Those words sent the entire Imperial Court into an uproar.
Since when could a court session continue after the emperor had left?
The speaker was none other than the Empress Dowager, who had put Li Chen on the throne.
Every civil and military official had assumed that the Empress Dowager would use this puppet emperor to slowly build up her own faction.
They had never expected her to seize power so brazenly and exercise the emperor's authority. It was infuriating.
The Grand Censor and the other loyal officials nearly ground their teeth to pieces, their blood running hot as they launched into another round of debate.
To them, this was the greatest humiliation since the founding of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty!
The other officials saw that Li Chen genuinely wanted to leave and assumed he was a coward by nature, trying to avoid the conflict in the Imperial Court.
They had already looked down on the new emperor. Now they despised him even more, inwardly cursing his spinelessness for stripping the imperial family of all its dignity!
Actually, Li Chen could hardly be blamed. He had always been a prince who coasted through life. He had never imagined he would become emperor and had never prepared for it. How was he supposed to know how to handle affairs of state?
At that moment, the Empress Dowager sat upright behind the curtain, her dark brows faintly knitted as she faced the officials' cutting words.
She looked to be in her thirties, though she was actually somewhat older.
She wore a magnificent, wide-sleeved Phoenix Robe adorned with deep crimson embroidery, its subtle patterns woven in shimmering, ink-dark threads.
A muted black-and-gold sash encircled her slender waist, whose every sway was intoxicating.
Her loose hair fell like black silk, and her pale purple eyes gleamed with a brilliance like the stars.
Her delicate nose had a high bridge, her pale pink lips were lightly pursed, and her snow-white skin exuded an air of refined elegance.
Beneath the wide-sleeved Phoenix Robe hid two enormous assets, lending her ethereal beauty an intensely seductive allure.
She was the very pinnacle of grace, a perfect fusion of dignified elegance and voluptuous beauty.
The Empress Dowager came from a family of hereditary nobles and had her own power base at court.
Over the past few days, she had coaxed and deceived her way through considerable trouble to place the weakest prince on the throne.
According to her plan, Li Chen only needed to perform normally today and display the imperial family's dignity. She would help consolidate his position, then reap enormous benefits herself.
That would make it a win for both her and Li Chen.
Who could have guessed that Li Chen would try to leave after barely saying a few words? She felt he was hopeless, so she had no choice but to make that declaration and test the ministers' reactions.
If she did not stabilize the Imperial Court within the next few days, things would become much harder to handle once the other princes returned to the Imperial Capital.
Li Chen might not care much about the throne, but that did not mean the others felt the same.
They had spent their entire lives scheming. Some cultivated trusted followers and recruited powerful deathsworn retainers, while others earned illustrious military honors on the frontier. Wasn't it all to compete for the throne?
The crown prince had died suddenly in the Imperial Capital not long ago. Afraid that the Late Emperor would suspect them of being responsible, none of the other princes had dared return.
Li Chen was the sort of prince who merely drifted along. The position of crown prince would never have fallen to him, so naturally, he was the only prince who remained in the Imperial Capital.
But who could have imagined that the Late Emperor would die just like that, allowing Li Chen to skip becoming crown prince and go straight to being emperor?
At the time, the Empress Dowager and the assembled officials had also considered that letting those princes fight would inevitably throw the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty into chaos.
Li Chen's accession harmed no one's interests, so they had cut through the tangled knot with one swift stroke and put him on the throne.
The Empress Dowager and several senior ministers had even suppressed the news, rushing to settle the matter before the other princes returned.
If Li Chen had shown even a little promise, they would not have been so disappointed.
Seeing the officials start arguing again, Li Chen felt helpless. Is it really so hard for me to clock out?
What time is it already? Why won't you let me leave?
He had yet to clock out, but someone who wanted him off work early had arrived.
A deep, powerful voice rang in from outside, shaking the entire hall.
"I don't think my sixth brother can be emperor. None of you need to make things difficult for him. I'll do it instead!"
