Arrival at Jinghong City

At that moment, Lin Jin's eyes were filled with shock. It was actually Su Chen? How was that possible? He had not died at all?

From Su Chen, Lin Jin felt an overwhelming pressure. The Spiritual Energy within his body seemed to have encountered its natural predator, shrinking back inside him and not daring to move, as though it had frozen solid.

How terrifying!

This Young Master Su actually possessed such formidable strength?

Lin Jin had thought Su Qingtian was merely teasing him. He had never expected him to mean it!

To possess such overwhelming pressure, he had to be a mighty cultivator in the Body Integration Realm. If he could gain the support of a Body Integration Realm expert, who could still compete with him for the position of Crown Prince?

There were three Body Integration Realm experts in the Jinghong Empire: the Jinghong King, the Great General who safeguarded the nation, and the Grand Preceptor.

However, the latter two had not appeared for a century and were both in secluded cultivation.

The Jinghong King's rules for the Battle for Succession did not state that Body Integration Realm experts were forbidden from participating. In his view, if a prince could secure the aid of such a mighty expert, that was also a measure of his own ability.

Su Chen stood in the void, exuding an aura that made hearts tremble and terrified everyone present to the utmost extreme.

That aura was faint, yet it was countless times more terrifying than the Void Refinement stage.

Under its shroud, they felt as though someone were pricking them with needles. Intense pain surged through their entire bodies, even their Divine Souls suffering the same torment, pushing their minds to the brink of collapse.

The Void Refinement stage cultivators who had come to ambush Lin Jin were filled with panic.

They had vaguely guessed that Su Chen was likely the helper Lin Jin had invited.

Lin Jin had actually managed to invite a mighty Body Integration Realm cultivator. Did that not mean he was certain to win this Battle for Succession?

At that moment, they were consumed with regret. They had never expected the seemingly weakest Seventh Prince to be the one with the greatest power.

Yet from the very beginning, they had targeted the strongest person. Was that not simply courting death?

Su Chen's figure stepped fully out of the void. Raising his hand, he drew a longsword that appeared plain and unremarkable, without the slightest trace of power.

Su Chen raised his hand and slashed. Invisible Sword Qi instantly burst forth and shot into the distance. There were no powerful fluctuations, nor any extraordinary phenomenon. Everything appeared utterly ordinary.

Yet with that ordinary slash, the Late Void Refinement Stage cultivator standing before Lin Jin was directly killed.

Then Su Chen swung his sword again and again. With every slash, one person died.

Before Su Chen, they were like ants.

Most crucially, none of them could move. They could only watch helplessly as death came for them, powerless to resist. That despair was what tormented them most.

In the end, all six were easily cut down by Su Chen as though he were slicing melons and chopping vegetables.

With that, the pressure blanketing heaven and earth completely dissipated, and Lin Jin could move normally again.

He hurried toward Su Chen and said respectfully,

"Many thanks to Young Master Su for resolving this crisis!"

Although Su Chen was technically a junior, Lin Jin did not dare put on airs before him.

This was a Body Integration Realm expert!

Even now, recalling how Su Chen had killed six Void Refinement stage cultivators, Lin Jin felt a chill in his heart.

If Su Chen had wanted to kill him just now, it would likely have been just as easy.

Lin Jin was profoundly shaken. Su Qingtian's son was truly monstrous in talent—he was actually a Body Integration Realm cultivator.

Reaching the Body Integration Realm at such an age was probably exceedingly rare even throughout the entire Xuantian Realm, was it not?

Perhaps only the peerless prodigies of the Saint Clan possessed such talent.

Lin Jin was incomparably envious. Su Qingtian had truly raised a fine son.

Su Chen nodded indifferently and said calmly, "It was nothing. Let's go."

Since the dragon-horse carriage had been destroyed, the three of them could only travel on their own. Lin Jin also suppressed his cultivation back to the Nascent Soul Stage.

As for Su Chen, his aura had always remained at the Nascent Soul Stage.

Zhang An glanced sideways at the two of them and could not help swallowing.

Truly insidious!

