Become a king right from the start, beginning with receiving rewards from all the heavens.

The light in Xia Qiming's palm flickered even faster, constantly changing into various runes.

Suddenly, the runes formed by these rays of light exploded!

A wound appeared in his palm, and the next moment, a drop of blood fell to the ground.

"Your Highness..."

The subordinate rushed forward anxiously, his heart filled with turbulent emotions.

What the world doesn't know is that Crown Prince Xia Qiming is familiar with the art of divination. As a core member of the Crown Prince's inner circle, he has never seen the Crown Prince get injured while performing divination.

"It's alright!" Xia Qiming said calmly.

"I just did a small simulation of Nioh, and it backfired."

"It seems that holding the power of the Heavenly Punishment Division is indeed beyond my current ability to deduce."

The wound healed instantly the next moment, returning to its previous state.

"Which of the many princes you speak of poses a threat to my succession to the throne?"

The aide didn't know why His Highness asked this question, but he answered without hesitation.

"Your Highness, the four crown princes pose the greatest threat, as do the princes ranked in the top twenty!"

...

"Yes, looking around, even though I have my maternal family, the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, there are still so many of my brothers who can pose a threat to me."

"But most of them are smart; they know that Niou's rise is not good for anyone."

"They're all incredibly patient, only those few fools can't see the future and are recklessly offending King Ren!"

A ripple appeared in Xia Qiming's eyes, as if he could see through the void and see the Prince Ren in the mansion.

"They don't want to offend Prince Ren, isn't it because they hope to get his help during the crucial succession period?"

"But this is not what I want to see!"

"Given the extent of his control over the Heavenly Punishment Division, it's likely that the Heavenly Punishment Division will become his personal power base!"

"It's a pity that the one drawn this time is the Azure King..."

"If only it were any one of the other four princes..."

...

Inside the Prince Ren's residence, Xia Zhaoyan recalled the events of yesterday's court session, where the imperial edict, seemingly restricting officials at all levels, was still being discussed.

He later realized that the imperial edict was not very binding!

"Father, are you doing this on purpose, or are you simply afraid to sever this tentacle?"

"But it doesn't matter, at least no one mentions the underworld anymore!"

Just then, Xuanxuan walked in.

"Your Highness, Zhang Han has arrived!"

Xia Zhaoyan put aside his thoughts and asked Xuanxuan to bring the person in.

He frowned, wondering what could have made Zhang Han risk such a visit in person.

The Prince Ren's Mansion is now a place that everyone is secretly watching.

Unless there is a special reason, Xia Zhaoyan ordered his two major forces not to visit him easily.

If someone discovers this, it will completely expose me, forcing me to hastily sit down at the table.

"Your Highness, I, Zhang Han, pay my respects!"

"No need for formalities, please have a seat!"

"Xuanxuan, pour some tea!"

Zhang Han immediately stood up and hurriedly said, "No, no, I dare not," and took the initiative to pick up the teapot to pour tea for King Ren and him.

Everyone has a discerning eye; who is Xuanxuan? She is one of the future princesses, and even more so, one of the future empresses.

"Your Highness, the Shadow Guards have inadvertently discovered something."

"This matter involves the Heavenly Punishment Division!"

Hmm? Xia Zhaoyan's expression turned serious, and he gestured for Zhang Han to explain in detail.

"The Shadow Guard agents infiltrated the Ling Prince's residence overheard that not long ago, the thirty-five princes of the royal family jointly discussed annihilating the Wang family of Xuzhou!"

"The reason is that the Wang family took the initiative to pledge allegiance to you, giving many neutral forces in the Great Xia a new option."

"Although you rejected me, the trend has already begun."

"So, to make an example of them, they planned to wipe out the Wang family!"

Xia Zhaoyan never underestimated any prince, including the Eastern Prince and the Qiong Prince, whom he had repeatedly trampled upon.

Born into royalty, with her maternal family of noble birth behind her, the education and upbringing she received from childhood were unmatched by anyone else.

"To be honest, this news doesn't surprise me at all!"

"If I were them, I would have made the same choice. How can a neutral faction be tolerated in the struggle for the throne!"

"The Wang family is ultimately just an ordinary family from the common people. They are at too low a level to see the daily power struggles between the court and the people."

"If you want to take shortcuts, you have to bear the consequences of failure!"

Xuanxuan listened quietly to Xia Zhaoyan, her eyes never leaving him, her pupils filled with a faint look of admiration.

She suddenly spoke softly, "Your Highness, should we notify the Heavenly Punishment Division?"

"After all, I remember the Wang family's Grandmaster realm expert was the Deputy Chief of the Xuzhou branch!"

Zhang Han also looked at Xia Zhaoyan.

But then he saw his own prince shake his head and then speak.

"No need, we'll pretend we don't know about this for now."

The two looked puzzled. That was the deputy head of the Heavenly Punishment Division, who should be considered a mid-level official.

Xia Zhaoyan got up and walked outside, followed quickly by the two people behind him.

"Once this matter is reported to the Heavenly Punishment Division, Wang Mo will indeed be able to live under the protection of the Heavenly Punishment Division, and it may even allow the Wang family to escape ahead of time."

"But who will bear the wrath of the kings? I do not wish for the Heavenly Punishment Division to face their wrath!"

Zhang Han understood somewhat; His Highness did not want to confront all the princes at the moment.

The current priority is to capture one or two princes and deal with them to the death. There is a hierarchy of importance and urgency in everything.

"Furthermore, Wang Mo is not one of us. He previously controlled the Xuzhou branch and brought a lot of benefits to the Wang family. Considering that he was the first to voluntarily submit to the Heavenly Punishment Division, I didn't hold it against him at the time."

"I'll kick this kind of person out of the Heavenly Punishment Division sooner or later. Now, it's good that we don't have to lift a finger; someone else will do it for us."

Indeed, in Xia Zhaoyan's mind, he would gradually replace all the middle and senior-level officials of the Heavenly Punishment Division with his own people.

The guards below will also be replaced by the heavenly guards.

The Heavenly Punishment Division will be the sharpest weapon in his hands, and the main force that will enable him to control the court after he ascends the throne.

It is absolutely unacceptable for any local person to hold an important position in it!

"Wang Mo's death was like a knife personally handed to me by the princes!"

"I'm afraid none of the kings expected this; Wang Mo is a member of my Heavenly Punishment Division!"

"Their habitual way of thinking is a common problem in this world."

Don't say Xia Zhaoyan is ruthless. In this world of high martial arts and even Xuanwu, if you're not ruthless, you'll just be waiting to be eaten up piece by piece.

Now Xuanxuan understood that His Highness was going to use Wang Mo's death to stir up trouble in the court and among the people.

...

Inside the Qiong King's Mansion, Xia Tianqiong's expression was somewhat depressed!

"Tell me, why is my luck so bad?"

"Of all the princes who drew lots, I was the one who had to be chosen!"

Everyone sighed inwardly, there was nothing they could do but say that their prince was just unlucky.

"I've noticed that ever since Niou rose to power, my luck has never been good!"

"Before he left the palace, my career was progressing smoothly!"

"After he was granted the title of king and left the palace, my luck suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse, as if he had stolen all my fortune!"

The more I talked, the angrier and more aggrieved I became!