“You―!”
Zhi IX’s facial expression suddenly changed as he pointed to Zhou Bao, seeming to be provoked by what he just said. But after seeing that Zhou Bao looked at him with a murderous stare, he immediately realized that his guy would probably kill him if he couldn’t make it. No matter if he dies or not dies, gets injured or not injured, can get away or can’t get away; he would be truly ashamed and bitterly humiliated.
He was the enormously powerful Zhi IX of School of Five Virtues, but that didn’t mean he was an impulsive person. Instead, he was remarkably levelheaded with a sense of propriety. If not so, he would not have survived till then.
He took a deep breath and said, “I didn’t intend to meddle in the affairs between the two countries. Actually, I was just sent to build the School of Five Virtues. Since the Divine Cavalry, who were my subordinates, have been killed; I would without a doubt go to the bottom of their death. But now that I found out that it was them who offended you first, let’s forget it then. The death of ants is an unpitied sacrifice. But the point is, we cannot stop building the School of Five Virtues. If the progress is affected badly, I’m afraid it might cause some unnecessary trouble. Am I right, Your Majesty?”
“That’s it, that’s it―!” Yan Yuntian nodded with a slight twinge of worry. Since the Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony was sponsored by Divine Wind Palace, he didn’t consider himself superior to others and didn’t gird for a tough fight. If Zhou Bao were to defend everybody from Divine Wind Palace, he would definitely regret not getting a chance to fight. Besides, Zhi IX’s words had clearly pointed this out to him. He couldn’t help himself but take a worrying look at Zhou Bao.
“There is one thing I’ve been very curious about!” Zhou Bao suddenly said, “Divine Wind Palace belongs to the five biggest sects – or let’s say it’s the head of the five biggest sects. It is the largest hidden sect among the Four Eastern Regions, and there are many celestial beings in the palace. So, why do they still meddle in worldly affairs?!”
“Divine Wind Palace never intervenes in the worldly affairs directly!” retorted Zhi IX. “Whether it be Mingyi School or School of Five Virtues, they just exert an impact on the world with their own strength. And this kind of strength doesn’t include those celestial beings. Even if an Individual Immortal or a Genuine Immortal were to be sitting in their courtyard, there is only one purpose – to defend rather than attack. As long as the fundamental interests of the school haven’t been threatened, the celestial beings above Mysterious Realm will never take action!”
“So what about the Human Emperor? Isn’t the so-called Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony also a kind of worldly affair?”
“The Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony is an exception. In fact, this doesn’t break the Law of Heaven. No matter if it is the Divine Wind Palace or the five biggest sects, both have a right to intervene in the affairs of the Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony. If Your Excellency wants to get involved in it, nobody can oppose that!”
“So, I wouldn’t really break the Law of Heaven if I do, would I?”
“Of course not!” Zhi IX smiled as if he could see through Zhou Bao’s mind. “Why? Does King Wuyang want to get involved in this matter too?”
“Why? Can’t I?”
“Of course you can. But the Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony cannot be settled with merely one’s own strength. Whether it be the five biggest sects or the masters hidden from the world, the Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony wields a lot of influence. So, you can’t imagine how complicated the interests are, and there is no lack of masters of the Lord of Heaven Realm. King Wuyang, are you sure you want to join?”
“It’s not a bad idea to go around a bit and gain experience!” Zhou Bao smiled and didn’t worry at all, even though Zhi IX had already pointed out that there would be some masters of the Lord of Heaven Realm involved, which he was no match for. But he thought he could manage to escape if he would get a chance. After coming into this world, he had gained little understanding of the Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony. What does a Human Emperor even stand for? And that damned Green Spirit also speaks in riddles. Zhou Bao thought it was not a bad idea to figure it all out by himself and have a look, even though he couldn’t help Yan Yuntian out.
“Okay. I won’t hold you back since you’ve made up your mind. Good luck, Your Excellency!”
“Thank you for your blessings!” replied Zhou Bao while doing a martial arts hand salutation.
“How unexpected! You are willing to help me?!” Yan Yuntian gave Thou Bao a complicated look after Zhi IX left. As one of the most popular candidates for being the Human Emperor, he knew that Zhou Bao had shown a lot of potential so that the five biggest sects made an alliance against him. After paying too much of a price, Zhou Bao finally compromised not to intervene in the worldly affairs. That was why Yan Yuntian thought that Zhou Bao would keep a low profile and dedicate his heart and soul to the development of Wuyang Region.
