Having many children brings many blessings; the struggle for power begins with marriage.

After Lu Chen led his troops to the city gate, Situ Ce immediately led all the civil and military officials to bow and say, "The Northern King thwarted the Demonic Sect's conspiracy and saved Great Xia, making outstanding contributions! Now that His Majesty has passed away, the country cannot be without a ruler for a day. We earnestly request the Northern King to ascend the throne and rule Great Xia!"

As soon as Situ Ce finished speaking, all the civil and military officials knelt down and said in unison, "We humbly request the Prince of the North to ascend the throne!"

Lu Chen glanced at the ministers, then at the princes bowing to him, and said calmly, "Among all the princes, I am only ninth. If we were to follow the order of succession, I'm afraid it wouldn't be the Northern Prince's turn to take that position, would it?"

Upon hearing this, cold sweat instantly broke out on the faces of all the princes. Didn't Lu Chen mean that there were other princes ahead of him who were hindering his ascension to the throne?

Is he planning to go on a killing spree?

Just then, the Second Prince quickly stepped forward and said, "Ninth Brother, don't worry. The succession to the throne of Great Xia has long since stopped following the eldest son of the legitimate wife. In recent generations, the successors to the throne have all been the most capable."

"The world is in turmoil, and we urgently need a capable person to lead Great Xia out of its predicament. My other brothers and I have no experience in governing a country, and we are inferior to you in both civil and military affairs. I believe that only Ninth Brother can make Great Xia stronger. Please do not continue to refuse!"

Upon hearing this, the Seventh Prince quickly added, "Second Brother is right. With rebels in the south and the Demonic Sect wreaking havoc, Great Xia is facing a life-or-death crisis. At this crucial time, we need a capable person to lead Great Xia out of this predicament. Looking at all of Father's children, only Ninth Brother possesses such ability!"

As soon as the Seventh Prince finished speaking, the other princes echoed his words.

After a while, Lu Chen finally spoke up, saying, "Since my brothers have all recommended me, I won't stand on ceremony."

"However, since Father Emperor has just passed away, we should put the matter of ascending the throne aside for now and finish Father Emperor's funeral first."

"Furthermore, the Demonic Sect caused my father to go mad with evil spirits, ultimately leading to his death. We must settle this score with them."

"Starting today, a city-wide purge of members of the Demonic Cult is underway. Anyone found among them, kill them on sight!"

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, the ministers were greatly shaken.

Lu Chen wasn't really investigating the Demonic Sect; he was just using it as an excuse to purge himself. If anyone dared to oppose him at this time, he would accuse that person of colluding with the Demonic Sect and eliminate them.

As soon as Lu Chen finished speaking, the ministers shouted in unison, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Although Lu Chen has not officially ascended the throne yet, since he has agreed to do so, he is now the emperor. The highest power center of the Great Xia Dynasty cannot remain in a vacuum for long.

Lu Chen said calmly, "Rise!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Immediately afterwards, Lu Chen led the Imperial Guards and officials directly into the capital.

Upon entering the capital, Lu Chen immediately gave instructions on various follow-up matters. By the time everything was settled, it was already 10 p.m.

Led by Situ Ce, Lu Chen arrived at the Imperial Study where the Xia Emperor once handled state affairs.

Upon entering the imperial study, Situ Ce cupped his hands and said to Lu Chen, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, on achieving your first goal! Your Majesty will surely unify the world and awe the four seas!"

Hearing this, Lu Chen smiled faintly and then said, "Since when has the Imperial Advisor learned to flatter?"

Situ Ce said, "Your Majesty is now a true dragon, not a horse."

Lu Chen said, "Let's not talk about that for now. I have some questions I'd like to ask the Imperial Advisor."

Situ Ce said respectfully, "Your Majesty, please speak. This old minister will certainly answer all your questions to the best of his ability."

How many Grandmasters are there in the royal family now?

Upon hearing this, Situ Ce thought for a moment and then replied, "Your Majesty, there are seven in total."

Lu Chen thought about it. Seven Grandmasters was not a small number, especially considering that the royal Grandmasters of the Great Xia Dynasty had been eliminated by the Celestials of the Xuan Yue Palace.

Thinking about it this way, it seems that other dynasties had many more hidden grandmasters.

No wonder that when the Great Wu Dynasty attacked the Northern Kingdom, the Martial Emperor was so willing to send two Grandmaster-level generals to attack the Northern Kingdom.

There are grandmasters, but it's unknown whether there are pseudo-celestial beings, or even hidden celestial beings.

At that moment, a shadow suddenly appeared behind a pillar in the study, and then a person appeared in front of Lu Chen.

Just then, Bai Qingqing, who was serving Lu Chen closely, mistook him for an assassin and immediately stepped in front of him, shouting, "Who goes there!"

However, Bai Qingqing quickly realized what was happening.

These are the shadow guards of the Xia Emperor.

At this moment, the Shadow Guard Commander, clad in black armor, knelt on the ground and said, "Zhou Hai, Grand Commander of the Shadow Guard, pays respects to Your Majesty!"

The Shadow Guards were originally directly under the command of Emperor Xia, but now that Emperor Xia is dead, the Shadow Guards have lost their allegiance.

The Shadow Guards are free to some extent; they are fully entitled to leave the capital. However, they have all taken the Emperor's poison, and no one knows when it will take effect.

So the Shadow Guards ultimately decided to continue serving the new emperor and become his henchmen, since they were all loyal to the emperor anyway, and it didn't matter which emperor they served.

When Lu Chen saw the Shadow Guard Commander appear, he was overjoyed. Compared to Situ Ce, the Imperial Advisor, the Shadow Guard was the one Emperor Xia trusted the most. The Shadow Guard must know a lot about Emperor Xia.

