Zongman: All Heavens and Worlds Begin with the Devil's Curse

Zhou Lan ignored everyone else and looked at Xi Mu, saying, "It seems I need to leave for a bit."

west Mu pursed his lips, understanding Zhou Lan's implication, and said helplessly, "I thought I could join in the fun."

“After you return,” Zhou Lan gently patted Ximu’s shoulder with her slender hand, “I will check your progress on the code.”

“Oh, damn it!” Ximu immediately deflated. “It sounds like they’re going to check homework.”

"Ximu, how's your homework coming along? Let me check it." Ximu gestured wildly, mimicking the tone of the teacher, his face full of displeasure.

However, he did not refute Zhou Lan's statement.

He had no way to protest his brother's decision.

"call--"

On the contrary, the envoy of the Magic Council breathed a sigh of relief, his heart finally settling down after a long period of anxiety.

His gaze kept drifting towards Zhou Lan, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally.

Surprisingly, he found the domineering man in front of him to be quite easy to talk to.

Even Makarov, an old acquaintance, found these things troublesome, but Zhou Lan showed no displeasure or anger whatsoever.

“Perfect timing, I should go outside for a walk too.” Zhou Lan said casually.

With their own thoughts, the group left Poriuska's residence.

Makarov and the envoy were somewhat apprehensive, while Ximu grumbled unhappily, saying something about wanting to take advantage of this time to devour all the magic in the world.

Natsu was curious as to why Nishiki wasn't worried about this at all.

"I heard from the old man that the mages in the Magic Council are all tough guys, each one is very strong and difficult to talk to," Natsu shared with Shimuk.

He knew Zhou Lan was strong, but the Magic Council, which had always been looming over him, also seemed quite formidable.

"Oh? Is that so?" Upon hearing this, Ximu's eyes lit up immediately.

But he was thinking of something else entirely.

He quickly called out to Zhou Lan's departing figure, "Boss, remember to bring me some local specialties from that association when you come back!"

In the distance, Zhou Lan raised her hand without turning around, and a gentle breeze brushed against west Mu's cheek, which was taken as her consent.

"Local specialties?" The envoy was completely bewildered; he had no idea that the Magic Council had any local specialties.

Or is this some kind of code between the two?

"I'll pick a good one," Zhou Lan's voice came quietly from the wind.

Chapter 325 The Day of Interrogation

A magical spotlight descended from the ceiling, initiating the council's trial and questioning proceedings.

Inside the courtroom, Makarov stood in his designated spot.

He looked around and saw only familiar faces.

As the one being interrogated, he appeared remarkably calm.

The main reason is that this is not the first time such a thing has happened, and it is not the first time he has stood in this position. As for the number, Makarov has long since lost count.

He is an impulsive person.

This is especially true when the enemy touches upon his taboos.

The mage who presided over the interrogation was one of the members of the Magic Council, a blue-haired man.

The interrogation panel, composed of mages from the Magic Council, stood in a circle in the shadows, their gazes fixed on Makarov.

"Gerald, just say what you have to say." Makarov looked at the presiding judge in front of him and said with a smile.

“Makarov,” the mage Gerald murmured, calling his name softly, “the guild master of Fairy Tail… according to standard procedure, you should have informed us first about the Phantom Lord’s provocation, and then we would have handled it…”

"Instead of stirring up a conflict between two large guilds because of personal emotions."

“That’s right!” A voice of agreement came from the jury. “Now that the Phantom Lords are all wiped out, and even their leader Joseph has perished, do you understand the magnitude of the impact this will have?”

Hearing the rebukes around him, Makarov remained calm. His expression was serious as he said earnestly, "We're all old acquaintances, including Joseph. You should all know me..."

“I, Makarov, can accept any attack from Joseph himself, whether verbal or magical, but this time, he has gone too far.”

"Bullying my juniors is something I absolutely cannot tolerate; they have crossed my bottom line!"

Makarov's voice grew louder and louder, making him sound like the one interrogating others.

"That makes sense," a voice in agreement rang out from the jury.

"Just like Gerald said, Joseph is already dead, and the guild has been destroyed, so why criticize Makarov for a thing that has already died out? Besides, I didn't like Joseph anyway."

More and more voices of approval emerged on the jury.

Makarov smiled, this was entirely expected.

As mentioned at the beginning, everyone in the Magic Council is an old acquaintance. For him, it's just a formality, a warning, and a promise.

Directly in front of him, Gerald's expression also relaxed.

He nodded slowly and said, "I need you to make a promise."

Makarov chuckled and, as he had done every time before, made a promise to the mages of the Magic Council.

Everyone knows he might act impulsively again next time, but no one can do anything about it.

There's no other reason than that if you have enough strength, anyone and anything will become easier to talk to.

“Very good.” After Makarov finished making his promise, Gerald’s expression gradually became serious. “We’ll discuss the aftermath of this matter, such as compensation for any negative impact, later…”

As he spoke, his gaze passed over Makarov's shoulder.

"We are going to discuss something else now."

The moment the words fell, a beam of pure white light from a magic spotlight descended from the sky, illuminating a tall, slender figure.

