Chapter 168 - Li Shenji
The conferring of ministers took about four hours. Of course, there were some important officials and minor officials who weren"t conferred there!
After conferring the last official, Gu Hai carefully rolled up the golden parchment that he had used to declare to the Heavens. Then, carrying the golden parchment in one hand and the Heaven Suppressing Divine Seal in the other, Gu Hai slowly walked down the altar, before calmly heading towards the Soaring Heaven Palace.
The group of ministers followed behind Gu Hai, making their way to the audience hall.
The audience hall was ten zhang high, and the interior was extremely s.p.a.cious, as well. At the north of the hall was a high stage. Step by step, Gu Hai walked up the stairs, making his way atop the high stage. Placed atop the high stage was an extremely beautiful dragon throne, cast from gold.
The Master of Ceremonies carried up the edict that he had just read aloud to name the officials, and placed it on the table beside the throne.
Gu Hai grabbed the Heaven Suppressing Divine Seal, and calmly stamped it on the edict.
BAM! With the edict stamped with the Heaven Suppressing Divine Seal, it meant that the t.i.tles bestowed were effective, right then and there.
Gu Hai, gazing at the two files of officials, slowly sat down on the dragon throne.
"We greet Your Majesty, Long Live Your Majesty!" the crowd of officials hailed at the top of their voices.
The Divine Continent, outside of an extremely gorgeous audience hall...
Long Wanqing and Grandmaster Liunian slowly retired from the audience hall.
"Grandmaster, what"s with Grandpa"s att.i.tude?" A complex look showed up on Long Wanqing"s face.
"Hall Lord, His Holy Majesty will make a ruling, please wait patiently!" Grandmaster Liunian said, a wry smile on his face. They were just out of the audience hall, how could he have the guts to say anything? Whatever he spoke would surely be heard by the Great Holy Emperor Gan.
"Today, Gu Hai should have also founded his kingdom, right? I wonder whether he founded a mortal kingdom, or a Royal Dynasty?" Long Wanqing said, as she furrowed her brow.
"Mortal kingdom!? Haha, I think he wouldn"t even think about it. If I had to guess, he would have directly declare it to the Heaven and the Earth, and found a Royal Dynasty! It"s just that Gu Hai"s heritage is too shallow. Even if it"s a Royal Dynasty, it would be the weakest Royal Dynasty!" Grandmaster Liunian stated with a wry smile.
"Weakest Royal Dynasty?" Long Wanqing slightly furrowed her brow.
"Yeah, weakest, so weak that it would be no different than an ordinary kingdom. How many territories does he have? What"s the population? How many experts does he have? Not to mention a Royal Dynasty, if Gu Hai brought his Royal Dynasty to the Divine Continent, there wouldn"t be a need for a Royal Dynasty, just a small demon beast clan could destroy his Dynasty. Just a bit stronger kingdom could push Gu Hai"s Royal Dynasty over. The only reason Gu Hai could find this opportunity was because it is in the Thousand Islands Seas, that backwater region!" Grandmaster Liunian told her, with a bitter smile.
"Even if it"s the weakest, it is still a Royal Dynasty, right?" Long Wanqing shook her head.
The two slowly walked away from the audience hall.
Meanwhile, two voices gradually rose from inside the audience hall.
"Your Holy Majesty, reports just came from the Thousand Islands Seas, regarding Gu Hai!" an extremely respectful voice called out.
The audience hall sank into silence for a while before a majestic voice gradually answered, "Gu Hai!? Interesting!
"Where is Li Shenji?" Great Holy Emperor Gan"s voice rose once more.
"Since he was dismissed by Your Holy Majesty last time, he has been traveling around the world. Recently, he seemed to be fis.h.i.+ng for turtles in the northern seas!" an extremely respectful voice called back.
"Fis.h.i.+ng for turtles? Hmph, pa.s.s him this Emperor"s decree, tell him to reorganize the Divine Battalion in three months!" Great Holy King Gan"s voice reverberated.
"Yes, Your Holy Majesty!"
To the north of the Thousand Islands Seas, the sky over the vast seas was currently covered in dense, dark clouds.
BOOM! With a thunderclap, monstrous tsunamis rose into the sky, throwing many whales into the air.
