Chapter 1: Heaven Official’s Blessing

Among the gods of the heavens, there was a famous laughing stock known throughout the three realms.

Legend has it that eight hundred years ago, there was an ancient country within the Central Plains called Xian Le nation.

The ancient nation of Xian Le had vast territory, abundant resources and content citizens. The country had four treasures: delicate beauties aplenty, thriving arts & literature, treasures of gold and jewels and last but not least, their renown Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

This person, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince….you could say…. was a strange man.

The Emperor and Empress considered him to be the apple of their eyes. They doted on him immensely and would often proudly proclaim: “In the future, my son will surely become a wise monarch, leaving a reputable impression for generations to come .”

Yet, in the regards of what came with royalty, of riches, power and honor, the Crown Prince had no interest.

What he was interested in, quoting the very words he often said to himself, was——

“I want to save the common folks!”

.

The young prince cultivated in earnest. During this time, two short stories became widely circulated. .

The first story occurred when he was seventeen years old.

That year, the nation of Xian Le held a magnificent Offering to the Gods parade.

Although this tradition had already been abandoned for numerous centuries, through surviving ancient texts and verbal stories, one could imagine the grandeur of the event..

Offering to the Gods day, Martial God Main Street.

Both sides of the Main Street were overflowing with a sea of people. The aristocrats were seated on top of high buildings as they exchanged friendly chatter; while the imperial guards cleared the way with their impressive armours clinking. Young girls danced gracefully as their snow-white hands scattered flower petals like rain, filling the sky as far as the eye could see. It made people question whether the dancing maidens were more beautiful or the flowers themselves. Melodious notes sounded from within golden carriages and floated throughout the whole Imperial City. Behind honorable guards, sixteen white horses with golden bridles walked side-by-side as they pulled forward a magnificent platform.

Located on top of the tall, magnificent platform was the focus of everyone’s attention, there stood the martial artist to perform a show to please the Gods.

During the festive heavenly parade, the martial artist would adorn a golden mask, don splendid garments and wield a sword in one hand. He would perform the role of the first military deity in a millennium to have subdued demonic beasts——Martial God Heavenly Emperor Jun Wu.

Being selected as the martial artist to perform such a show could be considered equivalent as to receiving the utmost honour, and thus the selection criteria was extremely strict. This year, the one who was chosen was none other than His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The entire nation was convinced that he would surely be able to become the most marvellous martial artist to perform such a performance since the beginning of time.

However, on that day, something unexpected occurred.

The guard of honour made his third lap around the city walls, passing through one side with a dozen or more tall city walls.

During that time, the martial god on the magnificent stage was just about to land a killing blow on a demon.

This was the most exciting scene, and thus the people on both sides of the Main Street were fired up with passion. The people on the city walls were also becoming more rowdy as they started outdoing each other in sticking their heads out to see, both struggling and shoving.

Right at this moment, a young child fell from the top of the city gate tower.

Earsplitting screams pierced the heavens. Just when everyone thought that the young child was about to splash blood onto the Martial God Main Street, the Crown Prince lifted his head slightly before he leapt up and caught him.

The people only had enough time to glimpse a bird-like, white figure flit through the empty sky before the Crown Prince landed safely with the young child. His golden mask fell off, revealing the young and handsome face previously hidden behind it.

In the next moment, a crowd of ten thousand began to cheer.

The common people were delighted, but the Taoist ministers from the Imperial Household had some headaches.

They would never have thought in a million years that such a gigantic mistake would have occurred.

It was ominous, too ominous!

Every lap the magnificent platform does around the Imperial City represents a prayer for a year of the country’s peace and prosperity. Now that it had been interrupted, wasn’t that the same as incurring disaster?!

The ministers were worried to the point they lost hair like rain. After they pondered over the past and the now probable events that might occur in the future, they invited over the Crown Prince and tactfully suggested, Your Highness, can you face the wall for a month2 to show your repentance? You don’t have to actually do it, just the gesture to show your intent would be enough.

The Crown Prince smiled before replying, “No need.”

He explained his thoughts, “Saving people isn’t something bad. How could the Heavens fault me because I did the right thing?”

…And if by chance the Heavens do decide to blame you?

