Whoosh.
Nearly every pair of eyes in the hall snapped toward Lu Changsheng.
Everyone knew that dealing with the Sun family was no easy task.
If the Sun family were that simple to bring down, they would never have stood tall in the Divine Capital for so many years, let alone risen to become a prominent aristocratic clan.
Yet Lu Changsheng had still stepped forward.
A satisfied smile blossomed on the Ninth Princess's face.
"With Master Lu stepping in, it is as good as done."
The Ninth Princess had immense confidence in him.
Lu Changsheng merely said in an even tone, "Dealing with the Sun family is not difficult.
"However, taking over their influence and properties is not a task I can handle alone.
"I ask that Her Highness dispatch some additional hands to manage the aftermath—securing their assets and spheres of influence."
At these words, everyone's eyes lit up.
How could that be considered a chore?
It was a golden opportunity!
There was enormous profit to be had.
As long as Lu Changsheng beat the Sun family into submission, taking over their properties and influence would be pure gain.
"I am willing!"
"Our Zhao clan is also willing!"
"I can handle the aftermath of the Sun family!"
Ouyang Fu spoke up with fervent eyes as well. "My Ouyang family is eager to share Her Highness's burdens!"
The Ninth Princess let her gaze sweep across the crowd.
Truthfully, she had been quite displeased a moment earlier.
When the topic of dealing with the Sun family was raised, every single one of them had played deaf and mute.
Naturally, none of them possessed the strength to take on the Sun family.
Even so, feigning ignorance was thoroughly unimpressive.
Fortunately, Lu Changsheng had stepped forward.
"Your Highness, please allow Patriarch Ouyang to accompany me," Lu Changsheng said suddenly.
Since Ouyang Fu had gifted him an Asura Bead, it was only natural for Lu Changsheng to return the favor.
He did not mind tossing a lucrative cleanup task to the Ouyang family.
The Ninth Princess glanced at Ouyang Fu and nodded. "Since Master Lu has spoken, the Ouyang family should make ready. Everything will be under Master Lu's command."
Ouyang Fu was overjoyed and hurriedly replied, "Rest assured, Your Highness. The Ouyang family will obey Master Lu's every command. As for the Sun family's properties, our family will arrange everything impeccably and to Your Highness's satisfaction!"
"Good, then the matter is settled.
"Master Lu, if you need anything else, do not hesitate to ask. As long as the Princess Estate can provide it, we will see to it."
The Ninth Princess clearly recognized that dealing with the Sun family was the estate's top priority right now.
After all, this was about more than just bringing down the Sun family.
They would also have to contend with the factions of several other princes.
That would be far from easy.
"Master Lu, I will shortly have our intelligence on the Sun family delivered to you so that you may study it thoroughly and know your enemy."
"Then I thank Your Highness."
With that, Lu Changsheng returned to his seat.
Afterward, the Ninth Princess made a few more arrangements.
Lately, the Divine Capital had become an unpredictable vortex of deceit.
The struggles among the princes and princesses were growing fiercer by the day.
If the Princess Estate failed to respond promptly, everything might end in nothing.
Several hours later, Lu Changsheng returned to his courtyard.
He had dossiers on the Sun family in hand.
Soon after, Ouyang Fu also delivered the intelligence gathered by the Ouyang family.
Comparing the two sources, Lu Changsheng gained a clear understanding of the situation.
The Sun family itself was indeed not difficult to handle.
The real challenge lay in the factions of the other princes.
However, with his avatars fused, Lu Changsheng's strength had surged.
Once multiple avatars merged, the explosive power they unleashed would rival that of his true body.
With such strength at his command, what reason did he have to fear?
His focus was never on the experts of the Sun family, nor on the experts serving the other princes.
Lu Changsheng cared only about divine items!
His sole reason for volunteering to strike the Sun family was divine items!
He was determined to claim whatever divine items the Sun family possessed!
***
Inside the Sun family's main hall, every core member wore a somber expression, and the atmosphere was suffocatingly heavy.
