"Insolent! Are you so emboldened by your merits that you no longer place this seat in your eyes!"
With that single sentence, Kongling was instantly enraged. If Po Xiao was like this now, what would happen if he grew in power over time? Would he not become a world-shaker?
"I merely spoke the truth and had no intention of disrespecting you," Ye Cangtian said calmly.
Listening to the two of them converse, the surrounding Lan Yue and Fei Yan broke out in a cold sweat.
Those were Heavenly-level powerhouses, and the current controllers of the Dark Association. Even if the three of them joined forces, they would not be a match for that person.
Now, Po Xiao was actually challenging their authority. Wasn't that courting death?
"Good, very good. You may leave now."
"Rest well within the Dark Association. I will investigate everything thoroughly and then reward accordingly!"
Hearing Ye Cangtian's words, Kongling trembled with anger, but he could do nothing to Po Xiao.
Therefore, it was better to not see him. He would settle Po Xiao down first.
On the other side, Po Xiao did not leave upon hearing this.
He looked at the other party and said, "Lord Kongling, you sent two consecutive orders for your subordinate to return. Your subordinate is now standing before you. Should we not discuss the important matters?"
"Hmph! I ordered you back merely to test if you would obey my command. Now, it seems I am very disappointed!" Kongling snorted coldly upon hearing this.
He had originally planned to recall Po Xiao and take him into custody, so that he could gather evidence and deal with him accordingly.
It could be said that there was no important matter at all. Now that Po Xiao had angered him, he would simply find an excuse and vent his anger on him.
On the other side, Po Xiao smiled faintly and said, "Lord Kongling, I hope such farces do not happen again. Have you not heard a famous anecdote? Beacon fires to amuse the feudal lords!"
You!
With those words, Kongling's gaze became even more furious. He naturally knew this anecdote.
And what the other party meant was that in his subsequent orders, Po Xiao might very well refuse to execute them, and had even prepared the reasons.
To put it bluntly, this was also a provocation to him.
"Hmph!"
Thinking this, Kongling snorted coldly and flashed away from the grand hall.
He was truly infuriated. If he did not leave now, he was truly afraid that he would kill Po Xiao.
"This..."
Seeing Kongling leave in anger, Lan Yue and Fei Yan almost dropped their jaws. This truly refreshed their worldview.
Kongling, who was full of anger, was bound to teach Po Xiao a lesson. However, he was instead angered away. This was truly pathetic!
Thinking this, Fei Yan leaned in and whispered, "My lord, aren't you afraid of losing your life playing like this!"
Ye Cangtian chuckled and said, "Kongling won't be able to do anything to me now. But you are right, we still need to find a way to leave as soon as possible."
Although he appeared calm just now, he was still a little nervous inside.
Although he was certain that Kongling would not be able to do anything to him, who could say for sure? After all, he was a Heavenly-level powerhouse.
Thinking this, Ye Cangtian led the two women, Lan Yue, and retreated from the grand hall.
...
Within the inner hall of the Dark Association.
Roars could be heard incessantly. Kongling was venting his anger madly.
After an unknown amount of time, the entire grand hall finally calmed down.
"Bai Wuchang, get out here!"
With an angry roar, a white figure appeared before Kongling in the next instant, it was Bai Wuchang.
However, Bai Wuchang's heart was also filled with apprehension, fearing that Kongling would vent his anger on him.
"Bai Wuchang, you and Hei Wuchang have been investigating Po Xiao for so long. Have you gathered any evidence of rebellion?"
Hearing Kongling's voice, Bai Wuchang's face immediately became awkward. He hurriedly said, "My lord, what Po Xiao is doing now is to eliminate the Bright Hall for the Dark Association. As for past matters, they are not easy to investigate and will require some time!"
"Nonsense! If Po Xiao is difficult to investigate, isn't the Anti-Black Alliance easy to investigate? Isn't it the same to investigate from there?"
"Furthermore, didn't you capture a woman by Po Xiao's side before?"
"Did she confess anything?"
Upon hearing this, Kongling's anger flared up again. He roared furiously.
Bai Wuchang shivered and hurriedly said, "My lord, that woman is very stubborn and refuses to confess. However, Hei Wuchang has been interrogating her and believes that results will be obtained soon!"
