Conferred God: Got cramped at the beginning

Chapter 985 Wenchang greets everyone

In the Lingxiao Palace, the gods were still arguing over the matter of the Tang emperor's envoy's 'journey to the west to seek the Dharma'.

At this moment, in the Lingxiao Palace, Ao Bing opened his eyes again after they had been closed.

"Does the Great Dragon God also have any considerations regarding the journey to the west?"

The Jade Emperor's gaze fell directly on Ao Bing.

"No."

Ao Bing's gaze fell on the Tang Emperor—after such a cycle through Pan Tian and Nan Tian, ​​not even a single night had passed.

"However, I think that since the Han Dynasty, there have been emperors throughout history who have had the intention of establishing the imperial examination system."

"Alas, though they had this intention, they were troubled by the fact that the position of Wenchang was unclaimed, making it difficult to maintain the fairness of the examinations, and thus the imperial examination system could not be implemented."

"It is said that His Majesty the Tang Emperor also has the intention to expand the imperial examination system, but he is saddened by the uncertainty of the civil service examination."

"How about I recommend Emperor Wenchang to His Majesty the Tang Emperor?"

Ao Bing said.

But surprisingly, it was as if he had turned his gaze to the human world.

"The position of the Great Dragon God and the Wenchang position are related to the order of humanity; how can they be spoken of so lightly?"

Upon hearing Ao Bing's words, the gods in the Lingxiao Palace immediately stirred up a commotion.

Those immortals and gods who had been hesitant about the journey to the west suddenly gained more courage and began to question Ao Bing's words in the Lingxiao Palace.

After all, the journey to the west was merely a game between the Great Luo, a game between the Jade Emperor and the various emperors and chief gods.

It is a contest between Heaven, Earth, Man, and the sage's lineage, which is quite distant from ordinary immortals and gods.

But Ao Bing's suggestion at this moment meant yet another change!

The Heavenly Court is far away from the human world.

However, the gods and immortals in Heaven are quite close to the human world and very close to the human race.

Every noble family and humble household in the mortal world with an history of over ten thousand years has the support of immortals and gods in the Lingxiao Palace.

For the immortals and gods in the Lingxiao Palace, their influence on the human world is not only the greatest source of their merits, but also the greatest support for them to refine their karma and advance further with the help of their karma!
Especially at this moment, when the Heavenly Venerable of Universal Transformation of Thunder in the Nine Heavens proclaimed the arrival of the tribulation, the thirst for merit among the vast majority of immortals and gods intensified even further.

At this time, their needs from humanity are also even greater!

After all, everyone knows that if you want to accumulate merit, starting from the human realm is arguably the simplest way!

For these immortals and gods who have influence in the mortal world, and for those immortals and gods who have established families in the mortal world, the existence of those families has already become part of the foundation of their cultivation!

It is precisely because of the support of these immortals and gods in the Lingxiao Palace that those aristocratic families in the mortal world have been able to expand to the point that even the Human Emperor cannot control them, and they can even compete with the Human Emperor in the mortal world!
Similarly, those kings and emperors who could perceive the harm caused by aristocratic families, and even those emperors, were trying their best to suppress the influence of aristocratic families.

Among the solutions they came up with, the best one was the imperial examination system—in order to break the 'monopoly' of those aristocratic families on official positions and the imperial court.

However, the biggest problem with the imperial examination system, namely the issue of 'fairness,' was something that no one could guarantee.

Even though the human realm suppresses the divine powers of immortals and gods, making it difficult for them to manifest their abilities under the power of humanity, there are also gods of humanity who can unleash their divine power even under the suppression of humanity.
The influence of aristocratic families on humanity is enough to ensure that, after the imperial examination system is implemented, they can use 'cheating' to form a monopoly on the court in a more unquestionable way, so that ordinary people outside the aristocratic families cannot touch the slightest bit of power.

It even led the common people to develop the preconceived notion that they were inherently inferior to aristocratic families through the imperial examination system.

The only way to break this cycle is through the manifestation of the Wenchang Emperor!

The realm of Wenhua, the examination hall for the imperial examinations.

That is the authority that belongs exclusively to Emperor Wenchang!

Ensuring the fairness of the imperial examinations was also the 'responsibility' of Emperor Wenchang.

For Emperor Wenchang, upholding the fairness of the imperial examination was to uphold his authority and power—any attempt to undermine the fairness of the examination was an erosion of his power.

