Chapter 231: Skipping Eighty Episodes of a Television Drama
Blue Sea had already discussed how the Heavenly Court should make its debut on numerous occasions.
At first, Blue Sea’s plan was based on the typical Old Eighth style of thinking.
Since they were strong enough to fight, why not simply go around fighting everyone one by one?
When the time came, the Heavenly Court would fight its way from beginning to end, from east to west. Demons, monsters, ghosts, and spirits—who cared what they were? Thirty-two or twenty-one, it made no difference. If one showed up, they’d beat one. If a pair showed up, they’d beat both.
Once they had helped the imperial court put everything in order, the court would naturally show the Heavenly Court the proper respect.
Actually, it wasn’t surprising that Blue Sea had such a simplistic idea. After all, ever since leaving the Dark Star, Blue Sea had encountered multiple apocalyptic worlds, received all kinds of world missions, and come across one Safe City after another. Yet even in the previous world, where they had disguised themselves as [Ota], Blue Sea had essentially fought its way through everything.
This was what it meant to overcome a hundred techniques with sheer strength.
“But Fallen Heaven Star’s situation is different. First of all, the demons and monsters on Fallen Heaven Star are appearing in an explosive surge. There’s a very real possibility that we’ll send out a large number of people, only to find that after we cut down one batch, another immediately grows in its place.”
Ruo Buyan spoke up during the meeting.
Actually, in her original world, an operation involving this kind of political action normally wouldn’t have involved the Science and Technology Institute.
Or rather, even if the Science and Technology Institute did participate, it would simply follow the instructions of the higher-ups. Its only responsibility would be to carry out whatever tasks it was assigned.
But Blue Sea was clearly different.
Although Blue Sea had always been fairly average when it came to scientific research and similar fields, both historically and in the present day, producing far more people skilled at hands-on work than intellectual talent, under these circumstances, it had nevertheless fully acknowledged the importance of scientific research.
At first, Blue Sea had simply given the Science and Technology Institute’s researchers—such as Ruo Buyan, who were also believers of Our God—as much leeway as possible in every area, just as it did with other important departments.
Later, when they reached Moon Silk Star, the Science and Technology Institute suddenly gained several hundred highly accomplished researchers.
Blue Sea also learned from Moon Silk Star’s historical development that “science and technology could absolutely stand alongside the military and government as one of three equally powerful pillars.”
Just look at how well Moon Silk Star had developed when its Science and Technology Institute held such a prestigious position and had the power to influence national policies!
Once Blue Sea had come to this realization, someone immediately brought it up during a meeting. Everyone unanimously agreed: “That’s absolutely right!” and “A department with such capabilities really should be given a status to match!”
Besides, scientists were generally quite intelligent. Allowing them to participate in national decision-making was practically like giving the country an additional brain.
And most importantly, every single person in the Science and Technology Institute was a believer. There were no trust issues to worry about.
And so, the decision to elevate the Science and Technology Institute’s status was made swiftly and decisively.
Ruo Buyan, who had already been promoted to director of a large research institute, was first informed that her research institute had been transformed into a Science and Technology Institute. Then she was elected as its vice dean.
Before she could even recover from the joy of her promotion and pay raise, the entire Science and Technology Institute had become an institution on equal footing with the Department of Government Affairs, the Temple, and the Military Department.
From that point onward, the number of departments in Blue Sea qualified to make decisions on major national affairs increased from three to four.
Ruo Buyan: “…”
If she could rewind time by thirty years, she would never have imagined that she would one day become a national-level leader.
Naturally, the excitement in her heart was beyond words.
After all, in her understanding, under apocalyptic conditions, researchers might enjoy a relatively high status, but they certainly wouldn’t be in a position to make decisions for an entire country.
Yet Blue Sea had given them precisely that kind of authority.
In the eyes of many researchers, the current Science and Technology Institute was still only in its infancy. Or rather, by the standards of a national-level research institution, it was still quite small.
Blue Sea had a population of 500 million, but even counting interns, the Science and Technology Institute had fewer than 20,000 people in total.
Moreover, unlike the native researchers, who exercised regularly and whose physical condition had gradually improved as Blue Sea Safe City advanced in rank, with their combat strength slowly climbing above 70…
Researchers from other civilizations, for the most part, had nimble minds but relatively frail bodies. They could only say that, under the influence of Blue Sea’s people, they did their best to squeeze in some time every day to visit the gym facilities on each floor of the Science and Technology Institute and do things like jog for a while.
