Seijin Festival 12th Round: The True Strength of Koshiki

  "If I don't want to go, you all conspire together, who exactly are you planning to send to exile me to the border!"

  As soon as such arrogant words came out, everyone present changed their faces greatly.

  Especially Xu Bingning and Su Fangyu, they were just thinking that after Gu Qing was sent to the border, through their own means and connections, they would help Gu Qing reduce his sentence, or simply wait until Ye Xueqing's anger had dissipated, then let Nian Wusheng come forward and beg for mercy from the Emperor, and revoke the death penalty.

  But now...

  It's done!

  It's all done!

  What is this! He wants to provoke an entire dynasty by himself!

  For a moment, everyone was shocked by Gu Qing's boldness!

  Before the emperor's anger was even expressed, Ye Xueqing, the princess of Qing Prefecture, was the first to shout: "How dare you! This is absolutely outrageous! You're speaking wildly and completely disregarding our great Qi dynasty. Guards, take him away!" As she spoke, she also wanted to personally take action.

  Those young and handsome men beside him also knew that Gu Qing, who had spoken these words, would probably not be able to escape death today. One by one, they simultaneously drew out their own swords, ready to strike down Gu Qing, in order to gain merit in front of the Emperor and the Princess of Qingping.

  But they didn't even have time to make a move, when Nian Wusheng, who had been paying attention to Gu Qing's expression, couldn't help but speak up again: "Everyone, stop! Your Majesty, I have something to say!" After finishing speaking, under Ye Xueqing's piercing gaze, he quickly went to the emperor's side.

  The Emperor Ning Tianchi looked at Nian Wusheng, who was walking over, and frowned in displeasure: "Nian Wusheng, didn't you say you wouldn't intervene in this matter again? This child's words are truly too arrogant, not even putting the entire Great Qi Dynasty in his eyes. If he is allowed to leave safely today, where will the prestige of my Great Qi country be?"

  "Your Majesty." Nian Wusheng walked to the side of Ning Tianchi, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I didn't mean to plead for Gu Qingge's case, but rather to report a piece of information to you. After you've heard it, you can decide what to do next. I won't interfere."

  "What information? What information!?"

  Nian Wusheng lowered his voice slightly and said: "Your Majesty, do you know why I admire Gu Qingge so much?"

  "Ah, why is he so revered by Gu Qing......" Ning Tianchi's face changed slightly, and in an instant, he thought of this question, unable to help but reveal a look of surprise: "Could it be that Gu Qing... is also a master of the ninth rank of Qi Dao?!"

  The Nine Layers of Qi, that is absolutely the pinnacle of existence in the entire Daxi Dynasty. Even among the high-ranking officials who serve the imperial palace, there are only eight people who have reached this level. If Gu Qing really is a master of the Nine Layers of Qi and Nian Wusheng refuses to take action, then it will indeed be no easy task for us to capture Gu Qing.

  Thinking of this, he couldn't help but secretly glance at Gu Qing.

  Not to mention anything else, up until now, Gu Qing's face still didn't have the slightest hint of fear, and Ning Tianchi was already slightly convinced.

  "The airway is ninefold..."

  He shook his head: "Gu Qingge doesn't seem like a cultivator at first glance, but I saw him practicing a set of fist techniques in the Wuwei Hou Mansion today. As he performed this set of fist techniques, the entire courtyard's heaven and earth energy followed his every move, pouring into his body... Your Majesty, being in a high position, has even interacted with powerful alchemists, so you naturally know that the first realm of advancing to the Dan Dao is called what."

  After finishing speaking, Nian Wusheng glanced at the Emperor's pale face, which was still somewhat frightened, and bowed again before retreating to one side.

  "Tan... Tan Dao..."

  The first realm of Dan Tao is Baptism!

  Concentrate the body's vital energy, directly reaching the heavenly gate, bursting open the hundred meetings at the top of the head, building a bridge between heaven and earth, drawing in the primordial energy of heaven and earth, pouring down from the top of the head to flow throughout the entire body, causing every muscle, bone, blood vessel, and meridian to undergo a transformation as if turning the world upside down, completing a metamorphosis from an ordinary mortal to a cultivator.