Therefore, for the human world, all that is needed is the manifestation of another Wenchang Emperor—even if it is only a Wenchang Emperor at the Taiyi level, a Wenchang Emperor destined to be corrupted by human affairs…

But as long as he can sit on the throne of the Wenchang Emperor, he can guarantee the fairness of the imperial examination!
In fact, after being corrupted by humanity and turned into an irrational 'tool,' it was actually able to guarantee the 'fairness' of the imperial examination to a greater extent.

It was precisely because of this that after the Wenchang Emperor's position was manifested, and since the Great Luo Immortals were unwilling to become the Wenchang Emperor, the immortals and gods in the Lingxiao Palace, as well as the noble families in the human world, all joined forces to suppress those who tried to become the Wenchang Emperor!
There were some who were willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of humanity, willing to sacrifice themselves to tear down the iron curtain of aristocratic families, and who chose to become the Emperor Wenchang... But before they could even sit on the throne of the Emperor Wenchang, they had already perished, 'legally and reasonably', for various reasons...

Since the manifestation of the Wenchang Emperor's position, countless open and covert struggles have taken place in the human world over this position and the imperial examination system under that position.

To this day, the title of Wenchang Dijun has almost become a taboo in the human world!
That is the most crucial pivot in the changes of power and situation in the human world!
It can be said that anyone below the level of Luo Guanzhong is doomed if they touch him!

Therefore, one can imagine the huge waves that Ao Bing's words recommending a 'Wenchang Emperor' caused in the Lingxiao Palace!

To the immortals and gods in the Lingxiao Palace, and to Emperor Li Shimin, Ao Bing's words were almost an undisguised declaration:

He is dissatisfied with the situation on Earth and wants to interfere in the power shifts on Earth!
It was at this moment that the immortals and gods in the Lingxiao Palace, who were supported by mortal families, suddenly discovered something:

Previously, the commotion caused by those aristocratic families on the Jing River was indeed a slap in the face to the Emperor.

But that action also led to the downfall of the Jing River Dragon King!

For Ao Bing, who once commanded the Four Rivers... no, he no longer commands the Four Rivers, but still reigns supreme over the human world and the dragon gods of rivers, the fact that the Jing River Dragon King was tricked and fell was nothing short of a slap in the face by the powerful families.
Imagine... he had just emerged from the East Sea, had just achieved the Great Luo cultivation, and wanted to spread his power throughout the world, even to seize power from the Jade Emperor.

But at this moment, the aristocratic families of the mortal realm inadvertently conspired with the Jade Emperor to kill the Jing River Dragon King...

They even intended to use the life of the Jing River Dragon King as a pretext to incite conflict between the Human Emperor and the Dragon Clan...

This was an incredibly provocation and a humiliation for Ao Bing, the Great Dragon God who upheld the principles of Heaven and Righteousness!

Just when he was about to make his mark, his righteous henchmen were plotted against and killed. If this is the case, and the great dragon god doesn't even get his face back, then who would dare to be his henchmen and run errands for him?
It was precisely because of this that when this great dragon god made his way to the human world, the ancient Buddha Dipankara and the Bodhisattva Guanyin joined forces to stop him and invite him back to the Heavenly Court.

In the Lingxiao Palace, after the Human Emperor personally admitted his mistake and established the succession of the Jing River, his error regarding the Jing River Dragon King came to an end.

Everyone instinctively assumed that the matter was over. But who could have imagined that Ao Bing, the righteous and just Dragon God, would actually turn his attention to the aristocratic families?
In the Lingxiao Palace, anyone with a brain could see that after reconciling with the Human Emperor, Ao Bing's move was aimed at those aristocratic families!
In the conflict between the aristocratic families and the Emperor, they directly sided with the Emperor.

Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, was naturally aware of this.

The imperial examinations... ever since the title of Emperor Wenchang was manifested, it has been the focus of the dispute between aristocratic families and the emperor!

The original purpose of the imperial examinations was to suppress the powerful families... but with the Wenchang Emperor's delayed return to his throne, it became something that those powerful families in the mortal world actively wanted to promote!
Even without scientific examinations, emperors could still promote talented individuals who rose from humble beginnings based on their own likes and dislikes.

But if this system of imperial examinations were established... this system of imperial examinations would become a fixed rule in the human world.

