The trend is set for Empress Su Mingyue.

It was not a question of whether he could stop it, but rather that no one could stop it at all.

What she held in her hands was not only the Northern Border Army but also a brand-new army armed to the teeth with Sorcery, an army that even he, an old general, could not fathom.

The trend is set; it is not something he, as her father, can stop.

Since that is the case, it is better to let go; at least he can retain the last shred of dignity as a father.

Empress Su Mingyue watched her father quietly, taking in the entire process from struggle to relief in his brows.

There was no anger, no grievance, and no urge to defend herself in her heart.

Her father worried about the backlash from the noble families, the defense of Youzhou, and her making too many enemies.

Every one of these concerns was valid, yet none of them hit the mark.

He did not know that the interior of Youzhou was never a monolith; the reason it could maintain surface-level peace was the fear of mutual checks and balances between various factions.

Once this balance of fear is lost, it must be rebuilt using more direct means.

He did not know that the Immortal taking disciples was merely a facade, and the temptation of the method for longevity would completely disintegrate all fragile agreements and the Alliance.

If people do not die today, they will die tomorrow; there is no difference between dying at the gate of the Yongning Marquis Mansion and outside the city gates.

He also did not know that the Black Armor Army and the Sorcery system of the Yongning Marquis Mansion were things she had poured all her heart and soul into creating.

She did not hand this army over to him because, from the very first day of its birth, this army had been her own blade, and the hilt could only be held in her own hand.

But she did not say a single word of this.

She simply nodded and responded calmly, "Daughter understands, thank you, Father."

Old Marquis Su Yongning leaned back in his chair and slowly closed his eyes.

Empress Su Mingyue walked out of the study in the main residence and crossed the long corridor connecting the main residence to Begonia Court.

Her expression was extremely calm, her pace neither fast nor slow, no different from when she returned to Begonia Court for lunch on any other day.

Upon returning to Begonia Court, she walked straight into the study and closed the door behind her.

The sound of the door latch falling echoed softly in the quiet courtyard.

Chunlan and Qiuju exchanged a glance, tacitly agreeing not to follow her in, and simply stood guard quietly outside the study door.

Chunlan lowered her gaze, her hands folded in front of her, standing motionless like a sculpture.

She had followed Empress Su Mingyue for over a decade and understood her Young Miss's temperament better than anyone else.

Whenever she closed the door alone in the study, it meant she was making the most important of decisions.

Time passed drop by drop.

The sunlight moved from the east window to the west window, then gradually faded from the west window.

No sound ever came from the study; it was so quiet that it seemed empty.

It is unknown how much time had passed, but the study door finally opened from the inside.

Empress Su Mingyue's voice came from inside, still in that calm tone that bordered on cold: "Chunlan, come in."

Chunlan straightened her clothes and stepped quickly into the study.

Empress Su Mingyue sat behind the desk with a map of Youzhou spread out before her, densely marked in vermilion ink with the troop garrison conditions and grain reserves of each county.

Her finger was pointing at the location of Yongning City, pressing a very shallow indentation into that small piece of the map.

"Go and prepare."

She lifted her eyes; there was not a ripple in those phoenix eyes, and her tone remained flat. "Three days from now, the enthronement."

Upon hearing this, a look of uncontrollable joy suddenly blossomed on Chunlan's face.

She nodded forcefully, her voice suppressing a slight tremor of excitement: "Yes, Young Miss."

After bowing, she turned and walked out of the study with light steps.

Zhou Ming sat cross-legged in a cave on the West Mountain, slowly withdrawing his Divine Sense from the direction of Yongning City.

"Empress Su Mingyue has finally made up her mind to ascend the throne; it was not in vain that I pulled off all those flashy maneuvers."

Zhou Ming muttered to himself in the darkness.

Originally, the lands of the Nine Provinces of the Great Xia, after the impact of the return of the Martial Artists of the Blood Refining Realm six months ago, now only had the corner of Youzhou left firmly in Empress Su Mingyue's grasp.

