Chapter 397: The First Day of Being a Deity, Robbing the Heavenly Court

How long can a person's divinity be maintained?

Clearly, Tang An has already provided the answer.

When she ascended from the Mortal World, her divinity was on full display, but the moment she arrived at the Heavenly Court, she reverted to her original self in a second.

The Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother sat high on their thrones, waiting for Tang An to report for duty.

But could she, Tang An, ever be the type to settle for being a mere employee?

Given her conduct on the Eighty-One Tribulations Road, could she ever be a qualified employee? Besides, she had already made such great sacrifices; did they still expect her to come work for the Heavenly Court?

Are they joking?

Tang An directly took out the Grand Master Chair that had followed her the whole way and sat down below.

Yes, while everyone else was standing there looking bright and alert, she alone took out a chair and just sat there.

"Hmm..." the Jade Emperor said, displeased. "Do you know that from this day forward, you are the Heavenly Court's official..."

"I have balanced the books for the Heavenly Court."

The Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother were startled; was this something that could be said openly on an occasion like today?

"You, my dear official, we..."

"I have performed meritorious service for the Heavenly Court."

The Queen Mother coughed twice; she had long heard of Tang An's deeds, but she hadn't expected her to be someone who acted recklessly regardless of the occasion.

"It is precisely because you have performed meritorious service that you can be conferred as a god. Now that you have a Godhood, you should even more..."

Tang An stood up and dragged her Grand Master Chair away.

"Where are you going?" the Jade Emperor asked, startled as he rose.

Tang An looked back at him with a listless expression. "Your company has too many rules; I plan to jump ship."

"Hey! You!" The Jade Emperor hadn't expected that even after being conferred as a god, Tang An wouldn't give him even a shred of face.

"Where will you jump to? Could Buddhism even tolerate you?"

Tang An was amused when she heard this; they must have thought she had nowhere else to go, which was why they dared to be so self-righteous in setting rules for her.

But Tang An had seen it all, and now, her rules were the only rules.

"I'll go tell Nuwa Niangniang that you, Jade Emperor, won't let me be that Guardian, and are forcing me to stay in the Heavenly Court from nine to five."

Isn't this just moral kidnapping? Since she had been kidnapped like this, she didn't mind kidnapping everyone in the Three Realms as well.

If I can't be happy, then no one else will be happy either.

Once these words were out, let alone the Jade Emperor, even the Queen Mother panicked.

Not let her be the Guardian? Was that something that could be said?

"You, you stop for a moment. Can't we talk this over properly?" The Jade Emperor came down personally, blocked Tang An's path, and coaxed her back with soft words.

After Tang An returned, she sat back down on the Grand Master Chair and stared eye-to-eye with the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother.

The two of them didn't dare say anything more now, fearing that Tang An would immediately use them as an excuse to quit and walk away.

After all, the Guardian's duty to protect the world was of immense importance. Nuwa Niangniang had planned for so long and had also let Tang An suffer so many grievances.

Therefore, for the sake of appeasement and compensation, even if Tang An made some slightly excessive demands now, Nuwa would agree.

"Then... I grant you exemption from attending court?" the Jade Emperor asked cautiously.

"That will do."

"And as for the jurisdiction of your official position..."

"I will manage it, but how I manage it is not for you, Jade Emperor, to worry about."

The Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother exchanged a look, feeling a mix of anger, helplessness, and speechlessness.

"Then do you want the Divine Mansion or not?" the Jade Emperor said, annoyed.

"I do. Who would complain about having too many houses? I want them." Tang An spread her hands. "Give me a few more, even if I don't live in them."

The Queen Mother took a deep breath and waved her hand, granting Tang An two Divine Mansions.

"Not enough. My three disciples, one son, plus me—that makes six people in total. One for each, no arguing."

The Queen Mother slammed the table and stood up. "This is simply unheard of! Do not rely on your status as the Guardian to act as you please."

