The Great Seminary

Chapter 408 Freshmen
Sun Chonghe gazed at the sky, took back a contract from Zhang Gui, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and said awkwardly:

"Brother Gui, you also know the saying, 'Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake,' let alone how powerful you are in front of the 'Three Saints Sword Sect'..."

Zhang Gui interrupted her with a smile.

"I know you made the right choice in your mind when you were in a difficult position, so you won't be so petty."

Besides, a verbal dispute is just that—a verbal dispute. Material possessions are insignificant to me, far less valuable than human relationships.

Upon hearing this, Sun Chonghe's slightly embarrassed expression softened immediately.

But then she saw the ceremonial procession approaching from the sky and had no time to say anything more.

He simply nodded solemnly to Zhang Guizhong, then, skimming the ground, flashed away on his sword and disappeared into the right.

Almost simultaneously, the dragon carriage landed, and two armored warriors, their bodies gleaming with golden light, stepped out from the crowd.

He slammed his golden staff into the ground, producing a deafening roar, and proclaimed:
“The Grand Historian of Xiaque and the young Emperor Qingming of the Qi clan arrived with the imperial edict of the Divine King.”

All evil spirits were shunned, and all 'people' knelt down.

The last time Zhang Gui received a mass-sent imperial edict from the Great Qi Emperor, he stubbornly refused to bow.

This time, however, he prostrated himself without hesitation, shouting,
“This humble servant, from the Ciyang clan, is filled with trepidation.”

He almost buried his head in the ground.

After a moment of silence, the curtains of the imperial carriage were slowly pulled open, but no one stepped down.

Only a deep voice came out.

"Heaven and Earth, the sovereign of the ten directions, proclaim to the Emperor:"
The ancient warlord Chi You, oblivious to the opportune moment and the harmony of the people, vied for victory with the great Yellow Emperor…

This was extremely unwise...causing countless harms to the human race...

But He also slew countless demons and saved humanity from imminent extinction; His merits are undeniable…

There is now a man named Luyang, the ruler of the Stone Corpse Kingdom in the human realm, who can transform into the true form of Chiyou and possesses full military power…

In this era of great strife, he wrote a letter expressing his willingness to risk great dangers to defend the front lines and to share the land with others; his words were truly inspiring…

I, the Emperor, hereby grant permission to grant permission to the descendants of the ancient gods…

By special favor, he was granted the title of Earl of Xiaque and the fiefdom of Xiongbingchuan...

The inspection tour and the management of the "Golden Fin Tail Cave Vein" in the town...

In his words, every single word seemed to connect heaven and earth, resounding through the clouds, displaying a dazzling display of beauty and auspicious signs of dragons and phoenixes.

In the darkness, the mysterious forces of law, as vast as mountains and as deep as the sea, began to quietly gather.

If it were someone else, it would be one thing, but this kind of power of "if you believe, it exists; if you don't believe, it doesn't exist; if you feel something, it exists; if you don't feel something, it doesn't exist" is, no matter how strong it is, it is still nothing.

But Zhang Gui, kneeling on the ground, felt goosebumps all over his body, and goosebumps were clearly visible all over his skin...

In any country or state, unless it's a completely makeshift organization, the bureaucratic system is divided into two parts: the central government and local governments.

For a celestial court like the Xia Que that reveres ancient systems, these are the "ministers, officials, and gentry" who are directly at the behest of the supreme ruler.
Along with the five ranks of feudal lords—Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron—who replaced the Supreme Ruler in guarding the realm.

In the great war between the Earth and the Demons more than 10,000 years ago, although the human race won a great victory, it was also a case of "killing a thousand enemies but losing eight hundred of their own".

In particular, the number of feudal lords who ruled their own territories and guarded their local areas was almost entirely gone.

Therefore, the Great Qi Dynasty directly changed the titles of the surviving feudal lords to "ministers" and "high officials".

May they and their descendants live in peace and safety in the Xia Dynasty, enjoying wealth and honor.