Those words caused the officials' expressions to change drastically. Even the Empress Dowager had a bad feeling.
Naturally, the only person who dared say such a thing was Li Xian, the second prince of the Sky Strategy Dynasty.
As soon as his words fell, Li Xian strode into the hall.
He wore a luxurious brocade robe with a deep dragon-patterned blue base, embroidered with lifelike flood dragon totems outlined in gold thread.
The hem swayed gently with his measured steps, each one radiating imperial dignity and nobility.
Compared with the idle, casual Li Chen, his bearing was far closer to an emperor's imposing majesty.
As the second prince, he was naturally the leading contender for the position of crown prince. For years, he had used cultivating away from home as an excuse to recruit talented and extraordinary people from across the land.
He also had quite a few followers at court who took their lead from him.
No one had wanted something to happen to the crown prince more than he did. When the crown prince died suddenly, many suspected him, but there was no evidence whatsoever.
Of course, every other prince besides Li Chen had also fallen under suspicion.
As the second prince, Li Xian naturally had the right to attend morning court.
His arrival sent the pressure in the hall soaring.
No one had expected him to return so quickly.
The Empress Dowager and the officials might as well not have bothered suppressing the news.
Just then, the upright and incorruptible Grand Censor stepped out of the ranks, holding his court tablet, and looked gravely at the second prince.
"Your Highness, you are mistaken. The succession has been settled, and the new emperor has ascended the throne. This accords with heaven's will and the people's wishes. As a member of the imperial family, you should put the greater good first. How can you disrupt our court and throw our realm into turmoil for your own selfish interests?"
The Grand Censor's words rang firm and strong, every sentence conveying his respect for and defense of imperial authority.
Perhaps only loyal officials with such backbone would dare offend the second prince to his face.
Li Xian was not angry. He had anticipated this before coming.
After scheming for the throne for so many years and navigating the Imperial Court for over a decade, how could he possibly have come unprepared?
A cold smile curled Li Xian's lips. His gaze burned like a torch as he looked straight at the Grand Censor and retorted, "Since ancient times, imperial succession has required both virtue and ability to win the people's support. Tell me, which of our dynasty's ancestors did not possess both civil and military accomplishments before establishing this foundation for ten thousand generations?"
Before the Grand Censor could speak, the Minister of Rites beside him stepped forward.
"May I ask what qualifies the Second Prince to claim that he can inherit the throne?"
The Minister of Rites sounded as though he was challenging Li Xian, even putting him in an embarrassing position, but he was actually one of Li Xian's followers.
Put plainly, he was a shill, using those words to give Li Xian an opening to explain why his abilities deserved everyone's allegiance.
With someone setting him up, Li Xian naturally continued.
"Gentlemen, our nation may seem stable, but dark currents surge beneath the surface. In this age of peace and prosperity, civil governance is certainly important. But without powerful cultivation to support it, how can we safeguard our dynasty for countless generations?"
"I am not boasting, but in cultivation, I consider myself second to none. I have now reached the heaven-viewing realm!"
With that, Li Xian revealed his cultivation!
A surge of immense spiritual power poured from his palm, becoming a dazzling streak of light that wheeled and danced through the air like a flood dragon emerging from the sea, its momentum overwhelming.
Faint dragon cries sounded within the light, shaking the entire Imperial Court.
Every civil and military official was stunned.
This world had nine major realms in total:
The meridian opening realm, origin condensation realm, primordial spirit realm, Void-Insight Realm, void-breaking realm, six harmonies realm, heaven-viewing realm, heavenly abyss realm, and saint realm.
Most cultivators exhausted their entire lives only to stop at the Void-Insight Realm. Those who reached the six harmonies realm could establish their own sects and become overlords of a region.
At such a young age, the second prince had already reached the heaven-viewing realm?
What heaven-defying talent!
If the second prince broke through to the heavenly abyss realm within his lifetime, he could be called the most gifted prince in five hundred years!
