The sky over the Divine Capital was still a heavy, gloomy cyan, with only a faint sliver of pale white piercing through the eastern horizon.
Inside and outside the Palace of the Crown Heir, it was already brightly lit. The Golden Feather Guards, clad in gleaming armor, had already formed their ranks. A chilling aura of solemnity permeated the morning mist.
Gu Chengyin wore a brand-new official robe of an Internal Affairs Bureau Director. A golden jade belt wrapped around his waist, adorned with a golden fish pouch and a jade passage token. He stood beside the carriage outside the palace gates.
The fabric of the official robe was crisp and the patterns intricate, manifesting royal favor and authority. Worn on him, it instead exuded a uniquely steady demeanor.
A profound-black, gilded carriage slowly drove out from within the palace. The carriage shafts were carved with lifelike Luan birds and cloud patterns, fully displaying the majesty of the imperial nobility amidst its low profile.
The carriage came to a steady halt, and a female official bowed to lift the carriage curtain.
Luo Zhao's figure appeared. She wore a nine-pheasant four-phoenix crown, its dangling jade beads swaying slightly and reflecting a cold, clear luster.
She was clad in a profound-black ceremonial robe embroidered with the Twelve Ornaments. Though slightly simplified according to regulations, the patterns remained incomparably solemn.
Her gaze swept over Gu Chengyin beside the carriage, her eyes calm and placid, as if the experience in the pavilion yesterday had been nothing but an illusion.
"Director Gu, you shall accompany me." Luo Zhao's voice was cold, carrying an undeniable tone of command.
"This subject obeys."
The carriage set off, slowly heading towards the Imperial Palace of the Divine Capital under the escort of the Golden Feather Guards.
Along the way, the palace gates opened sequentially, and the imperial guards saluted in silence.
The morning light gradually brightened, dyeing the towering palace walls and halls with a faint golden rim. It was solemn and majestic, yet it also exuded a suffocatingly heavy atmosphere.
In front of the main hall, the massive white marble plaza was already filled with civil and military officials waiting for the morning assembly.
According to their ranks, the civil officials stood on the east and the military officers on the west, forming solemn ranks.
The vermilion and purple robes of the Grand Secretaries, the crimson robes of the Ministers, the cyan and green everyday attire of the mid-to-low-ranking officials, along with the various armors and military robes of the generals, converged into a solemn sea of colors in the dawn light.
The air was so quiet that one could only hear the fluttering of banners in the wind and the occasional suppressed cough.
When Luo Zhao's carriage stopped at the edge of the plaza, almost all gazes were drawn over in unison, as if attracted by an invisible magnet.
Curiosity, scrutiny, awe, apprehension, observation, calculation... countless lines of sight flooded over in an instant.
Besides this, spiritual senses from the martial generals also swept past faintly, carrying probing intents.
Gu Chengyin's expression remained unchanged. He kept his eyes lowered and his mind focused inward. Silently, he unfurled the extraordinary perception granted by his system, capturing every trace of emotional fluctuation and low-voiced discussion.
"I haven't seen Her Highness in days, yet her imposing aura remains as extraordinary as ever."
"Who is that person behind Her Highness? So young!"
"I heard it's this very person who turned Luoshui Commandery upside down."
"Mind your words! His Majesty is attending the court today. Let's wait and see."
"The Second Prince is here too, right over there..."
The whispers were as faint as the buzzing of mosquitoes, but they were clearly distinguishable within Gu Chengyin's acute perception.
Right at this moment, Luo Zhao, who was the focus of countless gazes and invisible pressure, suddenly let out an extremely soft sound from her nose:
"Heh."
Though the sound was light, it seemed to carry a strange rhythm and penetrating power, instantly shattering the pressure field enveloping her.
Luo Zhao did not pause her steps, nor did she even look at anyone; she merely raised her chin slightly.
In that instant, the Twelve Ornaments embroidered on her profound-black ceremonial robe seemed to come alive. The sun, moon, and stars revolved, while the mountains, dragons, and flowery fowls looked ready to take flight.
A restrained majesty, as if a seal had been undone, erupted and spread outward!
This absolute confidence and authority was a natural aura stemming from her bloodline, status, and willpower.
