Translator: 549690339
A never-before-seen mysterious energy surged from the body of the cultivator, strand by strand, unpredictable and capricious.
Within the borders of the Celestial Dynasty, every inch of the land saw a rise of mysterious energy, akin to cooking smoke.
Some cultivators tried to grab it with their hands, but they might as well have been touching an illusion. No matter what method they used, they couldn’t capture it.
The mysterious energy filled every bit of space, gradually forming into beams and layers, gaining direction and converging at one location.
The Heavenly Monarch.
“What is this…” Yu Feng was astounded. He, too, had never seen this kind of power before.
“This is the national destiny, the newborn national destiny.” Jiang Li explained.
The Heavenly Monarch spread open his arms, welcoming the newly born power of the national destiny.
The power of national destiny started to gather from all directions, like a vast ocean pouring into a bottomless cavern. The power of the national destiny kept accumulating and consolidating, finally forming into a mask that was constantly changing its shape.
The Holy Immortal Dynasty used national destiny as a mask.
The Heavenly Monarch had considered what the national destiny of the Celestial Dynasty should be. Is it a guillotine under which countless souls were wronged? Or a hidden weapon harboring a deadly intent? Or was it a beast that embodied the survival of the fittest?
He rejected each of these options, one by one.
The closer to reality, the stronger the national destiny that is formed. These things were not the best choices.
The guillotine, the hidden weapon, the beast, these all represent slaughter. If the national destiny was based on these, the Celestial Dynasty would fall into endless conflict, ultimately leading to self-destruction.
After much deliberation, the Heavenly Monarch finally chose the mask.
In the continent of Tonggu, everyone wore a mask, never exposing their true thoughts to the outside world.
Assassination, betrayal, forced smiles, acting… the Tonggu continent staged similar, yet different scenes every day.
Even the Heavenly Monarch was not completely above board in his actions. He destroyed books in secret, lowering the overall bottom line.
“Is this the power of national destiny?” The Heavenly Monarch felt an abundant amount of power pouring into his body. His power level soared, finally it stopped at the apex.
“But why doesn’t it feel very strong?” The Heavenly Monarch felt although he had become stronger, he was not fully powered up.
Compared to the descriptions in the texts, it seemed to be lacking somewhat.
The text stated that to be blessed with national destiny was equivalent to reaching the Transcendance Tribulation Stage.
However, he felt like he possessed only a quarter of the power of the weakest Transcendance Tribulation Stage cultivator.
“What went wrong? The count of Cultivators? The population of the Celestial Dynasty is already large enough.”
The Heavenly Monarch thought that five million cultivators was already an extremely terrifying number. He did not believe that there was any other kingdom that could boast such a large number of cultivators.
But now was not the time to consider such matters. The Heavenly Monarch continued to preside over the ritual.
The Arhat of Freedom was busy writing on the side, recording this historic moment.
He was appointed by the Heavenly Monarch as the Historian, responsible for recording the history of the Celestial Dynasty.
“The first day of the New Year in the founding year of the Celestial Dynasty, the Heavenly Monarch is chosen by the multitude, as wished by the Cultivators. Winning the hearts of the people, he performs a great feat between heaven and earth, and establishes the Holy Immortal Dynasty. Nearly ten million Cultivators shout praises of the Heavenly Monarch’s wisdom. May the Heavenly Monarch continue to exist without decay, unmatched under the heavens.”
The Arhat of Freedom thought for a moment. It seemed that no one had shouted “The Heavenly Monarch is wise”. So, he set down his pen, raised his hand to shout “The Heavenly Monarch is wise”, and then continued writing the history.
“National destiny rises, converges into a mask. The Heavenly Monarch receives the blessing of national destiny, unrivaled under the heavens. May the Celestial Dynasty always remain vibrant and never decay, and live forever throughout the ages.”
The Heavenly Monarch raised his arm and shouted, “With the lives of a million mortals, the protective array of the nation is strengthened with a blood sacrifice. May our Celestial Dynasty have longevity equal to the heavens!”
The River of Blood cleared out a large area, with a million mortals neatly placed here.
The mortals knelt on the ground, their eyes crystal clear, shouting in unison.
“Eternal is the Heavenly Monarch, with powers reaching to the heavens. The Celestial Dynasty remains forever, starting today!”
“Eternal is the Heavenly Monarch, with powers reaching to the heavens. The Celestial Dynasty remains forever, starting today!”
