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

What a benevolent king!

At this moment, many ministers in the hall sighed inwardly!

Their impeachment of Mu Wenhan today is aimed at Prince Ren, and they want to use this to interfere with the Heavenly Punishment Division, don't they?

However, Prince Ren did not follow their wishes at all. Instead, he directly shifted the blame, putting the Censorate in the eye of the storm.

This move was truly unexpected by everyone.

However, didn't he realize that by doing so, he had completely offended the Censorate?

Xia Zhaoyan knew, of course, but as he said before, so what if he offended him!

In order to maintain his power, he was fearless even if it meant offending the Censorate.

If other forces really extend their reach into the Heavenly Punishment Division, wouldn't I be subject to control at every turn?

Most importantly, how should we arrange the guards summoned by the sacrifice?

"Mu Wenhan!" Emperor Xia's voice rang out.

"Your subject is here!" Mu Wenhan stepped forward and bowed to receive the order.

He knew in his heart that he would also be punished.

After all, fifty guards had indeed died previously, and the court forces were putting collective pressure on the Heavenly Punishment Division.

If Your Majesty does not punish yourself, I'm afraid you won't be able to quell the dissent in the court!

"Considering your diligence and hard work, even if you haven't achieved great things, you've still put in the effort."

"This time, I will not allow you to retire to your hometown. However, from this day forward, you are relieved of your post as the Director of the Heavenly Punishment Department!"

"To be appointed as the Deputy Director of the Heavenly Punishment Division!"

Mu Wenhan was demoted, and the Heavenly Punishment Division lost its head.

Everyone looked up abruptly, their eyes suddenly lighting up with a gleam.

They saw hope. The Heavenly Punishment Division could not be without a Director, so they had a chance to compete for that position.

However, before the officials could step forward to recommend him, Xia Hongwu spoke again.

"King Xia Zhaoyan!"

Everyone's heart skipped a beat, a bad premonition rising within them...

"Your subject is here!" Xia Zhaoyan stepped forward and bowed to receive the order.

"From this day forward, you are relieved of your post as Deputy Director of the Heavenly Punishment Division."

"Assign him the position of Director of the Heavenly Punishment Division!" The Xia Emperor's voice was authoritative, revealing no unusual emotion.

No one knows why the Xia Emperor appointed Renwang as the Director of the Heavenly Punishment Bureau.

Even Xia Zhaoyan himself was completely confused at this moment. He could clearly sense that his father didn't really want the Heavenly Punishment Division to truly rise to power.

For tens of thousands of years prior, the Heavenly Punishment Bureau had been in a state of disuse and decline.

"Now that it is in ruins, I will give you two years to reform the Heavenly Punishment Bureau!"

"Within two years, the Heavenly Punishment Division must unify all its local branches!"

"If you fail to complete this task, you can live a carefree life as a prince from now on, and you will never hold any other position again!"

"Are you willing?"

hiss...

The officials and nobles all secretly gasped, not because they were shocked by Xia Zhaoyan becoming the head of the department.

Of course, that's part of the reason.

Most importantly, this is the task that Emperor Xia set for King Ren.

Anyone with eyes can see that if the Heavenly Punishment Division is to be brought under control within two years, its branches in various regions will have to submit to the headquarters.

Even the five princes couldn't accomplish this!

This isn't a windfall; it's forcing Niou to relinquish his power over the Heavenly Punishment Division!

Xia Zhaoyan suddenly looked up at his father, the emperor, sitting at the head of the table. He didn't understand why he had been given such a task.

Is it because I embarrassed the Censorate today? Or does he really not want to get involved in the mess that is the imperial court is in?

"Your subject... obeys the decree!"

boom!!

The discussion grew even louder; no one below had expected that the King of Ben would actually agree!

Even the princes were secretly shocked and couldn't understand why he would agree!

Knowing full well that this is an impossible task, why gamble with your future!

