Chapter 2247 — Chapter 2247 Portrait of the Culprit

The idea of someone from the Celestial Overlords clashing with Heaven's Mandate was hard to believe. Yet, when they considered the current circumstances and the timing of events, it somewhat made sense.

Even so—despite how neatly the pieces fit together—it was still an absurd conclusion, one so far-fetched it bordered on impossible to believe. After all, unless the entire Celestial Overlords fought together, it was simply impossible for them to overpower the Second Squad of Heaven's Mandate.

"There's no point in overthinking it," Xu Jiaqi suddenly said. "Whether our drop in karma is connected to Heaven's Mandate or not, we'll find out soon enough."

"How can you stay so damn calm in a situation like this? Do you have any idea how much damage this incident has caused to our faction's reputation? It hasn't even been a full day, and we've already become a laughingstock," the green-haired Celestial Overlord snapped at her.

Xu Jiaqi shifted her gaze toward the green-haired man and spoke, "Calm? Do I really look calm to you, Liu Yucang?"

Her eyes narrowed, and she revealed the immense killing intent and anger she had been hiding within, sending shivers down his spine.

"I don't care who or how, but the bastard responsible for tarnishing this faction—my father's legacy will wish they were never born. This includes anyone who's trying to take advantage or covet it."

Her warning wasn't meant just for the one responsible for the loss of their karma, but a warning to those opposing her in the faction, mainly the other Celestial Overlords currently fighting to gain control of the faction.

The green-haired Celestial Overlord, Liu Yucang, couldn't ignore her blatant threat and retorted, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself, constantly using the founder's name to your advantage? You call him your father, yet you're not even related by blood. That alone isn't the issue—the problem is that there's no proof he ever adopted you. In other words, anyone could claim to be his child."

Rather than getting angry at his remark, Xu Jiaqi merely sneered, "If you doubt my claim, then you can go ahead and ask Senior Tian Xianling, one of my father's closest friends and also the co-founder of this faction."

Liu Yucang frowned.

"Tian Xianling? The Celestial Doctor? Can her words even be trusted when she abandoned the Celestial Overlords?" he sneered.

"What the hell do you know about the Celestial Doctor?" Qiang Qing Yun suddenly interjected. "She left because she was disappointed in what the faction has become—because of bastards like you and him."

Qiang Qing Yun shot a cold glare at Liu Yucang and the Celestial Overlord sitting beside him—an elderly man with a gleaming bald head and a long white beard that trailed all the way to the floor.

At first, the old man appeared to be asleep, his eyes fully shut. But then he suddenly spoke, his voice calm and aged, "This old man must agree with Overlord Qiang. If not for the Celestial Doctor, I wouldn't be alive today."

"Are you seriously siding with them, Old Man Bi?" Liu Yucang glared at him.

Old Man Bi didn't respond and remained silent.

"Let's get back on topic," Qiang Qing Yun then said. "What are we going to do about our karma? If it's really an error, can it even be fixed?"

"Unfortunately, that likely won't be possible," said Xu Jiaqi. "As far as I am aware, karma can only be influenced through our actions, so we will have to build our karma back up again."

"Maybe we should complain to the Celestial Emperor. If anyone can directly affect a faction's karma, it'd be him," said Old Man Bi.

"And what if it was the Celestial Emperor who directly stripped away our karma?" Xu Jiaqi asked, voicing the possibility aloud.

"What? You think the Celestial Emperor personally targeted us?" Qiang Qing Yun's eyes widened in disbelief. "But why would he do something like that? It's not as if we've ever had any conflict with him."

Xu Jiaqi didn't respond right away, as only she knew that their founder might have harbored some kind of grievance against the Celestial Emperor. However, even if that were true, it made no sense for the Celestial Emperor to act now, especially when their founder was long gone.

"As ridiculous as that sounds, it's still more believable than that nonsense about us clashing with Heaven's Mandate," Liu Yucang said, one of the rare times he sided with Xu Jiaqi.

