Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 497 - 497 0343 The Crown Princes Edict_2

Chapter 497: Chapter 0343: The Crown Prince’s Edict_2 Chapter 497: Chapter 0343: The Crown Prince’s Edict_2 Soon, the imperial court issued a decree, ordering all states and counties to behave discreetly and stop their accusations against the Prince Duan Manor. The imperial court had already dispatched officials to handle the matter in Wangjin County.

At the time when the special envoy departed from the capital, Qi Tian and his team finally received news from the palace; Mansion Master Xiao Xiaowu had personally responded to their enquiry. The message paper crane relayed that Xiao Xiaowu had to stay in the capital for a very important matter, and he could not temporarily go to assist Qi Tian. Xiao Xiaowu particularly stressed that as long as they stay on the right side, they must fight for what they ought to have and must not easily give in. They did not have to worry about trouble, as he would bear all the consequences.

The reply from Xiao Xiaowu had brought great relief to Qi Tian and his team, especially for the trio Luo Xia, Hao Wenxi, and Xiao Ge. They felt as though they’d gained support. Unlike Qi Tian, from the moment they started their cultivation path, they were brought up in the Imperial Master Mansion, and grew up listening to the deeds of Xiao Xiaowu. Xiao Xiaowu held great significance to them. On the contrary, Qi Tian’s feelings for Xiao Xiaowu were not as profound. Although he had grown up in the Imperial Master Mansion for some time, he hadn’t gained much from it and often relied on himself. However, he admired and respected Xiao Xiaowu. Having a Gold Core powerhouse willing to support him was the best thing possible.

The remaining days were filled with waiting. From the capital to Wangjin County was a journey of thousands of miles. The Great Zhao didn’t have any teleportation arrays, so they had to rush there bit by bit. If there were an ordinary person in their company, just traveling these thousands of miles could take up to half a month.

Utilizing the time taken by the imperial envoy to arrive, Qi Tian continued his closed-door cultivation. In the Cultivation World, no matter what time it was, strengthening oneself was always the best course of action.

The time taken by the imperial envoy to arrive was much quicker than Qi Tian and his team had anticipated. Only two days had passed from the time they received the news to the arrival of the imperial envoy at their camp.

The imperial envoy didn’t come alone but brought several people. Each had a fine steed beneath them. This was the Dragon Scale Horse which was exclusive to the Royal Guard Army. It was said to have the bloodline of the Flood Dragon, able to travel two thousand miles in a day and one thousand five hundred at night. The horse was resilient, recovering quickly, making it a rare and valuable breed.

In Great Zhao, only the Royal Guard Army, or those with special permits, could ride these Dragon Scale Horses. Considering that the imperial envoy brought so many people, there must surely be Royal Guards among them.

The imperial envoy was not a stranger. Once upon a time, Qi Tian had interacted with him frequently. The envoy was none other than Sir Wang Xin, the Vice-Minister of Taichang Temple from the Great Zhao.

In addition to Wang Xin, there was also a supervisor and a protector. As the names suggest, the supervisor supervised the reading of the imperial decree by Wang Xin, while the protector ensured the safety of the decree.

The supervisor was an eunuch who appeared to be in his fifties with graying hair. Thin and lean, this man was Wang Zhenliang, also known as “Liang”, who was dressed in a clean eunuch’s attire and bore an innocuous expression.

The protector was a military official, a vice commander delegated from the Royal Guard Army, who held the rank of Ten Thousand Households Officer, Xia Haiqing. This man was quite robust and fierce, standing upright like an iron tower.

Upon seeing the imperial envoy, the supervisor, and the protector, Xiao Ge, Hao Wenxi, and Luo Xia all looked nervous. Qi Tian may not have clear insight into Wang Zhenliang’s and Xia Haiqing’s backgrounds, but they did. Both of these men were well-known top cultivators in Great Zhao. Like them, both men were at the Foundation Establishment Stage Nine but had reached that level earlier than they had, ensuring their unquestionable strength.