—Their combat strength was only around 35–42.
If the other departments (the Temple, the Department of Government Affairs, and the Military Department) hadn’t taken the initiative to bring it up, there was absolutely no way that the Science and Technology Institute, with its small number of personnel and low combat strength, could have attained such an important position under apocalyptic conditions.
Yet in Blue Sea, this was precisely what had happened.
The other three departments had welcomed the Science and Technology Institute into their ranks as enthusiastically as they would have welcomed their own brothers and sisters.
This made Ruo Buyan feel fortunate once again that she had chosen to pledge herself to Blue Sea back then, and that through her tireless efforts, she had finally come to believe in the great Blue Sea Creator God and truly become one of Blue Sea’s people.
Carrying this sense of happiness and gratitude in her heart, Ruo Buyan chose to speak up when the meeting for the [Great Luo Heavenly Court Grand Debut Plan] began.
Although the meeting’s name was simple and straightforward, after living in Blue Sea for so long, she had grown accustomed to it. In fact, her attitude had even changed from her initial thought of ‘What a simplistic way of naming things’ to her current opinion of ‘This is actually a much better way to name meetings. Just looking at the title beforehand tells you exactly what the meeting is about.’
Before the meeting, Ruo Buyan had made thorough preparations.
“Our objective is to rebuild the Heavenly Dao—or rather, the Heavenly Court—as quickly as possible, while also obtaining more Divine Kingdoms. Naturally, we need to make a proper effort to publicize ourselves.
“Of course, we’ve already discussed this before. Since it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to introduce ourselves directly, we can instead use our identities as gods to help other people. That way, the world will gradually come to learn that there is a Great Luo Heavenly Court on Fallen Heaven Star.
“However, recently, I studied the 1,315 mythology-related books from other civilizations that Blue Sea has collected. I believe one of those mythological tales provides an excellent example of how to promote a powerful pantheon of gods.”
“I think we can follow its example.”
Ruo Buyan waved her hand, and a virtual image of a book appeared before everyone in the meeting room.
…
Cheng Qisheng, who was watching while clutching her homemade milk tea, also turned to look.
On the book’s cover were three large characters:
《X Journey to the West》.
—Pfft!
Cheng Qisheng nearly spat out a mouthful of milk tea.
But a few seconds later, the great Blue Sea Creator God had another thought.
Huh?
Actually, that made sense.
Even though she hadn’t watched much entertainment when she was little, she had seen some episodes of Journey to the West. She more or less knew that it was about four master-and-disciple travelers setting out to obtain the sacred scriptures, passing through one kingdom and one obstacle after another along the way.
And every time they arrived in a new kingdom, they would say something along the lines of: “This humble monk comes from the Great Tang in the Eastern Land and is traveling to the Western Heaven to worship Buddha and seek the scriptures.”
Although there had been countless in-depth analyses and speculations about the Heavenly Court and the Western Heaven in Journey to the West—such as which side was actually more powerful, whether the Jade Emperor and Buddha had joined forces to stage an elaborate political deal, or whether they were using all the living beings under Heaven as pieces in a grand game to reorganize the order of the Three Realms—children, at any rate, had always enjoyed watching it.
Cheng Qisheng agreed with Ruo Buyan’s assessment that its “publicity effect was excellent.”
When she was little, she hadn’t known much about Buddhism or Taoism. Yet while watching the series, her first reaction really had been: “Oh! So the Western Heaven is actually a really powerful place!”
This Ruo Buyan certainly knew what she was doing!
Well, it wasn’t as though this was her first time demonstrating her abilities. After all, she had previously served as an advisor to the ruler of the universe in the first world.
If they followed the Journey to the West model, the Blue Sea Great Luo Heavenly Court wouldn’t need to do much at all. It only had to make sure that the “pilgrims seeking the scriptures” stayed alive and kicking until they reached their destination.
Along the way, ordinary people would naturally spread tales of the Heavenly Court.
And whenever the “pilgrims” encountered danger, they could simply call for reinforcements! Wouldn’t that give the Heavenly Court’s gods one opportunity after another to make their appearances?
A few gods could show up in each kingdom, conveniently dealing with the demonic incidents plaguing those places. As the pilgrims passed through each kingdom, its people could gradually become believers of the Heavenly Court’s gods.
