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

Just as the Heavenly Punishment Division was investigating all the crimes committed by the Zhang family, a storm officially began.

First, rumors and gossip began to circulate among the people.

"Sigh, I heard that the Heavenly Punishment Division, in its pursuit of merit, has actually framed innocent people?"

...

"I've heard that. It's said that Prince Ren was dissatisfied with losing his right to the throne, so he ordered the Heavenly Punishment Division to suppress the court officials."

...

"I've heard that since Lord Zhang of the Ministry of Justice took office, he has handled numerous cases. Under his leadership, the Ministry of Justice's prestige is now either first or second among the Six Ministries!"

"Indeed, Lord Zhang, such a good official, was wrongly arrested!"

...

"So it seems that Niou isn't a good person either; he's utterly hypocritical!"

The rumors and gossip among the people soon reached Xia Zhaoyan's ears.

In the Prince's residence, Hongyang's face was grim.

"Your Highness, we are still unable to pinpoint the source of these people."

"However, I suspect this is backed by the Liuzhou Hometown Association!"

Zhang Hailin was originally from Liuzhou, and was one of the influential officials from Liuzhou in the imperial court.

Of course they had to protect him; otherwise, if they had offended two princes before and then protected him, wouldn't it have been a waste of offending the princes?

Moreover, a third-rank official is a rare and important figure in the Liuzhou hometown association.

Xia Zhaoyan felt no anger whatsoever. The rumors spread by these people were nothing compared to the so-called cyberbullying in his previous life.

I'm not the emperor, so I can't even let others rebel!

"Hongyang, you have underestimated the Great Xia court."

"I dare to guarantee that the source behind this is indeed the Liuzhou Hometown Association."

"But there are many who are fanning the flames."

"No one wants to see the Heavenly Punishment Bureau rise again. I doubt even my father, the Emperor, would want it to fully recover and rise once more!"

Hongyang's expression changed drastically; Xia Zhaoyan's words stirred up a storm in his heart.

Even Your Majesty doesn't seem to be able to restore the Heavenly Punishment Bureau? Then why grant it the special imperial permission to regain its powers?

At this moment, he felt that the intrigue and backstabbing in the court were too frightening, and he would rather be the sharpest knife in His Highness's hand.

Don't even think about becoming one of His Highness's advisors!

Originally, Hongyang had ambitions to quickly grow into a qualified strategist while His Highness was currently short of manpower.

After all, the rewards for meritorious service in the future will be far more beneficial and prestigious for the staff than for working in the Heavenly Punishment Division.

Now it seems I'm not cut out for it.

"Alright, let's ignore those rumors for now."

"My reputation is unimportant now. When I am powerful, great scholars will naturally emerge to defend me!"

"What I want now is the lives of the Zhang family. Judging from their behavior, there are probably not many good people in the Zhang family."

"Perfect for nourishing my growth and development!"

...

What ordinary people don't know about the capital city is that there is a hidden space above it, which is the ancestral home of the royal family.

The Tianhuang Continent is incredibly vast, and many smaller worlds have been born from it.

Therefore, since ancient times, powerful forces have captured small worlds to use as their ancestral lands.

Emperor Xia, who was cultivating, suddenly twitched his ears, and then his figure disappeared from the palace. The next moment, he arrived in a beautiful world that was like a fairyland.

However, this world appears relatively small; anyone with the cultivation level of the Innate Realm can see the barrier at the edge of the world with their naked eye.

Many members of the royal family lived here, and those below bowed to the Xia Emperor in the sky.

He didn't linger, but went straight to the massive central palace building.

"Hongwu pays respects to all the venerable ancestors!"

"Come in!" an old voice rang out.

Emperor Xia got up and walked into a palace garden. There were many elderly people there, some playing chess in twos and threes, and some casting fishing rods.

Looking around, they seemed like ordinary old folks, with no indication that they were powerful figures who could destroy cities with a flick of their wrists.

