Chapter 83: The Divine Manifestation of the Holy Emperor
"Well then, I shall be a good person to the end."
"Zhao Gao, present the Sword of Qin Emperor. I shall take it and, in time, pass it on to the Ancestor Emperor." Fan Li spoke with impatience etched across his face.
Delighted, Zhao Gao hurriedly offered the Sword of Qin Emperor with both hands.
Fan Li accepted the sword, still wearing his air of annoyance. Yet as his fingers closed around the hilt, a strange, subtle connection surged between himself and the twelve Golden Statues.
So that’s it!
The first special power of the Sword of Qin Emperor: it grants control over the twelve Golden Statues.
Each Golden Statue possessed cultivation at the Dao Integration Realm. However, lacking true intelligence and unable to wield artifacts or secret techniques like real cultivators, their combat prowess barely scraped the bottom of that realm.
“A fine thing, indeed. Pity I promised it to Cao Cao and the others.”
Though regretful, Fan Li was not greedy. After all, those men had risked everything to help him besiege and slay the Blood Phoenix Lord.
“At least this journey wasn’t for nothing—I’ve gained the precious Epang Palace, which can serve as a safe house for cultivating avatars in the future.”
As Fan Li mused, he caught sight of Zhao Gao’s pitiful expression, clearly waiting for him to amend the imperial decree.
“Prepare ink and brush.”
“Your servant obeys!”
Zhao Gao, overjoyed, produced the four treasures of the study as if by magic and eagerly ground ink for Fan Li.
Yet, as he prepared to write upon the decree of the First Emperor, Fan Li was uncertain of success. Should he fail, would Zhao Gao, humiliated and enraged, slaughter him and Princess Changle?
Fan Li placed little hope in his own cultivation. And though Princess Changle was a peerless prodigy, she could hardly cross realms and defeat Zhao Gao, who stood at the Grand Ascension stage.
“Fear not. During my time in the Sacred Land of Brahma Sound, I studied the records and learned the decree is the sole prerogative of the Son of Heaven. As long as a true dragon emperor pens it, it will surely be effective,” Princess Changle whispered in Fan Li’s ear.
He looked at her, astonished.
“The Sacred Land of Brahma Sound is supposed to be a transcendent paradise for cultivators—how can it hold records about mortal dynasties?”
Now disguised as empress, Changle nestled naturally in his arms.
She laughed softly, “The world bustles for profit; all strive for gain. Even I do not believe Brahma Sound truly transcends the mundane. Why should you?”
Fan Li was speechless.
Well, if the one ringing the bell doesn’t believe in Buddha, what could a meat-eater like him say?
Changle lowered her voice further, “Even a true dragon emperor cannot simply overturn the decree of the First Emperor by casually writing another. But as luck would have it, the original decree remains, and the ink on the phrase ‘ten million years’ has faded. All you need do is fill in the blank, and the edict will change.”
Fan Li nodded, cautiously picking up the brush.
“Zhao Gao, I am about to write.”
“Your servant shall serve as your desk!”
Zhao Gao knelt sideways, offering his back to support the decree. The decree unfurled on its own, lying flat.
Fan Li gazed at the decree, which had survived ten thousand years, feeling awed and moved by its majesty.
Suddenly, he recited aloud:
“I, receiving mandate from Heaven, shall live eternally as the true dragon emperor.”
The words left his lips, and the world responded. Within the mirrored Immortal Palace, faint dragon roars and tiger growls resounded. Boundless clouds gleamed with supreme golden light.
“This is the aura of the Son of Heaven—ahhh!”
“Your Majesty, truly a descendant of the First Emperor. The phenomena you’ve summoned rival the glory of the First Emperor himself!”
Zhao Gao was shaken, his kneeling posture becoming ever more humble and deferential.
Princess Changle too stared at Fan Li, astonished.
“The fate of the Son of Heaven means only a chance at the throne, nothing more. How can he possess such majesty? He seems almost like the founding sage emperor of a unified realm!”
