Chapter 940: Chapter 51: Aftermath and Rewards—Imperial Decree Arrives! (Part 9)
With the death of Xu Xing, the leader of the Self Sect is Liu Tian Ning, and no one can possibly compete with him.
This is a critical moment, he must be present no matter what.
After all, from the beginning, Zhao Xing accepted the Self Sect’s resource cultivation plan, making him an important member of Liu Tianning’s group.
"King Heavenly Destiny might not live for long," Liu Tian Ning said a few things, "but Luo Hou King will succeed as Grand Commandant, be conferred as First-rank Ruling King, and simultaneously serve as the Hall Master of Martial God Temple and the Dean of Divine Martial Academy."
"King Heavenly Destiny won’t live long?" Zhao Xing asked, "Wouldn’t he be conferred as a First-rank Prince?"
"Judging by the current trend, the possibility is minimal, the emperor does not intend to," Liu Tian Ning shook his head, "a rebellious prince has just died, it is difficult to confer another."
The harm brought by a First-rank Prince is too great, as long as he holds a Divine Artifact, it is easy to tear apart the qi fortune lifeline of the Great Zhou.
Zhao Xing sighed inwardly, Prince Liang had just died, how could Emperor Jing relent so quickly? He was probably still weighing his options.
In his previous life, he didn’t have a deep impression of King Heavenly Destiny, as Fate Officers were rather mysterious and unknown to most.
"What have you and your clone done now?" Liu Tian Ning asked. "Is the sanctuary plan, the underground city, still under your control?"
"The sanctuary plan is in transition," Zhao Xing said, "As soon as the local governments were restored, I handed over control immediately."
"You must do it quickly, and the accounts must be clear and transparent. Do not get suspected of embezzlement; take drastic actions if necessary and do not hesitate, I will dispatch an Inspector to station."
Zhao Xing was startled, it wasn’t because of anything else, but Liu Tianning’s tone.
Lao Liu seemed to be overlapping with the image he was familiar with in his previous life.
"Yes, I will withdraw as soon as possible, but teacher... have you felt anything wrong while cultivating the Ten Thousand Skill Avatar?" Zhao Xing asked.
Liu Tian Ning was silent for a moment, then his voice was somewhat low: "Zhao Xing, I have let you down."
Zhao Xing was even more surprised: "Teacher, what are you talking about?"
Liu Tian Ning sighed: "The Ten Thousand Skill Avatar has its drawbacks, I thought I could solve this problem."
"Because even Xu Xing was no match for me! He had only five top-level Dharma Bodies, but I practiced seven! And way more in number than him!"
"However, I failed, and I couldn’t change this problem."
"On the contrary, the stronger the problem, the more severe it becomes."
"Only when I succeed to the position of Dean can I temporarily suppress it."
Liu Tian Ning said, "In history, there has never been an era where two have cultivated top-level Ten Thousand Skill Avatars and lived peacefully to old age."
"I led you down this path but cannot solve this problem for you. And now, you have cultivated a top-level Dharma Body. If you continue down this path, you will encounter the same problem as I."
Zhao Xing was also silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Teacher, it’s not your fault, I also noticed the drawbacks of this spell, but it is not without hope of resolution."
He certainly did not blame Liu Tian Ning, as this magic was something he actively sought to learn; he hadn’t planned on formally apprenticing back then.
Besides, there are solutions to the problems of the Ten Thousand Skill Avatar.
Liu Tian Ning might not know, the Derivation God Decision he practices is different from his own.
From a current perspective, the correct cultivation method is able to control the Ten Thousand Skill Avatar.
"Teacher, there are some things that are inconvenient to say right now," Zhao Xing said, "but I am sure there is a solution!"
Liu Tian Ning’s illusion glanced over, he couldn’t really discern Zhao Xing’s attitude, whether he was comforting him or if there was some secret he didn’t know?
"Alright, I believe in you, we as mentor and student will solve this issue together."
...
The time came to February of the thirty-seventh year of the Jingxin Calendar, Pinghai State was essentially without conflict.
The restoration and governance work progressed rapidly.
As long as there was no external influence, with the power of the Great Zhou, the chaotic conditions and terrain changes in Pinghai State were easy to restore.
Especially with the Earth Advantage Sect’s Kunyuan Rebuilding, a top-level restorative skill, which, when deployed, could cover an entire county, allowing for quick recovery.
Since Prince Liang was prematurely defeated, it did not cause further chaos. Zhao Xing found that overall, in this lifetime, the Great Zhou suffered less damage than in the previous one.
At least, judging by the data from Pinghai State, this was the case.
This further confirmed a certain speculation of his.
The tenth of February, Spring Festival Day.
A large number of imperial envoys entered Pinghai State.
At the same time, King Heavenly Destiny also hinted at something implicitly.
Subsequently, the court was about to start reviewing the chaos of Pinghai State, and conduct a more detailed and in-depth review.
Zhao Xing naturally understood, the post-event cleansing was beginning.
Emperor Jing no longer intended to fight the Ping Man War, so he had sufficient energy to clean up the internal hidden dangers.
Exactly how many foreign forces took advantage of this wave to hide?
Did not accept the Black Dragon’s Qi Fortune conferment, does that necessarily mean loyalty? Was there any secret support to Prince Liang’s group?
"Any involvement, however slight, is a big problem," Zhao Xing thought to himself, "fortunately, from the Ten Suns Cave Heaven, we had laid the groundwork, I, Chen Shijie, and Long Xiao, had all been demoted for offending Prince Liang, and later faced assassination in the East Sea."
"Many things are nothing at the moment, but now in retrospect, they can be used as evidence."
...
From early February to the end of March in the thirty-seventh year of the Jingxin Calendar, the skies in Pinghai State were clear, but there was always a cloud looming over everyone’s mind.
Because during these two months, a large number of officials were executed, imprisoned. Those with lesser crimes were stripped of power, titles, lands, loose rank, and merit ranks.
Especially military leaders and oligarchs, even a minor mistake would turn into a major one.
The Seventy-two Taoist Schools could not remain unaffected either and had to account to Emperor Jing.
Under such an atmosphere, all of Zhao Xing’s clones essentially retracted.
They stayed in the Tianyuan Prefecture, merely carrying out the two tasks entrusted by Wang Tianzhi.
By late April, the tense atmosphere seemed to have eased somewhat.
The first batch of rewards was also announced.
On this day, Zhao Xing, who was doing hard labor in the Pocket World, and his clone in the Phenology Institute, both received orders.
"Zhao Xing, return to Tianyuan Prefecture at once, there is an Imperial Decree!"