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

This ancient main hall has witnessed the Heavenly Sword Sect's gradual rise to glory.

At this moment, the sect's patriarch, sect leader, elders, and other core members are all gathered here.

One Grand Ancestor at the early stage of the Dragon Transformation Realm, fifteen Shattered Realm Ancestors, as well as a Celestial Realm Sect Master and Celestial Realm Elders!

The Dharma Aspect Realm is not yet qualified to become the core of a sect.

This is the foundation of the top sects in the Great Xia Dynasty; otherwise, the Great Xia Dynasty wouldn't only have a handful of top sects.

"We must protect the Sima family; this is not just a matter of saving face."

"It's a matter of interests. Over thousands of years, our intermarriages have bound us together."

At this moment, the sect leader was explaining his views to everyone in the hall.

However, some elders and patriarchs still frowned, clearly indicating that there were dissenting voices within the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Only Emperor Taizu, sitting at the head of the table, remained with his eyes closed and made no move whatsoever!

At this moment, an elder who had reached the peak of the Shattered Realm spoke up.

"Sect Leader, have you ever considered that we are going against the imperial court's law enforcement?"

"The Heavenly Punishment Division of the Benevolent King represents the imperial court. Does my Heavenly Sword Sect truly have the strength to oppose the imperial court?"

"Don't let your actions plunge the Heavenly Sword Sect into utter ruin."

The Heavenly Sword Sect has a total of three ancestors at the peak of the Shattered Realm, two of whom opposed the sect leader's decision.

The remaining option is to support the sect leader's decision.

The two sides are currently arguing incessantly in the main hall, and neither can convince the other!

"Please listen to my analysis, esteemed elders!" The sect leader had no choice but to find a way to persuade these people.

After all, there were two Perfected Shattered Realm cultivators, plus six Shattered Realm ancestors, and more than a dozen Celestial Realm elders.

This force is much stronger than the sect leader's side.

Because there are also some people who are neutral, which, to put it bluntly, means they only care about their own cultivation.

"The Heavenly Punishment Division does represent the imperial court, but this time the princes agreed."

"They will mobilize the court's influence to put immense pressure on the Heavenly Punishment Division."

"At the same time, other powerful families will also mobilize their official forces to prevent and veto the actions of the Heavenly Punishment Bureau."

"Now that King Ni has regained his right to succeed to the throne, as long as he is rational, he will not risk using the Heavenly Punishment Bureau."

"Only Guo Jing of the Heavenly Punishment Army remains, but armies are not easily mobilized."

"Even if it is used, there will be people from the royal family secretly obstructing it."

"It can be said that our willingness to stand up for the Sima family this time is an opportunity to gain benefits without any risk."

At this point, the sect leader himself threw out the most tempting bait.

"Elders and elders, if we stand up this time, the Sima family will cede one-tenth of the benefits of Lingwu Prefecture."

"Most importantly, they will support our people to enter officialdom!!"

What?!

Many people were so shocked by this last sentence that they stood up immediately!

Even the Emperor Taizu, who had kept his eyes tightly closed, couldn't help but open them, and a three-foot-long golden light pierced through the air.

"Are you telling the truth? Will the Sima family really support our people to enter officialdom?"

The old ancestor, who had just vehemently opposed the idea, now asked with a serious expression.

The sect leader nodded affirmatively, "That's right."

"The Sima family patriarch personally agreed!"

No one would think that the Sima family broke their promise afterward, because the Sima family could not afford the consequences of breaking their promise.

In fact, the lower-level cultivators have always been puzzled as to why these top sects of the Great Xia Dynasty would choose to form marriage alliances with aristocratic families.

Actually, this story begins with the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty. At that time, the founding emperor stipulated that no disciples from sects in the cultivation world could enter the imperial court system.

Because sectarian forces generally have a longer lifespan than family forces, if they were given the opportunity to become officials...

Wouldn't the Great Xia Dynasty then be controlled by these Jianghu forces?

Therefore, even now, no matter how strong or weak a sect is, it cannot enter the imperial court.

The biggest weakness of sects is that they have no influence over the imperial court.

Initially, they wanted to form a marriage alliance with the Xun Gui, but most of the Xun Gui looked down on the fighting and killing gangsters.

Perhaps the royal family also understands that nothing should be done too far, just like a spring, the harder it is compressed, the stronger the rebound will be.

Therefore, several Xia emperors had saintesses from top sects in their harems.

It wasn't until the rise of powerful families that the top sects saw an opportunity!

Unfortunately, the powerful families weren't fools; how could they possibly allow sect forces to enter the officialdom?

At this moment, even those who had previously vehemently opposed the move fell silent.

Compared to this gain, offending King Ni seems insignificant.

"Gentlemen, do you still think my choice was wrong?"

"With the Sima family's guarantee, it won't be long before we're able to establish ourselves in the imperial court!"

"By then, our sect will have expanded throughout the entire Great Xia Dynasty!"

The crowd gradually became excited. With the sect's strength and the court's influence, this was definitely a top-tier power.

Who among those present could ignore such a choice?

...

The news of Lingwu City quickly spread throughout the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

Aside from ordinary people who don't care, anyone who embarks on the path of cultivation sets their sights on Lingwu Prefecture.

Anyone with even a modicum of intelligence knows that something interesting is about to happen.

Either the Sima family will follow in the footsteps of the Lu and Zhang families, or King Ren will suffer heavy losses and lose face this time.

In the palace of the King of Wu in the imperial city, Xia Wuzheng paced back and forth excitedly.

"Is it finally starting?!"

His staff were also extremely excited, as this incident could potentially lead to the complete downfall of King Ni.

"What's Niou's reaction?"

...

"Your Highness, both the Heavenly Punishment Division and the Prince Ren's Palace are unusually calm and have not yet reacted."

...

"Hmph, he must have been so angry he went crazy."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the King of Wu looked at the crowd with a grim expression.

"I asked you to investigate the previous operation in the North. How's the investigation going?"

Everyone fell silent. In the end, someone couldn't bear the killing intent emanating from the King of Wu and had no choice but to speak up.

"Your Highness, all we know is that a great battle of the Shattered Realm took place there, and it's confirmed that all the kings' men are dead."

"The whereabouts of your two maternal ancestors remain unknown!"

Their whereabouts are unknown, which means they at least did not perish.

At this moment, the King of Wu waved his hand and said, "Make preparations, I am going to the Duke's mansion!"

...

When Xia Wuzheng arrived at the Duke's mansion, he found the atmosphere somewhat strange.

However, he did not ask any questions, but instead began to talk about the matter concerning the Sima family.

"Great-Grandfather, this is a rare opportunity. If King Ren can't resist making a move, we can use this chance to kill the strongmen of Baiyujing and avenge ourselves!"

"Therefore, by having the founding emperor personally take action, and as long as he conceals his identity, no one will know that he is a member of our Cao family!"

When the King of Wu finished speaking and looked up at his great-grandfather, he found the man's expression to be gloomy!

But the other person's next sentence completely stunned him!

"Letting the founding emperor personally take action raises concerns about the risk of exposure, but the crucial issue is that both of our ancestors have disappeared!"

Crack!

Xia Wuzheng's mouth was wide open, looking completely dumbfounded!