In her heart, Changle felt a faint jealousy and wariness toward Fan Li.
Fan Li, oblivious, had merely wanted to utter a few words to encourage himself, but inadvertently triggered cosmic phenomena.
Immersed in the dignity of imperial authority, his emotions surged, and his words flowed on.
“Under heaven, all lands belong to the king. Within the borders, all are his subjects.”
“The emperor never speaks idly; his words are recorded in history.”
As Fan Li’s voice faded, enormous phantom figures appeared in the sky of the mirrored Immortal Realm.
He was venting his emotions and did not notice, but Princess Changle saw clearly.
“Are these the sage emperors of bygone ages manifesting?”
“Ears hanging to the shoulders, hands reaching the knees—is that the ancestor of the Liu clan?”
“Sharp chin, long eyes, bird-shaped chest—another, the First Emperor himself?!”
“Why are three imperial phantoms particularly grand, even seeming to overshadow all the other sage emperors?”
“Ancient texts record the legend of three holy emperors—Heaven, Earth, and Man—who led humanity against myriad races in the primordial age. Humanity prevailed and became the leader of all beings! The three holy emperors thus established boundless merit, ancestors to all later sage emperors!”
Changle stared at Fan Li in disbelief.
How could this be?
How had he achieved it?
The archives of Brahma Sound Sacred Land mention that when a sage emperor descends, celestial phenomena often accompany his arrival—purple clouds from the east, red light filling the sky, dragons and phoenixes appearing, and so on.
No matter how exaggerated the tales, none had ever witnessed such phenomena as Fan Li had summoned.
Founding emperors of each dynasty manifesting? The three human holy emperors manifesting? All to honor Fan Li?
Was his prestige truly so vast?
Princess Changle was stunned beyond measure, but Fan Li remained unaware.
He had already begun to write, amending the content of the First Emperor’s decree.
“Minister of the Imperial Carriage, Zhao Gao, who called a deer a horse, deceived the sovereign, abused power, and slaughtered my descendants—his crimes are boundless. By imperial decree, his immortal path is severed, his reincarnation ended, confined to the mortal realm to guard the tombs of the Great Qin for one thousand years.”
The original phrase, ‘ten million years,’ had lost its ink, leaving a blank space. Fan Li replaced it with ‘one thousand years’—it fit perfectly.
“It’s done.”
Though he wrote only two characters, Fan Li felt an inexplicable pressure.
He bore that weight to complete the task, and now felt relieved and freed.
“The First Emperor shouldn’t trouble me, right?” Fan Li mused quietly.
He had imagined it idly, not taking it seriously.
Suddenly, Fan Li seemed to hear someone whisper at his ear.
“We have never met—why do you alter my decree?”
“I have no leisure to descend to the mortal realm. This matter shall be recorded for now.”
“When you ascend to the Immortal Realm, you had best come to the Great Qin Celestial Court and explain the cause and effect to me.”
What?!
Fan Li broke out in cold sweat.
Was that just now the First Emperor speaking to him?
The Great Qin Celestial Court?
Had he forged a karmic bond with the Celestial Emperor of Qin?
Fan Li glanced at Zhao Gao, kneeling before him, then at Princess Changle in his arms, and finally weighed the treasures of Epang Palace and the Sword of Qin Emperor.
Hmm... Suddenly they didn’t seem so enticing.
For the sake of these few, he had offended a Celestial Emperor?
What a disastrous loss!
Fan Li regretted it deeply, even wishing he could erase his own ink from the decree.
But in the next moment, a sudden beam of white light descended from the heavens, landing on Zhao Gao.
“Ahhhhh!”
Zhao Gao cried out, his voice filled with joy and contentment.
Once a withered corpse, Zhao Gao was transformed in an instant, becoming a living man once more—a handsome scholar of about thirty, with fair cheeks and no beard...