Chapter 911

A grand court assembly is also a grand stage, where all the varied states of human life are on display. As the Fifth Prince, the Prince of Hejian, Bai Lang, who has absolutely no stake in this occasion, naturally became a rare "fun-seeker" in the crowd. He posed no threat, and no one could tell that this pale, thin-framed prince was already a Grandmaster of the Martial Dao...

"Speaking of the Three-Origin Return, if I were to actually use it now, wouldn't it be Fire Cloud Palm, Molten Fist, Fire Tornado Leg... Forget it, I'd rather go eat ham." Bai Lang's thoughts drifted away, wandering to the ends of the earth. He went straight from fire to ham—the deliciousness of those three-year-aged, ready-to-eat hams...

This, of course, was just a side dish. The main course remained the expressions of his brothers and the ministers in the hall, and whether they would be snide today. "They shouldn't be that stupid. If they jump out, they should speak directly, establishing a persona of 'loyal remonstrance' to show they are doing it for public duty." Yet, Bai Lang couldn't figure out how they would jump out.

Oppose the Third Prince's promotion? Military merit is the most important thing in the Great Wu. The Third Prince had achieved meritorious service at the border, beheading three thousand enemies. Moreover, the Ministry of War verified that they were all barbarian heads, not innocent people killed for credit. Such a feat would allow an ordinary general to earn a floating title—a countship of some sort was inevitable, even if only for one generation. So, there wouldn't be any such fools.

Let the Crown Prince share in the credit? It would be good enough if the Crown Prince didn't hold everyone back. The Crown Prince's power base was in the Ministry of Personnel, and he had a few followers in the Ministry of Revenue, but the Ministry of Revenue was truly dominated by the Second Prince. The Second Prince also had influence in the Censorate. The Third Prince was simple; he was in the Ministry of War, and the Five Armies Governor's Office was the territory of the nobility, while the Third Prince's wife was the legitimate daughter of a certain Marquis.

Sure enough, amidst the singing of praises, the Third Prince's title was elevated from Prince of the Second Rank to Prince of the First Rank. Now he was the Prince of Langya. This put him on par with the Crown Prince, the Prince of Shangdang. It was just a matter of who would be enfeoffed with a single-character title first. The Crown Prince's expression was already struggling to maintain a smile; his face looked stiff and even turned a bit green... Bai Lang glanced out of the corner of his eye and felt the Crown Prince's blood pressure must be quite high right now.

The civil and military officials and the various nobles all had different expressions; some were happy, some were sullen, but all were trying hard to put on a happy face for the congratulatory memorial. "I never thought that after achieving Grandmaster, I would actually be an expert among the imperial clan. The Third Prince is obsessed with martial arts, and he is only a Grandmaster himself. The eldest is even just a martial artist, not even a Grandmaster."

The Crown Prince must be practicing the Martial Dao, because there was no word of him having any insights into Confucianism, Taoism, or Buddhism.

Bai Lang completed the grand court assembly as scheduled, finding the show quite entertaining. "If I were to use a 'Burning Cloud Descent'... how many people would die here?" Bai Lang asked and answered himself, "Probably not a single one. Not to mention how many of the civil and military officials and imperial relatives present have martial arts or Confucian cultivation that isn't low, just this Dragon Qi protection alone is something my Grandmaster-level spreading palm force couldn't break."

To easily break the Dragon Qi, one would have to be above the Heavenly Human realm, and there would be a one-hundred-percent chance of backlash—the Heavenly Dao of this realm has consciousness. The Heavenly Dao is ruthless but intentional...

"A gentleman hides his weapon in his body, waiting for the right time to move," Bai Lang said. He returned to his own prince's mansion—the Zhengton Emperor was actually decent; the mansion assigned to him was equipped according to the standard of a Prince of the Second Rank. The treatment was also normal for a prince, with carriages for coming and going. Originally, he should have been riding a horse, but the Emperor specifically issued an edict saying the Fifth Prince, the Prince of Hejian, was weak, allowing him to use a carriage.

Speaking to his two wives about today's court assembly, Bai Lang laughed, "From now on, the court will be full of trouble. I don't know how many heads will fall. Seriously, it's only been a few years; have they forgotten the last time the princes fought for the throne, resulting in mass executions and a purge of the court?" Actually, quite a few people were intentionally forgetting.

As the saying goes, "a wife three years older is like holding gold bricks." Bai Lang felt that these two wives, who were a few years older than him, were much stronger than him in terms of desire. They wanted it every day, so their Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden Skill was being practiced quite well, with significant progress. Their ability to "absorb essence and erode bones" was growing greater and greater.

Undercurrents were surging in the court. Bai Lang admitted that with his intelligence, he couldn't see through who belonged to whom—his intelligence was martial and combat-oriented; his political and palace-intrigue intelligence was insufficient. "Quack! I have world-shaking wisdom!" Bai Lang burst into laughter. The Prince of Hejian still hung around the Ministry of Rites, but since he was on long-term sick leave and didn't go to work, the bureaucrats of the Ministry of Rites were happy to have it easy.

The Ministry of Rites was now the territory of the Fourth Prince. At the same time, the Fourth Prince also had some connections in the Ministry of Revenue. The princes further down would have to find their own power bases, but their maternal relatives would definitely be the first batch.

The Sun True Fire, the Earthly Fiend Yin Fire, and the Human Fire gradually began to fuse during the process of opening the extraordinary meridians. Only after the three fires returned to the origin could they form a raging flame that Bai Lang could control as he pleased—the concept was high, but back then, Qianshan Zhenren Zhou Xianda took one look and said, "Isn't this just the Samadhi True Fire?"

The Samadhi True Fire practiced by martial artists is also a magical skill with a very high ceiling and floor. When practiced to a deep level, martial artists, Taoists, and monks can be said to reach the same destination by different routes, returning to the Great Dao. "Think carefully about the Battle of the Gods between Shang and Zhou; which were Taoist arts and which were martial arts? They were all one and the same."

The Thirteen Tai Bao Golden Bell Shield combined with the Southern Dipper White Tiger Fist that Bai Lang practiced had long since entered this state of being one and the same. The Three Fires Returning to Origin Skill he picked up in this world was just stepping onto a slightly different path—still domineering and arrogant, just like when he used the Golden Bell Shield and White Tiger Fist.

These martial arts were actually quite suited to his temperament; making him practice something like Tai Chi would be twice the effort for half the result. Natural disasters are always easily mixed with man-made ones. The Changhe River flooded, and then an earthquake hit, plunging the entire province of Hexi into deep water and scorching heat, with over a million people affected. The Second Prince requested to go and provide disaster relief, taking the Ministry of Revenue and his own guests with him.

Since the court was providing relief, the Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian sects naturally had people stepping in. Grandmaster-level martial artists took action, splitting rivers and breaking mountains to drain the accumulated water. The high-level figures of the Taoist and Buddhist sects used magical powers to drive away the demon of plague, while the Confucian disciples began distributing porridge and grain with the court officials, organizing the clearing of ruins and the reclamation of land, quickly replanting crops.

Added to this was the handling of the chaos caused by evil cults, demons, and monsters that arose during the disaster. The Second Prince handled everything in an orderly manner, resolving the disaster that affected millions of people within half a year, and incidentally handled quite a bit of the local backlog of government affairs, punishing a significant number of corrupt officials who had their hands in the till.

"This kid is really not simple. With this ability to handle government affairs, he would probably be more than capable of being an emperor," Bai Lang muttered. This guy would likely be promoted after returning to the court, and the court would become truly, truly lively. ===== CHAPTER 912 =====