Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 821 - 821 0506 Crown Prince Bows His Head_2

Chapter 821: Chapter 0506: Crown Prince Bows His Head_2 Chapter 821: Chapter 0506: Crown Prince Bows His Head_2 Gao Jinmei, Jin Jin, and Wang Youjun flew directly toward the city wall upon hearing the order, and someone immediately stood in front of the Crown Prince, intending to block their way. But Gao Jinmei and the others were no ordinary cultivators; all three were genuine Gold Core Realm experts. They didn’t even need to land on the city walls; hovering in midair, they were able to unleash ferocious attacks.

In a short time, the city wall was strewn with corpses. With just a few attacks, Gao Jinmei and her party had swept the wall clean of defenders, leaving no one alive except the Crown Prince.

Soon, a thick scent of blood wafted through the air, nauseating to those who smelled it.

The Crown Prince stood dumbfounded, watching the massacre unfold. When a gust of wind carrying the heavy scent of blood hit his nose, he came back to his senses, fell to the ground, and began to vomit.

Qi Tian watched coldly and said, “Bring the Crown Prince down.”

Gao Jinmei flew over and lifted the Crown Prince off the wall like one would a small chicken, dumping him in front of Qi Tian. “Master, I have crushed his Dantian and searched him for any items he could use to commit suicide. You can interrogate him without worries.”

Away from the carnage of the city wall, the Crown Prince, once he touched the ground, felt considerably better. He knew his death was inevitable and glared at Qi Tian, saying, “Qi Tian, you truly have some nerve, killing so many princes, ministers, and officials. You’re committing treason. I may not be able to deal with you, but when my father leaves his seclusion, he will surely join forces with the three Great National Masters and remove you, this scourge.”

Qi Tian smiled faintly and replied, “Your Highness, I’m afraid I must disappoint you. I have no fear in telling you that I’ve already killed an emperor. The Chi Di Heavenly Khan was killed by me, and afterward, I installed one of his sons, born of a concubine, as the new Heavenly Khan of Chi Di. Moreover, I’ve met with the Emperor of Bei Rong and his Crown Prince. Under my influence, they have come to realize their mistakes and have signed a peace treaty with me. Once Prince Zhao becomes the new Crown Prince, this treaty will be announced to the entire world.”

“What?” It was the first time the Crown Prince had heard such explosive news. Theoretically, Qi Tian’s execution of the Chi Di Heavenly Khan and the repulsion of Bei Rong’s southern invasion would have been major events resonating throughout the Great Zhao Nation, but the Crown Prince’s mind hadn’t been on these matters. These days, his focus was solely on drawing all the military forces to the capital. He had utilized his intelligence systems to deal with the Northern Expedition Army, ignoring border news. Otherwise, he would have known about these events before now.

The Crown Prince was not stupid; he could read between the lines of Qi Tian’s statements. In other words, if Qi Tian dared to kill the emperor of Chi Di and eliminate their One Emperor and Six Kings, then should Emperor Tian Rui refuse to acknowledge Prince Zhao’s position as Crown Prince upon leaving his seclusion and fail to pass on the throne to him, Qi Tian wouldn’t hesitate to make Emperor Tian Rui follow in the Chi Di Heavenly Khan’s footsteps. Frankly, there was no bond of gratitude between the Great Zhao royal family and Qi Tian to speak of.

The Crown Prince was filled with regret. If only he had known this day would come, he wouldn’t have made the choices he did.

Qi Tian looked at the Crown Prince and said, “Crown Prince, if you are willing to follow the course of events and comply with the arrangements, ceding your position to Prince Zhao, I will not kill you myself. I will leave your fate to Prince Zhao to decide. Perhaps you can even keep your life. But if you refuse to comply and insist on fighting against the inevitable, then the fate of those on the walls will be your example. You have two paths before you. Choose for yourself. I am not patient and will only give you the time it takes to burn a stick of incense.”

The Crown Prince’s eyes flickered uncertainly, his face a mask of indecision. If he submitted to Qi Tian, he would live in disgrace, his remaining life worse than that of beasts. But should he refuse, he would die within minutes. As the Crown Prince, he had enjoyed countless luxuries and was in the prime of his life. How could he just give up his life so easily?