Lu Chen is now very curious about what secrets the Xia Emperor has.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen glanced at Zhou Hai and used the system to identify his identity.

Name: Zhou Hai

[Identity: Commander-in-Chief of the Shadow Guards]

[Strength: Grandmaster Level]

Loyalty: 80

Among those he met for the first time, an eighty percent loyalty rating was already quite high. The loyalty ratings of the court officials were generally less than fifty percent; they were all a bunch of traitors.

It makes sense, considering that the Shadow Guards were more dependent on imperial power, which is why they were so loyal to him.

Lu Chen said calmly, "Get up!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

At this moment, Bai Qingqing was still protecting Lu Chen. Although it had been confirmed that Zhou Hai was the commander of the Shadow Guards, the Shadow Guards were, after all, the late emperor's dogs, and no one knew whether Zhou Hai would make a move against Lu Chen.

Lu Chen patted Bai Qingqing on the shoulder at this moment, "Xiao Bai, don't be nervous, he won't attack me."

Upon hearing this, Bai Qingqing walked to the side.

At this moment, Lu Chen said to Zhou Hai, "You are the Commander of the Shadow Guards, so you should know many secrets of my father, the Emperor."

Zhou Hai then asked, "What does Your Majesty wish to know? I will certainly tell you the truth."

Lu Chen said, "I want to know if my father has any secrets he is hiding."

Zhou Hai instantly understood Lu Chen's meaning, and he immediately replied, "His Majesty has a secret chamber containing a large number of royal secrets."

Lu Chen immediately asked, "Where?"

Zhou Hai replied, "Your Majesty, please bring the Imperial Seal."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen went to the desk in the study without saying a word and took the jade seal directly into his hand.

At this moment, Zhou Hai walked to a bookshelf, removed several scrolls, and said, "Your Majesty, please place the imperial seal in this hole."

Lu Chen immediately went to the bookshelf and did as Zhou Hai said. At this moment, the bookshelf suddenly trembled, and then slowly moved away, revealing a huge tunnel entrance on the ground where the bookshelf had been.

Zhou Hai then said, "Only the previous emperors have entered the secret chamber. I do not know what is inside. If Your Majesty wishes to know what is stored inside, you may enter the secret chamber to investigate."

Upon hearing Zhou Hai's words, Bai Qingqing quickly came to Lu Chen's side. "Your Majesty, be careful, there may be traps inside. This servant will scout ahead for you."

Bai Qingqing still didn't quite trust Zhou Hai. Zhou Hai was the commander of the Shadow Guards, and that identity was enough for her to always be wary of him.

Lu Chen thought for a moment, then said, "You can wait outside for now."

Lu Chen then walked directly into the tunnel.

Seeing that Lu Chen had told her to wait outside, Bai Qingqing didn't say anything more and could only wait quietly at the entrance of the tunnel.

After entering the tunnel, Lu Chen soon arrived at a large hall, in which portraits of past emperors hung.

Below each emperor's portrait was a bookshelf, and the bookshelves were filled with scrolls.

Lu Chen walked directly to the portrait of Emperor Xia, picked up the scrolls on the bookshelf, and began to read them one by one.

These scrolls record all the major events that Emperor Xia did, including how he rose to power, how he became emperor, and even the conspiracies and tricks he played. It's like keeping a diary.

Lu Chen then rummaged through the scrolls and finally found the one about his mother.

After reading the scroll, Lu Chen sighed. His mother really was killed by the Xia Emperor, whose purpose was naturally to obtain the sacred artifact of the Xuan Yue Palace.

The sacred objects of Xuan Yue Palace can help people improve their cultivation, but if one forcibly improves their cultivation, once that improvement is achieved, their cultivation will be unable to advance any further.

Among the Grandmasters of the Great Xia royal family, several of them forcibly enhanced their cultivation using the sacred artifact of the Xuan Yue Palace.

After reading the scrolls about his mother, Lu Chen did not stay in the secret room any longer. Now that everything in the palace was his, he had plenty of time to explore these royal secrets.

Seeing Lu Chen emerge from the tunnel, Bai Qingqing, who was guarding the entrance, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

For a period of time afterward, Lu Chen came to the secret room almost every day to look through the late emperor's scrolls, which were probably all written by the late emperor himself.

What Lu Chen cared about most were the scrolls left behind by the first Xia Taizu. According to Xia Taizu's records, he was able to establish the Great Xia because of the guidance of an immortal. The immortal also told him that the Great Xia would inevitably give birth to a chosen one, and one day, the Great Xia would unify this world and leave this world.

One of the main reasons why the Xia Emperor wanted to revitalize the Xia Dynasty was that he had also read the scrolls of the Xia Emperor Taizu, and the Xia Emperor believed that he was the chosen one.

Of course, this was Emperor Xia's thought when he was young. After being emperor for decades, Emperor Xia gradually realized the problems of the Great Xia Dynasty. His dream eventually came to an end, and he returned to reality.

In fact, Emperor Xia was not the only emperor who believed himself to be the chosen one. Since Emperor Taizu, many emperors of the Great Xia Dynasty believed that they might be the chosen one.

Lu Chen also sighed, realizing that the damn system was really doing a lot of harm.

He didn't know if the person Xia Taizu encountered was an immortal, but judging from Xia Taizu's prophecy of his own appearance as the chosen one, it must have been a systemic arrangement.

Lu Chen is becoming increasingly curious about the system. Why did the system start planning this so early? What exactly is going on with his time travel?

After looking at the scroll left by Emperor Taizu of Xia, Lu Chen tried to ask the system for help, but the system remained silent. Lu Chen had no other choice.

For now, we can only take it one step at a time. Perhaps he'll be able to learn the system's secrets once he becomes a celestial being. (End of Chapter)