Chapter 80

The Primordial Wilds, the Thirty-Three Heavens.

Inside the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, silence was absolute…

Civil and military officials stood in two silent rows, each straight-backed, daring not to breach decorum.

This was the normal arrangement for court assemblies: the Heavenly Emperor would meet with officials to discuss many state affairs, then make decisions for the officials to carry out.

But… the throne in the hall stood empty.

Heavenly Emperor, he didn't go to work again today…

Such a situation was rare in the more than three hundred cycles since the founding of the Heavenly Court, and had never even occurred, because the Heavenly Emperor was famed as a power-hungry being who never allowed himself to lose even a scrap of authority.

Anyone could see that, after the Six Sages personally endorsed Jin Bing as the "Heir to the Heavenly Emperor," the Heavenly Emperor had in fact already negotiated with the Six Sages that abdication was necessary.

…

Without a batch of quasi-sages, the Heavenly Court's fighting strength would be more than halved; to pacify Mount Shouyang, only Da Luo Golden Immortals could be relied on.

"Star Lord, why not reconsider?"

Thus, whoever wins the people's hearts wins the world.

"Issue the edict to the Wu Clan: say their terms, the Heavenly Court agrees! Let them, as agreed, dispatch all great wu and wu troops to cooperate with the heavenly troops in suppressing Jin Bing!"

But after Jin Bing of Mount Shouyang raised the banner of "Purge the Court," the usually diligent Heavenly Emperor seemed to become a different person—he stopped reading memorials, ignored state affairs, and even ceased attending court…

【The Wu-Demon War, though seemingly vanished, has instead erupted in another form…】

It's not that Kunpeng wanted to be his backer; rather, the Heavenly Emperor became a hands-off manager, running off to play at Yaochi, leaving this demon master to handle the Heavenly Court's operations.

Thus, even if the sages could unleash unmatched power, they dare not defy the will of the masses, openly coercing Di Jun to abdicate.

The Sun Star Lord coughed, feigning composure as he stood on the jade steps, while Kunpeng wore a strained expression beside him, acting as the demon master's stand-in for this guy.

Damn it!

Do you really think I don't know what kind of situation this is?

"If there's business, present it; if not, retire from court."

To date, the Heavenly Emperor has gone nearly ten eras without attending court.

"Star Lord…"

Since the war began, the Wu Clan has indeed supported the Heavenly Court and even sent some great wu to confront Mount Shouyang—for example, Houyi battled Xuandu, shooting him with two arrows that almost killed that human kid on the spot…

To be honest, if it weren't for everyone knowing the Heavenly Emperor couldn't be overthrown in a coup, people might suspect that the Sun Star Lord had seized power from below, placing the Heavenly Emperor under house arrest and stripping him of authority...

This also made him extremely diligent in governance; he would rather spend less time with his wife and children than let go of fully controlling the Heavenly Court's affairs.

【373 yuan, 7 hui, 16 yun, First Yang Mountain's Jin Bing proclaimed himself 'Demon Emperor', leading humans, dragons, phoenixes, qilins, and myriad demons of the Primordial Wasteland, and formally established the 'Equal Heavenly Court'!】

But Kun Peng had already closed his eyes...

This kid is merely a true immortal, yet behind him stand six sages; even the Heavenly Emperor, upon seeing them, couldn't hold his ground, fled overnight to the Jade Pool, just waiting for Jin Bing to attack so he could abdicate.

Not attending court? Impossible!

The officials immediately erupted in an uproar; even Kun Peng, who had been standing aside with eyes closed, cultivating his spirit, couldn't help but open his eyes in surprise.

The Sun Star Lord flew into a rage at once:

The Heavenly Court here was also hesitant, because the Wu Clan's demands were too extreme, and would fundamentally shake the principles upon which the Heavenly Court was founded...

Only in this way would the Six Saints refrain from intervening and unleashing their full power, allowing the Heavenly Emperor to temporarily retain his throne.

Thus, after secretly cursing the Heavenly Emperor, Kun Peng decisively transferred power to the Sun Star Lord, this scapegoat, while he himself became a mere wooden clay statue, standing beside him and that was it...

All the heavenly officials, in fact, are the concentrated representatives of the Heavenly Court's popular will; at the critical juncture when the Heavenly Emperor is forced to abdicate, they have clearly realized that only they themselves can protect the Heavenly Emperor!

An official immediately stood up and solemnly reported:

【The Demon Emperor flew into a rage, urgently summoned the twenty Great Luo True Dragons, including the Four Seas True Dragon Kings, and launched a campaign to reclaim the Northern Wasteland to avenge the fallen!】

At worst, it's just one life!

Where did the Heavenly Emperor go?

Um... in the Jade Pool, warming the kang with his wife and children.

The Sun Star Lord's eyes turned red; in his world, the Heavenly Emperor is the only one, and any price, no matter how great, is worth it!

The only way to defeat Jin Bing is to openly and outright wipe out all the human vanguards across the Primordial Wasteland, and have every demon tribe gradually grind them down with real swords and spears, pushing straight to First Yang Mountain, then force Jin Bing to surrender.

"Traitor!"