“Then the Heavens would be the ones who are wrong. Why should the people who are right apologize to the ones who are wrong?”

The ministers were speechless.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was exactly this type of person.

He’d never encountered anything he wasn’t able to accomplish, and he also never met anyone who didn’t love him. He was always right, and he was the heart of the world.

Thus, the ministers felt deep pain in their hearts as they thought, “What the hell do you know!?”

However, it wasn’t convenient for them to say more, and they also didn’t dare do it. His Highness wouldn’t listen to them anyway.

·

The second story also took place in the year the Crown Prince was seventeen.

According to the legends, on the south side of the Yellow River existed a bridge called the Yi Nian3 Bridge, where a famous ghost wandered for many years.

This ghost was utterly terrifying—dressed in ruined armor with flames from hell following its footsteps; its whole body was also covered in blood and pierced by numerous blades and arrows. Every step he took left behind the traces of both blood and fire. Every few years, it would suddenly appear during the night, wandering at the foot of the bridge and stopping travellers to ask them three questions: “Where is this?” “Who am I?” “What will you do now?”

If one did not answer correctly, they would be completely swallowed by the ghost in one bite. However, nobody knew what the correct answers were supposed to be. Thus, after several years, this ghost already swallowed countless pedestrians.

The Crown Prince heard about this matter one day while he was wandering about. After he found Yi Nian Bridge, he began to guard the foot of the bridge continuously until he finally met the ghost haunting the bridge one night.

The ghost appeared in a flash; and sure enough, it was as eerie and terrifying as what the rumors had claimed. It opened its mouth to ask the Crown Prince the first question, which the Crown Prince replied to him with a smile, “This is the human realm.”

However, the ghost replied, “This is the abyss.”

Beginner’s luck, it was only the first question, but he had already gotten it wrong.

The Crown Prince thought to himself, he was going to answer the questions wrong anyway, so why wait for the ghost to finish asking? Thus, he pulled out his weapon and began to fight.

This battle lasted until the sky became twilight and the land was covered in darkness. The Crown Prince was highly skilled in martial arts, while the ghost became even more daunting and dreadful. One man and one ghost fought on that bridge until the positions of the sun and moon had practically switched, before finally, the ghost was defeated.

After the ghost disappeared, the Crown Prince planted a flowering tree at the foot of the bridge. At that moment, a Taoist had been passing through and saw him scatter a handful of golden soil to help escort the ghost to its next life. He asked, “What are you doing?”

The Crown Prince then spoke his famous eight words: “Body in the abyss, but heart in paradise.”

When the Taoist heard that, he smiled slightly before transforming into a General deity clad in white armor. He stepped onto a magical cloud, summoned a strong wind, and then flew into the sunlight. The Crown Prince only realized then that, by a lucky coincidence, he had unexpectedly encountered the Martial God Heavenly Emperor himself who had descended to the human realm to subdue demonic beasts.

All the Gods were already paying attention to this extremely outstanding martial god after he had leapt into the sky on the day of the Offering to the Gods Parade. After meeting him at the foot of the Yi Nian Bridge, immortals began asking the Emperor: “What do you think of this Royal Highness, the Crown Prince?”

Emperor Jun also answered with eight words: “This child’s future is limitless, impossible to measure.”

That same evening, the sky above the Royal Palace became unnatural as wind and rain caused havoc.

And among the lightning flashes and thundering rolls, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ascended into godhood.

·

As long as someone ascends, the Heavens would always quake once. When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ascended, it immediately made the entire Heavens shake three times.

To achieve immortality through one’s efforts and insights was truly hard.

It required innate talent, high cultivation, and the right opportunity.

To be reborn as a respected god, more often than not, was an endless, lifetime journey.

A youngster ascending into godhood and becoming an arrogant brat in the Heavens wasn’t something that hadn’t happened, but there was also plenty of people who bitterly exhausted their entire life cultivating yet still did not achieve immortality. Even if they came across a chance from Heaven, if they didn’t overcome the heavenly tribulation, they would either die or become a waste. Countless humans, like the grains of sand in a desert, had a lives of mediocrity from start to finish, unable to find their right paths due to ignorance.

