CHAPTER 192: CHAPTER 189: NIE FENG’S BETRAYAL_1

Only one final step remained: to solidify the Fortune Golden Dragon within the Fortune Sea!

Qin Wudao brought his hands together and slowly knelt before the bronze tripod, his expression solemn as he performed the ceremony of three kneels and nine kowtows.

One kneel for the Heavens!

A second kneel for the Earth!

A third kneel for the Nation!

After the solemn ritual concluded, Qin Wudao slowly rose. His face was grave as he surveyed his surroundings, his eyes flashing with a majestic aura that seemed to look down upon all living beings.

He gazed upon the vast land and pondered aloud, "Who dictates its destiny?"

Taking a deep breath, Qin Wudao waved his hand. The Investiture of the Gods and the Jade Seal of the Nine Dragons appeared before him, emanating a boundless imperial might that none dared to gaze upon directly.

Having advanced to the Divine Court, he could finally wield these two artifacts!

The Investiture of the Gods could act on behalf of the Heavens to appoint deities, linking an individual’s destiny with the nation’s fate. These were the divine positions of the nation; if the nation did not perish, the divine positions would not fall. This meant that enfeoffed subjects were intrinsically tied to the nation’s existence. Even if they met an untimely end, they could be reborn through the nation’s Fortune.

However, the Investiture of the Gods had a limited number of positions, capable of enshrining only three hundred and sixty-five principal deities.

The Jade Seal of the Nine Dragons, conversely, was a Fortune artifact. It served to gather and solidify Fortune, and possessed formidable offensive power.

The greater the Fortune, the stronger the power it could unleash!

With utmost solemnity, Qin Wudao gripped the Jade Seal of the Nine Dragons and placed it upon the Investiture of the Gods.

"From this day forth, the Qin Empire is elevated to a Divine Court! Mandated by Heaven, may it enjoy everlasting prosperity!"

Instantly, the Investiture of the Gods bloomed with brilliant golden light, wreathed in Mystic Yellow Qi. At its apex, a large ’Qin’ character materialized, emanating boundless majesty.

In the center of the Investiture of the Gods, the words ’Divine Emperor’ stood out, shimmering with radiant rosy light, followed closely by the name ’Qin Wudao’.

Below this, the Investiture of the Gods was divided into two sections: the left for civil officials and the right for military generals.

One side radiated an enduring righteous aura!

The other pulsed with the formidable spirit of martial prowess!

As no appointments had yet been made, these sections were currently empty.

At the very bottom, eight golden characters shimmered, proclaiming: ’Mandated by Heaven, May It Enjoy Everlasting Prosperity.’

ROAR!

A dragon’s roar suddenly thundered across the nine heavens, spreading so far and wide that even the common folk in the most distant borderlands heard it distinctly.

A golden dragon, a thousand feet in length, emerged from behind Qin Wudao, its eyes wide. With a flick of its tail, it soared into the vast Sea of Fortune above.

BOOM!

The Sea of Fortune churned and billowed, continuously expanding!

The golden dragon coiled within the Sea of Fortune, shimmering with brilliant rosy light. It radiated an overwhelming pressure, making Qin Wudao, who stood upon the altar, appear like a celestial deity.

"May Your Majesty live as long as the Heavens and ascend to the Immortal Realm swiftly!"

"May Your Majesty live as long as the Heavens and ascend to the Immortal Realm swiftly!"

...

All the officials bowed respectfully, their voices booming.

The soldiers and the assembled crowd also knelt, their powerful shouts echoing for miles around.

While everyone else knelt, one figure stood out starkly: Nie Feng. Hands clasped behind his back, he stared coldly at Qin Wudao.

"Audacious! Nie Feng, do you refuse to kneel and pay homage?" Wang Jian, standing beside Nie Feng, noticed him still upright and roared in fury, berating him harshly.

The scene fell silent!

Except for the oblivious guests, the expressions of all others turned grave. They knew the greatest crisis was at hand.

"Nie Feng, what is the meaning of this? Do you hold no regard for Us?" Qin Wudao narrowed his eyes, his voice stern. Yet, he wasn’t overly angered; he had long anticipated this moment.