Amid the lightning and thunder, a colossal figure emerged from the sea. A gigantic turtle, whose size spread over five hundred zhang, rose with a storming momentum. The entire sea seemed to be listening to its command.
The gigantic turtle let a roar, and along with it, endless tsunamis soared into the sky, wrapping around a figure in the center.
A deafening explosion took place at the center of the flooded sky as a man wearing purple robes shot out from within.
The purple-robed figure, holding a golden turtle sh.e.l.l in one harm, flagrantly smashed a palm at the gigantic turtles.
In the blink of an eye, a five hundred zhang-long palm aura emerged and pressed down on the enormous turtle. The palm gave off the impression that it would flatten the entire sea.
The gigantic turtle fired off a palm of its own in retaliation. The two palms clashed with a thunderous crash, raising a monstrous storm on the sea. The storm emerged in the blink of an eye, giving rise to wild winds, which in turn suddenly gave birth to four tornadoes, madly sucking in the sea water.
"Hahaha, Miao Chen, I am taking this Golden Black Tortoise Armor with me for awhile. On the choice that you are willing to obey me, I will return this Golden Black Tortoise Armor to you! Hahaha!" The purple-robed man soared into sky, fleeing into the distance.
"Li Shenji, you thief, hold it right there!" roared the enormous turtle, Miao Chen, as it gave chase, raising ever-rising waves of tsunami with it, as if the sea water was listening to its command.
The purple-robed man turned his head. His eyes flickered with pride as he swept a palm back, once more.
BOOM!
The human and the turtle clashed again before separating.
High up in the air, a flying s.h.i.+p appeared, hidden among the clouds.
Li Shenji landed on the flying s.h.i.+p with a thump. "Get moving!"
"Yes!" the attendant aboard the flying s.h.i.+p immediately obliged.
The flying s.h.i.+p immediately swept across the sky, turning into a pa.s.sing rainbow streak as it flew into the distance.
"Li Shenji, you shameless b.a.s.t.a.r.d," the enormous turtle on the sea raised its head to the sky and let out a heaven-shaking roar.
All around, monstrous tsunamis immediately rose into the sky, flinging countless fishes heavenwards to fall down haplessly.
After a good long while, that region of sea finally calmed down only because the enormous turtle Miao Chen controlled its anger.
Miao Chen"s figure distorted before transforming into a luxuriously dressed robust man, looking in the direction in which Li Shenji left with a cold gaze.
Slowly, a group of subordinates appeared behind Miao Chen, standing there respectfully.
"Elder Miao, your subordinate is incompetent. I didn"t expect that Li Shenji would be so insidious, he was actually aiming for Supreme"s golden armor!" a subordinate berated himself. He had an unsightly look on his face.
Miao Chen, looking into the distant, said with a despondent look, "Supreme has fallen, but Supreme"s relics cannot be blasphemed. Whoever dares to tarnish Supreme"s golden armor has to die, no matter who it is!"
"Li Shenji has left, what should we do now?"
"You keep guarding the Sea Palace. I can feel the location of Supreme"s golden armor, he can"t escape, hmph!" Miao Chen said as his eyes widened in fury.
"Yes!"
Miao Chen took a step before his figure distorted as he vanished into the distance.
Aboard the flying s.h.i.+p...
Li Shenji, holding a golden fragment, looked it over carefully.
Li Shenji looked a bit like Li Haoran. Although he was Li Haoran"s uncle, he looked younger as a whole. His extremely thin physique, coupled with his slender hands, made him look like a young man in twenties. Only his eyes flickered with a sinister gleam.
"Patriarch, is this Golden Black Tortoise Armor?" a subordinate curiously looked at the golden fragment in Li Shenji"s hands.
"Back then, after the Black Tortoise Supreme was punished by the Heavens, the Golden Black Tortoise Armor was smashed to pieces. This is just one of the fragments of its sh.e.l.l, that"s all. Black Tortoise Supreme! Ha, back then, he followed Elder Guanqi and defied the Heavens with him!
“Unfortunately, they lost! Elder Guanqi had to face the wrath of Heavens, and the Weiqi Empyrean Court was almost completely destroyed. As his accomplice, naturally he didn"t remain unscathed. Black Tortoise Supreme! Rumor has it that its sh.e.l.l provided the strongest defense in the world. Strongest defense, so what? Wasn"t it broken to pieces completely, facing the wrath of Heavens?" Li Shenji sneered.
