Feng Feiyun needed five days to refine all the golden ginseng. He had 20,000 strands of violet energy now, doubling before. His cultivation took a substantial leap as a result.
Feiyun could add two more beast souls to his body right now for a total of 9,932 souls, inching closer to his goal of completion.
When ten days have gone by, the entire royal clan and nobles have gathered outside of the Highest Shrine for the second time. They waited for the next generation of Divine King; the atmosphere was even more anxious than before.
The capital was in a furor in the last ten days. This position could affect the entire dynasty so everyone cared for the result.
In the biggest gambling halls were people betting on the next successor. Feiyun and the seventy-second prince were the biggest candidates.
“The result is today, I’m going to bet ten spirit stones, the wife, and all the kids on Feiyun.” An old gambling addict at first-level Heaven’s Mandate had been waiting at one of the halls for ten days to place a bet.
“How do you know Feiyun is going to be the new successor?” A different gambler sneered while betting on the seventy-second prince.
“Please, Feiyun is the third-ranker on the lower list, the other three princes might be young kings but there is still a small gap between them and him.” The old gambler explained.
“But I heard the Grand Chancellor is behind the seventy-second prince, this guy will surely bring some amazing items into the sacred ground so his chance of winning is much higher.”
“Bullshit, Feiyun will win.”
“The seventy-second prince will.”
“Feiyun got this for sure!”
The two sides were turning red from arguing in front of a big crowd, on the verge of fighting each other.
***
Back in the imperial city in front of the Grand Shrine.
It was the same scene as before but even grander. The three Directors, nine ministers, and eighteen marquises were present. Meanwhile, the Jin Emperor and the four Divine Consorts were also present.
Beiming Moshou had a smile full of confidence. He stroked his beard and smiled: “The seventy-second prince prepared well for the examination this time, he’ll certainly win. Oh right, Divine King, you have done the examination before, do you think Feiyun will be in first place?”
The Divine King was next to him and smiled back: “The best aspect about the child is his ability to overcome obstacles so I don’t need to worry. On the other hand, I heard you spent a lot of effort to train the prince, you surely gave him a lot of homework, right?”
“We gotta help the kids, right? I have already prepared a feast back at my mansion to celebrate the prince’s success. You will certainly come there too, right?” Moshou said with a smile.
“You are that confident about his victory?” The king asked.
“Feiyun is indeed a dragon among men, but he’s a little inferior compared to the seventy-second prince.” Moshou still had the same assured smile.
“Boom!” A tiny fluctuation came from the sky. Next, a monstrous and powerful force gathered. The clouds above came together to form a large mirror.
The royal sacred ground was opening for the second time.
Everyone held their breath with their eyes glued to the sky. Even their heartbeat was pausing.
Even characters of Beiming Moshou and the Divine King’s level were palpitating while staring at the large mirror.
The consorts and princesses became nervous as well. After all, if Feng Feiyun were to win, then a great competition would start for them too.
“Buzz.” A figure flew out of the mirror. He wore a dazzling golden robe with his hair tidily made. He looked extraordinarily dashing while heroic. There was a nonchalant temperament to him even after coming back from the royal sacred ground. There was a newfound sharpness in his aura.
Feiyun wore a bright smile and landed from the sky with great confidence.
The princesses and noble daughters lost their mind instantly after seeing his appearance. Their eyes moistened while thinking - the demon’s son is this attractive? Their heart started beating wildly.
‘Idiot.’ Dongfang Jingyue glanced at him and thought.
Beiming Moshou’s expression turned dark after seeing Feiyun.
The Divine King, on the other hand, laughed loudly: “Director Beiming, when will your feast start tonight? My disciple and I will definitely come on time, sorry for making you spend so much money on us, haha.”
Mushou forced a smile: “The successor spot is certainly a big deal in our dynasty, so my mansion naturally gotta celebrate. The dynasty is very lucky, very lucky to have someone like Feiyun.”
Feiyun lit and placed an incense in front of the large cauldron on the Highest Shrine. He then kneeled to each of the golden avatars from the previous Divine Kings before starting the coronation ceremony.
It was a complicated process; from start to finish with blaring drums and horns. The entire imperial city became quite rowdy.
After the first ceremony, he finally left the shrine and kneeled towards the current Divine King.