With someone so powerful as emperor, the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty would surely usher in a new golden age!
Hearing the second prince's impassioned speech, the Grand Censor could not help feeling ripples stir in his heart.
He gazed at the imposing second prince and felt as though this was the emperor he had always envisioned.
As for Li Chen on the throne, what about him resembled an emperor?
Seeing the officials' stunned expressions, Li Xian was immensely pleased with himself.
The reason he had not mentioned civil governance was that he focused on cultivation. His administrative abilities really were nothing special.
Only the late crown prince and the third prince, who commanded troops in the field, could claim any achievements in governance.
Thus, Li Xian had simply displayed his strength to prove he was qualified to be emperor. At least compared with Li Chen, he believed he surpassed him in every respect.
From beginning to end, Li Xian had never even given Li Chen a proper glance, focusing entirely on debating the officials.
In his view, once he persuaded the officials and put a little pressure on the Empress Dowager, this puppet Li Chen would have no choice but to obediently get off the throne.
Just as Li Xian turned his gaze toward the curtain, Li Chen suddenly spoke from the dragon throne. "And?"
His tone dripped with mockery toward Li Xian, who instantly flared with anger. This puppet emperor actually dares question me?
What right does he have to question me? Is he even worthy?
As a heaven-viewing realm cultivator, how could he endure such humiliation?
Li Xian immediately decided to teach Li Chen a bloody lesson!
But the next second, a terrifying presence that made breathing impossible came crashing down, enveloping the entire hall!
Radiant light shimmered around Li Chen on the dragon throne as great dao immortal radiance blossomed!
Celestial flowers rained down, and golden lotuses sprang from the ground!
Mystic patterns flowed, and divine radiance arced like a rainbow!
Behind him, boundless golden light flooded the entire hall.
Nine divine rings descended from above and encircled Li Chen.
Even as he sat lazily on the dragon throne, everyone in the Imperial Court could feel the vast Dragon Might emanating from him!
"Sage divine rings?"
The second prince, Li Xian, underwent a drastic change of expression.
Only supreme experts who had reached the saint realm possessed divine rings.
A single divine ring was enough to prove someone's immense strength, yet this puppet emperor had nine?
In that instant, Li Xian felt like a guttering candle in the wind before Li Chen.
A moment ago, he had shone so brilliantly. Now he stood there like a beaten dog.
He had calculated everything, yet never accounted for this unremarkable younger brother possessing such strength.
What did the saint realm represent? He did not even dare imagine it!
The officials were so frightened by Li Chen's display that none dared speak, while towering waves of shock surged through their hearts!
A member of the imperial family in the saint realm? Perhaps only the founding emperor of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty had possessed such strength!
The Grand Censor trembled all over with excitement, murmuring, "Heaven blesses our Heavenly Strategy Dynasty! Heaven blesses our Heavenly Strategy Dynasty!"
Behind the curtain, the usually composed Empress Dowager had risen to her feet. She stared fixedly at Li Chen on the dragon throne, and no one knew what she was thinking.
But judging by the rise and fall of her full bosom, the shock in her heart was no less than anyone else's.
At that moment, Li Chen looked down over the entire Imperial Court from the dragon throne, his gaze fixed on Li Xian.
The pressure on Li Xian multiplied. He felt as though he had been locked in place, unable to move even a finger.
Fear welled up within him.
Until now, only the Late Emperor had been capable of frightening Li Xian.
And now this new emperor could make him feel fear too?
No, this is the pressure of the saint realm!
Actually, Li Chen could hardly be blamed for frightening him. Hadn't he brought it all on himself?
As far as Li Chen was concerned, You're only in the heaven-viewing realm. What the fuck are you showing off for?
If you'd brought up anything else, I wouldn't even bother arguing with you.
But you just had to harp on cultivation. Sorry, you're the little brother here!
I'm no good at civil governance either, but you insisted on comparing cultivation with me.
Well, sorry. There's no comparison.
Before you continue