Chapter 1489: Internal Strife
Previously, in order to travel faster, Heichi Fei and Ma Tian had ordered their subordinates to move on their own. Meanwhile, they used their own respective skills to return to the Fiend King Court more quickly. The two didn’t stop and headed directly for the Imperial Palace.
There was already a servant waiting for them, who quickly brought the two of them to the Imperial Study. Both of them were confused. Could it be that the Fiend Emperor had already emerged ahead of time? Otherwise, who would dare to use the Imperial Study?
After guiding the two of them inside, the servant closed the door behind him. The closing door felt as if it had been slammed on the two men’s hearts. Only then did they notice the situation inside the room, however.
The Golden Crow Crown Prince sat in the main seat. Next to him was his guardian Elder Wu. Both men were quite surprised. Elder Wu’s existence was supposed to be top secret, so why had he shown himself in public?
There were others as well, off to the side: Commandant of Guards Wu Li, Chief Attendant Wu Fa, and Imperial Secretariat Director Lei Xin.
The Commandant of Guards was in charge of the palace guards. The Chief Attendant was the head of the Fiend Emperor’s secretary division. The Imperial Secretariat Director was the one who implemented concrete government affairs. At present, the last position was held by the Fourth Prince, but because he was too young and usually spent his time eating, drinking, and playing around, the relevant government affairs were managed by Director Lei Xin.
Wu was the unique surname of the Golden Crow royal family. As such, the three officials essentially represented the Fiend King Court, the central army, the government, and even the royal family’s will.
Apart from those three important figures, the two men noticed that Right Guard General Niu Dao, Prosperous King Wu Cheng, Composed King Wu Pei, and Martial Guard General Nine Suns King Wu Cheng were all present. Those four, along with Left Guard General Ma Tian, jointly managed the King Court’s elite Golden Crow Guards. Seeing as they were all gathered inside, there was clearly something major happening.
Just then, Commandant of Guards Wu Li said, “As the Grand Secretary and General Ma have already arrived, we can begin.”
Chief Attendant Wu Fa nodded and took out an imperial decree, declaring, “The Fiend Emperor has a decree. All subjects shall receive the decree!”
A powerful aura emanated from the decree. It was none other than the Fiend Emperor’s unique might, something no one could fake.
“Long live the emperor!” all those present exclaimed, quickly bowing respectfully.
Only then did Wu Fa read the contents of the decree. As it turned out, it passed the imperial throne to the Golden Crow Crown Prince, appointing him as the new Fiend Emperor.
Everyone in the room was shocked, especially Left Guard General Ma Tian. Even though he had always carried goodwill toward the Golden Crow Crown Prince, ultimately, he was still the Fiend Emperor’s trusted aide. That goodwill was only due to the fact that the Golden Crow Crown Prince was the heir apparent to the throne.
But now, the Fiend Emperor hadn’t even appeared, and yet the Golden Crow Crown Prince was already in a hurry to inherit the throne. That… was a bit inappropriate, wasn’t it?
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He could only test the waters by asking, “May I ask where his majesty the Fiend Emperor is right now?”
Wu Fa released a deep sigh. A few teardrops fell from his eyes as he replied, “His majesty, he… has passed on.”
“What?!”
The decree appointing the crown prince to the throne was surprising, but they had all felt that it was to be expected. And yet, upon hearing that, they felt as if they had just received news that a meteor falling from the heavens was about to end the entire world.
“How did the Fiend Emperor die?” the generals in the room exclaimed. They were all shaken. The Fiend Emperor’s position in their hearts was on par with Zhao Han’s in the human world. He had always been a supreme being for countless years, the strongest in the land. He was their metaphorical backbone.
Not too long before, they had been waiting to meet the Fiend Emperor, and yet now, they had received a report that the Fiend Emperor died?
How could the unrivaled Fiend Emperor possibly die?! Who could kill him?
Commandant of Guards Wu Li replied, “The Fiend Emperor passed on in the special secret dungeon. As for the reason, I fear we have no way of knowing anymore.”
Ma Tian asked with a frown, “Did the Crown Prince not previously say that the Fiend Emperor was dealing with some small matters and would emerge soon? Why is there news that the Fiend Emperor died inside?”
If not for the fact that the Fiend Emperor was too strong and the Crown Prince had no chance of scheming against him, the people in the room might have wondered if he had done something.
The Golden Crow Crown Prince rubbed his eyes and lamented, “I do not know either! Back then, father emperor was clearly fine, but who would have thought that something would happen to him so soon? This crown prince is filled with endless sorrow!”