“We, the mortals, are as insignificant as a blade of grass. We go to our deaths for the Heavenly Monarch, for the Celestial Dynasty. In life, we belong to the Celestial Dynasty, and in death, we become ghosts of the Celestial Dynasty. After death, we protect the Celestial Dynasty forever and ever!”
“We, the mortals, are as insignificant as a blade of grass. We go to our deaths for the Heavenly Monarch, for the Celestial Dynasty. In life, we belong to the Celestial Dynasty, and in death, we become ghosts of the Celestial Dynasty. After death, we protect the Celestial Dynasty forever and ever!”
The cultivators looked at each other, they had never seen such a scene before. They had thought that these mortals, who feared death, would beg for mercy and cry. In the past, whenever they killed mortals, this was how the mortals behaved.
They did not expect the mortals present at the founding ceremony to be different, willingly facing death.
They didn’t know what method the River of Blood had used.
The Heavenly Monarch was satisfied with the performance of the mortals. Only these non-conformist mortals deserved this unique founding ceremony.
The Holy Immortal Dynasty was the first in the continent of Tonggu to be entirely composed of cultivators, and it was bound to leave its mark on history.
“In life, we belong to the Celestial Dynasty, and in death, we become ghosts of the Celestial Dynasty.”
“In life, we belong to the Celestial Dynasty, and in death, we become ghosts of the Celestial Dynasty.”
Gradually, the Heavenly Monarch noticed something wrong. The power of the national destiny was quickly deteriorating. He desperately tried to hold onto this hard-earned power, but the national destiny was like sand and grit; the tighter he tried to hold on, the faster it slipped away.
In the end, the national destiny was completely gone, not a trace left!
The Heavenly Monarch quickly realized the cause – these mortals.
It did not mean that whoever was registered as a citizen was a citizen of the Celestial Dynasty. The registration book was not some immortal artifact.
If anyone considered himself a citizen of the Celestial Dynasty, then he was a citizen of the Celestial Dynasty.
These mortals, like toads lusting after swan flesh, fancied themselves as citizens of the Celestial Dynasty!
The prerequisite for the gathering of national destiny was that more than 90% of the citizens are cultivators. Five million cultivators mixed with one million mortals reduced the percentage from one hundred to eighty!
He couldn’t kill these mortals either.
After these mortals died, the Celestial Dynasty still had to consider them within its population.
The dead were also citizens.
The only way to gather national destiny again was to train all these mortals to become cultivators!
“River of Blood, this is the surprise you got for this Monarch!” Remembering River of Blood’s complacent face, the Heavenly Monarch became enraged.
He had lost all face!
“Hea…Heavenly Monarch, it was all accidental…” The River of Blood stuttered in explanation. With the disappearance of the national destiny, the mask also vanished, revealing the Heavenly Monarch’s extremely terrifying expression of anger.
For the first time, the River of Blood, who had murdered countless individuals, felt the threat of death.
“Die!”
With a downward palm, the Heavenly Monarch shackled the space. The cultivation of the River of Blood dissipated and entered the Heavenly Monarch’s body. His body dispersed into particles scattered between the heavens and earth, his soul shredded to pieces. There was no trace of him left in this world or in the Underworld.
“Did the Heavenly Monarch use the Devouring Technique?!” Wu Lian the elder sister gasped quietly, not daring to make any noise.
She saw the Heavenly Monarch devour the power of the River of Blood. Although his technique was much more refined than that of Ma Pingfan, the essence was the same.
“Where are the East and West Inspectors!”
“We are here.” The East and West Inspectors appeared.
The remaining five cultivators in the Body Integration Realm were surprised. They hadn’t expected there were other hidden cultivators at the Body Integration Realm level.
The Heavenly Monarch deliberately hid these two people. The meaning behind it was self-evident.
“Apart from the River of Blood, who else has tutored this damned batch of mortals?!” The Heavenly Monarch gritted his teeth in rage.
After killing the River of Blood, the Heavenly Monarch’s fury was still not extinguished. He wanted to kill even more, to kill more people.
The two cultivators in the Body Integration Realm saw the Heavenly Monarch in this state, and they were also afraid that they would be caught in his wrath.
“To answer the Heavenly Monarch, there was also a youth named Yu Feng. To be precise, he was the main person who instructed the mortals. The River of Blood simply followed his advice.”
The East and West Inspectors pointed to Yu Feng amidst the crowd.