Seeing this, the officials could only look hopefully to Kun Peng, wishing the demon master could stop the already maddened Sun Star Lord.

"Jin Bing's status is special; these methods won't work at all..."

But the problem is, Jin Bing cannot be killed, and First Yang Mountain cannot be subjected to a surprise attack.

First demonstrate his challenge value, let Hou Yi shoot Xuandu to near death, then force the Heavenly Court to make a profit exchange.

In a sense, the Heavenly Court now is truly loyal and devoted, wholeheartedly wanting to fight for the Heavenly Emperor!

Likewise, the Quasi-Saints Dong Huang, Ri Yu, and the demon master, etc., all retreated, not daring to personally engage, for fear that the Six Saints would team up to come to the Heavenly Court to clear dungeons...

【This yun, the Wu Clan seized one-third of the Northern Wasteland's territory, utterly annihilated the local demon-human allied forces, with casualties numbering in the hundreds of millions...】

"No way! Jin Bing, claiming the throne with orthodox legitimacy, those ignorant rabble might actually listen to him, which would be detrimental to the Heavenly Court; once we become enemies of the world, even three hundred Great Luo might not be enough!"

Therefore, not only must Jin Bing not die, but the Heavenly Court's Great Luo team building at First Yang Mountain is also out of the question.

Just as wanting to overthrow Jin Bing, to make Di Jun abdicate one cannot rely on pure violence; one must counter popular sentiment with popular sentiment, and only through a true myriad spirits battle can he be toppled.

Therefore, the Heavenly Emperor actually has popular support; trying to force him to step down is tantamount to being an enemy of the myriad spirits!

The Sun Star Lord feels somewhat nervous, unaccustomed to this absolute sovereign role; compared to being the one in charge, he would rather be a carefree subordinate.

The officials couldn't help but advise him, yet the Sun Star Lord's loyal-dog mindset flared up again:

Thus, the matter was settled!

"No need! I will never allow the Heavenly Emperor to abdicate!"

"As long as I can keep the Heavenly Emperor safe, I will give the Wu Clan whatever they ask for!"

「Report to the Star Lord! 」

The Sun Star Lord gritted his teeth:

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other:

「The Heavenly Emperor is gone, what use is the Heavenly Court? 」

All governmental affairs were delegated by the Witch Master to the Sun Star Lord; in a sense, the Sun Star Lord is actually the person truly in charge of the Heavenly Court now.

Speaking of which, it's also a marvel:

In the Primordial world of the wilds, the life-or-death matter of the two Heavenly Courts actually has little to do with high-level supernatural power; who wins or loses actually depends on the broad masses!

Nonsense!

On the contrary, everyone in the Primordial knows the Heavenly Emperor really tried hard; even if the Heavenly Court just scrapes by, it's still far better than the era of the Three Ancient Clans; at least the Heavenly Court truly manages the life and death of ordinary demon folk, and also acknowledges all demonkind as demons in heavenly statutes and laws.

In the era of the Three Clans, aside from the Three Clans' main branch, all other beings were only fit to be slaves, with no demon rights at all...

【Next era, dozens of great witches walked out from Mount Buzhou in Zhongzhou, each leading witch troops to attack the 'Equal Heavenly Court'!】

「Cough! 」

But actually, the Wu Clan didn't go all out; nearly a hundred great witches below the Twelve Ancestral Witches, how many really took action?

As for why the Wu Clan only does petty skirmishes instead of really going all out against Mount Shouyang, that's obviously waiting to jack up the price:

The Sun Star Lord's face fell:

I know! Just venting a bit……

A retainer hesitated:

But even so, the Heavenly Court still has an overwhelming advantage; as long as four hundred Luo Golden Immortals rush to Mount Shouyang for a surprise attack, even ten lives of Jin Bing wouldn't be enough!

But……can't do that.

【This era, the 'Supreme Heavenly Court' ordered by the Sun Star Lord promises to cede all of Zhongzhou to the Wu Clan, and acknowledges that the Twelve Ancestral Witches rank above all demons in Zhongzhou, allowing them to enslave Zhongzhou's people at will!】

If Jin Bing were just a petty king, everyone would have long gone to his Mount Shouyang for a team-building outing; the Heavenly Court's four hundred-plus Luo Golden Immortals could pile up and kill him.

「That Jin Bing of Mount Shouyang has proclaimed himself the 【Demonic Emperor】, and established a new Heavenly Court on Mount Shouyang, claiming that the Heavenly Court abandoned the Heavenly Emperor, and he is the true successor of the Heavenly Emperor! 」

The Heavenly Emperor has ruled for nearly four hundred epochs; although due to various constraints, the theory of 'Myriad Clans Equality' cannot actually be implemented, this does not mean the Heavenly Emperor governs poorly.

「Jin Bing dares to establish his own Heavenly Court; his wolfish ambition is blatant, and he should be immediately crushed, that Mount Shouyang! 」

The Heavenly Emperor has bestowed grace upon the myriad peoples for four hundred epochs; now it's finally their turn to be loyal to the Heavenly Emperor……

(Asking for recommendation votes, asking for continued reading!)

……

(End of chapter)