"Everyone, our current situation is dire. The Thirteenth Prince can barely protect himself. Factions loyal to the First Prince, the Third Prince, and several other princes are already making moves against his forces. As an aristocratic clan under his banner, our Sun family will hardly escape their crosshairs," the Sun family patriarch said in a heavy tone.
The others exchanged worried glances.
"Patriarch, I opposed pledging allegiance to the Thirteenth Prince back then, yet you all insisted on doing so. How do we clean up this mess now?"
"Indeed! We never should have allied with the Thirteenth Prince back then. If we hadn't, would we be facing this disaster today?"
"If you ask me, we never should have involved ourselves in the imperial succession struggle to begin with. It is far too perilous."
"Hmph! If we hadn't joined the succession struggle back then, could our Sun family have survived until today? Where are the clans that chose neutrality and refused to take part?"
Silence fell over the room.
It was true. Living in the Divine Capital, avoiding the princes' struggle for the throne was easier said than done.
Those fence-sitters and neutral clans had basically been wiped out by the princes, their assets and influence divided among the victors.
Remaining neutral?
It was simply impossible!
Back then, the Sun family had chosen the Thirteenth Prince.
After all, they shared deep ties with his mother's clan.
Now that the Thirteenth Prince was in jeopardy, the Sun family was forced to bear the brunt of the danger.
"There is no medicine for regret in this world.
"Since we have pledged ourselves to the Thirteenth Prince, we must see this path through to the bitter end.
"Now that the prince is in peril, we can only rely on ourselves. We cannot count on his aid.
"Whoever dares move against the Sun family had better be prepared for mutually assured destruction!"
The Sun family patriarch spoke each word firmly.
His stance was uncompromising.
"Patriarch, should we consider asking for that person's help...?" one clan member suggested hesitantly.
A collective chill ran through the hall.
Truthfully, they all knew of "that person's" existence.
Yet that person was the Sun family's deepest secret.
Moreover, that person had no desire to show their face.
Summoning them would incur a tremendous price.
Worse still, if the secret were exposed, it would spell utter doom for the family.
Yet now, the Sun family had no way out.
"Very well. We will invite that person. I will go personally..."
With that, the Sun family patriarch departed the hall.
***
Lu Changsheng stood quietly outside the Sun family compound.
Leading members of the Ouyang family, he had arrived early outside the gates.
Ouyang Fu was here purely in a supporting role, so he had not brought many men.
For this operation, the primary combat force was Lu Changsheng himself.
He alone would shatter the Sun family.
"Master Lu, what are you waiting for?" Ouyang Fu asked, perplexed.
He had watched Lu Changsheng stand outside the Sun family estate for several hours.
Yes, several full hours.
Yet he showed no intention of striking.
Lu Changsheng replied calmly, "The Sun family is a fat prize right now, watched by multiple factions. But has any of them moved yet?
"They are all waiting!
"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. I merely wanted to confirm how many forces are lurking.
"From the looks of it, there are only five factions eyeing the Sun family—fewer than I anticipated..."
Lu Changsheng's words sent a small jolt through Ouyang Fu's heart.
Indeed, he had almost forgotten that the Ninth Princess was not the only one watching the Sun family; the factions of other princes were hovering nearby as well.
Lu Changsheng had factored this in from the beginning.
He had even determined precisely how many groups were lurking in the shadows.
"Master Lu, should we continue to wait?"
"Wait for the other forces to strike first, and then reap the spoils as the fisherman?" Ouyang Fu suggested.
"No need.
"This battle should be swift and decisive to demonstrate the Princess Estate's might.
"After all, this is a succession struggle, and we are at a critical juncture. The Princess Estate lay dormant for far too long—so long that the other factions grew used to ignoring it, and anyone with real power wouldn't even consider backing Her Highness.
"To fight for the throne, one cannot remain low-key. One must be ostentatious and project overwhelming strength. Only then can we bolster the estate's morale and heighten its prestige!
