Chapter 351: then translation of chapter title

Mu Yi was quite surprised.

After all, with so many big shots standing here now, he turned out to be a double‑honored meritorious official, and in the deification portion he was the first.

The emperor praised Mu Yi's achievements with a long, convoluted and hard‑to‑understand classical text, first commending him for discovering this world and carrying out the pioneering mission, second lauding him for maintaining the cycle of reincarnation so that all beings could be reborn smoothly.

For his great labor and merit, he was specially conferred by imperial decree—Heavenly Lord of Benevolence, Integrity and Faith.

"By imperial decree, confer the title Heavenly Lord of Benevolence, Integrity and Faith, titled the Black Robe of Underworld Cycle, wearing the Crown of Benevolence, Integrity and Faith, bearing the Seal of Heaven‑Earth Connection, riding the Divine Dragon Chariot, and commanding four thousand one hundred celestial officials and princesses."

He is the deity who oversees the Underworld cycle, allowing Mu Yi to autonomously confer subordinate deities within the Underworld and to organize his own Heroic Spirit troops…

After a long list of conferments, the so‑called Heavenly Lord of Benevolence, Integrity and Faith is actually still a fifth‑rank deity; although the title is inflated, and the achievements of Buddhist Sect disciples and the white‑tortoise were also all piled onto Mu Yi's head.

Mu Yi knew that Wei Qing and his followers were establishing a nation, and that he would certainly receive rewards, but he did not expect to pick up such a huge benefit.

Moreover, Mu Yi was no longer the novice he once was; the rights to autonomously confer subordinate deities and to organize his own Heroic Spirit troops attracted his attention.

He understood Wei Qing's intention: it was essentially to use his status to confer future Underworld deities into the Underworld system, thereby satisfying the Military Strategist and also pleasing the Underworld.

At least within this world, Mu Yi can freely confer subordinate deities below the fifth rank without needing approval from the Heavenly Court or the Underworld.

However, these conferred subordinate deities, without certification from the Heavenly Court and the Underworld, have divine positions that can only be used in this world and cannot take effect on Jiuzhou proper.

Yet the Earth Emperor is still an emperor; at least within this world, his authority has been elevated to a fairly reliable status.

The remainder is to permit Mu Yi to enjoy local peoples' worship and to allow the construction of temples everywhere…

"Allow!"

"Approve!"

Two authoritative voices rang out in the darkness, and instantly a divine seal turned into a stream of light and flew toward Mu Yi.

When the divine seal merged with Mu Yi's body, another fifth‑rank divine position appeared inside him.

Unlike the previous Demon‑Pursuing Purifying Tianjun's position, which was a Yin deity rank, this time the Heavenly Lord of Benevolence, Integrity and Faith's position is a Heavenly Court deity rank.

In other words, Mu Yi now holds posts simultaneously in the Heavenly Court and the Underworld.

Everything mentioned earlier was originally a privilege within this world, and now it has become a privilege applicable throughout Jiuzhou proper.

Because the promise was spoken by the two, Heaven and Earth.

From this moment, Mu Yi can directly confer ordinary fifth‑rank deities without reporting, and receive twice the manpower of subordinate auxiliary deities.

As before, Mu Yi can fully use these subordinate deities' divine positions to exchange for whatever resources he desires.

The gods present could not help but stir for a moment; this was a rather rare occurrence.

One voice speaking is one thing, but two voices speaking together carries a completely different significance.

When all the rites were completed, a divine dragon was born from a pillar of light that pierced heaven and earth, representing the new empire's destiny, symbolizing that the new empire is the legitimate order recognized by heaven and earth, and also embodying the people's hearts of this empire.

The multicolored divine dragon, formed from the empire's destiny, let out a soaring dragon‑roar; from its massive body drifted countless wisps of aura that converged above the altar, turning into a beam of light invisible to ordinary eyes, which poured directly into Mu Yi's body.

【Comprehensive Net Important Notice: Receiving the Plane‑consciousness gift raises maximum life, raises maximum Inner Qi, increases bloodline density, and enhances all attributes…】

The light pillar surged into Mu Yi's body, overhauling him from head to toe, unleashing magnificent power and propelling him a further hundred feet upward.

When the light pillar faded, a black robe enveloped him; on its surface giant four‑clawed serpents slithered, and a jade tablet appeared in both of his hands.

