"Assassins!"

  Two guards shouted and drew their swords from their waists, attacking Meng Qi from different directions. As the emperor's personal bodyguards, they had to put on a desperate show or else they would not be able to escape death afterwards.

  Meng Qi's meridians were almost stretched to the limit, if not for the solid foundation of Jin Zhongzhao and Ba Jiu Xuan Gong, which enhanced his physical body with divine power, expanding his meridians to an exceptionally wide and sturdy state, he would have exploded and died long ago. After all, he couldn't compare to Evil Jun's nine apertures and three treasuries being opened simultaneously, nor could he compare to the old emperor having the help of Right Minister, a great master, to suppress and isolate during his first coma, relying solely on himself.

  His skin had bulging signs, faintly visible with internal golden aura and tiny mouse-like running true energy, he breathed heavily and hot, wanting to pour out all the swelling in his body.

  Meng Qi's icy sword slowly slashed out, its speed not fast, but with a whistling sound. This was because he now had too much true energy and couldn't control it, every move he made having the aura of at least seven or eight high-level masters' palm winds and sword energies, and even showing some signs of his true energy leaking out.

  The long sword was not swift, but rather like a heavy iron club. After it was swung out, the sword itself did not reach its target, but the wind generated by the sword swept away one of the guards and sent him crashing into a pillar with a loud thud, causing the house that had already been shaken by the exchange between Tian Lei and Meng Qi to sway again several times.

  However, Meng Qi's moves were too slow, and after sweeping away the guards in front of him, he was unable to change his move, and with eyes wide open, another guard raised his knife and chopped towards himself.

  He arduously turned his head, letting the long knife chop onto the shoulder and side of his neck. The dark gold flashed brightly, suddenly sending that guard flying backward, crashing into the wall, hitting so hard that his head cracked open and bled.

  After exhausting himself, Meng Qi's swollen body relaxed a bit, and he even wanted the two guards to continue attacking him!

  This is simply infuriating, beat me, come and beat me... Meng Qi thought to himself with a mix of bitterness and amusement, his mood had already calmed down, maintaining an unperturbed state, not thinking too much about the consequences of the guards outside rushing in after hearing this, because the two guards in front of him got up with embarrassed faces, shouting at each other:

  "He has tough body skills, attacking him is a must!"

  Meng Qi held his long sword horizontally across his body, waiting for the two guards to attack again while accelerating the absorption of Jing Yuan.

  Two guards with rich combat experience saw that Meng Qi seemed to be moving inconveniently, so they unfolded their moves and launched a strong attack in a false-real manner.

  Clang!

  Just then, a sharp and piercing sound of the guqin rose up, a fierce gust of wind shot in, breaking off a guard's long sword and penetrating his chest.

  Ruan Yushu's left hand held the seven-stringed guqin, his white clothes fluttering down, his right hand stroked it lightly, and a string jumped up, emitting an ear-piercing and soul-stirring sound. A strong gust of wind was triggered from this, cutting open the throat of the remaining guard.

  She came from a prominent family and had seen some clever tactics to launch surprise attacks, so she knew that whether it was the Symbolic Treasure Sword or other techniques, they all consumed a lot of energy. After one strike, there might not be enough strength left for another battle. Therefore, as soon as she saw Meng Qi summoning the heavenly thunder, she directly came over to support him and guard the empty rooftop where no one could intercept her.

  "Pull me away!" Seeing Ruan Yushu descend from the sky like a fairy, Meng Qi was overjoyed.

  Ruan Yushu saw Meng Qi's situation seemed a bit special, and didn't ask much. He grabbed the hem of his left shoulder, tapped the ground and the beam with his toes, and flew up to the rooftop, jumping towards the wall on the other side.

  She saw many guards rushing into the Taiji Temple, so she didn't waste time reciting the Mengqi incantation and instead fled the scene first.

  Just after crossing the wall, Meng Qi fell to the other side and saw several masters gathering around. They were all top-notch masters between six and seven apertures, while Ruan Yushu's Seven-Stringed Zither only had five strings left unbroken.

