Chapter 268: Chapter 201: The Succession Struggle Ends? The Edict of Investiture, Who Wins the Eastern Palace?

Although Chen Ke was confused, he still nodded.

He had already ascended to the Tenth Realm. Across the entire Central Plains World, there should be few who could afford to provoke him.

Not to mention his current status as a True Disciple of the Wen Sheng.

’Who would dare to harm me?’

All he could say was that Lu Mingyuan’s approach was very cautious.

And this was Lu Mingyuan’s thinking: the Learning of the Mind would soon spread with incredible speed throughout all of Great Yan. It was only a matter of time before Chen Ke became a Saint.

’Until then, it’s best he stays inside Wenyuan Pavilion.’

He was worried that Xun Yu and other riff-raff would move against this Great Sage who had just established the Learning of the Mind, nipping the saintly seed he had so carefully cultivated in the bud.

That was why he said Chen Ke should only emerge after becoming a Saint.

’There’s nothing wrong with that.’

"I am Sima Shuijing. I have long heard of Prince Huai’an’s great name."

Lu Mingyuan’s ears twitched. He was surprised to find Mr. Shuijing at his side actually greeting him. It was truly a rare event.

After all, Mr. Shuijing was the one who had earned the title of "Pure Confucian Scholar" among all the scholars in the world. He was the only one to ever receive such an honor.

Lu Mingyuan smiled in response. "What great name does this prince have? I’m afraid it’s more like a bad reputation."

Mr. Shuijing stroked his beard and chuckled. "The good in this world can be measured, but the evil is boundless. When evil turns to good, the clouds naturally part to reveal the sun. Your Highness has been subjected to excessive vilification. Looked at from another angle, is that not also a form of renown?"

Lu Mingyuan laughed heartily.

’Is this old man telling me that even bad publicity is still publicity?’

Right now, who in all of Great Yan didn’t know his name, Lu Mingyuan? The Great Nether Empress had advertised it to death.

But not many people necessarily knew of Lu Yunqing’s great name.

It was, he had to admit, truly ironic.

"The words of a Pure Confucian Scholar truly live up to the name," Lu Mingyuan praised.

A Palm Seal materialized in Mr. Shuijing’s hand. He offered it to Chen Ke. "Junior Brother, today, I, your Senior Brother, have accepted you into our lineage on behalf of our Master. You must keep this ’Wen’ Character Seal safe."

"Yes!" Chen Ke solemnly accepted the ’Wen’ Character Seal.

In the eyes of the others, however, this scene painted a different picture.

"Is the Literary Saint Lineage going to support Prince Huai’an now?" a few young Cultivators from the Hanlin Academy exchanged glances.

"This is huge. Although the Wen Sheng’s school of thought is slightly weaker than Li Sheng’s, their strength and faction are on par. Who will ultimately win?"

"Are you kidding? Besides the Wen Sheng, Prince Huai’an also has excellent relations with the Celestial Master’s Mansion. Inside the Grotto Heaven, Fairy Ci Hang was personally protecting Lu Mingyuan. Didn’t you know?"

"The public discussion around Prince Huai’an is now even greater than that for Prince Chongwen."

"Lu Yunqing has no military power to back him, but Prince Huai’an has the support of the Champion Marquis. Don’t you forget."

As the officials and Confucian Scholars on the scene discussed, they all came to believe that Prince Huai’an’s rise was already unstoppable.

Meanwhile, many Great Scholars had already gathered around Chen Ke, humbly seeking his guidance.

"Great Sage Chen, could you elaborate on the specifics of Lu and Wang’s Heart Learning? If we could transcribe it, we would be eternally grateful."

"And how should ’Attaining the Knowledge of Goodness’ be explained in relation to Heavenly Principle?"

Seeing so many Great Scholars humbling themselves to ask for his teachings, Chen Ke was both flattered and apprehensive. It was his first time facing such a situation.

...

「In the Imperial Garden.」

Curtains hung from the four corners of a pavilion, shielding its two occupants from the spring breeze as they sat facing each other over a Chessboard.

The game was at a stalemate.

But Emperor Yong’an, dressed in his Dragon Robe, had already risen. He stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the Mist Willow Pond. Beside him, dressed in the crimson robes of his office, stood a stooping Yuan Xuangang.

One was the reigning Emperor, the other the Chief Minister of the Cabinet—the two men standing at the absolute pinnacle of power in Great Yan.

Yuan Xuangang began to use a Yin Yang Skill, a Divine Technique from the Confucian Temple, to shroud the area from the heavens, making it even harder for anyone to spy on them from afar with their Heart Spirit or Magic.

