Chapter 354: The Eating Style—So Ugly to Watch

The third day.

The Chou hour.

Lightning tore the night sky, and the pallid flash illuminated the dim, lightless auspicious golden dragon atop the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The Great Yin Emperor lay on the spacious dragon couch, his gaunt fingers clutching tightly to the bright yellow brocade quilt.

His eyes were sunken, the whites bloodshot, and he gulped in cold air repeatedly.

The emperor who once sought to devour the nation's destiny and achieve saintly greatness seemed to be enduring a pain like ten thousand ants gnawing at his heart.

"Pass… Pass the Crown Prince…"

The elderly eunuch guarding the bedside scrambled and rolled out of the inner hall.

Crown Prince Yin Ti burst in, hair disheveled.

He had been under house arrest for several days, teetering on the brink of collapse, and only after navigating the Crown Princess's maternal clan did he finally find a chance to escape.

At that moment, seeing his ailing father on the bed, he fell to his knees with a thud and wailed loudly.

"Father! You must take a stand for your son! The second brother has colluded with a noble family, seized control of the court, and is plotting rebellion!"

The old emperor strained to lift his hand and pointed to a secret compartment at the head of the bed.

The Crown Prince fumbled to open the compartment and retrieved a decree already sealed with a jade seal.

The decree was extremely brief: Succession passes to the eldest son Yin Ti; the Imperial Guard commander is ordered to execute the traitor Yin Zhen at once.

The Crown Prince clutched the decree as if it were a treasure, and laughed wildly.

With this decree, he became the rightful new ruler; no noble house, however powerful, could defy the legitimacy of the great cause.

"Bang!"

The massive nanwood doors of the Hall of Nurturing the Heart were forcefully kicked open by a great thrust.

A gale, accompanied by torrential rain, poured into the hall, extinguishing the surrounding candles.

A slender figure stepped through the puddles, walking slowly across the threshold.

Yin Zhen wore an immaculate silver‑white brocade robe, brandishing a long sword still dripping blood.

Behind him, no massive Imperial Guard followed, only an impenetrable, dense darkness.

"Brother, the father is gravely ill; you are not in the Eastern Palace meditating on your mistakes, yet you run to the Hall of Nurturing the Heart, shouting and causing a scene—what decorum is that?"

Yin Zhen's voice was gentle, yet carried a chilling, bone‑numbing cold.

The Crown Prince sprang to his feet, raised the decree high, and roared with a fierce outward demeanor but trembling inside: "Yin Zhen! The late emperor's decree is here! Succession passes to me! You have trespassed the Forbidden Palace, sword in hand, and committed a capital crime! Guards! Protect the throne! Capture this treacherous traitor!"

The vast hall was empty, only the echo of thunder reverberating.

None of the Dragon Shadow Guard who had been stationed outside the hall appeared.

Yin Zhen let out a light laugh, casually tossed his sword onto the ground. The clang of metal against stone rang sharply in the deathly silent hall.

"Brother, don't you understand? All nine gates of the capital city and the entire Forbidden Palace are under my control. That scrap of paper in your hand cannot save your life."

The Crown Prince trembled all over, retreating to the edge of the bed. Defiantly, he shouted toward the outside of the hall: "Where is the Blood Droplet?! The Honorable Consort Shu said the Blood Droplet would protect me!"

Yin Zhen's gaze instantly turned cold.

Mentioning Consort Shu struck the most violent line of his heart.

"Stop calling out. The Empress Mother's useless secret guards were cleared out half an hour ago."

Yin Zhen raised his right hand.

In his palm, a swirl of ash‑black mist began to churn.

It was neither the Great Yin Divine Dynasty's Martial Path true qi nor the Confucian righteous qi, but pure, destruction‑laden Source‑of‑Extinction Power.

It was the supreme might bestowed by his master from afar before the strike, a power that transcended this world.

Even a little is too much.

But if he does not vent it, his boundless cruelty will have nowhere to be released.

