Chapter 557: Chapter 530: The Younger Generation Is Fearsome (Subscribe Please)
The Divine Palace of the East Abyss is an island floating in the sky, encompassing an extremely vast area of more than nineteen hundred square kilometers, almost covering half of Luojing City.
What’s astonishing is that the vast majority of the people in Luojing City cannot see the Divine Palace, and this colossal entity doesn’t affect the sunlight either.
The surrounding sunlight is twisted, somewhat resembling the Federation’s optical stealth system.
Luo Wangshu’s eight-dragon flying chariot drove straight in until it stopped in front of a gigantic Divine Palace built on top of a pyramid.
The architecture of this building is also very similar to the ancient East Asian so-called ‘platforms,’ where stone and earth are piled into a “platform” upon which halls and pavilions are built.
At this moment, Lin Rui withdrew his gaze that had been sweeping around.
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He had been admiring the scenery of this Divine Palace, feeling it was the epitome of splendor and magnificence.
After the flying chariot steadied, Lin Rui noticed that the Crown Prince and the other two Divine Envoys’ carriages also arrived, along with the third candidate for the Divine Envoy of the Month from the Divine Supervision Bureau.
All of them had solemn faces, waiting at the steps of this Divine Palace.
Lin Rui also saw Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Cao Xi, who, with hands clasped and body slightly bent, wore an expression of utmost reverence and anxiety.
Seeing this, Lin Rui was slightly surprised: “Lord Cao, have you also been summoned by the Divine?”
Cao Xi looked up at Lin Rui, smiling bitterly inside, but his face showed honor as he said: “Lord National Guardian, where would I have the qualification to be summoned by the Divine? This time I am here by the summoning of the Divine Palace’s Great Celestial Master, in case the Divine has inquiries.”
The Second Divine Envoy standing in front said with a light laugh: “Lord National Guardian is still not familiar with the rules of our court. Now, in the whole Great Song, those who have the privilege to come here for a divine audience are only the Crown Prince, the Great Celestial Master, the three Divine Envoys, the twelve candidate Divine Envoys, and all the Ninth Realm Emperor Rank beings. The rest, even if their cultivation reaches the Ninth Realm Super King, can only wait outside the hall. By the way—”
The Second Divine Envoy said this and seemed to suddenly remember something, turning to look back at Lin Rui: “There were also the Crown Princes of previous generations, but now there’s another exception, you, Lord National Guardian.”
The faces of those present changed expressions, with the Crown Prince wearing a calm and detached look, and the First Divine Envoy showing a slight sign of curiosity in his eyes.
Cao Xi, who was bowing, lowered his eyelids, hiding the shock and doubt in his eyes.
The third candidate Divine Envoy’s expression shifted as he looked at Lin Rui: “Lord National Guardian, have you broken through to the Fifth Realm and successfully completed the Dragon Transformation?”
Lin Rui bowed his hands to him: “Indeed, I was fortunate to have successfully transformed into a dragon today.”
After his Dragon Transformation, he still couldn’t conceal his aura, unable to fool others.
The third candidate Divine Envoy stared intently at ‘Lin Hao’ but found that he couldn’t see through this person’s essence no matter what.
He really wanted to ask what level Lin Hao’s Bloodline Talent had reached. However, it was too presumptuous to ask, and he wouldn’t answer such a question himself.
The third candidate Divine Envoy could only nod: “A promising youth indeed!”
One could tell just from the reactions of the Crown Prince and the first and second Divine Envoys that Lin Hao’s Bloodline Power must be extraordinary.
Although he was the only one who asked, the Divine Thoughts of those three were sweeping back and forth around Lin Hao.
However, with the Third Divine Envoy standing beside him, and Lin Hao’s own Primordial Spirit Power and Martial Intent being quite formidable, it was likely that they could not see through him.
Not long after, the sound of a bell came from the pyramid-shaped stone platform above the Divine Palace.
Several individuals, including the Crown Prince, became solemn and began to step up the stairs one by one.
Lin Rui thought this was simply ridiculous; with their Cultivation, they could have reached the top of the few hundred steps in one go, yet they insisted on walking step by step into the interior.
Upon entering the Divine Palace, Lin Rui found the vast hall to be extremely empty, with only one Cloud Platform inside.
Nine layers of beaded curtains and gauze veils hung down in front of that platform, seemingly with someone sitting behind them, yet the figure was indistinct and unclear.
Lin Rui figured he knew where the Crown Prince and the Divine Envoys learned their conduct in the Divine Supervision Bureau.
The difference was that the Crown Prince and Divine Envoys deliberately mystified themselves, intentionally giving their subjects a sense of inscrutability, whereas this Divine presence truly could not be looked upon too much.
Lin Rui merely glanced inside and immediately felt a sharp pain in his eyes, as if they were about to explode.
There was also the endless Divine Power, which forced Lin Rui’s Primordial Spirit to contract tightly, trembling violently, almost bursting apart.
This must have been because he did not bring his Abyss Source Core with him; otherwise, a gaze between gods shouldn’t be so unbearable.
Apart from that, he also saw a young man, around seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed in an extremely luxurious and majestic First-rank Priest’s robe, with features as refined as a painting and skin as smooth as cream, bearing a gentle and elegant demeanor. His eyes were extraordinarily clear and pure, seemingly devoid of any impurity.
This person was looking at him, and upon their gaze meeting, he even smiled amiably and nodded in greeting.
Lin Rui speculated that this must be the Great Celestial Master, looking so young and brimming with life force.
It seemed that his good friend Han Baxian would have a hard time rising to prominence, probably reaching the Red Priest and peaking there after.
After the audience with the supreme being, the differences in status among the attendees became apparent; the emperor had a seat, located to the left of the Cloud Platform.
