As Wang Jiu finished speaking, the hall fell into a deathly silence reminiscent of constipation.

Everyone seemed to have a torrent of words swirling inside them, yet they were stuck in their throats, unable to speak. Zhao Lingbo, who was face-to-face with Wang Jiu, turned livid and gritted his teeth, "Say that again?"

Wang Jiu said, "I am Zhao Chenlu’s betrayed and abandoned ex-husband."

"Nonsense!"

This time, Zhao Lingbo directly unleashed his True Essence. A water stream, sharp as a blade, pulsating tens of thousands of times per second, sliced Wang Jiu in half at the waist.

However, cutting through an illusion of the Illusion Sword Technique naturally had no effect. Once the Water Blade passed, Wang Jiu’s upper and lower halves reattached. He spoke again under Zhao Chenlu’s astonished gaze, "What I said is the truth."

"Impossible!" Zhao Lingbo declared with certainty, "Zhao Chenlu never had any husband!"

"If you insist on a strict legal certification, you can refer to me as Zhao Chenlu’s former lover."

"Shut up!" Zhao Lingbo slashed out another Water Blade, but this time it was directly blocked by the White Sword’s true form.

"Zhao Hongwu, this person is full of lies, his identity is suspicious. He is likely an accomplice of Zhao Chenlu, a spy who has infiltrated. It would be best to capture and interrogate him immediately!"

Zhao Hongwu, however, did not rush to respond. Instead, he asked, "You claim to be Zhao Chenlu’s... ex-husband? Do you have any evidence?"

Wang Jiu said, "What I just mentioned can’t be considered evidence? Alright, then the common characteristic of spouses is a long-term cohabitation relationship that includes sexual activity, offspring reproduction, and financial ties, wouldn’t you agree?"

Zhao Hongwu was momentarily stunned, feeling as if what he heard wasn’t human language. But seeing Wang Jiu’s confident demeanor, as if this theory was common knowledge in Xiangzhou, he subconsciously nodded, "Uh..."

"Let’s start with financial ties. During our intimate relationship, Zhao Chenlu gifted me high-value assets multiple times, paid off my credit card debt, and promised to solve my future financial problems..."

"Isn’t this the classic method of keeping a toyboy!?"

Wang Jiu said, "So by strict standards, you could also refer to me as her former lover."

"... No one’s discussing such standards with you. I want more concrete evidence!"

Wang Jiu looked at Zhao Hongwu for a while, then shook his head, "Regrettably, there are no offspring between us, and the Recording Talisman of our sexual relationship has been taken away and kept by her. I don’t have a backup. As for Zhao Chenlu’s personal fetish, even if I mentioned it, you wouldn’t be able to verify it..."

Before he could finish speaking, another Water Blade slashed by his side, "Shut up!"

Zhao Lingbo’s eyes were already bloodshot, his anger nearly turning into blood flowing from his eye sockets, "It’s impossible for Zhao Chenlu to engage in such relations with a man! Absolutely impossible! Zhao Hongwu, think clearly, is it possible for that woman to have that kind of relationship with another man?!"

Zhao Hongwu was once again taken aback, "Indeed, while she... but she has never shown any flaw in male relations."

Wang Jiu said, "It’s a basic requirement of playing the idol to not disclose one’s romantic relationships to maintain the support of a wide audience of ignorant admirers. But as a physically and emotionally healthy woman, she has vibrant physiological and emotional needs that she must seek ways to satisfy."

"Outrageous!"

Seeing Zhao Lingbo truly seething with fury, almost ready to self-destruct on the spot, Wang Jiu curiously asked, "Why are you so angry? As Zhao Chenlu’s opponent, the more disgraceful her reality, the more it benefits us."

"We are not despicable people who rely on dirty tricks to rise to power. We overthrow her rule with dignity and..." At this point, Zhao Lingbo stumbled over his own words.

Wang Jiu supplemented, "With dignified ambushes?"

"..."

Wang Jiu continued, "In any case, please think rationally. As an adult woman, Zhao Chenlu having a steady sexual partner outside of work, where is the problem in that? Why are you unwilling to accept this reality? Typically, only die-hard fans refuse to acknowledge reality, but given your actions, you clearly cannot be categorized as die-hard fans..."

"We just think, given someone of your status, what qualifies you to gain Zhao Chenlu’s favor!?" Zhao Lingbo said coldly, "She has served as the City Lord of Golden Jade for twenty years, seen all kinds of outstanding young men, many far superior to you!"

Wang Jiu said, "Many people superior to me? Impossible."

"The Young Sect Leader of the Phantom Feather Sect, the Chief of Wuxiang Sword Academy, the head of the Four Seas Trading House..."

Wang Jiu said, "The three people you’ve listed have no relation to the topic we’re discussing."

"How could they have no relation?! The Young Sect Leader of the Phantom Feather Sect is known as the North-West’s most handsome, the Chief of Wuxiang Sword Academy is the only genius Sword Cultivator in the last 20 years with Immortal Cultivation talent rivaling Zhao Chenlu, and the Four Seas Trading House is extremely wealthy, each being ten thousand times better than your sneaky self!"

