117: The emperor died and a new emperor was appointed

In front of the Dragon Throne, Jiang Lan directly threw the Crow Demon's head into the Old Emperor's arms.

“Besides him, is there anything else?”

At this moment, the Old Emperor was already dumbfounded.

He was not a Martial Artist, but that didn't mean he knew nothing about Martial Artists.

No matter what, he was the emperor of a country, and his experience alone was far beyond what ordinary people could compare to.

Others might not know the strength of Mister Wu, but he knew it very well.

That was a powerful demon from the legendary Mortal Shedding Realm.

And in Great Yan, since its founding, it had been countless years since a Mortal Shedding Realm expert had appeared.

Yet, such a powerful Mortal Shedding Realm demon was instantly killed in one encounter?

No, it wasn't even one encounter.

He was directly pinned to the ground with a single saber strike.

Drawing the saber and slitting the throat, the process was swift and clean; the Mortal Shedding Realm demon couldn't even put up the slightest resistance.

The Old Emperor shook his head blankly.

Jiang Lan could tell that the Old Emperor wasn't lying to him.

At this point, the emperor was probably completely scared witless.

Jiang Lan turned his head and looked at the civil and military officials in the Golden Luan Hall.

“If we are to establish a new monarch, should it be his son?”

The civil and military officials were stunned.

What kind of question was that?

Why were they talking about establishing a new monarch?

Wasn't the Old Emperor still there?

The Old Emperor no longer cared about fear. “What does this mean, my dear subject? Weren't we supposed to eliminate the demon? Now that the demon is eliminated, do you still want me to abdicate?”

His words were not as imperious as an emperor's; instead, they sounded a bit lacking in confidence.

At such a time, even if he wanted to maintain his imperial dignity, his courage wouldn't allow it.

As an emperor, he understood one truth very clearly.

Absolute power trumps everything else.

And in this world, the stronger the fist, the greater the power.

Clearly, at this moment, Jiang Lan's fist and power were both stronger than his, the Emperor of Great Yan.

Hearing this, Jiang Lan turned his head.

He grinned.

“I'm not asking you to abdicate.”

The Old Emperor's eyes trembled. “Then what did my dear subject mean just now?”

“I want you to die.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall erupted in an uproar.

The Old Emperor's body also involuntarily recoiled.

However, the Dragon Throne was too wide, and he couldn't reach the backrest, making his movement appear somewhat comical.

The Old Emperor opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something.

But before he could speak, a rush of hurried, noisy footsteps came from outside the Golden Luan Hall.

Immediately after, several voices called out.

“Rebel, how dare you harm my Imperial Father?”

“Traitor, villain! Are you attempting treason?!”

“Do not harm my Imperial Father's life!”

Jiang Lan turned his head to look at the approaching group.

They were several men dressed in brocade robes.

The oldest looked to be in his thirties or forties, while the youngest was only about ten years old.

Jiang Lan raised an eyebrow and turned to ask the Old Emperor.

“Are these all your sons?”

The Old Emperor swallowed, remaining silent.

Upon hearing Jiang Lan say he wanted to kill him, how could he be in the mood to reply?

But the current situation didn't require him to speak.

“You're quite prolific…”

There were at least ten of these Imperial Princes combined.

Moreover, it was impossible for all of the Old Emperor's Imperial Princes and Princesses to be present.

There might still be many who hadn't arrived.

The Imperial Princes' curses continued.

Just then, Jiang Lan turned back and said, “Which of you wants to be emperor?”

In an instant, the Imperial Princes fell silent.

No more arguing, no more commotion, no more cursing.

The Imperial Princes looked at each other, and for a moment, no one spoke.

Inside the Golden Luan Hall, the atmosphere settled into an eerie silence.

In the crowd, an Imperial Prince, about twenty years old, had flickering eyes and a struggling expression.

After a long while, he finally gritted his teeth and said:

“I do!”

Jiang Lan glanced at the Imperial Prince who spoke.

“Alright then, you it is.”

Below, a minister couldn't bear it anymore.

“Audacious scoundrel, the emperor has not yet passed away, how dare you speak presumptuously about national affairs?”

“Hmph!”

Jiang Lan's hand moved, and his saber fell, directly separating the emperor's head from his body on the Dragon Throne.

“He has passed away now.”

The crowd was filled with terror.

“Thief, what have you done?”

“The emperor… has passed away!”

Jiang Lan was annoyed by the clamor.

He swung his long saber.

“From now on, whoever speaks, dies.”

Inside the Golden Luan Hall, silence fell once more.

Jiang Lan pointed the tip of his saber at the young Imperial Prince who had just expressed his desire to be emperor.

“You, come here.”

The Imperial Prince, hearing this, didn't hesitate and immediately walked in front of Jiang Lan.

Jiang Lan looked him up and down.

Actually, his choice for the new emperor wasn't random.

The reason he asked those Imperial Princes earlier was that Jiang Lan wanted to pick someone intelligent, at least someone who could clearly see the situation.

The other Imperial Princes, because the Old Emperor was not yet dead, dared not speak and hesitated.

Only this one was much more decisive than the others.

As for whether he would seek revenge for the Old Emperor after ascending the throne, Jiang Lan wasn't worried at all.

Not to mention that imperial family affection was almost nonexistent.

Even if there was affection, it would never be like that of ordinary commoner families.

Jiang Lan even suspected that, apart from a few individual Imperial Princes, the Old Emperor might not even be able to call them by name.

The hatred of a father's murder, in an ordinary family, would be called parricide.

In the imperial family, it was a favor.

So even if this one in front of him harbored hatred, that hatred certainly wouldn't outweigh the gratitude.

To put it bluntly, if it weren't for Jiang Lan, this young Imperial Prince would never have sat on the emperor's throne in his entire life.

When the Imperial Prince walked up to him, Jiang Lan addressed the civil and military officials below:

“From now on, he is the emperor. Who approves, who objects?”

The group of people below were angry but dared not speak.

However, there were still some with backbone.

“Rebel and traitor, regicide in the Golden Luan Hall, your crime is unforgivable!”

An old man with white hair, well over seventy, stepped out and pointed at Jiang Lan's nose, cursing.

“Oh?” Jiang Lan looked at the old man and asked, “Then I ask you, if someone colludes with demons, what is the punishment according to the Great Yan law?”

The old man was immediately silenced.

Colluding with demons was a heinous crime.

As long as one was caught, losing one's head was inevitable.

Moreover, if one was unlucky, there could even be the classic 'extermination of nine generations'.

Of course, such matters were generally handled by the Demon Suppression Division.

If a criminal fell into the hands of the yamen, they would be directly sent to the Demon Suppression Division.

Usually, their fate would not be too good.

Jiang Lan spread his hands.

“See, you can't say it either, can you? Then I'll tell you, colluding with demons is a capital offense.” He continued, “What, commoners who collude with demons must die, but the emperor who colludes with demons doesn't have to? Where's the logic in that?”

“Even so, there should be a dedicated person to convict him. You killed the emperor, and you still think you're justified?”

“The dedicated person you speak of wouldn't be the Demon Suppression Division, would it?”

Jiang Lan's expression became a bit strange.

“Then do you want to guess where I'm from?”

As he spoke, Jiang Lan lowered his head and glanced at the robes he was wearing.

In the resplendent Golden Luan Hall, his black clothes seemed to have taken on some golden hues.