NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5: The True Heir Revealed
At this moment, a confused official couldn't help but speak up:
"Second Prince and others, you claimed the Crown Prince was dead, yet here he stands before us. What is the truth behind this? It's utterly baffling."
"Heh,"
"My dear younger brother, you truly wish for my death, don't you?"
Jiang HuanYu's gaze fell on Jiang Chen, his expression cold and mocking.
Jiang Chen's face darkened at those words, and he shouted angrily:
"How dare you, vile imposter! Pretending to be my elder brother your arrogance knows no bounds, Blood Shadow Tower!"
"Guards! Kill this imposter immediately. We cannot allow him to desecrate this hall!"
Jiang Chen decided to act decisively, having no other choice given how events had unfolded.
"Understood!"
At his command, Tie Han stepped forward, his gaze locking onto Jiang HuanYu. He prepared to strike.
"Hold!"
A deep voice interrupted.
"Second Prince, how do you know this man is impersonating the Crown Prince?"
The speaker was a burly middle-aged man named Shi Beitian, known as King Tianyu, a sworn brother of the late Emperor and the only vassal king in the Jiang Dynasty.
King Tianyu's intervention forced Tie Han to stop in his tracks.
Jiang Chen seethed inwardly, silently vowing to settle accounts with King Tianyu later for daring to question him so openly.
"King Tianyu, I've already explained. My elder brother was killed by assassins from the Blood Shadow Tower. Both the Grand Tutor and Commander Huang witnessed this firsthand," Jiang Chen declared righteously.
"This man is clearly an imposter using my brother's appearance. What more explanation is needed?"
The Grand Tutor, Zhang Lin, stepped forward to corroborate:
"Indeed, I saw the Crown Prince's body with my own eyes. This man must be an assassin from the Blood Shadow Tower pretending to be him!"
"You old dog! Following Jiang Chen around, you've really learned to protect your master, haven't you?" Jiang HuanYu snapped back.
"Outrageous!" the Grand Tutor roared in fury.
Ignoring him, Jiang HuanYu's eyes fixated on Jiang Chen and more specifically, on the jade seal in his hand.
Jiang HuanYu made a subtle motion with his thoughts.
Suddenly, the jade seal vanished from Jiang Chen's grasp and reappeared in Jiang HuanYu's hand.
"What?!"
"How… how is this possible?"
"Imposter! If you dare harm the jade seal, I will tear you limb from limb!" Jiang Chen shouted, his face contorting with shock and fury.
The other key figures in the hall Left Minister Zuo Xuanqi, Grand Tutor Zhang Lin, Grand Preceptor Wang Yuexing, and King Tianyu were equally stunned.
Their eyes trembled as they processed what had just happened.
Too fast!
How had he done it?
Even the Left Minister, the strongest in the Jiang Dynasty, hadn't been able to react.
The Left Minister narrowed his eyes, silently observing. He refrained from speaking, choosing instead to carefully evaluate the situation.
For a minister, choosing the wrong side in imperial family disputes could lead to irreversible disaster.
Jiang HuanYu ignored Jiang Chen's outrage, a playful smile tugging at his lips.
Before everyone's eyes, he pricked his finger, letting a drop of blood fall onto the jade seal.
The blood was absorbed instantly, and the jade seal began to emit a dazzling golden light that illuminated the entire hall.
"The Jiang Jade Seal, passed down through generations, serves as the ultimate symbol of imperial authority."
"When exposed to the blood of a member of the royal family, it will emit golden light. The purer and stronger the bloodline, the brighter the glow."
Jiang HuanYu smirked, fixing his gaze on Jiang Chen.
"Well? Still think I'm a fake, my dear brother?"
Jiang Chen's face turned ashen. His expression was a mix of rage and humiliation, twisted into something almost monstrous.
The hall fell into dead silence.
Even the most foolish of officials now fully understood: the man before them was undoubtedly the Crown Prince.
Moreover, this revelation proved that the claims made earlier by Jiang Chen, the Grand Tutor, and the Commander of the Guards that the Crown Prince had died were outright lies.
Still, many present couldn't help but feel that something about the Crown Prince seemed… different today.
Not just his speech, but also his demeanor, his actions, and even his aura they were completely transformed.
Even the Left Minister found himself faintly unsettled, as though he could sense a faint pressure emanating from Jiang HuanYu.
"Am I imagining things?"
The Left Minister was doubtful. It seemed absurd to him.
As the most powerful individual in the Jiang Dynasty, a peak Earth Realm cultivator, how could he possibly feel threatened by Jiang HuanYu, a supposed cultivation failure?
Surely, it was just his imagination.
Jiang Chen, meanwhile, was utterly speechless. His face twisted with indignation as he struggled to find words.
Finally, Grand Preceptor Wang Yuexing broke the silence:
"Crown Prince, even if you are alive, you cannot ascend to the throne."
"Everyone knows that the Second Prince's talent and aptitude are exceptional, unmatched even in the entire Northern Domain. He has a Heavenly Realm master and possesses the Supreme Bone. He is destined to surpass the Heavenly Realm and become a great powerhouse in his own right!"
"The Jiang Dynasty needs a ruler like the Second Prince a prodigious leader capable of guiding us to glory and avenging the late Emperor!"
"For the good of the dynasty, Crown Prince, you should relinquish your claim to the throne."
To everyone's surprise, the Grand Preceptor turned to Jiang HuanYu and made his case.