Wang Jiu curiously remarked, "Attractiveness, cultivation, and wealth hold no allure for Zhao Chenlu. Within Xiangzhou, her attractiveness, cultivation, and wealth are already the best in the world. Other people might have these traits, but they don’t catch her eye. What she needs is a partner who can maximize the satisfaction of her physiological and emotional needs. And attractiveness, cultivation, and wealth clearly do not fulfill her needs. As for me, although my cultivation is average, my looks are average, and wealth-wise I don’t have a penny, I am nonetheless top-tier as a sexual partner."

When Wang Jiu uttered those words, it was as if a Qingyu True Essence Divine Thunder had exploded in the hall, and a shockwave forced the audience to retreat as if they wanted to stay away from the pervert.

Wang Jiu, however, was indifferent to the chaos he caused and continued, "Zhao Chenlu is a person who is highly focused on her work and wouldn’t waste time on meaningless things. If she had physiological needs, aside from doing it herself, she would only rely on professionals in that field. And I am precisely an expert who can satisfy her."

"Absolutely impossible!"

Wang Jiu said, "Words alone are unconvincing. If you all truly refuse to believe, you can send a representative over to spar with me and verify my skills."

After speaking, Wang Jiu seriously looked at Zhao Lingbo, the most active opponent: "Do you want to give it a try?"

"Get lost!"

As she spoke, this female cultivator, whose cultivation was infinitely close to the Mountain-Overturning Realm, released a Divine Soul Shock filled with murderous intent without hesitation, but it fell onto Wang Jiu like a stone sinking into the sea.

In just a moment, even Zhao Hongwu showed a look of surprise. Zhao Lingbo’s furious Divine Soul Shock, even a cultivator of the Mountain-Overturning Realm would find it difficult to withstand directly, yet this middle-aged sword cultivator claiming to be Zhao Xinyu took it without a change of expression! Such cultivation is already not that of an ordinary hand...

It seems he indeed gained a lot of benefits from Zhao Chenlu, and with Zhao Chenlu’s consistent character, unless she valued a person highly, there wouldn’t be such generous treatment.

In other words...

"She gave you so many benefits, and you still oppose her?"

Wang Jiu said, "What’s strange about this? She gave you all benefits as well, but you still launched a coup."

"We... we did it for the long-term development of Golden Jade City. Although she is very talented, she is capricious and reckless as City Lord, which will definitely disadvantage Golden Jade City in the long run."

"Then I’m the same; although Zhao Chenlu gave me many things, she also formed a deep blood feud with me."

"Deep blood feud?"

"She killed our child," Wang Jiu said, "which is why we have no descendants."

"Pfft!" Countless bodily fluids spurted out from the audience’s mouths and noses.

Wang Jiu said, "Specifically..."

"No need to explain!" Zhao Hongwen hurriedly interrupted Wang Jiu, with a fearful look, "this topic ends here!"

"But without detailed technical explanation, you all will again recklessly suspect."

"No, this matter we..."

"Enough, are we wasting time here discussing what? Is his connection to Zhao Chenlu really that important? Since he knows a lot of insider information and went to the trouble of forging an identity to come here, at least we should listen to what he truly wants to say."

As he spoke, a gray-white bearded old man slowly walked onto the platform, looked at Wang Jiu, and asked, "You should know who I am."

Wang Jiu certainly knew.

Third on Zhao Chenlu’s list, Zhao Hongwen, the legendary fence-sitter.

"I don’t want to waste more time listening to your nonsense. Get to the point, you interrupted the collective wisdom meeting and attracted everyone’s attention—what do you really want to say? Zhao Chenlu is suppressed in the Seventeen Linked Rings, how do you think she should be handled?"

Hearing this, Wang Jiu felt slightly regretful.

To gain Zhao Hongwu and others’ trust, he did put a lot of effort into shaping his persona, pretending to be Zhao Chenlu’s former lover. He crafted every detail flawlessly, making it impossible for the opponent to find a flaw no matter how they interrogated him. The exchanges with Zhao Lingbo were just a small trial, the truly exciting parts haven’t even begun. The meticulously designed Golden Jade Forty-Eight Hands inspired by human mistress-lover relationships haven’t been displayed, and the topic has already shifted.

With Zhao Hongwen’s words, the topic had to enter the next stage.

Wang Jiu organized his thoughts and said, "To properly handle Zhao Chenlu, relying solely on the strength of those present is not enough. I admit there are many experts here, but when facing higher level opponents, a numerical advantage does not bring a true qualitative change. Moreover, Zhao Chenlu’s Sun, Moon, and Stars technique is best at dealing with group battles. Gathering a crowd will instead allow her to use leverage against us."

His words barely ended when Zhao Lingbo angrily clicked her tongue.

Sun, Moon, and Stars, was also a secret only the closest maid would know.

Wang Jiu continued, "To completely defeat Zhao Chenlu, there’s only one way: mobilize the masses."