Chapter 43 Chapter 43 “So this is what it feels like to be a celestial being—…
I thought that once Jiu Zhao woke up, the whole immortal test would be over, but he didn't play by the rules.
After being surprised, the God of Mount Yi actually felt a little more appreciative of her attitude of not liking to take credit and pursuing fairness.
Although he acknowledged it, there was no precedent for such a thing in the previous Immortal Examinations. He still said, "Your Highness, please do not act recklessly."
With the help of Fuxu, Jiuzhao managed to stand up straight with his body almost falling apart.
She slowly walked to the edge of the platform and locked eyes with the floating God of Mount Yi. "Besides our status as examinees, I am the sovereign, Yingluo the minister. I have dedicated my life to my sovereign, suffering grave injuries. Yet, I have comfortably enjoyed her sacrifices, ascended to celestial immortality alone, and have not mentioned her achievements at all. If you were God of Mount Yi, would you feel disheartened?"
This last rhetorical question was so sharp that it left Yishan, who was not good at speaking, speechless.
He looked at Jiu Zhao's tired yet clear eyes, and subconsciously looked at Fu Xu, his good friend standing beside him.
Fuxu's expression was calm, as if he had no intention of getting involved in this matter. But Yishan knew that his good friend had always been a faithful implementer of the laws of the Three Pure Ones. His lack of opposition was a sign of his tacit agreement.
It seems that he is not the only one who thinks that what Jiu Zhao said makes sense.
Yishan's harsh tone softened, and he said, "Your Highness, this has nothing to do with personal feelings. We are all bound by the will of Heaven."
"Beyond the decrees of heaven, there are still human feelings!"
Jiu Zhao refused to give in and pushed back.
She stood on the high platform with a stubborn look on her face, refusing to input her immortal power into the Huitian Mirror, and Yishan couldn't force her.
It would be a waste of time to argue here. After a little thought, he simply ordered people to activate the moving mirror and report the situation to the God Emperor.
…
"You are saying that the Nine-Zhao Divine Princess refuses to accept the judgment of Heaven?"
Repeating it loud enough for all the immortals observing the test to hear, the God Emperor asked with considerable interest, "Do you know the reason?"
Under Jiu Zhao's gaze that seemed to be real, Yishan gritted his teeth and repeated it.
"Oh? Jiu Zhao didn't speak up for himself, but actually pleaded for Princess Yingluo?
"What do you think, my dear ministers?
As he spoke, the God Emperor's eyes flickered between Ying Luo's father, the Western God King, and the Northern God King, whose son had caused the current situation. He chose one of them and said, "Western God King, you are the biological father of Princess Ying Luo. Why don't you speak first?"
Seeing his daughter's ascension to immortality was hopeless, the Western God King was already filled with regret. Now, at this unexpected turn of events, though he was delighted, he remained true to his ruthless nature and pushed the difficult matter back: "The Emperor will make his own judgment on this matter. As a minister of such status, I dare not speak without reason."
"The Heavenly Order stipulates that only one person can be promoted to a Celestial Immortal in each Immortal Examination. In the past, each candidate has indeed competed for the first place based on their own abilities."
The God Emperor twirled the jade ring on his finger and stated the facts calmly, his tone without any bias.
Jiu Zhao has always had a quick temper.
She couldn't wait for the ball to be kicked back and forth until it finally hit someone who expressed a different opinion. She simply said bluntly, "Without Yingluo, I would never have been able to enter the Huitian Palace. Similarly, the prosperity of the Three Pure Heavens never depends on the strength of one person, but on the unity of everyone."
One stone falls and a thousand ripples occur.
As soon as she openly questioned Tianling's words, the silent atmosphere in Ziwei Palace finally disappeared.
"The Heavenly Order has existed for thousands of years. If it were changed by Yingluo today, what would happen to those candidates who performed well in the past but failed?"
The Eastern God King Zhaoyu was the oldest and most stubborn, and he was the first to jump out and oppose.
Jiu Zhao, however, had his own preparations. A calm reply came through the Moving Mirror: "The Immortal Examination isn't just for everyone once. Why not use this incident to revise the rules? Wouldn't that give them more opportunities in the future?"
"Your Highness, this isn't just your Sanqingtian. If you change it as you please, what will the other gods think?!"
"I'm not saying the revisions are for my own benefit, but as long as it's a good thing that benefits everyone, no matter who proposes it, there's nothing wrong with following the best advice."
"No matter what, you can only represent yourself and shouldn't—"
"Okay, then let's ask others for their opinions. Everyone here is a prince or an important official, in charge of the immortals in a certain area. Are you against it or in favor?"
Two people have already come forward to decide whether to modify the decree or keep it as it is.
Next, no matter what choice is made, it will not arouse public anger.
The Southern Divine King, still resentful of his daughter's outstanding performance, yet she was plotted against by Meng Chu, offered a veiled thought: "Come to think of it, if the top prize winner this time was Crown Prince Meng Chu, wouldn't he have also achieved victory through 'cooperation'? With his precedent, perhaps more people will 'cooperate' during future Immortal Examinations. In that case, why not revise the Heavenly Decree in accordance with His Highness Jiu Zhao's suggestion?"
The Northern God King was pretending to be dead, but was suddenly stabbed by the Southern God King and his expression turned ugly.
Meng Chu's behavior made even his father lose face.
He remained silent, and saw the Western Divine King make a look of regret. "Your Majesty, since I was canonized as a Divine King, every time I observe an exam, I always see several candidates with outstanding cultivation who have passed the final stage and still have strength left. They are just a step behind, not unqualified to enter the Brilliant Heaven Palace and be canonized."
Once promoted to a celestial being, one has the hope of becoming a god.
