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

Feng Wei's lips moved a few times, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't know where to begin.

He turned his head and exchanged a puzzled look with his colleague beside him before turning his gaze back to the group of noble ministers kneeling on the ground.

His gaze lingered on Gongsun Gu and Bai Chengsheng for a long while.

They noticed that the two men's usually straight backs were now hunched over, their shoulders under their court robes were trembling slightly, and a large patch of their collars was soaked with cold sweat.

Feng Wei's pupils contracted slightly, and a guess that he himself could hardly believe vaguely formed in his mind.

Could it be related to Zhou Ming leading 5,000 elite troops into the city after the morning court session?

Just as everyone was wondering, Su Mingyue spoke up.

Her voice remained in that indifferent tone, but there was a hint of lightness in her words, as if she were going with the flow:

"Your Excellencies are indeed farsighted. Since you have taken the initiative to promote the new laws, I cannot refuse you."

She turned her head slightly and said to Chunlan beside her, "Chunlan, draft the decree."

Chunlan bowed and accepted the order, then quickly left the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Su Mingyue sat upright on the dragon throne, her gaze slowly sweeping across the faces of everyone in the hall.

From the moment Zhou Ming and she spent the entire night discussing six strategies for governing the country until today, her nerves have remained constantly on edge.

Zhou Ming might not know the power of aristocratic families, but she was very clear about it.

Over the centuries, powerful families have formed intricate networks of interests through intermarriage, alliances, and collaborations.

Its roots are intertwined like a vast root system covering the entire Youzhou area.

If you're not careful, pulling on one vine can lead to pulling out a whole patch of melons.

She has barely slept in the past few days.

He mobilized troops and rotated all the military units where the sons of aristocratic families served under various pretexts.

She used every excuse she could think of: routine rotation, replenishing the squad with new players, intensifying training.

She quietly removed those scions of noble families from key command positions and replaced them with veteran soldiers from the old camps of the northern border army who were absolutely loyal to her.

She made worst-case plans, and even marked out which city to retreat to on the map if the aristocratic families launched a collective counterattack and Yongning City fell.

But she never expected that Zhou Ming's sword strike would be so powerful.

A single sword strike beheaded several Blood Refining Realm cultivators, more effective than any imperial edict and more direct than any negotiation.

Those hidden dangers that she had painstakingly mobilized troops, rotated generals, and secretly plotted for days but failed to completely resolve were all easily dispelled by Zhou Ming with a single sword stroke.

Those patriarchs she thought would fight to the death were now kneeling before her, vying to promote the new law on her behalf.

Su Mingyue sat upright on the dragon throne, her gaze passing over the palace gate and looking towards the direction of Yongning City.

She turned her gaze away, lowered her eyes, looked at her fingers resting on her knees, and let out a soft sigh.

The heavy weight that had been pressing on my chest for days quietly settled, and the crushed powder mixed with the air of relief finally dissipated completely.

Inside Yongning City, Zhou Ming did not wait for the soldiers to finish ransacking the Meng family's property.

He handed the scene over to Wu Shijun for full command, gave a few more instructions, then mounted his horse alone and rode along the long street toward the Minister's Mansion.

When confronting Zheng Yaoming, Zhou Ming originally did not intend to reveal his strength.

His plan was to use 5,000 soldiers to first test the strength of the aristocratic families, but plans can't keep up with changes.

Just as he rode his horse to the gate of the Zheng residence, a series of warm currents surged into his dantian without warning.

The warm current was quite strong. He could even feel the purple-gold nascent soul in his dantian trembling slightly.

A purple-gold aura flowed slowly through his meridians, and a powerful force that had been suppressed for a long time was beginning to stir.

Zhou Ming could sense that he was about to break through.

So he changed his mind.

With a single sword strike, Zheng Yaoming's trump card was completely wiped out, allowing everyone present to see it clearly.

In this city, who calls the shots?

Since we're about to break through, there's no need to delay.

Why not take this opportunity to subdue all the powerful families and ensure the smooth implementation of the new laws?

According to his previous plan, these aristocratic families were among the first to receive the Scripture of Salvation. The scripture had been nurtured in their hands for more than half a year and was already quite substantial.

He originally planned to unleash a bloodbath in Youzhou, uprooting all the powerful clans and leaving none alive.

At that time, a considerable portion of the population in Youzhou who practiced the Crossing the World Scripture will inevitably perish as a result.

The aristocratic families whose property was confiscated and who were executed; the die-hard soldiers who resisted to the bitter end; and the retainers and vassals who were caught up in the chaos.

He thought he would use this to help himself break through to the Nascent Soul Realm.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived at the Zheng family's door, a surge of heat rose up from his dantian on its own.

The magical fluctuations emanating from those broken causal chains surged in continuously, far more robust and powerful than he had anticipated.

So he changed his mind at the last minute at the Zheng residence.

Eliminate the ringleaders, release the remaining powerful families, and let them implement the new laws for us.

Otherwise, given Zhou Ming's vengeful nature, it would be a miracle if anyone who had insulted him survived to the next day.

He would not let Gongsun Gu and Bai Chengsheng, who pointed their fingers at him in court and called him a slave, see the sun rise tomorrow.

Upon returning to the Minister's residence, Zhou Ming dismounted, tossed the reins to the gatekeeper, and strode through the covered walkway and moon gate, uttering a single sentence to Steward Meng, who had come to greet him:

"I am going into seclusion to cultivate, and no one is allowed to disturb me."

"The matters in the front yard are entirely under Lord Wu's jurisdiction. If there's anything he's unsure about, let him handle it himself."

Butler Meng had been following Zhou Ming for some time, and this was the first time he had seen him walk so hurriedly and speak so solemnly. He quickly bowed and agreed.

Zhou Ming walked straight into the master bedroom, pushed open the heavy rosewood wardrobe in the corner, revealing a hidden door.

Behind the hidden door is a secret room.

This is where the previous owner of the mansion used to cultivate. The four walls are made of solid granite blocks, thick and airtight.

In the center of the secret room, there was only a low stone couch, on which there were still faint indentations left by the previous owner who had sat cross-legged for many years.

Zhou Ming bolted the hidden door from the inside, took out a futon woven from spirit herbs from his storage ring, placed it on the stone bed, and sat cross-legged on it.

Inside the dantian, a continuous flow of heat was still surging in.

He closed his eyes and focused all his attention on his body.

The purplish-gold nascent soul was slowly rotating in the center of the dantian, its body surrounded by a flowing halo. With each breath, it caused the magical power in the meridians to surge like a river.

He guided the warm currents that had broken free from the causal chain and were flowing into his dantian.

One by one, the essence was introduced into the Nascent Soul's body, and then the Nascent Soul was used as a furnace to slowly refine it.

He refined the magical power that originally did not belong to him into pure magical power that was completely integrated with himself.

The secret chamber was extremely quiet, with only the faint glow emanating from the spirit stones embedded in the walls and his long, almost imperceptible breathing.