Imperial Palace.
Beneath the golden sunlight overhead, the Supreme Ultimate Hall glittered in resplendent splendor.
Ji Xuan stood atop the nine-tiered steps, gazing at the palace halls stretching below him, thoughts surging in his eyes.
"Your old servant congratulates Your Highness!" Behind him, a gaunt old man suddenly appeared. He wore a dull gray robe, his face beardless and his eyes cloudy.
"What is there to congratulate?" Ji Xuan said blandly.
"Your Highness now oversees the court. You are the uncrowned king of Great Xia. Once the time is ripe, with but a single thought, Your Highness may change heaven and earth! This is a matter of great joy," the gaunt old man said.
Ji Xuan shook his head faintly, his tone calm and unruffled. "Change heaven and earth? If I had wanted that seat, I could have taken it a hundred years ago. What I seek now is no longer mortal power."
The gaunt old man bent even lower. "This old servant misspoke. It is only that Your Highness's opportunity on the path you have plotted for a century was obstructed by Marquis Dongling. Now that he has returned to the royal capital, why not strike at him directly in court? With Your Highness's might, even if the National Preceptor shields him, you could still suppress him with thunderous force."
Ji Xuan turned and looked toward the vast sky beyond the hall. His gaze seemed to pierce through the palace walls and fall upon the direction of the National Preceptor's Residence.
"Him? He is not worth making me lose face in court. A junior rising star—though he is hailed as the greatest martial talent in eight hundred years—his foundations have yet to fully form. If I wished to act, I could suppress him with the turn of a hand.