Numerous deities watched Mu Yi with curiosity, and Lord of Mount Tai, who had once met Mu Yi, gently stroked his long beard, his eyes flickering with uncertain light.

Although he had stepped down from the Underworld's control position, seeing such an outstanding junior made his hunting heart rejoice.

Especially since he had met Mu Yi before, establishing a foundation, and moreover there was the relationship of Shen Tu and Yu Lei.

"Regrettably, still too weak; if he could reach the third rank, I might as well assign him a few tasks!" Lord of Mount Tai thought with some regret.

And figures like Guan Sheng Dijun could not help but feel his heart surge; Mu Yi, when at his weakest, already had a karmic link with him, and now that Mu Yi is more outstanding, he becomes even more significant to Guan Sheng Dijun.

"It seems the great prophecy truly comes true; my destined law ultimately falls upon another—Mu Yi—hope you can truly lend me a hand…"

When Mu Yi recovered his senses from the empowerment, before he could fully feel the changes on his body, he noticed several gazes fixed upon him.

Most deities were curious about him.

In response to these gods' stares, Mu Yi clasped his hands and bowed, for even the lowest among them were fifth‑rank deities; as a fifth‑rank newcomer, a bit of courtesy was appropriate.

Seeing Mu Yi's reverence, most celestial deities gave him a gentle nod and returned a smile.

Yet only two gazes remained locked on Mu Yi, lingering unwillingly to leave.

One was naturally Guan Sheng Dijun; the other, Mu Yi did not recognize at all, unsure of its meaning.

Mu Yi stared at the almost majestic figure, not knowing its intent; the complex expression in its eyes gave Mu Yi a tingling scalp sensation.

Most crucially, the other stood among the emperors, looking like a true heavyweight.

Being stared at by a heavyweight for no reason truly made one feel an abnormally massive pressure.

When everything settled, the heavenly sacrifice ceremony also entered its final chapter.

The first to act were the two—Heaven and Earth.

One transformed into pure qi floating in the firmament, constructing nine layers of heaven and perched within to overlook the world; the other became turbid qi merging into the earth, reaching the deep Underworld cycle and beginning to command the cycle.

Afterwards, the present emperors each transformed into rainbow light, either disappearing at the four poles of heaven and earth, or soaring into the firmament to become stars, some merging into mountains and rivers.

This is also the first step of Heavenly Court's settlement, namely mastering the changes of heaven and earth so they can be artificially controlled; provided no accidents occur, this realm will enjoy favorable weather and thriving life.

Moreover, it spontaneously absorbs celestial and terrestrial spirit energy, continuously nurturing this world.

Outside the empire's borders, the area will become a buffer zone where this world meets other worlds,

fortified by many emperors' empowered world barriers; demons, foreign gods find it hard to invade this world, and even if they do, they fall outside the empire, granting the empire sufficient reaction time.

The later‑positioned deities dispersed and returned along their paths; the authority they wield is essentially unrelated to heaven and earth, mostly cultural in nature.

Deities such as the Old Man Under the Moon, the God of Wealth… etc., can only begin performing their duties via incense offerings after temples are erected.

Mu Yi returned to the Underworld and began studying his new authority.

As a celestial deity rank, what this position represents is entirely different from a Yin deity rank.

Mu Yi can feel that this divine authority leans more toward belief and will, its effect akin to the Xiezhi that symbolizes law in Legalist thought; hence Mu Yi will become the representative of Benevolence, Integrity and Faith in this world.

The two divine positions stacked together give a sense of, "if I'm to cut you down, I must definitely cut you down."

Just as Mu Yi was about to, as always, guide the departed souls into reincarnation, a voice of compassion and authority sounded at his ear.

"Go. This world's affairs are finished; the remaining will be handled by a deity of the Underworld!"

"Praise the heavens, emulate the Hou Tu Imperial Earth Deity!"

Mu Yi respectfully clasped his hands in worship; this person was his greatest angel investor, so utmost respect was warranted.

"The path of reincarnation is longer than you think; travel to other nether realms, they will be beneficial to you!"

As Mu Yi was about to depart, Hou Tu Niangniang's words echoed in his mind.

"Thank you, Hou Tu Niangniang, for the guidance!"

After leaving the nether realm, Mu Yi found Wei Qing and Huo Qubing and bid them farewell.

"Since that's what they mean, you may depart; when you have time, go to the Military Strategist Hall, obtain your script materials, and then consult other war deities for a bit!"