And so this Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, was undoubtedly the Heaven’s beloved darling. The things he wanted, there was nothing he could not obtain. The things he wanted to do, there was nothing that was impossible for him to accomplish. And when he wanted to ascend into godhood, he really ascended into godhood at age seventeen.

Originally, the Crown Prince was already popular with his people. Coupled with how he was the Emperor’s and Empress’ greatly missed beloved son, they commanded temples in the Crown Prince’s name to be built vigorously in many parts of the country. Statues were erected and everyone assembled to pay their respects. The more believers he had, the more shrines were built, so he lived longer and became more powerful. As a result, in just a couple of years, Xian Le country’s Crown Prince flourished and reached the peak of his power.

——Until three years later, when Xian Le descended into chaos.

·

The reason for the chaos was due to the Emperor’s cruel governing, prompting a rebel army to rise for justice. However, though the fire of war had already started flaming in the human realm, Heaven’s Godly officials could not meddle according to their wishes. Unless it was a result of demons and ghouls overstepping or violating their bounds, what happened must be allowed to happen. Disputes happened everywhere in the world, and every person believed their own actions were justified. If every deity interfered—today you will help and support your country, while tomorrow he helps his descendants take revenge. Wouldn’t that result in immortals coming to blows so frequently that it might eventually cause all life to be destroyed? In his Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s case, it was something he should keep out of even more.

But he didn’t care about that. He told Emperor Jun, “I want to save the common people.”

Though Emperor Jun had accumulated spiritual Godly power for thousands of years, even he did not dare to lightly say those words out loud. When he heard the Crown Prince, his mood could be easily imagined. However, Emperor Jun couldn’t do anything about him and could only helplessly say, “You cannot save everybody.”

The Crown Prince replied, “I can.”

Therefore, he descended to the human realm with no second thoughts.

The people of the entire Xian Le country naturally celebrated. However, since ancient times, folk tales had long tried to warn people of a truth. The event of an unauthorized immortal descending to the human realm would absolutely not bear a good result.

Thus, the fires from the war did not die down, and instead began burning even more wildly.

It wasn’t that His Highness the Crown Prince did not do his best, yet it would have been better had he had not done his best. The more he strived, the more complicated the war became. The people of Xian Le were beaten til their heads fell and their blood flowed, suffering disastrous casualties. Finally, a plague swept throughout the whole Imperial City and the rebels broke into the palace, ending the war.

One could say that when Xian Le country had been struggling on whilst at death’s door,  His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had been the one to directly suffocate them.

·

After the country was wiped out, the people suddenly realized something:

So, it turned out that their Crown Prince deity was not as formidable or perfect as they had imagined.

To put it more vulgarly, wasn’t he just an useless figure who was unable to accomplish anything, but liable to spoiling everything else?

Unable to vent the suffering they had felt after losing both their homes and their beloved ones, angry people covered in wounds rushed into the Crown Prince’s palace hall. They pushed down his Godly statue and burned his shrines.

Eight thousand temples burned for seven days and seven nights—burning until they completely disappeared.

From then on, a Martial God known for protection and peace faded away, and a demonic God who attracted disasters was born.

When people said you were a god, then you were a god. If they said you were sh*t, then you were sh*t. Whatever the people said you were, that was what you became. It had always been like this.

·

No matter what, His Highness the Crown Prince couldn’t accept this fact. What he could not accept even more was the punishment given to him: banishment.

His cultivation was destroyed, and he was to be thrown into the human realm.

From childhood, he had been spoiled a thousand ways as he grew up, so he never suffered the pains and difficulties of normal people. Thus, this penalty made him fall from high in the clouds down into the mud. And in this mud, it was the first time he experienced starvation, poverty, and the feeling of filth. It was also the first time he did things he had never imagined himself ever doing: pilfering, robbing, violently cursing, and abandoning himself to despair. Prestige entirely lost, self-esteem completely gone, he became as ugly as one wanted him to be. Even the most devoted attendants were unable to accept him changing in this way, and thus they chose to leave.

Body in the abyss, but heart in paradise. These eight words were carved almost everywhere in the stone tablets and boards of Xian Le country. Had they not been almost entirely burned away in the war, if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince were to see them again, he would be the first to rush up smash them.

