Master of Strange Dao

Confirming that in the short term, there should be no more Great Devils leading various Demon clans to attack the Abyssal Rift, Yu Ziqing felt at ease to leave.

He left the matter to be handled by the hungry ghost.

As for himself, he stayed in Almsgiving Town, focusing on cultivating and stabilizing his Realm.

Pondering over how to develop new Divine Skills.

His presence here was actually a statement of his stance.

He took out a bamboo slip, and Yu Ziqing studied it carefully. It was gifted to him by that old man, once known as the Eight-step Sword Devil, from the Yin Clan.

He had researched it back in the day, but unfortunately, it was a genuine Sword Cultivator's classic, untrainable for him, yet many things inside could still be learned, as other people's methods can be used for reference.

...

In Dazhen, the matter of King Qi mobilizing troops could no longer be concealed.

His going to war was the same as Dazhen directly going to war with Dali.

In the court meeting, Emperor Zhen seemed helpless and publicly ordered the mobilization of a large army to press towards the Southern Border.

Meanwhile, on the Dali side, the Northern Border Army was already prepared to meet the enemy at any time.

The only unit that could be freely mobilized and possessed strong combat power was the West Desolate Army, which was officially stationed in the northwest but had actually been moved towards the south in terms of combat strength.

With Yu Ziqing as an intermediary and the strength Jinlan Mountain presently displayed,

They had top experts if needed, and when it came to manpower, he also had millions of hungry ghosts ready to air-drop at any time.

Dazhen didn't trust Dali, and Dali didn't trust Dazhen. Both feared being betrayed but could trust Jinlan Mountain.

If any accidents occurred, it would be a slap in the face to Jinlan Mountain.

The benefits of treachery and betrayal from the other party were evidently not worth completely offending Jinlan Mountain.

Moreover, working together benefited everyone.

This was the premise upon which Dazhen and Dali were willing to cooperate.

On Daqian's side, an order was carried out of the Capital City by Kun You.

Emperor Qian's sudden decision surprised not only Song Chengyue but also the courtiers.

Military orders were as unyielding as mountains. Daqian's usual standing forces often had half stationed in the north, with the other half divided among east, west, and south.

However, in recent years, incidents in the East Sea increased friction with the Sea Clan there, changes in the Southern Sea, as well as the surprising rise of Jinlan Mountain in the western Wilderness.

And with Dadui's imminent return, half of the forces initially in the north were allocated to these three directions.

Otherwise, to start a fight with Dali, Daqian would not need to persuade Dazhen for the military push.

No matter how the forces were mobilized now, they still couldn't compare to the strength along Northern Qian thirty years ago.

Emperor Qian waged this battle for the sake of fighting itself, with no real concern for winning or losing. He was not very bothered.

The movement of Daqian's troops was no longer concealed.

Dali's south also began preparing.

Then came the routine diplomat exchanges, verbally attacking each other to seize the moral high ground.

Now, an additional factor transformed this, where listeners of the Jade Tablet could hear on their channels both sides blaming each other for various reasons.

Oddly, the sales of the Jade Tablet skyrocketed...

Yet no matter what was said outside, none of it touched the core issue.

Dazhen, Dali, and Daqian nearly simultaneously dispatched troops.

It seemed an inevitable large-scale chaotic battle was brewing.

The army of the Dazhen court marched directly towards the Southern Border, precisely King Qi's fief.

Within King Qi's fief, with Li Xingchen personally stepping in, more and more issues that seemed insignificant at the time were unearthed.

When Old King Qi's life ended naturally, the old servant by his side had already died earlier.

Of Old King Qi's four personal guards, three were later heavily employed by King Qi, while one died violently, seemingly due to conflicts with other Sealed Kings, seemingly no issue.

Another old subordinate, who felt Old King Qi's death was suspicious at the time, retired and inexplicably kept quiet because his three sons had died violently outside, leaving only the last one.

The challenge was not about digging deeper, but discerning the first suspicion to uncover deeper truths.

Without investigation, nothing surfaced.

Whether King Qi had committed patricide was crucial for Old King Qi's former subordinates but was no longer significant to Li Xingchen, who now had tasks to perform.

King Qi's troops pressed the border while the Dazhen court's army entered King Qi's fief, continuing southward.

On Dali's Northern Border, the army prepared for battle continued to advance.

However, that night, when the Dazhen court's army surrounded the Capital Mansion within King Qi's fief, it swiftly encompassed it.

Retired but respected generals of the old King Qi's faction entered the camp.

Raising their arms, they condemned King Qi's tyranny, supplemented by Li Xingchen's pre-arranged dual-tone reinforcements for contingency.

The army went from mutiny to regained control and stabilized within just a two-hour span.

A group of venerable generals personally intervened, and with former Old King Qi's subordinates, the camps one after another began falling under control.

Patricidal succession, such matters, were exceedingly sensitive in Dazhen.

Just as when King Xiang raised the flag of rebellion, he never declared he would slaughter his Second Uncle nor ever targeted Emperor Zhen openly.

After King Qi's accession, naturally, the people he promoted were unwilling to submit easily.

Some who were bound to King Qi's fate preferred death over surrender, knowing there was no favorable outcome in surrender, only stubborn resistance until the end.