Heichi Fei nodded inwardly. This nephew of mine has the mindset of a ruler. Whether he’s happy or sad right now, at least he’s already quite skilled at expressing the emotion he wants to express.
“Then how did the crown prince learn that the Fiend Emperor had already passed on?” Right Guard General Niu Dao asked curiously.
“Let me answer this question. There is a secret room in the Imperial Palace that contains divine tokens belonging to the royal family’s lineage. Whenever a member of the royal family is born, a drop of blood essence is used to create a token. That way, if anything happens to any member of the royal family, the Imperial Palace will immediately find out,” Elder Wu said from behind the Crown Prince. He continued, “It is unfortunate, but not too long ago, the divine token that represents the Fiend Emperor shattered.”
Even though the Fiend Emperor was immensely powerful, he had left behind the same kind of divine token when he was born too.
“Fiend Emperor!” those present exclaimed in shock and alarm. As individuals in positions of incredible power, such techniques weren’t completely foreign to them. However, this was the first time they had personally received confirmation.
The Golden Crow Crown Prince said, “The secret dungeon we entered was truly special. There were all sorts of powerful beings inside. Father emperor might have accidentally encountered something.”
That was truly what he believed. Even though he knew the Fiend Emperor had stayed behind to deal with Zu An’s group, no matter how broadly his thoughts traveled, he couldn’t possibly believe that Zu An’s group could pose any threat to his father. It was most likely because he had ended up provoking another being on par with Yu the Great or Gonggong.
“Could there truly be someone more powerful than the Fiend Emperor?” the others exclaimed with ashen expressions, their eyes filled with horror.
The Golden Crow Crown Prince quickly said, “It was not that there was someone more powerful than father emperor, but rather that the place was extremely strange. Additionally, when I came back, the spatial passage was already about to close. Perhaps father emperor could not leave in time, or something happened to him in the spatial passage.”
Spatial passages often contained chaotic streams of spacetime. Even for dungeons that had been open for a long time, no one dared to move recklessly when they were in such spatial passages. As such, if something really had happened to the Fiend Emperor there, it would still just about be understandable.
Prosperous King Wu Cheng couldn’t hold back his doubts and asked, “Then why did his majesty Fiend Emperor have the crown prince return first, while remaining in that dangerous place himself?”
The Golden Crow Crown Prince knew that these individuals, whom his father had placed in important positions, were all the most trusted of aides. Thus, he could only calm himself down first and say, “This was supposed to be an absolute secret, but I have no choice but to talk about it here. The reason father emperor remained inside was because he received clues about an immortal medicine. He went to look for it…”
Then, he gave them a rough account of the information surrounding the immortal medicine. Of course, he excluded Zu An and the others’ presence. Either way, they had no doubt already been killed by his father, lying dead in the secret dungeon.
“Immortal medicine…” several people murmured.
Now, no one in the room had any more doubts. They all knew just how irresistible immortal medicines were for those who were nearing the end of their lifespan. Even they suspected that the Fiend Emperor might have died not too far from the immortal medicine. After all, anything that incredible would definitely have powerful beings protecting it.
Chief Attendant Wu Fa said, “As the Fiend Emperor has already passed, the crown prince will succeed to the throne. This is a decree that the Fiend Emperor left behind.”
The generals still had some hesitation, but Heichi Fei quickly took the lead in kneeling toward the Crown Prince, declaring, “This subject pays his respects to the emperor. Long live, long live, long long live!”
As even the Crown Prince’s uncle, the Grand Secretary himself, had begun to kneel, Commandant of Guards Wu Li and Chief Attendant Wu Fa both followed suit.
Imperial Secretariat Director Lei Xin, as well as the five generals who controlled the Golden Crow Guards, were a bit hesitant at first. However, when they saw the grandmaster Elder Wu giving them a pointed look, they also kneeled one after another.
The Golden Crow Crown Prince was overjoyed. He quickly walked forward to help them to their feet, calling out, “Everyone, please rise!”
“Thank you, your majesty!”
After they rose again one after another, Chief Attendant Wu Fa said, “Second Prince harbors unfilial thoughts. Previously, even when the late Fiend Emperor was still here, he dared to assassinate the Crown Prince. If he finds out that the late Fiend Emperor has already passed and that the Crown Prince has taken the throne, he will definitely rebel. Rather than waiting for him to prepare for a rebellion, we should take the chance to nip him in the bud!”
The others shivered. They were going to go all-out against the Second Prince!
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