Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1056 - 1056 0623 First Hearing of the Saints Tomb_2

Chapter 1056: Chapter 0623: First Hearing of the Saint’s Tomb_2 Chapter 1056: Chapter 0623: First Hearing of the Saint’s Tomb_2 Zhao Shibo inhaled sharply and said, “Prince, exchanging ten for one, aren’t we at too great a loss? Isn’t this plainly letting the other party take advantage of us?”

Emperor Jianwu snorted coldly and scolded, “Do as I command without all this prattle. Why so many words?”

Startled, Zhao Shibo quickly bowed his head and replied, “Prince, calm your anger. Your son obeys the order and will set off for Xidu immediately.”

After Zhao Shibo left, Huoyang Emperor said, “Traveling to and from Xidu takes no short amount of time, and that’s without accounting for the time needed to gather information and negotiate with people. If we count that in, it will only take longer. We cannot pin our hopes solely on Xidu; we must find a solution closer to hand.”

As he spoke, Huoyang Emperor looked at Li Mijia and asked, “Do you have any similar news?”

Fearing punishment from the Huoyang Emperor, Li Mijia quickly knelt down, prostrating himself on the ground, and said with earnest fear, “Prince, your servant is at fault, I truly do not know of such information.”

Huoyang Emperor then looked at the others, who all knelt down one after another, none making a sound, clearly indicating they had no such news. This outcome left the Huoyang Emperor very dissatisfied, and he cursed angrily, “All a bunch of useless lot! Usually, each of you courts my favor, spouting words of loyalty, but when the time comes to actually rely on you, not one is dependable.”

Qi Tian felt somewhat disappointed; he had not expected this result, yet this was the reality he had to face. He could only say, “Since there’s no news, then we’ll have to make do for now. I’ll just select a non-staff-like weapon to make do with temporarily, and replace it when I come across a suitable weapon later.”

Both Emperor Jianwu and Huoyang Emperor knew that Qi Tian’s choice was also a reluctant one, and they had no better solution, so they had to make do for the time being. The two princes immediately dismissed everyone, then brought out all of their half-step Nascent Soul level weapons and armor for Qi Tian to choose from.

Both Emperor Jianwu and Huoyang Emperor, being veterans among the princes, had each collected a fair number of half-step Nascent Soul level artifacts. Especially Emperor Jianwu, who had amassed over fifty half-step Nascent Soul level artifacts over time.

This time, in order for Qi Tian to be able to choose suitable weapons and armor, they did not hold back at all and brought everything out, even taking off the artifacts they were equipped with and temporarily handing them over for Qi Tian to pick. This would have been unthinkable in the past, as Emperor Jianwu had always been very afraid of death; asking him to remove these half-step Nascent Soul level artifacts from his person felt almost like a death sentence to him.

However, Emperor Jianwu had now come to understand that if he couldn’t promptly enhance Qi Tian’s strength to secure the capital necessary to stand against Yang Yongqi, then it would be pointless to wear one or even twenty layers of artifacts. Even if he piled on all the half-step Nascent Soul level artifacts from his Jianwu Palace, it still wouldn’t ensure his safety.

Just like Emperor Jianwu, Huoyang Emperor made no reservations and brought out all the half-step Nascent Soul level artifacts he could, offering them to Qi Tian for selection.

Laid out in a row, there were more than eighty artifacts altogether. Each was of inestimable value, and even placing one in Wanjie City should fetch a handsome price.

Qi Tian used the detection function for Spirit Qi of the Heavenly Dao Engine to scrutinize each half-step Nascent Soul level artifact, hoping to find the highest quality ones. However, he soon realized he had overestimated the collections of Emperor Jianwu and Huoyang Emperor.

Despite the considerable number of artifacts the two princes had brought out, the quality was truly not high.

These over eighty magical artifacts were essentially the lowest-quality items among those of the same level, completely incomparable to the gloves worn by Yang Yongqi. It was as if one was in the heavens, and the other was halfway to the ground, with no similarities whatsoever.

