As Li Qi suddenly appeared on the execution ground.
King Jing Xiu narrowed his eyes slightly. For some reason, he felt this person was very familiar, yet he couldn't recall where he had seen him.
Without further thought, King Jing Xiu's eyes were filled with murderous intent, and he said coldly.
"Hmph, I don't care who you are. Since you dare to appear on the execution ground and stop me from killing this person, then you shall die too."
"Everyone, heed my command! Kill this person. Whoever presents his head will be promoted one rank."
But then.
King Jing Xiu was shocked to find.
After he finished speaking, the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stage experts around him, who were loyal to the Great Jing Dynasty, remained motionless.
King Jing Xiu immediately roared in anger.
"What are you still standing there for! Hurry up and do it for me!"
Yet, even so, no one made a move.
These cultivators who had reached the Golden Core stage had all cultivated for at least a hundred years.
Having lived for a century, how could they not recognize Li Qi?
As for those Nascent Soul stage cultivators from outside the territory, they dared not make a move even more.
Putting aside whether they could defeat Li Qi.
Just the mere news spreading that they had made a move against Li Qi, the sole survivor of the war between humans and demons in the three realms, would be enough.
They would be spat upon and besieged by cultivators from all over the outer territories. It was possible that a few Nascent Soul stage elders would have to personally intervene.
They had come to the Great Jing Dynasty to develop themselves, not to be fools.
Finally, an old man with Golden Core cultivation approached King Jing Xiu, bowed slightly, and whispered.
"Your Majesty... that person is the Grand Tutor."
"The Grand Tutor?"
Upon hearing this, King Jing Xiu looked at Li Qi again.
With the hint, he finally realized that the appearance of the young man beside Zuo Shang on the execution ground.
It was indeed identical to the statue that was still being repaired due to the grand ceremony held every ten years during their imperial enfeoffment ceremony.
At this moment, King Jing Xiu's attitude finally became a little more restrained, and he frowned at Li Qi.
"Why has the Grand Tutor come to save this condemned criminal?"
"Condemned criminal? Then I'd like to ask, what crime has he committed to be beheaded tomorrow?"
"Disrespect in the imperial court, openly insulting me in front of all civil and military officials, defying the king, is that not enough?"
King Jing Xiu said, already becoming impatient.
"If the Grand Tutor has nothing else, please step aside and don't let me kill this man in front of you."
Hearing this, a mocking smile couldn't help but appear on Li Qi's lips.
It was too amusing.
He had been serving the imperial court since King Jing Chang, the father of Jing Qian'an, was alive.
Counting King Jing Xiu, that made seven generations of emperors.
If he didn't consider the time he spent outside the territory, it had been over three hundred years.
Yet, now Zuo Shang was to be publicly beheaded for a mere act of disrespect and defiance.
"Fellow Daoist Li."
Zuo Shang, kneeling on the ground in shackles, looked at Li Qi with disappointment and a bitter smile.
Li Qi nodded slightly at him.
"You cannot kill Zuo Shang. I will take him."
With that, spiritual energy surged from Li Qi's body, easily shattering Zuo Shang's shackles and releasing the spiritual energy封禁 within him.
"Zuo Shang, let's go."
"Yes. Thank you, Fellow Daoist Li."
Zuo Shang said with a somber tone.
At this moment, King Jing Xiu's face turned completely grim.
"Who told you to leave? Stay here. Even if you are the Grand Tutor, no one I want to kill can escape."
"All of you, attack! Kill both of them!"
King Jing Xiu roared, once again ordering the Golden Core and Nascent Soul experts beside him.
But still, no one moved. The Golden Core and Nascent Soul experts behind him all lowered their heads.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty, we dare not."
"Useless, all of you are useless."
King Jing Xiu cursed angrily. He looked at Li Qi.
"Li Qi! Our Great Jing has worshipped you for at least two hundred years. Is this how you repay our Great Jing? If you take away this dog, Zuo Shang, today, then after today, you will no longer be the Grand Tutor of Great Jing."
Li Qi turned his head away, his eyes calm.
"As you wish."
After saying this, in an instant, Zuo Shang and Li Qi disappeared, leaving behind a furious King Jing Xiu.
"Damn it! Spread my decree to the entire realm, from today onwards, revoke Li Qi's title as Grand Tutor."
...
Li Qi and Zuo Shang had already left the capital.
"What are your plans for the future?"
Li Qi didn't care about King Jing Xiu revoking his Grand Tutor title. He asked Zuo Shang.
King Jing Xiu's actions had completely chilled Zuo Shang.
At this moment, he looked exhausted in body and mind.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Li, for saving my life today. Zuo has served Great Jing for several hundred years. In the future... perhaps Zuo will find a quiet place to cultivate."
Li Qi nodded slightly.
"If you have free time, you can come to Feisha Sect to find me. I don't have many old friends left."
With that, Li Qi and Zuo Shang parted ways.
Where Zuo Shang went, no one knew.
Li Qi, on the other hand, returned to Feisha Sect to live a leisurely life once more.
Meanwhile, outside.
In the 807th year of the Great Jing calendar.
King Jing Xiu ordered the revocation of Li Qi's Grand Tutor title.
Within three days, in all the cities of the Great Jing Dynasty, all the statues of Li Qi were completely toppled.
And within half a year.
For some unknown reason, all the Nascent Soul cultivators who had come to serve the Great Jing Dynasty from outside the territory resigned one after another, no longer holding any positions in the Great Jing Dynasty.
Thus, the Great Jing Dynasty, which was originally filled with Nascent Soul experts, suddenly had its highest combat power reduced to only two Golden Core seventh-stage cultivators from within the territory, still修士 from the Demon Slaying Division cultivated by the court from a young age.
During that half-year period, King Jing Xiu's temper became more irritable with each passing day.
Anyone who displeased him was dragged out of the palace and beheaded on the spot.
Within the imperial palace of the Great Jing Dynasty.
King Jing Xiu furiously smashed everything around him, while the eunuchs and palace maids knelt on the ground, trembling.
"Damn it, damn it! Those dog-like things from outside the territory are indeed unreliable, leaving just like that! After I promoted them so highly."
But King Jing Xiu did not know that in reality, those Nascent Soul cultivators who came from outside the territory.
A part of the reason they came to serve the Great Jing Dynasty was that the entire Great Jing worshipped Li Qi, the Grand Tutor.
But after witnessing the conflict between Li Qi and King Jing Xiu that day, coupled with the revocation of Li Qi's Grand Tutor title.
They naturally chose to leave.
Two years later.
The rebellions in various parts of the Great Jing Dynasty, which had been suppressed, resurfaced.
This time, without the help of many Nascent Soul cultivators from outside the territory.
It was extremely difficult for the Golden Core experts within the Great Jing Dynasty alone to suppress the rebellions. kuAiδugg
And one day.
The fifth-generation King of the Great Wei Dynasty, which had been living in peace with the Great Jing for hundreds of years, and even had annual trade exchanges, suddenly sent troops, initiating a war with the Great Jing.
In an instant, with internal and external troubles, the Great Jing was in grave danger.
Although dynasty wars had a strict limit of only allowing Golden Core stage cultivators to be dispatched, the strength of the Great Wei was far superior to that of the Great Jing.
The already strained Great Jing suffered a complete defeat on the front lines with the Great Wei.
Within half a month, the Great Wei army had directly entered the capital of the Great Jing.
What was even more surprising was.
On the day the Great Wei army entered the capital, the entire city's populace showed no fear, but instead, they welcomed them with cheers.
The common people of the Great Jing Dynasty had lost the hearts of the people at some unknown point.