"Trash!"
"What use are you if you can't even get a woman to talk!"
"Where is he? Take me there!"
Kongling became even more upset upon hearing this, so he decided to meet the woman himself. He wanted to see how stubborn her mouth was.
Seeing this, Bai Wuchang said no more. He directly and dejectedly led Kongling to the secret chamber.
...
Secret chamber.
This place was filled with all sorts of torture devices, looking chilling and terrifying.
At this moment, a woman was tied to a wooden frame. Her entire body, except for her face, had no intact skin the size of a palm.
Blood had long since stained her clothes.
The reason they did not touch her face was to facilitate identification.
"She is Mandara?"
A voice echoed. The Hei Wuchang, who was responsible for the interrogation, immediately put down the torture device and turned around respectfully. He bowed and said, "Yes, Lord Kongling."
On the other side, upon hearing the words "Lord Kongling," Mandara's eyes widened.
Since Hei and Bai Wuchang wore black and white ghost masks, she did not know their true identities since her capture. She only knew that someone wanted to deal with Po Xiao.
Now, she realized that the mastermind who wanted to deal with Po Xiao was none other than Kongling, the ruler of the Dark Association.
The next moment, she glanced at Kongling and roared, "Kongling, although my position is low, I have not committed any offense. Why are you arresting me!"
"You are merely a Xuan-level deacon. Do I need a reason to arrest you?"
Hearing this, Kongling glanced at her dismissively.
In his eyes, let alone arresting her, even killing her would not require him to give any reason.
"Kongling, don't think I don't know. You just want to use me to deal with Lord Po Xiao!"
"Are you so intolerant of us working for Lord Xingyuan!"
Hearing Kongling's words, Mandara roared and questioned again.
Now that she knew his identity, she could only bring up Xingyuan. Perhaps this could deter him.
"Heh heh, I don't need to explain to you how I do things, nor is it your place to question me."
As he spoke, Kongling glanced at Hei Wuchang and said faintly, "No wonder she's still being stubborn. Are your punishments too light?"
"This..."
With those words, Hei Wuchang's expression changed drastically. Mandara was already tortured to this extent, and he didn't know where else to apply the punishment. Now, he was saying it was light?
But there was no alternative. Since Kongling said so, he naturally had to act.
In the next moment, Hei Wuchang, as if understanding his intentions, stepped forward and slapped Mandara twice, instantly swelling her face.
Seeing Mandara spit out a mouthful of blood along with several teeth, Kongling finally showed a satisfied smile.
He said mockingly, "Mandara, you need to watch your attitude when speaking to me, or you'll be the one suffering! So, you'd better confess truthfully and don't make me do it myself!"
"Pfft!"
"Come if you have the ability! Ah..."
Hearing Kongling's words, Mandara contemptuously spat out a mouthful of blood. However, before she could finish speaking, a piercing scream came from her mouth.
Soul attack?
Seeing that Kongling had not moved and Mandara was screaming, Hei and Bai Wuchang exchanged glances and understood everything.
On the other side, after screaming for several minutes, Mandara's voice weakened, but in her mind, a different scene unfolded.
Those bits of memories of her time with Po Xiao flashed repeatedly in her mind, and she involuntarily narrated them aloud.
This scene immediately made Hei and Bai Wuchang's eyes widen.
After all, the two of them had been interrogating Mandara for so long, but she had never spoken. Yet, with just a slight use of soul power by Kongling, Mandara had already begun to confess.
It was truly bizarre!
They did not understand soul cultivation techniques, so they were completely unaware of Kongling's methods.
In fact, the technique Kongling used was called "Meng Ling" (Dream Spirit).
Simply put, this technique could create a dream of a past event deep within the target's soul.
This could then evoke their memories and lead to the revelation of all secrets.
However, using this technique required breaking into the target's soul, so the initial stages were quite painful, and failure could even turn the target into an idiot.
But none of these mattered to Kongling.
Judging by Po Xiao's attitude towards him, Kongling had already concluded that Po Xiao harbored rebellious intentions.
Therefore, all he needed was evidence. As for Mandara's life or death, he did not care.