"Since we already know there are five factions watching the Sun family, there is no need to delay.
"A swift resolution, and then we wipe out all five factions in one stroke!"
The moment the words left Lu Changsheng's lips, he took a fierce step forward.
Ouyang Fu snapped his head up.
He saw Lu Changsheng ascending into the void, treading through the empty air step by step toward the sky above the Sun family estate.
The members of the Ouyang family looked on in utter shock.
"What is Master Lu doing?"
"Is he approaching the Sun family out in the open like this?"
"Could it be that all his waiting wasn't to reap the fisherman's spoils, but to wipe out all the other factions at once?"
Ouyang Fu was profoundly shaken.
He had thought he already held Lu Changsheng in high esteem.
Yet only now did he realize the truth.
High esteem? He had drastically underestimated him!
He had completely failed to grasp Lu Changsheng's mindset.
Lu Changsheng had never intended to play the opportunist fisherman.
What he wanted was a clean sweep!
He would use absolute might to crush every watching faction,
thereby elevating the prestige of the Princess Estate.
Call it confidence or call it arrogance—
without question, Lu Changsheng's move was utterly domineering!
"Patriarch, what about us...?"
"Wait. We wait right here. Master Lu will handle the Sun family, and then we will step in to clean up the aftermath."
Ouyang Fu suddenly felt a surge of confidence.
Perhaps aligning with the Princess Estate was the wisest choice the Ouyang family had ever made.
With an expert like Lu Changsheng present, even if the Princess Estate currently lacked resources, they had nothing to fear in the struggle for succession.
With Lu Changsheng around, the Princess Estate held formidable odds of victory!
***
Step by step, Lu Changsheng strode into the sky above the Sun family estate.
Though dusk had fallen,
the summer twilight remained bright, offering crisp visibility.
Countless gazes, both in the open and from the shadows, converged on the solitary figure suspended in the void.
"Who is he?"
"What is going on?"
"I've never seen him before. What is he trying to do?"
"On guard!"
The members of the Sun family stared at the figure in the sky.
Though they did not know his identity, anyone approaching their grounds under these circumstances clearly came with hostile intent.
Lu Changsheng ignored the watching eyes in the dark.
He swept his gaze across the sprawling residence below.
Then, without holding anything back,
he unleashed the full aura of his Reincarnation Divine Body.
Boom!
The divine body's aura surged forth like a vast tide, rolling across the sky above the Sun family.
A terrifying pressure blotted out the sky,
sweeping through like a hurricane and jolting every member of the Sun family to the core.
"What an overpowering aura! What kind of expert is this?"
"A divine body! That's the aura of a divine body!"
"Who in the world is he? An expert from one of the other princes?"
"Forging a divine body foundation is extraordinarily difficult. This man's background cannot be simple..."
As Lu Changsheng unleashed his divine body,
panic swept through the Sun family,
leaving everyone terrified.
Lu Changsheng wasted no time. Clasping his hands behind his back, he announced in a ringing voice, "I, Lu Changsheng, consecrated elder of the Ninth Princess's estate, have come specifically to pay a visit to the Sun family!"
His declaration revealed his identity.
Realization dawned on the onlookers.
He was actually an expert serving the Ninth Princess.
It was thoroughly unexpected.
In the eyes of many, the Ninth Princess was merely making up the numbers among the imperial contenders.
Her chances of winning the throne were virtually nonexistent.
After all, she was a woman.
Although the Great Qian Divine Dynasty had seen female emperors ascend the throne, they remained a rare exception.
To this day, there had only been two.
For a princess, competing for succession was undeniably far harder than for a prince.
Not to mention that her faction was notoriously weak,
rough parity with the Thirteenth Prince at best.
The only ripple of note had been the Ouyang family pledging allegiance to her recently, which had struck people as somewhat odd.
Nothing more.
Who could have imagined that the Princess Estate had quietly acquired a grand expert who possessed a forged divine body foundation?
