Divine Treasury Ninth Level, One Month Later

He slowly exhaled, his breath carrying tiny sparks that distorted the air in front of him.

"With my current strength, I can crush an ordinary Dharma Aspect Realm first-layer cultivator without even using my trump cards..." Chen Lin clenched his fists, and the space around him groaned under the strain.

This was the terrifying power of a Great Perfection Heaven Tier cultivation technique!

Even the old monsters in the royal family who had been in seclusion for hundreds of years might not be able to cultivate a single Heaven Tier technique to the Great Perfection stage.

For ordinary prodigies, even with exceptional talent, it would take at least a century of arduous cultivation to bring a Heaven Tier technique to Great Perfection.

As for those with mediocre aptitude, they might not even be able to touch the threshold in their entire lives.

Yet, at this moment, Chen Lin had pushed the Great Sun Heavenly Merit to the Great Perfection realm in an instant!

This technique was divided into nine layers, and with each breakthrough, his True Essence underwent a qualitative change, his power increasing exponentially.

Now that the technique was perfected, his cultivation speed had more than doubled, and his efficiency in absorbing Spiritual Energy far surpassed that of when he was using an Earth-tier cultivation technique.

"Whoosh—"

The resources in his storage ring depleted at a visible rate. Spirit stones turned to dust, spirit herbs withered into ash, and even several low-grade spirit artifacts had their spiritual essence drained, becoming dull and lifeless.

Several hours later, after two-fifths of the resources in the ring were consumed, Chen Lin's realm had already broken through to—Divine Treasury Realm ninth layer!

"The resources my disciple sent this time are indeed more generous than usual," Chen Lin's lips curved upwards slightly.

Since all the resources were absorbed within the storage ring, the entire process did not cause the slightest disturbance.

If he had allowed himself to devour the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth, a terrifying Spiritual Energy vortex would have likely formed by now, alarming the entire imperial capital.

Divine Treasury ninth layer. He should be able to advance to the Dharma Aspect Realm in a few days.

This was even faster than his own projections.

Chen Lin thought to himself, if this were a King Tier technique, he couldn't even imagine.

At this moment, the nine strands of True Sun Fire were tempering his physical body again. He wondered how far the Heaven Tier True Sun Fire could take his physical body.

Chen Lin was full of anticipation.

With that thought, Chen Lin went to sleep.

Time flew by, and the month-long period passed in the blink of an eye.

During this month, although the Crown Prince had tried his best to suppress the various disturbances, he had still failed to quell the escalating situation—the demon race frequently encroached on the borders, sects were restless, and even within the imperial capital, several assassination incidents had occurred.

Finally, at the imperial court assembly today, Ling Cangqiong spoke coldly:

"The Crown Prince is incompetent and unfit for the great responsibility. Effective immediately, he is stripped of his position as Crown Prince!"

The entire court erupted in uproar at this declaration!

No one had expected His Majesty to actually depose the Crown Prince!

Although they had speculated about it beforehand, the civil and military officials were still greatly shocked when they truly heard this decree.

And in the previous period...

Shen Changqing, the Division Master of the Heaven Suppressing Division, was also dismissed from his post for failing to identify the true culprit behind the assassination of the Yantian Sect disciple!

Thus, one of the Ninth Prince's arms was severed!

As a gilded imperial edict was unfurled in the court, the identity of the new Division Master of the Heaven Suppressing Division was revealed—it was Xuanming Shangren from the Hall of Enshrined Masters, a reclusive expert at Dharma Aspect Realm fifth layer!

Within just three days, he launched a swift and fierce purge: the positions of Deputy Commanders under him changed like a revolving door, with four different individuals holding the post. Many were subjected to secret restrictions, rendering them powerless to resist.

Following that, all key positions were filled with royal confidantes, and the communication arrays of all the regional branches were forcibly reset, placing them entirely under his control.

