Holy body, start with the Five Animal Exercises

176: King Qin, please wear the royal robeAs his voice fell, the tightly shut vermillion gate outside the imperial court slowly opened.

Qin Jiang, dressed in white, walked in slowly. Half a step behind him, Ye Yuanling held a square wooden tray at his waist.

Inside the tray lay a black robe, with patterns woven in gold thread. On top of the robe was a golden token, with exotic beasts carved on the outside and the character ‘Qin’ embossed on the inside.

“Greetings — Sect Leader of Changshou!”

All the civil and military officials rose and bowed, hundreds of voices overlapping and reverberating, creating a formidable presence.

Qin Jiang raised an eyebrow. What was going on? Such a grand display?

He had felt something was off when Ye Yuanling was carrying the tray earlier.

“Young friend, please wait a moment, you’ll know soon,” Ye Yuanling said softly, his voice only audible between the two of them.

Then, he looked at the officials and announced loudly, “Everyone, please be seated. Your Majesty has an important announcement today.”

Once the officials were seated, the Xia Emperor, on the high platform, nodded slightly, then waved his hand, and an illusory golden scroll appeared out of thin air.

An elder among the officials recognized it, “This is… the Golden Edict connected to our Xia Country’s Luck? Since the First Ancestor of the Xia Emperor, it has been used no more than ten times! Why is it being used today?”

Another person looked excited, his voice trembling, “This Golden Edict of Luck is a vital treasure of our Imperial Dynasty. Could it be that something major is going to happen today?”

Just as the officials were wondering, the Xia Emperor’s voice rang out, instantly overpowering all other sounds.

“The glorious heavens, shining upon the earth below, in due season for the autumn sacrifice, inheriting the spirit of the ancestors, bringing forth sweet wind and rain.

I, having received the heavenly mandate, and following the ancient teachings, bestow royal titles and honor the virtuous, as is the noble tradition of ancient wise kings.

Now, there is the Sect Leader of Changshou, who repelled King Huai and slew Fushan, his name renowned in this era, his merits extending through a thousand autumns. Now, in accordance with the will of heaven, he is hereby enfeoffed as King Qin, to assist in governing the imperial court, and to jointly manage the rivers and mountains, with this golden token as his emblem.”

When he finished speaking, all the civil and military officials were astonished.

Since the First Ancestor of the Xia Emperor, no one of a different surname had ever been granted a princely title. Even Ye Yuanling back then was only conferred the title of Imperial Advisor.

Not to mention the Xia Emperor’s imperial decree, stating that he would assist in governing the imperial court and jointly manage the rivers and mountains — this was practically a regent!

Ye Yuanling lightly raised the tray, “King Qin, please put on the royal robe.”

Qin Jiang looked at the royal token and royal robe in the tray. He knew that if he put on this royal robe, it would mean he was willing to bear the destiny of the Xia Country.

There was nothing to hesitate about. He slightly brought his fingers together, the golden token flew up, and the royal robe fluttered.

The next second, he grabbed with a large hand, and the black royal robe swept in a semicircle onto his body. The ferocious evil Dragon embroidery roared as if alive.

He raised his hand, and the royal token fell into his palm, which he casually hung at his waist.

“I am King Qin.”

He spoke, his voice not loud, but carrying authority.

As he finished speaking, a wisp of golden light appeared from the void and drifted onto the Golden Edict in front of the Xia Emperor, leaving Qin Jiang’s name.

The Golden Edict shattered. The next moment, Qin Jiang felt an inexplicable power connect with him.

Under the blessing of this power, this world seemed to have a thin film torn away, becoming clear and visible. He could even see golden threads enveloping the entire world.

He knew that was the national Luck of the Xia Country.

From this moment on, his every word and action was enough to influence the entire Xia Country.

“Congratulations, King Qin!”

The civil and military officials rose and bowed, much more respectfully than before, because they knew that the words ‘King Qin’ represented more than just a title.

At the same time, this represented true control over the Xia Country, though not as much as the Xia Emperor, it was completely different from the meaning of an official position.

“Rise,” Qin Jiang said.

Looking at the officials, he was actually a little disappointed. Previously, due to the Imperial Dynasty’s Luck enveloping them, he couldn’t easily probe the officials’ strength.

