Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1382 - 1382 0785 Are You Staying for the New Year_2

Chapter 1382: Chapter 0785: Are You Staying for the New Year?_2 Chapter 1382: Chapter 0785: Are You Staying for the New Year?_2 Despite both being National Masters of Great Zhao Nation, Emperor Jianwu did not think much of them and didn’t take them to heart. He asked Qi Tian for instructions, “Master Qi, should we just kill these two? Keeping them in the Imperial Family Secret Territory would only waste cultivation resources. They are useless for anything else.”

Qi Tian’s attitude was one of utter indifference. As for the Masters of the National Master Manor and the Guardian National Master Manor, he didn’t care for them in the slightest. Their life and death were of no concern to him. He said to Emperor Jianwu, “Handle it as you see fit, no need to ask for my approval.”

Emperor Jianwu’s eyes immediately shone, he didn’t hesitate for a second and promptly walked into the Array. The Array had stopped running and posed no threat to Emperor Jianwu. Without the slightest hesitation, he acted immediately, first killing the unlucky one at the corner of the triangle and then moving to the center of the Array. He casually took out a flying sword and with one stroke, killed the National Master who had seized the strength of others.

In the blink of an eye, two of the three esteemed National Masters of Great Zhao Nation were dead, leaving only Xiao Xiaowu.

Emperor Jianwu felt no psychological burden from killing. He casually took the Storage Bags of the two National Masters and presented them to Qi Tian, suggesting Qi Tian accept them. Qi Tian did not care at all for these Storage Bags. He merely pulled out two identity jade plaques from the Storage Bags to confirm the identities of the two killed National Masters. He then returned the Storage Bags to Emperor Jianwu, telling him to put them away.

Emperor Jianwu was overjoyed. There were still quite a few cultivation resources inside the two Storage Bags, which, to him at the current time, were exceedingly valuable. He quickly thanked Qi Tian and then joyfully stored the Storage Bags away.

Qi Tian had nothing else to do and found a place to sit down casually, waiting patiently for Xiao Xiaowu’s recovery.

Xiao Xiaowu’s body was severely depleted. Even though the pills Qi Tian gave him were of excellent quality, digesting and absorbing them required time. It took three full days for Xiao Xiaowu to finish his meditative cultivation. His body had not recovered to its peak condition, but he had regained about seventy to eighty percent of his strength and once again possessed the power of the Gold Core Realm. The remaining deficiency was not urgent to replenish and could be dealt with gradually over time.

Xiao Xiaowu opened his eyes, glanced around, and seeing Qi Tian sitting somewhere, he immediately rose to his feet and deeply bowed to Qi Tian. “Master Qi, thank you. If you hadn’t arrived in time, I would already be dead, my corpse left to the wilderness.”

Qi Tian quickly stepped aside, showing respect for Xiao Xiaowu and unwilling to accept such a grand gesture. He said, “Master Xiao, when I was at the Imperial Master Mansion, you gave me no short amount of guidance. Although we do not have a formal master-disciple relationship, in a sense, we share a bond of mentorship. Saving you was the right thing to do. Please do not stand on ceremony with me any longer.”

Xiao Xiaowu chuckled, choosing not to continue with the formalities with Qi Tian. He etched today’s kindness from Qi Tian in his heart, waiting for a proper opportunity in the future to repay him.

Qi Tian spoke up, “Master, one of the main reasons I entered the Imperial Family Secret Territory was to find you and then ask you to return to Great Zhao Nation and once again take charge of the affairs of the Imperial Master Mansion.”

At this, Xiao Xiaowu was taken aback and asked hastily, “Has something happened at the Imperial Master Mansion?”

Qi Tian did not hide anything; he told Xiao Xiaowu everything that had happened in the Imperial Master Mansion after Xiao had left, without holding back any details.

