Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

Of course, there is also the possibility that those fellow disciples will never return. Even so, Situ Chengjun can accept it—he himself is a top-tier expert and has ascended to the throne. Although without the support of a powerful sect, it will be difficult for him to continue to break through his cultivation level, he can at least enjoy a life of wealth and honor and control a region.

His plan was clear: first, secure his position as emperor, find out the background of the eunuch Grand Tutor Su Mu, and find an opportunity to eliminate him; then, gradually eliminate the remaining forces of the Xiao imperial family and completely control the entire Great Qian Empire.

Now that the first step has been successfully completed, he is not in a hurry to achieve quick results. Directly annihilating the Xiao royal family would inevitably lead to the disintegration of the entire Great Qian Empire and widespread chaos, which is not the outcome he desires—he needs a stable empire to pave the way for his subsequent plans.

More importantly, Situ Chengjun knew that those major sects from ten thousand years ago had most likely sealed away at least one young powerhouse, and in the near future, more and more ancient powerhouses would be unsealed. He had to quickly gather enough manpower and resources to gain the upper hand and remain invincible in future confrontations with those ancient powerhouses.

"Today, I ascend the throne, a momentous occasion for the nation. Why is the Imperial Advisor Su Mu absent?" Situ Chengjun sat upright on the dragon throne, his face stern. He swept his gaze over the civil and military officials below and asked in a deep voice, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible dissatisfaction.

The crowd below exchanged bewildered glances, none of them able to answer the question—Su Mu's temperament was always capricious, and no one dared to question him about his absence.

"Even if he was delayed by important matters and could not attend in person, he should have sent someone to inform us and explain the reason!" Situ Chengjun continued, his tone becoming increasingly stern. "To be absent from the enthronement ceremony without a word or cause is not only a disregard for his position as Imperial Preceptor, but also a disregard for the dignity of my royal family. Such behavior deserves punishment!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he loudly ordered: "Issue my decree to strip Su Mu of his position as Imperial Preceptor. However, considering his outstanding past achievements and contributions to protecting the country, he will be temporarily retained as Grand Eunuch of Loyalty and Righteousness, pending further observation!"

Situ Chengjun initially intended to strip Su Mu of all his titles and positions, but upon further reflection, he felt that taking such a drastic step was too risky. After all, he had not yet ascertained Su Mu's true capabilities or the extent of Su Mu's combat strength.

Moreover, Su Mu's achievements are indeed too dazzling, and he enjoys extremely high prestige among court officials and common people. If he were to be completely suppressed rashly, it would inevitably cause public resentment and would not be conducive to consolidating the throne.

It would be better to give Su Mu a warning first and test his reaction—if Su Mu backs down, then they could deal with him later; if Su Mu resists, they could take the opportunity to find out his true strength and then make further plans. Situ Chengjun pondered this in his mind.

The imperial decree was quickly delivered to the library. After hearing the words of the eunuch who delivered the decree, Su Mu's face remained completely calm, as if he were not the one who had been stripped of his position as the Imperial Preceptor, and he did not care at all.

"I'll just watch your performance quietly and see what tricks you can pull!" Su Mu thought to himself with a cold smile.

To be honest, he was somewhat wary of this suddenly appearing ancient expert and wasn't entirely confident that he could defeat him.

Su Mu is getting closer and closer to condensing the Imperial Dao Yuanling. At this point, he is naturally more patient and unwilling to easily provoke conflict and delay his cultivation.

Once he condenses his Imperial Primordial Spirit, his cultivation level will advance to the Grandmaster realm. While it may seem like only a small advancement, since he can already easily kill Grandmasters, the actual magnitude of this advancement will be enormous!

At that time, the quality and power of his skill will undergo a qualitative leap; the magic weapons powered by stronger skill will be greatly enhanced; and the martial arts techniques performed with stronger skill will become even more formidable. Then, he will have a greater chance of defeating a True Martial Realm expert!

The news of the old emperor's abdication and the new emperor's ascension to the throne first spread throughout the entire imperial city, and then along the post roads to various prefectures and counties of the Great Qian Empire.

The reactions of all parties were similar, mostly showing some surprise, but nothing more—this was merely a change of the throne within the Xiao imperial family, not the destruction of the Xiao imperial family or a change of the Great Qian Empire, so there was nothing to be alarmed about.

In this world where martial prowess reigns supreme, those with greater strength should rightfully occupy higher positions and wield greater power. The new emperor, a True Martial Realm expert, ascending the throne and taking power is, in the eyes of many, a perfectly reasonable course of action.

From that afternoon onward, the entire imperial city seemed to welcome a grand festival, with lanterns and decorations everywhere, and a joyous atmosphere. This was the decree of the new emperor, Situ Chengjun—to let the whole nation celebrate his ascension to the throne, thereby winning the hearts of the people, consolidating his throne, and gaining the recognition of the people as the new emperor.

In addition, Situ Chengjun also held a grand banquet in the palace to entertain civil and military officials and imperial relatives. He wanted to quickly familiarize himself with the backgrounds of these imperial nobles and make them adapt to him as the new emperor and submit to his rule.

Su Mu remained quietly in the library, focusing on his cultivation. He never attended any palace banquets—such liveliness was meaningless to him. He preferred to absorb more imperial energy and achieve his cultivation goal as soon as possible.

……

At dusk, Cheng Ping'an, Yu Tian, ​​and Feng Bao arrived at the library from the Imperial Martial Arts Bureau. They had overheard at the bureau that the new emperor had stripped their godfather, Su Mu, of his title as Imperial Preceptor after his ascension to the throne. Deeply worried, they rushed over to visit him. If their godfather was unhappy, they would try their best to cheer him up.

To their surprise, Su Mu was neither displeased nor overly concerned. As usual, he had dinner with his three godson sons, gave each of them some pills, and then sent them back to Shangwu Academy to continue their cultivation.

……

Late that night, in the stillness of the night, a dark figure quietly slipped into the palace and silently landed in the courtyard of the library.

Su Mu's reputation has spread throughout the entire Great Qian Empire. Even Grandmasters dare not offend the Library so rashly, for fear of angering Su Mu and ending up with their heads separated from their bodies.

The person who came was indeed not a Grandmaster, but he was not a True Martial Realm expert either. Su Mu initially thought that the newly enthroned Emperor Situ Chengjun couldn't contain himself and came to test him personally, but after careful sensing, he found that this was not the case.

The newcomer's cultivation level was only at the early stage of the Grandmaster realm.

However, Su Mu sensed a familiar aura from the newcomer, as if he had encountered it somewhere before.

He didn't rush to reveal himself, but instead allowed the dark figure to enter the library and ascend the stairs to the second floor. At the same time, he opened his own room door and waited for the visitor.

The man quickly reached the doorway and slowly removed his mask. He appeared to be in his thirties, with a handsome face and a hint of fierceness in his eyes. Upon seeing his face, Su Mu's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly guessed his identity.

"My name is Su Zhe, and I am Su Qingshan's son." The newcomer spoke first, his tone icy, his gaze fixed on Su Mu with a hint of barely perceptible hostility.

Upon hearing this name, Su Mu thought to himself, "As expected"—it turns out that Su Zhe is actually Su Zi's half-brother.