Chapter 1279: Painted Four Times
There were a few more oil paintings. One was atop Mt. Tian, when Li Zongming founded the Zongming kingdom. Zhang Lie and Li Qianlin were in the background.
In the Lie kingdom's palace, the Lie king sat high and mighty on his throne as his court bowed down to him—the founding ceremony of the Lie kingdom. Zhang Lie and Li Qianlin sat on either side of the Lie king, smiling benevolently.
In the draconian kingdom, the draconian sage pronounced the founding of the draconian kingdom as the citizens beneath the stage cheered in jubilation. Colored dragons flew through the air. Zhang Lie was hidden inconspicuously in the background.
Yun Bing spoke for the Zenith Alliance, announcing that it was officially being founded as a kingdom. The strongest representatives of the races of the Milky Way sat behind her; Zhang Lie and the members of Team Zenith were present as well.
These oil paintings clearly depicted the scene of each kingdom's founding.
Chu Feng explained, "These are paintings of the founders of the high council, as well as the forces they represent."
Zhang Lie's lips twitched. Zhu sniggered behind him. "It looks like you've been represented four more times in these four paintings, Zhang Lie!"
Chu Feng continued, "Each painting records a major event that happened in the third realm, and we intend on carrying this tradition into the future, so as to let our descendants understand the price we had to pay for their freedom."
Zhang Lie grumbled, "So what's the point of having a sculpture of me outside the headquarters? These paintings alone will make me unforgettable!"
He was the only person to ever appear in all of the paintings in the headquarters at once; none could hope to match his deed.
Zhang Lie continued, "Only you would have come up with the idea of decorating the high council's headquarters as though it were an art gallery."
Chu Feng smiled in embarrassment. "This is a mark of culture," he protested.
Zhu beamed. "I like this corridor very much, especially the fact that I can see Zhang Lie everywhere."
Chu Feng puffed out his chest. "Right? This is my favorite part, too. It bears deep symbolic meaning, allowing visitors to appreciate the art as they learn more about the history of the high council. This is a clear reminder not to forget about what previous generations have done, as well as what newer generations should strive to achieve.
"Let's continue."
Chu Feng led them into the meeting chamber.
The gigantic meeting chamber was arranged with semi-circular tables in a pyramidal structure. The topmost layer had two chairs arranged like thrones. The second layer had four long tables and four rows of chairs, while the third layer had row after row of tables and chairs. Each table was engraved with the world and kingdom it corresponded to.
Zhang Lie looked at the four long tables on the second row, which were occupied with familiar faces.
By the first table sat Yun Bing and representatives of the races of the Milky Way. The second table contained the draconian sage and his representatives; the third table, Li Zongming and Dong Mingxing, as well as representatives from the Zongming kingdom; the fourth table, the Lie king, his eldest brother, and representatives from the Lie kingdom.
When those gathered saw Chu Feng lead Zhang Lie and Zhu within, everyone turned to the two of them. Yun Bing, the draconian sage, Li Zongming, and the Lie king all seemed overjoyed, while the other representatives whispered to each other.
"This looks like the man in the paintings!"
"It's the savior of the realm, Zhang Lie!"
"To think he would show up himself..."
Yun Bing, the draconian sage, Li Zongming, and the Lie king all stepped forward to welcome Zhang Lie. Yun Bing called out, "Zhang Lie, you've made it!"
The draconian sage urged, "Come, Savior, come, ruler of the realm, please take your seats!"
Zhang Lie waved a hand. "Don't call me Savior—it's too embarrassing."
Zhu cocked her head curiously at everyone. "Why are you all gathered here? Don't you need to manage your own kingdoms?"
The draconian sage replied, "All of us naturally have to be here to witness such a historic moment as the founding of the high council."
Yun Bing added, "Getting everyone on board took us significant time and effort."
Yun Bing, the draconian sage, Li Zongming, and the Lie king led Zhang Lie all the way to the top of the pyramidal semi-circular structure. Zhang Lie frowned. "Isn't there something wrong with this arrangement?"
"Of course not."
Zhang Lie clutched his face. "It's reasonable for Zhu to be on this level as the ruler of the realm, but what am I doing here?"
Li Zongming replied, "We specifically arranged this for you."
Yun Bing emphasized, "Zhang Lie, you saved the whole of the third realm, and all four kingdoms that lead the high council have a deep relationship with you. It wouldn't be wrong to claim that all four kingdoms have only developed to this extent because of you, and the high council is based on the structure you came up with."
The draconian sage emphasized, "Without you, Zhang Lie, there wouldn't be our four kingdoms. Without you, there wouldn't be this high council. You must take this seat."
Zhang Lie shook his head. "It's too lofty for the likes of me. I'd rather sit with the Zenith Alliance."
Zhu replied, "If you don't come up here, Zhang Lie, I won't sit here either. I insist on being by your side!"
Yun Bing chuckled wryly. "Zhang Lie, you're making things very difficult for me..."
The draconian sage asked, "What do you think others would say if they saw you, the savior of the realm, seated with the members of the Zenith Alliance?"
Li Zongming nodded. "We might know why you're doing this, but what about everyone else?"
Zhang Lie would basically be announcing his allegiance with the Zenith Alliance;
it would seem as though they had suddenly gained a weapon of mass destruction.
The Lie king said what they were all thinking. "The Zenith Alliance would instantly dominate over our other three factions."
The draconian sage urged, "Zhang Lie, be more mindful of your actions here. Your status is beyond ours; you cannot sit with us, and we cannot sit with you. Wherever you sit, your actions will affect the balance of the entire council."
Zhang Lie sighed and trudged forward toward one of the two seats at the top of the pyramidal structure. Zhu followed him up and sat by his side, smiling at him as she did so.
Zhang Lie's gaze swept over the gathered representatives, who looked at him with awe.
He had reached heights that no one else could emulate, and his every action would affect the third realm. It was difficult for the third realm to contain him, both physically and metaphorically.
He could only hope that the research on Potion #5 would progress quickly. Once he obtained sufficient disaster limit fragments, he would ascend to the fourth realm.
If he forcibly remained in the third realm, he would only affect its future development.
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