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Chapter 1158 A Powerful Enemy Makes a Move
Feiyun Prefecture, once one of the eight prefectures of Zhili, is now an isolated island in grave danger.

When Dongfang Daqian was defeated, he led his troops to fight his way out. Just when the outside world thought he would go underground, he launched a stunning attack, broke through the Feiyun Prefecture, drove out the governor, and usurped the throne.

This move was brilliant; it turned a seemingly hopeless situation into a lifeline.

He opened a gap in the encirclement surrounding the capital, allowing him to calmly occupy the prefecture and observe future developments.

However, the other side reacted quickly, with the remaining seven directly governed prefectures swiftly surrounding and cutting off his attempts to expand outwards.

Dongfang Daqian originally planned to use Feiyun Prefecture as a base and expand outwards to other directly governed prefectures, forming a protective defensive posture. However, he was caught off guard and had no choice but to retreat to Feiyun Prefecture.

They were surrounded on all sides, as if by iron, and could protect themselves, but if they dared to move, they would be met with a thunderous blow.

During this period, Dongfang Daqian was living a life of 'being trapped in a city of sorrow'.

As time went on, morale waned, and no one expected Lingyun Palace to turn the tide after their victory.

The capital city was making intensive preparations for the grand ceremony to worship Heaven, and officials from all directions and hereditary noble families were offering tributes to show their submission.

The trend is over!

Although Feiyun Prefecture is still under their control, it is clear to everyone that it is a cage that the other side deliberately left for them.

Every day, people are fleeing, and his power is shrinking rapidly. There are even core members of the Human Race Cult secretly communicating with Lian Feihong.

What was Dongfang Daqian doing at this moment?

A secluded courtyard in the capital.

"Today's lesson will be something else!"

The little boy is Zhou Ti of the Western Branch of the Zhou Clan. His father is Zhou Daqian, a very famous figure in the capital.

However, Zhou Ti was not born to the legitimate mother, but to Qi, a concubine of Zhou Daqian. Although Zhou Daqian treated all his sons equally and there was no neglect or abuse of his illegitimate sons in the family, they were never as valued as the legitimate sons.

Even less than Zhou Pan, who was also a son of a concubine, Zhou Pan was Zhou Daqian's eldest son, whose status was above all his children, and who was even introduced to the Bitter Soup Pharmacist to learn medicine making.

Zhou Ti has been depressed since childhood. With more than 20 siblings, it is not easy for him to stand out.

Until he met a mysterious teacher, whom he met privately every ten days to teach him martial arts and secret techniques.

His teacher was a man of great learning and refined taste, with an extraordinary demeanor; in his mind, he was a peerless figure second only to his father.

Although he didn't know the teacher's identity, Zhou Ti was certain that the other party was an extraordinary and powerful figure, a peerless individual.

After practicing his boxing skills today, his teacher suddenly wanted to teach him another secret technique, which gave Zhou Ti a great shock.

"Your father, Zhou Daqian, besides his unparalleled martial arts skills, also had a craft he was very confident in, and that was seal script!"

The teacher said to him gently, "Although I am not a famous master of the Golden Immortal Dao, I do know a thing or two about seal script."

"Today I give you a word called 'prayer'."

Zhou Ti's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, but he was mature beyond his years and quite shrewd, so he didn't show it on his face.

After carefully learning the seal script stroke by stroke from his teacher, Zhou Ti respectfully bid farewell to his teacher.

Once the secluded courtyard was deserted, Zhou Ti lifted his shirt and saw a faint birthmark below his left collarbone, clearly the seal script character 'Qi'.

He has the blood of the prestigious Qi family and was born with this seal-script birthmark.

Because of the precedent set by his legitimate son Zhou Dingzhu, Zhou Ti did not cause much of a stir despite his unusual birth.

When he turned five, Zhou You inquired about it and asked a tattoo artist to complete the seal script for him.

Zhou Ti was precocious from a young age and had been thinking of ways to attract his father's attention. While his elder brother Zhou Pan studied alchemy, he studied seal script, and he begged his stepmother to find resources for him. He studied the birthmark on his body the most, which was the 'Qi' mark that originated from his mother's bloodline.

Today, the teacher taught him seal script, but nothing else except the seal script for "prayer," which perfectly matched his own "prayer."

He was no ignorant child; he had a solid foundation in seal script, and he clearly knew that the seal script character for "prayer" belonged exclusively to Buddhism.

The teacher's identity seems to be beginning to emerge. He is a high-ranking member of the Buddhist sect. Judging from his age, he is not at the level of a temple master. Could he be a hidden... Fifth Heavenly King?

With heavy thoughts swirling in his mind, Zhou Ti hesitated repeatedly, but ultimately could not resist the temptation and took the seal character 'prayer' into his palm.

The next moment, he heard whispers of varying pitches around him, and his pupils reflected countless intertwined wisps of light.

The mysterious transformation that occurred when the two seal characters '祈' and '祷' were combined into one struck his soul.

After a long time, Zhou Ti covered his tracks and left the courtyard.

Long after he left, the 'teacher's' figure reappeared in the same spot.

Unlike before, the teacher was no longer alone; a dark figure appeared beside him—it was Mu Leizheng.

The mysterious teacher's identity is becoming increasingly clear: Dongfang Daqian.

The outside world thought that Dongfang Daqian was trapped in Feiyun Prefecture, but he actually changed his appearance and sneaked into Dijing to secretly teach Zhou Daqian's son martial arts.

If this news gets out, everyone will probably think it's a huge joke.

"This child is so young yet possesses such shrewdness; he is undoubtedly Zhou Daqian's son!"

Dongfang Daqian nodded. "Being defeated by Zhou Daqian time and again is not a bad thing for me."

"At least it made me realize that victory or defeat is not determined in a moment, but in the long run."

"So what if Lian Feihong ascends the throne? If he fails to govern well, makes mistakes, and follows in the footsteps of his predecessors, I can still rally the noble families of the world to depose him and take his place."

"Zhou Daqian has many children, and they are divided into distinct factions. If they are all mediocre like Zhou Nanwang, that would be fine."

"The eldest son, Zhou Ding, is skilled in martial arts and guards the northern frontier, while the eldest son born out of wedlock is a spiritual medicine master. All of his children are troublemakers. Given time, when descendants like Zhou Ti grow up, there will surely be internal strife!"

Dongfang Daqian analyzed, while Mu Leizheng stood silently listening.

When Dongfang Daqian stopped, she looked puzzled and shook her head.

Seeing her action, Dongfang Daqian let out a breath, "Your idea is not wrong. The more talented Zhou Daqian's children are, the less likely his fortune will be weakened."

"But how can we give up so easily if we don't even try!"

Dongfang Daqian clenched his palm, and countless particles invisible to the naked eye shattered, the power of the Daqian Seal held back.

"After this defeat, I learned from my shame and became more courageous, and I gained a deeper understanding of the profound mysteries of the Great Thousand Seals."

"My struggle with Zhou Daqian is not about a momentary victory or defeat, but about eternity. As long as I live, I will not have lost."

He watched Zhou Ti's departing figure and chuckled, "His good sons are going to give him a headache in the future."

When Zhou Ti returned home, he first paid his respects to his stepmother, Zhu Qinghua, and then found his stepmother. He took out an oil paper package from his bosom, which contained Qi Shi's favorite snacks.

In Zhou You's inner quarters, there were two women surnamed Qi: the elder Qi, Qi Qingyao, and the younger Qi, Qi Wu Guniang.

Their status was reversed in the Qi family, but in Zhou You's inner quarters, the order was reversed, and their different titles revealed their different positions.

(End of this chapter)