And now he was stepping forward to deal with the Sun family,
arriving with such overwhelming, unbridled arrogance,
as though he could sweep aside everything in his path!
"What a Ninth Princess! She quietly recruited such a grand expert! Forging a divine body foundation is monumentally difficult; even with divine items, it is almost impossible!"
"Grand experts of this caliber are usually found only under the First Prince or Third Prince—the massive factions genuinely poised to take the throne. To think the Ninth Princess has one as well!"
"The Ninth Princess hid her cards remarkably deep!"
"Yet does a single expert with a divine body foundation think he can wipe out our Sun family alone? Sheer delusion!"
"Deploy the Five Elements Spirit Body Array!"
Five figures instantly soared into the air from the Sun family grounds.
Each of them radiated the aura of an innate spirit body, spanning all five elements.
Evidently, all five had forged spirit body foundations.
Now, utilizing the five elements, they formed a formidable formation among themselves.
Buzz!
The moment the Five Elements Spirit Body Array manifested, it enveloped the entire Sun family compound.
Then, the five-colored brilliance violently swept outward,
blanketing Lu Changsheng and pulling him directly into the formation.
Yet Lu Changsheng remained unmoved.
From beginning to end, he did not stir.
He allowed the five-colored radiance to cover him, allowing it to pull him into the array.
A terrifying force descended,
pressing down on Lu Changsheng like five towering mountains,
as if seeking to grind him into fine dust.
"Is this the Sun family's confidence and reliance?"
"Five individuals who have forged innate five-elements spirit body foundations, combining their power through the five elements into an array to trap their opponent, continuously suppressing them with the strength of five.
"Not a bad array. Against an ordinary divine body foundation, it might indeed pose a problem.
"A pity..."
Lu Changsheng shook his head.
He showed not the slightest hint of concern.
The Sun family's reliance—or rather, their trump card—left him somewhat underwhelmed.
It was simply too weak.
Especially against his Reincarnation Divine Body.
In terms of sheer destructive power, the Reincarnation Divine Body might not match the Asura Divine Body,
but it possessed death qi!
Death qi was the natural bane of living beings.
To any living creature, encountering death qi was like meeting their ultimate predator.
Boom!
Lu Changsheng's Reincarnation Divine Body jolted violently.
Ripples of death qi spread outward like waves on water,
billowing toward every direction.
Over the Sun family estate, the death qi crashed like an unstoppable tide, wave after wave.
"Ah... what is this?"
"Death... death qi? How can there be so much death qi?"
"What kind of divine body is that?"
"What terrifying death qi! Those who have forged spirit body foundations might resist it, but we are ordinary mortals! How can we withstand such a wave?"
"Once the death qi spreads, our Sun family will be wiped out entirely..."
"Patriarch...!"
Panic seized the Sun family.
Who could have anticipated that Lu Changsheng could unleash death qi?
The five figures maintaining the array could no longer sit still.
They were members of the Sun family.
If the entire family died, what meaning would there be in their survival?
"Reverse the five elements—kill!" they roared in unison.
In that instant, they unleashed their ultimate killing technique.
At any cost, they reversed the five elements.
Crack!
Their physical bodies began to fracture,
threads of blood seeping out uncontrollably.
Reversing the five elements placed an unbearable burden on their mortal frames.
This was a desperate, suicidal strike!
Yet its power was undeniably terrifying.
The space around Lu Changsheng warped into a colossal vortex,
one that seemed capable of grinding anything to dust,
even experts with divine body foundations!
It seemed nothing could withstand the shredding force of the reversed five elements.
"Foundation... The Sun family does possess some semblance of a foundation after all.
"However, if this is all you have, then it ends here."
Lu Changsheng shook his head.
Had this been before, the reversal of the five elements might indeed have posed a threat to his Reincarnation Divine Body avatar alone.
However, his Reincarnation Divine Body avatar now housed the Asura Divine Body and the Innate Water Spirit Body within it.
"Merge!"
The next instant, the divine bodies fused.
Lu Changsheng's aura surged exponentially once more.
