People in the Qin Dynasty, entertained during the Warring States period

Just before they reached the main hall of the palace, Cao Ze whispered in Jing Ni's ear, "Won't this affect the baby's health?"

Jing Ni remained calm: "No."

With his mind made up, Cao Ze led Hu Ji into the main hall.

The Left Prime Minister sat on the throne, laughing heartily.

Standing beside him was the former close attendant of the Wolf King, the only top-tier expert in the palace.

The civil and military officials, who had been tricked into going to the palace, looked around at the hundreds of menacing wolf guards and trembled with fear.

"Now I'll ask one last time: who agrees and who opposes me becoming the Wolf King?!"

"I object!"

A sharp shout came from the main hall's entrance, followed by countless pink sword energies.

Before the hundred or so wolf guards in the main hall could react, twenty or thirty of them had already died.

"Who goes there!"

Upon seeing Cao Ze's appearance, the Left Chancellor was so startled that he sat bolt upright.

"Cao Ze, a descendant of military strategists?"

Cao Ze laughed and said, "It is indeed me!"

The dull thuds of people falling to the ground were incessant. Jingni, like a black ghost, moved through the hall, ruthlessly reaping lives.

For an assassin, killing was just a normal occurrence for her.

Gu Lu pointed at Jing Ni and cried out urgently, "Duo Ku, stop her!"

A flicker of hesitation crossed Doku's eyes; it was quite obvious that this woman from the Central Plains dressed in black was very strong.

Seeing that Doku didn't move, Gutuo jumped up and down, saying, "Doku! Don't you want to be the Left General anymore!?"

Doku gritted his teeth and said, "I understand!"

Although that woman is strong, there is only one of her. As long as we can hold her off until the wolf guards outside come in, we can take her down.

As soon as Doku left Gulu's side, Cao Ze closed his eyes halfway, took a step forward, and rushed towards Gulu.

Surrounded by seven or eight wolf guards, Gulu looked at Cao Ze charging forward and sneered, "Looks like your strength isn't all that great!"

Cao Ze's lips curled slightly, and he softly shouted, "Wandering Earthworm Thunder!"

Three zhang away, Cao Ze unleashed a twisted bolt of Yin lightning from his hand.

It struck directly behind seven or eight wolf guards, and the unskilled Left Prime Minister rolled away.

Upon impact, it draws a significant amount of heat from the opponent's body and corrodes their constitution.

Given that Cao Ze has not yet formed the Small Heavenly Circuit within his body, such a long-range attack would at most severely injure a young and strong man, but he wouldn't die.

However, Gu Lu was already old and had insufficient qi and blood. When he was struck by lightning, a large amount of heat was taken away from his body. In addition, the weather was cold and the ground was cracking, which directly caused him to suffer from severe hypothermia, heart palpitations, and respiratory failure, leading to his death.

Sometimes, killing a person doesn't require great strength.

Just the right amount is enough.

Everything changed too quickly. Jing Ni had just started fighting with Duo Ku when Zuo Xiang Gu Lu died at Cao Ze's hands.

The officials were completely silent.

Cao Ze stood beside Hu Ji and hissed, "Hurry up!"

Hu Ji was brought back to her senses by Cao Ze and immediately said, "The traitor has been executed! You all should perform your duties and wipe out the remaining villains!"

"...Your Highness, I will obey your command!"

After an incense stick had burned, a palace rebellion came to an abrupt end.

Jing Ni slowly sheathed her sword and exhaled softly.

Doku is quite strong, ranking among the top-tier experts, but killing him wouldn't be difficult for her.

If it weren't necessary to use internal energy to protect the fetus, it wouldn't take much effort at all.

Cao Ze looked at Manyu, who had been rescued, and the two women, Hu Ji and Hu Ji.

"You two, who do you want to be the wolf king?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Ji's eyes widened, and she subconsciously pointed to her delicate nose with her jade-like finger.

The meaning is obvious, is there even a need to ask?

Who else but this old lady!

Chapter 18 Without Qi, Qin cannot be destroyed

Cao Ze merely glanced at Hu Ji.

For him, it didn't matter who was the wolf king; what mattered was obedience.

"You have a problem with that?"

Hu Ji glanced at Cao Ze, then at Jing Ni, and said mournfully, "No objections..."

Cao Ze snorted and said, "Now that things have come to this, I won't hide it from you. I don't plan to stay on the grasslands; I'll leave after the snow melts. So, I'll help you ascend to the position of Wolf King, but you need to be obedient. After the snow melts, no one owes anyone anything, understand?"

Hu Ji gritted her teeth and looked at her sister Manyu.

Manyu said softly, "In that case, please help Hu Ji rise to the position."

She had considered fighting back, but she knew very well that the royal court was now riddled with problems and couldn't withstand any more turmoil.

If she and her sister had worked together before Cao Ze left, they would have had a chance to establish themselves.

