Jinghong Empire's Seventh Prince, Lin Jin

Reception hall.

When Su Qingtian saw the person standing inside, his face immediately lit up with surprise. "Brother Lin Jin, what brings you here?"

A man stood in the reception hall. He had a genial face and appeared mature and steady, with a faint air of authority about him.

Lin Jin smiled. "Brother Su, long time no see."

Su Qingtian immediately burst into laughter. "Brother Lin, it really has been a long time since we last met. You mustn't leave so soon. This time, we have to drink and make merry to our hearts' content."

Lin Jin had known Su Qingtian since their days in the Qingfeng Gang. In fact, when the Su Family had made the great migration to Bright Moon City, Lin Jin had helped them behind the scenes.

Hearing this, the smile on Lin Jin's face immediately faded. He gave a bitter laugh. "Brother Su, do you think I still feel like drinking?"

Su Qingtian suddenly froze. He had momentarily forgotten Lin Jin's identity.

The Seventh Prince of the Jinghong Empire!

Su Qingtian also knew why Lin Jin had come to visit. His expression grew solemn. "In the Crown Prince struggle, can't you simply withdraw?"

Lin Jin spoke indifferently. "Withdraw? How? No matter who wins, everyone will eventually be purged. If I become Crown Prince, I won't spare the other princes either."

The Jinghong Empire had a Body Integration Realm ancestor suppressing it. As long as you were a member of the Royal Family, it did not matter whose hands the throne fell into.

Even if you became the Jinghong King, the others could still drag you down.

This world revered strength above all else; there was no such thing as popular support. As long as you had the ability to kill the Jinghong King, you would become the king of this empire.

Thus, the first thing anyone who ascended the throne would do was eliminate future threats and slaughter all his other imperial brothers.

Su Qingtian was rendered speechless. He had heard about this Battle for Succession long ago. It was incomparably bloody and brutal.

The advantage was that the person who became emperor would have no weak points. Whether in talent or methods, they would be among the very best.

With such a person ruling the empire, the empire could also survive and develop better.

But the drawback was that familial affection would disappear. Even your closest brothers would stab you in the ribs.

The atmosphere in the hall gradually grew oppressive, and neither of them spoke.

In the end, Lin Jin let out a helpless sigh.

"Among the Nine Princes, my forces are the weakest. My other imperial brothers all have at least three Void Refinement stage experts assisting them, while I have only two."

"Judging from the movements of the other princes, it seems they all intend to deal with me, the weakest one, first."

Hearing this, Su Qingtian's eyes filled with conflict. Lin Jin was a close friend of his. Back then, Lin Jin had spent considerable resources and connections to help the Su Family migrate.

Without Lin Jin, it certainly would not have been so easy for them to reach Bright Moon City.

Thus, the Su Family could be said to owe Lin Jin a great debt.

Yet this concerned the survival of the Su Family, and he could not help feeling anxious.

Lin Jin was weaker than the other princes, which meant he was highly likely to lose. If the Su Family followed him, they naturally would not escape disaster.

Though he was the head of the Su Family, the Su Family belonged to everyone. It was not his alone.

Having spoken to this point, Lin Jin's meaning was already quite clear: he hoped Su Qingtian would take his side.

Suddenly, Su Qingtian asked, "Brother Lin, before you came to Bright Moon City, you said your child was about to be born. So, was it a boy or a girl?"

Lin Jin smiled. "That was so long ago. I had a girl. She's already eighteen. If I get the chance, I'll bring her to meet you."

As he spoke, a trace of bitterness appeared at the corner of his mouth. If he lost the Battle for Succession, his family would certainly be exterminated root and branch.

He was afraid... there would be no such chance.

Lin Jin also saw Su Qingtian's dilemma. He rose and said, "Since that's the case, Brother Su, I won't trouble you any longer. There are still many matters waiting for me to handle in the Jinghong Empire."

He also understood very clearly that asking Su Qingtian to take his side was an extremely risky matter.

Therefore, Lin Jin had come to the Su Family today only to try his luck. He did not intend to use the debt the Su Family owed him to pressure them.

After all, even with the Su Family's assistance, his odds of winning this Battle for Succession would not be particularly high. There was no need to make the Su Family follow him to their deaths.

Seeing that Lin Jin was about to leave, Su Qingtian hurriedly said:

"Brother Lin, wait."

"My Su Family is not the sort to forget old loyalties for profit. The other eight of the Nine Princes have already sent people to visit us. I'm afraid it won't be so easy for the Su Family to hide even if we want to."

"But this matter is of great importance. I still need to discuss it with the members of the Lineage before making a decision."

Lin Jin was immediately overjoyed. "Thank you, Brother Su."

Su Qingtian nodded, then began summoning all the Su Family's higher-ups: the five elders of the direct line, as well as the thirteen leading stewards of the collateral branches.

Naturally, Su Chen was among them as well.

In the council hall, Su Qingtian recounted the entire process in full detail.

After listening, Su Qingyun said without the slightest hesitation, "The Seventh Prince helped us back then. If we now go and assist another prince, wouldn't that be the same as becoming the Seventh Prince's enemy?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall fell silent.

Among the many princes, taking a side seemed like a multiple-choice question, but in reality, there was only one option: the Seventh Prince.

Either they chose the Seventh Prince, or they chose no one.

The Su Family had always valued loyalty and righteousness. If they chose another prince, it would be tantamount to sending the Seventh Prince to his death. That went against the Su Family's principles.

Su He furrowed his brows deeply. "I've investigated and learned about the Jinghong Empire's situation as well. The Seventh Prince is weak, with only two Void Refinement stage cultivators assisting him, while the First Prince has nine Void Refinement stage experts, three of whom are at Void Refinement Perfection."

"The gap in strength... is simply too great."

At these words, those who had originally wanted to help the Seventh Prince immediately fell silent.

With such a huge gap in strength, what could they possibly use to fight?

The hall was filled with discussion, but no one gave a clear answer as to whether they would take the Seventh Prince's side or refuse to take a side.

Some even felt that fleeing directly would be best, taking neither side.

If they fled now, then once the Battle for Succession ended, even if someone wanted to take revenge on the Su Family, finding them would not be so easy.

After arguing for an hour, they still reached no satisfactory result.

In the end, Su Qingtian turned his gaze toward Su Chen.

"Chen'er, do you have any ideas?"

Everyone in the Lineage immediately looked toward Su Chen. Their eyes were filled with expectation. Whenever a problem arose in the family before, Su Chen had always helped them resolve it.

Would it be the same this time?

Su Chen said calmly, "There's no need to agonize over this. Since our Su Family owes Lin Jin a great debt, we can choose to help him."

"If Father chooses to help neither side, no one will dare purge us afterward, either."

His words were filled with confidence, and the people in the hall became somewhat more composed after hearing them.

In Su Chen's view, if the Jinghong Empire truly dared to purge them, he did not mind replacing that empire's king—or even annihilating the Jinghong Empire outright.

In his eyes, a King Tier force with only a Body Integration Realm expert was no different from an ant.

Hearing Su Chen's words, Su Qingtian also made up his mind.

Help Lin Jin!

The debt they owed him had to be repaid.

Moreover, Su Qingtian could not stand by and watch Lin Jin walk to his death.

Aside from the several elders of the Su Family's original direct line, the stewards of the collateral branches did not understand Su Chen particularly well. However, they all knew that the reason Su Chen had undergone such a transformation was Su Chen himself.

Thus, they trusted Su Chen completely.

Su Chen spoke again. "Since that's the case, I'll go to the Jinghong Empire alone. I was planning to go over there and have some fun anyway."