Just then, a sudden wave of crying and wailing from women and children emerged from the Crown Prince Manor. Following the sound, the Crown Prince saw a Gold Core Realm expert he didn’t recognize, leading out his Crown Princess Consort, his most beloved concubines, and his eldest legitimate son from the Crown Prince Manor.

“Qi Tian, what are you planning to do?” the Crown Prince asked, looking at Qi Tian.

Qi Tian was expressionless as he said, “Of course, it means the extermination of the entire clan. If you’re unwilling to surrender, not a single one of them will survive.”

“Your Highness, save us!”

Cries and shouts filled the air. The Crown Prince painfully closed his eyes, recalling the multiple massacres of families he’d personally overseen, where he once felt it was just retribution against rebellious officials and traitors. But now that he was facing the same fate, he understood the immense fear that could envelop a person’s heart in such moments.

“Qi Tian, I am willing to surrender,” the Crown Prince finally lowered his head.

With the Crown Prince’s surrender, things became much simpler. Qi Tian ordered the Crown Prince to announce throughout the city the cessation of all resistance, commanded all military forces in the capital to return to their respective barracks, and transferred the responsibilities of the city’s defense and public order to the Northern Expedition Army.

At the same time, those princes and senior officials who followed Prince Zhao, as well as civilian and military officials, quickly filled the vacancies left by the executed first and second rank officials in the capital.

Of course, the most urgent matter was to decide on the Crown Prince’s abdication ceremony, which would take place the day after tomorrow. During the ceremony, the Crown Prince would formally cede his position to Prince Zhao in front of all the officials and generals.

With Qi Tian maintaining order in the capital, everything appeared calm, at least on the surface. No one dared to cause trouble, fearing to accidentally provoke Qi Tian, as the consequences would be unbearable. If in doubt, one could look to the current Crown Prince or the blood-stained walls of the Crown Prince Manor, where the scent of blood had yet to fade.

No one knew that Qi Tian felt not a hint of relief despite having avenged a great enmity. The Crown Prince had once been his formidable rival, but ever since Qi Tian had turned Gao Jinmei and Deng Chuanliang into his Immortal Slaves using his tactics, the Crown Prince was no longer a threat to him. Had it not been for his desire to officially drive the Crown Prince from his position, Qi Tian could have eliminated him long ago.

The Crown Prince was no longer a threat, and even the long-missing Emperor Tian Rui and others could no longer pose a danger to Qi Tian. However, the news brought back from Wanjie City by Zhao Haiying and others made Qi Tian restless. He had already dispersed a large number of people to search for unfamiliar cultivators. Meanwhile, in the capital, he wasn’t idle either, searching with Zhao Haiying, Sun Xiang, and Liao Chongru for the secret realms controlled by the royal family. Qi Tian had even used the Heavenly Dao Engine’s Spirit Qi sensing function more than once, but no matter how thoroughly he searched the imperial palace, he found no trace of the mystical realms.

Gao Jinmei, Jin Jin, and Wang Youjun were tasked with scouring various royal archives and records, but they too found nothing.

Deng Chuanliang was ordered to continue guarding the Crown Prince’s family. Qi Tian had him interrogate the Crown Prince, even resorting to some cultivator methods, but the Crown Prince also knew nothing of the secret realms. He couldn’t even clarify what had happened to Emperor Tian Rui, Master of Imperial Master Mansion Xiao Xiaowu, Master of National Master Manor Yu Ting, and Guardian National Master Wu Tie—four Gold Core Realm powerhouses who had intimidated the Great Zhao Nation for many years. It was as if they had vanished from the Great Zhao Nation overnight.

Qi Tian was extremely anxious about this, as time was running short. If he couldn’t confirm the location and method of entry to the secret realm before the cultivators from Wanjie City arrived, Qi Tian and his group would struggle to maintain the initiative and certainly wouldn’t be in a commanding position during negotiations with the cultivators coming from Wanjie City.

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