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

At the governor's mansion, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard of the neighboring state, the Golden-Clad Divine Constable, the highest authority of the Six Doors of the neighboring state, and the governor of the Demon Suppression Division, the highest authority of the state, who rarely participates in ordinary Jianghu cases, were all present.

There are also the five governors, as well as other high-ranking officials of the governor's office.

The only one absent was the military, but under normal circumstances, the military does not get involved in various cases in the underworld.

To put it bluntly, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was the private agency of the Great Xia imperial family, while the Six Doors was a public institution of the imperial court.

The Demon Suppression Division is a rather special organization.

Because it is only responsible for suppressing demonic cultivators and strange beings in the martial arts world, it rarely interacts with ordinary martial arts forces.

These three violent organizations are licensed assassin agencies of the Great Xia Dynasty.

They were granted special permission by the emperor and did not have to operate in secret, making them the most hated institution among cultivators.

"Gentlemen, the reason I have summoned you here today is to discuss matters concerning the underworld!"

"The Underworld wiped out two veteran assassin factions overnight, and according to the investigation, the Underworld actually had Grandmaster-level experts and Celestial Realm powerhouses involved!"

The crowd's expressions changed slightly. If it were just the previous underworld, they wouldn't have cared much at all.

A force that only has Grandmaster level members is not worth their time and effort.

But the fact that there are Celestial Realm experts in the Underworld immediately changes things.

Looking across the Great Xia Dynasty, everyone knows what the Celestial Realm represents.

Those were true overlords and powerful figures; His Majesty, on the surface, is only at the Celestial Realm level.

The most powerful forces in the Great Xia Jianghu, their current leaders, sect masters, and cult leaders are only at the Celestial Realm cultivation level.

In other words, the underworld now possesses the qualities to become one of the most powerful forces in the dynasty.

The shock brought about by a Celestial Realm cultivator was enough to shake the entire dynasty.

"Lord Zhou, just tell me plainly, what exactly do you want us to do?"

"Let's make this clear first: we, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, will not target the Underworld unless they actively provoke us and the Imperial Court!"

The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard spoke up, and as soon as he finished speaking, the people from the Six Doors and the Demon Suppression Division also spoke up, expressing the same sentiment as the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Although the Six Doors are in charge of all the cases in the country, they know who they can offend and who they can't.

The Underworld, with its cultivators at the Celestial Realm, is clearly not something that the Six Doors of a single state can afford to offend.

And frankly speaking, the underworld didn't indiscriminately kill innocent people; they just wiped out two assassin factions.

Since no one is going to beat the drum to appeal for justice or sue the underworld authorities, why bother offending them?

Besides, how often have cultivators wiped out entire sects? And this guy is an assassin organization himself.

Zhou Yuanshan was not too surprised after hearing this, as these three institutions were all under vertical management, and he, as the governor of a state, could not govern them.

"You've all misunderstood!"

"I have summoned you all here today not to have you target the underworld, but because I need your investigative information about the underworld."

With that, he waved his hand, and a beam of light enveloped the hall.

The array in the governor's mansion was activated, and those outside could no longer hear the conversations inside.

"Gentlemen, Crown Prince Lin Yuan is quite interested in the underworld."

"Your individual intelligence capabilities are clearly superior to those of the Governor's Office, so I, Zhou, am making this request of you all."

Everyone looked serious; if it was just Zhou Yuanshan's idea, they wouldn't bother with him.

However, since it involves Crown Prince Lin Yuan, we have to give him face.

The high-ranking officials in the court all knew that Zhou Yuanshan's family had long since pledged allegiance to the Fifth Prince, Xia Linyuan.

Although Xia Linyuan is only the fifth prince, the power behind him is not much weaker than that of the other four princes.

In the eyes of the world, the next emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty will inevitably be chosen from among the five crown princes.

"Since it is His Highness the Crown Prince's will, we, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, agree!"