Hu Ji was slightly taken aback; she hadn't expected her sister to choose to give up so directly.

"elder sister……"

Cao Ze said, "Okay, let's do it this way."

Jingni looked at Cao Ze with a worried expression.

Suppressing the coup in the wolf clan's palace was a minor matter; the real fatal blow was the death of the wolf king, which disrupted all their plans.

Within a month to two months, Luo Wang will send someone to meet with her again.

It will be difficult to keep the news of the wolf king's death a secret.

As night fell, the small house was dimly lit.

Cao Ze said casually, "Don't look so serious. Since things have come to this, let's eat first. Don't let the baby in your belly go hungry."

Jing Ni placed her hands on her thighs and said, "Once Luo Wang knows the Wolf King is dead, they will definitely send me back to continue the next mission. If I don't go back..."

She had originally intended to use the life or death of the Wolf King as a bargaining chip to negotiate with Yan Ri, hoping to delay the pursuit until after the alliance of states against Qin, betting that Qin and Luo Wang would be crushed by the states. Now it seems that she may have to face Luo Wang's pursuit sooner rather than later.

Cao Ze knew what Jing Ni was trying to say.

He roughly analyzed, "You are a top-tier expert in the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven). There aren't many experts like you in the Luo Wang. At this critical moment when the states are united and about to attack Qin, the Luo Wang can't spare any experts to hunt us down. The danger isn't as great as you might think."

Jingni's beautiful eyes fell on Cao Ze. "Besides assassins, the Luo Net also has an intelligence network composed of demons and monsters. Once we show up in the Central Plains, it will be difficult for us to hide our tracks."

"You still haven't told me... which country you plan to develop your career in?"

In her view, the best way to eliminate the threat of being hunted down by the Luo Wang (a powerful organization) was to join the opposing side of Qin and gain a high position.

She knew Cao Ze's abilities very well. Although he was not as strong as her, he was strong enough to establish himself in the various kingdoms.

This is also one of the reasons why she did not strongly insist that Cao Ze take the child and stay on the grassland.

Cao Ze pondered for a moment and said, "Let's go to the State of Zhao first."

He actually wanted to go to South Korea, but it's probably still two years before Ying Zheng runs away from home.

If the alliance with the State of Han fails, the State of Qin will surely punish them severely.

If he goes to South Korea at this critical juncture, he will truly be walking into a trap.

Therefore, before going to find Ying Zheng, it would be better to first go to Zhao to build up one's resume and avoid the limelight, excluding Wei, which had been crippled by Qin, and the distant states of Chu, Yan, and Qi.

"Qin and Zhao are sworn enemies, and the Luo Wang (a powerful organization) is weakest in Zhao. Going to Zhao would be a good idea."

Jingni originally wanted to suggest that they could seek refuge in Qi, the state farthest from Qin.

But then he thought again that Qin and Qi had always maintained a distant alliance, and Luo Wang was quite powerful in Qi. They even had many dealings with Hou Sheng, the uncle of the King of Qi and the current Prime Minister of Qi. This was not friendly to Cao Ze's development and might even be dangerous.

After finalizing his plan, Cao Ze rested his chin on his hand, watching Jing Ni begin to eat small bites, pondering how to quickly enter the Zhao court and make a name for himself despite his humble origins.

For him, whether or not he held an official position in the State of Zhao was not important, since he had no intention of simply loafing around there.

The important thing is whether or not one can become famous.

With a great and good reputation, and a silver tongue, it wouldn't be impossible for him to become Prime Minister Cao and emulate his spirit.

Cao Ze muttered to himself, "It's time to prepare. I'll modify the quotes I've read and use them to show off."

Linzi, the capital of Qi.

The Prime Minister was greatly impressed by how good he was.

We keep our promises and never hesitate to do things once we've received payment.

He unleashed a torrent of ancestral curses, which drove Pang Nuan and Lord Chunshen away.

That was handled incredibly efficiently and effectively!

We must get Lü Buwei to pay more!

Pang Nuan and Huang Xie emerged from the Qi King's palace with wry smiles on their faces.

I just got a really bad scolding from Hou Sheng.

They also knew they were in the wrong.

After the third coalition against Qin failed, the five states attacked Qi, nearly destroying the state and leaving it with only a 500-mile stretch between Linzi and Jimo.

Not to mention, after being bullied and beaten by the Qin state, the states of Jin, Chu, and Yan habitually invaded the state of Qi to make up for their losses.

One thing after another made it impossible for the State of Qi to participate in the alliance. Even Lord Xinling, Wei Wuji, who promoted the alliance last time and whose reputation was unparalleled among the seven states, could not persuade the State of Qi to join the attack on Qin. So what about their persuasion?

For the State of Qi, whether or not Qin would unify the seven states was unimportant, and even whether or not their own state would perish was unimportant. What mattered was whether Yan, Zhao, Han, Wei, and Chu would die.