Do You Want to Be Crown Prince?!

As the wooden door pushed open, a faint scent of sandalwood mixed with a delicate fragrance of ink greeted them, instantly bringing a sense of mental peace to anyone who stepped inside.

Behind a large desk, Xu Chengjing sat upright in a chair, clad in a dark golden dragon robe. Unlike what Xu Tianchen had imagined—flicking through memorial tablets or reviewing files—he simply held a book and read it, just like any ordinary day.

Hearing the commotion caused by Xu Tianchen entering, he set down the book in his hand and looked up at him.

Xu Tianchen looked at his father in the dragon robe, feeling that he was the same as before, yet somehow different; his aura had shifted from restrained to outward, carrying a clear majesty.

"You're here."

His tone was very calm, yet carried the majesty of someone in a high position, though beneath that majesty seemed to linger a deep paternal affection.

"Come, come over. I'll explain everything to you from start to finish."

Seeing Xu Tianchen still standing at the door, Xu Chengjing waved at him, signaling him to approach.

"Actually, according to my original plan, I shouldn't have launched this coup so early. My initial blueprint was to wait at least another eight or nine years, until I had rallied more court officials and laid out proper plans before initiating it."

"Then why bring it forward now?" Xu Tianchen walked over to Xu Chengjing and asked, taking a seat in the chair beside him.

"Because of you!"

Xu Chengjing pointed at Xu Tianchen as he spoke, which immediately startled him. To be honest, he had considered that he might be the reason, but had eventually dismissed the possibility. After all, he was still just a child a little over six years old; how could he possibly affect the shifting of the imperial throne?

"Me?"

Xu Chengjing nodded and said, "That's right, it's you. You could say you were the final push that made me bring this coup forward."

Xu Chengjing picked up a teacup resting nearby, took a sip, and then continued, looking at the still-dazed Xu Tianchen:

"To be precise, it's because your talent is simply too high. I already held immense prestige in the military and among the common people, which caused Xu Chengjin's royalist faction to want to get rid of me as soon as possible. If you were to expose such heaven-defying talent at this time, they would certainly use every possible method to nip you in the bud while you were still growing."

"As the saying goes, a thief is only on guard for a thousand days, but there is no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days. Coupled with the fact that, because of you, I gained the support of your great-grandfather who commands the Consecration Hall, along with his numerous disciples and many soul tool masters, plus the backing of top-tier Spirit Masters like your master and mistress—"

"That's why I decided to strike first and bring this coup forward by nine years. I even brought out the imperial decree I managed to get my hands on during the previous emperor's reign for this. Originally, I was agonizing over how to dispose of the old nobility from the previous administration, but I never expected Xu Chengjin to try and take us both out with a fixed-load soul guidance bomb, which instead helped me clear out those parasites while I came away completely unscathed."

Next, Xu Chengjing recounted several details about the coup to Xu Tianchen, explaining that choosing that particular timing initially stemmed from the fear that if he failed, Long Xiaoyao would not receive word from the Holy Spirit Cult and would instead take Xu Tianchen to stay with the Three Original Douluo Kingdoms, waiting until Xu Tianchen grew strong enough to return and settle scores.

Fortunately, the outcome was good; no accidents occurred, and it ended perfectly, successfully seizing the throne. It was just a pity that no one knew where Xu He had run off to, leaving him uncaptured, but Xu Chengjing didn't mind—after all, what could a mere child possibly accomplish in the end?

Xu Tianchen thought to himself: That's right, in the original work, Xu He slipped away to Shrek Academy, took on the alias He Caitou, remembered his blood feud at first, and then ended up entirely focused on chasing after young maidens, completely forgetting his identity as a member of the Sun Moon Imperial Clan.

As for all those convoluted political schemes Xu Chengjing was talking about, he begged to differ—he genuinely couldn't understand a single word. Even in his past life, he had just been an "innocent and foolish, fragile" college student. Right now, he was nothing more than a six-year-old brat.

"It's fine if you don't quite understand right now; Your Father will teach you slowly in the future."

After saying this, Xu Chengjing's previously amiable expression suddenly turned solemn, his eyes locked straight onto the somewhat dazed Xu Tianchen.

"Do you want to be the crown prince?"

The immense impact brought by those words instantly snapped Xu Tianchen back to his senses. His eyes widened dramatically, and his mouth hung slightly open in astonishment. He pointed at himself, his tone filled with utter bewilderment.

"Me?"

Xu Chengjing nodded and said, "That's right, it's you. As long as you nod, the one officially invested as crown prince tomorrow will be you!"

"What about Big Brother? Big Brother is the Purple Radiance King's heir!"

"Your big brother? Since he is the Purple Radiance King's heir, naturally he remains the Purple Radiance King!"

Xu Chengjing looked at Xu Tianchen as he spoke, his tone carrying a sense of absolute taken-for-granted certainty.

"Forget it, just let Big Brother be the crown prince. Give me a princedom instead."

Xu Tianchen pondered for a moment before speaking to Xu Chengjing.

"Why? Do you not want to be crown prince and inherit this empire in the future?"

Xu Chengjing looked at Xu Tianchen in confusion, knowing how much hidden effort and unspeakable toil he had poured into securing this throne.

Yet now, a golden opportunity to inherit the empire in the future was laid out right in front of his second son, and the boy actually wanted to refuse. Xu Chengjing couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't care about the supreme imperial throne, especially a prince.

"I don't care about the throne. What I want is to walk the pinnacle of the Spirit Master world, to even become a god!"

Xu Tianchen replied to his father, whose perspective was still limited to that of a mortal emperor. As a transmigrator nurtured by the culture of his great homeland, to be honest, he really had considered fighting for the throne at first, but then another realization made him abandon the idea entirely.

No matter how lackluster the world of Douluo Continent might be, it was still a fantasy world where the strong preyed upon the weak. Compared to an imperial throne, he desired godhood and eternal life far more!

Hearing Xu Tianchen's grand ambitions, Xu Chengjing fell silent. The study plunged into a dead, tomb-like stillness once again.

After a long while, Xu Chengjing stood up, patted Xu Tianchen's shoulder, and said:

"Decide for yourself. Before the investiture ceremony begins tomorrow, you can come to me at any time to change your mind."

"Father, why are you in such a rush to name a crown prince anyway?"

Hearing Xu Tianchen's question, Xu Chengjing let out a sigh, his expression complicated as he spoke:

"Sigh! If not for the stability of the empire, I wouldn't have wanted to establish a crown prince so early either; I probably would have waited a few more years. Think about it carefully on your own."

With that, Xu Chengjing left the study, leaving Xu Tianchen all alone in the empty, quiet room.

Xu Tianchen didn't linger long either. After Xu Chengjing left, he returned to his own courtyard and went back to his room. In the end, he decided not to be the crown prince—being a crown prince came with too much trouble, and considering how well Big Brother usually treated him, he might as well let him have it.

Of course, if Big Brother really ended up murdering his own brothers just like in the original work, then he would show his dear big brother the true meaning of the Xuanwu Gate succession method!

He still needed to cultivate his own faction; otherwise, if something like that actually happened, it wouldn't be easy to give his beloved big brother a sudden case of fatal soul tool poisoning all by himself!