Even as the shredding force of the reversed five elements washed over him, his avatar stood rock-solid, completely unmoving.
Merging the Reincarnation Divine Body with the Asura Divine Body was no mere addition;
it multiplied his power geometrically.
Witnessing this, the members of the Sun family stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
"What?"
"He blocked it? We reversed the five elements at the cost of our lives! Even someone with a divine body foundation should have been mortally wounded if not killed! How could he withstand it so effortlessly?"
"Unbelievable as it seems, he blocked it cleanly."
"His divine body must be extraordinary, cultivated to an immense depth... We are no match for him..."
The five Sun family experts already foresaw the clan's fate.
Lu Changsheng had no desire to waste more words.
With two divine bodies merged, his strength was terrifyingly vast.
He needed to end this quickly to prevent anyone from detecting the secret of his dual bodies.
"Heaven!"
"Overturning!"
"Seal!"
Lu Changsheng enunciated each word.
He flipped his hands downward.
Instantly, it felt as though the entire Sun family compound was enveloped beneath his palms.
A colossal hand that blotted out the sky materialized in the void.
The Heaven-Overturning Seal had reappeared!
Fueled by the terrifying might of two merged divine body avatars!
Rumble!
This time, no one could stop him.
The colossal palm slammed down.
The five Sun family members with spirit body foundations were instantly pulverized into mists of blood.
Beneath the crushing weight of the strike, the entire Sun family estate was reduced to fine powder.
Lu Changsheng had no fear of destroying any divine items inside.
The reason was simple.
Such divine items were virtually indestructible.
Even a Limit Realm expert exerting their full power could not damage them; they were truly miraculous.
Thus, unafraid of harming the items, Lu Changsheng crushed the entire estate in a single stroke.
***
The dust and smoke cleared.
Everyone looked down.
The Sun family compound was gone, replaced by a sprawling expanse of rubble.
Not a single living soul remained; all had been crushed to dust.
The Princess Estate wanted the Sun family's sphere of influence; wiping out their leadership made absorbing their assets far easier.
Seeing this, the onlookers—both in the open and in the shadows—fell utterly silent.
For a long time, no one could utter a single word.
The Sun family, entrenched in the Divine Capital for so many years, was gone just like that?
Reduced to ash in an instant!
Their supposed heritage, their vaunted reliance—all had become a joke.
The desolate ruins stood as a silent mockery.
The illustrious Sun family had been wiped out in a single breath!
Lu Changsheng stood aloft in the void, hands clasped behind his back.
His gaze swept across five distinct directions.
Those five directions represented five hidden figures watching from the dark—
experts serving the other princes.
They had originally intended to reap the spoils as the fisherman.
Yet witnessing the Sun family's fate, fear gripped them.
They no longer dared.
"Retreat!"
"This man cannot be matched head-on."
"Report back immediately. The Ninth Princess has acquired a top-tier expert—a dire threat. We must let His Highness decide."
"The Sun family's destruction is sealed. The Ninth Princess has spread her wings through this; she cannot be provoked lightly."
Within moments, all five figures retreated, leaving not a trace behind.
Evidently, they had conceded the Sun family to Lu Changsheng and the Princess Estate.
"They retreated?"
Lu Changsheng offered no reaction.
He had not expected that annihilating the Sun family would intimidate the experts of the other princes into fleeing.
Still, it worked in his favor.
His primary objective was achieved anyway.
The Sun family was destroyed.
Next came the takeover.
As for clashing with the other princes' experts?
Things had not yet reached that stage; there was no hurry.
"Patriarch Ouyang, I leave the absorption of the Sun family's influence in your hands," Lu Changsheng said to Ouyang Fu.
Still reeling from shock, Ouyang Fu hurriedly replied, "Rest assured, Master Lu! My Ouyang family will spare no effort in taking over their influence.
"Besides, Master Lu wiped out the Sun family in one stroke; the greatest credit belongs to you!
"With the main family destroyed, those under their banner will naturally switch allegiances to save themselves."