It was one thing for a Void Refinement stage cultivator to disguise himself as a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, but this Body Integration Realm expert was also pretending to be at the Nascent Soul Stage.

Everything that had happened today left him with mixed emotions. Originally, he had owed Lin Jin an enormous favor, which was why he had stepped in to help him.

He had even prepared himself to die, because Lin Jin's chances of victory had been far too low. But now, his thoughts had undergone a heaven-and-earth reversal.

Lin Jin was far more than he appeared to be.

Moreover, he now had the assistance of a mighty Body Integration Realm cultivator. His chances of winning the succession were at least ninety percent.

At that thought, Zhang An was immensely invigorated, feeling as though he had survived a great calamity.

He would not have to die!

If Lin Jin became the new king, Zhang An would also gain a vast future, just like the current Grand Preceptor and Great General who safeguarded the nation.

Those two had been the ones who assisted the Jinghong King in ascending the throne.

Neither Lin Jin nor Su Chen traveled particularly quickly. Zhang An took the initiative to tear through the void and lead them toward the Jinghong Empire.

The Five Great Cities and the Jinghong Empire were only a thousand li apart, and they had long since entered the Jinghong Empire. However, their destination was the imperial capital of the Jinghong Empire, Jinghong City.

As a King Tier power, the Jinghong Empire possessed an exceptionally vast territory. It had twenty-seven prefectures, each spanning tens of thousands of li, boundlessly expansive.

Su Chen looked around with interest. It had to be said that the spiritual aura of the Jinghong Empire was indeed far denser than that of the Five Great Cities. Such a place was more likely to produce heavenly treasures and Spirit Stone mines.

Furthermore, there were far more people here. Any random city was twice the size of Bright Moon City.

Less than two hours later, an enormous city came into view.

Jinghong City had arrived!

In terms of scale alone, this city was roughly thirty times the size of Bright Moon City—an utterly terrifying sight.

Lin Jin arranged for Su Chen to stay in a side chamber within the inner courtyard of the prince's mansion and specially assigned three beautiful women to attend him.

Lin Jin said respectfully, "Young Master Su, if you have any needs, please tell me. This prince will do everything in his power to satisfy them."

Su Chen smiled. "Thank you for the trouble."

Seeing that Su Chen did not seem inclined to converse further, Lin Jin withdrew from the courtyard.

At the same time, news of Lin Jin's return to Jinghong City immediately reached the other princes. Some remained calm, but three people wore grave expressions.

Prince Mu's Mansion was the residence of the First Prince.

At that moment, Lin Mu's expression was incomparably gloomy as he asked coldly,

"Still unable to contact them?"

An old man standing beside him nodded with an unpleasant expression.

The First Prince took a deep breath, and his eyes returned to calm. "The Third Prince and Fifth Prince also acted this time. The three of us joined forces, yet we still failed to take down the Seventh Prince. It seems the Seventh Prince has hidden himself deeply indeed, to actually deal with six Void Refinement stage experts."

Though his tone was calm, anyone could hear the towering fury beneath that calmness.

This time, he had deployed one Late Void Refinement Stage cultivator and one Mid Void Refinement Stage cultivator, yet both had died. This was an irreparable loss to him.

He had originally possessed nine Void Refinement stage experts, but now only seven remained. The gap between him and the Second Prince and Third Prince had abruptly narrowed, leaving him extremely displeased.

The old man pondered briefly before saying, "Your Highness, this subordinate does not believe it was the Seventh Prince's doing."

Lin Mu frowned. "You mean another prince intervened?"

The old man nodded, and Lin Mu fell into deep thought.

Everyone knew Lin Jin was weak. Even if he had been concealing his strength, the fact that he had only two Void Refinement stage cultivators under his command would be extremely difficult to change.

Moreover, he himself was only at the Nascent Soul Stage. There was no way he could have killed six Void Refinement stage cultivators.

The only possibility was that another prince did not want Lin Jin to die and had secretly stepped in to protect him.

Thinking of this, Lin Mu's expression turned icy. He gave a cold snort.

"Trying to fish in muddy waters? Let's see whether you have the qualifications."