Chapter 1259: Strolling and Stopping
Zhang Lie smiled. "You're at least half a disciple to me. Although I didn't teach you very much, how could I not attend your founding ceremony?"
The Lie king replied, "Hardly, Master! Without you, I wouldn't ever have become a king of the realm. Beasts would have eaten me alive, and I would never have survived to witness the glorious history of the third realm. You are the one who made me who I am today, Master, and you've always been the person whom I respect most."
Zhang Lie smiled and dipped his head in satisfaction.
The Lie king continued, "I still have much to do in terms of preparation, Master, so I can't stick around for long. I'll have my brother prepare a reception for you."
"No, no, don't worry about it. I can walk around on my own."
The Lie king fretted. "But it's rare for you to make an appearance, Master! I would be ashamed not to treat you well while you're here. I just mentioned that you were the reason I could be who I am today—and yet I can't even do this paltry thing right..."
Zhang Lie waved a hand. "No, there's no need to worry. Focus on your founding ceremony—you'd lose me face if it went badly."
The Lie king nodded in shame. "I apologize, Master."
Li Qianlin asked curiously, "Why call this world the Lie kingdom?"
The Lie king smiled. "It's a name that's particularly meaningful to me, ma'am."
"Really? Why?" Li Qianlin asked curiously.
The Lie king smiled again. "Lie is from my master's name."
Li Qianlin turned to Zhang Lie in surprise. "It looks like your disciple really does respect you..."
Zhang Lie shrugged, indicating that he was used to it.
They stepped into the palace and witnessed the aliens working hard. Many of the servants and palace maids who saw Zhang Lie and the Lie king kowtowed.
"We greet His Majesty, we greet the grandmaster!"
The Lie king waved a hand at them, motioning for them to continue with their tasks.
Zhang Lie asked, "Do you still not like being king?"
The Lie king sighed. "I've grown used to it by now, but kingship is like a responsibility that weighs me down."
In the end, the Lie king did find a rather high-ranking servant, whom he tasked with the responsibility of showing Zhang Lie and Li Qianlin around.
The next day, the founding ceremony of the Lie kingdom was hosted. Unlike that for the Zenith Alliance, the founding ceremony wasn't completely open to the public. The Lie king sat in an open-top carriage in a procession all the way from outside the capital into the palace, waving to the citizens who had gathered on either side of the route along the way.
The Lie king had also invited Zhang Lie and Li Qianlin to ride in the carriage with him and into the palace, but Zhang Lie had refused.
This was the Lie king's kingdom, and Zhang Lie didn't intend to play any further part in it. He was about to leave for the fourth realm, and it made sense for him to deal with whatever obligations he could now.
He no longer intended to participate in any grand event in the third realm; he would be a spectator, spending the rest of his time here together with Li Qianlin.
The Lie king rode in an ornate carriage wearing majestic armor. As Zhang Lie watched him wave and wave again to his citizens, he felt immense gratification well up inside him.
The carriage arrived at the palace, and the Lie king walked up to the podium.
He lifted up a bejeweled sword and raised its tip to the sky. "Today, the Lie kingdom has been founded!"
A pillar of light shot into the air, and multicolored, rosy hues filled the sky.
This wasn't anything that the will of the third realm had done; the Lie king had conjured such a phenomenon himself.
The Lie king was now an existence beyond the level of a superior king, and he had more than enough strength to accomplish such a feat.
Compared to the original succession ceremony for the throne, this one was far less complex. After all, the Lie king's power was evident, and it needed no acknowledgment from the world. His power was now his own, independent of the realm.
The remainder of the ceremony was perfunctory.
The officials of the Lie kingdom knelt. "Long live the Lie king!"
Despite the fact that the ceremony had grown so concise, there were far more citizens present than when the Lie king had taken the throne.
Those below the stage weren't simply the officials of the Lie court, but also the aliens from various worlds that had joined the Lie kingdom. None were ordinary citizens; these were leaders of the respective worlds and their most trusted advisors. Those of lower status weren't even permitted into the palace, and instead had to kneel outside.
As he observed the Lie king ascend to the throne, Zhang Lie yawned. "The funerals were more entertaining to watch..."
Initially, he was gratified to have seen his disciple take on such an important role, but as the ceremony dragged on, he couldn't help but feel bored.
Li Qianlin nudged Zhang Lie with her wrist, then glared at him.
"This is your disciple's founding ceremony! What nonsense are you talking about?"
Zhang Lie whispered back, "You've never seen the burial ceremonies of the scaleman world, have you? Especially when the princes buried their king!
That ceremony was something to behold—I can't help but want to see it again."
Li Qianlin glanced all around her before sighing in relief. "If anyone else had heard you say that—no matter how good your relationship with your disciple, he'd fall out with you for sure. How thoughtless do you have to be to say something like that on such an auspicious occasion?!"
If Li Qianlin had heard Zhang Lie say the same thing about her father, she would have slapped him immediately.
Zhang Lie waved a hand at her. "Don't worry. If my disciple were to hear me, he'd organize a funeral immediately."
Li Qianlin rolled her eyes. "I don't know where you get your confidence from..."
"I'm not an idiot—I wouldn't have said it if anyone else were in earshot."
By then, the Lie king had sat down on his throne, and an old official was carrying out formal rites.
Zhang Lie yawned again. "It's far too boring. Let's go watch a funeral."
Li Qianlin rolled her eyes. "What are you thinking? You're not even going to bid your disciple farewell?"
"If I do that, he'll certainly keep us behind. Better to leave silently—as a king of a newly established kingdom, there's more than enough to fill his plate. We shouldn't bother him any more."
Zhang Lie tugged on Li Qianlin's hand, then left in a burst of shattered space.
However, there were no funerals to be found anywhere in the kingdom. Because of the founding ceremony, all funerals had been prohibited from occurring for three days. Conveniently, Zhang Lie had three free days in his schedule, so he brought them both wandering about the Lie kingdom...
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