  After this step, he stepped out and from then on, he entered the gate of alchemy, becoming a celestial being. In the future, he would enjoy endless fame, wealth, power, and glory, and even have the opportunity to compete for longevity with heaven and earth, shining together with the sun and moon. Even if it were the emperor of this great Qi dynasty, he would still have to show respect and dare not be negligent.

  If he didn't take the step out... his vital energy would wreak havoc in his mind, and if he was lucky, he'd just become a fool with unclear consciousness. The most common outcome is that his brain can't withstand this concentrated power of all his vital energy, and it would completely explode, causing his soul to scatter on the spot. At that time, even if the great god came down from heaven, there's no way to save him.

  One step divine, one step mundane.

  It can be seen from this that the gap between Taoism and Qigong is huge.

  The master of the Temple of Unborn has a strong and majestic aura, with eyes that are exceptionally sharp and will not easily misjudge.

  Before him, the young man named Gu Qing was a super strong who broke through the heavenly gate and advanced to the Dan Dao. If he really wanted to escape, with the Great Qi Wang Dynasty being just an ordinary human country, there truly wouldn't be anyone who could stop him.

  Thinking of this, Ning Tianchi couldn't help but become somewhat hesitant. The arrogant words he had just spoken were already out there; if he didn't give Gu Qing any punishment, how could the dignity of the Da Qi imperial family be preserved in the future? Where would his own prestige as a mighty emperor be? It was likely that the various kings and ministers would no longer have even a shred of reverence for them.

  "Your Majesty."

  It seems that he saw the Emperor's difficulties, at a critical moment, Nian Wusheng spoke again: "In my opinion, although Gu Qingge was wrong, but after all, there is a reason for this matter. If it weren't for the fact that Qingping Junzhu had pointed her sword at him twice in a row, he wouldn't have had such an extreme behavior. Moreover, as Qingping Junzhu said, she didn't hurt Gu Qingge, and Gu Qingge didn't hurt the princess either. This matter can only be considered as frightening the princess."

  Ning Tian's eyes lit up and he almost jumped for joy as soon as he heard the words "birth of a new life".

  Timely rain!

  This sentence is really timely and spot on.

  "Ah, ah, ah! Gu Qingge indeed did not harm the young master of Qingping County..." Ning Tianchi hastily responded with a sound, under the gaze of the young and handsome heroes who were somewhat unbelieving, and forced himself to calm down, saying: "Then, according to Nian Wusheng's idea, how should this matter be handled?"

  "Exile to the border as a slave for ten years, this punishment is indeed too severe! However, Gu Qingge did disturb the county lord's daughter after all, and this is indeed a fact. If not punished, it would be hard to convince the public. In my humble opinion, why not order Gu Qingge to be confined in the marquis' residence for one month, to reflect on his actions, as a warning, to avoid another disturbance like today's incident..."

  "This..."

  House arrest for a month?

  Just as Ning Tianchi was about to say that the punishment might be a bit too severe, Ye Xueqing on the side had already strongly opposed it: "Ning Wusheng, have you gone mad? This person almost killed me, and you're just going to confine him for a month? You're clearly taking his side against me!" After finishing speaking, she immediately turned to Emperor Ning Tianchi and said: "Your Majesty, I came all the way to the imperial capital with great difficulty, only to nearly lose my life at this person's hands. Is this really all the explanation you can give me?"

  Although Ning Tianchi felt a bit sorry for Town West King, the person standing in front of him was indeed a powerful Dan Dao master. As someone had just said, it's up to you to decide whether he's guilty or not, but the key is that if he doesn't want to admit guilt, who can control him? If the punishment is too severe, this Dan Dao master might get angry and humiliated, and directly cause a bloodbath at the Banquet of Heroes, and then just leave. Who could stop him?

  Thinking of this, Ning Tianchi couldn't help but ignore how the King of Zhenxi would react to this news and hastily said: "Qingping Junzhu, I have already made up my mind about this matter, you don't need to say more. As for the King of Zhenxi's side, I will personally explain it myself!"

  "Your Majesty, you..."

  Ye Xueqing was about to say something, when Ning Tianqi hastily stepped forward and pulled her back, leaning into her ear and whispering: "Don't be impulsive, based on my judgment, this Gu Qing is likely a master of the 9th level of Qi Dao, or even the pinnacle of the 9th level!"

  "What if we reach the peak of the ninefold heavens? Our Western King's Manor isn't without its means. What is there to be afraid of?"