Because the one who personally said the phrase had already proved that when his body was in the abyss, his heart was not in paradise.

·

He ascended quickly, and descended even quicker. The Martial God’s words and his graceful glance, having met both demon and god by chance on Yi Nian Bridge. They seemed as if they were things that had happened yesterday. The Heavens sighed for a bit, for the things that happened in the past remained in the past.

Many years passed when one day, a loud sound shook the Heavens. That Royal Highness the Crown Prince, ascended to Godhood for the second time.

Since ancient times, Gods who had been banished treated it as a setback leading to a total collapse, before degenerating into a ghost or a demon. There were absolutely very little people who were able to reverse their fortunes and return after being banished. This event of ascending for a second time was something entirely worthy of only the vigorous and the strong.

What was even more vigorous was that right after he ascended, he charged into the Heavens to beat up and murder everyone in all four directions. Thus, the Crown Prince had only ascended for about the time it took to burn one incense stick before he was kicked down again.

One incense stick4. It could be said that it was history’s quickest and most violent, yet brief ascension.

If one said that his first ascension was something to be praised, then his second ascending could only be called a farce.

·

After these two times, everyone in Heaven turned their backs on this Crown Prince. But although they abandoned him, they still felt a bit on guard. After all, after he was demoted once, he was driven to such a state of desperation. Now he was banished twice, would he become a demon and retaliate by abusing the common people?

Who knew that after he was demoted again, he did not become a demon and quite sincerely adapted to his banished lifestyle. There were no problems at all, and the only problem was just he was really too earnest.

Sometimes he performed on the streets, masterfully singing or playing both wind and bowed instruments of all kinds. Even breaking a giant stone on his chest was nothing difficult for him. Although they had long heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince could sing and dance and was multi-talented, to actually see it in a situation like this really made one’s mood become complicated. Sometimes, he even industriously and conscientiously accepted rubbish.

All the gods were astonished.

For things to become like this, it was really unimaginable. It was to the extent that nowadays, if someone told the other that, “You gave birth to a son who is Xian Le’s Crown Prince”, that would be much more malicious than cursing out the other party’s descendants.

In any case, he was once the peerless beauty His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who had been ranked as Heaven’s official. To be muddled to this state, there really wasn’t anyone else like him. The so-called laughingstock of the three realms was exactly due to this reason.

After laughing, those who were more sentimental would perhaps sigh. The proud and aloof son of the Heavens from the past truly disappeared.

His Godly statues toppled over, and his ancient country was destroyed with not a single believer left. Slowly, he became someone gradually forgotten by the world. Thus, no one knew where he had wandered off to.

To be banished once was already extraordinary shame and humiliation. To be banished twice, no one could ever climb up again.

·

After many more years, there was suddenly a day where the Heavens was once again disturbed by a loud noise.

It was extremely violent as the ground quaked and the mountains shook.

The altar lamps that burned day and night trembled as their flames danced violently. Godly officials who were awakened departed from their own palace halls, rushing about as they asked, who is the upstart that ascended? This place is shaking so much!

Who knew, just after sighing ‘how amazing, how amazing’, at the next glance, all of Heaven’s Gods felt as if they were struck by lightning over and over again.

Are you still not finished?!

That famous weirdo, the laughingstock of the three realms, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince from the legends, he he he —— he f*cking ascended to godhood again!

The country is named Xian Le, which can also be read as Xian Yue. However, the author made a note saying that we should read it as Xian Le. Xian Le means Heavenly Happiness while Xian Yue would have meant Heavenly Music.”

Facing the wall and meditating, AKA the ministers want the prince to reflect on his actions.”

Yi Nian Bridge has a lot of meanings. Yi \= One, while Nian could mean thought, memory, longing, yearning. I kept it in pinyin because I wasn’t sure which meaning it was trying to convey.”

One incense stick \= approximately 5 minutes RIP poor MC.”

Chapter 2: Scrap-Collecting Immortal’s Third Ascension to Godhood

“Congratulations, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

Hearing those words, Xie Lian raised his head and smiled before he spoke, “Thank you. But may I ask what you’re congratulating me for?”

Ling Wen ZhenJun1 stood with her arms crossed as she said, “Congratulations for getting first place on the list of ‘Heaven’s Officials most anticipated to be demoted and banished to the mortal realm’.”