With such benefits in front of him and Jiu Zhao's full support, he finally couldn't hold back and spoke tactfully for Ying Luo.
"Your Majesty, I believe that the position of the celestial being will ultimately be decided by the will of heaven, not by human power. Choosing a few more people each time will not affect anything in the final analysis." Xihuan, the Night God who sits in the Three Pure Heavens all year round and assists the God Emperor in handling government affairs, echoed the words of the Western God King.
Yingluo is of noble status and is not as domineering as Jiuzhao. Over the years, she has won a lot of popularity with her moral character and strength.
With the Supreme God and the God King speaking for her, in the Ziwei Palace, the voices of approval gradually overwhelmed the voices of opposition.
Seeing the dust settle, the Divine Emperor clapped his hands and smiled, "You all have spoken freely, and all your suggestions have merit. However, I believe that Night God's idea hits the nail on the head. Over the past few thousand years, under the leadership of Lan Qi and the Phoenix Clan, the Burning Sea has become far more powerful than before. The number of immortals in our Three Pure Heavens is far less than that of demons. If we don't reform our talent selection methods, we may fall behind in another thousand years."
With the demons as the lead, the God Emperor made the final decision.
The immortals stopped arguing and stood up to salute in response.
Yingluo was given the honor of participating in the Judgment of Heaven. It was almost an hour later that Jiuzhao saw her again.
"Your Highness, please forgive me, Supreme God. Princess Zong was exhausted and seriously injured. The immortal officials took great pains to heal her to the point where she could walk again."
Xihai's maid helped Yingluo up to Huitian Palace and immediately explained in a low voice without waiting for Jiuzhao to ask.
Jiu Zhao had no way of observing the final battle situation under the Fusang tree. She saw that Ying Luo had difficulty walking and her face was as pale as paper, so she knew that she did not obey her orders and insisted on fighting with Meng Chu who had retained his immortal power. Her body must have suffered considerable damage.
Guilt suddenly surfaced in her heart. She raised her hand to excuse Ying Luo from her courtesy and shoved out a stiff sentence: "...You are such a stubborn person."
"As long as it's a matter of Your Highness, no matter how many times it comes, I will always make this choice."
Yingluo smiled at Jiuzhao, the curve of her lips was as gentle as the spring breeze in March, without a trace of edges.
The judgment of heaven was imminent. She waved away the maid, walked slowly over, and inserted her body between the two men, replacing Fuxu to support Jiuzhao, without the slightest consciousness of being a third party. "Your Highness, we have been delayed for a long time, and it is almost dark. Why don't we get started?"
Official business comes first, and Huitian Palace is not a place for rivals to be jealous.
Being hit by Yingluo's shoulder, Fuxu had to move half a step aside.
As Yi Bujing watched, every word and action of the two of them reappeared in his mind, and a dark jealousy surged out through the gap in his heart.
He lowered his eyes to hide his gloomy emotions, but Jiu Zhao was still unaware and focused on his own feelings.
She hadn't been close to Ying Luo for a long time. The moment her arm was held, the scent of the West Sea agarwood Ying Luo often used filled her nose, and her body went stiff. But after all, she owed him a favor, so she didn't push Ying Luo away. She just kept her posture and said "hmm".
"Then I will wait outside the palace first."
Fuxu unconsciously used the restrained and unfamiliar address again.
He did not notice Jiu Zhao's concerned look, and after bowing, he led the irrelevant people out of Huitian Palace.
Soon, they were the only two left on the platform.
"Your Highness, please go first."
Ying Luo helped Jiu Zhao stand under the artifact and stepped aside, her tone revealing a hint of pride.
Jiu Zhao is used to taking priority in everything and does not back down.
She clasped her hands together, formed a seal with her ten fingers, and shot a red fairy light towards the Huitian Divine Mirror hanging in the air.
The fairy light touched the mirror and immediately scattered and sank.
At the same time, a pure white formation with intricate divine patterns lit up under Jiu Zhao's feet.
The formation moved in time, slowly at first, then gradually faster, and the light surged up to cover Jiuzhao's entire body - in an instant, an unprecedented warm power was injected into the spiritual platform on his forehead, and then flowed to the blood vessels throughout his body.
Jiu Zhao found it difficult to describe this experience.
It was as if all the filth in the body was removed, the soul was stretched out, and it was naked as if it was reborn.
In the radiance that emptied all things, her soul let out a long, clear cry, and the vague phoenix-like shape in her mind became more and more concrete.
Bones, flesh, torso... everything was clearly visible, and blazing flames rose into the sky.
A magnificent painting was painted by the way of heaven.
His willpower returned, and Jiu Zhao discovered that his originally pill-like spiritual platform had transformed into a translucent phoenix. He could draw out immortal power from it, and also inject the immortal power around him into it. However, no matter how much he injected, it was like a deep well that could not be filled.
This is the divine realm.
The divine realm has been opened, and when the immortal power is overflowing, it is time to ascend to godhood.
The depressed thoughts disappeared like the wind, and my heart was filled with clear air.
When the light of heaven returned to the formation, Jiu Zhao couldn't wait to jump out, and his initial decadent attitude had disappeared from his body.
"So this is what it feels like to be a celestial being—
"You should try it too!"
Yingluo was the only one around to share his joy, so Jiuzhao took her slightly cold hand without hesitation, his eyes flashing with ripples of joy.
The temperature, which is slightly higher than human body temperature, seems like an endless source of heat, which makes Yingluo, who has lived in the deep sea for many years, feel infinite yearning.
"Um!"
Infected by that joy, her face flushed, and she nodded vigorously like a child, then said seriously, "Your Highness, thank you!"
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