"Heh." Tang An laughed, her expression darkening. "Try slamming it again?"

Give them a little courtesy, and they really think she's easy to bully?

Seeing this, Sun Wukong, Yang Jian, and Nezha stepped out one after another and stood behind Tang An.

The three of them, arrogant and suppressing their rage, stared at the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother with eyes filled with murderous intent.

Their gazes seemed to say the same thing: "Bully her? Try it."

Tang An lifted her legs, resting her left foot on her right, and propped them up on a cloud.

"It's only been a few days; did you really think the four of us went off to get our bones set?"

Tang An's gaze and aura were truly not a bit weaker than the Jade Emperor's or the Queen Mother's.

And it wasn't just the three of them; even Zhao Gongming, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao, who never attended court, had come.

Why did they come?

It was obvious.

The Queen Mother felt a sense of stifled resentment—having been humiliated, her authority challenged, yet forced to swallow this bitter pill.

"Today, I hope you two understand: you conferring me as a god is not because I, Tang An, need this divine position, but because you need it more than I do."

"To put it nicely, I am a deity of the Heavenly Court. To put it bluntly, you are merely enjoying the benefits that the four of us brought to the Heavenly Court during the Journey to the West Calamity."

"If I am not mistaken, the Merit the Heavenly Court enjoyed from this Journey to the West Calamity must have been quite a considerable harvest, right?"

"You know that I will enjoy Great Merit for guarding the Three Realms in the future, so you want to bind me to the Heavenly Court. That way, you can use this to rake in a large amount of Merit as well."

"Am I right?" Tang An's gaze was sharp, staring until the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother felt guilty and uneasy.

"You want to use my divine position to enjoy Merit, yet you also want me to be respectful and bow down in submission?"

"You want it all, yet you are unwilling to part with even a few Divine Mansions; isn't your greed a bit too unsightly?"

Having their shame exposed in public, the expressions of the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother were extremely ugly.

Taibai Jinxing immediately understood the Jade Emperor's expression and dismissed the gathered immortals.

Otherwise, he feared the majesty of the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother would be completely ruined by Tang An.

"It is only six Divine Mansions; we shall give them to you." The Queen Mother waved her hand and added four more sets for Tang An.

Tang An sneered, "Six sets of Divine Mansions was the price from just a moment ago."

"You!"

"Wait until you hear the quote before getting angry, otherwise I fear you will be full from your own rage." Tang An reached out her hand, "Brother, the abacus."

"Coming right up." Zhao Gongming hurriedly handed Tang An a Golden Abacus.

In truth, Tang An did not know how to calculate at all; she simply could not let her momentum wane, so she was just fiddling with it blindly.

"I also want eight hundred Flat Peach Trees, three hundred Heavenly Treasures, three thousand bottles of Jade Nectar, three thousand units of Weak Water, and also..."

The Jade Emperor stood up in a rush, "You are clearly here to commit robbery!"

"Robbery?" Tang An shrugged, "If that is how you want to think of it, I have no other way."

The Jade Emperor clutched his chest, nearly coughing up a mouthful of old blood from Tang An's provocation.

"My profession is robbery, Tang An's profession; who in the Three Realms doesn't know this?"

"Besides, who said that just because the Heavenly Court has recruited me, I cannot rob the Heavenly Court? I certainly never said that."

"And how much am I even asking for? Am I asking for this for myself?"

"Alright, I am."

"But can you two have a broader perspective? You are investing in a hero right now; do you understand what an investment is?"

The Queen Mother was nearly dizzy from Tang An's circular logic; she even forgot what Tang An had come here for in the first place.

Now, the only thing she could think about was how to minimize the losses of the Heavenly Court.

"Hey, I know you two are anxious, but don't be anxious just yet."

"I haven't finished calculating the account; it won't be too late for you two to be anxious once it's clear."

She was actually comforting them? Huh?