Four Royal Candidates! A Corner of the Bottom Card is Revealed

While Xue Qinghe was recovering his original form and cursing Su Changge a thousand times over while lying in bed, Su Changge was also lying in bed, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

This time, he had truly struck it rich overnight.

It was no wonder the ancients often said: murder and arson lead to golden belts.

This time, in addition to the right leg bone obtained from the First Prince, Su Changge had also found millions of Gold Soul Coins and dozens of rare treasures in the First Prince's treasury.

With this wealth, the military strength of the Murong Earldom could reach a new level.

After toying with the twenty-thousand-year right leg spirit bone in his hand, Su Changge put it away after a brief moment of thought.

Spirit bones were items that came with a binding effect.

Unless one died or possessed an extremely powerful self-healing spirit skill, there was no hope of removing them.

Transplanting this spirit bone might increase his spirit power and combat strength in the short term.

But looking at it from a long-term perspective, this spirit bone would definitely become a major weakness for him in the future!

"Qian Renxue... you, I, Su Changge, am determined to have you."

Just as he had guessed.

After the First Prince died, the struggle for the throne spiraled completely out of control.

The First Prince's remnants and the many princes and princesses with ambitions for the throne ignited the prelude to chaos within the royal city and even the entire kingdom.

In less than half a month, five princes and princesses had met their ends.

Regardless of whether they had explicitly declared their participation in the struggle for the throne, they were all viewed as rivals by those ambitious princes and princesses.

As for the Thirteenth Princess, Rose, she had been serving the old king in the palace for a long time due to Su Changge's advice, temporarily avoiding this vortex.

As for the nobles, clans, and high-ranking officials of the kingdom standing behind those princes and princesses, they were too numerous to count.

After all, every time a prince or princess fell, the nobles, clans, and high-ranking officials behind them would become sacrifices for the victors to divide up power and interests.

Another half-month passed! Several more princes and princesses died.

After experiencing a full month of chaos, the royal city fell into a strange state of confrontation.

It formed the faction of the Third Prince, Ente, supported by the Spirit Hall branch and some old-era nobles!

The faction of the Seventh Princess, Alice, supported by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—one of the Seven Great Sects—and several smaller affiliated sects!

The faction of the Fifth Prince, Zoki, who had gained the support of the First Prince's remnants and the vast majority of the kingdom's conservative forces!

And the faction of the Thirteenth Princess, Rose, who was carefully caring for the old king, not minding the dirt, fatigue, or hardship... possessing a pure nature and a reputation for filial piety, she had gained the support of some core members of the royal family, several high-ranking officials of the kingdom, and some of the remnants of the dead princes and princesses!

The four individuals above were the few survivors among the old king's dozen or so adult princes and princesses, and they were also the candidates within the royal city... most likely to ascend that throne forged in blood and iron.

As for Su Changge, as the spokesperson pushed to the forefront by Xue Qinghe, he had become the most powerful minister under the Thirteenth Princess.

The Thirteenth Princess's residence.

Its scale was the same as before, without the slightest expansion.

But the flow of people coming and going was a hundred times more prosperous than before Su Changge had arrived.

Various forces, high-ranking officials, and nobles under the Thirteenth Princess.

Large and small forces, spirit masters, and so on, who had come from all over the kingdom...

Everything, down to the smallest detail, had to pass through Su Changge's hands.

Becoming a top-tier beast of burden was bitter, yes, but the rewards he received were equally staggering.

Especially since the Thirteenth Princess held the title and did not participate in the management of specific affairs; it was no exaggeration to say... Su Changge was the true uncrowned king within the Thirteenth Princess's faction.

Under the feedback of massive resources, the Murong Earldom experienced rapid development.

The neighboring viscountcies and baronies either submitted or disappeared without a sound.

This allowed the area actually controlled by the Murong Earldom to expand by more than double.

The scale of the Musket Cavalry! The Spirit Master Battalion! The Artillery Regiment!... had grown several times over.

What was this?

Confidence!

Spending others' money, using others' power, and doing one's own business—this was the true way.

"Lord Changge, the latest intelligence from the dark lines reports that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has dispatched two Spirit Douluos and ten Spirit Saints to serve under the Seventh Princess!"

"Latest intelligence from the eastern border: the Fifth Prince's faction has assembled an army of fifty thousand at the kingdom's eastern border under the pretext of clearing out a soul beast tide!!!"

"There is latest intelligence from the royal city's Spirit Hall branch; it is said that Spirit City has dispatched a twelfth-rank Cardinal to come..."

Not long after, several core high-ranking officials under the Thirteenth Princess also learned of this intelligence and rushed over at the first opportunity.

"Lord Changge, now that the Third Prince, the Fifth Prince, and the Seventh Princess are sharpening their knives, what should we do? We need to come up with a plan as soon as possible."

Inside the room, several high-ranking officials looked at the calm Su Changge, their anxiety indescribable.

Although the faction of the Thirteenth Princess they belonged to was currently ranked among the four major candidates alongside the Third Prince, the Fifth Prince, and the Seventh Princess, as core members of the Thirteenth Princess's faction, they knew their own situation best.

Compared to those three princes and princesses, the Thirteenth Princess had too shallow a foundation and too little substance.

In terms of conventional military strength alone, there was a massive disparity.

If any of those three princes or princesses were to launch an uprising, any one of them could easily muster over thirty thousand elite infantry and cavalry!

And the Thirteenth Princess?

Scraping together every resource, eight thousand men was the absolute limit (these people were unaware of the true military strength of the Murong Earldom)!

As for unconventional combat power like Spirit Masters, it was even worse.

The Third Prince, the Fifth Prince, and the Seventh Princess each had at least two Spirit Douluo and over a dozen Spirit Saints backing them.

Once the decisive battle for the throne began, their faction would undoubtedly be the first to be wiped out.

"Lord Su Changge, perhaps... we could promise some benefits and try to win over a few of the other Seven Great Sects???"

"Without enough combat power in our hands, we truly have no confidence."

"At the very least, we could lean directly toward the Empire; at worst, we could cede some of our rights..."

The high-ranking officials before him were panicked, yet they still possessed some sense; at the very least, they hadn't proposed the rotten idea of currying favor with the Star Luo Empire and committing treason.

"Everyone, calm yourselves!"

Looking at them, Su Changge extended a finger and tapped it against the table.

His voice was not loud, yet it seemed to possess a magical power that soothed the heart, causing the high-ranking officials to suppress their restless emotions.

"The matters you worry about have long been considered by Her Highness Rose and myself."

"There are some cards we possess, but the time has not yet come to play them..."

As he spoke, Su Changge snapped his fingers, and a violent surge of spirit power swept through the room like a storm.

Crack...

Except for the area where Su Changge sat, the tables, chairs, and benches throughout the room shattered simultaneously under this pressure, turning into a sky full of dust and debris.

As for those high-ranking officials, they fell like dumplings, thud... all of them collapsing to their knees before Su Changge.

"This aura... it far exceeds that of a Spirit Douluo!"

"This is the aura of a Title Douluo!!!"

The men desperately suppressed their trembling bodies, yet within their eyes... they could not hide a burning, frantic crimson!

So, behind them, they also had such a powerful backer!!!