Even though Xiao Xiaowu had mentally prepared himself, he still found it hard to accept what had transpired at the Imperial Master Mansion. He had always been loyal to Great Zhao Nation, and even if he hadn’t made any great contributions, he had at least endured hardships for its sake. But to think that Great Zhao Nation didn’t take any of this to heart, and continually suppressed the Imperial Master Mansion—it was unexpected. His departure from the Imperial Master Mansion had been hasty, and many matters had been left unsettled. He thought the Mansion wouldn’t fall into chaos, but to his surprise, so many things had happened. If Qi Tian hadn’t stood up in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Qi Tian continued, “Mansion Master, you are the founder of the Imperial Master Mansion, and your position in the hearts of all its disciples is irreplaceable. Although the Mansion is currently stable, much work needs to be done, and it needs you to step forward and take control once again. Moreover, there were originally three National Masters in Great Zhao Nation, and now the other two have died, leaving only you. Great Zhao Nation needs you to stand up as its pillar and protect its people and lands.”

Xiao Xiaowu said, “The other two National Masters are dead? When did this happen? How come I didn’t know?”

Pointing at the two Great National Masters who had been killed by Emperor Jianwu, Qi Tian said, “They are right here. They’ve been dead for three days already, killed by Emperor Jianwu himself.”

Xiao Xiaowu walked over, and upon seeing the decapitated body of the Master of National Master Manor, Yu Ting, as well as Guardian National Master Wu Tie, a wave of melancholy overwhelmed him. Strictly speaking, all three of them hailed from Wanjie City’s National Master Manor and were fellow disciples, almost like brothers. They had arrived in Great Zhao Nation one after another and were revered as National Masters by the Emperor. In the past, they advanced hand in hand, facing any difficulties together. Now, the memories still lingered, yet he was the only one left.

Xiao Xiaowu said, “I have always treasured our brotherhood. Although those two always opposed me, I never bore them any grudge in my heart. But I never expected that within the Imperial Family Secret Territory, Emperor Tian Rui would set up an array to drain our power for his own use. At the critical moment, it was Yu Ting, the Mansion Master of National Master Manor, who acted timely to restrain Emperor Tian Rui. I thought we were about to escape the bitter sea, but I didn’t expect Yu Ting would be blinded by greed at that moment. He swapped places with Emperor Tian Rui, intending to drain the power of me, Wu Tie, and Emperor Tian Rui for his own use. He was so close to succeeding.”

Qi Tian said, “All of that is in the past now. Even if Yu Ting had succeeded, his future would have been bleak, especially within the Imperial Family Secret Territory. Once outsiders learned of his method, he would become the rat crossing the street, shunned by everyone. All the Princes in the Imperial Family Secret Territory would never tolerate him, as if Yu Ting mastered this technique, it’s inevitable that he would plot against the Princes. Even if not for any other reason, just for their own safety, they would make sure to eliminate him early.”

Emperor Jianwu nodded and said, “What Master Qi said is true. If I knew someone was using such methods to enhance themselves, I would never tolerate it. I would do everything in my power to eradicate him. Why would I let such a scourge live any longer?”

Qi Tian said, “Mansion Master, there’s no need to lament for those two. First, follow Emperor Jianwu to Jianwu Palace and take a good rest, striving to return to your peak strength. I still have some personal matters to attend to, and once I’m finished, I will come to find you at Jianwu Palace. Then, we can return to Great Zhao Nation together.”

Xiao Xiaowu said, “Returning to Great Zhao Nation is fine, but even if I go back, you are more suited to oversee the Imperial Master Mansion than I. I’m willing to step back and find a place for closed-door cultivation without interfering in other affairs.”

Qi Tian said hastily, “You mustn’t think that way. I have absolutely no interest in being the Master of the Imperial Master Mansion. This matter still needs your attention. Even if you don’t want to do it, you must at least do it for a while. Once you have found a suitable successor in the Mansion, you can then hand over the position to him and do whatever you wish afterward.”