Wei Qing, upon learning Mu Yi's purpose, naturally had no intention to block him and casually gave two reminders.

"Agreed!" Mu Yi nodded.

From Wei Qing and Huo Qubing he learned much, hoping to gain further insights from other war deities.

"Keep this; when needed, my avatar can lend you a hand!" Wei Qing handed Mu Yi a tiger talisman.

"This..."

"Hold onto it; this is a deal. I need two-thirds of your deity slots as payment. In exchange, I can help you once, and I will have people promote your temple incense among the mortal world, guaranteeing that within the Empire you will occupy at least one percent of the temples!"

Mu Yi agreed with little hesitation; incense is already hard currency for him, not to mention gaining a chance for Wei Qing to act. Used well, it is almost equivalent to a deity's full power.

These deity slots in his possession could never be swapped for the trump card of a war deity's intervention; it would be better to simply sell Wei Qing a favor.

After saying goodbye to Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, Mu Yi used the Comprehensive Net to return to his old hideout.

He happened upon Lily and Aili drinking tea inside the mansion.

"You seem... different now?"

Lily tilted her head at Mu Yi; the moment they first met, she even felt as if she were in the Silver Moon Goddess Temple, seeing the statue of the Silver Moon Goddess.

It seemed that before her stood not a human, but a deity.

"I gained a bit of destiny!" Mu Yi lifted Aili's spilled red tea, summarizing his rich experience in one sentence.

Lily nodded and did not press for details.

"Your timing is perfect; I have a Legend squad quest with generous rewards. Want to take a look?" Lily shared a Legend quest with Mu Yi.

"The Battle God's Starry Arena?" Mu Yi examined the Legend squad quest.

【Battle God's Starry Arena】

Mission Type: Squad Commission

Mission Requirement: At least two Legend squads

Mission Objective: Assist the client in defeating opposing Legend squads.

Recommended Challenge Level: 25+

Mission Client: Dragon Slayer Warrior Zha Gen Di Si

Mission Reward: One adult Five-Colored Dragon corpse each, plus arena victory rewards.

Mu Yi pondered briefly, recalling that the Battle God's Starry Arena is a long‑term event on the Comprehensive Net.

This arena is a long‑term event hosted by a deity of combat, offering very generous rewards.

He had participated before, but later became engrossed in various Dungeons and campaigns, and hardly took part in this event thereafter.

"I recall this squad duel needs five people per side; should we find another?"

"How about La Ge Na? He and this Dragon Slayer Warrior should have a lot in common!"

"La Ge Na..."

Mu Yi frowned; honestly, La Ge Na is no pushover—against draconic beasts, he is almost a Transcendent pinnacle.

But in the realm of Legends, La Ge Na is not that strong; handling Legends may be beyond his capacity.

Yet in an instant, Mu Yi nodded; La Ge Na is an old friend, and bringing him along to make some money is fine.

He can also test his new ability.

One versus three is no longer a challenge for him.

"Let's go and meet our client!"

Mu Yi spoke, initiating communication with the mission client and inviting La Ge Na along.

"Meeting location?" Dragon Slayer Warrior Zha Gen Di Si replied succinctly.

Hmm, Mu Yi could imagine; after all, a guy who posts quests to gather teammates can't be expected to have high emotional intelligence.

"In one hour, Trade Channel 114115, Red Earth Tavern!" Mu Yi replied briefly.

Then the trio of Mu Yi arrived at the Red Earth Tavern.

"Huo, kid Mu Yi, your progress is startling!" the Nine-tailed Fox Owner at the tavern sized up Mu Yi, surprised.

Although the trade channel forbids viewing information, many things can be discerned just from aura.

"I still must thank the Owner for the support!"

Mu Yi thanked sincerely; had the Nine-tailed Fox Owner not given him the Hundred Families Conference invitation, he might not have progressed so quickly.

"No need to thank me; when you have time, help my little La Ge Na more!" the Nine-tailed Fox Owner said rather solemnly.

"This time we are here to invite La Ge Na to join us in undertaking the Legend quest!" Mu Yi said respectfully.

"I must say, you're not mistaken about the person!"

The Nine-tailed Fox Owner glanced at Mu Yi, pulled an object from the void and tossed it to him.

"I snatched this years ago from those guardian priests; it's of no use to me now, so I give it to you!"

(End of Chapter)