Chapter 149: Resolution

Zhao Renmin looked stunned, first glancing at Chen Mo, then immediately turning his gaze toward his mother, the Empress.

He was only eight years old; at this moment, it was naturally impossible for him to make any effective resolution.

"Renmin is young and cannot yet decide. In my view, we should head to the various Guard Cities, summon the Imperial Guards, and then issue a proclamation to call for loyalists to save the throne."

Empress Xu pondered for a moment and spoke in a deep voice.

The fact that she could decide to flee the Capital in such a short time was enough to show that she was by no means an ordinary woman.

This plan could not be called poor; although the current Emperor had passed away, his prestige still remained.

There were still loyal officials in the Imperial Court; otherwise, relying on herself alone, it would not have been so easy to escape safely from the blockaded Capital. Someone must have helped in secret.

The current Empress and the Crown Prince—these two titles themselves were a great banner. As long as they issued a proclamation, loyal subjects who wanted to gamble on the merit of supporting the new monarch would naturally respond.

"Empress, your plan is indeed not bad, but have you considered what would happen if the Prince of Pingxi acts decisively and directly has the Third Prince ascend the throne?"

Chen Mo hit the nail on the head; this was the biggest problem.

If the Third Prince ascended the throne, it would be hard to say how many generals coming from all directions to save the throne would actually arrive, and even the Imperial Court's Imperial Guards might not be willing to listen to them.

"This..." Empress Xu was speechless, not knowing what to do.

"I have a plan. Instead of heading to the Guard Cities, we might as well fight our way back into the Capital.

With me and the many Yulin Guards protecting you, we can certainly ensure the safety of you and the Crown Prince.

The Emperor previously handed the Tiger Tally that controls the Yulin Guards of the Palace City to me. As long as we enter the Palace City, once the state mourning period is over, the Crown Prince can ascend the throne and succeed to it."

Chen Mo's expression was calm, his tone unhurried, as he laid out his own plan.

The plan Empress Xu had come up with was indeed quite good.

It was just that she had not considered one situation, which was her own strength.

If Chen Mo only had Post-Heaven combat power, then he could naturally only use that plan, but since he had Innate cultivation, there was naturally a better solution.

Empress Xu remained silent. She naturally knew that what Chen Mo said made perfect sense, but returning to the Capital at this moment carried too much risk.

"That Prince of Pingxi, Zhao Huaifeng, was born into the royal family and has had top-tier talent since childhood, with extraordinary strength. As far as I know, he is now at the Innate Realm.

With his strength, if there is no Innate Expert to guard us, even if Renmin and I hide in the Palace City, it cannot be called safe."

Empress Xu's delicate brows furrowed slightly, her expression full of worry.

Her family did indeed have Innate and Golden Core experts, but they were not in the Capital at this time.

Although she had already sent people ahead to pass the message and invite the ancestors to come.

However, to this day, no news had come from the ancestors in her family.

Now, without the protection of an Innate Expert, the risk of rashly entering the Capital was simply too great.

"Please rest assured, Empress. This time, while I was out suppressing the Demonic Path, my cultivation improved slightly, and I am now at the Innate Realm.

Inside the Palace City, there are countless Arrays that can be utilized. Even if that Prince of Pingxi is powerful, he will never be able to break in."

Chen Mo smiled, revealing a strand of refined True Qi.

The True Qi of an Innate Martial Artist and the Inner Qi of a Post-Heaven Martial Artist were fundamentally different.

Empress Xu was born into a great family and had naturally practiced the Martial Dao; she now also had Postnatal Early Stage cultivation.

It was just that she rarely fought others, so in terms of true combat power, she was slightly inferior to martial artists of the same realm.

At this moment, she could naturally feel that the True Qi Chen Mo released carried a vibrant vitality, capable of stirring the Heaven and Earth Trend.

This was the Xiantian True Qi that only an Innate Martial Artist could master; it could never appear on a Post-Heaven Martial Artist.

Empress Xu looked at that strand of True Qi, then looked up at Chen Mo, her face full of confusion and disbelief.

She knew Chen Mo's strength was far superior to ordinary Post-Heaven realm martial artists.

Even if someone had told her Chen Mo had Acquired Perfection cultivation, she would only have felt slightly surprised.

But she had never known that Chen Mo actually had Innate cultivation; this was truly far beyond her expectations.

If Chen Mo had not deliberately concealed his cultivation before, then only a few months ago he was merely at the Postnatal Realm, yet now he had reached the Innate Realm.

What kind of cultivation speed was this? It was simply terrifying.

