If you die, I will be able to inherit your cultivation.

Su Mingyue's momentum has been established.

It's not a question of whether he can stop it, but rather that no one can stop it at all.

She held not only the army from the North, but also a brand-new army armed to the teeth with magic, an army that even he, an old general, couldn't understand.

The die was cast, and there was nothing he, as a father, could do to stop it.

Since that's the case, it's better to let go; at least you can retain some dignity as a father.

Su Mingyue quietly watched her father, taking in the entire process of his struggle and eventual relief.

She felt no anger, no resentment, and no urge to defend herself.

Her father was worried about a counterattack from powerful families, about the defense of Youzhou, and about her making too many enemies.

Each of these concerns is valid, but none of them are accurate.

He didn't know that Youzhou was never a monolithic entity. The reason it could maintain a superficial peace was because of the fear of various forces checking and balancing each other.

Once fear becomes unbalanced, it must be rebuilt using more direct methods.

He didn't know that the immortal's acceptance of disciples was just a facade; the allure of the method to immortality would completely shatter all fragile agreements and alliances.

No one dies today, but they will die tomorrow. Dying at the gate of the Marquis's mansion is no different from dying outside the city gate.

He was even more unaware that the black-armored army and magical system of the Yongning Marquis's mansion were created by her with all her heart and soul.

She did not hand over the army to him, because from the very first day it was born, it was her own sword, and the hilt could only be held in her own hand.

But she didn't say a single word of these words.

She simply nodded and calmly replied, "Daughter understands, thank you, Father."

Su Yongning leaned back in his chair and slowly closed his eyes.

Su Mingyue walked out of the study in the main house and through the long corridor connecting the main house and the Begonia Garden.

Her expression was extremely calm, and her pace was neither fast nor slow, just as it was on her usual days when she returned to Haitang Garden for lunch.

Back at the Begonia Garden, she went straight into the study and closed the door behind her.

The sound of the door latch hitting its groove echoed softly in the quiet courtyard.

Chunlan and Qiuju exchanged a glance and tacitly decided not to follow them inside, but instead quietly stood guard outside the study door.

Chunlan lowered her eyes, clasped her hands in front of her, and stood motionless, like a statue.

She had followed Su Mingyue for over a decade and understood her young mistress's temperament better than anyone else.

Whenever she closes the door to her study alone, she is making the most important decision.

Time slips away, bit by bit.

The sunlight moved from the east window to the west window, and then gradually dimmed from the west window.

The study remained completely silent, as if no one was there.

I don't know how much time passed before the study door finally opened from the inside.

Su Mingyue's voice came from inside the door, still in that calm, almost indifferent tone:

"Chunlan, come in."

Chunlan straightened her clothes and strode into the study.

Su Mingyue sat behind her desk, with a map of Youzhou spread out in front of her. The map was covered with dense markings in vermilion ink, showing the garrison situation and grain reserves of each county.

Her finger touched the location of Yongning City, pressing a very shallow indentation into that small patch of the map.

"Go and prepare."

She raised her eyes, her phoenix eyes devoid of any emotion, and her tone remained calm.

"Three days later, he will ascend the throne."

Upon hearing this, Chunlan's face suddenly lit up with an irrepressible joy.

She nodded vigorously, her voice trembling slightly with excitement:

"Yes, Miss."

After bowing, she turned and walked briskly out of the study.

Zhou Ming sat cross-legged in a cave in the western mountains, slowly withdrawing his divine sense from the direction of Yongning City.

"Su Mingyue has finally made up her mind to ascend the throne. My shrewd maneuvering was not in vain."

Zhou Ming muttered something to himself in the darkness.

Of the original nine provinces of the Great Xia Dynasty, after the impact of the return of Blood Refining Realm warriors half a year ago, only a corner of Youzhou is still firmly in Su Mingyue's hands.

However, with Su Mingyue's abilities, and with the assistance of the veteran generals of the northern border army under Su Yongning, it is only a matter of time before the territory of the Great Xia is brought back into their possession.

Zhou Ming put these thoughts aside, closed his eyes again, and began to refine the continuous flow of heat within his dantian.

Ever since the news of Fengdu City spread, the heat in my dantian has grown stronger and larger every day.

Initially, only small streams of magical power flowed into the Qi Sea.

Now they have converged into streams of warmth, surging within the dantian.

Unfortunately, this land only has so many people and such a small area.

Now, those who are meant to cultivate the Scripture of Salvation have basically already begun their cultivation, so he no longer needs to personally go out and painstakingly spread it as he did before.

The only thing to do from now on is to wait for the chains of cause and effect to break one by one, and for one's cultivation level to rise layer by layer.

Secondly, we need to continue studying the formation of the gale-force wind belt on the border of the Three Kingdoms to see if we can find a way to break it.

However, Zhou Ming was not in a hurry.

Given Liu Jun's original Golden Core stage cultivation level, he was able to live in this world for over six hundred years, outliving several emperors.

His current cultivation level is a whole realm higher than Liu Jun's back then.

The lifespan of a Nascent Soul cultivator is at least several times that of a Golden Core cultivator.

Living another one or two thousand years would be a piece of cake for him. One or two thousand years would be enough time for him to slowly comprehend it.

While Zhou Ming was meditating and cultivating in a cave in Xishan, Chunlan in Yongning City had already begun to make intensive preparations for Su Mingyue's ascension to the throne.

In fact, these preparations had been largely completed before Zhou Ming left Yongning City.

The rituals and regulations for the enthronement ceremony, the ritual implements used for the sacrifice to Heaven, the embroidery patterns for the dragon robe and crown, and the layout of the main hall and side halls—every detail was scrutinized more than once.

Su Mingyue only temporarily shelved these plans because Su Mubai revealed that Liu Jun was still alive.

Now, more than half a year has passed, and Chunlan has not only not let the preparation work stagnate or become rusty, but has instead used the past six months to refine every aspect to a higher level.

The embroiderers had embroidered the black ceremonial robe with the twelve imperial symbols several months in advance, stitch by stitch, meticulously and densely.

The officials in charge of ceremonies rehearsed the coronation ceremony countless times from beginning to end.

The dragon throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony was polished until it shone like a mirror, and the crimson brocade carpet on the steps had been replaced, with every inch of it stretched perfectly flat.

That morning, as the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, the first lamp was lit in Yongning City.

Then countless lights lit up one after another along the city walls, along the official roads, and along the streets and alleys.

The entire city awoke from its slumber to welcome that day destined to be recorded in history.

A deep, resonant horn sounded from the direction of the imperial palace, echoing across the sky above Yongning City.

Immediately afterwards, the bell tower in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony resounded with the booming of a bronze bell. The sound spread outwards from the center of the palace like ripples, waking up every tightly closed door and window.

The entire Yongning Street was packed with people, stretching from the entrance of the Marquis's Mansion all the way to the main gate of the Imperial Palace, with crowds of people that seemed to have no end in sight.

Every hall in the palace was adorned with brand-new red silk, and the imperial steps were covered with a fresh crimson brocade carpet.

The imperial guards on both sides, wielding long halberds and clad in new armor with their helmet plumes standing out like a forest, gleamed coldly in the morning light.

The entire city of Yongning was waiting, waiting for the person who would ascend to the throne.