Heading to the Jinghong Empire, an Ambush Laid!

"You're going alone?"

Su Qingtian's expression was somewhat grave. Everyone in the hall exchanged glances, their faces filled with confusion.

Su Chen's strength was only at Deity Transformation Early Stage—or at least, that was what he claimed. Though no one believed him.

But even if his combat strength rivaled peak Deity Transformation, or even if he were in the Void Refinement stage, it seemed utterly meaningless.

The Seventh Prince was not lacking a single Void Refinement stage combatant.

Su Chen said calmly, "Don't worry. With me here, the Seventh Prince will definitely seize the heirship. No one can take it from him."

Hearing this, everyone's hearts jolted once more.

The battlefield of Nine Dragons Seizing the Heir was one for Void Refinement stage cultivators. Could Su Chen truly sweep through all the heroes?

After pondering for a moment, Su Qingtian finally nodded. "Alright."

He now trusted this son of his greatly. Su Chen was mysterious and powerful, certainly far more than merely a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator. However, Su Chen had never mentioned it, so Su Qingtian did not expose it.

Furthermore, he had that mysterious and powerful master. Regardless of whether the Seventh Prince could successfully seize the heirship in the end, at least Su Chen himself would not come to harm.

The Su Family quickly came to an agreement. In the end, only Su Chen would leave with Lin Jin, while everything in the Su Family remained as usual.

Outside Bright Moon City.

Three Dragon Horse Carriages were parked there. The eyes of passersby were filled with terror; the unique insignia on the carriages told them these belonged to the Jinghong Empire's Royal Family.

Su Chen and Lin Jin emerged from the city. Looking at the calm-faced young man beside him, Lin Jin's eyes were full of incomprehension.

Could he really help me seize the heirship?

Recalling Su Qingtian's firm tone before he left, Lin Jin began to feel lost. Could it be that Su Qingtian had merely been toying with him?

Su Chen's aura was only at the Nascent Soul Stage. What impact could someone like that possibly have on the Battle for Succession?

The struggle for the Crown Prince was not simply a matter of the princes slaughtering one another. It was divided into two stages.

The first stage took place before the Battle for Succession, when the princes would do everything possible to reduce the number of people on their competitors' side.

Only once the Battle for Succession truly began would the real war begin. At that time, the Jinghong Emperor would personally preside over it and have the powerhouses under the various princes fight to the death.

Whoever emerged victorious in the end would become the Crown Prince.

This was not merely a test of one's own strength; schemes and strategy were also highly valued.

Among the nine princes, although the First Prince was the strongest, the Second Prince and Third Prince were only two Void Refinement stage cultivators behind him.

If they formed a temporary alliance, they would pose an enormous threat to the First Prince.

And now, with only seven days remaining before the Battle for Succession, he had merely two usable people under his command.

The odds of victory in this battle were slim to none.

Lin Jin had not counted Su Chen in at all. In his eyes, the Su Family had sent Su Chen to him only because they did not want their relationship to become too awkward.

Yet he did not blame them. After all, his chances of winning were too low. Even with the Su Family's aid, it would be the same; they could not change the final outcome.

He did not want the Su Family to be exterminated because of him.

Lin Jin could not help sighing inwardly. In little more than a decade, Su Qingtian had become so unfamiliar, so worldly and calculating.

If he was unwilling to help, he could simply refuse. Why send Su Chen along to die with him?

"Greetings, Seventh Prince!"

Beside the Dragon Horse Carriage, a middle-aged man immediately stepped forward and bowed. His gaze lingered on Su Chen, and his brows gradually furrowed.

Nascent Soul Stage!

Lin Jin said flatly, "This is Su Chen, the Su Family's young master. He will accompany us to the Jinghong Empire."

He did not explain further, clearly not thinking much of Su Chen.

Zhang An's brows immediately knitted together. He could not help sighing. It seemed that Your Highness had failed to invite the Su Family's people.

He was one of the Early Void Refinement Stage cultivators under Lin Jin's command, assigned specifically to accompany and protect Lin Jin this time.

"Your Highness!"

Zhang An looked worried. Failing to recruit any additional Void Refinement stage cultivators meant that the Seventh Prince had only two Void Refinement stage cultivators under him.

Lin Jin waved a hand. "Let's go. We'll talk after we return."

Neither of them paid much attention to Su Chen. He was merely a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator; even if he were a monstrous genius, how strong could he possibly be?

