Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1372 - 1372 0780 Simply Perfect_2

Chapter 1372: Chapter 0780: Simply Perfect_2 Chapter 1372: Chapter 0780: Simply Perfect_2 Just then, Qi Tian walked over and kicked Emperor Jianwu with his foot, sighing as he said, “Get out of my way. You really are too much, a total disgrace to the living princes, and you’ve lost face for all Gold Core Realm cultivators. You were fooled by a feigned death; are you telling me that all your hundreds of years have been lived in vain?”

Emperor Jianwu couldn’t believe his ears, but he knew Qi Tian had no reason to lie to him. Instantly, his heart, which had feared Qi Tian’s punishment, settled down. It was replaced by a sea of doubts. “Master Qi, this is impossible. I checked thoroughly. There was not a single sign on the Second Prince’s body that could suggest he was still alive. How could he possibly be feigning death?”

Qi Tian replied, “There are many ways to prove he’s still alive, which I won’t bother telling you because even if I did, you couldn’t learn them.”

Qi Tian was bluffing with those words. He himself had almost been fooled by the Second Prince’s feigned death. Although he hadn’t personally checked the Second Prince, he had just used his Divine Sense and indeed couldn’t find any evidence on the Second Prince’s body that would prove he was still alive. However, when Qi Tian used the sensing function of the Heavenly Dao Engine on Spirit Qi, he discovered that the Second Prince’s body was still emanating a strong life force, and the Spirit Force he released was still very active. The fading Spirit Force that others felt was merely a facade crafted by the Second Prince, not the real thing. Additionally, Qi Tian had discovered some interesting things on the Second Prince’s body.

Of course, Qi Tian couldn’t share these findings with Emperor Jianwu. Now, with this judgment, Qi Tian thought he might figure out other ways to prove that the Second Prince was still alive, like having Ghost Face thoroughly investigate the Second Prince’s soul or using some other method. In any case, it’s always easier to seek verification when you already know the answer. But at this point, there was no need to explain these methods to Emperor Jianwu.

Emperor Jianwu was utterly confused. His curiosity was thoroughly piqued, and he really wanted to know what method Qi Tian had used. The Second Prince’s method of feigned death was too strange, cheating even him. If such a method spread, wouldn’t it mean that more and more people would use it to deceive him in the future? He disliked being deceived and naturally wanted to find a way to stop it. The best way to stop it was to master a method to recognize this feigned death.

Qi Tian said, “I’ll tell you the simplest solution. Since the Second Prince is playing dead, let’s just go along with it and let him die for real. Go ahead, chop off his head, and let’s see if he can continue his deception through playing dead.”

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jianwu clapped his hands in delight and said euphorically, “Right! I’ve been thinking too hard, trapped in my own thoughts, and forgot about such a simple solution to deal with a fraud. Master Qi, just wait, I will go chop off his head right now, turn his feigned death into a real one, and grant his wish.”

No sooner had Emperor Jianwu spoken than the Second Prince somersaulted, flipping up from the ground. Bouncing up, he tried to run out, but Emperor Jianwu had already targeted him. Without even touching the Second Prince, a powerful force immobilized him on the spot, rendering him unable to move.

“Kid, you sure have some nerve, trying to fool your old Ancestor with a feigned death. If Master Qi weren’t a step ahead, I would have lost all face today thanks to your little act. Well done, you truly have the Zhao family’s talent. But that’s as far as it goes. If you have the skills, show some more. If you impress me again, I might just spare your life today.”

Emperor Jianwu was practically driven mad with rage; having lived for several centuries in this world, from his youth to the present, he’d always believed he had everything under control. Yet, he’d been deceived by the Chief of the Imperial Guard and enslaved by Qi Tian. He could have let those things slide, for the Chief of the Imperial Guard was already dead, and Qi Tian was too strong to oppose, but what on earth did the Second Prince think he was? To dare to make a fool of him, did he truly believe Emperor Jianwu was a pushover, a good-natured weakling? Today, he was determined to show the Second Prince the error of his ways.

These words spoken by Emperor Jianwu were merely bluster, aimed to prove that he could firmly grasp the Second Prince in his hand, preventing him from stirring up any trouble. What Emperor Jianwu didn’t expect, however, was an unexpected turn of events.

Subdued by Emperor Jianwu’s imposing presence, the Second Prince suddenly underwent a drastic change in aura, his power multiplying incessantly in a moment, reminiscent of an inconspicuous bomb—initially taken for granted, possibly treated as a chunk of metal, but once it detonated, the immense power it unleashed was truly earth-shattering. The same was true for the Second Prince; the surge in his aura was even more alarming than the explosion of a bomb. In an instant, he soared from the Gold Core Middle Stage to the Gold Core Realm, and did not stop at the Gold Core Early Stage, but kept climbing to the Gold Core Middle Stage, then swiftly reached the Late Gold Core Stage. Astonishingly, that was not the end; he finally shot up to a Half-step Nascent Soul before coming to a halt.

Not only did the Second Prince’s aura change, but his appearance also underwent significant transformation. He initially appeared to others to be in his fifties or sixties, rather aged, but now he looked much younger, like a man in his early twenties. His stature had increased considerably, his eyes cold and piercing, with eyebrows like slanted swords penetrating his temples, giving off a sharpness as if a sword was unsheathed, extremely fearsome to behold.

At first, Emperor Jianwu managed to maintain his suppression over the Second Prince, but once the Second Prince revealed his true power, Emperor Jianwu could no longer contain him. In fact, he started feeling the backlash from the Second Prince, finding himself oppressed by the Second Prince’s aura.

Fixated on Emperor Jianwu with a wolf-like gaze, as if he was staring down his prey, the Second Prince barked out each word, “Why must you push me to this extent? Does pressuring me make you feel good? I wonder if you still feel good about it now, Ancestor?”

Emperor Jianwu found it difficult to breathe under the Second Prince’s oppressive aura. With Qi Tian’s help, his cultivation had improved, but he was still far from reaching a Half-step Nascent Soul. At his level of cultivation, a mere jump in a small sub-realm could greatly enhance one’s strength, let alone major realm breakthroughs. It was not surprising that he was being overpowered by the Second Prince.

Nevertheless, despite being suppressed, Emperor Jianwu didn’t show the slightest inclination to submit. Amidst enormous pressure, his face twisted into a ferocious expression, yet he managed to sneer, “Of course, pressuring you feels good. I just regret that if I knew you were such a little bastard, I would have decapitated you with a single stroke just now.”

The Second Prince initially thought that by revealing his true cultivation level, he could dominate the scene, or at the very least, witness Emperor Jianwu begging for mercy, even crawling pathetically on the ground, wagging his tail for pity. To his surprise, Emperor Jianwu remained defiant, not only refusing to beg for mercy but also cursing him. Did Emperor Jianwu truly believe he was untouchable, relying on his seniority, thinking the Second Prince wouldn’t dare to touch him? How utterly naive.

The corners of the Second Prince’s mouth turned up in a cold smile, “To seek benevolence and attain it, to seek will and achieve it. Since you, Ancestor, fail to recognize the current situation, it’s up to me, the younger generation, to enlighten you, to show what you should truly be doing right now. You like using Soul Searching Skills, don’t you? Perfect, since you are Emperor Jianwu, you must have a palace in the Imperial Family Secret Territory. I will use Soul Searching Skills to probe your soul, unearth all your secrets, then I can take over your Jianwu Palace, making it my abode. I think this approach is not excessive, right? I’m just returning the favor, a perfect retribution.”