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

At this moment, Li Chengyuan's heart was in his throat.

"Li Chengyuan, whether you are the murderer or not, the Heavenly Punishment Division will find out after its investigation."

"However, as the most trusted official of the Censorate of the Emperor, you not only accepted bribes from local officials and deceived the Emperor, but also kept strange creatures. It is clear that you cannot escape the death penalty."

Li Chengyuan's legs suddenly gave way, and the dignified Purple Mansion Realm cultivator collapsed to the ground.

No one wants to die. What is the purpose of cultivation? Isn't it to become stronger and achieve immortality?

He raised his head, his face pale, and pleaded, "Your Highness, Lord Sizheng."

"I, Li Chengyuan, deserve my punishment, but I implore you to investigate the true culprit behind this."

"I can die, but my family is innocent!"

...

A large number of guards, led by the deputy director of the Heavenly Punishment Division, arrived at Li Chengyuan's residence once again.

Before long, they secretly took several strange creatures away from the mansion.

Furthermore, some guards were left behind to seal off the Li residence from both the front and back.

No one is allowed to come in or leave; in other words, from this moment on, everyone in the Li family is under house arrest by the Heavenly Punishment Division.

This made the various forces secretly observing the area wonder what crime Li Chengyuan had committed!

Within the imperial city, there are five particularly unique places.

That was the residence of the five crown princes of the Great Xia Dynasty. It could be said that most of the officials in the court had been won over by these five.

In the residence of the Fifth Prince Xia Linyuan, after listening to his subordinates' report, he couldn't help but smile and say to everyone.

"It's a bit of a pity about my younger brother, Prince Naren. If he had the support of a powerful maternal clan, he would have been an interesting opponent!"

Several subordinates, some sitting and some standing, were around him; these were all his advisors.

"Your Highness, although King Ren had a legitimate reason for his actions this time, he has thoroughly offended King Qiong."

"The court assembly the day after tomorrow will be quite a spectacle!"

Xia Linyuan waved his hand, "It has nothing to do with us..."

Before he could finish speaking, he frowned, then waved his hand, and a jade pendant floated in front of him.

The next moment, a phantom, miniature human figure appeared in front of me.

"Your subject Zhou Yuanshan pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince!" The figure clearly couldn't see what was happening here, but still bowed respectfully as usual.

"Lord Zhou, has the situation in the underworld been investigated thoroughly?" Xia Linyuan asked directly.

...

"Your Highness, although the investigation is not entirely complete, it is nearly finished!"

"The Underworld appeared half a year ago, initially operating in Xialin County, a neighboring state to the north, and was destroyed the first time..."

Two months later, branches of the Underworld appeared in the Northern Barbarian State and the Northern Granary State in the northern border region.

"A month ago, branches of the Underworld appeared simultaneously in Xia Prefecture and Qing Prefecture!"

"Their internal code names are ranked from highest to lowest. Currently, the highest one we know to be is Yama, who is that Celestial Realm expert."

"Below the King of Hell are the Judges, below the Judges are the Underworld Marshals, below the Underworld Marshals are the Underworld Generals, and below the Underworld Generals are the Vengeful Ghosts!"

"The vengeful ghosts in the underworld are all cultivators and martial artists from the martial arts world, but those above the rank of Yin General are their own core members."

"I arranged for several reliable individuals to join the Underworld organization the day before yesterday, becoming their peripheral ghost-level assassins!"

As everyone listened to Zhou Yuanshan's account, the outline of a vast organization gradually formed in their minds.

He continued, "Among the forces that the Underworld has revealed so far, there is one expert at the Celestial Realm, but his exact strength is unknown."

"There are also two Grandmasters at the Perfected Realm, more than twenty Grandmasters, and dozens of Purple Mansion and Innate Realm cultivators each."

Xia Linyuan tapped his fingers on the armrest, looking deep in thought.

Neither Zhou Yuanshan on the other side of the space nor anyone else present spoke; they waited for his instructions.

Finally, Xia Linyuan spoke up, "Lord Zhou, find a way to contact the Underworld."

"Just say that I admire them and want them to become my people. As long as they are willing, I can give them any resources."

"If I ascend the throne in the future, I promise to grant the Underworld an official status!"

hiss! !

Everyone gasped in surprise; they were not surprised that His Highness the Crown Prince had recruited the Underworld.

But that last promise was absolutely terrifying!

Zhou Yuanshan on the other side was also secretly shocked, but he quickly accepted the order.

"Your subject obeys. I will find a way to contact their higher-ups!"

The illusory image disappeared, and the jade pendant slowly fell, vanishing from Xia Linyuan's hand in an instant.

At this moment, someone spoke up, "Your Highness, isn't this giving the Underworld too much benefit?"

"Not much!" Xia Linyuan shook his head.

"If you want people to work hard for you, you have to offer them good rewards."

"Moreover, the opponent possesses the strength of the Celestial Realm. Furthermore, I have a gut feeling that the Celestial Realm is not the strongest force in the Underworld!"

"In folk legends, there isn't just one Yama, the King of Hell, but also the Ghost Emperor and the Underworld Emperor above him. How can the Underworld, a force that doesn't even dare to be named after itself, possibly not have cultivators stronger than those in the Celestial Realm!"

"But haven't you all had a strange feeling that lately, both the imperial court and the martial arts world in our Great Xia have been much more lively than before!"

...

Before dawn, Xia Zhaoyan's carriage had already arrived outside the Chaotian Palace.

He was dressed in a black royal robe embroidered with a dragon pattern, which made him look less boyish and more mature.

When Xia Zhaoyan stepped onto the steps and arrived at the square in front of the main hall, countless eyes turned to him.

Regardless, these ministers still had to bow and greet him.

Among the princes in front, the King of Qiong's gaze was the coldest!

Seeing the expression on the Sky King's face, the Eastern King, who was not far away, couldn't help but feel smug. His greatest interest today was watching the two fight.

"Attend court!!" As the eunuch's voice rang out, everyone lined up and entered the main hall.

The morning assembly has begun!

As time passed, all the political issues were resolved.

The next moment, a figure stepped forward from among the ministers.

"Your Majesty, I wish to consult a book on literature."

"The Heavenly Punishment Division, which he led, lost fifty guards a few days ago, and the culprit has not yet been found."

"Your Majesty, I believe that Mu Wenhan is not suitable to be the Director of the Heavenly Punishment Department, and I request that Your Majesty reappoint a new Director."

No sooner had this person finished speaking than another minister stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, I also wish to study a book on literature."

"Under his leadership, the Heavenly Punishment Division has yet to integrate its local branches, which has led to these local branches becoming the private domains of various powerful families."

"Therefore, I humbly request Your Majesty to appoint a new Director of the Heavenly Punishment Department, so that the department cannot be ruled by a few individuals."

Next, most of the officials in the court stood up and impeached Mu Wenhan.

The remaining ministers looked at the calm-looking King Ren.

Some people secretly admired the other person, who remained calm even at this critical moment.

While it appears to be an impeachment of Mu Wenhan, it is actually aimed at Prince Ren himself!

This is the majority of the forces preparing to intervene in the Heavenly Punishment Division!