Zhou Lan smiled slightly and looked around.

"Regarding the interrogation of the stranger mage who eliminated the officially documented guild Phantom Lord," Gerald said solemnly, his tone shifting.

Makarov was taken aback, then quickly realized what he meant and said, "I did it, what does it have to do with him?"

He seemed to understand what the Magic Council wanted to do.

Although he was an old acquaintance, Zhou Lan was not.

The main subject of this interrogation was not Makarov, but Zhou Lan himself.

"It seems the focus has been shifted to me." Under the watchful eyes of many, Zhou Lan spoke slowly and calmly.

“That’s right.” Gerald nodded slightly. “Makarov doesn’t need to make excuses for you. We have already confirmed the evidence that you destroyed the Phantom Lord.”

Makarov glanced at Gerald and suddenly felt that the guy was acting strangely, with his words carrying a hint of hostility.

He gritted his teeth, just about to speak.

The next second, an irresistible force carried him backward.

He quickly turned around to look behind him.

"This is none of your business," Zhou Lan said, glancing at him.

The light above Makarov's head faded, leaving only one person radiating light in the vast courtroom.

"Oh? It seems you've admitted it yourself, which saves us the trouble of explaining." Gerald's lips curled slightly.

That's right, he was deliberately targeting this unfamiliar archmage in front of him.

Although they were complete strangers, he had to do it.

He, Jellal, although a member of the Magic Council, was not a simple, kind person.

He had his own purpose.

Especially now, he is handling a major matter.

Far away, in a secluded place on the sea, a colossal tower called Paradise is under construction.

The Tower of Energy was created by Jellal in order to revive Zeref, the progenitor of dark magic.

Right now, we are at a crucial juncture for the Tower of Paradise.

The Magic Council would certainly not allow him to do so; if the legendary progenitor of dark magic were to revive, who knows what kind of disaster it would bring.

Gerald knew this too.

Unusually, he had already proactively informed the council about the Tower of Paradise, along with the tower's evil purpose.

He single-handedly pushed the Magic Council to make the decision to destroy the Tower of Paradise, and the reason was simple: the energy required to resurrect Zeref was enormous.

"In the near future, we will bombard the Tower of Paradise with excessive energy, destroy it, and annihilate all evil," Gerald informed the Magic Council.

In fact, the Tower of Paradise needs this energy.

But at this crucial juncture, Zhou Lan appeared.

Through the eyes of the Magic Council, Gerald realized that Zhou Lan was definitely a powerful mage, and even qualified to be one of them.

More importantly, the other party has close ties with the Fairy Tail guild.

Zhou Lan inadvertently touched on both of Gerald's most annoying traits.

The opponent's powerful forces could very well interfere with the Tower of Paradise's plans through Fairy Tail.

At the same time, if Zhou Lan has even a little bit of ambition, and is soon absorbed by the Magic Council, it will affect Jellal's voting rights within the Magic Council.

Thinking of this, he secretly glanced to the side.

Although he had planted spies within the Magic Council, there weren't many members he could actually challenge.

He doesn't need another one.

Chapter 326 I said he is, and he is.

As the person behind the scenes of a great undertaking, Gerald had far too many things to consider.

Everything that could potentially affect his future career must be eliminated through various means.

Fortunately, he holds a high position, so he has relatively few ways to manipulate things.

Makarov was unaffected and could do whatever he wanted. All that was needed now was to pin the blame on Zhou Lan, a guy with no backing.

Oh no, he's already admitted it.

After all, although everyone is an acquaintance and can tolerate some degree of conflict, it has nothing to do with Zhou Lan, this unfamiliar archmage.

Gerald stared at Zhou Lan's figure with a barely perceptible smile.

The other party seemed completely unaware that they had fallen into a trap he had set in advance.

People tend to follow trends, and Gerald was confident that he had such a voice within the Magic Council.

"At the very least, we need to fan the flames and lock this guy up for a while until the Tower of Paradise project is finished," Gerald thought to himself.

He declared loudly, "The Phantom Lords were destroyed by you. In any case, they are a legitimate guild recognized by the Kingdom and the Council..."

“You have already admitted your crimes. Now, it’s time to discuss how to deal with the mistakes you have made.”

Gerald stirred up the winds of conquest.

Beside him, a female voice echoed, "I agree. This matter is originally between the two guilds. Even if we get Makarov's consent to help, we cannot allow a mage from another place to act so recklessly."

As soon as he finished speaking, Makarov's face darkened with annoyance.

He looked toward the source of the voice. If he remembered correctly, this woman was with Gerald.

With just one sentence, he sealed off any possibility of him speaking up for Zhou Lan. What a shrewd tactic.

“He is also a member of the Fairy Tail guild…” Makarov quickly interjected without thinking.

“Is that so?” Gerald smiled. “If this mage can show his Fairy Tail mark, I can admit his innocence.”

Makarov paused, then suddenly fell silent.

"It seems you've already investigated me." Finally, Zhou Lan floated to the front of the stage and spoke.

“That’s right.” Gerald nodded; this was exactly what he was worried about.