"Preselected" and "Popularly elected"

Deep within the Dragon Palace, at the very bottom of Chongming City, quite close to the bottom of the Profound Grand Canyon.

Unlike the icy seawater outside the Profound Grand Canyon, the water temperature inside the canyon is actually quite warm.

This is why Chongming City was built here.

As you approach the depths of the Dragon Palace near the valley floor, the seawater there becomes quite scalding hot.

Every now and then, bubbles carrying a faint sour smell floated around.

Yuan Shun approached the heat source deep within the Dragon Palace with a respectful posture, and a distinct sulfurous smell permeated the nearby seawater.

By the light of the glass lanterns throughout the Dragon Palace, one could Yuan Shun, reddish dragon horns.

Although he was given the surname "Yuan", he was not a pure Dragon Spirit Species, and therefore only had a reddish-gray horn on one side.

However, compared to those princes, he already showed signs of transforming into a dragon.

Its body is long and slender, like a snake, and is covered with neatly arranged reddish-gray leaf-shaped scales.

Its body is almost like a dragon's, a sign that the Dragon Spirit Species is preparing to ascend to the Heaven Realm.

At this moment, Yuan Shun seemed to be still pondering something.

Therefore, he swam at a relatively slow speed, and it took him a while to cross the porch of the Dragon King Hall.

The moment you step inside, you're hit by a wave of intense heat.

The scalding seawater brushed against his supple yet tough scales, bringing a slight stinging sensation.

But Yuan Shun seemed to have adapted well, his expression unchanged as he sat up, then respectfully lowered his neck.

He adopted the posture of a subordinate, slightly raising his head to look up at the outer edge of the underwater volcanoes spewing lava in front of him.

"Your subject Yuan Shun greets Your Majesty."

The sound of a dragon's roar echoed around the lava pool, where the opposite bank was nowhere to be seen.

"Um."

From the depths of the magma, where the seawater could not cool, came a nonchalant reply.

The sound wasn't loud, but it caused the magma to churn and surge.

The temperature of the surrounding seawater suddenly rose.

Sweat began to seep from the gaps in Yuan Shun dragon scales, and the stinging sensation intensified.

However, he remained seated respectfully, without moving an inch.

"Your Majesty, the Second Prince is out of danger, and his soul has been sent to the Imperial Medical Academy for recuperation."

"His original body was severely damaged; it seems His Highness the Second Prince will have to start cultivating again."

After finishing his report, Yuan Shun fell silent.

The once vast and empty Dragon King Hall was now filled only with the sound of churning lava.

After a moment, the Dragon King spoke slowly.

"Once his soul injury has healed, send him to the Second Research Institute."

"Your subject obeys."

Yuan Shun the order, and then asked a question.

"Given the Second Prince's current condition, should his final clan trial and public vote be postponed?"

He hesitated for a long time, but still asked.

After all, although he was only an adopted son and a retainer, he had been familiar with the three princes since childhood and had a good relationship with them.

Even if you're a neutral party and can't take sides, it's still okay to ask.

The Dragon King didn't pause for long this time; he gave his answer almost immediately.

"No need for postponement, everything remains the same."

Yuan Shun paused for a moment, looked up in disbelief, then quickly realized what was happening and lowered his head again.

"Yes."

"Step down."

"Your subject obeys."

Slowly exiting the corridor of the Dragon King Hall, Yuan Shun turned and left.

He thought about His Majesty the Dragon King's attitude just now with some disbelief.

This order is tantamount to abandoning the second prince, who is the eldest son of the legitimate wife.

However, based on His Majesty's previous attitude of indulging the Second Prince in winning over the officials, and the Second Prince's outstanding performance in the first clan trial,

Your Majesty should be inclined towards the Second Prince.

"Could it be that His Majesty is disappointed in the Second Prince because of the failed attack on Yin City?"

"Who told you His Majesty favors the Second Prince?"

"Ah?"

Yuan Shun uttered a questioning sound.

The minister sitting opposite him, who was also a neutral party, sighed and spoke again.

"His Majesty doesn't care about the results of the first trial or the attitude of the officials; you have to see which side the three major research institutes are on."

He's already made it clear.

Yuan Shun thought back carefully and realized that the First and Second Research Institutes, which had a longer history, were currently cooperating with the Third Prince Yuanli.

Although the Third Research Institute cooperated with Yuan Yuan, its forces were almost completely wiped out in the Kaiyang Continent Southern Landing Battle.

I heard that the Third Research Institute also lost a number of elites.

This collaboration has fallen through.

Therefore, the Third Research Institute will inevitably side with the Third Prince in the future.

As for the eldest prince, who was born out of wedlock, although Yuan Shun had a good relationship with him, he knew that the other party had no right to compete.

The eldest prince is now almost entirely controlled by powerful clans.

Yuan Shun belatedly said, "I understand."

But judging from his expression, he still seemed a little confused.

"It's a wonder you only understand now," the minister said with a hint of helplessness. "You should have understood when Chancellor Guan was demoted."

Such an obvious signal is clearly a hint given by His Majesty.

However, Yuan Shun was slower to react because he spent most of his time cultivating in the Dragon Palace and rarely came into contact with the court.

That's why His Majesty answered his question today, clearly indicating that he already had a "predetermined" candidate.

The other high-ranking officials and nobles who were part of the Second Prince Faction were unwilling to understand or wanted to understand.

Therefore, they attempted to use "public opinion" to coerce the royal power and try to elect the second prince.

But what's the point?

"If you don't understand, that's fine. Just know that you must stand firmly on His Majesty's side."

In any case, the neutral faction is essentially a staunch royalist.

Deep in the Azure Nether Ocean, the underwater transport team did not immediately head north.

They were moving very fast, but due to the resistance of the seawater after entering the sea, their speed slowed down slightly compared to when they were on the surface of the sea.

The fleet rapidly approached the central part of the Azure Nether Ocean, but its speed gradually slowed down after an hour.

Shisui followed behind the fleet, slowing down in sync.

In the distance, the sea was vast and dark, but a patch of seaweed suddenly appeared on the seabed.

What a familiar recipe.

The marine mammal herds previously discovered on the edge of the Pacific Ocean were also hidden in seagrass forests.

But this time, what lies hidden behind the dense, dark seaweed is no longer a vast number of sea creatures.

Instead, it is a cluster of buildings standing side by side.

This area is still within the Azure Nether Ocean region, therefore, it is certainly not the Second Research Institute.

"This seems to be an unexpected surprise."

As the fleet filed into the self-separating seaweed forest, Shisui from the Alternate Space also cautiously slipped inside.