The ash‑black mist transformed into several jet‑black chains that slithered like poisonous snakes, instantly binding the Crown Prince's limbs.

The Crown Prince didn't even have time to scream before the force hoisted him into mid‑air.

"You… you practiced demonic arts…"

The Crown Prince struggled desperately, only to find his inner true qi melt before the ash‑black mist like snow under a scorching sun.

The old emperor lay on the bed, his eyes bulging as he watched the scene.

He tried to speak, but could only cough up gobs of black blood.

"Father, don't worry; soon I will send my brother down to keep you company."

Yin Zhen did not kill the Crown Prince.

Not because he didn't want to, but because the time was not yet right.

Keeping this useless man allowed him to manipulate the lingering remnants still watching, showcasing the new ruler's magnanimity.

With a casual flick, the ash‑black chains snapped link by link, and the Crown Prince crashed heavily onto the cold golden bricks, shattering into pieces, his mouth filled with blood.

"Guards, bring the brother down and keep a close watch. Without my decree, no one may visit; if even a single hair is missing, you will answer to me," Yin Zhen ordered coldly.

A few ghost‑like death soldiers emerged from the darkness, roughly hoisting the mud‑like Crown Prince.

Seeing the Crown Prince's face full of despair and venomous resentment, Yin Zhen's smile grew ever more cruel.

He slowly leaned down, close to the Crown Prince's ear, and whispered in an extremely flippant yet vicious tone:

"Oh, by the way, brother, I know it was the Crown Princess's maternal clan that sent you out, so before coming here I checked on the Crown Princess. She… hmm, she's quite tender, but her temper is too fierce, not very obedient; as a younger brother I couldn't stand it, so I sent her back to reunite with her family. No need to thank me."

The Crown Prince's eyes widened dramatically, his eyeballs instantly blood‑red, but before he could utter a full sentence, death soldiers clamped his mouth shut and dragged him out of the hall into the boundless darkness like a dead dog.

The old emperor's throat and eyes stared fixedly at Yin Zhen, his head tilted, completely lifeless.

The Great Yin Divine Dynasty's emperor has passed away.

Yin Zhen stood where he was, looking at the corpse, his gaze unexpectedly calm.

"Come." Yin Zhen gathered the ash‑gray mist and turned around.

Cui Hong led several cabinet ministers, stepping over a puddle, and walked into the main hall trembling.

When they saw the tragic scene on the ground, they all were so frightened that they fell to their knees.

"Crown Prince Yin Ti, taking advantage of the ailing father, forced the palace and plotted rebellion, enraging the father to death, has already been detained by this king." Yin Zhen pulled another pre‑prepared yellow silk from his sleeve and tossed it before Cui Hong.

"This is the succession edict orally given by the father before his death. Cui Shangshu, you may read it."

Cui Hong trembled as he picked up the forged edict.

He knew that Great Yin's destiny, at this moment, had entirely transferred to a new master.

He forced down the fear in his heart, unfolded the yellow silk, and bowed loudly.

"The late emperor's edict: the second son Yin Zhen, of noble character, closely resembles my own self, will surely be able to inherit the great governance. He shall succeed me in ascending the throne, that is, the imperial seat—"

"Long live the emperor, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years!"

The ministers fell to the ground, shouting "Long live!"

Yin Zhen closed his eyes, spread his arms, and savored this supreme pinnacle of power.

He felt the auspicious golden dragon of Qi above the Forbidden City gathering toward him; he had become the true ruler of this realm.

However, he did not know that, far away at the other end of the capital, within Gu Yuan's residence—

Gu Yuan stood under the eaves, watching the golden dragon of Qi in the night sky that had been forcibly pieced together and was already riddled with countless holes, and let out a light scoff.

"You ate quite a full meal; that manner of eating is rather ugly."

The silver governor's seal at Gu Yuan's waist had at this moment completely turned into a deep, dark gold.

The Great Yin's divine dynasty, with the nation's fortunes at ninety percent, has already, via this seal, silently completed the handover.