She even wondered if Chen Mo had deliberately concealed his cultivation before and was only exposing it now.

Otherwise, how could anyone break through so quickly, going from the Postnatal Realm to the Innate Realm in just a few months?

This was too contrary to reason; throughout history, no matter how talented a genius was, there had never been such a fast cultivation speed.

Not only that, the key was that Chen Mo was too young.

An Innate Martial Artist in his twenties—she did not know what this represented, because it had never happened before.

But she understood that an expert of this realm was a true pillar of the nation.

Just by showing up and taking a stance, it was enough to make the attitudes of many people in the Imperial Court waver.

If Chen Mo truly had the strength of the Innate Realm, then under his protection, she could naturally rush back into the Capital.

And as long as they stayed safely in the Palace City through the state mourning period and waited for the Innate Experts of her maternal family to arrive, her child would certainly be able to succeed to the throne securely.

Of course, during this process, the Prince of Pingxi would use every means to try to eliminate them.

Because this matter must either not be done at all, or be done thoroughly.

Otherwise, if they really waited for Zhao Renmin to ascend the throne, even if he were an Innate Expert, unless he defected to Great Li, the best result would be having his fief taken away and being punished by being sent to the Zongren Mansion, guarded by experts of the same clan.

"You..." Empress Xu was full of astonishment and confusion. The grace and nobility she had unconsciously displayed earlier had long been shattered by the shock of the news that Chen Mo was an Innate Expert.

The shock this matter brought her was simply too great; she now did not know what to say.

"Empress, please wait here with me until the remaining five hundred Yulin Guards arrive, and then we shall enter the Capital," Chen Mo said.

Since he had Innate strength, many problems were no longer problems; he could simply lead the troops into the Capital.

Furthermore, there were too many things Chen Mo needed to investigate upon entering the Capital.

The current Emperor, Zhao Huaili, had Acquired Perfection cultivation; even if he had not practiced external martial arts, his physical vitality alone would be far beyond that of ordinary people by countless times.

The royal family had a deep foundation, and there was no telling how many miraculous pills and medicines they had for healing and sustaining life.

When he fought against the Alien Races, he would either die outside the border passes right then and there, or be severely wounded and return to recuperate properly.

Even if the injuries were severe, relying on the royal family's foundation, there would be no problem living another ten or twenty years even if they didn't recover well.

Yet he happened to be severely wounded, and died after returning to the Capital, which in itself is an extremely strange matter.

Furthermore, there is another point: when Chen Mo and the others were surrounding and suppressing the Demonic Path villains, they accidentally fell into the Mirage Mirror.

He was fine, but those three Innate Experts were required by the rules to go and suppress the Alien Races.

Since they did not arrive, the other experts of the Imperial Court and His Majesty could have waited; there was no need to act so hastily.

Although the national strength of Great Gan far exceeds that of the Alien Races, they had previously failed to completely exterminate the Alien Races mainly to guard against Great Li.

Now that they have made peace with Great Li, more forces can be withdrawn.

Not to mention, whether it was the assassination of the Son of Heaven some time ago or the attempt to stop the peace talks, the Alien Races lost quite a few Innate Experts.

Even if three Innate Experts were missing, Great Gan still firmly suppressed the Alien Races in terms of top-tier combat power.

Yet even so, waiting steadily for the three Innate Experts to return before acting was still the most prudent choice.

Chen Mo does not believe that the current Son of Heaven is a reckless person; for him to act so suddenly, there must be some hidden circumstances behind it that he does not know about.

Furthermore, he remembers that while in the Mirage Mirror, Senior Chu Tianxiu said that being trapped there meant he would inevitably miss the suppression of the Alien Races.

This shows that he must also know many things, and knew that the Son of Heaven had to take action against the Alien Races' dragon vein at a certain time.

Moreover, he had previously been rushing toward the Capital; when he arrived at the Capital, the Son of Heaven was definitely not yet dead.

Given his status and strength, he likely knows exactly how the Son of Heaven died.

If he wants to understand the truth of these matters, he must enter the Capital.

"Very well, this matter shall be arranged by Chen!" Empress Xu said with a faint smile.

The so-called "employ the person, don't doubt them; if you doubt them, don't employ them." Since Chen Mo has Innate strength and is willing to help her and her son, Empress Xu is naturally willing to give him absolute trust.

Most importantly, she understands that with Chen Mo's strength, he is still willing to protect her as she enters the Capital, which makes him a loyal official among loyal officials.

