Lu Chen led his troops to the city gate, and as soon as they arrived, Situ Ce imdiately led the civil and military officials in a salute, saying, "North Prince has shattered the Demon Sect's conspiracy and saved Great Xia, establishing outstanding rit! Now that His Majesty has passed away, the country cannot remain without a sovereign for a day. We all respectfully request that North Prince ascend to the throne and take charge of Great Xia!"
As soon as Situ Ce's words fell, the civil and military officials knelt down and said in unison, "We respectfully request North Prince to ascend to the throne!"
Lu Chen glanced over the ministers and then at the princes who were bowing their heads to him; he then said indifferently, "Among the many princes, I rank only ninth. According to the line of succession, I am afraid it is not yet North Prince's turn to take that position, is it?"
Upon hearing this, cold sweat instantly coated the faces of the princes. Lu Chen's words implied that there were other princes ahead of him, hindering his ascension to the throne, didn't they?
Could it be that he intended to start a massacre?
At that mont, Prince Wu Ming hurriedly stood up and said, "There is no need for my ninth brother to worry. The succession to the Great Xia throne has long since ceased to adhere to the principle of the eldest legitimate son. Recent generations have seen the throne pass to the most capable."
"Currently, the world is in chaos and in urgent need of a capable leader to guide Great Xia out of trouble. Neither I nor the other princes have any experience in governance, and we are not your equals in either civil or military affairs. I believe that only you, ninth brother, are capable of making Great Xia stronger. Please, do not continue to refuse!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Prince Qi also quickly said, "What second brother said is true. With rebels in the south and the ravages of the Demon Sect, Great Xia has reached a critical point of life and death. We need a capable person to lead Great Xia out of this predicant. Among all of Father Emperor's children, only you, ninth brother, have such capabilities!"
After Prince Qi finished speaking, the other princes also voiced their agreent.
A while later, Lu Chen finally spoke, "Since my royal brothers all recomnd , I shall not be pretentious."
"However, since Father Emperor has just passed away, let's set aside the matter of ascension for now and attend to Father Emperor's funeral first."
"Besides, the Demon Sect caused Father Emperor to beco possessed and, ultimately, led to his death. We must settle this score."
"Starting today, a citywide search for mbers of the Demon Sect will comnce. Anyone identified as part of the Demon Sect shall be killed on sight!"
Upon hearing Lu Chen's declaration, the hearts of the officials trembled.
This wasn't rely a search for the Demon Sect; Lu Chen was using this as an excuse to settle his accounts. If anyone opposed him at this ti, he would inevitably declare that person colluding with the Demon Sect and eliminate them directly.
After Lu Chen's words, the ministers imdiately shouted in unison, "Long live the Emperor, long live, long live!"
Although Lu Chen had not yet formally ascended the throne, since he had agreed to do so, he was, from that mont, the Emperor. The supre center of power in Great Xia could not remain vacant for long.
Lu Chen said indifferently, "Rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Then, Lu Chen, leading the Brocade Guard and the hundred officials, directly entered the Capital city.
Upon entering the Capital city, Lu Chen imdiately ordered various affairs to be taken care of. By the ti these matters were dealt with, it was already ten o'clock at night.
Lu Chen, guided by Situ Ce, made his way to the Imperial Study Room, where the Sum Emperor once handled state affairs.
Entering the Imperial Study Room, Situ Ce clasped his hands towards Lu Chen and said, "Congratulations to Your Majesty on achieving your first goal. Your Majesty will certainly unify the world and command awe from the four seas!"
Hearing this, Lu Chen gave a faint smile, then responded, "When has the State Preceptor started to flatter so well?"
Situ Ce said, "Your Majesty is a Real Dragon, not a horse."
Lu Chen replied, "Let's not talk about that now; I have so questions I wish to ask the State Preceptor."
Situ Ce said respectfully, "Your Majesty, please speak. This old minister will not withhold any information."
"How many Grandmasters are there among the royal family currently?"
Hearing this, Situ Ce thought for a mont, then answered, "Your Majesty, there are seven in total."
Lu Chen thought to himself, seven Grandmasters - that was not a small number, especially considering that the Grandmasters of the Great Xia Dynasty had been purged by a Celestial from the Mysterious Moon Palace.
This made him realize that other dynasties likely had even more hidden Grandmasters.
No wonder the Martial Emperor of the Great Wu was so willing to send two Grandmaster Military Generals to attack the North Country.
With Grandmasters available, he wondered if there were any Pseudo Celestials, or perhaps hidden Celestials among them.
At that mont, a shadow suddenly appeared from behind a column in the study, and then a person appeared before Lu Chen.
Just as Bai Qingqing thought it might be an assassin and imdiately stood in front of Lu Chen to protect him, she quickly realized her mistake.
This was the Shadow Guard of the Sum Emperor.
At that ti, dressed in black armor, the commander of the Shadow Guard knelt down and said, "Shadow Guard Great Commander Zhou Hai, greets Your Majesty!"
The Shadow Guard had been directly subordinate to the Sum Emperor, but now that the Emperor was dead, they had lost their allegiance.
To so extent, the Shadow Guard was free; they could leave the Capital city. However, they had all consud the Emperor's poison, and nobody knew when it might take effect.
Therefore, the Shadow Guard ultimately decided to continue serving the new Emperor, to beco the new Emperor's fangs and claws. After all, serving one Emperor was the sa as any other.
Seeing that the Shadow Guard Commander had appeared, Lu Chen felt a surge of joy inside. Compared to Situ Ce, the State Preceptor, the Shadow Guard was the most trusted by the Emperor. They must know many things about the Sum Emperor.