  Ruan Yushu loosened his grip on Meng Qi's right hand and placed it on the strings of the guqin.

  Ah!

  A master's waist and back were broken, flying straight out, crashing into the wall, and then there was no sound.

  Luo Shengyi emerged from the garden on the side, his fists like dragons bursting out. The Seven Injuries Fist, the Great Fumo Fist, the Hundred Steps Divine Fist, the Splitting Stone Divine Fist, and the Iron Fist were all unleashed. Some had already reached perfection, some were close to completion, and some had just begun to take shape. With a sense of satisfaction, he defeated the remaining few masters with just a few moves, leaving them either dead or injured.

  After taking down those few experts, he quickly walked to Meng Qi's side, grabbed his shoulder with his left hand, and retreated into the garden with Ruan Yushu.

  Meng Qi absorbed the essence while asking in confusion: "Brother Luo, you didn't leave?"

  According to the previous plan, Luo Shengyi drew away the attention of the guards and then turned towards the Temple of Diligent Government. With the help of two senior masters, he shook off the guards who were suppressed by their inferior martial arts skills. Taking advantage of the night, he broke through the gate from inside out and left the imperial palace with a flourish. Who would have thought that he actually came back?

  Luo Shengyi said with a smile that was not quite a smile: "Although I am a bit overbearing in doing things, I have never abandoned my companions."

  When Meng Qi summoned the heavenly thunder, he had already shaken off the pursuing guards with the help of the heavy rain and thunder. However, with such a big commotion, he believed that something must have happened at the Taiji Temple, so he went back to see if there was anything he could do to help.

  Meng Qi nodded slightly and remembered it in his heart, saying to Luo Shengyi and Ruan Yushu: "Shout that the Crown Prince has usurped the throne! The Left Prime Minister has poisoned him! The Emperor is dead!"

  The treacherous minister has now sided with the crown prince. If the crown prince ascends to the throne, he will definitely not reuse Lu Guan. In this vast world, there are still several famous generals who are good at fighting!

  So, Meng Qi wants to ruin the Crown Prince's plan. With this shout, it's certain that no one will believe it immediately, and some might even think it's a ploy to sow discord. However, at least it will plant seeds of doubt in the minds of the neutral faction, making them hesitate when they defect, and at the very least, the Right Chancellor will reconsider the entire matter and consider alternative candidates.

  For great Confucians, those who commit patricide and regicide are unforgivable and absolutely cannot inherit the throne.

  This is one aspect that needs to be done, and after leaving the palace, there are other things to do. Meng Qi does his best to complete the main task.

  Luo Shengyi understood Meng Qi's meaning and shouted loudly:

  "The Crown Prince has assassinated the Emperor! The Left Prime Minister is poisoning him! The Emperor has passed away!"

  Ruan Yushu didn't follow suit and shout along, maintaining his aloof image, anyway someone shouting was enough.

  "The Crown Prince has assassinated the Emperor! The Left Prime Minister is poisoning him! The Emperor has passed away!"

  Lu Shengyi constantly changed direction, in the torrential rain his voice rolled and echoed, reaching every place.

  Soon, the entire imperial city was in an uproar, had the Emperor passed away, or was it the Crown Prince who had made his move?

  While running, Meng Qi frantically absorbed the essence, his dark golden body becoming brighter and brighter. The Golden Bell Shield's sixth stage rose steadily, rapidly advancing towards perfection.

  Meng Qi had a bit of spare energy and began to guide the essence into opening up his nasal orifices.

  "The Crown Prince has assassinated the Emperor! The Left Prime Minister has been poisoned! The Emperor is dead!" Before anyone knew it, the same voices rose up in various parts of the Imperial City, echoing with this sentence.

  Meng Qi guessed that the eunuchs and guards who were bribed by the Third Prince, Fourth Prince, and Seventh Prince were fishing in troubled waters to create opportunities for their masters.

  The three people deviated further and further from the direction of the Temple of Diligent Government, quickly approaching the outer perimeter of the Imperial City, where they saw a city wall that was thirty or forty feet high.

