He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. Flecks of fire mixed in his breath, scorching the air before him until it twisted and warped.
"With my current strength, even without using my trump cards, I can crush an ordinary first-level Dharma Aspect Realm cultivator..." Chen Lin clenched his fist, and the space around it let out an overwhelmed, buzzing groan.
That was the terror of reaching Great Perfection in a Heaven-tier cultivation technique!
Even those old monsters in the royal family who had secluded themselves for centuries might not have been able to cultivate a Heaven-tier technique to perfection.
Even an exceptionally gifted Prodigy would need at least a century of arduous cultivation to reach Great Perfection in a Heaven-tier technique.
As for those of mediocre talent, they might spend their entire lives without ever touching the threshold.
And yet, in the blink of an eye, Chen Lin had pushed the Great Sun Heavenly Merit to Great Perfection!
This technique had nine layers. Every breakthrough would transform his True Essence, multiplying its power several times over.
Now that he had perfected the technique, his cultivation speed had more than doubled, and his efficiency at absorbing Spiritual Energy far surpassed what it had been when he practiced an Earth-tier technique.
"Whoosh—"
The resources inside the Storage Ring dwindled at a visible rate. Spirit stones crumbled into dust, spirit medicines withered to ash, and even several low-tier Spirit Artifacts were drained of their spiritual essence, leaving them dull and lifeless.
Several hours later, after two-fifths of the resources in the ring had been used up, Chen Lin's cultivation had broken through to—Divine Treasury Realm, ninth layer!
"The resources my disciple sent this time are quite a bit more plentiful than usual." Chen Lin's lips curled slightly.
Since all the resources were absorbed inside the Storage Ring, the entire process caused not the slightest disturbance.
If he had been allowed to devour the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth, it would have formed a terrifying vortex of Spiritual Energy long ago and alerted the entire Imperial Capital.
At the ninth layer of the Divine Treasury Realm, he should advance to the Dharma Aspect Realm in a few days.
That was even faster than he had expected.
Chen Lin thought to himself, I can't even imagine what it would be like with a King-tier technique.
At that moment, the nine wisps of True Sun Fire were once again tempering his body. He wondered just how far Heaven-tier True Sun Fire could take his physique.
Chen Lin was looking forward to it.
With that thought, Chen Lin went to sleep.
Time flew like an arrow, and a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Over the past month, the Crown Prince had done his utmost to suppress unrest on all sides, yet he had never managed to quell the worsening turmoil. The Demon Race repeatedly raided the borders, the sects stirred restlessly, and even the Imperial Capital saw several assassination attempts.
At last, during today's court assembly, Ling Cangqiong spoke coldly:
"The Crown Prince is incompetent and unfit to shoulder this responsibility. Effective today, he is stripped of his position as heir!"
His words sent the entire court into an uproar!
No one had expected His Majesty to truly strip the Crown Prince of his position!
Although they had already guessed it might happen, when they heard the decree with their own ears, the officials of both civil and military ranks were still deeply shocked.
And some time ago,
Shen Changqing, Division Master of the Heaven Suppressing Division, had likewise been stripped of his post for failing to uncover the culprit behind the assassination of Yantian Sect disciples!
The Ninth Prince had just lost one of his most powerful subordinates!
As a Gilded Edict unfurled in court, the identity of the new Division Master of the Heaven Suppressing Division was revealed—to everyone's astonishment, it was Xuanming Shangren of the Hall of Offerings, a reclusive powerhouse at the fifth level of the Dharma Aspect Realm!
Within just three days, he launched a purge as swift and violent as a rainstorm. The position of Deputy Commander beneath him changed hands four times, like a revolving lantern. Many were secretly placed under restrictions through secret arts, leaving them unable to resist.
Next, every key post was filled with the royal family's trusted followers, while the communication arrays at branch divisions across the realm were forcibly reset and brought completely under his control.
Most chilling of all was the public execution. In front of every member of the Heaven Suppressing Division, he personally slew two prefecture-level commanders who had secretly passed along intelligence!
