Chapter 818

【Then it became unstoppable; his martial arts cultivation grew increasingly terrifying】

【To this day, he has become the leader of the Nanwulin Alliance in the Ten Thousand Mountains】

【Because the Ten Thousand Mountains have little contact with the outside world, even the Wu Lin knows nothing of this man】

【Now that Lin Tiannan's beloved daughter has come of age, he intends to hold a martial contest for marriage in the near future】

【The winner shall inherit all of the Lin family's estate, including the Lin family sword techniques】

【Heaven's Dao evaluation: Dominates a region, wealth rivaling a nation】

【Heaven's Dao reward: Longquan】

621 What is the Ten Thousand Realms?

The number of the Eighteenth Place on the Heaven's Dao Golden List far exceeds that of the Nineteenth Place.

This point was utterly unexpected by the world.

Great Qin, Xianyanggong.

Qin Huang Ying Zheng stared at the Heaven's Dao Golden List, mulling over the description of Shang Yang.

He could not help but be deeply moved, bowing deeply to Shang Yang beneath the dantai,

"Lord Shang, your talent is extraordinary! Without Lord Shang, how could Great Qin have dominated the Nine Provinces?

Every achievement of Great Qin today is due to Lord Shang's merit—allow me, Ying Zheng, to pay my respects!"

The Heaven's Dao Golden List's description of Shang Yang gave Ying Zheng a sense of rediscovering Shang Yang anew.

Overcome with emotion, he no longer referred to himself as "I, the Emperor," but used his personal name—and even bowed publicly before him.

His bow startled all the civil and military ministers.

They quickly realized what had happened and followed Ying Zheng in bowing to Shang Yang,

"Let us all pay our respects to Lord Shang!"

Shang Yang's lifespan had long expired; he had been reborn solely thanks to Great Qin's secret asset, Lishan, and had even become a supreme master on the Heaven's Dao Golden List.

Seeing Qin Huang Ying Zheng lead everyone in bowing, he was utterly overwhelmed.

He dared not accept the honor, stepping aside and kneeling to return the bow, saying,

"Your Majesty humbles your old minister! I am indebted to the late emperor for my rebirth; all I have done was my duty."

The one who opened Lishan to Shang Yang was none other than the former Qin Huang, Prince Zichu!

Just as Ying Zheng was about to speak further, a shaft of Jin Guang descended from the heavens, striking directly into Shang Yang's outstretched hands.

The Jin Guang soon filled the entire hall, blinding everyone with its brilliance.

After a long while, the Jin Guang slowly faded.

There, in Shang Yang's palm, lay a scroll of sheepskin parchment.

Those with sharp eyes could see that on the cover of the scroll were written three ancient seal characters: Shang Jun Shu.

"Is this… the perfected book of the Ten Thousand Realms' Legalist school? The unique Divine Art mentioned by the Heaven's Dao Golden List?"

Wei Liaozi, one of those who had seen the three ancient seal characters, murmured in shock.

"It must be! But previously, when the Heaven's Dao Golden List bestowed rewards, they were merely simple manifestations—why is this one so grand?

Could it be…?"

"What's that? I'm more curious about the Ten Thousand Realms mentioned by the Heaven's Dao Golden List.

What is the Ten Thousand Realms?"

Because of the sudden appearance of the Shang Jun Shu, the entire civil and military court of Qin had forgotten decorum and begun discussing it openly.

Shang Yang himself held the scroll, utterly at a loss.

"Cough! Cough!"

Ying Zheng, seeing his ministers' unseemly behavior, cleared his throat lightly.

Instantly, the ministers came to their senses—this was no private gathering, but the most solemn hall of Great Qin: Xianyanggong's Lanchi Hall!

The dazzling debut of the Shang Jun Shu had caused the ministers to lose their composure.

Wei Liaozi immediately bowed and said,

"Your servant has committed the offense of disrespect before the sovereign—please punish me."

All other civil and military ministers echoed the same words.