Now, Lu Chen was very curious about what secrets the Sum Emperor might have had. Discover more content at empire
Thinking this, Lu Chen glanced at Zhou Hai and used his system to identify his identity.
[Na: Zhou Hai]
[Identity: Great Commander of the Shadow Guard]
[Strength: Master Realm]
[Loyalty: 80]
Among the people he had t for the first ti, a loyalty of eighty was already considered high. The loyalty of those court ministers toward him was generally not even fifty, all of them being two-faced.
It made sense, after all, the Shadow Guard were more reliant on imperial power, hence their high loyalty toward him.
Lu Chen said indifferently, "Rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
At this mont, Bai Qingqing was still protecting Lu Chen, even though it was confird that he was the Great Commander of the Shadow Guard. After all, the Shadow Guard were the previous Emperor's dogs, and no one knew if Zhou Hai would strike against Lu Chen.
Lu Chen patted Bai Qingqing's shoulder and said, "Bai, don't be nervous, he won't make a move against ."
Upon hearing this, Bai Qingqing stepped aside.
Lu Chen then addressed Zhou Hai, "You are the Great Commander of the Shadow Guard, you must know many of my father's secrets."
Zhou Hai asked promptly, "What would Your Majesty like to know? I shall disclose everything truthfully."
Lu Chen spoke, "I want to know if my father had any secret hiding places."
Zhou Hai imdiately understood what Lu Chen ant and replied, "Your Majesty has a secret chamber, within which are stored a great number of the royal family's secrets."
Lu Chen imdiately asked, "Where is it?"
Zhou Hai answered, "Please bring the Jade Seal, Your Majesty."
Upon hearing this, Lu Chen did not hesitate and walked over to the desk in the study, taking the Jade Seal into his hands.
At that mont, Zhou Hai approached a bookshelf and removed several scrolls, "Your Majesty, please place the Jade Seal in this hole."
Lu Chen promptly went up to the bookshelf and did as Zhou Hai instructed; then, the bookshelf suddenly began to tremble. Following that, it slowly moved aside to reveal a huge tunnel entrance.
Zhou Hai then said, "Only the past Emperors have ever entered the secret chamber, and I do not know what it contains. Should Your Majesty wish to investigate what is stored inside, you may enter the chamber."
Upon hearing Zhou Hai's words, Bai Qingqing quickly approached Lu Chen and said, "Your Majesty, beware of traps inside. Allow to scout ahead for you."
Bai Qingqing still did not quite trust Zhou Hai. With Zhou Hai's status as the Great Commander of the Shadow Guard, it was enough to keep her on guard against him all the ti.
Lu Chen thought for a mont, then said, "Wait outside for now."
Without further ado, Lu Chen started walking into the tunnel.
Seeing that Lu Chen insisted she wait outside, Bai Qingqing could not say much else and quietly waited by the tunnel entrance.
After entering the tunnel, Lu Chen quickly arrived at a large hall, within which hung portraits of the previous Emperors.
Under each Emperor's portrait was a bookshelf filled with scrolls.
Lu Chen walked directly under the portrait of the Sum Emperor and picked up the scrolls from the shelf, looking through them one by one.
The scrolls detailed everything the Sum Emperor had done, including how he rose to power and claid the throne, and even the cunning sches and trickery he employed were docunted, as if he had been writing a diary.
After flipping through the scrolls, Lu Chen finally found one about his mother.
Having read the scroll, Lu Chen sighed. His mother had indeed been killed by the Sum Emperor, naturally, for the Sacred Artifact of the Mysterious Moon Palace.
The Sacred Artifact of the Mysterious Moon Palace could help one enhance their Cultivation State, but if the enhancent was forced, one's Cultivation State could no longer advance after one enhancent.
Several of the Grandmasters in the Great Xia royal family had their Cultivation State forcibly enhanced with that artifact from the Mysterious Moon Palace.
After reading the scroll about his mother, Lu Chen did not linger in the secret chamber. Now that everything in the Imperial Palace was his, he had plenty of ti to peruse these royal secrets.
Relieved, Bai Qingqing saw Lu Chen erge from the tunnel and stood guard at the entrance.
In the following period, Lu Chen visited the chamber almost daily to examine the Emperor's scrolls, which were likely all written by the Emperor himself.
What concerned Lu Chen the most were the scrolls left by the first Sum Ancestor. According to Sum Ancestor's records, he had been able to establish the Great Xia due to the guidance of an Immortal, who also foretold that the Great Xia would inevitably produce a Son of Destiny. One day, Great Xia would unify the world and venture beyond it.
The Sum Emperor had aspired to revitalize the Great Xia, largely because he read those scrolls left by the Sum Ancestor; he believed he was that person of destiny.
Of course, those were the thoughts of the Sum Emperor in his youth. After reigning for decades, he gradually realized the drawbacks of the Great Xia and awoke from his dream, returning to reality.
In actuality, not only the Sum Emperor but several Emperors of the Great Xia Dynasty after the Ancestor had considered themselves to possibly be the people of destiny.
Lu Chen was sowhat moved; the "system" had indeed caused much harm.
He did not know if the person the Sum Ancestor had encountered was truly an Immortal, but given the predicted ergence of the Son of Destiny, it must have been arranged by the "system."
Now more curious about the "system," Lu Chen wondered why it had been planning so early and what exactly his transmigration was all about.
After reading the scrolls left by the Sum Ancestor, Lu Chen also tried to question the "system." However, the "system" remained silent, leaving him with no choice.
He could only take things one step at a ti, and perhaps once he beca a Celestial, he would be able to uncover the secrets of the "system."
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