Luo Zhao's steps were steady as she walked straight to the very front of the civil officials' ranks, the specific position belonging to the Crown Heir.
Gu Chengyin, along with Shangguan Yunying, followed closely behind.
Just then, a slight commotion arose from the other side of the plaza.
A procession appeared, dressed in the court attire of a Prince of the First Rank, their retinue appearing somewhat ostentatious.
The leading man, aged around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, had a pale face and slightly puffy under-eye bags. He was none other than the Second Prince, Luo Yanchen, who had been claiming illness.
His appearance made the atmosphere on the plaza even more delicate.
Many officials' gazes darted back and forth between him and Luo Zhao, holding their breaths in rapt attention.
The Second Prince also saw Luo Zhao. His gaze suddenly turned sharp and complex. A trace of unwillingness and venom flashed faintly, but he quickly concealed it.
He similarly walked toward his designated prince's position, not far from Luo Zhao. However, there was no interaction between them; they acted like complete strangers.
At exactly the hour of Mao, bells and drums rang in unison. The deep, resonant sounds echoed throughout the imperial city.
The officials instantly stood at attention and orderly entered the main hall, led by Luo Zhao and the Second Prince.
A moment later, a figure appeared on the dragon throne that symbolized the supreme imperial power.
The Emperor of Great Luo, Luo Houcong.
His calm gaze swept over the dense mass of officials below, lingering on Luo Zhao for a split second before glancing over the Second Prince, Luo Yanchen.
"Long live Our Emperor, long live, long, long live!" A deafening wave of worshipful cheers erupted as the officials knelt and prostrated themselves.
"Rise, my subjects."
The Luo Emperor's voice was not loud, yet it entered everyone's ears with absolute clarity.
The officials gave their thanks and rose, standing solemnly with their hands at their sides.
The Chief Eunuch, Lyu Fang, took a step forward. His shrill voice echoed through the grand hall: "His Majesty decrees! For today's morning assembly, if there are matters to report, present your memorials; if there is nothing, the court is dismissed."
It was the customary opening, but everyone present knew that it was impossible for today to be uneventful.
The imperial court was dead silent. Everyone's gazes, whether overt or covert, were cast toward Luo Zhao and the Second Prince standing at the very front.
Sure enough, the moment Lyu Fang's words fell, the Second Prince fiercely stepped out of the ranks. The sheer magnitude of his movement stood in stark contrast to his pale, frail complexion.
"Imperial Father! Your son has a memorial to present!"
The Second Prince's voice carried a passionate intensity, instantly shattering the silence of the court.
Everyone's hearts leaped into their throats. Here it comes!
The Luo Emperor's gaze landed on the Second Prince, remaining calm: "Granted."
Luo Yanchen took a deep breath, as if the resentment he had accumulated for days had finally found an outlet.
He raised his hand, pointing directly at the indifferent-looking Luo Zhao beside him, and spoke sternly:
"Your son wishes to impeach the Eldest Princess for shielding corruption and deceiving the sovereign!"
"The malpractices in the water transport of Luodu have accumulated for decades. The personnel, funds, provisions, and networks involved are incredibly complex. The Eldest Princess was there for barely a month, and she claims to have finished the investigation and returned? It is simply the greatest joke under the heavens!"
"It is clear that she knew her abilities were lacking and harbored ulterior motives. Instead of digging deep, she randomly grabbed a few scapegoats, put up a superficial show, and returned to report just to fish for political achievements and fame!"
"To actually treat such a major matter concerning the nation's welfare and the people's livelihood with such perfunctory negligence!"
"Imperial Father!"
The Second Prince abruptly fell to his knees, his voice carrying a weeping tone. "By doing this, the Eldest Princess shows no regard for her sovereign and father, and deceives the imperial court. Her treacherous heart deserves death! Your son implores Imperial Father to strip her of her position as the Crown Heir, to serve as a warning to others!"
His series of accusations were resounding and forceful, striking directly at the core.
Above the imperial court, there was a deathly silence.
All the officials held their breath, keeping their eyes lowered and their minds focused inward, not daring to make a single sound.
Several white-haired and white-bearded veteran ministers of the Grand Secretariat kept their eyelids lowered, as if their minds were wandering beyond the heavens.
Everyone's gaze focused on Luo Zhao, waiting for her reaction.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
