"Is the Emperor of Chu too scared to make a move?"
"Emperor Jiajing is the hero of the age. It is understandable that the Emperor of Chu is too scared."
"In my opinion, the world will be unified soon! The one and only True Dragon Son of Heaven destined by fate must be His Majesty Emperor Jiajing of Great Ming!"
"Nonsense, anyone could tell even if they're blind right now!"
"I don't want to wander Jianghu anymore. When will Great Ming hold the imperial examinations? I want to go to Great Ming to become an official!"
Among the three thousand Confucian scholars, some were prudent while others were frivolous.
Some opportunists believed they had sniffed out the direction of destiny. They could not wait to immediately kneel before Emperor Jiajing and give him a full kowtow ritual.
Emperor Jiajing was growing somewhat impatient.
He said in a deep voice, "Why isn't the Emperor of Chu making his move yet? If you know that you are inferior, you might as well surrender your country to this one's Great Ming. I can promise to grant the Xiang clan an inherited nobility title to enjoy eternal wealth and glory."
Upon hearing this, the scholars' gazes towards the Emperor of Chu became even more contemptuous.
The Emperor of Chu was probably the weakest lord in the present age. She didn't even have the courage to make a move before Emperor Jiajing?
Among the scholars were some originally from Chu. At this moment, seeing their monarch be so pathetic, they lowered their heads in shame.
However, Xiang Ning seemed unable to hear the clamor around her. Her bright eyes stared fixedly at Fan Li. She regarded him as her only lifeline but also afraid that he sought to deceive her.
"Does Your Majesty feel no gratitude that this treacherous official is the only one you are willing to trust now?"
"Nevermind, I agree to it. If Great Chu is destroyed because of this, I will die with Your Majesty." Fan Li said helplessly.
His imperial jade seal was given by the system, definitely genuine without a doubt. Since he held the only genuine seal, Emperor Jiajing's was naturally an imitation, without the heaven's authentication.
Xiang Ning gritted her teeth.
"Get out of the way! I will contend with Jiajing!"
She suddenly became spirited as she shoved Fan Li aside. She gripped the Overlord Spear in her right hand while raising Fan Li's imperial jade seal in her left. At this moment, she had an imposing aura.
"Has the Emperor of Chu finally dared to make his move?"
Among the three thousand scholars below, many felt some curiosity. But in their hearts, they still did not believe Xiang Ning could produce a shocking performance.
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"Hehe, courting humiliation." Emperor Jiajing sneered coldly. His voice was not loud but enough to reach Xiang Ning's ears.
"Rise!" Without wasting words, Xiang Ning raised Fan Li's imperial jade seal with the tip of the Overlord Spear.
Although the Overlord Spear had unparalleled divine might, it consumed an enormous amount of spiritual power!
With just that one strike, all of Xiang Ning's internal spiritual energy was instantly depleted. But the energy contained in the spear's tip was like a rocket booster, successfully sending the imperial jade seal into the sky.
Just like Emperor Jiajing's imperial jade seal, it proceeded to imprint the sky! Including Emperor Jiajing, no one had yet seen the inscription on the jade seal.
The crowd was curious and also somewhat anticipating. No comparison, no harm. They even hoped that Xiang Ning could also engrave words in the sky. Because only then could the scholars properly compare the two Sons of Heaven.
Of course, they just wanted to compare and see precisely how big the disparity was between the Emperor of Chu and the Emperor of Ming. No one believed that she had any chance of defeating Emperor Jiajing.
"Given mandate by heaven..."
"and great long life..."
To everyone's surprise, new words were truly engraved in the sky. But all felt their eyes were playing tricks on them. Because the inscription on Great Chu's imperial jade seal was actually exactly the same as Emperor Jiajing's!
At this moment! The sky was paper and the Sons of Heaven stamped their seals. But as there could not be two suns in the heavens, this conflict between identical imprints obviously unfolded in the sky!
"How is this possible!?" someone cried out in shock.
Originally, the eight characters engraved by Emperor Jiajing spanned boundlessly across the sky. The words were incomparably clear.
The second imperial jade seal only brushed the heavens lightly as it fell. Yet this light touch caused ripples across the sky like casting a stone into a tranquil spring!
Emperor Jiajing's "Mandated by Heaven, with Great Long Life" disintegrated instantly!
The sea of clouds roiled as if being reshuffled. Emperor Jiajing's imprint was completely erased!
"This is the true Mandated by Heaven, with Great Long Life." Fan Li laughed.
The eight large seal characters in traditional script still existed on high. Originally very small, they were gradually expanding. The characters never distorted and instead became increasingly clear, imprinting deeply in the viewers' hearts.
"Does Great Chu... conform to the Heaven's will?"
"Is Emperor Chu the true Son of Heaven?"
"Destiny belongs to Emperor Chu!"
No one knew who was the first to be unable to restrain himself and knelt towards Xiang Ning's platform.
He was quickly followed by other Confucian scholars originally from Chu who also swiftly knelt down. Without realizing it, nearly over half of the three thousand Confucian scholars had knelt down.
Those still insisting on standing gazed at Xiang Ning with complex expressions. Those who had not knelt were mostly from Great Ming; others were from Great Han, while some were wandering Confucian scholars who never thought highly of Chu.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty." Lu Chunqiu suddenly spoke up. “The final victor of this Alliance of Three Emperors is Chu."
"This feudal official once again thanks the Three Sons of Heaven. For the sake of the common people, without mobilizing armies and instead competing in literary skill to determine superiority and inferiority." The Lord Wenxin of every generation would say these customary lines as the alliance was about to conclude.
Although Emperor Jiajing knew Lu Chunqiu's 'script', hearing it now felt extremely unpleasant! He fiercely glared at Lu Chunqiu, furious that he suddenly declared a victor.
"Does Lu Chunqiu dare to oppose this one? This one still possesses stronger methods!" Emperor Jiajing was seething with anger.
Suddenly! He recalled telling Lu Chunqiu that at the end of the alliance, he must give a response on whether Lu would submit to Great Ming.
"Could this be Lu Chunqiu's attitude? He has rejected this my offer?"
"No, not merely rejection!"
From the start, Emperor Jiajing felt something was off. Lu Chunqiu's attitude towards the three emperors was clearly different. He was apprehensive towards Emperor Jiajing, courteous to Liu Xie, but deferential to Xiang Ning!
Had Lu Chunqiu already surrendered to the Emperor of Chu!?
"Hmph!" Emperor Jiajing slammed the table and abruptly stood up! He intended to attack Xiang Ning right then!
Emperor Jiajing's assault turned into a powerful golden dragon qi rushing straight at Xiang Ning with vicious swiftness. This was a strike at the Great Vehicle Realm. In theory, no one in Lu City could block it!
"The Nation Seal is by no means a defensive treasure. It's even more impossible for the Overlord Spear! I want to see how you can leave Lu City alive after receiving this one's blow!"
Emperor Jiajing's face was malevolent and sinister. As hero of his age, he absolutely could not tolerate anyone seeming more “destined by heaven” than himself!