  The guards on the city wall were mainly facing outwards, and there were many buildings inside, so the three of them hid and moved forward, and soon they were not far from the gate.

  With only a short distance left and no place to hide, Meng Qi was temporarily unable to use his Shape-shifting Technique. Luo Sheng took a light breath in, and suddenly charged straight at the gate, moving at full speed.

  Ruan Yushu followed closely behind, her movements elegant and refined, like a celestial being.

  The three of them suddenly appeared, and were immediately discovered by the guards on the city wall. Before they could even draw their bows, Luo Shengyi rushed into the gate first, his right fist swinging out with great power, like a mountain or a peak. The force of his punch was almost tangible, and with one blow, he knocked the three guards unconscious, their chests caved in.

  Ruan Yushu's right hand swiftly stroked the zither strings, producing a loud, clear sound. The strings sprang up, releasing a sharp, powerful energy that cut through the throats of two guards.

  The guards inside the gate were quickly cleared out, Luo Shengyi shattered the iron lock, pulled open the horizontal separator, and opened the heavy gate.

  As soon as the gate opened, Ruan Yushu threw out a corpse, and with a whooshing sound, countless sharp arrows flew in, turning him into a porcupine.

  Each of them threw out another corpse, and again countless arrows shot over.

  Luo Shengyi and Ruan Yushu rushed out of the electric shock and ran straight to the other side of the square.

  They were so fast, the strongest since birth, and soon ran to the end of the square.

  At this time, there were only a few sharp arrows chasing after them, but they could no longer harm them.

  They walked into the long street, and after a while, they slowed down their pace.

  Under the pure essence impact, Meng Qi's nasal aperture and related orifices opened one by one, nearing completion, while the essence was still flowing continuously.

  Meng Qi couldn't help but use Jingyuan's method to condense the aperture, and slightly distractedly thought: "Third Prince or Fourth Prince?"

  The Crown Prince is out of the question, and the Seventh Imperial Son has already left the capital. Only two imperial sons are left to choose from.

  Luo Shengyi hesitated for a moment before saying: "My main task only requires assisting one of the princes to ascend to the throne, but it doesn't specify who. What are your opinions?"

  It turned out that the main task was different... Meng Qi nodded in confirmation of his previous guess and said in a low voice, "The Fourth Prince."

  "Why?" asked Luo Shengyi.

  "First, judging from Lu Huasheng's situation, the Fourth Prince and Tan Zhi are the weakest; second, Mo Hou is currently engaged in a fierce battle with the Right Minister and cannot spare himself for the time being. What we need to do next requires a Grandmaster," Meng Qi said, expressing his thoughts.

  At this time, he couldn't be sure if the fourth prince would surrender to Lu Guan, so he could only take a gamble. Anyway, he had good deeds to deduct and could also lend some to Ruan Yushu.

  "What's wrong?" Luo Shengyi frowned slightly: "What's going on?"

  "Kill the crown prince!" Meng Qi said in a low voice.

  The emperor's death has been exposed, and all parties will respond accordingly. This dark night will be chaotic, with blood flowing everywhere. By dawn, things will mostly settle down. Even high-ranking officials and generals won't have the time or ability to unite and conspire, so the only thing that can be done is to make choices become non-existent!

  This is the ability of a master to change the situation, the simplest, most direct and most effective!

  "Alright." Luo Shengyi understood Meng Qi's idea and sneered, "Wait a moment, I'll go back to report and kill the Third Prince at the same time!"

  If it weren't for the fact that he had invested too much of his heart and soul in the Third Imperial Son, he would have long since been unable to tolerate the Third Imperial Son's attitude towards him.

  He changed direction and headed back towards Wang Hou Fang. Meng Qi's palm was still surging with essence, and the nasal passages and related acupoints had already been condensed.

  If this goes on, I'll be "stuffed" to death... Meng Qi gritted his teeth and took out the "Tian Shi Di Ting Wan", deciding to add fuel to the fire, break through the boundary in one fell swoop, and resolve the crisis!