Speed is of the Essence in War

Seeking the Dao in the Mortal World

Qin Yi had indeed gone down the wrong path in his thinking.

Having been ambushed himself, he kept feeling that the entire affair was initiated by Dong Huazi, that Dong Huazi held the initiative, and could arrange things however he pleased.

In reality, Dong Huazi had only planned the ambush on Qin Yi. He wouldn't dare to randomly arrange for great demons; Minghe was staying at his Longevity Temple, after all...

Even the two demons who attacked the Princess Residence were brought out secretly by Mang Zhan on his own initiative.

If they were truly going to deal with Li Qinglin, their planned methods involved fabricating imperial edicts, deposing the Crown Prince, or ambushing him on his way to court or the palace. There was absolutely no possibility of attacking the Crown Prince Residence. This was the capital of the Nanli Kingdom; Dong Huazi didn't have such absolute power, and Li Qinglin couldn't possibly be doing that poorly. Just like the city's forbidden army, although some turncoats leaned towards Dong Huazi, the majority were still Li Qinglin's people.

Politically, Dong Huazi had an absolute advantage, almost covering the entire court and public. However, in terms of hard combat power, Li Qinglin was superior. This was the very basis for the stalemate between the two sides.

The ambush on Qin Yi failed. Shouldn't a few Daoist practitioners with magical abilities have come to support? They couldn't, because they were preoccupied themselves.

It wasn't the Crown Prince Residence that was under attack, but Dong Huazi.

The gates of Lihuo City were wide open, and a murderous army swept into the city, heading straight for the Longevity Temple.

On the ninety-nine stone steps, there were dense ranks of red-armored soldiers, hacking at any Daoist they saw, killing their way straight into the temple.

The Nanli's most elite Nanming Lihuo Army, belonging to the royal central army, was stationed a hundred li outside the city. Their leader was General Xie Yuan, a veteran general who had fought in the Western Wilderness for thirty years, and a true like-minded, staunch supporter of Li Qinglin.

This was originally Li Qinglin's prepared plan – for the day he needed to launch a military coup to force his father to abdicate.

Now there was no need to march the troops against his own father, but they could already march against the Longevity Temple. Killing his own father wasn't a display of skill; the true target of the military force should have been his enemy.

Originally, he couldn't do this because moving troops into the city was akin to rebellion. But now that he knew his father was going to die, what was there to care about?

Li Qinglin knew that Dong Huazi was also secretly plotting to kill him. He wouldn't slowly prepare and wait until the moment his father truly passed away to reveal their cards to each other with Dong Huazi. Perhaps Qin Yi thought this way, and Dong Huazi also thought this way, but a veteran general who had fought on the battlefield thought of speed being paramount in war, and taking the enemy by surprise.

Dong Huazi would absolutely not have expected Li Qinglin to suddenly and inexplicably move troops into the capital at this time, while he was still leisurely calculating against Qin Yi. Who knew that the elite army had already arrived at his doorstep?

Even Qin Yi hadn't expected it. He had originally thought Li Qinglin needed to seize the time to prepare, and never imagined that the seemingly passive and unprepared Li Qinglin would launch a direct counterattack in one wave after just one night, with the force of thunder!

If even Qin Yi, who had a heart-to-heart talk with Li Qinglin that night, couldn't have imagined it, how could Dong Huazi?

Fires broke out everywhere in the Longevity Temple, and the Daoists suffered heavy casualties. Li Qinglin, leading the charge, broke straight into the temple with his spear, rushing towards the Ascension Platform at the back without stopping.

"Boom!" A stream of fire rushed towards him from the front.

Li Qinglin thrust his spear forward. A strong, sharp aura surged out, like a fierce wind, actually deflecting the flame, causing it to land on a nearby tree, which burst into flames with a roar.

Li Qinglin looked up. Several high-ranking Daoists were sitting cross-legged in front, forming various hand seals. There were scattered points on the ground in front of them, seemingly traces of a formation.

He raised his hand, and the soldiers charging on his left and right stopped in unison, collectively drawing their bows and nocking arrows, pointing them at the Daoists in front.

The Daoists' calm expressions instantly changed.

Li Qinglin chuckled, "Daoist magic, releasing some flames and lightning, seems powerful... It can scare ordinary people, but how can it scare elites who have crawled out of piles of dead bodies?"