Even if Nie Feng hadn’t stepped forward on his own, Qin Wudao would have found a way to compel him to.

"Regard Us?" Nie Feng sneered. His body levitated into the Void, radiating a terrifying aura that bore down on everyone in the Imperial Capital with immense pressure. "What are you? This General has roamed the world for over a hundred thousand years. I have slain more people than you have ever laid eyes on. Before This General, what qualifications do you possess to be the Divine Emperor?"

"Abdicate the throne of Divine Emperor. This General shall enfeoff you as the Compliant Marquis. Otherwise, you die!"

Nie Feng looked at Qin Wudao with utter disdain, seeing him as nothing more than a Heaven Realm ant.

"Is that so? Where are Our loyal subjects?" Qin Wudao stood with his hands clasped behind his back, utterly fearless as he issued a resonant command.

"We are here!" Yuan Tiangang, Jia Xu, Li Ru, Zhao Yun, Lv Bu, Yue Fei, and others were the first to step forward, flying to Qin Wudao’s side.

"We are here too!" Many local subjects of the Qin Dynasty also hurriedly followed. They were all fiercely loyal to the nation and utterly trustworthy.

Their numbers were not large, only about one hundred and sixty. Compared to the court of over three hundred officials, this was not a significant portion.

"Your minister is present!" After some hesitation, and weighing the pros and cons, about fifty more officials flew to stand behind Qin Wudao.

In total, these officials constituted more than half of the entire court.

It should be noted, however, that all these loyalists were original Qin subjects. Among the original Qin subjects who did not step forward, there were only a scattered twenty or so. The rest were officials from territories newly annexed by the Qin Dynasty.

"Prime Minister, what are you doing? Hurry and come over!" Wang Jian yelled anxiously, seeing Li Si remain motionless. As part of the first cohort of veteran officials of the Qin Dynasty, they shared a deep camaraderie.

Li Si closed his eyes, seemingly deaf to Wang Jian’s plea.

"Li Si, get over here, quickly!"

"Do not be muddled when faced with the paramount righteousness of the state! Moreover, you are the Prime Minister; you must set an example for all officials in the realm!"

Wang Jian grew frantic, shouting repeatedly, desperate to make Li Si reconsider.

"Enough! Can you not see it? He has already turned traitor! He has betrayed His Majesty and defected to the enemy!" Bai Qi pulled Wang Jian back, his voice grave, his expression towards Li Si filled with utter contempt and disgust. "A traitor! Deserving of death at the hands of all!"

"Good! Very good indeed! All of you are Our cherished subjects!" Qin Wudao seethed with anger, his disappointment in Li Si, in particular, reaching its nadir.

"Your Majesty, General Nie Feng is overwhelmingly powerful. It would be better for you to surrender. It is better to live in disgrace than to die a valiant death. Moreover, you could be made a marquis, ensuring a life free of worry for your remaining years!" Li Si took a step forward, bowed, and spoke.

His tone ostensibly offered advice to Qin Wudao, but in reality, it was dripping with scathing cynicism. For a monarch to be deposed and then enfeoffed as a ’Compliant Marquis’ by his enemy—wasn’t that the greatest joke of all?

"Such fine words, Prime Minister!" Qin Wudao clapped his hands. The Void before him fractured, and Zhuge Liang emerged from the spatial passage. Holding a feather fan, he waved it gently, emitting mysterious Rhymes in Dao.

The power of a Saint King radiated outwards, repelling Nie Feng’s imposing aura and evenly dividing the sky.

"Is this your trump card?" Nie Feng fixed Zhuge Liang with a scrutinizing gaze, then suddenly drew his war sword. His arrogant voice echoed across the vastness of Changkong, "Too weak! Far from enough!"

WHOOSH!

Two streaks of Sword Qi, one black and one white, tore across Changkong!

They carried an exceptionally sharp Sword Intent, suffused with a chilling, grim Evil Qi.

"Protect His Majesty!" Zhuge Liang instructed Yuan Tiangang and the others over his shoulder. He then soared into the sky. With a wave of his right hand, his feather fan conjured a golden Formation: the Eight Trigrams of Heaven and Earth, spinning rapidly.