"If the Celestial Emperor truly is responsible," Xu Jiaqi said in an icy voice, "then I'll make sure he answers for it, regardless of his status."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Old Man Bi interjected. "The Celestial Emperor has no reason to target us. Doing so would anger not only our faction, but also our allies and the other major powers. It would create consequences far too severe to ignore."

The meeting continued, with the faction's members offering their opinions and proposing how they should proceed.

After some time had passed, a sudden knock echoed from the doors. A voice called from outside, urgent and strained, "Seniors! We have an emergency! Heaven's Mandate has arrived and is requesting an audience!"

"What?"

Before any of them could respond, the doors swung open, and several individuals in Heaven's Mandate uniforms brazenly strode into the room, moving with the arrogance of people who believed they owned the place.

The one leading the group spoke loudly, his voice full of authority, "I am the commander of the First Squad of Heaven's Mandate, Wong Xianwen, and I have been instructed by His Majesty, the Celestial Emperor, to bring justice to the blasphemous individual who dared to attack Heaven's Mandate!"

"Commander of the First Squad?!" The people in the room exclaimed with surprised faces.

"Does this mean the rumors of the Second Squad being attacked were true?!"

Xu Jiaqi rose to her feet and approached the squad, a deep frown creasing her face.

"I don't care who you are. What gives you the right to barge in uninvited? Do you take our headquarters for your own home?"

Commander Wong replied calmly, "I am aware that our conduct is improper, but we are pressed for time. I must ask for your understanding."

He turned to the others and continued, "As you've likely heard, there's a rumor circulating about someone attacking the Second Squad of Heaven's Mandate. That rumor is true, and until now, we were unaware of the attacker's identity. Shortly after the incident, the Celestial Overlords' karma plummeted. Given the timing, the culprit must belong to your faction. If you don't wish to further tarnish your reputation, hand over the one responsible immediately."

The room immediately fell silent, and the atmosphere became heavy as the members exchanged looks with each other.

A moment later, Senior Bai rose to his feet and broke the silence.

"Are you certain there isn't some mistake? The Celestial Overlords have no one capable of forcing the Second Squad to retreat, let alone slaughtering them."

"Overlord Bai is right," Qiang Qing Yun added sharply. "Or are you trying to claim we've been hiding a Cultivation God in our ranks?"

"Then how do you explain your karma?" Commander Wong shot back, deliberately ignoring their question. He had no intention of admitting that someone had utterly humiliated their proud military forces, even if it was the truth.

Senior Bai shook his head. "Honestly, we're just as puzzled as you are." Without another word, Commander Wong reached into his spatial ring and produced a large scroll. He unfurled it, revealing a detailed portrait of a handsome young man—an image reconstructed from the Second Squad soldiers' memories.

"Then tell me," Commander Wong said, eyes narrowing as he closely studied their reactions, "are you claiming that this person does not exist within the Celestial Overlords?"

Senior Bai's and Xu Jiaqi's eyes widened in shock the moment they saw the portrait, as it was unmistakably Yuan. Aside from those two, no one else in the room showed any significant reaction.

'That's Yuan?! Impossible!' Xu Jiaqi cried inwardly after seeing his portrait.

Senior Bai stood frozen, looking like he'd just seen a ghost.

Commander Wong didn't miss their reactions. His lips curled into a wide, knowing smile as he pressed, "So he does exist within the Celestial Overlords. Isn't that right… Xu Jiaqi, Bai Ling?"

"What?!"

Qiang Qing Yun and the other members turned to look at the two with wide eyes.

After a moment of silence, Xu Jiaqi spoke, "Yes, we know him."

"How unexpected." Liu Yucang remarked with an entertained smile on his face. "Then—"

Commander Wong opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Xu Jiaqi, who continued speaking, "However, that man had already left the faction. In fact, he left the faction over two decades ago, long before he attacked the Heaven's Mandate."

"Oh? Then what is your relationship with this man?" Commander Wong then questioned.

"He's an 'Outsider' that we recruited long ago," Xu Jiaqi spoke in a calm and clear voice, almost as if she'd rehearsed this scenario a thousand times.