What they didn’t know was that Qi Tian had a clearer understanding of Wang Zhenliang’s and Xia Haiqing’s backgrounds than they did. Contrary to their belief, Wang Zhenliang and Xia Haiqing were not at the Foundation Establishment Stage Nine but were at a higher level, both a half-step away from the Golden Core stage. In Great Zhao’s Cultivation World, a Golden Core cultivator could reign supreme while a Half-step Golden Core cultivator was just a step behind, so they could imagine the great advantage if the two were to join hands.

However, what Qi Tian found stranger was the case of the Vice-Minister of Taichang Temple, Wang Xin. The last time Wang Xin delivered a decree to him, without saying anything else, he had conscripted Qi Tian to the frontal line at the Tongmen West Pass. At that time, Qi Tian had been deeply impressed by Wang Xin.

If he remembered correctly, at the time, Wang Xin’s cultivation level was not very high, merely at the beginning of the Foundation Establishment Stage, precisely at the third level of Foundation Establishment. He was still a considerable distance away from breaking through to the fourth level.

Several hundreds of Half-step Golden Cores have perished at Qi Tian’s hands, Wang Xin, a mere individual at the Foundation Establishment Stage, would hardly make Qi Tian blink an eye now. What surprised Qi Tian was that Wang Xin’s cultivation realm had already broken through to the later stages of the Foundation Establishment. By counting, the time they parted may not even be a year, but Wang Xin managed to make a huge leap from the beginning to the later stages. It was a bit unusual. Here was the Great Zhao cultivation world, not Wanjie City, such an occurrence was obviously strange.

Qi Tian was curious about Wang Xin, while Xiao Ge, Hao Wenxi, and Luo Xia were particularly puzzled about Wang Zhenliang holding the post of Commissioner of the Royal Decree. On one hand, it was rare for the court to set up the position of Commissioner when sending people out to issue edicts, only under extremely special circumstances would this happen. On the other hand, it was the identity of Wang Zhenliang. Wang Zhenliang was not a servant, he did not serve Emperor Tian Rui, in reality, he was the close servant of Crown Prince Zhao Xichen, he had watched the Prince grow from a toddler slowly into the deep-thinking Crown Prince he is now.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be Wang Zhenliang’s turn to serve as Commissioner of the Royal Decree.

As everyone harbored their own thoughts, Wang Xin’s gaze swept over them all, eventually landing on Qi Tian. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I am here specifically to deliver the edict of the Crown Prince. Please, hear me out.”

But with a cultivation level like Qi Tian’s, he could receive an imperial decree without kneeling, let alone a command from the Crown Prince.

“Hold on, Sir Wang, wasn’t it agreed that it was an imperial decree from the Emperor? How has it become a command from the Crown Prince?” Qi Tian interrupted Wang Xin’s words directly.

The impression Wang Xin had of Qi Tian was notably profound. It was he who personally solicited Qi Tian to Tongmen West Pass. Afterwards, Qi Tian bravely suppressed the Chi Di Tribesmen at Tongmen West Pass, but then recklessly ventured into the Chi Di Tribe’s territory, disappearing without a trace. He had presumed Qi Tian had died at the hands of the Chi Di people, not expecting him to resurface a year later, causing such a commotion at Wangjin County, forcing the Crown Prince to issue an edict.

Wang Xin had countless thoughts in his mind, but his face remained calm, “The Emperor has now commanded the Crown Prince to supervise the state. The Crown Prince is giving you this decree, is there a problem?”

Qi Tian said, “The Crown Prince is supervising the state? Since when did this happen?”

Furrowing his brow, Wang Xin asked, “Qi Tian, mind your status. The Emperor’s decision and the timing of who is to supervise the state, does this need to be reported to you? Don’t think that your accomplishments at Tongmen West Pass give you the right to covet the divine artifact.”

By “divine artifact”, he was not referring to the divine artifact in the mouths of cultivators, but to the power in the hands of the Emperor. Wang Xin’s accusation against Qi Tian was black and white.

Wang Zhenliang and Xia Haiqing both looked at Qi Tian. Both of their gazes firmly locked onto Qi Tian, implying they were ready to draw their swords at the slightest disagreement.

At this moment, Xiao Ge stepped forward, saying “The matter of the Emperor allowing the Crown Prince to supervise the state is not something to be treated lightly. If this point is not clarified, we refuse to listen to the Crown Prince’s edict.”