As for the other subordinates, well, they should be elevated to godhood as well, though they don't need to hold very high positions.
As long as it makes things easier for them in the future, that's fine.
On this day, in the vast, pale world within the Nine Provinces Record, the mansions and courtyards were deep and secluded, with buildings standing majestically, all resplendent in gold, with carved beams and painted rafters, flying eaves and upturned corners; radiating golden light, solemn and dignified, with a magnificent aura.
The original plaque that read "Zhouhuangfu" has been changed to "Cangtiantingfu".
It can be said that Xu Zhengyang had some sense of shame, and did not directly rename it to the Azure Heaven Palace of the Eastern Azure Heaven Court.
He was currently hesitating, wondering if he could just go up and say something really pretentious today:
I... how...?
Volume Seven, Emperor Chapter 366: Incomplete Internal Organs, Initial Formation
Upon entering the mansion, one walks through a spacious courtyard paved with white jade slabs. Ascending the stone steps, there are eighty-one steps, divided into layers of twenty-seven.
After that, we arrived at the entrance of the main hall.
Somewhat tacky is that the plaque above the palace gate reads "Council Hall" in three large gilded characters.
The main hall was not as spacious and magnificent as depicted in the TV series; it was much smaller in comparison. There were also no civil and military officials standing respectfully and orderly inside the hall to wait for them.
Only Li Haidong and a few other officials stood somewhat bewildered in the "hall," which was larger and more imposing than ever before.
However, no one discussed it; they were all waiting for Xu Zhengyang to arrive.
Golden dragon pillars, each half a meter in diameter, stand in the hall, supporting the high roof ridge and contrasting with the dark gold floor tiles, creating a majestic and solemn atmosphere.
In the center of the hall rises a platform more than two meters high, upon which sits a golden throne covered with bright yellow brocade.
Beneath the throne and imperial platform, there were several beautifully designed cranes, incense burners, and tripods, with a dragon-carved screen behind them...
Wow, this image-building project is done so well, it looks quite impressive.
Logically speaking, Xu Zhengyang wasn't the type to prioritize appearances or grand projects; he always valued practicality. Even though these palaces and mansions were merely virtual entities in the Nine Provinces Record—simply a matter of informing the record of one's desired form and appearance with one's mind—it still still required divine power, didn't it? For Xu Zhengyang, who was always frugal with his divine power, this was truly a bit extravagant.
But this image-building project still has to be done.
Conferring titles upon gods is no small matter, especially a true conferment of titles. From this day forward, it is as if a truly complete Heavenly Court, though small in scale, has begun to be established. From now on, Xu Zhengyang will no longer be a solitary deity in the Three Realms, but rather, real deities with divine positions will appear around him in the mortal world!
Whether the ceremony is solemn or not is not important; what matters is that this is a basic occasion, and we should make it look proper!
Otherwise, how can one convince people? Oh, convince the gods.
Psychologically, we need to make them feel that we are a legitimate group, not a ragtag bunch... In addition, this kind of occasion will naturally bring them some psychological pressure and comfort.
Li Haidong and the others could certainly see that the current state of affairs in this hall was very similar to that of an ancient imperial court. Having been summoned here to discuss matters today, they all had some guesses in their minds: could it be that... a leader from above is coming soon?
The "above" naturally refers to the great gods in Heaven, such as the Jade Emperor, the Queen Mother, and Laozi.
Because they have always believed that Xu Zhengyang was a deity chosen by the Heavenly Court and placed on earth, and that the Heavenly Court valued him highly. Otherwise, how could he have risen so quickly and risen to the rank of god?
While everyone was still wondering what was going on, Xu Zhengyang slowly walked out from behind the imperial platform.
Today, Xu Zhengyang wasn't wearing the official robes he usually conjured up for similar occasions. Instead, he wore a light yellow Tang suit with gold trim and an elegant landscape painting, paired with dark gold cloth shoes, looking like a Tai Chi practitioner. However, the faint golden aura emanating from his entire body gave him an imposing presence that his subordinates could all sense.
Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Xu Zhengyang slowly walked up to the imperial platform and calmly sat on the golden throne.
Li Haidong and Wan Yun, these two shrewd individuals, felt a chill run down their spines, as if they had a premonition. Their previous guesses were all wrong; the big shot, the important figure, who was supposed to be coming today was actually Xu Zhengyang… except that he had been promoted again?!
An eerie silence fell over the hall.
Xu Zhengyang sat calmly on the throne, seemingly in no hurry to say anything, but rather waiting for his subordinates to calm down before discussing matters.