Then, powerful families could completely leverage their influence over humanity and the gods to make the imperial examination hall their exclusive platform.

At that time, even if the emperor wanted to bypass the imperial examinations to promote talented individuals, it would be a pipe dream.

Those who are promoted will see this as an unbearable humiliation...

In this way, the monopoly of the aristocratic families over the court and power was completely formed!

At that time, even if the Human Emperor manifests continuously, he will be completely caged by the aristocratic families—and the Human Kings below the Human Emperor, and even the emperors, will become playthings of the aristocratic families.

And this is something that all emperors try to avoid!
That is why all the emperors knew about the imperial examinations, yet they all tried their best to suppress the system of examinations.

Without ensuring fairness, this scientific research system will only become a great scourge.

And this is precisely Li Shimin's current predicament.

When the powerful families that he had suppressed realized that the emperor's power was growing stronger, they once again raised the banner of the imperial examination.

This time, however, the banner was not pointed at him, the human emperor, but at the countless common people!
They are 'speaking out for the people'.

Those common people who are completely unaware that the imperial court can no longer guarantee the fairness of the imperial examinations are also oblivious, willingly becoming pawns of powerful families, disrupting their future.

Such a trend, originating from the common people, was difficult for even Emperor Taizong (Li Shimin) to suppress.

but now……

Upon hearing the words of the Great Dragon God who was in charge of upholding Heaven and righteousness, Li Shimin suddenly laughed.

The imperial examination system, which had been entangled for countless years, has finally been resolved!

At this moment, Li Shimin even had a feeling that he could return to the mortal world, ride his steed to the gates of those aristocratic families, gather them all together, and tell them the news that Emperor Wenchang was about to return to his throne, and then carefully observe the changes in their expressions...

Of course, although he couldn't see the changes in the expressions of those noble families, he could already sense the changes in the thoughts of the immortals and gods in the Lingxiao Palace.

As he sensed this change, the smile on Li Shimin's face became more and more pronounced and intense.

Then, that smile transformed into an unrestrained, joyful laugh.

"Hahahahahaha."

"Hahahahahaha."

"The mortal realm has long awaited the arrival of Emperor Wenchang!"

Li Shimin laughed heartily, showing no intention of letting the immortals and gods in the Lingxiao Palace argue with Ao Bing.

"But who is the Wenchang Emperor whom the Great Dragon God favors?"

In the Lingxiao Palace, Li Shimin directly responded to Ao Bing's words and settled the matter of the Wenchang Emperor.

As for the disturbances caused by those immortals and gods in the Lingxiao Palace... hey, matters of the mortal world are for the Emperor to decide. What right do those immortals and gods have to cause trouble?
So Ao Bing immediately reached out and gestured.

The space-time within the Lingxiao Palace seemed to be starting to become disordered.

This is none other than Ao Bing retracing the timeline of Pantian, retrieving the aura of Athena's battles along the timeline.

And so, amidst the tremors of time and space, a glimmer of wisdom manifested in the Lingxiao Palace, transforming into an incomparably radiant deity.

Guanyin Bodhisattva is male in body but female in appearance.

This deity, however, is female in body but male in appearance.

When this deity manifested, the light of wisdom emanating from the Lingxiao Palace shone even brighter.

Dipankara Buddha and Guanyin Bodhisattva also began chanting "Amitabha" incessantly.

In particular, Dipankara Buddha was secretly 'intercepting' the surging wisdom light, wanting to bring it back to Mount Ling.

"Wenchang greets fellow Daoists and Emperors."

"Wenchang greets His Majesty the Emperor."

The manifested deity directly accepted the title of "Wenchang" in full view of everyone.

At that very moment, the auras of one Great Luo Immortal after another manifested in the Lingxiao Palace.

Surprisingly, those emperors who had merely focused their thoughts on being clay puppets here all turned their attention to the Lingxiao Palace.

They have fought each other countless times on the timeline.

How could they not know the true nature of this Wenchang Emperor?

What is Wenchang?
That was clearly the God-King who came from the Southern Heaven!
At this moment, even those 'entertainers' who never paid attention to the overall situation in the heavens and only wanted to fight in the outer heavens couldn't help but turn their attention back to the Lingxiao Palace.

What is fun?

This is an unprecedentedly hilarious experience!

(End of this chapter)