The king once saved his life. He also protected him during the Earth Tribulation and killed several Giants. Even when he was poisoned with Yama’s blood, the king was still willing to waste a favor in order to give him two more years to live.
Feiyun had no regrets kneeling at all. His prestigious position in the last life didn’t matter at all. He wanted to show proper respect to the ones in his current.
“Rise, the best decision in my life is taking you in as my disciple.” The king personally helped him up. His old eyes inadvertently became a bit wet.
The two of them came up to the Highest Shrine again. The king will personally handle the coronation itself. He stood proudly on top of a jade platform made of white jade several hundred meters in the air and thunderously declared: “Today, I have an important announcement to make.
The entire crowd became silent with all eyes on him.
He continued: “I officially abdicate my position as the Divine King and pass the title onto my disciple, Feng Feiyun. Henceforth, he shall be the new Divine King of the Jin Dynasty, the lord of the Divine King Faction and mansion.”
“Boom!” The entire imperial city nearly exploded from this news.
Even Feiyun was stunned. He had never thought about becoming the Divine King and didn’t expect the current one to abdicate so quickly. This caught him by complete surprise.
Needless to say about the others, they were even more thunderstruck.
The Divine King had three marquises below him with several hundred millions of troops. Not only did he have his own land, but he could also mobilize a portion of the royal clan’s power in the sacred ground. He had the power to watch over the Jin Emperor and had the rights to slay him if he turned out to be an incapable tyrant. He also had the rights to kill corrupted officials.
Among them, the most important authority was mobilizing the force of the sacred ground. Even the Jin Emperor didn’t have this power.
This was the reason why the successor of this role needed to pass the examination in the sacred ground while the crown prince only needed the consent from the emperor and government officials.
The king truly had a great authority that affects many others. The one in the most difficult spot right now was Beiming Moshou.
He led the way and began to oppose: “It is a tradition that any Divine King with a different last name must marry a princess first. Feiyun has passed the sacred examination but he has yet to wed a princess. He could only be the successor right now.”
Three ministers also followed suit: “His Excellency, the Grand Chancellor, is right. One can’t be considered part of the royal clan before marrying a princess and isn’t qualified to become a Divine King.”
“Feng Feiyun is really too young right now. He can’t suppress the people in the world with the Divine King’s position right now, please rescind your order, Divine King.”
The king stood on top of the shrine and glanced at these people: “Just marry a princess right? Fine, we’ll have one today so that he can become the Divine King.”
“Master…” Feiyun said.
The king waved his sleeve dismissively and said: “The matters have been decided today, don’t even think about stopping me. I have already summoned the three marquises. They will reside in the Divine King mansion to support him. Death to those who disobey.”
“What?! The three marquises have returned? Even Heavenbattler?” Someone cried out.
Six of the marquises were normally guarding the borders. The three marquises of the Divine King usually guarded his own territory and only listened to this order. The truth was that not many marquises were actually staying at the capital. They were usually in their own military camp outside.
Of course, there was a disparity in power level among them. The strongest had three to four hundred million troops. The weaker ones only had a few millions - quite a sizable gap.
The strongest among them was Heavenbattler Marquis. He was the reason why the Divine King could stay at the Wanxiang Pagoda for two hundred years without worries. Heavenbattler alone was enough to support the entire faction.
The king was very satisfied with the expression from the dissenters. Even Beiming Moshou batted his eyes after hearing the title, Heavenbattler.
The Jin Emperor didn’t say anything from start to finish. He was shrouded by a golden curtain so he looked quite mysterious. No one could see the appearance of the number one man in the dynasty at all.
“I have something to say, if I may.” One of the four Divine Consorts came out. She wore a blue palace dress, looking like a sixteen-year-old lady. Her jade skin was as white as snow with a faint glow.
This was Ji Lingxuan. She slightly bowed with a willowy waist, giving off a holy feeling.
“You may.” The Jin Emperor solemnly declared.
“Princess Yue is twenty of age, talented and prettier than the flowers. If she could become husband and wife with the young Divine King, it will be a legendary tale. If I may boldly suggest, I wish for Yue’er to have this fateful romance.” She wiped her tears with her sleeve and continued: “Yue’er had a tough life with a feeble constitution, all alone cultivating at the Ji Clan, and missed our affection, unlike the other princesses who are used to brocade garments and luxurious meals on top of familial love. If she could join the Divine King faction, it will be a type of reparation for her.”