However, with Empress Su Mingyue's ability, combined with the assistance of those old generals of the Northern Border Army under Old Marquis Su Yongning, it was only a matter of time before the map of the Great Xia was brought back into her possession.

Zhou Ming set these thoughts aside, closed his eyes again, and began to refine the heat flow that was continuously surging within his Dantian.

Ever since the news from Fengdu City spread, the heat flow in his Dantian had grown thicker and larger with each passing day.

At first, it was just small trickles of magic power flowing into the Qi Sea.

Now, it had gathered into streams of warmth, rushing within his Dantian.

Unfortunately, the population of this world was only so large, and the territory only so vast.

Now, basically everyone who should Cultivate the Dushi Sutra had already begun to Cultivate, and he no longer needed to run around personally, painstakingly spreading it as he had in the beginning.

The only thing left to do from now on was to wait for the Causal Chain to break one by one, and wait for his Realm to rise level by level.

The second thing was to continue to comprehend the Formation of the gale belt on the borders of the three kingdoms, to see if he could find a way to break it.

However, Zhou Ming was not in a hurry.

According to Emperor Liu Jun's original Golden Core Stage cultivation, he could live for over six hundred years in this world, outlasting several dynasties of emperors.

His current cultivation was one full Realm higher than Emperor Liu Jun's had been.

The Lifespan of the Nascent Soul Stage was, to say the least, several times that of the Golden Core Stage.

Living another one or two thousand years should be an easy matter.

One or two thousand years was enough for him to comprehend it slowly.

While Zhou Ming sat quietly Cultivating in the West Mountain cave, in Yongning City, Chunlan had already begun to busily prepare for Empress Su Mingyue's enthronement.

In fact, these preparations had been largely completed long before Zhou Ming left Yongning City.

The ceremonial procedures for the enthronement ceremony, the ritual vessels used for offering sacrifices to heaven, the embroidery patterns for the Dragon robes and crowns, and the layout plans for the main and side halls—all details had been deliberated over more than once.

It was only because Grand Duke Su had revealed the news that Emperor Liu Jun was still alive that Empress Su Mingyue had temporarily shelved these plans.

Now, more than half a year had passed, and not only had Chunlan not let the preparations stagnate or grow rusty, but she had instead used this half-year to polish every aspect to be even more perfect.

The embroiderers had finished the black ceremonial robe with the twelve chapter patterns months in advance, with every stitch dense and tight.

The ceremonial officials had rehearsed the enthronement process from beginning to end countless times.

The Dragon throne in Taihe Hall was polished until it shone like a mirror, the red brocade carpet on the imperial steps had been replaced, and every inch of the warp and weft was stretched perfectly flat.

This morning, just as the sky began to show the white of fish belly at dawn, the first lamp lit up in Yongning City.

Then came countless lamps, along the city walls, along the official roads, along the streets and alleys, lighting up one after another.

The whole city woke up from its slumber, welcoming the day destined to be recorded in history.

A low sound of horns came from the direction of the Imperial Palace, deep and long, echoing one after another over the sky of Yongning City.

Immediately after, the roar of bronze bells rang out from the bell tower in front of Taihe Hall, the sound of the bells spreading like ripples from the center of the Imperial Palace in circles, waking every closed door and window.

The entire Yongning Main Street was densely packed with commoners, stretching from the gate of the Marquis Mansion all the way to the main gate of the Imperial Palace, a sea of heads with no end in sight.

Every palace building within the Imperial Palace was hung with brand-new red silk, and the imperial steps were covered with a brand-new red brocade carpet.

The Imperial Guards on both sides held long halberds and wore new armor, their helmet tassels like a forest, their armor gleaming with a cold chill in the morning light.

The entire Yongning City was waiting, waiting for the person who was about to ascend to the supreme position of the Emperor.