At this moment, everyone abandoned any thought of interfering with the Heavenly Punishment Division.

The officials shook their heads. It seemed they had overestimated King Ren. He was clearly a fool blinded by power!

"Alright, that's enough for today's court assembly!"

"If you have nothing else to say, you may leave the court."

Just as the eunuch was about to announce the end of the court session, Xia Zhaoyan stepped forward.

"Wait, Your Majesty, I have something else to say!"

Everyone turned to look at him immediately. Had Niou changed his mind?

...

"Speak!" After a moment of silence, Xia Hongwu agreed to Xia Zhaoyan's request.

...

"Father, I believe the Demon Suppression Bureau is guilty and should be impeached!"

Before anyone else could be shocked, Dong Wang Xia Donghai's eyes suddenly narrowed.

His mind raced. Did he know that he was the mastermind behind the murder of fifty guards?

Because everyone in the imperial court knew that since its establishment, the Demon Suppression Division had actually been secretly controlled by the Demon Suppression Duke's faction.

For countless years, the imperial court's power has only been able to barely rival that of the Demon Suppression Division.

After all, the Demon Suppression Division was established by the first Demon Suppression Duke, whose title was "Demon Suppression," which shows the influence this Duke had on the Demon Suppression Division!

"The Demon Suppression Division is responsible for suppressing demonic cultivators and strange entities within the Great Xia territory, yet now these strange entities have brazenly entered the imperial city!"

"The reason why Li Chengyuan of the Censorate could secretly harbor monsters is simply because the Demon Suppression Division was inactive!"

"If the Demon Suppression Division continues like this, my Great Xia might not even live to see the Tribulation of Reincarnation!"

hiss...

The crowd below lost count of how many times they had gasped in shock that day!

All I know is that King Ren is incredibly audacious, daring to point the finger directly at the Demon Suppression Division!

You should know that the Demon Suppression Division is not to be trifled with, and the Demon Suppression Duke behind it is even more formidable!

"Disgrace!"

"Father, I believe that Prince Ren is slandering the Demon Suppression Bureau!" Before anyone else could speak up, the Eastern King jumped out and fiercely refuted him.

He never expected that today, instead of the King of Qiong directly suppressing the King of Ren, he would instead face the King of Ren's attack on the Demon Suppression Division, which was controlled by his mother's clan!

He didn't know what the King of Ren was planning, but he did know that the Demon Suppression Division itself made the imperial court very unhappy.

If we don't silence King Ren's accusations, I estimate that most people in the court will stand up and criticize the Demon Suppression Division.

Sure enough, most of the officials below, even the high-ranking ones, had a restless look in their eyes.

Since Nioh has taken the lead in initiating the raid, how can we let such a good intention go to waste?

Anyway, we'll just take a shot first and see what happens. Even if the Demon Suppression Division retaliates later, they'll only target the person who started the attack.

The Eastern King grew anxious, harboring resentment in his heart.

"Father, the Demon Suppression Division is responsible for suppressing all demonic cultivators and strange beings in the Great Xia Dynasty. The task is heavy and the manpower is small, so it is inevitable that some strange beings will be missed."

"Besides, even the Censorate couldn't keep an eye on its own people. Li Chengyuan was raising monsters on his own, and the Demon Suppression Division didn't know about it. They can't possibly check every single house."

In his desperation, the Eastern King spoke recklessly, dragging out the unfortunate Censorate once again.

Perhaps, he did it on purpose!

Now things are really messed up; some people in the Censorate have already started to hate the Eastern King!

Xia Zhaoyan was certainly happy to see such a scene. One of the reasons he reported the Demon Suppression Division was to suppress the arrogance of the Eastern King.

He hadn't forgotten how the Eastern King had provoked and suppressed him at the previous court assembly.

Another reason...

Xia Zhaoyan then spoke up, "Father, since the Demon Suppression Division is short-handed..."

"Then I have a suggestion..."