Only then did Yuan Xuangang speak, his words world-shaking. "This astonishing phenomenon has successfully brought the Confucian Dao Fortune carried by Prince Huai’an to its peak. The time is nearly ripe. Li Sheng says that Lu Yunqing’s Daoxin and Wen Dan are both unstable; he is no longer the best candidate for the Emperor’s Throne. The best candidate now is Prince Huai’an. With Qi Xingyan breaking through to the Twelfth Realm and Lu Mingyuan smoothly gathering the Destiny of the Three Religions, he will be able to help Great Yan annex the Destiny of the entire Haoran Continent and Cyan Nether Continent!"

The Emperor of Great Yan unclenched his fist and rubbed his cheek, his expression icy. He sneered, "What a struggle for the Celestial Mandate, the likes of which haven’t been seen in a thousand years!"

Yuan Xuangang reminded him softly, "Things have already come to this. You must not lose heart now."

Emperor Yong’an laughed at his words and shook his head. "I won’t. I will not! Whether it’s one year or ten, there is still much that can be done! Think back on the successive emperors of my Great Yan. Since the founding of our Dynasty, we have suffered humiliation and scorn from the Three Religions in the Central Plains World. This internal injury of mine is nothing in comparison."

Though he spoke lightly, the man forcibly swallowed a mouthful of blood that had risen in his throat. He lowered his head, rubbing his neck with his fingers, a trace of ferocity and regret flashing across his face. But the ferocious look lingered long after the regret had faded away. In the end, only a sense of helplessness remained.

It turned out that before he had crossed the Dragon Gate, he had used a supreme Secret Technique to silently sever his own heart meridians. This caused his Martial Dao’s Bridge of Eternal Life to completely shatter. He, who was once a vibrant Eighth Realm Cultivator, was now so frail and depleted of life force it was appalling.

"The Three Religions are the greatest obstacle to Great Yan’s development."

The situation he had spent sixty years of effort to create could not compare to the foundation the Three Religions had accumulated over ten thousand years.

Yuan Xuangang was silent. On the surface, he had been in Great Yan for thirty years, but in reality, he had served many Emperors.

He had read the official and unofficial histories of every dynasty, traveled through countless lands and nations, seeing and hearing with his own eyes and ears. He ultimately came to one conclusion: simply supporting the weak and patching up problems was useless. During the five-hundred-year cycle of the Celestial Mandate’s Reincarnation, when heroes vied for supremacy, propping up weak nations to resist a powerful, hegemonic Dynasty resulted in far more deaths than the casualties incurred when a strong Dynasty conquered and unified the realm.

Therefore, Yuan Xuangang needed to find a suitable Dynasty and a suitable monarch to realize his ambitions.

In the end, he found the Emperor of Great Yan, Emperor Yong’an, and he was not disappointed.

Even the matter of the Nine Dragons Struggle for the Throne, which had severely damaged Great Yan’s once-ascendant national power, was not something Yuan Xuangang considered a mistake in itself. The only mistake was that man’s schemes were no match for "Heaven’s plan." When it came to scheming against certain masterminds behind the scenes, even Yuan Xuangang had to admit his inferiority. But he was determined to gamble, to bet everything on a single throw, to win an unstoppable momentum that would sweep the world! 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

To allow Great Yan to end the fated cycle of Dynasties and stand strong for ten thousand years.

"Holy Emperor, Qi Xingyan requests an audience."

Someone reported from outside the garden.

"Let him in."

Emperor Yong’an, already appearing ancient and decrepit, spoke flatly, his face devoid of expression.

An old man in a blue Confucian Shirt, his hair combed immaculately, strode in through the back gate. The first person he saw was the Chief Minister of Great Yan, Yuan Xuangang, standing beside Emperor Yong’an.

"My body grows weaker by the day. These past days, I have neglected you, forcing you to condescend to the position of Adviser."

"You don’t resent me, do you?"

Emperor Yong’an raised his eyes, fiddling with a game piece, and smiled faintly.

"I do not," Qi Xingyan replied with a slight nod.

"All these years, I have still relied on you the most. If you hadn’t left the Confucian Temple to serve me, but had gone to some other Dynasty instead, I can’t imagine how many more things I would have had to worry about. If I had listened to you back then and appointed a Crown Prince earlier, I probably wouldn’t have to trouble myself with all these trivial matters now."

Qi Xingyan’s expression froze for a moment before instantly returning to normal. He said with a smile, "It’s not too late to appoint one now."

Emperor Yong’an’s brow furrowed. He stared at the Chessboard, lost in thought. Beside him lay an imperial edict, already written.

"In that case, receive the edict."

...

「Half a day later.」

News that shook the Capital City was suddenly released, setting all of Great Yan ablaze.

"REPORT!!"

"An imperial edict to appoint the heir has arrived!"

「Qingzhu Hall.」

"It’s the edict to appoint the heir!"

Zi Yun and Hong Wan ran into the main hall in delight, eager to report the good news to Lu Mingyuan.

They could finally leave this place.

...