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

It's estimated that no one would have expected that the ancestor of the Sima family would actually break through to the peak of the Shattered Realm.

At this moment, these high-ranking officials wore expressions of excitement.

From the late stage of the Shattered Realm to the Perfect Realm, this is no simple small realm.

This means that the founding emperor has a chance to break through to the Dragon Transformation Realm.

Moreover, this hope is not small. As long as they survive the Dragon Transformation Tribulation, the Sima family will become one of the top powers in the Great Xia Dynasty.

Three figures sat at the head of the table, the one in the middle being Sima Lie, the founding ancestor of the Sima family!

On the left and right sides are two other members of the clan who are at the Shattered Realm, one at the mid-stage of the Shattered Realm and the other at the early stage of the Shattered Realm.

Below them were ten Celestial Realm cultivators and twenty or thirty Dharma Aspect Realm cultivators.

With a history of over 30,000 years, the Sima family would be considered a first-rate power even if placed alone in the cultivation world.

"Great Ancestor, now that you're using the clan's magical artifacts, are you capable of fighting against the Heavenly Punishment Army commander under King Ren?"

Guo Jing's name is already well-known to the world.

It is precisely because of this person's existence that Xia Zhaoyan is now among the top tier of all the princes.

It can be said that apart from the five crown princes and Prince Heng, no other prince's power can compare with that of Prince Ren.

Sima Lie laughed proudly, "Haha! Of course I'm confident."

"Moreover, I'm not only capable of fighting Guo Jing, but I'm also confident I can severely injure him!"

Upon hearing this, everyone cheered with delight once again.

The founding emperor was domineering, the founding emperor was awesome...

Sima Lie waved his hand, signaling everyone to quiet down.

"Those Renwang and the Heavenly Punishment Division want to force us to slap ourselves in the face? Hmph, do they really think the Sima family is a spineless clan like the Shi family!"

"King Ren also knew this and dared not massacre the powerful families. Otherwise, how could he have let the Shi family deal with the Zhang family on their own?"

At that moment, a figure below stood up.

Everyone's eyes were filled with relief and joy.

This is the holy son of their clan, although he is not listed among the eight young masters of the aristocratic families.

"Elders, the Shi family has tarnished the honor of our clan."

"I plan to challenge Shi Donglin in a couple of days and pull him down from the Eight Young Masters."

"Let the world know that even powerful families can have varying degrees of strength."

"What the Shi family has done does not represent the will of our aristocratic community!"

...

"Good, that's ambitious!"

"If it were possible, I, your ancestor, would like to kick the Shi family out of the aristocratic family group." Sima Lie said, his expression showing a hint of disdain and dissatisfaction when he mentioned the Shi family.

Of course, given the size of the Sima family, there were also disagreements among its higher-ups.

Just like the head of the family at this moment, he looked worried.

"Gentlemen, what should we do if Niou really decides to make a move?"

The moment these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall froze instantly.

A hint of displeasure flashed in the eyes of the Emperor Taizu at the head of the table. He had never been particularly fond of this patriarch.

He didn't inherit his domineering nature; instead, he was very cautious and careful in his dealings with others.

"What are you afraid of? Let's not talk about your ancestor anymore."

"We also have members of the royal family, the Heavenly Sword Sect of Lingwu Prefecture, as well as Crown Prince Xia Qiming and Prince Wu Xia Wuzheng."

"Even if the King of Ren really wants to take action, Guo Jing will have the royal family and the Heavenly Sword Sect to handle it."

"Do the remaining Bai Yujing and Tianfa Division have the strength to enter our family?"

The Heavenly Sword Sect of Lingwu Prefecture is one of the few top-tier forces in the cultivation world of the Great Xia Dynasty.

The sect has a Dragon Transformation Realm ancestor in charge. Although he is only at the early stage of the Dragon Transformation Realm, he is a sword cultivator, so most cultivators at the early stage of the Dragon Transformation Realm are unwilling to offend him.

The Sima family has a long history of marriage alliances with the Heavenly Sword Sect.

The Sima family relied on the martial power of the Heavenly Sword Sect, while the Heavenly Sword Sect relied on the Sima family's influence in the imperial court.

...

"But Ancestor, the royal family and the two princes are supporting us, but they're just using us as pawns."

"Putting everything else aside, is it worth offending Prince Ren for the sake of a mere branch of the Zhang family?"

The patriarch's words caused some people's expressions to change.

Is it worth it? Anyone with a brain knows it's definitely not.

The Zhang family's branch did not receive the family's resources, nor did it inherit the Zhang family's martial arts techniques.

To put it bluntly, the ancestors of this branch of the family had intermarried with their own family.

"Hmph! What do you know!" Sima Lie's eyes flashed with anger.

"This isn't a question of whether it's worth it or not; it's a question of whether we have to do it."

"Are we just going to stand by and watch as the powerful clans gradually weaken us, until we are completely wiped out from the stage of history?"

"Ordinary people and powerful figures can't see it, but can't you? King Ni despises our aristocratic family from the bottom of his heart."

"If he really becomes the Xia Emperor, our aristocratic family will be completely wiped out!"

The crowd nodded slightly. Although the patriarch was right, they all preferred to oppose Renwang rather than risk the future of the family.

This is not just a simple confrontation; to put it bluntly, it is yet another move by the Sima family and a host of other forces to suppress Renwang.

"Let me be frank!" Sima Lie said in a serious voice.

"The intentions of all parties this time are very clear: even if Niou is not prepared to take action, we will force him to do so."

"Those families are preparing to kill Guo Jing, the commander of the Heavenly Punishment Army, in this operation!"

"We must also destroy Baiyujing, and even if we can't destroy it, we must kill their high-ranking officials!"

Everyone was stunned, shocked by their ancestor's words.

I thought everyone was only united to fight against Niou, but it turns out that was just on the surface.

The real purpose is to kill all the powerful warriors under Niou's command!

"Don't worry, we don't need to lift a finger to kill the people under Renwang's command. The royal family and several princes will take care of it."

"We're just here to be guns; even if the royal family settles accounts afterward, it won't affect us!"

...

On this day, the Lingwu Prefecture Heavenly Punishment Division branch received a message that infuriated them.

The chief, his face contorted with murderous intent, asked in a cold voice:

"You're saying the remnants of the Zhang family are openly appearing in the city?"

...

"Yes, Master!" The subordinate's expression was also grim.

This is not just a slap in the face; it's a blatant provocation against the Heavenly Punishment Bureau.

The head of the department suddenly realized that this was probably not as simple as just provoking the Heavenly Punishment Department.

Instead, the arrow was aimed directly at the prince behind the scenes. Sima family, what exactly are you trying to do?

As if someone were secretly stirring things up, soon all the forces in the entire prefecture knew that the remnants of the Zhang family had appeared in the city.

They appeared openly and honestly, without any attempt to conceal their presence.

"Hiss... Has the Sima family gone mad?!"

...

I smell a conspiracy...

...

"A conspiracy? I smell blood..."

The various factions in the city dared not step forward, because the Sima family's actions were simply too bizarre!

Within the territory of Lingwu Prefecture, there is a famous mountain range called Lingwu Mountain.

This is the headquarters of the Heavenly Sword Sect. The entire vast Lingwu Mountain belongs to the Heavenly Sword Sect!

Whether it's Lingwu Prefecture or any of the various forces in the entire Great Xia Dynasty, at least openly, no one has any objections to this.

After all, this is a sect with a Dragon Transformation Realm expert!

The sect's ancestral land is also a dimensional plane, and at this moment, the high-level members of the ancestral land are gathered in the main hall!