Brilliant!!!
Cheng Qisheng thought it was indeed a wonderful idea, yet at the same time, she felt a strange, indescribable sensation.
The “mythological stories” she had once watched as a child had now become something she herself was helping to write.
Back when she was little, sitting in front of the television and watching Sun Wukong get driven away by his master, she had felt indignant on his behalf. But she had never imagined that one day, she would occupy a position even higher than the “Jade Emperor” and “Buddha” in those stories.
…
Meanwhile, the Old Eighths were still engaged in heated discussions at Blue Sea’s meeting.
In truth, they hadn’t discussed things for very long. After just a little over two hours, they had already reached a decision.
President Qin Zhi gave the final word.
“Let’s go with this plan for now. We might as well take advantage of the situation in Yun Kingdom and put it into action immediately.”
If their “pilgrimage to obtain the scriptures” didn’t work out, they could always switch to another approach.
At worst, they could fall back on the same old method: fight their way from beginning to end, from east to west.
Our God is above. Blue Sea fears nothing!
…
Cheng Qisheng had assumed that the Old Eighths would directly accept Crown Prince Yun Xiangyi’s request and use this side quest as a way to enter the main storyline.
But as it turned out, whenever it came time to handle actual business, the Old Eighths were still remarkably reliable.
Whether in battle or in everyday life, the people of Blue Sea believed in one principle:
—Accomplish the greatest possible task in the shortest possible time.
What, were they supposed to earn Yun Xiangyi’s trust, protect him as he fought his way through countless obstacles on his journey to the imperial capital, help him gain an audience with the emperor, then prove his true identity through a conversation with the emperor, expose the false crown prince, and finally restore the rightful heir to his throne?
That would be an enormous waste of time!!
That entire sequence of events could easily fill eighty episodes of a television drama!
What good would helping the crown prince do? Wasn’t the final decision still in the emperor’s hands? Why not go straight to the top and approach the emperor directly?
…
At the Ghost Gate, Qian Heng waved her hand.
“A god who hasn’t been recognized by the dynasty will be rejected upon entering the imperial capital? No problem. I know exactly what to do!”
Youdu had now been recognized by the acting Heavenly Dao, which meant its yin deities possessed legitimate law-enforcement authority.
Gods who hadn’t received official authorization couldn’t enter the imperial palace.
No problem!
They could simply drag the emperor down to the underworld!
Oh, right! They could bring the crown prince down as well. Once the two met face-to-face, wouldn’t everything become clear?
Perfect!
They just needed to go through the proper procedures.
It was rather like how a court needed a plaintiff before it could summon a defendant according to legal procedure.
“This is easy enough to handle, too.”
Qian Heng declared that none of this was a problem. Ever since her stint posing as someone else on Moon Silk Star, it was as though a whole new world had opened up before her.
There were countless ways to accomplish any given task. It all depended on whether the people involved actually wanted to get it done.
The world was vast, and there were countless dead people. Yun Kingdom had just gone through a major upheaval, too. She refused to believe that, among all the souls in Youdu who hadn’t yet reincarnated, there wasn’t a single one who hated the new emperor of Yun Kingdom and was willing to bring a lawsuit against him.
Her deputy, standing nearby, asked, “But what if there really isn’t anyone?”
Qian Heng’s expression was resolute. She displayed the full bearing of a ghost official, along with her determination to do anything necessary in service of the great Blue Sea Creator God.
“I say there is!”
“Then there definitely is!!!”
——
Yun Kingdom
After finishing the day’s official business, the new emperor was utterly exhausted. He didn’t even feel like speaking, and simply ordered his attendants to escort him back to his bedchamber.
The previous emperor had passed away unexpectedly, and the former crown prince’s death had also been suspiciously sudden. Even after all this time, despite painstakingly working through matters bit by bit, the new emperor still hadn’t managed to get the affairs of state completely in order.
Fortunately, his crown prince had returned to court and could help him handle some of the work.
Unfortunately, the journey had been too arduous for the crown princess. She had suffered a miscarriage, and the grandchild—whose sex they would never even know—was gone just like that.
Perhaps because of this shock, the crown prince’s temperament had changed somewhat. On the surface, he seemed no different from before, but the new emperor could sense the difference.
Then again, hadn’t he changed as well?
They had gone from prince and heir apparent to emperor and crown prince. Even though they were still father and son, surely their relationship could no longer be as close and natural as it had once been.
