Yantian Sect Master's eyes glinted with cold stars, fury churning in his heart.
He had meant to seize this perfect opportunity to deal the Imperial Family a heavy blow in front of the cultivators of the world. After all, Yantian Sect's disciples were spread throughout the Ten Provinces. If one of them were killed in the Imperial Capital and the Imperial Family did nothing, cultivators everywhere would lose faith in the Imperial Court.
But Ling Cangqiong had used a deft touch to turn aside a heavy blow. Not only had he thwarted the Sect Master's scheme, he had taken the opportunity to reorganize the Heaven Suppressing Division and, before everyone's eyes, display the might of imperial authority.
"Quite the move, Ling Cangqiong..." Yantian Sect Master seethed inwardly, yet had no choice but to force a smile and cup his hands. "Since His Majesty has said so, this old man will thank His Majesty on behalf of my disciples." His words carried a pointed meaning as he continued, "His Majesty is truly worthy of being the Son of Heaven, ever concerned for the cultivators of the world. Truly... perceptive in the smallest detail."
This contest seemed to have ended with Ling Cangqiong holding a slight advantage. But anyone with eyes could see that the undercurrents between the sects and the Imperial Family had only just begun to stir...
Inside the Scripture Repository, Chen Lin wore an amused smile.
His Spiritual Sense had quietly spread like a web beyond the Imperial Palace, keeping close watch on the Iron Blood Squad's movements.
In the end, they vanished from sight entirely, like shadows melting into darkness.
"Brilliant." Chen Lin stroked his long beard and thought, Ling Cangqiong's plan to kill three birds with one stone is truly ingenious.
He had ordered the assassination of Yantian Sect's disciples, knowing the sect would surely fly into a rage and demand answers. This gave him the perfect excuse to flaunt the supremacy of imperial authority and deter the petty troublemakers.
At the same time, he could use the Iron Blood Squad to eliminate Shen Changqing, the Ninth Prince's important aide, then take the Heaven Suppressing Division's power back into the Emperor's hands—a plan that killed three birds with one stone.
By all reason, the Iron Blood Squad should have already slain its target. Yet it had also fallen into dire straits, leaving no witnesses and no proof, right?
That way, no matter how shrewd Shen Changqing was, he would be unable to uncover the slightest trace.
The Heaven Suppressing Division would return to the Emperor, the Crown Prince's seat would remain vacant, and Yantian Sect would get a warning for good measure.
Yantian Sect Master had just defeated Ming He Sect and opened the sect's doors wide. With a Heaven-tier cultivation technique to attract disciples, his reputation should have been soaring, drawing in countless cultivators.
But Ling Cangqiong's move, though seemingly imperceptible, had drenched Yantian Sect in a cold shower, quietly cutting its momentum in half.
Thus, though Yantian Sect Master's earlier efforts had not been entirely wasted, their impact had been greatly diminished.
And the ministers in court who had already been wary of Yantian Sect would surely feel even more dislike for it now.
In the future, if Ling Cangqiong truly moved against the Nine Nether Sect or another faction, those ministers would undoubtedly offer their full support—and might even volunteer to lead the charge.
At that moment, the deeper purpose of the game Ling Cangqiong had laid out was gradually coming to light.
He had first turned against Crown Prince Ling Tian, then shown favor to the other two princes. Through a series of maneuvers, he had quietly weakened the foundations of their power.
It was like cutting down the feudal lords, dismantling one by one the forces most likely to threaten imperial authority.
And the most crucial move had already been planned out by Ling Cangqiong. Once every threat had been eliminated, he could refuse to appoint a new Crown Prince with the perfectly respectable excuse that "the current situation is turbulent, with factions entrenched everywhere and treacherous ministers liable to stir up chaos. A new ruler would struggle to command the people's respect and might be unable to effectively suppress the Great Yan Imperial Dynasty."
This move was both the final barrier protecting his own power and a brilliant excuse reserved for the future—one that would allow him to remain in power whenever he pleased, or clear away every obstacle for an heir he truly favored.
Chen Lin shook his head slightly, a weary look of understanding flashing in his eyes. If one had absolute power, why bother with all these twists and turns, these schemes and machinations?
But that only proved that even the Imperial Family could not completely suppress the forces lurking in the shadows through its own strength alone.