Otherwise, as an Innate Expert, as long as he revealed his strength, even if he did nothing, he would still be heavily rewarded once the Prince of Pingxi took control of the Imperial Court.

The three of them did not wait long before five hundred Yulin Guards came running at full speed; they naturally recognized this imperial carriage, and many had even seen Empress Xu before.

Seeing the situation before them, they were clearly very confused.

Some of the sharper ones had horrified expressions; the Capital was under martial law, and the current Empress was driving away from the Capital—no matter how one looked at it, this did not seem like a good thing.

Chen Mo did not say much, sweeping a glance over the many Yulin Guards.

The elite are the elite; even after a long-distance forced march, and even though many were inwardly horrified, they could still quickly and neatly form ranks by instinct.

"Fellow comrades, there are villains running rampant in the Capital, causing the Empress and the Crown Prince to suffer. We eat the state's salary, so we should be loyal to the country."

As Chen Mo spoke, he took out the Tiger Tally; with this Tiger Tally, all Yulin Guards were under his command.

"Are you willing to join me in protecting the Empress and the Crown Prince as we enter the Capital to eliminate the traitors and restore the national order!"

Chen Mo's tone was resonant, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the five hundred Yulin Guards.

"We are willing to follow the General!" a Palace Guard of the Yulin Guard said loudly with an impassioned expression.

The remaining Yulin Guards also expressed their stance one after another.

Since Chen Mo had taken out the Tiger Tally, they could not refuse; to refuse would be to disobey orders.

Moreover, if this matter could truly be accomplished, the rewards they would receive in the future would certainly not be small.

If nothing else, protecting the future Son of Heaven and the Empress Dowager in times of danger makes one a great loyal official.

Once the Crown Prince ascends the throne, they will be the most intimate private army under the Son of Heaven; this opportunity is not small at all.

"Good!" Chen Mo nodded with satisfaction and waved his hand to issue the order, "Protect the carriage, move out and enter the Capital."

Although the many Yulin Guards were traveling light, they still had weapons in hand; they orderly dispersed and stood around the carriage, protecting the carriage as it moved slowly forward.

Chen Mo gazed into the distance, where smoke and dust were rising; several hundred light cavalry were charging over at full speed.

The leader among them was riding a red steed, with a sturdy build, nine feet tall and five feet wide; one could tell at a glance that his absolute strength was extraordinary—this physique was born to be good material for practicing hard arts.

However, he could see this sky-filling dust, and many Palace Guards among the Yulin Guards could see it too.

A Palace Guard is equivalent to a squad leader in the Yulin Guard, capable of commanding one hundred and fifty men.

It is just that their strength is extraordinary, and this official position also has a rank—it is a Seventh Grade official.

Every Palace Guard must have at least Meridian-Opening Realm strength, and the outstanding ones even have Meridian-Opening Perfection.

"General, these light cavalry are quite extraordinary!" Zhao Wen walked to Chen Mo's side and said in a low voice.

He has Acquired Realm strength; he previously led ten Yulin Guard Officers to serve as guards for the mission, and was also brought along by Chen Mo when suppressing the Demonic Path.

He is not a Yulin Guard Officer; like Chen Mo, he is a Zhonglang General of the Yulin Guard.

It is just that Chen Mo's official rank is higher than his, his strength is stronger than his, and he has the Tiger Tally in hand, so he must also be under Chen Mo's command.

"I recognize the person in the lead; he is Zheng Ying, a great general under the Prince of Pingxi. This person's strength is extremely strong, intimidating the nine borders, and he possesses the courage of ten thousand men.

It is rumored that he was born with copper skin and iron bones, and is material born for practicing external arts; a shake of his arms has nearly twenty thousand catties of strength, and he uses a spear over eighteen feet long that weighs over three hundred catties.

Furthermore, he also practices internal arts and has already entered the Tongmai Realm; although he is not as good as you, his combat power is a rare expert even within the Acquired Realm!"

Zhao Wen used Blood Qi to enhance his eyes, so he could naturally see more clearly; not only could he see those cavalrymen, he could see even more clearly who the person in the lead was.

Of course, he was not worried that Chen Mo would be no match for Zheng Ying; after all, when they were suppressing the Demonic Path, everyone had witnessed Chen Mo's strength with their own eyes.

It was just that he was worried: if it was Zheng Ying who was hunting down the Empress and the Crown Prince, then this matter was huge!

Because the Prince of Pingxi is an Innate Expert, and if he dared to do this, perhaps he has other Innate Experts supporting him behind the scenes!

Promoting a friend's new book, a weird fantasy style; interested friends can go take a look.

(End of this chapter)