Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 822 - 822 0507 You Really Think Highly of Me_1

Chapter 822: Chapter 0507: You Really Think Highly of Me_1 Chapter 822: Chapter 0507: You Really Think Highly of Me_1 Chapter 0507: You Really Think Highly of Me

The royal family controlled a secret realm unknown to outsiders. Qi Tian believed this was not a groundless claim but an indisputable fact, after all, Zhao Haiying had come here specifically for this, and Wanjie Commerce had begun to spread rumors about it; it simply couldn’t be a coincidence. It was just that for some reason, Qi Tian had always been unable to find it.

Qi Tian knew he couldn’t continue to wait idly. He called a meeting with all his subordinates in the Gold Core Realm, including Zhao Haiying, Sun Xiang, Liao Chongru, and Gao Jinmei, and after several discussions, Qi Tian decided to issue a high reward to all those with royal blood, promising to fulfill any request within his power if someone could provide accurate information.

The Great Zhao Nation had been established for over a thousand years, and the royal family had grown into an enormous group, with a total population exceeding one million. Among these imperial relatives, some lived comfortably, but many more were unhappy, even living worse than ordinary citizens, relying solely on the relief funds distributed by the Royal Clan Office to scrape by.

The Royal Clan Office had registered almost all the imperial relatives, so Qi Tian had the list pulled and dispatched a large number of people to inquire among these royal family members, promoting the high reward he was offering, attempting to find a breakthrough from within their ranks.

For this matter, a great amount of human and material resources were mobilized, but the outcome was still nil. None of the imperial relatives, regardless of how close or distant their blood relation was to Emperor Tian Rui, knew anything about the Imperial Family Secret Territory. In this regard, the emperors of past generations had done quite a thorough job of sealing information.

Just when Qi Tian was at a loss, he received a report that someone was requesting an audience with him. Initially, Qi Tian did not want to meet, but upon finding out that the petitioner was a minor clerk from the Royal Clan Office, he decided to make time for this clerk.

The clerk’s name was Lin Jin. By blood, he also had royal ancestry, as his great-grandmother had once been a princess of the royal house. But by his generation, they had fallen on hard times and he could only rely on the favor of his great-grandmother to obtain a menial job at the Royal Clan Office, earning just enough rations each month for his family to barely get by.

Upon seeing Qi Tian, Lin Jin knelt on the ground, bowing deeply with trembling fear, not daring to raise his head. He could not help but be afraid, for everyone in the Capital knew of how Qi Tian, with a single command days ago, had sent two to three hundred princes, nobles, and officials of the court to meet Yama. Compared to those high-profile figures, Lin Jin was nothing, and if he were to anger Qi Tian, he wouldn’t even have the chance to beg for mercy.

Qi Tian didn’t trouble Lin Jin any further. In a calm voice, he said, “I heard you wanted to see me. Tell me, what is it?”

Lin Jin’s head was pressed tightly against the ground, and his words came out slightly muffled, “Master, I wish to report something to you. My great-grandmother, by seniority, was the legitimate aunt of the current Emperor, a full sibling to the late Emperor, and they had a very good relationship while alive. Before my great-grandmother passed away, she mentioned a secret related to the late Emperor. Roughly 120 years ago, the late Emperor had ordered the execution of a concubine, but in fact, the concubine did not die. She took medicine to feign death and was then secretly smuggled out of the imperial palace. My great-grandmother was close friends with this Lady Wu Jing and about 100 years ago, while traveling outside, she once encountered Lady Wu. At the time, there was a young man with Lady Wu whose appearance strikingly resembled the late Emperor. My great-grandmother speculated that this man could very well be the Emperor’s child. And this person has not been registered in the Royal Clan Office.”

Qi Tian nodded, “That does indeed count as a secret of the royal family, but such a matter seems more appropriate for you to discuss with your superiors at the Royal Clan Office. What use is telling me all this?”

Lin Jin hurriedly responded, “Master, Lady Wu Jing’s identity is extraordinary; she is a cultivator and behind her is a family of cultivators.”

Qi Tian nodded again but said nothing more.

Lin Jin glanced up at Qi Tian then quickly lowered his head again, delivering a bombshell, “Not long before the late Emperor ordered the death of Lady Wu Jing, he had just broken through from the First Level of the Gold Core Realm to the Second Level. According to my great-grandmother, it seemed Lady Wu Jing had stumbled upon some secret of the late Emperor, which led to the Emperor’s command for her death.”

Qi Tian’s heart skipped a beat, “What exactly is Wu Jing’s background, do you know?”

Lin Jin replied, “Master, it’s not that I am unwilling to tell you, but I truly do not know what her origins are. I heard about this from my father, and at the time, I thought it was just a story and didn’t inquire further. My father passed away unfortunately from illness two years ago. Anything more about Lady Wu, I am unclear.”

Qi Tian frowned, pondered for a moment, then asked, “Think carefully, see if you can remember where that Wu Jing came from? Or did your great-grandmother mention where she met Lady Wu?”

Lin Jin lay on the ground, and after a long while, he finally raised his head, “I’ve remembered, my father seemed to have mentioned where he encountered her, something with three in the name? Oh yes, Three Gods City. That’s right, it was Three Gods City.”