In fact...
Beneath Xu Zhengyang's calm and composed expression lay a very awkward, hesitant, and shameless thought.
He was thinking that if his subordinates were sensible and understanding enough to put on a show of kneeling in obeisance, he wouldn't mind saying, "Rise, my beloved subjects, I... and so on..." After all, everyone has a bit of a perverse narcissistic streak. However, this hope didn't materialize, so he felt ashamed of his thoughts; the other half was that his hesitation prevented him from being completely disappointed.
After all, he was someone who grew up in the real world, and he was quite resistant to this kind of thing.
Since that scenario didn't occur, Xu Zhengyang wasn't about to wait any longer and rely on his overwhelming aura to make his subordinates realize what was going on, only to have them kneel down and shout "Long live the Emperor!"—a rather tedious situation. Xu Zhengyang casually waved his hand and calmly said, "Please sit down."
As he spoke, several reddish-brown wooden chairs appeared on both sides of the hall.
It must be said that Wang Yonggan was most adept at this kind of ingratiating behavior. He first bowed deeply and said, "Thank you, sir!" And after thanking them, he didn't straighten up, but rather sensibly glanced at the others. His attitude was clear: his official rank and status were lower than theirs, so esteemed gentlemen, please have a seat.
In fact, Wang Yonggan had considered this before; given the current situation, he should quickly kneel down and shout "Long live the Emperor!" However, he was now afraid of the person above him. Having been by his side for so long, as the saying goes, serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. Wang Yonggan knew that if he misunderstood this serious idea, he would be in for a beating.
When Wang Yonggan expressed his gratitude, the others suddenly realized what had happened and quickly bowed in thanks as well.
Li Haidong took his seat first, and then the others sat down one after another, looking at Xu Zhengyang.
"The Three Capitals and Six Prefectures..." Xu Zhengyang slowly began, "They've been established. I've roughly reviewed the basic regulations and outlines you drafted and discussed. For now, let's proceed as is. From now on, the affairs of the Three Capitals and Six Prefectures will still be managed and overseen by Li Haidong... Wan Yun."
"Here." Wan Yun quickly stood up, walked to the center without being taught, and bowed with his hands clasped.
"Of the more than four thousand dismissed ghost messengers, how many were willing to serve as ghost messengers in the underworld?" Xu Zhengyang asked.
Wan Yun replied, "Three thousand four hundred and twenty-four people. However, since most of them do not understand the working conditions and environment of the underworld, I believe this number is not accurate."
"Hmm." Xu Zhengyang nodded. This was indeed a problem. After thinking for a moment, he said, "It's understandable. If they regret it after they get to the underworld, they can be reincarnated."
"My lord..." Wan Yun suddenly wanted to say something.
Xu Zhengyang interrupted him, his voice cold and sharp, "Forget about reincarnation... The work of the underworld needs to be handled by you."
"Yes," Wan Yun replied helplessly.
In fact, ever since he learned that Xu Zhengyang was going to arrange for him to be an official in the underworld, Wan Yun has been busy with his work these days, but he has also been constantly pondering whether being an official in the underworld is a good thing or a bad thing.
After much thought, he came up with this idea.
To put it bluntly, it's because of a lack of confidence and fear.
Xu Zhengyang waved his hand and said, "Wan Yun, your future official position will be Chief Judge of the Southeast Yama Palace in the Underworld. As for your specific duties and authority, I will inform you in detail after we arrive in the Underworld."
"Yes." Wan Yun bowed, hesitating whether he should kneel. "Thank you, sir."
After saying that, Wan Yun finally couldn't hold back and slowly knelt down, trembling.
Xu Zhengyang didn't speak, but quietly looked at Wan Yun for a while before waving his hand and saying, "From now on, we don't need to follow these rules... No one needs to kneel."
At his voice, Wan Yun's body seemed to stand up uncontrollably. She quickly thanked him again and nervously sat back down in her chair.
Xu Zhengyang pondered for a moment, then finally made up his mind, and his voice rang out in the main hall:
"Now, within the Three Realms... all the gods have fallen, leaving only me, the sole god. Heaven and the Underworld are now empty."
Those seated in the hall were all startled and stared at Xu Zhengyang in disbelief.
This news was simply unbelievable to them, even more so than the shock they felt when they finally accepted the existence of God after abandoning atheism.
"Therefore, in the past hundred years, morality, human nature and conscience in the world have been declining and corrupted under the constant erosion of worldly affairs... I, the official, uphold the last wishes of the gods of the Heavenly Court and as permitted by the Heavenly Laws, vow to establish a Heavenly Court on Earth, eliminate evil and promote good, so that the world will not become more and more dirty and filthy."