Shang Yang could not help but smile bitterly—this so-called offense of disrespect before the sovereign was one of the Legalist crimes.

According to Qin law, the punishment ranged from forfeiture of stipend to imperial cane beating.

But the root of this breach of decorum was himself.

More precisely, it was this very book in his hands: the Shang Jun Shu!

And the Shang Jun Shu was the so-called perfected book of the Ten Thousand Realms' Legalist school.

This was truly…

"Your Majesty, all these ministers' breaches of decorum were caused by this old minister.

If punishment is due, let it fall first upon me!

I humbly beg Your Majesty to impose upon me the penalty of imperial cane beating!"

Shang Yang acted decisively, choosing the harshest punishment for himself.

Since Shang Yang entered Qin and enacted reforms to strengthen the state,

a crown prince of Qin once broke the law and was stripped of his heirship and exiled to the frontier.

It was precisely because Shang Yang's laws were so strict—even the crown prince could not escape punishment—that

Qin's orders were obeyed without fail, the people united as one, and Great Qin's legacy of ten thousand generations was secured!

Now, with Shang Yang voluntarily requesting punishment, Ying Zheng's first instinct was to pardon him.

Then he thought of this point again, and could not help but feel quite hesitant.

The ministers only now realized that it had originally been Qin Huang Ying Zheng leading everyone in honoring Shang Yang's merits.

But because of their own breach of etiquette, Shang Jun had to be punished.

For a moment, the ministers could neither counsel him nor sit idly by.

"Your Majesty! What is the Ten Thousand Realms?"

At this moment, Moon Goddess, who did not belong to the ranks of the civil and military ministers, gently parted Zhu Chun and asked Ying Zheng.

The greatest piece of information revealed by this Heavenly Dao Golden List—

was in fact the Ten Thousand Realms!

The Shang Jun's Book in Shang Yang's hands was said to be the great compendium of the Legalist school of the Ten Thousand Realms.

Qinglong Society's Third Dragon Head Dugu Qiubai had also, by a twist of fate, been led by Great Dragon Head Ximen Wudi into a mysterious world, where he grasped the essence of the sword Dao of the Ten Thousand Realms!

Both mentions of the Ten Thousand Realms were vague and unclear.

But any discerning person knew that this Ten Thousand Realms was no simple matter.

Originally, Ying Zheng and the Qin ministers were still agonizing over how to deal with Shang Yang, but Moon Goddess raised the most puzzling topic of this Heavenly Dao Golden List—the Ten Thousand Realms.

In an instant, everyone's attention, including Shang Yang's, was unconsciously drawn to this term.

Ying Zheng, however, knew that this Yin-Yang School guardian was deliberately diverting the ministers' attention to give him a way out.

He nodded approvingly at Moon Goddess, then fell into thought as well.

"The term Ten Thousand Realms—this old man is hearing it for the first time as well."

Since it was no longer a matter of state, the Confucian representative Xun Qing also stepped forward, frowning as he rifled through the Confucian classics in his mind.

After a long while, he could only heave a deep sigh and say as much.

"Sigh! Our Daoist classics have no record of it either…"

Senior Xiaoyaozi also stepped forward with a rueful smile and said.

After that, on the court, the representatives of the various schools—including Moon Goddess of the Yin-Yang School—all said they had never heard of it.

Wei Liaozi also spoke on behalf of the Qin officials, saying that the Qin records and documents had never mentioned it either.

The crowd could not help but smile wryly, preparing to let the matter drop.

But unexpectedly, Lord Yunzhong of the Yin-Yang School suddenly drawled,

"Ten Thousand Realms, Ten Thousand Realms—could it possibly refer to that so-called Nine Empties Void, the Sword Realm, and the world behind Shushan?"

"The world behind Shushan?"

The ministers were taken aback at his words.

In truth, those who could attend and deliberate on state affairs at Lanchi Hall were almost all top civil and military figures of Qin.