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

Early morning, Imperial Palace, Wenhua Hall.

Su Mubai sat on a low couch by the window, wearing a faded gray-blue robe, his thin fingers holding a white chess piece suspended in mid-air.

Opposite him sat an elderly minister, also with white hair and beard. The two had been playing chess in silence for half an hour. Apart from the crisp sound of chess pieces hitting the board, there was no other sound in the hall.

Su Mingyue stood behind Su Mubai, as quiet as an extra pillar in the Wenhua Hall.

She didn't make a sound to disturb them, nor did she show any impatience; she just stood there quietly.

Su Mingli, however, lacked this composure. He tilted his head and glanced at the chessboard, then at the white piece in Su Mubai's hand that he couldn't bring himself to place.

Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer, took a step forward, grabbed Su Mubai's sleeve, and started yelling.

"Grandpa, stop playing! You two are such terrible chess players, you'll start swearing and glaring at each other again in no time! My sister needs to talk to you about something important!"

The old minister opposite him was very perceptive and did not get angry after hearing Su Mingli's words.

With a chuckle, he tossed the black pieces in his hand into the chess basket, stood up, straightened his clothes, and pulled Su Mingli toward the side room.

As Su Mingli was being dragged along, he didn't forget to turn back and wink at Su Mingyue, mouthing "Go for it, sis."

Su Mingyue sat down in the old minister's seat, her skirt brushing against the edge of the couch, her hands folded on her knees.

Her back was straight as a pine tree, her face calm and expressionless, and she did not speak first.

Su Mubai didn't look up at her, but carefully collected the unfinished chess game pieces on the board into the chess basket.

White pieces go to the white basket, black pieces go to the black basket, and the bone pieces make a crisp clinking sound as they move through the mahogany baskets.

It took him a long time to finish the game of chess. Then he looked up at his granddaughter, who was dressed in a moon-white jacket and had a calm and serene expression.

"Is everything calm outside?" His voice was soft, with the hoarseness typical of an old man.

Su Mingyue nodded.

Su Mubai remained silent for a while, then slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. His tone was like admonition, or perhaps like convincing himself: "Now that the pacification is complete, let's return all military power to His Majesty."

Su Mingyue gave him a deep look, but didn't say anything, just waited quietly for him to finish speaking.

There was no extra emotion in those phoenix eyes, yet for some reason Su Mubai felt as if his words had hit an invisible wall, swallowing up even the echo.

Su Mubai sighed, his thin fingers tracing the edge of the chessboard, his tone growing heavier:

"The Liu family are the rulers, and we are their subjects."

"This is a rule that has never changed in the more than 600 years since the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty."

"Things will not change in the past, and they will not change in the future."

"My Su family has followed the Liu family for over six hundred years, ever since the first ancestor of my Su family joined the founding emperor in raising an army, generation after generation."

"Whether the monarch is a wise ruler or a foolish one, a ruler is a ruler, and a subject is a subject. This principle cannot be changed."

Su Mingyue listened quietly as he finished speaking, then softly asked, "Is it because of the founding emperor, Liu Jun?"

Su Mubai's fingers suddenly paused, and the chess pieces in the chess basket were knocked over with a clatter.

He looked up at Su Mingyue, a fleeting look of surprise crossing his wrinkled face, before he slowly nodded.

"That's right. The founding emperor Liu Jun is from a completely different world than us."

"In the more than 600-year history of the Great Xia Dynasty, there have been rebellions."

"In the past six hundred years, there have been treacherous ministers who have wielded great power, powerful vassal kings who have amassed their own armies, and great upheavals that almost led to the change of dynasties."

"But every time the building is about to collapse, someone always comes to save it."

"Sometimes it's one person, sometimes it's a group of people." He shook his head slightly as he spoke and continued.

"Do you think those rebel leaders never considered becoming kings and rulers?"

"They want to too. But whenever someone tries to take that seat, they always disappear before they can."

"Disappeared?" Su Mingyue's tone was slightly surprised.

"That's right, they just vanished without a trace for no reason." Su Mubai paused, lowering his voice even further.

"Therefore, for the past six hundred years, no noble family in the entire Great Xia Dynasty has dared to claim the title of king and tyrant after a rebellion broke out."

Even the Great Yuan and the Great Yan dared not send troops to set foot on the territory of the Great Xia when the internal strife was at its worst.

"The reason is this: Liu Jun, the founding emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, is still alive."

"Is someone who has lived for over six hundred years still human? That would be someone who could become an immortal or an ancestor in the outside world."

Su Mingyue's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly as she caught the two most crucial words in his statement:

"outside world?"

"That's right. Further north from the Great Yuan lies the Endless Forest. And further north from the Endless Forest lies another world."

"It is said that it is the world of immortals, with endless mountains and rivers, immortal caves floating in the sky, sword immortals who fly on swords and cultivators who have lived for thousands of years."

As he spoke, Su Mubai looked longingly towards the north.

"The people there can fly through the air and move mountains and rivers with ease."

"After Emperor Liu Jun unified the country, he passed the throne to his son and then went to that world."

"More than six hundred years have passed, and not only has he not died, but every fifty years or so, he will come back to see this great Xia dynasty."

"He must have been keeping an eye on this land, on the descendants of the Liu family, and on our illustrious families."

Su Mingyue remained silent for a while, then asked, "If there are immortals, why don't we have any here?"

"Because your great-grandfather once told my grandfather,"

Su Mubai's voice grew lower and lower, as if he were afraid of being overheard by the wind passing by the window.

"We don't have anything here that immortals need for cultivation, something called 'spiritual energy'."

"Without spiritual energy, immortals cannot stay here for long, nor can they cultivate here. This is one reason."

"On the other hand, it was because the founding emperor Liu Jun did not allow immortals to set foot here."

"Some people have appeared here before, but they all disappeared later. The major families speculate that these disappeared immortals are all related to Liu Jun."

Zhou Ming, standing with his hands behind his back on the command platform, watched as thousands of soldiers clumsily made fireballs at the drill ground outside Yongning City.

Simultaneously, the exact conversation from the Wenhua Hall echoed in his mind.

He maintained a calm and amiable expression on his face, correcting the soldiers' hand gestures, but inwardly, a storm was brewing.

North of the Endless Forest lies a world of cultivators.

The reason why there are no cultivators in the Great Xia Dynasty is because there is no spiritual energy here.

Zhou Ming closed his eyes and released his divine sense to carefully comprehend it. After a while, he opened his eyes.

It's not that it lacks spiritual energy, but rather that the spiritual energy is pitifully thin.

Emperor Liu Jun, the founding emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, has lived for six hundred years, and his cultivation level must be unfathomable.

He was able to drive all the cultivators out of the area, and no cultivators came here again afterward.

What does this tell us?

This shows that he is very strong, strong enough to make the entire cultivation world obediently abide by his prohibitions.

Zhou Ming lowered his eyelids, concealing the fleeting darkness in his eyes.

Now is not the right time for Su Mingyue to ascend the throne.