Qi Ao, speaking loudly, said, "I do not like people who are indecisive. You must make a decision now. Will you choose to join me in a righteous campaign, or will you collude with Grand Tutor Du? Do not feel it is unfair. This is how things are in the world. Your stance determines your fate. There is no such thing as being absolutely well-rounded and able to fit into every crack."
Another subordinate, who looked like a minor leader, sighed and said, "Your Highness, we can let you pass, but I advise you to drop this matter. We must make a choice, and you can also make a choice. If you stop thinking about the throne and power, you might be able to live peacefully. If you entertain wild thoughts, it is very likely that not only will you fail to secure the throne, but you will also lose your life."
The other guards nodded repeatedly, "Yes, Your Highness. They are too powerful. Grand Tutor Du was arrogant and overbearing even when the late king was alive. At that time, the late king could barely restrain him. Now that the late king has passed away, is he not pushing his luck?"
"As long as I am alive, it will not be his turn to act wildly," Qi Ao said indignantly.
"Alright, since you have made up your mind, you lead the way, and we will provide backup," the minor leader said.
In the end, he still did not believe that Qi Ao could overthrow the Grand Tutor.
If you want to go, you go. We will just watch from the sidelines.
After much thought, Qi Ao decided not to pressure them. These people would not be of much use even if forced.
He glanced at Mo Qi, asking for his opinion.
Mo Qi originally did not want to interfere in his family affairs, but since he had promised, he had to do his best. He looked at the minor leader and said, "The Prince has already made his intentions clear. He needs your stance. Now the Prince intends to purge the court and eliminate the treacherous officials, which is a righteous cause. You have no choice."
The minor leader suppressed his anger and said, "What use can a few of us be?"
"Even if it's just one person, you must go, because it is your duty," Mo Qi said decisively.
"Hmph, hmph," the minor leader snorted coldly. "I was being polite to you, and you really think we're afraid of you? To tell you the truth, it's only a matter of time before Grand Tutor Du replaces Qi Ao Yun. We are also thinking about how to show our sincerity to Grand Tutor Du. It just so happens that you delivered yourselves to our doorstep. We originally planned to let you enter first and then close the door to catch the dog. Now that you are seeking death, we will do it ourselves. How you die is still death! If we present your heads to Grand Tutor Du, we will surely be rewarded with higher positions and greater wealth."
The fox's tail has finally been revealed!
If he wasn't pressured, he wouldn't reveal his true colors.
The minor leader waved his hand, and the people around immediately closed in, surrounding them.
However, there were still some people who were unwilling to deal with the royal family, and they watched from a distance.
At this moment, Mo Qi said, "It's a good opportunity to test the power of the Ding Hai Shen Zhen."
As he spoke, Mo Qi swept the Ding Hai Shen Zhen in his hand, and a large area in front of him was cleared. In a flash, he turned and swept again, clearing another large area.
In the blink of an eye, there was no one around.
Before everyone could even see what had happened, Mo Qi had already put away the Ding Hai Shen Zhen.
Prince Bei had been following Mo Qi the entire time. At this moment, he was full of admiration for him. He wondered how blind he had been to provoke him back then. Fortunately, he had a narrow escape!
This move stunned the soldiers as well. They successively bowed to Qi Ao and said, "Your Highness, we are willing to swear our loyalty to Your Highness. We will not hesitate to punish the wicked and eliminate evil."
"Good," Qi Ao nodded. "A prodigal son who returns is worth more than gold. If you are willing to follow me, I will naturally not treat you unfairly. If this is a path of no return, I will surely lead the way."
"We swear our loyalty to Your Highness," the crowd roared like a tidal wave.
The group set off majestically towards the royal capital, Langjing. Along the way, they absorbed more soldiers, and their ranks continued to grow.
Grand Tutor Du initially dismissed it and sent some of his confidants to quell the rebellion, but they either returned defeated or never returned.
Grand Tutor Du gradually began to panic. At this time, someone arrived, which eased his mind.
With Mo Qi's help, Qi Ao led his troops all the way to Langjing, demanding that Qi Ao Yun execute Grand Tutor Du, or he would storm the city.
Of course, this was merely a tactic.
Qi Ao Yun was incapable of killing Grand Tutor Du, primarily because he dared not.
Grand Tutor Du fell into the trap and in turn threatened Qi Ao Yun, saying that if they did not retreat, he would kill Qi Ao Yun.
Qi Ao was somewhat hesitant, like a rat caught between a rock and a hard place, and turned to ask Mo Qi for his opinion. Mo Qi said, "Pay him no mind. He will not kill Qi Ao Yun. Since he has decided to use him as a hostage, he will not abandon him."
Then they began to attack the city. Langjing was still very strong, easy to defend and difficult to attack, resulting in heavy casualties for the army without conquering it.
However, the civilians in the city were trapped, harboring many unstable factors, and rebellion could occur at any time.
Therefore, Grand Tutor Du was also very anxious.
At this time, Qi Ao called out from below the city walls, stating that this was a personal feud between himself and Grand Tutor Du, and he was willing to fight a one-on-one duel to decide the victor. The losing side would be at the mercy of the victor.
Grand Tutor Du readily agreed without hesitation.