Ouyang Fu's heart pounded violently.
The hardest part had already been resolved by Lu Changsheng.
He felt a lingering dread.
Had he not agreed to join the Ninth Princess back then, would the Ouyang family have faced the exact same fate as the Sun family today?
Lu Changsheng was simply too terrifying!
Fortunately, the Ouyang family had not made an enemy of him.
In fact, Ouyang Fu had even presented him with a divine item and secured his goodwill.
It was a stroke of tremendous fortune!
"Very well. Patriarch Ouyang, go and see to it.
"By the way, if the Sun family possesses any divine items..." Lu Changsheng hinted lightly.
Ouyang Fu caught the meaning immediately.
He had already learned that Lu Changsheng's condition for joining the Princess Estate was obtaining a large number of divine items.
With that in mind, Ouyang Fu smiled subtly and said softly, "Rest assured, Master Lu. If there are divine items among the Sun family's holdings, I will deliver them straight into your hands."
Lu Changsheng nodded.
Ouyang Fu quickly led his clan members away to begin seizing the Sun family's assets.
Only Lu Changsheng remained, standing amid the ruins of the Sun family residence.
There was a reason he had not left.
He narrowed his eyes slightly
and peered down into the debris.
He had already swept the ruins with his divine consciousness.
There were divine items buried beneath the rubble!
He simply had not been in a rush to retrieve them.
After all, doing so in broad daylight with Ouyang Fu watching would have been inconvenient.
On the surface, he was still a subordinate of the Ninth Princess.
By protocol, any divine items obtained ought to be handed over to the Princess Estate first,
and then awarded back to him at the princess's discretion.
Yet Lu Changsheng had no desire for such formalities.
With divine items right before his eyes, why would he surrender them to the estate?
He just needed to avoid being overly blatant about it.
As long as it wasn't done openly, the Ninth Princess would surely turn a blind eye and let it pass.
"Come."
Lu Changsheng reached out with an open hand.
From beneath the rubble, two divine items flew straight into his grasp.
Though there were only two, both radiated extraordinary auras.
Lu Changsheng extended his consciousness into the items.
A surge of delight instantly welled up inside him.
"Divine items capable of forging divine bodies! And two of them at that?"
Lu Changsheng was astonished.
This was a tremendous surprise, a massive windfall.
Yet upon reflection, it made complete sense.
Ordinary spirit body divine items could generally be endured by people in the Kunwu World, so most had already been used to forge spirit body foundations.
Those capable of forging divine body foundations, however, were entirely different.
Even Limit Realm experts from the Boundary Sea found it exceedingly difficult to succeed with such items and forge a divine body foundation, let alone ordinary mortals of the Kunwu World.
For a mortal here to refine such an item and forge a divine body foundation was virtually impossible.
Unless one was an extraordinary bearer of fortune, it was utterly out of the question.
At least so far, Lu Changsheng had not encountered a single person in the Kunwu World who possessed a forged divine body foundation.
Rumor had it that the First Prince and Third Prince had such experts under their banners,
but those were only rumors; Lu Changsheng had never seen them.
Such individuals certainly existed, but their numbers had to be extraordinarily scarce.
When the Sun family obtained divine items for divine bodies, they naturally wanted their own clan members to refine them.
Unfortunately, without immense fortune, ordinary mortals stood no chance of refining them.
Consequently, the items were left locked away in the family vaults.
Over the generations, they had accumulated two such divine items.
Now that Lu Changsheng had destroyed the Sun family, both items fell into his hands, entirely to his benefit.
"Two divine items for divine bodies... A bountiful harvest indeed."
Lu Changsheng was thoroughly satisfied.
He stowed the two items away and returned directly to the Princess Estate.
The remaining matters belonged to Ouyang Fu and had nothing to do with him.
Now, he could manifest two more avatars and forge two additional divine body foundations.
When the time came to merge four divine body avatars into one, to what terrifying height would his power soar?
Chapter 328