The next moment, ten thousand arrows were shot simultaneously, like a violent storm. The spells the Daoists had formed hadn't even had time to be cast. They managed to form a protective shield with great difficulty, but how could it withstand the endless barrage of powerful bows and strong crossbows?

In just a moment, the shield shattered, and several Daoists were shot into sieves amidst screams.

A few Daoists who were a bit slower scrambled and rolled into the Ascension Platform.

On the high platform, Dong Huazi's expression was grim. "Li Qinglin, this is rebellion!"

He truly hadn't expected Li Qinglin to march his army here at this time. Not only was it unexpected, but it also happened to strike at his weakest point – because the monsters he had secretly raised were 90% dead due to Minghe's Seven Stars Defense Array, and most of the remaining ones were on their last breath. Otherwise, even if Li Qinglin had a large army, why wouldn't he?

But unfortunately, he ran into Minghe, who could casually cast a large-scale array. His strength instantly weakened by 90%, and before he could recover, Li Qinglin's army arrived.

It was truly precise and ruthless.

Li Qinglin said calmly, "The feeling is mutual. As the Crown Prince, didn't the National Teacher also plot against me? We are both rebels."

Saying this, he threw out two heads: "Are you wondering why you didn't hear any news of my troop movements? The 'confidants' around me, the National Teacher really bought them off thoroughly."

Dong Huazi said, "You never trusted these people?"

Li Qinglin sneered, "I don't trust anyone who serves as an official in the capital. Just like that General Liu's betrayal, even if Qing Jun hadn't blocked the door, he would have had a terrible time getting in. There were so many powerful crossbows around Ye Ling's room, even Ye Ling herself didn't know."

Dong Huazi stared at Li Qinglin for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "The Crown Prince is indeed a hero among men, but unfortunately, the Crown Prince is like a frog in a well, limited by his vision. He doesn't know that there are many things in this world that no amount of strategy can deal with."

"Like this array?" Li Qinglin walked halfway around the array in front of him, threw a stone into it, and with a "boom," a large fire surged up, burning the stone to ashes.

"Powerful fire. So you were collecting Blazing Flint for this," Li Qinglin smiled slightly, turned his head, and ordered: "Listen up, dig into the ground from the side, go to the core and see if there's an array core below. If not, just dig straight up through it."

A group of soldiers immediately began digging without a word. Dong Huazi's expression changed drastically.

Li Qinglin waited patiently for the soldiers to dig, saying, "Perhaps there are some strange arts that are helpless against even a thousand troops and ten thousand horses. I admit that. But unfortunately, you, Dong Huazi, clearly don't possess this ability. Perhaps you still have some great demons that have taken human form like Ye Ling? But firstly, their numbers are limited, and secondly, what they've learned is superficial. Even if their cultivation is decent, one or two monsters cannot turn the tide in this army of ten thousand – just like you, Dong Huazi."

Dong Huazi gritted his teeth and suddenly sent another signal into the sky.

Li Qinglin looked up and said calmly, "What does this signal mean?"

"As the Crown Prince said, those few monsters are not very useful here. I'm telling them not to come here for reinforcement, but to go to your Crown Prince Residence," Dong Huazi sneered, "I wonder, in the Crown Prince's heart, which is more important: killing the enemy or your family?"

"You really sent them to my residence?" Li Qinglin's expression was somewhat strange: "Then let them go."

As he spoke, the ground was dug through, and it seemed that some core was damaged. The starlight of the array covering the courtyard slowly dimmed. Li Qinglin threw another stone, and there was no reaction.

He looked up and smiled: "It's our turn to set fire. Listen up... bring firewood over and burn this Ascension Platform."

Dong Huazi was so angry he almost vomited blood. This nine-story platform had layers upon layers of mechanisms inside, covered with arrays. He had originally thought it would be difficult for them to break through, and perhaps there would be a way if they could stall until the King intervened... Why wasn't Li Qinglin following the usual pattern?

He stopped talking, retreated, and went straight down.

This platform had been managed for many years. It wasn't just a high platform; it also had an underground palace.

That was not something that could be solved with a single fire. It depended on whether Li Qinglin dared to enter!

Li Qinglin watched the raging fire burn, and whispered to his subordinates, "Go to the Crown Prince Residence and see. If things are settled there, please ask Mr. Qin to come here to help."