The familiar Wei Kingdom's main camp.
Cao He was leisurely sipping tea.
Even though two of his top generals were suddenly captured by a mysterious powerful individual today, he remained unperturbed. This was because his trump card, the formidable General Dian Qi, had personally stepped in.
With Dian Qi personally handling the situation, Cao He was a hundred percent at ease.
Just then.
The same flustered scout from before rushed in.
Seeing the scout's urgent arrival, a smile flickered across Cao He's face.
"How is it? Has General Dian Qi already rescued Wang Feng and Zhang Wei?"
Saying this, Cao He rose, preparing to personally greet them.
But the next moment, the scout's words caused the tea Cao He had just brought to his lips to spray out.
"Report, my lord! This is dire news! General Dian Qi has also been captured. Not only General Dian Qi, but also Generals Zhou Hang and Zhao Yu from the Wu and Shu Kingdoms have been captured along with him."
Lightning struck from a clear sky!
Cao He froze, turning into a statue, standing motionless.
He stared at the scout in a daze, his bearing as the lord of Wei completely vanished.
"You… what did you just say? Say it again, I didn't hear clearly."
The scout, trembling, prostrated himself on the ground and repeated himself.
Only then did Cao He finally believe he hadn't misheard.
His foremost general, Dian Qi, had indeed been captured.
Suddenly, Cao He's heart skipped a beat, as if a possibility occurred to him.
"Wait, was the one who captured Dian Qi and the others truly only at the Golden Core stage? Could it be a Nascent Soul cultivator?"
If they were indeed Nascent Soul cultivators, the situation would be easier to handle.
Although the current dynasty struggle forbade Nascent Soul experts from intervening, thus all Nascent Soul cultivators under these vassal kings had gone to the Human Race Great Wall to avoid suspicion.
However, there were still some Nascent Soul cultivators in the world who had not gone to the Great Wall.
Given their status as lords of the tripartite division, it wouldn't be difficult to invite a fellow Nascent Soul cultivator to mediate and secure the release of their generals.
Moreover, the fact that they were captured alive rather than killed outright suggested that the captor did not wish to completely sever ties with them over this matter.
But the next moment, the scout's words mercilessly shattered Cao He's illusions.
"Reporting to my lord, the one who captured the generals is indeed confirmed to be at the Golden Core stage, and…"
"And what?" Cao He pressed.
"And the cultivator's realm… seems to be only at the second heaven of Golden Core."
"Second heaven of Golden Core!"
Upon hearing this, Cao He was truly shocked.
Previously, limited by fixed thinking, he had assumed that Li Qi, who could defeat a peak Golden Core expert like Dian Qi, must himself be an even stronger peak Golden Core cultivator.
But…
Second heaven of Golden Core! Was this a joke?
Even the most astonishing prodigies in history had rarely achieved such a feat.
Cao He was truly at a loss now.
Li Qi himself was at the Golden Core stage, so inviting a Nascent Soul cultivator to intervene would be a clear violation of the rules.
Taking a deep breath, Cao He gritted his teeth, seemingly steeling himself for something.
"Someone, prepare my carriage! I will personally meet this esteemed individual!"
***
By Li Qi's side, three more bound individuals lay on the ground.
The expressions of grief and indignation on these three were even more varied than the five previously captured.
Their faces were flushed crimson, their heads nearly buried in the ground.
Recalling the promises they had made to their lords when they set out to rescue others.
"My lord, rest assured, your subordinate will bring all the generals back safely."
Yet, not only did they fail to bring anyone back, but they were also captured themselves.
Just then, in the distance.
Three imposing processions approached once more.
Before long, the three grand processions had arrived at the foot of the mountain.
Several clear voices of request echoed out.
"I am Cao He, Lord of the Wei Kingdom. I humbly request an audience with you, sir."
"I am Liu Quan, Lord of the Shu Kingdom. I humbly request an audience with you, sir."
"I am Sun Bei, Lord of the Wu Kingdom. I humbly request an audience with you, sir."
Hearing that their lords had arrived.
The expressions of these three peak Golden Core generals shifted slightly, and then their faces rapidly turned red.
Li Qi, arms crossed, stood on the mountain, casually glancing down at the three grand processions.
In fact, by this point, Li Qi understood.
The individuals he had captured were the generals under the vassal kings who currently divided the land.
And his cave dwelling had been destroyed because these three vassal kings were fighting amongst themselves, and he had been caught in the crossfire.
However, in the end, they were all humans, and they hadn't done anything too outrageous. Li Qi truly had no intention of killing them; it was entirely out of annoyance at being disturbed from his cultivation.
Seeing that the lords of the three kingdoms had arrived, Li Qi snorted, his voice calm yet carrying a steady frequency towards the foot of the mountain.
"Come up."
Before long, the three lords ascended from the foot of the mountain. They had not brought any overly powerful generals with them, only a personal attendant at the Foundation Establishment stage each.
Upon reaching the mountain, the three lords couldn't help but twitch their mouths upon seeing their subordinates, bound tightly, beside Li Qi.
These subordinates also wore faces of shame, their heads bowed, not daring to meet their lords' eyes.
Subsequently, their gazes turned to Li Qi, and all three clasped their fists and bowed.
"Greetings, sir."
Li Qi, however, waved his hand, cutting straight to the chase.
"No need for formalities, let's get straight to the point."
The three lords nodded, exchanged glances, clasped their fists and bowed to Li Qi again, then said with utmost sincerity.
"Our subordinates were blind and offended you, sir. We have come today to shamelessly request that you release our generals. If you seek compensation, we will do our utmost to provide it."
Hearing this, Li Qi's expression softened slightly, but he couldn't help but snort coldly.
"Hmph! It's not that I want anything in particular, but your subordinates, when fighting, first destroyed my cave dwelling to this extent, preventing me from cultivating in peace. That's why I had no choice but to emerge."
Upon hearing this, Cao He and the other two lords finally understood the full story, their faces couldn't help but twitch.
They had originally thought it was some major transgression, but it turned out the real reason was that their subordinates had chosen a poor location for their battle.
They had just happened to pick the mountain where someone was in secluded cultivation!