Soon, the Dragon Horses raised their hooves and galloped through the air, vanishing into the horizon.

These half-blood Dragon Horses had been tamed by the founding emperor of the Jinghong Empire. They had always been mounts exclusive to the Imperial Family. They could ride the wind through the skies and were incredibly fast, comparable to peak Nascent Soul Stage cultivators.

Sitting inside the carriage, Su Chen watched the scenery race backward and began considering whether he ought to tame a flashy mount for himself as well.

But he had no interest in ordinary demonic beasts. At the very least, it had to be a divine beast.

He could only search for one slowly in the future.

Just then, Su Chen looked into the distance, the corners of his lips curling into a faint sneer.

"I didn't expect trouble to come looking for us so quickly."

The moment his words fell, the void directly ahead of the Dragon Horse Carriages suddenly churned.

Immediately afterward, an enormous Void Rift appeared. Four supremely powerful attacks slashed out from within it, shooting toward the carriage carrying Lin Jin.

Even the clouds in the sky surged and rolled, disturbed by the terrifying might of those attacks.

"Your Highness, be careful!"

Zhang An's pupils constricted sharply as he used every trick at his disposal to block them.

But the four attacks were too fierce, and they had come in a surprise attack. How could a single Early Void Refinement Stage cultivator possibly block them all?

Pfft!

Zhang An spat out a mouthful of bright-red blood, and the aura around him instantly withered.

An ambush!

Lin Jin's eyes split with fury, his gaze brimming with frenzied killing intent. Were they already unable to restrain themselves from killing him?

He looked toward another Dragon Horse Carriage—the one Su Chen had been riding in—but it had already been utterly destroyed.

Su Chen's death completely extinguished every last shred of hope in his heart.

When they had left the Su Family, Su Qingtian had confidently declared that Su Chen was highly capable.

But now, it was hard to put into words...

No matter what, Lin Jin had never expected his good brother to truly be fobbing him off.

"Hahaha! Seventh Prince, you won't be leaving today."

A masked man in black stepped forward. A Blade Qi that shot into the heavens surrounded him, as though it could split all things apart. Merely looking at it made one's eyes sting.

Then three more figures emerged from the void, each emanating an incomparably powerful aura.

Four people—four Mid Void Refinement Stage cultivators.

On Lin Jin's side, there was only Zhang An, an Early Void Refinement Stage cultivator. At this point, the outcome was already glaringly obvious.

Lin Jin raised his head and said coldly, "Who sent you? Big Brother? Or Second Brother?"

The blade-wielding man sneered. "Worthy of the Seventh Prince. You can remain so calm even under these circumstances. You're a talent. What a pity."

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his hand and attacked Zhang An. Lin Jin was merely at peak Deity Transformation; once Zhang An, this fly, was killed, killing Lin Jin would be as easy as taking something from one's pocket.

Zhang An roared, "Your Highness, run!"

"Do you think you can still get away today?"

An incomparably sinister voice sounded. The area for dozens of miles around them instantly froze over, the temperature plummeting. Even Zhang An, a Void Refinement stage cultivator, could not help shuddering.

The instant this man made his move, Lin Jin recognized him.

A subordinate of the First Prince—Valley Master Ice Seal, Duan Wuhuan.

On the other side, Zhang An cried out miserably as one of his arms was severed outright. His face twisted to the extreme.

However, such an injury was not fatal to a Void Refinement stage cultivator. At this level, regenerating a severed limb was no longer difficult.

"Seventh Prince, please die."

Duan Wuhuan's voice was icy, like an evil ghost from beneath Nine Nether. An enormous icicle condensed and shot toward Lin Jin.

In this Crown Prince struggle, the princes fought for the Imperial Throne, while they fought for their futures.

Once the prince they supported ascended the throne, it would bring endless benefits to both themselves and their factions.

Otherwise, they would fall into a boundless abyss. Thus, they wanted victory even more desperately than the princes fighting for the throne.

"You want to kill me? It won't be that easy!"

Lin Jin's eyes were filled with frost. His aura seemed to shatter its shackles, instantly breaking through from peak Deity Transformation to Early Void Refinement Stage.

Then he grabbed Zhang An, preparing to tear open the void and flee.

"I never expected it—you're actually at the Void Refinement stage!"

Duan Wuhuan's eyes were filled with astonishment.