With this concern, he never expected that Zhou Bao would help him in the Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony, even if he hoped he would. As Zhou Bao has established a solid foundation in the Northwest region and his status has been on equal terms with those celestial beings, he was undoubtedly more superior than himself ― the Emperor of Jin. Although he was Zhou Bao’s father-in-law, Zhou Bao has helped him a lot over the past few years. So, he didn’t see any reason to ask his son-in-law for help, but Zhou appeared unexpectedly and helped him. After realizing that Zhou Bao intended to get involved in this incident, he felt slightly delighted in his heart, but he also felt a passing sense of vigilance.
Nobody in this world was a fool, especially those who were able to survive till now. So, Zhou Bao’s sudden appearance can’t be without a reason. It was great that he would help him, but what did he want?
After realizing this, he deeply sighed in his heart.
“Don’t think too much, Father. Actually, I’ve been wondering what a Human Emperor is. What does it stand for?” Zhou Bao laughed gently. “So, I’d like to take this opportunity to find it all out.”
“Legends about the Human Emperor vary from the Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony to the Human Emperor’s position. As far as I know, it represents a symbol of order.” Seemingly understanding what Zhou Bao meant, Yan Yuntian started to explain without hiding his weakness. He took a sip of his tea and pointed to the darkening sky. “Look at the sky. The sun’s and moon’s rotation are an order of nature. The changing, four seasons; rain, snow, wind, frost; those are all orders of nature too. And naturally, the order of nature can’t be manipulated by us. However, living creatures are different from nature. Be it deity or spirit, human being or goblin, demon or monster, or even one without a spiritual sense; all living creatures follow the law of the jungle, in which the weak are prey to the strong. But what if the living creatures get their spiritual intelligence?!” said Yan Yuntian with a faint sneer. “Then that order wouldn’t work anymore. The Human Emperor’s position is, after all, an existence that can replace the universe to restrain these living creatures with spiritual intelligence and make rules for them.”
“Aren’t that some big words? To constrain living creatures, and to set rules for those with spiritual intelligence?” Yan Yuntian felt a bit overwhelmed after hearing Zhou Bao’s words.
“They aren’t big – not in the least!” Yan Yuntian smiled while shaking his hand disapprovingly. “The phrase; “The weak are prey to the strong,” is enough to describe the ordinary living creatures struggling to survive; they are of no concern at all. But if a living creature develops its spiritual intelligence, the whole situation will be completely different. The smarter it gets, the more desires it gains. For there are unlimited desires, it will be encouraged to constantly take. If it’s not controlled, even more treasures or pneuma will be taken from the universe in no time. So, something is needed to restrain all those living creatures that have developed their spiritual intelligence and control them to not to take any more. Their activities will be based upon certain rules, and they will be severely punished if those rules are broken. This is the origin of the Human Emperor’s position.”
“That is to say, the Human Emperor’s position is the mandate of Heaven?!” said Zhou Bao with a simple flick of his eyebrow. “So you’re saying that God is a real existence, right?”
“Nobody knows whether God exists or not. But willpower does exist, and perhaps this is a self-preservation will of the universe. No matter if God exists or not, the Human Emperor’s position does exist!” He cast a meaningful eye over Zhou Bao and said, “Have you ever heard of Qi of heaven and earth?”
“Qi of heaven and earth?!” Zhou Bao pondered a bit and asked, “It seems to be a spiritual qi!”
“You can call it spiritual qi, though. It has the same functions as ordinary spiritual qi does. But you’ll never find this kind of spiritual qi in the universe – never!”
“If it can’t be found, then how do you know that this kind of spiritual qi exists?”
“Because this kind of spiritual qi is everywhere, but you can’t feel it or use it. If you make efforts to accomplish all the merits and possess great qualities, only then can you feel it and turn the Qi of heaven and earth to your advantage.”
“Actually, I’ve done no small amount of good deeds for those past years!” Zhou Bao said and smiled.
“Merits are not that easy to obtain. It’s widely believed that people can possess great qualities by doing good or saving others, but actually, they have taken it wrong. Being good or evil, it is all decided by human beings and living creatures with spiritual intelligence. Being good or evil cannot really be called merits. A real merit is a criterion that you do something meaningful to the universe that benefits the universe’s lifecycle. For example, in antiquity times, there was a great saint who educated tens of thousands of living creatures to be sensible and well-behaved. Those living creatures were taught not to recklessly destroy Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth, and to be a giver rather than a taker. This is a real merit that is recognized by the Way of Heaven. You will finally gain insights into the Qi of heaven and earth and gain a higher cultivation the longer you practice. In this way, the more you take from the universe, the bigger you impact the Way of Heaven. To put it simply, you would have broken yourself away from the universe, so the genius living up there will descant a Thunder Tribulation. However, it’s said that he is incredibly kindhearted and merciful, and he will probably spare you. Anyway, the point is, you would be able to survive the Divine Tribulation in the end!”