Qi Tian hadn’t harbored great expectations to begin with, but he still held onto a glimmer of hope. However, even that scant hope had now dissipated like smoke. Qi Tian suddenly understood why Yang Yongqi could effortlessly break through Emperor Jianwu’s defenses and pose a lethal threat to him—the quality of Emperor Jianwu’s equipment was simply too poor.

Emperor Jianwu and the Huoyang Emperor both looked at Qi Tian with expectant eyes. They were incredibly eager to see him rush forward, excitedly grasping one artifact after another, and then tell them that he wanted this one and that one.

If Qi Tian reacted in such a way, it would signify that the Half-step Nascent Soul-level artifacts they had offered would be of great help in enhancing Qi Tian’s combat ability, and they could rest assured.

But after waiting for a long time, they noticed that Qi Tian just stood there dryly, without moving, and as he looked at those Half-step Nascent Soul-level artifacts laid out on the ground, the light flashing in his eyes held no joy, only disappointment.

“Master Qi, why aren’t you moving? Hurry up and choose,” the Huoyang Emperor urged anxiously.

Qi Tian shook his head and said, “The quality of these artifacts is too poor. Using them would indeed increase my combat ability, but the extent of the improvement is far below our expectations. With these at my disposal, I don’t have the slightest confidence to repel Yang Yongqi.”

The Huoyang Emperor was somewhat skeptical of Qi Tian’s judgment and urged him again, “Master Qi, there are over eighty Half-step Nascent Soul-level artifacts here. Please look through them carefully again, I believe there must be something suitable for you.”

Qi Tian shook his head once more and said, “Lord Huoyang, at a time like this, I wouldn’t joke with you. These artifacts really aren’t good enough.”

The Huoyang Emperor became impatient and said, “These artifacts, which I and my confidants obtained with great difficulty from the Saint’s Tomb, each one is the cream of the crop among the Half-step Nascent Soul-level artifacts. How could they be unsuitable for your use? Surely, their quality can’t be as poor as you say.”

Qi Tian responded, “Lord Huoyang, I can understand your feelings, but to be frank, the quality of the artifacts that you and Lord Jianwu have brought out is indeed lacking.”

“Impossible,” the Huoyang Emperor still found it hard to accept Qi Tian’s assessment and said, “These artifacts all come from the Saint’s Tomb. To secure them, the Huoyang Palace paid a huge price. How could they possibly be as unworthy as you claim?”

Upon hearing “Saint’s Tomb” from the Huoyang Emperor for the second time, Qi Tian asked, “Lord Huoyang, what exactly is this Saint’s Tomb? Why do you have such confidence in the artifacts that come from it?”

The Huoyang Emperor suddenly realized that he had misspoken and hastily replied, “Master Qi, don’t inquire about the Saint’s Tomb. It’s not for you to concern yourself with, at least not right now. All you need to know is that anything produced from the Saint’s Tomb is of top quality, just like these artifacts that Lord Jianwu and I have brought, each one is a premium piece among the Half-step Nascent Soul-level artifacts.”

Qi Tian shook his head and said, “I don’t know why both of you lords hold such confidence in the Saint’s Tomb, nor do I understand the basis of your judgments. I can only say that I trust and stand by my own judgment. Moreover, I urge both of you lords to consider this carefully—at such a critical time, would I deliberately denigrate the quality of the artifacts you’ve provided without good reason? If their quality was sufficient, would I reject and not use them? Not using them would leave me defenseless during a period of vulnerability. What if I encounter Yang Yongqi during that time? Without a weapon or armor, how would I fight him?”

Although the Huoyang Emperor still did not believe Qi Tian’s assessment, Qi Tian’s words struck a chord with him. Qi Tian now stood with them in the same boat, and just as Qi Tian had said, he had no reason to feign ignorance and deny the quality of the Half-step Nascent Soul artifacts they had brought out. It would be of no benefit to Qi Tian. If they continued to argue about this, there would be no resolution, and it would only benefit Yang Yongqi and Chaoyang Palace. Such a basic mistake was not something Qi Tian would make, nor would they.