Holding the Golden Black Tortoise Armor, Li Shenji waved his arm lightly.
Suddenly, clouds emerged in the air around him.
"Oh!? Not bad, this armor can still call the wind and command the rain!?" Li Shenji said, surprised.
"Patriarch, rumor has it that eight hundred years ago, when the Black Tortoise Supreme fell, the Black Tortoise Clan also suffered an utmost disaster. The Clan fell apart. Many of their experts scattered across the Divine Continent. Many of the Black Tortoises were captured to act as the guardian beasts of some sects!"
"Hmph, in war, those who win become the rulers, and those who lose are reduced to bandits! That they could survive until now is already their fortune. This Miao Chen was living alone in the northern seas, not willing to enter the Divine Continent! It is quite stubborn! Nonetheless, it doesn"t matter, I will slowly subdue it!" Li Shenji"s eyes flickered with a golden light.
"Right, has Haoran left the capital?" Li Shenji asked.
"Yes, it seems he voluntarily requested an a.s.signment from the Emperor to go the Thousand Islands Seas, saying it was to protect Long Wanqing!" That subordinate nodded his affirmation.
"Long Wanqing! Ascendant Hall Lord! Thousand Islands Seas! Stupid! Fool!" Li Shenji narrowed his eyes as he cursed.
"Ah!?"
"Doesn"t he know about Ascendant Hall Lord Long Xiaoyue"s death? The water there is extremely deep, and he still dares to go, in those muddy waters!? Moreover, it"s the Thousand Islands Seas!
“Although there are only ordinary sects there, doesn"t he know that it used to be the site of the Weiqi Empyrean Court? It"s a land punished by the Heavens, a forbidden region. Elder Guanqi might be dead, but countless machinations of that Old Monster must still be there! Just one of them can bring him doom, hmph!" Li Shenji let out a cold snort.
"Ah? What should we do, then?"
"Quickly send him a letter, ask him to return immediately. He can"t tread those Thousand Islands Seas" waters!" Li Shenji said in a chilling voice.
"Ah? Yes, your subordinate will go back, and send the letter right away!"
"As I recall, there seems to be another Black Tortoise in the Thousand Islands Seas!?" Li Shenji said, furrowing his brow.
"Yes! However, this Black Tortoise has already split its body. Generally, the Black Tortoise is the combination of a turtle and a snake"s body. However, that Black Tortoise has split its turtle body and snake body. It seems that it is often fighting, vying for resources; it wants to rise and turn into a dragon!"
"Evolve into dragon!? Haha, when the Black Tortoise Supreme was alive, who in the Black Tortoise Clan didn"t want to evolve into a dragon! A dragon is a dragon, and a Black Tortoise is a Black Tortoise! The Black Tortoise"s strength isn"t as good as the Dragon Clan"s!" Li Shenji derided the idea with a sneer.
"This subordinate still doesn"t understand!"
"What don"t you understand? When the Black Tortoise Supreme died, the Black Tortoise Clan"s G.o.d was also annihilated by the Heavens. Once a Clan"s G.o.d is destroyed, the Clan will only decline. If they want to give birth to another G.o.d, Heavens knows how many years they would have to wait? Hahaha, the Black Tortoises have begun to give up on their ethnicity! They really can"t stop their decline anymore!" Li Shenji stated coldly.
The flying s.h.i.+p was extremely fast. In just ten days, it arrived at a continent.
Very quickly, the flying s.h.i.+p landed before a cl.u.s.ter of palaces.
At this moment, a group of people, wearing the mourning garb were kneeling outside the palace, complaining tearfully...
"Uncle, I earnestly request Uncle to avenge Great Brother!"
"Uncle, my Great Brother died very miserably!"
"Patriarch, Haoran was killed by a villain, he died very miserably!"
"We beg Patriarch to take revenge!"...
A series of woeful cries rang outside Li Shenji"s flying s.h.i.+p.
Aboard the flying s.h.i.+p, Li Shenji"s pupils immediately constricted as his gaze landed upon a crude coffin lying at the center of the kneeling mourners.