Li Hongzhao was certain that Chu Zhiyuan could also ascend.
Leaving aside his cultivation, and adding his meritorious service in exterminating the evil sect, the Son of Heaven Sword was destined to choose him.
Now it depended on when the Great Jing Emperor would ascend, or abdicate while giving up ascension.
Often, when their lifespan was approaching its end, they would seek survival in death and a longer lifespan, and only then would they give up this world and ascend to another.
But things were not so beautiful, and the decision to ascend could not be delayed indefinitely.
The governance of the imperial court often had a cycle; it wasn't that the longer one was emperor, the more stable the people's hearts became.
It presented a mountain-shaped curve.
When one first ascended the throne, the people's hearts were not aligned, and the control over the Son of Heaven Sword was extremely low.
As time passed, after diligent governance, the people's hearts returned, and the control over the Son of Heaven Sword also increased.
Human nature and people's hearts would become lax; it was impossible to be diligent and work hard every day for decades.
At this time, the court would begin to decline, the bureaucracy would become corrupt, and the people's hearts would gradually drift away.
The control over the Son of Heaven Sword would begin to decline, getting lower and lower.
At this time, it would be impossible to break through the void and ascend.
The Great Jing Emperor's time on the throne was almost at its limit; if he delayed any longer, he would not be able to ascend.
She was certain that Chu Zhiyuan's succession was imminent.
At that time, if the two of them cooperated, they could better gather the people's hearts and completely control the Son of Heaven Sword.
Based on his rate of progress, he could also ascend very quickly, but he might not ascend so quickly.
He had deep feelings for his parents and sister, as well as Xiao Ruoling, and he was still young, so he should want to enjoy more wealth and glory.
So he would not ascend so quickly.
She would inevitably take the first step.
Thinking of this, she said faintly, "When are you going to have a grand wedding with Little Sister Xiao?"
Chu Zhiyuan shook his head, "She probably has to wait until the next Holy Maiden is chosen before she can leave her post."
"Little Sister Xiao is really dutiful."
"She doesn't do things halfway; once she does something, she will do her best."
"She will also be a good helper to you in the future," Li Hongzhao sighed softly.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "Aren't you planning to get married?"
"There's no need for so many burdens," Li Hongzhao shook her head.
She would ascend within ten years, so there was no need to leave behind more ties.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "If you don't get married, the people will always feel uneasy, right?"
After getting married, people would become more stable; this was everyone's belief.
"What I'm most worried about now is that the next generation of successors will be weak and unable to inherit the Son of Heaven Sword," she shook her head and said, "If there is a successor, the rest doesn't matter."
In the Great Meng, there were only two Grandmasters in this generation; how many Grandmasters would there be in the next generation?
Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "I think the Seventh Prince has hope of becoming a Grandmaster."
During tonight's banquet, he saw many members of the imperial family.
The top-ranked princes and sons of dukes were all present.
He felt that the one with the most hope of becoming a Grandmaster was the Seventh Prince, Li Biyang.
This Li Biyang's aptitude was extremely good; at a young age, he was already at the Sixth Heaven of the Grandmaster realm.
If he continued like this, there was a glimmer of hope that he could step into the Grandmaster realm within ten years.
Apart from this, there was no hope for the other sons of dukes to become Grandmasters.
Among the princes, there were two at the Perfection of the Grandmaster realm, but looking at their situation, it was estimated that it would be difficult for them to break through.
"Seventh Prince—" Li Hongzhao shook her head, "His temperament is a bit naive and innocent, not suitable to be an emperor."
Chu Zhiyuan said, "People can change; it's impossible to always be naive and innocent."
Li Hongzhao shook her head, "Even if he becomes more stable and sophisticated, the things in his bones still can't be changed."
Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "Naive and innocent people may not necessarily make bad emperors."
"...His martial arts cultivation is also uncertain," Li Hongzhao lightly furrowed her brows.
She looked at Chu Zhiyuan, her phoenix eyes burning brightly.
Chu Zhiyuan smiled and looked at her.
"I heard that there are two Grandmasters in your mansion now, one is Zou Fang, and the other is that Weng Qifeng?"
"Yes," Chu Zhiyuan was not surprised by her well-informedness.
"You have a way to guide others to find the door to the Grandmaster realm, right?"
"It requires a sufficiently deep understanding of the cultivation method," Chu Zhiyuan smiled.
Li Hongzhao paused.
This was equivalent to revealing the most fundamental cultivation method to him, allowing him to study it.
How could the Great Meng imperial family's cultivation method be leaked?
She lightly furrowed her brows.
Chu Zhiyuan's ability to help people break through the Grandmaster realm was already astonishing enough.
Now he could also help people break through the Grand Grandmaster realm.
This impact would be too great.
She looked at Chu Zhiyuan intently.
Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Don't you want to kill me?"
"Hmph, you are too great a threat to my Great Meng," Li Hongzhao snorted.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "The key to becoming a Grandmaster still lies within oneself; I'm just giving a push, helping to advance it by a few years, and there aren't many people who can show me their cultivation methods."
If Song Feiqiong hadn't had a stroke of luck, cultivating the Flying Flower Sword Sect's cultivation method, it would have been impossible for her to become a Grandmaster.
The prerequisite for becoming a Grandmaster was cultivating a top-tier cultivation method.
Only the cultivation methods of the Four Demon Sects and the Four Great Sects had the hope of becoming a Grandmaster.
The hopes of disciples from other sects were slim, unless they had another stroke of luck.
The Four Demon Sects and the Four Great Sects cherished their cultivation methods more than their lives, preferring to have fewer Grandmasters rather than leaking their cultivation methods.
"...That's true," the burning light in Li Hongzhao's phoenix eyes softened.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "You really dare to think; you can't kill me now."
"That's not necessarily true!" Li Hongzhao glared at him and snorted, "Let's act tomorrow then."
"Okay, let's start tomorrow," Chu Zhiyuan said solemnly.
A bright moon hung high in the sky.
The clear and cold moonlight sprinkled down on the Ziyang Manor.
The Ziyang Manor was silent.
The sixteen White Bone Pagodas outside the manor were arranged around the White Jade Plaza.
The ghastly white bones shone faintly in the moonlight.
Twelve guards formed two teams, patrolling the perimeter of the manor in a crisscross pattern.
Halfway up a mountain twenty miles outside the manor, a clearing had been cleared in the woods, and a bonfire had been lit.
Under the blazing bonfire, more than twenty men in black outfits were sitting around the bonfire.
Their expressions were solemn and dignified.
"He really won't be back, right?"
"The news is absolutely accurate; he will attend the imperial palace banquet tonight, and it's impossible to be absent from the imperial palace banquet!"
"A good opportunity!"
"Let's act!"
"It's a pity that the time is too rushed, and we can only gather these people."
"It's not easy to gather so many people; even if there were a few more days, it wouldn't increase much."
The crowd fell silent.
They were really scared of him, and they didn't dare to approach within a hundred miles of Yujing City.
Within a hundred miles, it was a near-death experience; within two hundred miles, it was fifty-fifty.
Those who weren't afraid of death had already died.
Those who remained were cautious people.
Because of this news, they dared to approach within twenty miles.
Normally, they would definitely hide two hundred miles away, looking for opportunities.
This was such an opportunity.
"No need to say more, act!"
"Wash the Ziyang Manor, and leave immediately!"
"Don't we wash Yujing City as well?"
"Qing Wang's Mansion has at least two Grandmasters; it won't be good to rush in."
"Don't be greedy for merit; just wash the Ziyang Manor!"
"Act!"
They slowly stood up, and under the blazing bonfire, pairs of eyes shone brightly.
