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

Destroying the Mangshan Sect is easy; any one of Jiang Renjie's five men could easily wipe out this overlord of Xialin County.

However, since the goal this time is to make a name for ourselves in the neighboring northern state, we need to plan this carefully.

In the past few days, Xia Zhaoyan, who was far away in the capital, discovered that life was slowly emerging in the bronze cauldron of the system.

"What is Your Highness looking at so intently?" Wanwan, who was standing next to him, brought over a pot of spirit wine from Hongmanlou.

The spirit wine of Hongmanlou is unparalleled in the Great Xia Dynasty, as it is a top-quality cultivation resource, and no one knows how it is brewed.

It is only available in limited quantities each day. Although countless people are envious of this spiritual wine, no force dares to covet it.

As is widely known, Hongmanlou was backed by the founding duke of the imperial court.

He was the Demon-Suppressing Duke among the Thirty-Six Founding Dukes, a powerful figure who founded the Demon-Suppressing Division, and the first Director of the Demon-Suppressing Division.

Even members of the royal family who share the same bloodline with the royal family are extremely wary of the Duke of Zhenguo.

Xia Zhaoyan withdrew his attention from the system, and a familiar scent reached his nose.

"Huh? Wanwan, how did you manage to buy this 'seven-day fragrance' today?"

As he spoke, he picked up the wine that Wanwan had poured and drank it all in one gulp.

A fragrant aroma filled my mouth, and a gentle energy flowed down my throat and into my lungs.

In an instant, Xia Zhaoyan could feel that the energy within his body had become slightly stronger.

What is "Seven-Day Fragrance"? It means that after consuming this spiritual wine, it is equivalent to seven days of ascetic practice below the level of the Primordial God.

Moreover, the fragrance lingers in your mouth for seven days!

Of course, disregarding the dosage, it's impossible for a single dose of "Seven-Day Fragrance" to be equivalent to seven days of ascetic practice.

At this moment, a beautiful woman in flowing white robes walked over carrying a plate of spiritual fruits and pastries.

"Your Highness, this was sent from the palace today."

"They say it's a newly ripened spiritual fruit from the Spirit Plant Island."

Shi Feixuan gently put down the fruit plate and sat on the other side.

After spending these few days together, the two women have stopped competing with each other at the beginning.

After all, both of them knew that without the Yin Gui Sect and the Cihang Jingzhai Sect, which were the two major sects of righteous and demonic arts, there was no point in them continuing to fight each other.

Moreover, to this world, the two of them are outsiders.

Therefore, only by joining forces can we secure a place by His Highness's side.

"Thank you for your hard work, Xuanxuan and Wanwan." Xia Zhaoyan looked to his left.

"By the way, Wanwan, you still haven't told me how you managed to buy this kind of spiritual wine today?"

Xia Zhaoyan knew that all the spirit wines from Hongmanlou had been pre-ordered.

It's rare to be able to buy it by visiting someone's door.

"Your Highness, I only had the Prince's token with me, and they just sold it to me."

"And they absolutely refused to take any money, but I don't have the habit of eating for free."

"I see!" Xia Zhaoyan nodded thoughtfully, his eyes narrowed.

"The Red Pavilion has always been arrogant. Relying on its exclusive secret recipe and the Demon Suppressor behind it, even ordinary princes dare to come without prior appointment."

"This kind of elixir is also very difficult to buy!"

"So, it seems our Wanwan has the most influence after all!"

Hongmanlou's exclusive spirit wines are not limited to Seven-Day Fragrance; there are several other equally powerful spirit wines as well.

At this moment, Shi Feixuan, who was on the right, guessed.

"Your Highness, could it be that Wanwan has the token that made Hongmanlou willing to sell wine?"

"After all, everyone in the court and among the people knows that the Heavenly Punishment Division represents your will!"

"No matter how powerful the Demon Suppression Duke's Mansion is, it cannot go against the royal family. Many of their family members are active in officialdom."

No one offends someone for no reason!

"Is that so..." Xia Zhaoyan didn't think so in his heart. He always felt that there was something behind this that he hadn't thought of.

Although the Demon Suppression Duke is not the most powerful of the thirty-six dukes, his influence in the Demon Suppression Division is greater than my current influence in the Heavenly Punishment Division.

Although Xia Zhaoyan seems to control the Heavenly Punishment Bureau now, he only controls the headquarters of the Heavenly Punishment Bureau in the Imperial City.

His influence has not yet reached the branches of each state, prefecture, and even county.

It can be said that his orders can only be carried out within headquarters; once they are sent down, they have little effect on execution.

This is not Xia Zhaoyan belittling himself, but the real truth, because the branches in various places have long been infiltrated and divided up by local forces.

The key issue is that he is currently short-handed; he has only managed to send about three hundred people to the Heavenly Punishment Division.

The headquarters of the Heavenly Punishment Division alone has more than 100,000 people.

Three hundred people went in, and not even a splash was made.

Despite its previous decline, the Heavenly Punishment Bureau still contains members from various powerful forces and officials of the imperial court.

Although Mu Wenhan was the head of the department, he had never fully taken control of the institution in the past hundred years.

Below the director are four deputy directors, and below the deputy directors are other high-ranking officials.

Even if Xia Zhaoyan wanted to replace those who didn't belong to him, he was powerless to do so for the time being.

First, there is a lack of manpower; second, he does not have the authority.

Those below the seventh rank are acceptable, but those of the sixth rank and above require approval from the cabinet and the Xia Emperor.

Therefore, this matter can only be handled slowly!

What he didn't know was that Wanwan was being eyed by others.

To paraphrase an old saying, beautiful women have always been a source of trouble!

On the top floor of the Red Mansion in the inner city of the imperial city, two tall, slender men with an innate air of nobility sat facing each other.

One of them wore a jade hairpin crown, and most notably, a jade thumb ring on his left thumb, symbolizing a prince.

The man opposite him had his hair casually loose, exuding a lazy yet arrogant air!

"How was it, cousin? Wasn't that woman just as stunning as those on the list of beauties?"

The speaker was the current twentieth prince, the Eastern Prince. Although his mother was only one of the Noble Consorts, she came from the Duke of Zhenmo's mansion.

Clearly, the person opposite, referred to as his cousin, was also a junior member of the Demon Suppression Duke's Mansion.

"Indeed, she is no less attractive than the women on the list of beauties, and even more so than most of them."

"However, my Great Xia is so vast that the Beauty Ranking is just something to look at for fun. Anyone who takes it seriously is a fool."

"What? You've taken a fancy to this woman?"

"I'm not trying to be mean, but you're supposed to be His Highness the Eastern Prince, how could you possibly take a fancy to a maid in your brother's household?"

As he spoke, he lazily picked up the wine jug and took a few big gulps.

"Otherwise, what? Does he, with his status as the Benevolent King, really want to break the rules of the Red Pavilion?"

...

"Haha... I knew it! That's why you personally asked Hongmanlou to make an exception and give them face!"

"But she is Prince Ren's maid; are you planning to go and snatch her away?"

Feng Luoxiao looked at his cousin across from him with a half-smile. He knew his cousin, the prince, very well.

He possesses both exceptional talent and cultivation, making him one of the strongest contenders for the throne by any measure.

But I just like beautiful women, and that's nothing.

Men have hobbies, what's wrong with that?

But this time it's a bit tricky, because the other party is a woman from the Prince Ren's residence.

"Trying to steal people?"

"Hahaha... I, Xia Donghai, am not that incompetent."

King Xia Donghai's eyes gleamed as he began to plot how to win over this stunning beauty.