With one decree from the Queen Mother of the West, decades of hard work by the judges of the Heavenly Court were instantly turned into smoke.
The Tianpanjianfa is a fifth-rank immortal official, and his monthly merit salary is 800. However, every time he handles a case, he will accumulate monthly merit rewards.
Zhenren Jieqing felt a pang of pain in his heart. One hundred thousand merits were the accumulation of his twenty years!
"Great Master..." Zhenren Jieqing said in a painful voice, "Is this... a punishment too much?"
The Lady of the Nine Heavens said calmly, "Not much. Next time it will be one million."
Upon hearing this, Master Jie Qing was filled with grief and fear. The Grand Master was extremely dissatisfied. For a moment, Master Jie Qing did not dare to complain anymore. Instead, he bowed with a bitter face and said, "Thank you, Grand Master, for the punishment. How dare the Heavenly Court do it again?"
"Oh." Jiu Tian Xuan Nu was tired of hearing this set of rhetoric, so she just waved her hand casually, and Zhenren Jie Qing quickly stepped aside.
The Lady of the Nine Heavens then turned to the Star Lord of Martial Virtue and said, "Star Lord of Martial Virtue, is there a vacancy for a fifth-rank immortal official in the Heavenly Court?"
Wude Xingjun bowed and said, "Your Excellency, all the fifth-rank immortal official positions in the Heavenly Court are filled. There are no vacancies."
The Lady of the Nine Heavens frowned and asked, "Didn't I tell you before that I would leave a fifth-rank position open for you?"
Wude Xingjun said with a look of injustice, "Great Lord, please forgive me. I only left one position vacant at the time, but didn't say when to fill it. And there is no redundant position in the Heavenly Court. If the position is understaffed, it will not be able to operate. So I can only arrange for someone to go up first..."
At this point, Wude Xingjun added, "The officials I have assigned have all been reported to the Grand Envoy for approval."
The Lady of the Nine Heavens sighed softly and said, "How would I know that the position I asked you to vacate was included in the list of officials to be appointed? Are your ears made of wood? Or is your brain made of wood?"
"I asked you to keep a vacancy, it has its uses, why do you have to make it on your own? There are so many immortal officials in the heavenly court, will the work come to a halt if one is missing? Without you, the Star Lord Wude, will I have no one to use me?!" Jiu Tian Xuan Nu said at the end, and scolded in a very harsh tone.
Wude Xingjun was so frightened that his whole body trembled. He quickly bowed and apologized, saying, "I was confused and did not understand the profound meaning of the master. I beg the master to punish me."
The Lady of the Nine Heavens drank a sip of the spiritual tea, then looked at the Star Lord of Martial Virtue and said, "Go to the Tushita Palace by yourself. If the Daoist Ancestor asks, just tell him that I told you to burn the furnace in the Tushita Palace for ten years."
"Thank you, Great Lord, for the punishment." Wude Xingjun accepted the order and said, "I will go now."
After saying this, Wude Xingjun bowed three times and said goodbye, then turned around and walked out of Taixuan Hall quickly, going to Tushita Palace to light a fire.
If Yuan Tiangang being punished to burn fire in Tushita Palace was considered a form of protection, then given his status as the Lord of Martial Virtue, it was a punishment. However, the gods could afford this kind of punishment. It was not shameful to burn fire for the Taoist ancestor.
After Wude Xingjun left, Jiutian Xuannu said to Fang Jian, "I originally said I would leave a fifth-grade position for you. Alas, you saw it..."
"That's great, please give me some merit!" Fang Jian thought excitedly.
"However," Jiu Tian Xuan Nu changed the subject and said, "Since there are no vacancies for fifth-grade positions, I will assign you a fifth-grade position."
"..." Fang Jian's fiery heart cooled down again, but I want merit now!
At this moment, the Lady of the Nine Heavens glanced at the True Man Jie Qing, and then said, "Fang Jian, come forward and listen to your appreciation."
Fang Jian immediately put away his fragrant jade fan, then quickly walked to the center of the hall and bowed, saying, "Your Highness Fang Jian is at your service."
The Lady of the Nine Heavens said to the Immortal Wen Shi, the Envoy of the Grand Mysterious Capital Province, "Draft an edict."
Then the Lady of the Nine Heavens looked at Fang Jian and said, "Fang Jian, the God of the Broken Realm Mountain, has made meritorious contributions in upholding the Heavenly Laws, protecting sentient beings, protecting the law and exorcising demons, and conquering on behalf of Heaven. I now commend his merits and reward him."
"First, I bestow upon you the title 'Hongqing'. Hong means great, and Qing means pure. Hongqing means both vast and pure. I hope you live up to this name."
"Second, I will grant Fang Jian the Broken Boundary Mountain in Xihua Prefecture, Northern Julu Continent, as his monastery. From now on, all the immortal officials and divine positions in Broken Boundary Mountain will be selected by Fang Jian himself and reported to Taixuandu Province for approval."
"Third, Fang Jian restrains himself and abides by the law, safeguarding the laws of heaven. Therefore, Fang Jian is specially commended as the Heavenly God of Justice of the Taixuan Division and promoted to the fifth rank of immortal official."
"This order!"
As the Queen Mother of the West finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent.
The title "Hongqing" was bestowed upon Fang Jian as a formal honor. From then on, others could address him as "Master Hongqing".
Giving Duanjie Mountain to Fang Jian as a Taoist temple was equivalent to a kind of territory, especially allowing him to select the immortal officials and priests in the Taoist temple on his own. There was only one person in the Heavenly Court who received such treatment, and that was Erlang Shen.
Erlang Shen has his own fiefdom, his own subordinates, and his own magical soldiers and generals.
There are not many such rewards in heaven, but it is not something that people would envy. After all, it is given to the lower realm, and how can the lower realm be as good as heaven?
Moreover, there are many demons and monsters in the lower world. Even if you are granted a title, can you keep it? Therefore, this kind of reward is only suitable for a fierce person like Erlang Shen who disdains to live in the Heavenly Palace and has full Taoism, magic power, and martial arts.
However, the appointment of the Heavenly Judge surprised everyone present, because the Heavenly Judge could not be appointed casually and needed to undergo a long-term assessment by the Heavenly Court.
Since the establishment of the Heavenly Court, no more than three thousand gods have served in the Heavenly Court, and now there are only more than ten Heavenly Judges in the Heavenly Court, which shows how difficult the selection is.
This is also the reason why the Queen Mother of the West will not easily touch those people in the Heavenly Court, because these people are the elites of the Heavenly Court after all. They can be released from the Heavenly Court to serve anywhere, and it is not easy to train them.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
