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

The Heavenly Punishment Bureau was once an institution whose power was no less than that of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Imperial City Guard.

Imperial inspection tours on behalf of Heaven, granted by special imperial authority!

What is divine punishment? In the eyes of ordinary people, when the Heavenly Dao reaps the rewards of cultivators in each cycle of reincarnation, this is divine punishment for the mortal world.

Therefore, the Heavenly Punishment Division of the Great Xia Dynasty was a guillotine hanging over the heads of all living beings by the emperor.

They possess the power to investigate, arrest, and judge all living beings!

It is a sharp blade in the hands of the royal family, an institution that makes the entire court and the public constantly fearful.

Unfortunately, it eventually declined, and the power it once held was completely divided and replaced by other institutions.

This is also the result of the joint suppression by the nobility, officials, and cultivators.

It took decades for this once-glorious institution to decline.

However, the decline of the Heavenly Punishment Bureau came at a considerable cost to them.

As for the current Heavenly Punishment Division, it has power but no real strength!

...

As the court assembly concluded, everyone respectfully left the Chaotian Hall.

Everyone stepped forward to pay their respects to the three princes. Putting everything else aside, in a dynasty ruled by the emperor, the princes were, after all, one of their masters.

"Brother, wait..." A voice came, forcing Xia Zhaoyan to stop the carriage.

He lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the two guys outside.

"Is something the two imperial brothers have to do?"

"Ahem... It's like this, Your Majesty." Xia Lingxiao looked embarrassed.

"Our previous discussion was too naive. Just pretend that neither of us came here the day before."

Tsk tsk... How realistic! But it's good this way. With the system, I'm too lazy to participate in their alliance.

He remained calm, as if he had long anticipated this outcome.

The curtain was lowered, and the voice came from inside the carriage, reaching the ears of the two.

"Rest assured, my two brothers, I am not the kind of person who would make trouble unreasonably."

"There's nothing wrong with it, so my two brothers don't need to feel embarrassed."

As the carriage departed, Xia Wuzheng and Xia Lingxiao looked into the distance with complicated expressions.

"Without Xia Zhaoyan, it seems we'll have to find another great traitor."

"Yes, who would have thought he'd be given the title of Benevolent King? And even appointed to the Heavenly Punishment Division, what a pity..."

What's the pity? Only these two people probably know.

The return journey seemed to take longer than the journey there. Looking at the palace where I had lived for eighteen years, it would be a lie to say I felt no emotion.

However, Xia Zhaoyan was not a sentimental person, and immediately began moving.

All of this will be handled by Zongren Temple; Xia Zhaoyan doesn't need to do it himself.

Taking advantage of this free time, he went to his mother's residence, the Huafei Palace.

"Zhao'er." A worried voice called out, followed by a figure rushing out with servants.

"Your son greets Mother." At this moment, Xia Zhaoyan finally dropped his pretense in front of his mother, revealing a slightly tired expression.

Speaking of his mother, Consort Hua, her life was legendary in the Great Xia Dynasty.

She was originally the daughter of a small merchant family in the local area. She was selected to enter the palace as a maid, but later she caught the eye of Emperor Xia because of her appearance.

She rose from a palace maid to a concubine, and after giving birth to Xia Zhaoyan, she became one of the Noble Consorts.

The other imperial concubines were backed by powerful noble families or influential sects, while Consort Hua came from a small merchant family.

Knowing that her family was powerless to help her son, Consort Hua doted on Xia Zhaoyan from a young age.

Fortunately, Xia Zhaoyan was aware of his situation and did not develop an arrogant and domineering personality.

"Mother, my title has been bestowed upon me by Father Emperor as the Prince of Benevolence." The mother and son sat at the stone table in the courtyard, and Xia Zhaoyan softly announced his title.

Consort Hua was taken aback at first, then a complex smile of joy appeared on her face.

She knew the significance behind the title, and rose to face the direction of the government affairs hall to pay her respects.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for thinking of Zhao'er!" She was truly grateful to Emperor Xia.

Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed throughout the palace.

"My beloved consort, there's no need for such formalities. Zhao'er is also my son. I know your worries have always been. From now on, let him be a carefree prince!"

This time, the voice lacked the majesty of the palace, only a gentle warmth and concern.

After having a meal at his mother's place, Xia Zhaoyan and his men left the palace without looking back.

He was afraid to turn back and see his mother's reluctant expression. If nothing unexpected happened, he probably wouldn't see her again for several years.

Princes who leave the palace are not allowed to enter the inner palace grounds without the emperor's permission.

...

The Prince Ren's Mansion, a vast and luxurious residence, was rather deserted at the moment.

In the backyard, Xia Zhaoyan began to materialize the system's rewards.

A flash of light appeared before his eyes, and a hundred figures dressed in ordinary cloth appeared in front of him.

"This humble subject pays respects to Your Highness!"

"Everyone, please rise!" Taking a deep breath, Xia Zhaoyan concealed his shock.

He originally thought that the hundred guards rewarded by the system would at most be at the Body Refinement Realm.

As a result, the pressure these people put on him far exceeded that of the Blood Transformation Realm.

"Gentlemen, what is your level of strength?"

"Your Highness, I am the centurion of this group, and my cultivation is at the peak of the Innate Realm." The speaker respectfully introduced the details of this guard unit.

Apart from one person at the peak of the Innate Realm, there are two at the mid-stage of the Innate Realm, and the rest are all at the late-stage of the Acquired Realm.

This is far more powerful than the guards rewarded by the imperial court. After each prince establishes his own residence and garrison, the imperial court will dispatch a guard of 500 men, among whom the ordinary guards are at the early stage of the Acquired Realm.

The head of the guards, who commands five hundred men, is at the peak of the Acquired Realm.

Don't underestimate the Acquired Realm. In the common people, an Acquired Realm cultivator can establish a family that lasts for two or three hundred years.

If you're willing, you can even start your own sect in a small place.

Ordinary people live no more than a hundred years, those in the Body Refining Realm have a lifespan of a hundred years, those in the Blood Exchange Realm have a lifespan of two hundred years, and those in the Acquired Realm have a lifespan of three hundred years.

Upon reaching the Innate Realm, one has a lifespan of five hundred years, while the Purple Mansion Realm grants a lifespan of a thousand years.

At this moment, Xia Zhaoyan was somewhat worried.

When they received the reward, they were so happy that they didn't think about how to arrange the guards.

If a hundred innate guards suddenly appeared in my mansion, the eyes of the entire imperial city would probably be on me.

One hundred guards at the Acquired Realm level—they're not exactly powerful, though.

However, for me now, if this were discovered by the outside world, the consequences would be unpredictable.

This is not the outcome he wanted to see!

Never mind, let's materialize all the other rewards first!

The next moment, after a flash of light, more than a dozen figures appeared here again.

"This humble commoner, Tie Zhan, pays his respects to Your Highness."

"This humble subject, Duan Yanqing, greets Your Highness."

"This humble citizen..."

Looking at the fifteen people bowing respectfully before him, Xia Zhaoyan was momentarily dazed!

He was familiar with these fifteen people; in fact, he was familiar with their names.

The characters in Gu Long and Jin Yong's novel universes from their previous lives each possessed extremely complex personalities.

"Please rise, everyone." He stepped forward half a step and gestured with his hands to help everyone stand up.

Xia Zhaoyan was very much looking forward to seeing how powerful these people were, after all, they were all notorious villains!