"Justice and goodness are the fundamental principles upheld by the Heavenly Court."
“You are fortunate. In principle, none of you are worthy of your current authority and position... but I have no choice but to temporarily select you to perform the duties of a deity…”
"I will continue to select suitable people from the mortal realm to become deities; the new deities may work with you or they may replace you! Therefore, from now on, you must do your jobs well and not disappoint me!"
...
Everyone present was terrified.
Of course, no one would dare to think about how Xu Zhengyang became a god. Does Xu Zhengyang really deserve such a high-ranking divine position?
Xu Zhengyang's words just now couldn't be clearer.
If you do a good job, keep it up; if you don't, we'll kick you out in the future...
As for what punishment will follow after you are stripped of your religious authority, you can figure that out yourselves. You are all well aware of Xu Zhengyang's temperament and character.
Out of a million people, you probably couldn't find even one who, after becoming a god, would be willing to give it up.
Of course, it must be admitted that the time frame is still short. Perhaps after decades, centuries, centuries, or even millennia, they will grow weary of loneliness and yearn for death, or be reborn as humans to enjoy the world's splendor.
Xu Zhengyang had already thought of this, but there was no need to consider it now.
In the main hall, Xu Zhengyang slowly shared his simple views on worldly affairs, and then said:
"The laws of Heaven still need to be standardized gradually, and the shortcomings need to be corrected little by little. You should think about these things more carefully. If you have any good suggestions, you can give them to Li Haidong. If there are any that really need to be revised, please inform me for review..."
Those present dared not speak, their shock still lingering.
Xu Zhengyang also calmed down, letting them digest the information and calm down.
After a long while, Li Haidong was the first to regain his composure. He stood up, walked to the center, bowed, and said calmly, "Sir, I have a question, but I don't know if I should ask it."
Xu Zhengyang nodded and said, "It's nothing, I can tell you..."
Li Haidong trembled. It turned out that Xu Zhengyang knew exactly what he was thinking.
Everyone else looked at Xu Zhengyang with serious expressions.
"The ranks of the gods are naturally clearly defined and strictly hierarchical... My current position is Gouchen Star Lord, one of the Four Emperors of Heaven, holding the first rank; in addition, I am temporarily acting as the Heavenly Emperor, overseeing all the gods and officials, numbering in the hundreds and thousands..."
Xu Zhengyang did not explicitly mention the existence of the Nine Heavens Court, nor would he claim to be the acting emperor of the Eastern Azure Heaven Court. In fact, above the Heavenly Emperor, there is the Heavenly Emperor.
Firstly, there's no need for that, and secondly, we need to let them know that I, the official, am the most powerful!
I am the only one who matters!
"Of course, I also serve as the Yama King of the Underworld, ruling over the Netherworld... By the way, I should tell you that in the Heavenly and Human Realms, there are Heavenly Laws to assist me in governing, and in the Underworld, there are also Underworld Rules; the original gods of the Heavenly Court and the Underworld have gathered the power of all gods to develop and establish various divine artifacts to assist the gods in handling all kinds of affairs."
"Oh, just like the divine artifacts I made, such as the City Scroll and the Soul-Slaying Whip. They are different in size but have similar effects."
Those present understood.
"Your subject, Your subject..." Li Haidong stammered for a while, wanting to kneel down, but then remembered that Xu Zhengyang had said that there was no need to kneel down in the future, so he bowed even deeper and changed the word "Your subject" to "Your subject" and said simply, "Your subject understands."
The proper roles of ruler and subject?
Everyone was stunned.
Even Xu Zhengyang was slightly taken aback. He smiled and waved, then resumed his serious expression and said in a deep voice:
"Li Haidong is hereby appointed as the judge of the government offices of the three capitals and six prefectures, with full authority to handle all matters. His official rank is fourth grade."
"Chen Chaojiang, Heavenly Censor and Spirit Official, is a fourth-rank official... He is responsible for protecting the altar and inspecting the local gods and their subordinate ghost messengers in various prefectures and counties, judging those who are unjust, disrespectful, or violate the laws of the Heavenly Court."
"Su Peng, a clerk of the fifth rank, commands all the ghost messengers and is under the command of the judge."
“Wang Yonggan…a seventh-rank official serving as the chief clerk beside the Emperor, responsible for reporting and communication.”
"Li Bingjie, Registrar of the Heavenly Court, rank five."