Chapter 96

(Please note: After this chapter, there are still 3.5 chapters left. I wrote a little in the morning, and there will be an update at 6 PM. I kindly request your monthly votes, recommendations, and subscriptions. Thank you for the support of all my friends.)

Zhang Heng learned many things from the revolutionary army, and it wasn't just him who knew; almost everyone in the revolutionary army knew. After Lan Jingling's death, Lan Xingchen ascended the throne and initially acted as if he was inheriting Lan Jingling's will, being close to the people, and making some reforms. This deceived a large part of the revolutionary army. Out of necessity, the leader of the revolutionary army had to reveal Lan Jingling's last will. Additionally, the revolutionary army had insiders within the Lan family, and after multiple confirmations, almost everyone in the revolutionary army knew about Lan Xingchen's plans and schemes. They also learned that the true heir to the throne, as stated in Lan Jingling's last will, was Lan Ling'er.

However, Lan Jingling died too quickly. He failed to break through to the True Qi Realm and didn't expect to die so soon. He only managed to send a message to the revolutionary army to hide in the secret passage and leave a last will, but he didn't have time to do anything else before he died. This led to Lan Xingchen's smooth ascension to the throne. The information from the revolutionary army revealed that after ascending the throne, Lan Xingchen's first action was to contact the Human Alliance and seek the title of the Ninth Martial King.

Although it's unclear why Lan Xingchen wants to sacrifice Lan Ling'er and how he obtained the true control of the Azure Giant Beast Amun Hadit, these semi-confirmed pieces of information are known. The technology in Mobie Mobie is highly advanced, and they even have pinhole cameras. Zhang Heng personally saw a video of a secret conversation between Lan Xingchen and the Grand Speaker, which mentioned the sacrifice of Lan Ling'er. This is why, when the revolutionary army asked Zhang Heng to pretend to be a steward and infiltrate the palace, he immediately agreed without any hesitation.

"… That's it. The video I saw was of Lan Xingchen, exactly the same as the emperor in the TV broadcast, Hao Qi! We must save Lan Ling'er! At worst, we can take her away from Mobie Mobie, which is better than her being sacrificed and killed!" Zhang Heng said urgently to Hao Qi.

Hao Qi didn't speak but looked at the map Zhang Heng had. "You said there are sixteen Inner Qi Realm experts in all of Mobie Mobie, right? Six from the Lan family, six from the Mobie Mobie government, and four in the revolutionary army. Then… why haven't we seen any other Inner Qi Realm experts on our way here, except for the three at the entrance and the two from the revolutionary army?"

Zhang Heng was taken aback and replied, "Guarding the surroundings? Or protecting Lan Xingchen? Or… do you think they are ambushing the place where Lan Ling'er is being held?"

"I don't know, but there must be something we don't know. The revolutionary army didn't tell you everything. Although we entered as shipwreck survivors and won't arouse suspicion, they still see us as outsiders. They can ask us to do things, but they won't treat you as a confidant… Regardless, let's go see Lan Ling'er first. After seeing her, many things will become clear." Hao Qi said expressionlessly.

"Okay! Let's go save Lan Ling'er!"

The two continued forward. As Hao Qi moved, he also pulled off the cloth covering his face. His main goal in joining the defense force was to find Zhang Heng. Since this goal was achieved, staying in the defense force was meaningless. Now, they just needed to find Lan Ling'er, and many things would be easily resolved.

Following the map, they kept moving forward. However, before they reached their destination, they heard a series of battle sounds. When they arrived at the palace, they saw two men kneeling on the ground. In front of them were four Inner Qi Realm guards protecting a man in a purple imperial robe, and behind him was a little girl crying.

Zhang Heng looked at Hao Qi worriedly and whispered, "The two kneeling are the leader and deputy leader of the revolutionary army. They actually launched a surprise attack here. Then why do I need to pretend to be a steward?"

"Probably to distract the guards protecting Lan Ling'er, and then you would sneak in and kidnap her." Hao Qi replied casually, but he walked into the scene without hesitation, ignoring Zhang Heng's tugging at his back. He smiled and waved at Lan Ling'er, saying, "Hey, Lan Ling'er, we came to see you."

Lan Ling'er's eyes widened in disbelief, and she covered her mouth. "Brother Hao Qi, Brother Zhang Heng… you must leave! Get out of here quickly! Hurry!"