He wondered where Qi Ao got the courage to challenge him to a duel. It was likely him seeking his own death!
He was a Saint King, after all, while Qi Ao was only a Saint Monarch. Who gave him the courage?
He was probably driven mad by his subordinates due to the prolonged stalemate!
Therefore, Grand Tutor Du stepped out of the city to challenge without hesitation!
Qi Ao knew he could not defeat him, so he let Mo Qi go to fight.
This was the plan they had agreed upon: they wanted to lure Grand Tutor Du out.
If the problem could be solved by the death of one person, why should too many die?
Grand Tutor Du saw that the person who came up was even weaker than Qi Ao. He wanted to toy with the weaker opponent, but then he thought that he still knew more about Qi Ao's background and was more confident in facing him.
However, he had no idea who this person was. It was better not to act rashly. Although he looked weaker, who knew if he had any hidden tricks?
Since they had meticulously arranged to lure him out for a duel, they must have made thorough preparations and were just waiting for him to fall into their trap.
I won't be fooled!
So Grand Tutor Du chuckled and said, "Since you are letting someone else represent you, I can also find someone else to substitute."
He clapped his hands, and a figure gracefully descended, landing beside Grand Tutor Du. He had a smiling face that was quite annoying.
This was Xiao Ling, whom Mo Qi had recently hated to the bone!
"Brother Mo, I hope you are well," Xiao Ling said, glancing at Xue Ying and Qin Xiao in the distance, and chuckled. "Where have the two beauties from before gone? Oh, not bad. You've left your old flame for a new one. You truly have a knack for juggling and are quite fortunate with women!"
Mo Qi was somewhat exasperated. "What exactly do you want? You always appeared as a friend before me, but why do you constantly oppose me?"
"Now, we are still friends," Xiao Ling said with a smile. "As for constantly opposing me, you are exaggerating. I just find life too boring and am looking for some fun."
"Aren't you the Heavenly Emperor of the Ironwood World? Don't you have enough fun? Why are you looking for fun here?"
"Aren't you also the Great Emperor of Hongye? What are you doing here?"
"I have my reasons for coming here. Why are you chasing after me?"
"One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers," Xiao Ling said. "The two of us will have a battle sooner or later. What difference does it make whether it's sooner or later?"
"Fine, if you are not convinced, I will fight until you are."
As he spoke, Mo Qi took out the Creation Leaf and flicked it towards Xiao Ling.
The Creation Leaf suddenly expanded, covering the sky as it struck Xiao Ling.
Xiao Ling was unhurried. He took out the Heavenly Book, and a page floated out, emitting a brilliant radiance. With a sweep of that radiance, it repelled the Creation Leaf.
Xiao Ling stood as firm as a mountain. His body grew, and his movements were like lightning. He pointed his finger, and another page floated out. It was light and graceful, yet it pressed down on Mo Qi like a mountain.
The Creation Leaf swayed leisurely in the air, spinning. It met the pages behind it with great difficulty. Upon contact, it was still no match and was pressed down slowly. Mo Qi was gradually bent over, then fell to the ground, still unable to resist, almost being crushed into a pulp.
And as Mo Qi weakened, Xiao Ling looked down at him from above, with a hint of disdain in his eyes.
The Heavenly Book is indeed powerful!
Mo Qi muttered to himself, mustered a burst of energy, formed a hand seal, and the Ding Hai Shen Zhen shot out, spinning in the air, emitting golden light and whistling winds, forcing the onlookers who were watching from a distance to retreat continuously.
As the Ding Hai Shen Zhen spun, it was blurry and dazzling, making it seem as if there were thousands of Ding Hai Shen Zhens.
Those two pages were also swept into the air, drifting and somewhat disordered.
Xiao Ling was a little surprised. He immediately changed his hand seal, and pages flew out continuously, striking at Mo Qi.
Thousands of pages intertwined and spun in the air, with light and energy flashing erratically. They clashed with the stick shadows of the Ding Hai Shen Zhen, and fragments of light and energy scattered outwards, with rumbling sounds echoing incessantly.
Where the fragments of light and energy landed, they created large holes and deep abysses. When they fell into the crowd, they caused a large number of casualties, and people fled in panic, crying and screaming.
The entire space was enveloped in a mist of light and energy.
Thus, the two fought back and forth, locked in a fierce battle.
After a long time, Xiao Ling curled his lips and held the last page in his hand, looking at Mo Qi. "This is the page that erases memories. Do you want to try it?"
Mo Qi thought to himself, if his memories were erased, he would forget what he was going to do and where he was going.
There were also many people: Yao Shuang, Long Qi, Xue Nu, Sun Qian, Xue Ying, Zi Luo, Long Ji, Yu Sheng, Mo Xiao Bao, Mo Xiao Wei... he would forget them all.
Had he forgotten someone?
That was too terrifying!
Forget it, if I can't beat you, I can still hide from you!
"Calm down, there's no need to use your ultimate move. If you use your ultimate move, I'll use mine too. My ultimate move is poison, especially a poison that will cause certain functions of yours to disappear," Mo Qi said, retracted his magic weapon, and fled the scene in a hurry.
Although this meant he had failed the duel, at that moment, he couldn't care about anything else.