What was most chilling was the public execution: in front of all the members of the Heaven Suppressing Division, he personally executed two provincial commanders who had been secretly passing information!

Even more cruelly, he refined their souls into lamp oil, which was hung in front of the Heaven Suppressing Division headquarters, burning day and night as a warning.

It must be known that within the vast system of the Heaven Suppressing Division, the hierarchy of power was strictly enforced.

Below the Division Master was the Deputy Commander stationed in Tianyan City, and further down were the commanders of the provincial branches.

These provincial commanders were at least at the Divine Treasury Realm ninth layer, and some were even Dharma Aspect Realm cultivators!

Their status was as important as that of a provincial governor.

Below the Deputy Commanders were the four levels of Garrison Envoys: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow.

Therefore, the new Division Master's act of eliminating two provincial commanders was as intimidating as killing two provincial governors!

This bloody and ruthless method instantly shocked the entire Heaven Suppressing Division, and a silent bloodbath began.

Those who had harbored ulterior motives and intended to observe the situation now felt only fear in their hearts.

Upon hearing this news, Shen Changqing's face instantly turned ashen, and anger surged within his chest. However, his deep eyes were quickly replaced by a profound sense of powerlessness.

Yes, he was no longer the Division Master of the Heaven Suppressing Division who wielded power over the Ten Provinces. The Heaven Suppressing Division, with its thunderous methods, was now under the control of a new master and had nothing to do with him anymore.

At this moment, he was in a secluded courtyard of the Heaven Suppressing Division in Wuzhou, far from the turmoil of Tianyan City.

Back then, when he was in charge of the Heaven Suppressing Division, how majestic he was, and his strength was unfathomable. After all, he had to command countless experts from the Ten Provinces, and his own cultivation was at the peak of Dharma Aspect Realm seventh layer! But now...

"Well done, Ling Cangqiong!" A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and the True Essence around him surged, causing the entire mansion to tremble.

But soon, the former Division Master of the Heaven Suppressing Division retracted his aura.

Ling Xiao stood in the shadow of a corridor pillar, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the coiled dragon jade pendant at his waist.

Shen Changqing's voice was calm to the point of being indifferent: "It seems we were all deceived by your father, the Emperor."

After hearing Shen Changqing's analysis, Ling Xiao's face instantly turned ashen, as if doused with a basin of cold water. He couldn't help but gasp.

He muttered, "I... no wonder my father was so unusually fond of us all these years, bestowing gifts and elevating our status, and then immediately deposed the Crown Prince..."

He suddenly realized, his eyes bursting with indignant fury: "So that's it! He wasn't favoring us at all, but was systematically depleting the strength of us princes and the Crown Prince!"

"He's been on that throne for so long, is he still greedy for the imperial seat, wanting to sit there for another hundred years?" Ling Xiao's voice suddenly rose, carrying suppressed rage and killing intent, his knuckles turning white from exertion.

Ling Xiao suddenly smashed the stone desk beside him with a palm strike.

Amidst the sound of cracking jade, his voice carried a bone-chilling coldness: "Royal kinship? It's nothing more than a puppet's strings in his hands! When he favors you, he can lift you to the heavens, and when he tires of you..."

His words were left unfinished, but the sudden drop in temperature within the hall said it all.

"Your Highness," Shen Changqing's voice was as hard as iron, "Now that the Governors of both states are under your control, and with King Zhenbei cooperating with you, why not rise up now?"

Shen Changqing spoke indifferently.

Ling Xiao abruptly raised his hand to interrupt, his fingertips tapping a dull rhythm on the desk: "Division Master Shen, it's not that simple." A flicker of apprehension crossed his eyes. "A few days ago, the Divine Guard Army was suddenly transferred to Mingzhou and bloodbathed the Nine Nether Sect's main altar. The power of the rogue cultivators we could borrow has been reduced by more than half."

What concerned him even more was--

Ling Xiao's knuckles turned white. "If we rashly make a move, I fear it will only give my elder brother an opportunity."