Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1368 - 1368 778 Fulfilling the Wish_2

Chapter 1368: Chapter 778: Fulfilling the Wish_2 Chapter 1368: Chapter 778: Fulfilling the Wish_2 All eight princes’ legs turned to jelly when they heard Qi Tian, and they nearly knelt before him, especially the ones from Xidu, who trembled like sieves. They had personally witnessed Qi Tian beheading Zhao Deyi—with Qi Tian being able to kill even Zhao Deyi, who had ascended to Nascent Soul Master, one could imagine his strength. Even if they were granted the gall of a bear and the courage of a leopard, they wouldn’t dare to rely on Qi Tian as their backer. These words were daunting by themselves; could it be that Qi Tian’s words were actually sarcastic, intending to use this opportunity to severely deal with them?

Emperor Jianwu spoke up first, “Master Qi, aren’t you making us feel inferior? Your abilities are transformational, like the sun and the moon. Next to you, we are but the younger generation, not even comparable to the stars that accompany the moon.”

The other princes inwardly cursed Emperor Jianwu for having no shame, but on the surface, they all echoed his sentiments, one after the other, piling all the nice words they could think of onto Qi Tian. They flattered Qi Tian, vying with each other, fearing that others might outdo them.

Qi Tian waved his hand and then called over the disciples of the Imperial Master Mansion, saying, “See them? These gentlemen are all famous princes in the history of Great Zhao Nation. When they were in power, they managed to boost Great Zhao Nation’s prospects day by day, slightly inferior to Emperor Tian Rui’s reign. Now, they have all responded to my invitation to come here as witnesses. What are you waiting for? Why aren’t you paying your respects to the princes?”

The disciples of the Imperial Master Mansion were stunned—just having Emperor Jianwu there was frightening enough, but one was not enough; suddenly there were eight princes, eight Gold Core Realm experts. This was previously unthinkable for them, yet, because of Qi Tian, it had become reality. What frightened them even more was the way these princes behaved towards Qi Tian; they were so respectful that their demeanor was even more docile and obedient than when they saw the Mansion Master. Could such a thing really happen in this world? How could Qi Tian have such incredible power? Could there be an astonishing secret about his background that they did not know?

Amidst their wild speculations, the Imperial Master Mansion’s disciples acted without hesitation, kneeling down and paying their respects to the princes.

Qi Tian wasn’t making his fellow disciples bow to the princes to humiliate them, but to help them find support, to introduce them to the princes and let them know these were his fellow disciples. In the future, when they were in the Imperial Family Secret Territory, the princes would take good care of them. As for kowtowing and paying respects, it was quite common in the Cultivation World for those of lower cultivation realms to pay great respects to cultivators of higher realms. Moreover, these princes were all former emperors in Great Zhao Nation’s history, and since most of these fellow disciples came from common families in the Great Zhao Nation, kowtowing to emperors was not shameful.

Should Qi Tian, taking advantage of his own power, allow his fellow disciples to display arrogance before the princes, demanding so-called equality, that would not be helping them but harming them. After all, in the Imperial Family Secret Territory, each prince represented a vast force. To offend one would be to provoke that immense power. Qi Tian could afford to do so because he possessed even greater power, but his fellow disciples did not. Not having the strength, they needed to understand their place. Otherwise, they might enjoy temporary advantages, but should they invite trouble, the outcomes would be severe without Qi Tian by their side.

The princes hardly dared to let Qi Tian’s fellow disciples bow before them. Before the others had knelt, they hastened to help them up and, like Emperor Jianwu, none skimped, promptly taking out their gifts—be they magical instruments, pills, or spirit stones—and competed to bestow these on Qi Tian’s fellow disciples.

The disciples of the Imperial Master Mansion dare not accept these lavish gifts and looked towards Qi Tian. Only after receiving his tacit approval did they collect these precious welcome gifts.

Qi Tian said, “I have another favor to ask. I’d like to know which of you has the closest relationship with Emperor Tian Rui, preferably of direct lineage.”

Qi Tian’s question wasn’t without reason. When the emperors of Great Zhao Nation abdicated, the selection of their successors was rather arbitrary. Some passed the throne directly to their descendants, while others chose siblings or nephews from the same clan. There were even instances where a Prince, despite having his own children, did not pass on the throne to them but chose someone else to become emperor.

This randomness in succession was also one of the main reasons for the discordant relations among the Princes inside the Imperial Family Secret Territory.

Emperor Jianwu stepped forward and said, “Master Qi, strictly speaking, our lineage to Emperor Tian Rui is not direct; our relations are rather distant. Those who are closely related to him are in North Capital. This is also why Emperor Tian Rui spent some time in North Capital after arriving at the Imperial Family Secret Territory. If you have any needs, you can tell us. Let us first see if we can assist you. If we cannot, no worries, we will go to North Capital right away, bring those old fellows here, and make them follow your orders.”

Emperor Jianwu’s words were somewhat expected by Qi Tian, who didn’t find them unacceptable. He responded, “It’s not about me, it’s about their issues. Listen to their account of what happened first, then decide if you can manage the situation. If not, we can discuss further.”

Qi Tian gestured to the disciples from the Imperial Master Mansion to tell the whole story without fabrication or exaggeration.

At that moment, the disciples from the Imperial Master Mansion still harbored a certain amount of fear for Emperor Tian Rui, but that fear had greatly diminished. They had originally thought that Qi Tian had no means to contend with Emperor Tian Rui, but now, with so many Princes coming to back Qi Tian up, what was there to fear? Thus, they mustered their courage and recounted the events truthfully.

Upon hearing the story, Emperor Jianwu and the others almost cursed in disbelief. Over such a trivial matter? They all knew well of Qi Tian’s capabilities. Not to exaggerate, but with a flick of his finger, he could crush all those imperial descendants. Yet, Qi Tian still went through the trouble of calling them all here, which seemed like calling the Imperial Guard to a child’s squabble—overkill for such an insignificant fight.

Though somewhat discontented internally, no one dared to quibble with Qi Tian. Instead, they directed their anger towards those Princes and Princesses, and immediately, one of the Princes wanted to kill all the offending imperial descendants. These descendants might share the same ancestor with the Princes, but their blood connection was distant. Killing them brought no psychological burden to the Princes; it was as inconsequential as stepping on ants.

However, Emperor Jianwu stopped them from taking any action, since he knew Qi Tian well enough to understand that if Qi Tian wanted someone dead, it wouldn’t be their place to act. Qi Tian must have summoned them for some other purpose.

Emperor Jianwu said, “Gentlemen, no need to fight over this. Let me handle the matter. Consider it as owing each of you a favor, which I shall surely repay in the future, alright?”

Although the other Princes wanted to impress Qi Tian, they also feared that if they didn’t handle the situation well, not only would they fail to gain favor with Qi Tian, but they might even disgust him, which would be a loss not worth the risk. Seeing that Emperor Jianwu voluntarily stepped up to take responsibility at this critical juncture, they willingly let him fulfill his wish and went with the current.