Before long, the commotion in Tianyan City gradually died down.
An elder of Yantian Sect finished registering the new disciples and, accompanied personally by the Sect Master, led them out of Tianyan City.
Their figures disappeared into the dusk beyond the city gates, leaving only empty streets behind.
Yet Chen Lin's keen Spiritual Sense caught a hint of something unusual.
He clearly sensed that, in the woods not far outside the city, someone had attacked the Yantian Sect elder and Sect Master!
The attackers were also experts of the Dharma Aspect Realm!
After a brief clash, the Yantian Sect elder and Sect Master fled back into the city, bloodied and badly wounded, their auras feeble. They had clearly been ambushed.
Chen Lin understood. Someone must have wanted to use this opportunity to force Yantian Sect to bare its fangs first and ignite an even greater storm.
He simply let it be. This seemed to have little to do with him, Chen Lin.
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As his thoughts turned, the sky quietly darkened.
Outside the window, the bustle of daytime gradually faded. Night fell, and only a few minutes remained until the next day.
Chen Lin was waiting for midnight to arrive so he could cultivate the Great Sun Heavenly Merit.
Little Anzi had also returned after finishing his viewing, and was still hard at work cultivating.
In a flash, a long, resonant bell tolled from deep within the Imperial Palace. Its deep waves rippled outward like water, instantly spreading throughout Tianyan City.
The bell symbolized the majesty of imperial authority. Countless cultivators in the city stopped in their tracks and stood solemnly.
A new day had arrived!
The moment the bell's echoes began to fade, Chen Lin silently thought:
"Draw!"
[Random extraction in progress...]
[Extraction complete!]
[Today's Great Perfection Heaven-tier cultivation technique: Great Sun Heavenly Merit]
Chen Lin's whole body jolted.
In an instant, an immense flood of cultivation insights poured into his sea of consciousness like water bursting through a breached dam.
The profound mysteries of Great Sun Incinerates Heaven, the true essence of Nine Suns Rotation, and the cultivation methods of ultimate yang and hardness—each insight was deeply etched into his Divine Soul like a brand.
Chen Lin kept his Spiritual Sense fixed on the Storage Ring on his left hand.
The moment the cultivation inheritance arrived, the spirit stones, pills, and other cultivation resources inside the ring began to melt away at a visible rate, turning into pure spiritual power that flowed into his body.
The whole process was smooth and seamless, without the slightest trace of aura leaking out.
"So this... is the might of a Heaven-tier cultivation technique..." Chen Lin was shaken.
Compared with an Earth-tier cultivation technique, the profound intricacies of the Great Sun Heavenly Merit were worlds apart.
Its vast methods of cultivation, stretching like a sea of stars, each pointed straight to the origin of the Great Dao.
The Primordial Pill that had lain dormant in his dantian suddenly trembled violently, fine cracks appearing across its surface.
As the technique circulated, surging Sun Essence Fire gathered from the void and enveloped the entire pill.
"Crack—"
The shell of the pill peeled away, and a brand-new golden core slowly took shape, glowing gold and crimson, with nine solar patterns flowing across its surface.
This was the Nine Yang Golden Core, unique to the Great Sun Heavenly Merit—and more than ten times stronger than the Primordial Pills of ordinary cultivators!
It could only be born after the Great Sun Heavenly Merit had been cultivated to the ninth layer and reached Great Perfection.
The instant the golden core took shape, blazing Golden Light erupted from Chen Lin's pores. He immediately formed a hand seal to conceal his aura and forcefully suppressed it.
As the technique reached its deepest point, Chen Lin's Spiritual Sense sank into his dantian. There, nine brilliant golden flames hovered around the golden core—True Sun Fire.
It could incinerate mountains and boil seas, tempering all things.
Chen Lin's body was also undergoing an astonishing transformation.
His bones took on a pale-gold hue, their hardness rivaling a Heavenly Artifact—enough to battle those in the Dharma Aspect Realm!
Fine golden threads flowed through his blood, every drop weighing as much as a thousand jun;
when his eyes opened and closed, miniature suns seemed to rise and set deep within his pupils. Any ordinary cultivator who met his gaze would likely have their Divine Soul scorched!
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