Da Chen Shenjing, Lingxiao Imperial Court, Mysterious Heavenly Palace.
Under the Heavenly Map, the officials are engaged in a fierce debate.
This is something all officials and the throne’s occupant are accustomed to; in the court of the Heavenly Sect Dynasty, debates are inevitable, and they should happen. If even debates are prohibited, wouldn’t that mean all the Wenwu officials are in perfect harmony?
As subjects, to be in perfect harmony—what are they planning to do? Therefore, successive Emperor Xuantiandi enjoyed seeing some commotion in the court; having a say is always better than silence or private discussions.
However, today, the officials’ firepower was particularly concentrated, targeting a Town King who was not present.
An old official stepped forward, his expression solemn: "Subject Che Qilong petitions His Majesty! The Holy Ancestor once said, ’Only those of the Xuan surname can be kings, and only those who expand the territory may be enfeoffed as marquises. Today, the Northern Virtuous King took the liberty of granting lands to others, such excessive actions may contravene the decrees. Your humble servant has served Your Majesty for twelve hundred years, deeply honoured, I have no choice but to inform His Majesty!"
This was an old subject who had served three generations of Emperor Xuantiandi, rarely speaking out. But now, as he spoke up, he directly pointed out that the Virtuous King’s act of conferring An Jing as the master of Heavenly Sword Mountain was ’excessive.’
Emperor Xuantian did not express agreement or disagreement. He looked at the memorial in his hand, then asked with a gentle voice: "What do the ministers think?"
The ministers reported their opinions, most of them echoing the sentiment, but a few supported it.
Among those agreeing with Che Qilong, most believed that it was within the Virtuous King’s rights to confer a mountain master, but the grant was too generous without reporting to the Imperial Court, which was highly disrespectful.
Those who supported the Virtuous King argued that An Jing, as the de facto lord of Linjiang City, who had both authority and represented Da Chen in winning external victories (against the Iron Cavalry and the Heavenly Demon), deserved the reward. This was also a precedent set during the time of the Saintly Ancestor of Da Chen. Most of the current noble families in Shenjing came to prominence in this manner.
They even marveled that the Virtuous King was able to find such an ancient precedent and were not surprised, as it demonstrated the Town King’s profound historical knowledge—
Of course, whether the Virtuous King was actually aware of this was another matter.
"The matter of the Northern Border has been settled; the actions of the Town King can be justified either way."
In the end, after endless debates between supporters and opposition, it was Emperor Xuantian who set the tone, and Grand Preceptor Hong stepped forward to request a decree: "At this point, Your Majesty’s sacred judgment is needed."
"If that is the case."
The young Emperor, amenable to advice: "Then we must not let the hearts of the meritorious servants grow cold. Hereditary succession seems excessive, but An Jing, as the foremost Divine Mandate of this era, who is also destined to end the Frost Calamity, is a beneficiary to the whole world and his merit will last through the ages; he deserves this special honor."
"Geomancy officials, heed my command: record this decision and integrate it into the Geomancy Map."
As Emperor Xuantian gave the order, the entire court fell silent of any debate, and the geomancy officials stepped forward. These supreme Array Masters of the dynasty had the authority to modify the ’Heavenly Map,’ and if An Jing were fortunate enough to witness this scene, he might be astonished by the similarities this method shared with the ’Spiritual Network programming’ of the Tianyuan Realm.
Under the composition of these geomancy experts, many Earth Pulse Nodes in the Northern Border began to flicker on the Geomancy Map. The Earth Veins around the Heavenly Sword Mountain range were also listed individually, lighting up, beginning to register the name of An Jing.
Grand Preceptor Hong remained unmoved, standing to the left of the Emperor, while Governor Yi on the right glanced at him, pensive.
The debate among the Wenwu officials, with the final judgment left to the Emperor, seemed ordinary, but in fact, it progressively solidified the Emperor’s authority. Although the Emperor’s strength had not yet reached the requirements for full governance, with the assistance of Grand Preceptor Hong, it was undoubtedly sufficient.
But can it be so simple?
Does our Emperor really have no connection with the Virtuous King?
Without further thought, at this moment, around the Geomancy Map, the Array Masters let out a soft exclamation, drawing the attention of all officials.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, for some reason... the name of Mountain Master An cannot be entered into the Geomancy Map!"
Under the collective gaze of the Wenwu officials, the Emperor’s Master, and the Grand Governor, they were somewhat sweaty, but the lead official still bravely turned and reported: "Causality is difficult to connect, the Earth Veins do not respond, the Heavenly Sea remains unseen, the Eight Desolates leave no trace... Your servant is incompetent, I beg for forgiveness!"
Emperor Xuantian’s eyes slightly lowered, he softly exclaimed in his heart, considering a possibility, yet his face remained unchanged: "All officials of the Hanhai, do you know where Mountain Master An is now? Is he still within the borders of our Da Chen?"
The officials from the Hanhai exchanged glances, obviously, no one knew.
The officials of the Northern Border no longer work for the Virtuous King, which signifies freedom and no constraints, but it also means their control over the Northern Border has decreased.
An Jing... What is An Jing doing now, how would they know? Asking this question is less effective than asking the Tianyi Demon Sect, at least the spies of the Tianyi Demon Sect in the Northern Border are more numerous than those sent by their patrolling sea and wilderness teams.
Since no one answered, Emperor Xuantian did not pursue further, lightly chiding them with a few words like ’still have to be loyal to one’s duties,’ before letting it go.
The next affair shifted from the Northern Border to ’the West Sea Fleet patrolling the Thousand Islands’ and conflicts with the true spirit courts of the Western Sea, the dealings with the Demon Country in the Southern Border, and so on.
Outside of Da Chen, Dust Li.
Dust Li Great Wilderness.
The Frost Calamity recedes, the ice and snow melt away, and muddy rain pours down from the sky. Bronze sunlight streams through the gaps in the grey-brown clouds, falling down. The boundless wilderness stretches from the horizon behind to the far end ahead, and the silhouette of the northern mountains can be seen in the distance, but even for a martial artist, it’s an incredibly long way to travel.
And across this wilderness, a white figure flashes by. The dust and rain are shaken off behind him. Tengshuang White’s Protective Formation Disk activates, rolling with the vast winds of Dust Li towards the north.