Upon hearing Zhou Hong's greeting, Elder Zi nodded slightly, hummed a soft "hmm" through his nose, and said nothing more.
The atmosphere suddenly became unusually heavy.
At this moment, Zhou Hong slowly turned around, cast his gaze upon the crowd once more, and then suddenly raised his voice, shouting sharply, "I will ask you one last time: will you choose to submit to my lord Hua Yuan, or will you embrace death?"
His voice boomed like thunder, echoing throughout the entire space.
Seeing this, the princes and patriarchs of the noble families dared not hesitate any longer. They all knelt down and prostrated themselves, saying in unison, "We pay our respects to the new king!"
In an instant, the sounds of worship rose and fell, resounding through the sky and lingering for a long time.
The moment Elder Zi appeared, the eldest prince Hua Long understood that the outcome of this battle was already decided.
Despite feeling deeply resentful, compared to the preciousness of life, winning or losing no longer seemed so important.
After weighing the pros and cons, he gritted his teeth and strode towards where Hua Yuan was.
Approaching Hua Yuan, Hua Long took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and slowly said, "Xiao Jiu, the victor is king and the loser is villain. Today, I admit defeat."
Having said this, he knelt down, bowed in worship, and shouted, "Greetings to the new king!"
Just then, the second prince suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter, the sound echoing throughout the entire palace and sending chills down everyone's spine.
After laughing, he stared at Hua Yuan and said through gritted teeth, "Hahaha, Xiao Jiu, I never thought you were hiding your true colors so well!"
"You have endured so much for this moment, scheming and plotting so meticulously. Even I cannot help but admire you now!"
After speaking, the second prince also knelt down on both knees and prostrated himself, saying, "Greetings to the new king!"
At that moment, Chief Minister Zhang slowly took out a bright yellow imperial edict that the old king had prepared long ago from his bosom. He walked unsteadily to Hua Yuan and respectfully handed the edict to him with both hands.
Upon seeing this, Hua Yuan hurriedly reached out and took the royal decree, then eagerly unfolded it to examine it. As he read on, Hua Yuan's expression gradually changed, and a ripple appeared on his previously calm face.
Zhou Hong, who was standing to the side, noticed that Hua Yuan's expression was strange and a sense of doubt arose in his heart.
He quickly stepped forward and asked with concern, "Your Majesty, what has happened? Why did your face turn so pale after reading this imperial edict?"
Just then, Hua Yuan carefully handed the crucial royal decree to Zhou Hong, who was standing to the side.
Zhou Hong solemnly accepted the imperial decree and immediately began to read it.
The royal decree was inscribed with powerful and vigorous characters: "When you see this royal decree with your own eyes, it means that you have already achieved success."
"Whether you are my son or not, there is no doubt that you are the most outstanding one, and this truly brings me great comfort and joy."
"However, it needs to be made clear that this kind of choice is the necessary process for selecting a successor that has been passed down through generations of our Great Hua Dynasty."
"Because those mediocre and incompetent people are not worthy of ascending that supreme throne; only the truly strong can occupy it. As for those who lost in this brutal competition... you may do with them as you please."
As Zhou Hong read on, he felt his heartstrings tightening, and even a fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.
As he continued reading the words on the imperial edict, he thought to himself, "No wonder that since the founding of the Great Hua Dynasty, there has never been a single incompetent and tyrannical ruler."
"No wonder that every time the throne of the Great Hua Kingdom changes hands, there are almost always tragic scenes of brothers fighting and killing each other."
"So, the new king is selected through such a ruthless and extremely harsh method! How could a monarch selected by such standards be mediocre and incompetent?"
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