Xuanyuan Imperial Palace.
Qin Anlan was already inside the palace.
Though he was the Young Lord of Divine Marquis of Zhenguo's Estate.
Do not forget.
Qin Anlan was also the Grand Princess's son, with the bloodline of the Xuanyuan Imperial Clan flowing through him.
Moreover, although the Grand Princess had married into Divine Marquis of Zhenguo's Estate, she still controlled many forces and wielded immense influence within Xuanyuan Imperial Palace.
Since childhood, Qin Anlan had treated Xuanyuan Imperial Palace as his second home.
Strolling through the Imperial Palace was no different from wandering through his own backyard.
As for why he had come to Xuanyuan Imperial Palace this time.
There was no other reason.
The Empress had summoned him.
Before the Grand Princess had married, she and the Empress had forged a deep friendship.
Love me, love my dog.
The Empress was likewise especially fond of Qin Anlan.
Of course.
The most important reason the Empress was acting so warmly was that she wanted to take this opportunity to win over the Grand Princess and Divine Marquis of Zhenguo's Estate.
The current Xuanyuan Emperor had many children.
He had seventeen sons and twelve daughters in total.
Setting aside the few princes who had yet to come of age, the remaining princes each possessed their own distinguishing traits and extraordinary abilities.
The Second Prince in particular was born to the Empress and could be considered the legitimate eldest son.
Of course.
The First Prince, Fourth Prince, and Eighth Prince were not to be underestimated either.
A vast force had gathered around each of them, loyal to their cause.
Whether in the imperial court or across the provinces, they each possessed tremendous power.
Throughout the court, the faint outlines of a battle of nine sons for the throne had already taken shape.
The Fourth Prince acted fairly and was upright and incorruptible. He was a clear stream in the court, long famed for being iron-faced and impartial.
The Eighth Prince was kind-hearted and skilled at winning over the officials and gathering people's hearts, earning him the fine reputation of the Eighth Virtuous King.
Apart from those two.
The strongest was none other than the First Prince.
The First Prince's master was the current Left Prime Minister, who commanded the civil officials and held great authority.
The Left Prime Minister was also the headmaster of Heavenly Firmament Academy and controlled the top-tier force known as Heavenly Firmament Academy.
With the support of the Left Prime Minister and Heavenly Firmament Academy, the First Prince controlled an extraordinary force.
Emperor Xuanyuan had remained ambiguous regarding the position of Crown Prince. He had neither designated a successor nor stopped the princes from openly and secretly fighting one another.
It was precisely because Emperor Xuanyuan had allowed it that the battle of nine sons for the throne had grown ever fiercer.
The princes had all formed factions in their scramble for power and profit.
A climate of confrontation had formed within the court.
The reason the Empress valued Qin Anlan so highly.
Was simply that she wished to use him to win over Divine Marquis of Zhenguo's Estate.
With the full support of Divine Marquis of Zhenguo's Estate, together with the forces controlled by the Empress.
The Second Prince becoming the heir apparent of the Heavenly Flame Empire would basically be as certain as a nail driven into wood.
Xuanyuan Imperial Palace was located in the very heart of the Capital City, spanning tens of thousands of li.
It was the place with the richest Spiritual Energy in the entire Capital City, and even throughout the Heavenly Flame Empire.
It was said.
That a Dragon Vein lay beneath Xuanyuan Imperial Palace, continuously supplying it with Spiritual Energy.
The moment one entered the Imperial Palace, countless traces of divine might seemed to pervade the surroundings.
Divine light curled through the air, continuously surging into view.
Divine sounds reverberated, giving one an indescribable sense of awe.
If ordinary people came to Xuanyuan Imperial Palace, they would only look upon it with fear and dare not entertain any other thoughts.
Qin Anlan was different.
He narrowed his eyes and looked up and down at the magnificent, vast, and boundless palace.
Not only did he feel no submission or fear in his heart.
The ambition within him instead continued to grow.
He could take his place.
Though it was a dream beyond reach, sheer fantasy that could never be realized.
If a person did not even have dreams, then what difference was there between him and a salted fish?
An elderly eunuch with white hair and a restrained aura, accompanied by a group of palace maids and attendants, had long been waiting there.
"This old servant greets Young Lord."
The moment he saw Qin Anlan, the old eunuch's lips blossomed into a smile bright as a chrysanthemum.
This old eunuch was none other.
Than the steward of the Grand Princess's palace within Xuanyuan Imperial Palace.
