The Heavenly General bowed and said, "Heavenly General, the Righteous God of Heaven, is Zhou Xu."
Wen Zhenru asked, "Why did you say that? Do you look down on me?"
Zhou Xu said, "Yes, you are just a young girl, your cultivation level is no better than that of a celestial being. What right do you have to dictate to us, the veterans of the Heavenly Court? It would be fine if it were us, but you don't even give face to the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King. Aren't you too arrogant?"
Wen Zhenru asked, "Can't a Heavenly Immortal Realm person become a Heavenly Judge? Think about how the Great Emperor Hongqing became a Heavenly Judge even though he was only a True Immortal Realm person. What do you think?"
Zhou Xu said, "Great Emperor Hongqing is different from you. He rose through the ranks from being a land god and a mountain god through meritorious service. As the saying goes, 'Prime ministers must rise from prefectures and counties, and brave generals must rise from the ranks.' May I ask, before becoming a Heavenly Judge, what merits and achievements did you have? Why not tell us so we can see them?"
Wen Zhenru was silent for a moment, then said, "No."
"No, you admit it yourself, right?" Zhou Xu said.
But Wen Zhenru asked, "So what if there isn't one? Great Emperor Hongqing personally appointed me as the Heavenly Judge, in charge of Heavenly Law and punishment. If you don't accept it, you can write a letter of objection to Great Emperor Hongqing."
Zhou Xu froze for a moment. After a long pause, he stammered, "Well... I'm not questioning the appointment of Great Emperor Hongqing. I just... can't stand your arrogance."
Wen Zhenru said, "I'm not arrogant, it's just my personality. Besides, I'm a judge of the heavens, in charge of the heavenly laws and the power of punishment. All matters involving the heavenly laws are ultimately my decision. I don't care how you suppress the rebels, but I must take care of those captured rebels, because that's my responsibility."
Zhou Xu was speechless. After hesitating for a moment, he bowed to Wen Zhenru and said, "Judge Tian, I was wrong for what I said just now. I want to apologize to you."
Wen Zhenru said, "You don't have to apologize to me."
At this point, Wen Zhenru raised his hand and issued an imperial edict, which he presented to Zhou Xu. "This Heavenly Court Judge now formally informs you that your authority to lead troops in battle is temporarily revoked. You will be subject to an investigation by the Heavenly Court Judges. Until the investigation is concluded, you may not lead troops into battle again, nor may you even leave any area designated by the Heavenly Court Judges."
"What?!" Zhou Xu was shocked. He looked at the talisman in front of him and said, "Why? I didn't break any laws!"
Wen Zhenru said, "You haven't violated the Heavenly Law, but I have the right to investigate you. If after investigation you find that you haven't violated the Heavenly Law, I will release you."
Zhou Xu couldn't accept this at all. Now was a good time to fight and make meritorious service. If he was taken away for investigation, by the time he came out, others would have made countless great contributions, and his chance of success would be forgotten.
Thinking of this, Zhou Xu immediately turned around and looked at the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King with a pleading look. The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King also had a headache, but facing Zhou Xu's gaze, he could only step forward and say, "Judge Tian, please let Zhou Xu go this time."
Wen Zhenru said, "Alright, hand over those 110,000 prisoners to me and I will let him go."
The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King shook his head and said, "Let's wait for the decree from the Heavenly Court on this matter." The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King did not even bother to discuss it. Since Wen Zhenru had already submitted the memorial, they could only wait for the decree from the Heavenly Court.
Moreover, Wen Zhenru only wanted to make things difficult for Zhou Xu, at most delaying his chances of gaining military merit, but this was also trouble he had brought upon himself. The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King naturally could not use the matter of 110,000 captives to do Zhou Xu such a small favor.
When Wen Zhenru heard what Tota Heavenly King said, he immediately said to Zhou Xu, "Did you hear that? Come with me."
Zhou Xu felt helpless upon seeing this, so he had no choice but to walk up to Wen Zhenru with a thick face, bowing and politely saying, "Judge Tian, I know I was wrong. I sincerely apologize and ask for your forgiveness."
Seeing Zhou Xu's humble attitude, Wen Zhenru stopped embarrassing him and took back the imperial edict, saying, "This will not happen again."
Zhou Xu quickly bowed and said, "Yes."
Then Wen Zhenru turned and left. After seeing Wen Zhenru leave, Zhou Xu stood up straight and sighed slightly. The heavenly general behind him immediately stepped forward and comforted him.
The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King did not blame Zhou Xu, but patted him on the shoulder and said, "As an official in the Heavenly Court, you must be careful with your words and actions."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xu bowed to the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King and said, "Yes, thank you for your teachings, Heavenly King."
...
Heaven, Daluo Heaven, Taishi Immortal Capital, Hanzhen Palace.
After reading Xihe's memorial, Fang Jian shook his head at the Great Emperor Zhenwu and said, "These people are still too timid. The Tianshu Patriarch of the Shuxian Sect has also come to ask for a title. Ultimately, they also want the authority of the Heavenly Court, but they dare not rebel directly. They want to use this more cautious method to gain the power to dominate and rule a region, and then slowly plot to replace the Heavenly Court."
Apart from the foolish Patriarch Tiandou, who was the first Daluo Jinxian in the Three Realms to openly rebel and proclaim himself emperor, the other Daluo Jinxians were all very "cowardly". They would rather go slowly and seek safety. They would first ask for titles from the Heavenly Court, and then slowly build up their strength. It would not be too late to do "big things" until the Heavenly Court was really weakened to the extreme.
The Great Emperor Zhenwu was not surprised by this either. This was a method commonly used by the Golden Immortals in the eight directions of the sky except for the central Juntian.
"This is already the twelfth petition requesting a title," said the Great Emperor Zhenwu. "Except for the Central Juntian, all the other Golden Immortals in the Eight Directions have submitted petitions requesting titles, with the exception of the Xuanjiao leader and Jiying Zhenjun of the Western Haotian."
Fang Jian said, "Below the Emperor of Heaven, the highest-ranking position is the Heavenly King. These people are now seeking to be named Heavenly Kings. The next step is to seek to be named Heavenly Emperors."
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