But now that he himself controlled a part of the Imperial Dynasty’s Luck, the strength of the civil and military officials was clear at a glance.

Most were high-level Secret Martial Artists, with a total of fewer than twenty Divine Warriors. Although the quality was quite good, with ten of them being Divine Warriors above the fifth rank.

But it was still less than he had imagined.

However, considering that the Xia Country was now on the brink of collapse, with hundreds of thousands of troops stationed in various border areas, it was likely that many Divine Martial experts were among the border armies.

The officials rose, and the Xia Emperor laughed loudly, “To have King Qin today is truly a great fortune for the country! A banquet will be held at noon, and an inauguration ceremony will be performed to celebrate King Qin!”

At the Celebration Banquet in the Hall of Heavenly Succession.

Qin Jiang and Ye Yuanling shared a table, sipping fine wine. Qin Jiang asked, “Elder Ye, what is this inauguration ceremony?”

Ye Yuanling chuckled upon hearing this, “The so-called inauguration is actually inviting your divine position into the True God Pavilion. At that time, Luck will use your divine position as a guide to bless everyone related to you. From then on, your Family can be said to share the fate of the country.”

Qin Jiang nodded, “I observe that there don’t seem to be many Divine Warriors among the officials. Have most of them been sent to the border regions?”

“Hmm? No, that’s not the case,” Ye Yuanling said with some confusion, then suddenly understood and couldn’t help but smile.

“The reason you think there aren’t many Divine Warriors in the imperial court is actually because you are in Yuan Province, and the Longevity Sect’s overall strength is actually one of the best among the nine provinces.

Eighth-rank Divine Warriors are extremely difficult to cultivate. Even the governors of various provinces, with the help of national Luck, have not achieved it. They are already considered invincible combat power below a True God. There are only a handful of them in the entire Xia Country, no more than five.

This even includes the hidden, reclusive eighth-rank Divine Warriors. If we only talk about overt forces, the only one that can compare with the Longevity Sect is the Cangya Sect in Qi Province.

The Sect Master of Cangya Sect is also an eighth-rank Peak Divine Warrior, and he is currently in his prime. However, Qi Province borders Rong Country and cannot be moved lightly, so I did not transfer him to Yuan Province at that time.”

Qin Jiang understood. It wasn’t that the imperial court officials were weak, but that the Longevity Sect was too strong.

“By the way, what was the urgent message from Qi Province a few days ago?” he asked.

“It wasn’t anything major. Rong Country seems to have received some news from Huai Country and reached some kind of cooperation, gathering 500,000 troops at the border.

However, there aren’t any powerful figures among them, and no True God has personally intervened, so I mobilized military forces from the surrounding three provinces, which is enough to resist,” Ye Yuanling said.

If it were a few hundred years ago, this would be a significant event.

But for the current Xia Country, as long as it doesn’t involve the existence of a True God, it’s not considered much.

Qin Jiang nodded, “If needed, I can go there.”

Ye Yuanling gently shook his head, “No need. Rong Country doesn’t have a True God at its Peak; I can handle it. Right now, for the Xia Country, you are the most important. As long as you can Breakthrough to the True Immortal Realm, then all crises will naturally be resolved.”

A True Immortal is the foundation of a country; this is the consensus among the seventeen countries of Shenzhou.

Only with a True Immortal suppressing the foundation is a country qualified to be a member at the table.

If there were no True Immortal, then the surrounding countries would attack en masse.

Normally, they would wait until a True Immortal had passed away before acting, but the Immortal Ancestor of Huai Country wanted more, which is why he acted first.

As for the True Immortals of the other countries, they would have no objection to this, and some would even be happy about it.

Being a step late would just mean getting a little less benefit. If the Xianzu of the Xia Country dragged the Immortal Ancestor of Huai Country down with him, then the benefits gained would directly double.

Dong dong dong! Dong dong dong!

The clear sound of gongs reverberated through the sky. A fifth-rank Divine Warrior in palace attire, carrying a copper gong, walked forward, followed by two other people, both of whom were also Divine Warriors.

The two were carrying a three-foot-tall golden spirit tablet, inscribed with the words ‘King Qin’ and engraved with his achievements below.

This was precisely a True God tablet, and there weren’t many even in the True God Pavilion.