Hao Qi watched silently but continued to walk towards Lan Ling'er, transmitting a message to Zhang Heng, "Help these two revolutionary army members leave. Don't worry about me, and don't look back."

Zhang Heng hesitated for a moment, and Hao Qi, with his back to him, transmitted, "Trust me."

The words "trust me" seemed to have a magical effect, and Zhang Heng immediately ran to the two kneeling men. As he ran towards them, a gust of wind came from the front, but Zhang Heng ignored it and ran to the two men. As expected, two Inner Qi Realm experts attacked, but Hao Qi intercepted them halfway.

Zhang Heng glanced and ran to the two men, saying, "Can you still move? We need to retreat. It's obvious this is a trap!"

The leader of the revolutionary army, Wu Ziran, looked in surprise at Hao Qi, who was blocking the two Inner Qi Realm experts, and then at Zhang Heng and Lan Ling'er. He whispered, "You know the princess? You are outsiders, how is that possible… Did you come through the rapids hole for the princess?"

Zhang Heng nodded. The situation was urgent, and there was no time to explain. He said, "Let's leave first. It's clearly a trap!"

Wu Ziran nodded, and the deputy leader said, "Can we leave him alone… Lan Xingchen hasn't made a move yet."

Zhang Heng replied without hesitation, "Hao Qi has made his choice. Let's go, or we'll just be a burden to him!"

The two Inner Qi Realm experts didn't say more. Although they were injured, they didn't need Zhang Heng's help. They stood up, exchanged glances, and bowed to Hao Qi, saying, "Thank you for saving us. Farewell." One of them grabbed one of Zhang Heng's arms, and they quickly retreated.

The other two Inner Qi Realm experts were about to chase them, but Lan Xingchen, the man in the purple imperial robe, waved his hand and said, "No need to chase them. They are like dogs with their tails between their legs. We'll deal with them eventually. Sir, what grudge or enmity do we have? Why not stop fighting and talk peacefully? Since you are a friend of Lan Ling'er, it's only right for me, as her uncle, to welcome you. Why not stop and have a peaceful conversation?"

"…"

Hao Qi remained silent. Fighting these two Inner Qi Realm experts, his strength was only enough to hold them off. Their techniques were extremely refined, and they fought in perfect coordination, attacking and defending together. Attacking one would result in an attack from the other. This was a technique he had experienced on the pirate island, a very unique combined attack. Their techniques were also refined, each move seemingly targeting his weaknesses and exploiting his vulnerabilities. This was not just a matter of combat experience and awareness; it was the unique nature of their martial arts.

But Hao Qi was not afraid. Compared to the Lan family members or the Dark True from the ancient sect ruins, who all had Inner Qi Realm martial arts, each with their unique techniques, Hao Qi was not an ordinary martial artist. He had a system!

After the battle in the ancient sect ruins, his Yi Jin Jing had improved to level four, and his Luohan Fumo Gong to level two. Because of this, Hao Qi had a hypothesis: external martial arts experience increases through practice, with no shortcuts, but internal martial arts might improve through intense battles and life-or-death situations. After all, in this world, inner energy is not just the body's own energy but a new form of energy created by the fusion of the body's essence with the energy of the universe. In intense battles and life-or-death situations, the body's essence undergoes a qualitative transformation, leading to a significant increase in inner energy. This is a recognized rule in the world of martial arts. Although Hao Qi's inner energy was generated through the Yi Jin Jing, it still followed the same principles, being a fusion of the body's essence and the energy of the universe. Therefore, in intense battles and life-or-death situations, his inner energy would also improve, as reflected in the system's data, which showed his internal martial arts leveling up.

At level four Yi Jin Jing and level two Luohan Fumo Gong, the increase in inner energy was not a simple addition but a fusion that resulted in a slight surplus. Even so, Hao Qi's inner energy capacity was at least four times that of an ordinary Inner Qi Realm expert, and the quality of his inner energy, due to the purification from the higher level of Yi Jin Jing, was more than four times that of an ordinary Inner Qi Realm expert. This was a very frightening statistic, essentially meaning that in battle, he was at least twice as strong as an ordinary Inner Qi Realm expert. In terms of numbers, he could take on about eight ordinary Inner Qi Realm experts!

The two Lan family Inner Qi Realm experts were strong and had a combined attack technique, but they were not as strong as eight Inner Qi Realm experts combined. The reason Hao Qi was holding his own against them was simple: he was looking for an opportunity. He planned to…

Assassinate the king with one strike!

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