Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 509 - 509 0349 Just Like a Child_2

Chapter 509: Chapter 0349: Just Like a Child_2 Chapter 509: Chapter 0349: Just Like a Child_2 Without the threat of feather arrows capable of killing Half-step Golden Core, the ordinary arrows of other soldiers basically posed no threat to Wang Shuqing and his men. Even if there were, they could cope with them. After all, they were cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage. If they couldn’t even handle this, what were they cultivating for?

Wang Shuqing and his men soon stormed past the checkpoint. Like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, they slaughtered the official army without much delay.

Qi Tian ordered people to set a fire, burning all the bodies of the official army. He was too lazy to identify whether these were indeed the official army or perhaps dressed up in disguise. But none of this mattered to Qi Tian at all.

Staring at the roaring fire, Qi Tian sternly declared, “This time, we enter Lubei County to retrieve what rightfully belongs to me. I don’t care who it is, or which power stands in the way. As long as they obediently hand over what they’ve taken, that’s fine. Anyone who dares to oppose this outcome will be my enemy. And to my enemies, there’s only one thing I require – kill them, kill all those who dare to covet my possessions until they are exterminated.”

Wang Shuqing, Pan Yulin, Guan Xun, Wu Tao, and Zhang Lei all promised solemnly. As cultivators, they all had their own pride. On matters concerning their personal interests, no one would choose to back down, regardless of gender, age, or cultivation level. This was not only a matter of pride, but also a struggle for future cultivation benefits.

Qi Tian nodded in satisfaction and declared, “I hereby announce, from this moment on, anyone who steals my position as County Master, and anyone who aids such a thief, are all rebels seeking to topple the eternal stability of Great Zhao. We can exterminate them without burden.”

As the County Master of Lubei appointed by Emperor Tian Rui, Qi Tian indeed had the authority to make such a declaration. From a legal standpoint, no one could find fault with this.

After giving his orders, everyone set out again. This time, they all grew cautious. Just because Qi Tian could break a feather arrow didn’t mean he was invincible. If the enemy fired ten or eight of such arrows at once, even Qi Tian’s far superior abilities would be unable to withstand it. Thus, relying solely on Qi Tian was certainly not appropriate.

Besides, they were all Qi Tian’s subordinates, followers, and household slaves. If they needed Qi Tian to shield them from everything, wouldn’t that make them too incapable? What’s the point of Qi Tian keeping them around? It would be better to dismiss them early on and save the trouble.

Qi Tian was fairly satisfied with everyone’s status. At least, there was no one just waiting to be looked after, and everyone was aware of their position. They had not hired a new master.

However, these issues only attracted Qi Tian’s attention briefly. He then shifted his focus. Riding on Hu Niu, he pondered who might have usurped his position as the County Master.

The first to come to Qi Tian’s mind was the Guardian National Master Manor. The County Master of Lubei had always been controlled by the Imperial Master Mansion. Regardless of when a County Master resigned, the next would inevitably continue to come from the Imperial Master Mansion. Although the Imperial Master Mansion had declined in recent years, the Guardian National Master Manor wouldn’t have to snatch the mere position of County Master, but they did so indeed.

Qi Tian wondered whether Chen Wenbo and Wu Han, after failing to openly steal the position of County Master from him, resorted to fraudulent means, seizing the opportunity to occupy his position as the County Master of Lubei County.

Besides this, Qi Tian couldn’t think of anyone else with such a significant motive or audacity. After all, his appointment as the County Master of Lubei had been sanctioned by the Emperor. At the very least, Emperor Tian Rui knew about it, and behind Qi Tian stood the colossal figure of the Imperial Master Mansion. Who would risk their lives to provoke Emperor Tian Rui and the Imperial Master Mansion at the same time?

After entering Lubei County, they were not far from the County Master token.

The County Master Mansion was located in the south of Lubei County town. When Qi Tian and his troops reached the town, they found the whole town on high alert. Not only were the city gates tightly locked, forbidding pedestrians to come and go, but an incredible barrier had also enveloped the County Master Mansion.

Qi Tian and his men stood under the city wall, looking up and shouting to the gatekeeper on the wall, “Go and invite the county magistrate here. Tell him that I am the County Master dispatched by the court. He should quickly open the city gate and let me in.”

The gatekeeper replied, “I’m sorry, sir, our county magistrate has been sick for a while and has been excused from his duties for quite some time now.”

“Go find someone who can take charge,” demanded Qi Tian. He rummaged in his pocket, pulled out a silver bar and tossed it at the gatekeepers’ feet. “This is for your troubles,” he added.

Just as the gatekeeper was about to pick up the silver bar, a glint of shiny blade flashed. In an instant, the gatekeeper’s head was chopped off and fell from the city wall. His head hit the ground with an expression of disbelief.

The man who pulled out the blade was a military officer. He loudly declared, “This is a warning for all of you – Forgetting your duties out of greed will lead to this fate.”

The defenders on the wall fell silent, stunned to speechlessness.

The officer’s blade was extraordinary, not a single drop of blood expected after beheading a man remained on it. He sheathed his blade and looked down from the city wall to shout, “I don’t care who you are, as long as my men and I guard this city wall, don’t even think about getting us to open the door. Of course, you can kill us. After all, this isn’t your first kill, is it? Killing me and innocent citizens is a normal operation for you, isn’t it?”

Qi Tian’s brow furrowed. The officer’s words were layered with meaning. The guards on the city wall had closed the city gates to keep them out, but they did not threaten to kill Qi Tian and his men. Qi Tian didn’t need to resort to violence either. After all, he did not believe in indiscriminate killing, especially when the targets were mere mortals.

Qi Tian activated the Heavenly Dao Engine and used its sensing ability to gauge the situation with the Spirit Qi, forming a three-dimensional image in his mind.

At this moment, Wang Shuqing walked over and said, “Master, shall I go ahead and scout the situation?”

Wu Tao came over and said, “Qi Tian, I have seen this sort of thing happen many times when I was sorting out data in the Sky Eagle Hall. Typically, these people are pretending to be tough. Their aim is to make us feel guilty so that we won’t take over their city. It’s simple; just assign someone to scale the city wall, and you can easily resolve this issue.”

Qi Tian shook his head. He dismounted from Hu Niu’s back, stood before the city gate, and patted the thousand-pound gate with his hand. “We are entering through the main gate,” he declared.

With that said, Qi Tian hurled a punch at the city gate. A resounding crash followed, and most of the gate – constructed mainly out of wood and reinforced with iron bars, even bearing the mark of several inscriptions – was blasted off by Qi Tian’s punch, revealing a gaping hole large enough for a horse to gallop through.

“Let’s go.”

Hu Niu trotted up to Qi Tian’s side. After Qi Tian mounted her back, she trotted towards the city gate and stepped into Lubei County Town.

Qi Tian’s action of blasting open the city gate with a single punch had scared everyone present. The gatekeepers on the wall almost wet their pants. Even Wang Shuqing and Wu Tao found it unbelievable. Although they also possessed some strength – enough to handle a couple-thousand pounds or so, even a maximum of five to six thousand – they were still weak compared to Qi Tian. If they were to use their strength to hit the city gate, it would be a joke. Dozens of punches might just cause a few cracks in the sturdy gate, which would be a satisfactory outcome to them.

But in contrast, Qi Tian effortlessly delivered a punch that shattered the gate, making their strength appear like a child’s.