Therefore, they easily changed their policy to "sect-based governance" in the "underground realm".

And to this day, the great struggle between humans and demons continues again.

It's unclear which powerful and cunning individual intended to establish new feudal lords. By a stroke of luck, the pioneer who first tried this out was none other than Zhang Gui…

Leaving aside the abilities of Xia Que Taishi Qi Qingming in the dragon carriage, his status alone would place him among the top 100 of the billions of human beings.

If it weren't for special circumstances, how could they possibly travel thousands of miles to such a remote place as the 'Three Saints Sword Northern Sect'?

To bestow an imperial title upon a mere youth who is nominally about to be ranked as a "regional governor" is, in reality, a bit of an exaggeration to say he is worthless, yet to say he is worth "a few coins" is rather pathetic.

Furthermore, his understanding and experience of the 'mystery' are actually far inferior to those of Zhang Gui, who comes from a 'time traveler' background.

Therefore, although he vaguely sensed the gathering of 'heavenly might', he didn't pay much attention to it.

After reading the emperor's decree with a stern expression, he instructed his attendants:

"Send the imperial edict and the decree granting him 'territory and fiefdom,' along with the governor's robes, seal, and ceremonial regalia, to Governor-General Caiyang."

Upon hearing this, one of the bodyguards immediately presented Zhang Gui with all sorts of formalities.

It's just that he's currently commanding from scratch.

Xia Que was so stingy that he only gave an ancient name, without any real benefit. Not to mention that it was a secret realm of territory, he didn't even send any "assistance".

So it can only be placed on the ground, which can be considered a strange tale.

However, the reality was that it was all a makeshift operation.

During the Middle Ages, when King Wu of Zhou founded the Zhou Dynasty and enfeoffed the feudal lords, he couldn't even gather thirty-three pure white heavenly horses due to the great battle with Fang Ai. He had to paint them to make up the number.

Therefore, Zhang Gui seemed not to find it absurd at all. He was so excited that his whole body trembled, and he knelt down to thank them, his voice shaking:

"Your humble servant respectfully thanks Your Majesty for your divine grace..."

Conversely, Qi Qingming, the big boss who had done something undignified, felt somewhat ashamed.

Before Zhang Gui could finish expressing his gratitude, he ascended to heaven and disappeared into the clouds.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Gui slowly got up, picked up the imperial edict, decree, and seal from the ground, and staggered into the secret area by the lake.

After that, he could no longer suppress the mysterious power that had gathered within him.

Let it flow into the so-called 'singularity' within the body.

He instantly lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground like a limp rag.

After a single breath, his body began to shatter and disintegrate, gradually losing its life...

At the same time, a tree seed hidden inside Zhang Gui's stomach spontaneously combusted without fire, burning ever brighter.

Amidst the roaring sound of the burning fire, the sound of chanting gradually rose.

"Thus have I heard. The Buddha was born in Kushinagar, near the city of Vajrapani..."

In the blink of an eye, the tree seed turned into a sapling and grew rapidly in the fire.

In just a few breaths, it has already filled 30,000 acres of the secret realm, at least one percent of the land.

At this moment, the chanting amidst the raging flames became exceptionally clear.

"...At the morning assembly, the World-Honored One...emanated various kinds of light from his face...and those who encountered this light were freed from all their sins, defilements, and afflictions..."

Thus have I heard. In the kingdom of Kushinagar, a powerful man was born… Eighty billion hundred thousand great monks surrounded him… And great spirits Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma came from beyond the heavens, from beyond the heavens, from beyond the heavens!

But as he was speaking, he suddenly choked up. Then the giant tree grew rapidly and in a short time occupied the entire secret realm, transforming into an enormous torch.

Finally, amidst the endless flames, there appeared a being with hundreds of thousands of arms, holding hundreds of heads in its hands;
His whole body was bathed in steam that resembled a black, turbulent tide;
The illusory image of a steel giant was born, drawing all the fiery branches and roots of the Bodhi tree, which was about to undergo nirvana, into its body…

(End of this chapter)