This Throne Should Have Been Mine All Along!

"Prince, as long as your promises to me remain unchanged, I can steady Virtue Hall so it remains unaffected by this coup. Furthermore, once those resources are delivered, I can guarantee that Virtue Hall's many top researchers will support you even more sincerely."

Jing Hongchen's voice was exceedingly calm, and his words undoubtedly served as another shot of adrenaline for Xu Chengjing.

As Jing Hongchen finished speaking, Zheng Zhan's voice rang out once again in the quiet secret room.

"Prince, I have already secretly prepared soul guide bombs at the weakest point of the outer palace walls. When you give the order and the bombs are triggered, the palace's outer defense installations will be reduced to a pile of scrap metal."

He paused, sweeping his gaze across Kong Deming and Ye Yulin before finally resting it on Xu Chengjing.

"However, there are still elite guards inside the palace loyal to the emperor, and I do not know the exact extent of their strength. Still, I can guarantee that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion will not fall into major chaos in a short time, nor will they obstruct the plan."

Ye Xishui leaned back in her chair, yawning offhandedly before saying, "I'll take care of those emperor-loyal guards in the palace. As long as no one from the Consecration Hall comes to interfere, otherwise they might accidentally get beaten to death by me."

"Hmph, there is no need to trouble Your Excellency Death God; I will handle the Consecration Hall side of things," Kong Deming first retorted to Ye Xishui, then turned his head to address Zheng Zhan.

"By then, I will have settled matters at the Consecration Hall in advance. As for the Royal Soul Engineer Legion, I will go with you to prevent you from suppressing those people. After all, the most powerful force near Mingdu must be kept in our hands."

Kong Deming understood the strength of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. Even though the combined soul tool was still under research, commanded by multiple Rank-9 Soul Engineers, this legion could still unleash might comparable to rank 98, vaguely even reaching rank 99.

This was a crucial combat force capable of swaying the battle's outcome!

Seeing this, Xu Chengjing felt reassured, and his gaze fell upon Xu Tianyuan, Liao Mengkai, and Luan Feng.

Seeing this, Xu Tianyuan was the first to step forward, voicing his stance.

"Don't worry, Uncle. I will deal with that old fellow of the imperial clan in advance. Besides, the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion are all your old subordinates. With a single word from you, every warrior in our legion will follow your footsteps and fight for you."

Seeing Xu Tianyuan step forward first, before his voice had even faded, Liao Mengkai and Luan Feng stood up and said to Xu Chengjing in unison, "The Terrorclaw and Firewind Soul Engineer Legions await the Prince's command from top to bottom."

"Good, very good." Seeing this, Xu Chengjing stood up as well, saying to the three of them, "My Sun Moon Empire needs pillars of the state like all of you."

"Luan Feng, you will lead the Firewind Soul Engineer Legion to pin down the Evil Lord Soul Engineer Legion," Xu Chengjing said first to Luan Feng, but then turned his gaze to Ye Yulin, who sat to the side. "Elder Ye, I must ask you to assist Luan Feng as well. Persuade them to surrender if possible, but prioritize your own safety above all else."

"The Terrorclaw Soul Engineer Legion will follow me into the palace to eliminate scoundrels and restore orthodoxy!"

"Prime Minister Chen, logistics and cleanup procedures will be left to you."

"This subject will definitely not fail the Prince's trust. I will control the civil officials and public opinion. Once the deed is done, the world will know that His Majesty the reigning emperor suddenly fell ill and died, and Crown Prince Xu He is young, so the throne is passed to the wise and talented Purple Radiance King. By then, the dust will have settled, and those opportunists will naturally submit."

Hearing his name called, Chen Songting hurriedly stood up and gave Xu Chengjing his guarantee.

"Very well, since everything has been decided, we will set the date for three days from now, during Crown Prince Xu He's hundred-day banquet. The palace guards will inevitably be somewhat lax due to the celebrations—that will be our best opportunity."

"Everyone, we must accomplish this in the shortest possible time, because I do not want the empire we finally secure to be a riddled one, but rather an empire united from top to bottom, with sovereign and subjects as one. The throne is merely our beginning; our true grand goal is to leave only a single country on this continent, and that is—"

"The Sun Moon Empire!"

Prompted by Xu Chengjing's words, a surge of heroism welled up in the chests of everyone present. They stood up one after another and shouted aloud.

"For the empire!"

"For the future!"

A storm capable of reshaping the current power landscape of the Douluo Continent was quietly brewing within this small secret room, known to no one outside of it.

"Everyone, return and prepare yourselves. This matter concerns your very lives, so I hope you all—"

Although Xu Chengjing did not finish, they all knew what he meant.

Following that, everyone walked out one by one, leaving only Kong Deming, Ye Xishui, and Xu Chengjing in the entire secret room.

"Chengjing, you chose three days from now for other reasons as well, didn't you?" Seeing that the others had all walked out, Kong Deming asked Xu Chengjing.

"That's right. Tomorrow, Tian Chen will accompany Your Excellency Dragon Emperor to hunt for his third spirit ring, which will take at least half a month for the round trip. In the unlikely event that we fail, we will still have Tian Chen as a spark left outside."

"Actually, I originally wanted to wait a few more years, to accumulate strength for a few more years, but I didn't expect Tian Chen's talent to be too good—so good that the moment my imperial brother and his interest group learn of his talent, they will never tolerate him. Because if I were in his shoes, I would do the exact same thing."

Seeing that Kong Deming had guessed it, Xu Chengjing did not conceal it, directly stating his intentions.

"Hah, what, losing confidence again? Rest assured, judging by your current strength, you will only succeed this time and not fail. Set your mind at ease. I'm off; Xiaoyao is waiting for me."

Hearing what Xu Chengjing said, Ye Xishui smiled. She was extremely confident in this operation; failure was out of the question. With that, she walked toward the door without looking back.

Seeing this, Kong Deming said nothing more, merely stepping forward to pat Xu Chengjing on the shoulder before also walking out of the secret room.

Xu Chengjing sat alone in the quiet secret room for a while, no one knowing what he was thinking, before he returned to the Prince's Mansion through a secret passage.

The night outside was as dark as ink, seemingly portending an impending storm of blood and slaughter. Meanwhile, in the palace not far from the Prince's Mansion, lights were bright, music played, and dancing continued; the people inside had no idea that three days later, their lives would change accordingly.

Not only this Sun Moon Empire, but the entire Douluo Continent would undergo a transformation.

Xu Chengjing walked over to the study and stood before a detailed map of the entire Douluo Continent hanging on the wall. Looking at the various regions drawn upon it, he thought to himself: Father, do not blame me, for I did not want this either. It is Imperial Brother who is too weak; he cannot guard the mountains and rivers of our Sun Moon Empire. Only someone like me, proficient in both civil and military arts and possessed of an enterprising spirit, is fit to sit upon that throne!

Besides, that throne should have been mine all along. I am merely taking back what rightfully belongs to me!

In the end, I will fulfill the wish of the Sun Moon Empire's past monarchs to unite the Douluo Continent!

I will forge a magnificent dynasty unprecedented and unequaled!

The light of the soul-guided lamp shone upon Xu Chengjing, casting a massive shadow that covered the entire map.