Thus, upon seeing Qin Anlan, this young master, he displayed exceptional concern and respect.
A faint smile appeared on Qin Anlan's lips as he smiled calmly. "So it is Eunuch Hai."
As the Grand Princess's confidant and the chief steward of the Imperial Kitchen, Eunuch Hai held a high position and great authority.
Throughout Xuanyuan Imperial Palace, even those princes and princesses dared not look down on him.
Therefore, when facing ordinary people, Eunuch Hai always remained stern and unsmiling, giving off an air that warned strangers to keep away.
Only before Qin Anlan did he act with such respect, with a touch of gentleness appearing at the corners of his mouth.
This sudden change left the surrounding palace maids and eunuchs unable to suppress their doubts.
Was this still the cold-blooded and unfeeling chief steward of Xuanyuan Imperial Palace, the man who showed no regard for human feelings?
The deeper Qin Anlan went into Xuanyuan Imperial Palace, the more he could sense its majestic grandeur.
Countless ancient and mysterious auras were concealed within Xuanyuan Imperial Palace.
All of them belonged to experts of the Xuanyuan Imperial Clan.
There were monsters who had lived for more than ten thousand years, and even super old monsters who had lived for over a hundred thousand years.
The Xuanyuan Imperial Clan had stood firm across the Northern Underworld Continent for hundreds of thousands of years. Though winds and rains had battered it, it remained as steady as Mount Tai.
One of its hidden trump cards was this group of old monsters.
Qin Anlan remained calm and unruffled, without the slightest hint of fear.
As the Young Lord of Divine Marquis of Zhenguo's Estate, Qin Anlan naturally understood the power controlled by Divine Marquis of Zhenguo's Estate.
Though it could not compare to the Xuanyuan Imperial Clan, the difference was not too great.
Just as Qin Anlan and his group were heading toward the Empress's palace, a group of people approached them from ahead.
The man at the front appeared to be in his thirties or forties. Dressed in splendid robes and surrounded by attendants like stars circling the moon, he was clearly no ordinary person.
Though the man was not handsome enough to surpass Pan An.
His resolute face nevertheless revealed a vast and upright aura.
The moment Qin Anlan saw the newcomer, his brows could not help but furrow tightly.
The Liu Family he had dealt with earlier, and even the Child of Destiny Qin Anlan had encountered, were both connected to this man.
He had never expected the two of them to meet in such a manner.
"We pay our respects to First Prince."
The many palace maids and eunuchs around Qin Anlan, including Eunuch Hai.
Hurriedly bowed and kowtowed respectfully the moment they saw the man.
This young man was none other.
Than the current First Prince, Xuanyuan Xiong Ba.
As the First Prince, Xuanyuan Xiong Ba was Emperor Xuanyuan's eldest son.
However, his mother had not come from one of those super forces or Great Clans, but had been a maidservant attending Emperor Xuanyuan.
It was precisely because of an accident that Xuanyuan Xiong Ba had been born.
Such an origin was looked down upon throughout the Xuanyuan Imperial Clan.
Therefore.
From the court to the common people, and even throughout the Heavenly Flame Empire, not a single force supported Xuanyuan Xiong Ba.
Yet under such circumstances, this First Prince of the Heavenly Flame Empire had relied on his own abilities and unique personal charisma to make countless people submit and choose to serve him unto death.
Twenty years ago, he had even obtained the support of the current Left Prime Minister and taken the Left Prime Minister as his master.
The Left Prime Minister had assisted Emperor Xuanyuan in controlling the court for several hundred years.
Within the court, he was truly deeply rooted and impossible to shake.
More importantly.
The Left Prime Minister had another identity: headmaster of Heavenly Firmament Academy.
Obtaining the Left Prime Minister's support was equivalent to gaining the support of more than half of Heavenly Firmament Academy's forces.
Thus, the First Prince's power had developed at a breathtaking pace.
The First Prince was deeply scheming and exceptionally talented.
Though he possessed no special constitution, through his own efforts, he had already become an expert at the Peak Divine Emperor Realm.
He was only one step away from entering the Divine Venerable Realm.
To attain such a realm in less than a hundred years made him worthy of being called a peerless genius of his generation.
The Second Prince had the Empress's support.
The Fourth Prince and Eighth Prince likewise had many forces backing them.
Yet the power of these people still could not suppress the First Prince.
From this, one could see.
The methods possessed by this First Prince were beyond what ordinary people could contend with.
Before you continue