing Li Li to return home for surgery.

Li Li's foundation was much deeper than Wang Sen's, but his age was over the line, leaving him with no prospects in the Imperial City Division. He was mainly going to assist Lin Rui with various official duties in the future. If needed, Lin Rui could also recommend him for an official position in the court.

Finally, it was Yu Wendan's turn, and everyone's gaze turned cold as they all looked towards the sallow-faced middle-aged man in chains, escorted by several officers of the Imperial City Division to the hall.