114: In the Shenwu Empire, the Shengwu Emperor has passed away! My brother, you shall succeed the throne as...King Wu!

The Shenwu Empire, the Imperial Capital, the Imperial City, the Imperial Palace.

A large group of people had gathered here, all with solemn expressions, standing within the hall.

At this moment, only those with a cultivation level of at least the Heavenly Imperial Realm were qualified to stand inside the hall.

Outside the hall, countless Imperial City Forbidden Guards stood guard.

Outside, countless officials were also waiting for news.

Some could not hide their inner joy, some were sad, some were fearful and anxious…

And none of these officials had a cultivation level lower than the Void Union Realm.

A heavy atmosphere pervaded not only here, but the entire Imperial City and the entire Imperial Capital.

Because the ruler of the Shenwu Empire, Holy Martial Emperor, was about to pass away.

Holy Martial Emperor's death, who knew what a huge impact it would have on the entire empire!

First, there would be a reshuffle of all major forces.

Since Holy Martial Emperor was in his prime and had not yet appointed a Crown Prince, and was suddenly severely injured, no one had anticipated any of this happening.

The various princes were evenly matched, with none yielding to the others.

This also meant how intense the upcoming struggle would be.

Regardless of the final outcome, the entire Shenwu Empire would undergo a major reshuffle.

At this moment, a announcement suddenly came, “King Wu has arrived!”

King Wu!

Upon hearing this name, everyone immediately snapped out of their internal calculations.

Who was King Wu?

King Wu was the Holy Martial Emperor’s own brother, born of the same mother.

Whether it was talent, strength, strategy, or courage, he was only superior to the current Emperor.

Originally, in the last competition for the throne, he was the most promising candidate.

He was even more hopeful and more favored than the current Emperor.

Unfortunately, his ideals clashed with those of the late Emperor, and could even be described as rebellious.

This was why he missed out on the throne, which instead fell to the current Holy Martial Emperor, who was a notch below him.

However, both the late Emperor and the current Emperor cherished him greatly, even bestowing upon him the title of King Wu, using the national designation as his official title.

This was a treatment no king in the entire history of the Shenwu Empire, from ancient times to the present, had ever received.

Unfortunately, King Wu still broke ties with Holy Martial Emperor, almost never communicating again until old age.

But now he was here, what did that mean?

All the ministers present were silently pondering in their hearts.

Some hoped he would come, while others did not.

Among them, the ones who least wanted him to come were undoubtedly Holy Martial Emperor’s princes.

Hearing that King Wu had arrived, they quickly rushed out.

In their eyes, wasn't this clearly him coming to snatch their throne?

They had endured for so long, finally outliving their father.

Now someone wanted to cut in, how could they agree to that?

At this moment, the princes, who had been locked in a life-and-death struggle, became unprecedentedly united.

Thus, the First Prince among them was the first to step forward.

Since Holy Martial Emperor was still alive, out of courtesy, the First Prince still asked King Wu, “Second Uncle, your presence here is…”

Before the First Prince could finish speaking, King Wu unceremoniously stated, “I have come to inherit the throne!”

Ah!

Oh wow, so blatant!

This direct answer immediately stunned everyone present.

There's this kind of style?

Especially the princes, who seemed to not have reacted, too shocked to speak for a long time.

King Wu glanced at everyone, “Now I can go in, right?”

After speaking, he walked inside on his own.

At this moment, the First Prince also reacted, and the other princes reacted as well.

He immediately called out to his men, “He wants to usurp the throne! Quickly stop him!”

Immediately, people received orders and surrounded him; they were all from the various princely factions.

They had invested so much before, how could they let King Wu pluck the fruit?

However, when their attacks landed on King Wu, they had no effect, not even causing a ripple.

Those in the know realized this.

This was an ability only achieved by body cultivators who had reached the peak of the Eternal Realm.

But wasn't King Wu a normal martial artist?

At this point, everyone understood.

King Wu was a dual cultivator, with his martial arts cultivation reaching the peak of Heavenly Imperial Realm, and his body cultivation reaching the peak of the Eternal Realm.

Dual mainstream system peak!

In other words.

Here, no one except Holy Martial Emperor could do anything to King Wu.

“Alright, everyone stop!”

Just as the two sides were in a stalemate, a weak voice suddenly emerged from the scene.

It turned out that, at some unknown point, Holy Martial Emperor had walked out himself.

Everyone already knew that Holy Martial Emperor's days were numbered.

Glancing at the scene, Holy Martial Emperor, who had fought his way through countless battles, knew exactly what was happening and why.

But now, he no longer had the energy to concern himself with these matters.

He had to arrange the affairs of the Shenwu Empire while he was still alive.

This way, the world would not fall into chaos after his death.

Holy Martial Emperor slowly sighed, “Today, while you are all here, I have something to announce.”

“A country cannot be without a ruler for a day; the next successor of the Shenwu Empire should also be decided.”

As these words were uttered, everyone in the hall held their breath.

Because the words that were about to be spoken would directly affect their future and that of the families behind them.

Holy Martial Emperor looked around the hall.

His children all looked at him with hopeful eyes.

Their gazes were full of “Choose me! Choose me!”

However, Holy Martial Emperor did not pay attention to his princes.

Instead, he turned his head to look at King Wu.

King Wu merely looked at him with a sneer.

Immediately, Holy Martial Emperor announced his chosen successor, “I have chosen the most suitable Emperor for you all; this person is King Wu, Ji Hao!”

These words struck like a heavy hammer on the chests of the princes.

They all turned pale, and some even collapsed to the ground.

The ministers also found it incredible.

Only King Wu was not surprised by this outcome.

The princes scrambled and crawled to Holy Martial Emperor, crying and pleading.

But Holy Martial Emperor ignored them and instead walked up to King Wu.

He took off the crown, which symbolized imperial status, from his head and handed it to King Wu.

King Wu unhesitatingly took the crown and placed it on his own head.

Holy Martial Emperor watched King Wu put on the crown, then patted King Wu’s shoulder, saying, “My brother, you shall be like Yao and Shun!”

After saying that, he handed the jade talisman, which could truly mobilize the empire's power, to King Wu.

Finally, he had someone present the imperial seal and handed it to King Wu as well.

Holy Martial Emperor had no time left, nor the energy to hold a grand succession ceremony.

He could only simplify everything, taking advantage of everyone being present today to pass the position to King Wu.

At the same time, this also put an end to the ambitions of some people.

After completing all this, Holy Martial Emperor did not choose to return to his sickbed.

Instead, he came to the imperial court hall and once again sat on the dragon throne, which symbolized supreme authority.

Subsequently, Holy Martial Emperor sat on the dragon throne, his body transforming into countless specks of light, and dissipated.

Holy Martial Emperor, passed away!