The day before yesterday, the crown prince had insisted on replacing the City God of the imperial capital. He claimed that the City God had failed in his duties, allowing demons and monsters to attack the previous emperor and the former crown prince, ultimately causing their untimely deaths.
The new emperor trusted his eldest son, so he had simply left the matter in his hands. But now that he thought about it, something seemed amiss. Traditionally, new City Gods were selected from among officials and ministers recorded in history. Yet judging by the crown prince’s intentions, it seemed he wanted to appoint some obscure official who had never even made a name for himself in history.
Thinking of this, he wanted to get up and give an order, instructing someone to send a message to the crown prince telling him not to finalize the selection of the new City God just yet.
But he was simply too exhausted. His head was spinning, and the moment he lay down on the bed, he felt himself sinking into a deep sleep.
The new emperor could barely keep his eyes open. In a daze, he could only instruct the attendant serving beside him:
“Wake Me up in two hours.”
There was still a mountain of official business waiting to be dealt with.
The new emperor drifted into a deep, hazy sleep. His body had initially felt heavy, but the longer he slept, the lighter he became, until it seemed as though his entire body was floating.
Wait—
The new emperor hesitantly opened his eyes, only to discover that he really was floating in midair.
And his physical body was still lying below, sleeping soundly.
What was going on?
The new emperor was horrified. Instinctively, he tried to rush back toward his body, but a powerful force suddenly seized his arm.
Turning to look, he saw a man dressed entirely in white, wearing a tall hat. While holding onto him, the man solemnly confirmed:
“Yun Ying, Emperor of Yun Kingdom. A plaintiff has submitted a formal petition, bringing his grievance before the Judges’ Hall of Youdu. The King of Hell, moved by the injustice suffered by this deceased soul, has issued an order for you to temporarily leave your living body. Your living soul is to accompany us to the Judges’ Hall of Youdu to confront the plaintiff. Come with us at once.”
“Huh?”
Before Yun Ying could even react, thick fog suddenly rose before his eyes.
In the blink of an eye, he had arrived directly in the underworld.
Looking up, he found himself standing before a vast palace. Above its entrance were three imposing characters (森罗殿):
[Palace of the King of Hell]
The ghost messenger escorted him inside. In the solemn great hall, just as expected, a divine official dressed in an official robe and wearing a stern expression sat in the seat of honor.
A mountain of documents was piled up before the official. He was bent over his desk, rapidly writing with his brush. Only when Yun Ying arrived did he finally stop and ask:
“Plaintiff, take a look. Is this the ruler of the mortal realm you wish to bring charges against?”
Only then did Yun Ying notice that another person was standing in the great hall. The man looked familiar, but for a moment, he couldn’t quite place who he was.
Right now, Yun Ying felt as though his entire body were floating, as if he were in a dream. He couldn’t make sense of what was happening.
To be honest, he still felt as though he hadn’t fully woken up.
But then he saw the other man glare at him resentfully before bowing deeply toward the Judge seated above.
“That’s him.”
“This humble god has guarded the imperial capital for seven hundred years. Throughout all these years, I have faithfully fulfilled my duties, suppressing evil and protecting the souls of the departed. I have never once dared to neglect my responsibilities. If the emperor of the mortal realm wishes to appoint a new City God and replace me, I would have nothing to say about it.”
The man’s face was filled with indignation. He looked as though he wanted nothing more than to point at Yun Ying’s nose and curse him. The more he spoke, the more agitated he became.
“But this Son of Heaven in the mortal realm was actually deceived by evil entities! He listened to slanderous accusations, destroyed my temple, and smashed my divine statue! He even brought in an evil entity to take my place!”
“Setting aside the injustice I have personally suffered, this emperor’s actions amount to inviting a wolf into his home! How can an evil entity possibly serve as the City God of the imperial capital?!!! The very fate of Yun Kingdom will be ruined by this! Countless living beings in this land will likely suffer as a result! I have come here specifically to present my case. I beg Your Honor to judge this matter fairly!!!”
Only after being cursed out to his face did Yun Ying finally snap out of that dreamlike, disoriented state.
His mind raced as he tried to make sense of the other man’s words. The more he understood, the stiffer his expression became.
Now that he took a closer look…
Wasn’t this ragged-looking man standing before him the very City God of the imperial capital, whose temple had just been destroyed?
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