However, as the emperor prepared to walk towards his seat, a voice emerged from within the Cloud Platform: “Emperor, is Duke An Du Xinran your trusted arm?”
The voice of the deity was indescribable, like the chiming of bells and the sound of a myriad things, unfathomably majestic and imbued with boundless power.
A shiver ran through the emperor’s spirit; he realized the lingering troubles of the blasphemy case had arrived.
Knowing it pointless to deny or equivocate in the eyes of the gods, the emperor bowed solemnly: “This person is my consort’s brother, thus I have placed considerable trust in him in the past!”
“As the emperor, the Sovereign of Great Song, how can you be so blind in recognizing people and negligent in using them? Go outside and receive eighty lashes! The Great Celestial Master will administer the punishment.”
The emperor’s face, already pallid, turned even more ghostly.
Yet amidst the turmoil of his emotions, a sliver of relief was evident.
The divine seldom administer more than forty lashes; eighty were indeed a harsh punishment, indicating that the blasphemy case had truly provoked the divine deity.
However, some face had been saved for the emperor, as the divine had not summoned all of Ninth Realm of Great Song for a public punishment, signifying that the emperor’s divine favor had not completely waned.
Just as the emperor willingly walked towards the hall’s exit, followed closely by the Great Celestial Master rising to his feet, the deity’s voice continued: “The matter of the Heavenly Demon’s blasphemy case must be dealt with severely and rigorously for all involved.
Furthermore, the commanders of the Internal Affairs Bureau and Foreign Affairs Bureau, from the current term to the past eight terms, and the commander of the Divine Supervision Bureau, from the current term to the past seven terms, as well as the six terms before Lin Hao’s term as the head of the Spy Detection Bureau, are all to be removed from office. After being marked by the Heavenly Eye, they shall be sent to serve in the Sin Army in Purgatory. They shall be undying for 30 years and then, depending on the court’s orders, be reinstated to their original ranks.”
The face of the Second Divine Envoy paled to the color of paper.
The Divine Decree from the East Abyss had washed away his decades of efforts in the court.
His subordinates, once so promising, were now utterly ruined; speaking of 30 years of undying and reinstatement by the court to their original ranks, would the court dare to reemploy these individuals then?
Lin Rui also felt a surge of trepidation; the wrath of the deity was to such an extent? They didn’t seem to care about evidence, and with one stroke, a whole swath of people were implicated.
In fact, according to the investigation results from the Divine Supervision Bureau, these individuals had, at most, been negligent in their duties or possibly bought some syringes from the Heavenly Demon, but they certainly did not have the audacity to collude with the Heavenly Demon and allow them to excavate such a large underground palace beneath the Divine Temple.
At this moment, the deity asked again: “What progress has there been with the Heavenly Demon King’s request for peace in the East Continent?”
Before Lin Rui could speak, the Second Divine Envoy stepped forward and bowed: “Your divinity, there has been no progress with the negotiation. Those Heavenly Demons are unwilling to compromise, showing no sincerity whatsoever.”
The Second Divine Envoy was actually only nominally overseeing the negotiations, responsible only for hosting the Federation President, and uninvolved in all other matters.
But now that the divine deity asked, not only did the Second Divine Envoy rush to answer, but also disclosed the process of the past few days’ negotiations in meticulous detail.
After concluding his report emotionlessly, the Second Divine Envoy added: “The Great Celestial Master assigned Lin Hao to oversee the negotiations. However, since that day when Lin Hao had a secret meeting with the Heavenly Demon’s chief minister, the Heavenly Demons insist on not retreating further, and for the past number of days, Lin Hao has shown no interest in the negotiations.”
The deity’s gaze immediately shifted towards Lin Rui: “What is the reason for this?”
Lin Rui immediately felt as if a mountainous pressure bore down upon him, nearly freezing his blood and internal energies.
He thought this Second Divine Envoy was indeed cunning, presenting him in such a light before the deity.
This was the deputy sovereign of Great Song, was it necessary for him to personally discredit a mere Fourth-rank military officer like him? It was as if he had cast aside all dignity and grace!
Lin Rui quickly realized that in the eyes of this Divine Envoy, he might no longer be a trivial character.
He was the National Guardian Marquis, a Third-rank Capital Chief Priest! His divine office was even higher than that of some aspiring Divine Envoys.
Lin Rui, with a calm and composed expression, stepped forward and bowed: “Your divinity, your servant indeed had one secret meeting with the Heavenly Demon’s chief minister, where I challenged him with my assassination, yet I still could not force him to back down.
He claimed they were willing to annihilate the Longevity Association, punish the Star Sea White Wolf Zang Shaochen severely, and give up all sacrilegious information regarding your divinity to you. Yet the chief minister of the Heavenly Demons is absolutely unwilling to hand them over to Great Song, believing it would taint their national dignity and obliterate their laws, a bottom line for the Heavenly Demons.
However, they are willing to compensate your divinity and our court, offering additional terms. The reason why I no longer paid attention to the negotiations was firstly due to being attacked by Purgatory, which left me with heavy injuries; secondly, I deemed the following negotiations meaningless. If I showed excess concern, it would only embolden the Heavenly Demons. I have also been waiting for your divinity’s awakening to personally hand over the data given by the chief minister of the Heavenly Demons.”
Mid-speech, he took from his sleeve a data stick as thick as a finger and presented it before him.
Lin Rui had originally planned to hand over this item to Luo Wangshu for her to relay, never expecting that the deity would summon him for an audience in the Divine Palace.
“Your divinity, this data stick is encrypted and even your servant cannot access its secrets. However, the chief minister of the Heavenly Demons assured me that the contents will surely satisfy your divinity.”
At this moment, Lin Rui felt the data stick in his hand lift into the air.