The Great Xia Dynasty has been established for 100,000 years, and its first ancestor is still alive, using his own cultivation to suppress the passage of time in this world.

He has been in the mid-stage of the Dragon Transformation Realm for tens of thousands of years, but he is unable to break through to the late stage, let alone the Human Immortal Realm.

A cultivator in the Purple Mansion Realm has a lifespan of one thousand years, a Grandmaster Realm cultivator has a lifespan of about two to five hundred years, and a Great Grandmaster has a lifespan of five thousand years.

The Dharma Aspect Realm allows one to easily break through the ten-thousand-year lifespan limit, while the Celestial Realm no longer requires any consideration of lifespan.

Starting from the Celestial Realm, the time required to break through each subsequent minor realm is measured in thousands or tens of thousands of years.

Otherwise, since ancient times, only three or five human immortal realms have been born on the Tianhuang Continent!

Apart from the first ancestor Xia Wenwu, the few surviving members of the second generation of ancestors are now all at the early stage of the Dragon Transformation Realm.

Among the three generations, some are at the Shattered Realm, while others, due to their aptitude, are still at the Celestial Realm.

In the fourth and fifth generations, there were beings at the Celestial Realm.

Moreover, among the descendants, there are some outstanding individuals who are now at the early stage of the Dragon Transformation Realm.

Therefore, there are more than ten people in the Dragon Transformation Realm within the entire Great Xia royal family.

There are dozens of people in the Shattered Realm, and even more in the Celestial Realm, at least a hundred.

This is the foundation of the Great Xia royal family, far greater than any other power within its borders.

It also has a stronger foundation than most forces on the mainland; otherwise, the Great Xia Dynasty would not be one of the two overlords.

Although it is somewhat corrupt and chaotic now, no one can overthrow the rule of the Great Xia royal family at present.

"Hongwu, I've heard things are quite lively outside lately," an old royal ancestor casually asked.

This is Xia Kuangwu, the third-generation ancestor. Back then, he single-handedly guarded the border and slaughtered the northern demon race, so that for the next thousand years, they dared not set foot in the Great Xia!

Don't be fooled by his kind and gentle appearance; the undead in his hands could fill an entire city.

"Reporting to the Ancestor, this matter was caused by my son."

Xia Hongwu then recounted the events that had occurred over the past two months.

Xia Zhaoyan's presence instantly piqued the interest of many of the elders here.

One of them even clapped and cheered, "Haha...I see that this younger generation has the flair I had back in the day!"

"It's a pity that his age and the limitations imposed by his maternal clan prevent him from vying for the throne!"

Without the support of a powerful force behind him, it's nothing but a pipe dream to try and seize the throne!

"But...hehe, who can say for sure!"

Xia Hongwu's eyelids twitched, and he hurriedly spoke up to stop him.

"Ancestor, there are rules in the royal family that forbid you from interfering in the struggle for the throne!"

"Haha... Don't worry, although I like your son's personality, I won't go against the rules set by the ancestor!"

These words put Emperor Xia's mind at ease.

"Hongwu, Zhaoyan has offended the court and the public because of the Heavenly Punishment Bureau. You must ensure his safety."

"It's a good move to let the Heavenly Punishment Division rise again. By using the Heavenly Punishment Division to spur on the Embroidered Uniform Guard and other institutions, we can let them know that if things continue like this, there will be plenty of people to replace them."

"Did you really think that the decline of the Heavenly Punishment Bureau was because these clowns overshadowed the royal family?"

"Hmph, if our Xia family hadn't focused our efforts on the Tribulation of Reincarnation, how could we have tolerated them dismembering the Heavenly Punishment Bureau!"

An old ancestor spoke of the decline of the Heavenly Punishment Bureau, his tone still full of displeasure. Even after so many years, it seemed he had not let go of the matter.

"Since the Heavenly Punishment Bureau has been given power, why not grant it the power to patrol and inspect the nobles?" Finally, the second-generation patriarch, Xia Tian'ao, opened his eyes and looked at Emperor Xia.