  "Xue Qing, calm down, this is not the West King's palace in your town, nor is it the imperial palace. If he is really forced into a desperate situation, he will surely go on a killing spree. At that time, even if Nian Wusheng doesn't take action, who can stop him? I'm afraid you'll also be in danger."

  As soon as this was said, Ye Xueqing immediately calmed down and glanced at the two maids by her side. She naturally understood that if a master with nine layers of Qi or even the peak of nine layers wanted to fight her to the death, it would not be something that the power she possessed could withstand. At that time...

  "Xue Qing, your status is noble and it's completely unnecessary to interact with such a boorish person. If he were to be driven mad and harm you in any way, even if it's just a minor injury, how could I forgive myself?! If I couldn't protect you, at that time, I would rather die than live!"

  When Ning Tianqi said he would risk his life for her, although Ye Xueqing knew there was some exaggeration in those words, she still felt very comforted: "Tianqi... you're right, our status is noble and we can't be compared to such a rough man. I'll listen to you and not bother with him for now!" After saying that, she didn't care if the emperor was still present at the banquet, and directly told her maid: "Let's go!"

  Ning Tianqi, with a hint of apology, slightly bowed his hands to the crowd and then saluted his father Ning Tianchi: "Your Majesty, I'll take my leave first."

  Ning Tianchi naturally knew that this decision would cause Ye Xueqing's dissatisfaction, so he nodded generously and secretly hinted to let him stabilize the young master of Qingping County.

  Ye Xueqing and Ning Tianqi retreated together, the Emperor and Sword Saint Nian Wusheng openly supported Gu Qing, so the power of the Second Prince's side naturally couldn't stir up trouble.

  "Gu Qing, you disturbed the county master's daughter, and this is true. I will follow Nian Wu Sheng's words and order you to be confined in the Wu Wei Hou Fu for a month as punishment. Can you accept this?"

  This sentence, compared to the previous one, is completely in a tone of inquiry, as if it would be unsatisfactory if you didn't make a gentle and gradual change, so much so that the numerous young heroes present couldn't help but speculate, wondering what exactly Emperor had said to him earlier, which made Emperor's attitude undergo a 360-degree complete reversal!

  Gu Qing was busy calculating the stellar orbit of the fifth usable star, which required a lot of time. It didn't matter if he was banned for a month or even a year. He took advantage of the opportunity given by the Emperor and bowed his hands: "I surrender!"

  Seeing the ancient Qing's brow, there was no resentment. Ning Tianchi secretly let out a sigh of relief in his heart: "That's good, wait until the banquet is over before executing it." After finishing speaking, he didn't care about the young and handsome heroes, kings, and high-ranking officials present, who looked like they had seen a ghost. He waved his hand: "This banquet is for you young people, I won't interfere too much, everyone enjoy yourselves!"

  Having said that, he directly retreated under the escort of those guards and trusted attendants.

  As soon as the Emperor retreated, the entire banquet immediately became extremely lively, with countless whispers and murmurs erupting like thunder. Everyone's topic of conversation was guessing what Nian Wusheng had just said, and the true identity of Gu Qing - what kind of ability did he have that made the Emperor take the risk of offending the Duke of Zhenxi, while suppressing the anger of the Princess of Qingping?

  "Thinking of you under the eaves..."

  Xu Bingning bowed deeply to Nian Wusheng and thanked him sincerely: "Thanks a lot today."

  "No need to be polite, Miss Xu, I didn't really help much anyway."

  Xu Bingning's heart was filled with doubts at this moment, and she didn't linger in conversation: "In any case, if it weren't for Nian Wusheng's mediation, today's matter would not have ended peacefully between Your Majesty and Ye Xueqing. If Nian Wusheng has time, I'd like to invite him to come to the Hou Mansion tomorrow to chat, so that I can also fulfill my duties as host and express my gratitude for his help today."

  "My wife invited me, and I thought it was improper to refuse."

  "I'll be waiting at the Hou Mansion tomorrow morning to pay my respects. Farewell!"

  "Please take a seat."

  After bowing, Xu Bingning, who was eager to ask Gu Qing about the truth of the matter, no longer hesitated and hurriedly said to Xu Xiaolin and Gu Qing: "Let's go back!" Then he directly took the two away from the courtyard where the banquet was held and returned to the Wuwei Hou Mansion.