Chapter 14: Damn It!! I'm Finished, But No One Will Find Peace!
Ultimately, Li Muchen chose Di Renjie.
[Please state, host, the three final names for this round of Super Ministers?]
“Di Renjie, Wang Anshi, and Fang Xuanling. Those three.”
“Right—”
“I want to appoint Di Renjie as Minister of Justice.”
“Wang Anshi as Minister of Revenue.”
“Fang Xuanling as Minister of Personnel.”
[System has received the orders.]
[Top three confirmed.]
[For the remaining candidates, host, would you prefer to select personally or have the Minister of Personnel handle the arrangements?]
Li Muchen’s eyes lit up. There was such an option?
Fang Xuanling was already his Minister of Personnel.
In his modern world history, Fang Xuanling excelled at cultivating and selecting talents for Emperor Taizong of Tang.
With such a capable man on hand, why should he trouble himself with the tedious task of personally selecting others?
“Let Fang Xuanling handle everything else concerning the imperial examinations.”
Suddenly recalling an important question, Li Muchen asked the system:
“When will these three take office?”
[System will update in fifteen minutes.]
[In fifteen minutes, the three Super Ministers will automatically assume their posts.]
“Alright! Understood.”
“System, you may resume your tasks. I have no further business here.”
Having finished organizing the imperial examinations and selecting the ministers, Li Muchen planned to take the Immortal Bone Pill and visit Empress Dowager Dou and Princess Pingyang.
...
Several days later, at the gates of the Da Zhao Kingdom’s Imperial Palace.
Elders from Qingmu Mountain arrived, bearing a severely wounded elder along with an even more grievously injured Wu Shanggui. They appeared before the palace gates.
The guards recognized them as elders of Qingmu Mountain.
Seeing Wu Shanggui drenched in blood and unable to move, they immediately went to report to the emperor.
Inside the imperial study,
The new emperor of Da Zhao Kingdom stared at the terrified Qingmu Mountain elder and the badly injured Wu Shanggui.
Veins bulging on his forehead, his expression dark and terrifying, he clenched his jaw and demanded, “What—exactly happened?!”
Before the Qingmu elder could speak, Wu Shanggui’s furious outburst echoed throughout the room...
“Your Majesty—”
“You must avenge me!!”
“That useless deposed emperor—he actually established a new nation in the southern barbarians!”
“What—!!”
The new emperor slammed the desk in anger and stood abruptly to confront them.
“That worthless fool! He dares to found a nation?!”
Seeing the emperor’s fury, Wu Shanggui was reminded of his own mutilation at the hands of the deposed emperor—the castration and loss of limbs—and secretly wished for a dog-eat-dog scenario where neither party would come out unscathed.
If not for the new emperor’s insistence on executing the deposed emperor, Wu Shanggui would never have met such a fate.
His emotions surged violently, tearing at his wounds, causing him to howl in pain.
The more it hurt—
The deeper Wu Shanggui’s hatred for both the deposed and new emperor grew.
A calculating gleam flickered in his eyes, hiding a secret undercurrent.
Wu Shanggui was determined to make these two culprits pay a heavy price!!!
But just as he raised his gaze, all traces of schemes vanished, replaced by unwavering loyalty.
Wu Shanggui recounted how the Qingmu Mountain sect leader and elders were devoured, how five thousand elite soldiers of Da Zhao Kingdom were swallowed by strange beasts, and so on.
“Your Majesty, the deposed emperor left a final warning—”
“The humiliation he suffered that day will be repaid to Your Majesty a thousandfold in the future!”
“That wretch—how dare he provoke me!!”
The new emperor narrowed his eyes dangerously, vividly recalling Li Muchen’s arrogant challenge to him, his breath growing heavier.
“This one must not be allowed to live.”
Remembering his true origins, the newly enthroned emperor of Da Zhao Kingdom felt deeply uneasy.
Somehow... he had a premonition?
That worthless one would pose a grave threat to his rule in Da Zhao Kingdom.
It might even implicate the Northern Ji Kingdom.
“That worthless one truly possesses such formidable beasts?”
This question was directed at the Qingmu Mountain elder—also a confirmation of whether Wu Shanggui was lying.
“Your Majesty, those four strange beasts are indeed powerful!”
“Our sect leader was among the top cultivators, yet was swallowed whole by that winged beast’s internal core. It’s utterly despicable!!”
The Qingmu elder repeated everything he witnessed beyond the protective barrier.
However, since Wu Shanggui was not in the city, he was unaware if the deposed emperor actually issued that warning.
Better safe than sorry, the Qingmu elder lied, affirming that the deposed emperor did say it.
With the Qingmu elder’s testimony, the new emperor believed Wu Shanggui.
“That wretch—deserves death!!”
Wu Shanggui, seeing the new emperor’s acceptance, quickly added,
“That deposed emperor also said...”
“He now has strange beasts guarding him and will soon personally attack our Da Zhao Kingdom.”
“The deposed emperor said... he said...”
Wu Shanggui deliberately left his words half-spoken, trembling and feigning fear.
The new emperor’s facial muscles tightened instantly, a chilling smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
“Speak!! What else did that wretch say?!”
“Your Majesty—this servant is terrified!!”
Wu Shanggui fell to his knees, pounding his head furiously.
“He said... he wants Your Majesty... to suffer the same fate as me...”
In that instant—
The new emperor's eyes flashed with a sinister killing intent. His hands gripped the edge of the desk tightly, a smile spreading across his face that sent shivers down the Qingmu elder’s spine.
Wu Shanggui lowered his head from bowing, a cunning, triumphant smile flickering in his eyes.
“Let them fight!!”
“Better if both are grievously wounded, so I may reap the benefits.”
“All I have lost, those two culprits must also taste.”
Looking up once more toward the dragon throne, Wu Shanggui’s gaze had lost its strangeness and now brimmed with loyalty.
“That deposed emperor now has strange beasts protecting him, posing a great threat to Your Majesty and Da Zhao Kingdom.”
“Your Majesty must not take this lightly!!”
“And the barrier of the Da Tang Kingdom—”
“Even a top cultivator like our sect leader finds it difficult to break through.”
“If Your Majesty intends to kill the deposed emperor and destroy Da Tang Kingdom, you must seek assistance from higher-level cultivators in Northern Ji Kingdom.”
The new emperor listened carefully to Wu Shanggui’s words.
“I understand Minister Wu’s proposal.”
He then turned to the Qingmu elder:
“The situation is pressing. I must ask the elder to return quickly to Northern Ji Kingdom and deliver my orders.”
“I dare not refuse, Your Majesty. Please command me.”
Although the man before him was the emperor of Da Zhao Kingdom, and their connection to the Qingmu Mountain elders of Northern Ji Kingdom was limited, the new emperor’s ties to the Northern Ji royal family made the elder cautious not to offend him lightly.
The emperor settled back into the dragon throne and fell silent.
The study grew oppressively quiet.
The Qingmu elder looked up briefly, then bowed his head quietly, standing at attention awaiting orders.
Wu Shanggui kept silent but clenched his fists tightly, glancing nervously toward the dragon throne, his eyes flashing with impatience.
Less than fifteen minutes later, the man on the dragon throne finally spoke:
“Transmit my imperial decree...”