More cruelly still, he refined their Divine Souls while they were alive, turning them into lamp oil. He hung the lamps at the entrance to the Heaven Suppressing Division's headquarters, where they burned day and night as a warning.
It was important to understand that the vast Heaven Suppressing Division had a strict hierarchy of power.
Below the Division Master came the Deputy Commander stationed in Tianyan City, followed by the commanders of the branch divisions in each province.
These provincial commanders were at least at the ninth layer of the Divine Treasury Realm, and some were even Dharma Aspect Realm powerhouses!
Their status was as weighty as that of a province's Governor.
Below the Deputy Commander were the Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow ranks of guardians.
Thus, the new Division Master's single act of killing two provincial commanders carried a threat equal to that of executing two Governors!
His bloody, ruthless methods instantly cowed the entire Heaven Suppressing Division, and a silent purge began.
Those who had once harbored ulterior motives and waited to see how things would unfold now felt nothing but fear.
When Shen Changqing heard the news, his face turned livid. Fury surged in his chest, but the deep helplessness in his profound eyes soon overwhelmed it.
Indeed, he was no longer the Division Master of the Heaven Suppressing Division, who had wielded power over the Ten Provinces. The Division, once a force of thunderous authority, was now under its new master's control and had nothing more to do with him.
At that moment, he was in a secluded courtyard belonging to the Heaven Suppressing Division in Wuzhou, far from the shifting tides in Tianyan City.
Back when he had commanded the Heaven Suppressing Division, how fearsome he had been—and his strength had been unfathomable. After all, to command countless powerhouses across the Ten Provinces, he himself had needed the peak cultivation of the seventh level of the Dharma Aspect Realm! But now...
"What a Ling Cangqiong!" A cold gleam flashed in his eyes, and his True Essence surged, making the entire hall shudder.
But soon, the former Division Master of the Heaven Suppressing Division reined in his aura.
Ling Xiao stood in the shadow of a pillar, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the coiling-dragon jade pendant at his waist.
Shen Changqing's voice was calm, almost indifferent. "It seems we were all deceived by your Imperial Father."
After hearing Shen Changqing's analysis, Ling Xiao's face turned deathly pale, as though a basin of cold water had been poured over him. He couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath.
He murmured, "I... I was wondering why Imperial Father had suddenly favored us so much all these years—granting us rewards and raising our status—only to turn around and depose the Crown Prince..."
He suddenly understood. Shock and fury blazed in his eyes. "So that's it! He wasn't favoring us at all. He was steadily draining the strength of all the princes and the Crown Prince!"
"He's sat in that position for so long. Is he still so attached to the throne that he wants to sit on it for another hundred years?" Ling Xiao's voice rose sharply, brimming with pent-up rage and murderous intent. His knuckles whitened from the force of his clenched fists.
Ling Xiao suddenly slammed his palm down on the stone table beside him.
As the jade cracked apart, his voice turned icy. "Royal family affection? It's nothing but strings in his hands! When he favors you, he can send you soaring in a single step. When he casts you aside..."
He did not finish, but the sudden drop in temperature inside the hall said everything.
"Your Highness," Shen Changqing said, his voice hard as iron, "the Governors of two provinces are already under your control, and King Zhenbei is cooperating with you. Why not rise up now?"
Shen Changqing spoke with cold indifference.
Ling Xiao abruptly raised a hand to stop him. His fingertips tapped a dull rhythm against the table. "Division Master Shen, it isn't that simple." A trace of wariness flashed in his eyes. "Some time ago, the Divine Guard Army was suddenly dispatched to Mingzhou and slaughtered its way through the Nine Nether Sect Headquarters. Most of the Evil Cultivators we could rely on have already been wiped out."
What worried him even more was—
Ling Xiao clenched his fingers until his knuckles went white. "If we rise up rashly, I'm afraid we'll hand my elder brother the perfect opportunity."
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