"Don't worry, I'll immediately instruct my subordinates to investigate the underworld thoroughly when I get back!"

Seeing that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had agreed, the Six Doors and the Demon Suppression Division also agreed.

Zhou Yuanshan was very satisfied. With the help of these three organizations, five days would be enough to investigate the general situation of the prefecture.

...

The news of a Celestial Realm expert appearing in the neighboring northern state spread throughout the entire Great Xia Dynasty in just two days.

This inevitably drew attention from both the martial arts world and the imperial court to the neighboring northern state.

Even ordinary people are curious about this Celestial Realm, which makes the imperial court feel that this matter is quite troublesome!

Xia Zhaoyan and the Heavenly Punishment Division instantly felt much less pressure, as everyone's attention turned to the north.

Prior to this, the pressure on the Heavenly Punishment Division had been increasing day by day.

Even so, the Heavenly Punishment Division still managed to behead three officials, diverting some attention.

"Your Highness, now that everyone's eyes are on the neighboring northern state, won't that expose the relationship between the Underworld and us?" Shi Feixuan asked with some concern.

After all, the imperial court has taken notice, so there's no doubt that they will investigate the origins of the underworld.

No one would believe that a newly established power could possess a Celestial Realm expert.

Unless this force was established long ago, but simply hasn't manifested in the world yet.

Xia Zhaoyan glanced at the vitality within the Life Cauldron and waved his hand dismissively, "It's alright!"

"Even if a Dragon Transformation Realm expert were to personally deduce it, they would not be able to calculate the origin of the Underworld."

Those who come from the system, even the Heavenly Dao of this world cannot easily deduce their origins.

"However, tell the Evil King not to return to the capital without my summons."

"After all, I took action and left my mark."

"There are still quite a few ways to track people in this world, and now is not the time to expose his relationship with me."

Looking at the vitality within the Life Cauldron, Xia Zhaoyan sighed inwardly, still feeling somewhat disappointed.

The two old guys didn't bring me as much life as I had imagined.

Now is not the time for sacrifice. I've been having some bad luck lately. If I sacrifice myself and get only a mediocre reward, I'll be at a huge loss!

After all, the system said that the rewards you get from each sacrifice depend on your luck!

...

At night, the Prince's mansion was quiet except for the guards on duty.

Inside the secret chamber, Xia Zhaoyan did not relax his cultivation in the slightest.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and spoke softly.

"Come in!"

The next moment, the door was pushed open, and Zhang Han walked in.

"Your subordinate Zhang Han greets Your Highness!"

"Don't be shy, please take a seat!" Xia Zhaoyan stood up, ending his training session.

"Is there any progress in things?"

Zhang Han nodded, his expression somewhat serious.

"Your Highness, after these days of investigation, I have indeed found some clues."

"That strange creature disappeared after killing the guard, so it's confirmed that it has been killed."

"However, the strange aura disappeared at the residence of that censor."

Upon hearing this, Xia Zhaoyan's expression changed drastically.

The Censorate had very special powers. As the emperor's eyes and ears, it had the power to impeach officials, distinguish injustices, and supervise the various prefectures!

This was the emperor's trusted inner circle, yet its officials were found to be colluding with the supernatural.

Could it be that the rise of the Heavenly Punishment Division has infringed upon the interests of the Censorate?

That wouldn't warrant sending out some strange force to kill fifty guards, would it?

Although the Censor-in-Chief was only a minor sixth-rank official, they were responsible for inspecting the entire country on behalf of the emperor and possessed powers such as judicial supervision, special inspections, reporting important matters to the emperor, and making immediate decisions on minor matters.

They can be said to be the most unique group in officialdom!

Are you sure?

...

"Your Highness, I am very certain of my investigation results." Zhang Han nodded solemnly in affirmation.

"However, Your Highness, the background of that censor is rather complicated."

"Behind him is... is the Eighth Prince, Qiong Wang!"