Xie Lian replied, “No matter how you say it, it’s still first place. But I think that if you’re congratulating me, then it should still be a position worth being happy about?”

Ling Wen stated, “Yes, if you’re first, you can get one hundred merits.”

Xie Lian responded immediately, “Next time, if there’s another list like this, by all means, please put me on it.”

Ling Wen asked, “Do you know who is in second place?”

Xie Lian thought for a moment before replying, “That’s too hard to guess. After all, just based on strength, I alone ought to be able to take the top three places.”

Ling Wen answered, “That’s more or less right. There isn’t a second place. The moment you started, others could only see your dust with no hopes of catching up.”

Xie Lin said, “I dare not accept the honor. Who was the first place winner from the previous years?”

Ling Wen stated, “There wasn’t one because this list was created this year. More accurately, it was set up today.”

“Eh,” Xie Lian blanked for a bit before asking, “Based on what you said, this list wasn’t created specifically for me, was it?”

Ling Wen responded, “You can think of it as luckily winning merely because you were coincidentally in time for it.”

Xie Lian said with a face full of smiles, “Alright, if I think about it like that, I’ll be slightly happier.”

Ling Wen continued to say, “Do you know why you would seize first place?”

Xie Lian replied, “Everyone expects it.”

Ling Wen explained, “Let me tell you the reason. Please look at that clock.”

She lifted her finger to point, and Xie Lian turned around to look in that direction. What one could see there was extremely beautiful. Gazing into the distance, one could see a palace made out of white jade, pavilions and kiosks, immortal clouds curling about with flowing streams and flying birds.



Xie Lian gazed for a long time before asking, “Did you perhaps point in the wrong direction? Where’s the clock?”

Ling Wen replied, “I didn’t point in the wrong direction. It’s there, have you seen it yet?”

Xie Lian looked carefully again before truthfully saying, “I don’t see it.”

Ling Wen responded, “You’re right not to see it. Originally, there had been a clock there, but it was shaken off when you ascended.”

“…”

“That clock was even older than you. Nevertheless, it had a lively and vivacious character. Every single time someone ascended, it would ring a few times to cheer them on. But on the day you ascended, it rang like it had gone crazy, unable to stop. Only when it fell down from the clock tower did it calm down. However, when it fell down, it smashed into a passing Heavenly Official.”

Xie Lian asked, “This… Then, are they okay now?”

Ling Wen: “No, they’re still being repaired…”

Xie Lian: “I’m referring to the Heavenly Official who was hit.”

Ling Wen replied, “The one who got hit was a martial god. He turned his hand over on the spot and split that clock into two halves. But now, please look over there at that golden palace hall. Do you see it?”

She pointed again, and Xie Lian’s gaze followed her finger once more. He saw a vast area covered in mist and clouds, before seeing the top of a resplendent palace roof made out of gold glass. Xie Lian said, “Ah, I see it this time.”



Ling Wen responded, “If you see something, that means there’s something wrong. Originally there had been nothing there.”

“…”

“When you ascended, many Heavenly Officials’ golden palaces shook to the point that their golden pillars toppled over, and their glazed roofs shattered. Some palaces couldn’t be repaired in a short period of time. Without any better options, many people improvised and built new and temporary places.”

“I’m to blame?”

“You’re responsible for it.”

“Uh…” Xie Lian asked to confirm, “Did I happen to offend many Heavenly Officials the moment I came up?”

Ling Wen answered, “If you can redeem yourself, then perhaps you won’t.”

“What can I do to redeem myself?”

“That’s easy to answer. Eight million, eight hundred and eighty thousand merits.”

Xie Lian smiled again.

Ling Wen said, “Of course, I know even one-tenth of that is something you can’t take out.”

Xie Lian replied in a frank and genuine manner, “How do I say this? Although I’m truly sorry for the inconveniences, even if you requested one ten thousandth of that, I still won’t be able to take it out.”

The conviction of believers in the secular world could be converted into a Heavenly Officials’ spiritual power. Every incense stick they burned as offerings was called ‘merits’.

His smile disappearing, Xie Lian seriously asked, “Would you be willing to punt me down from here with one kick, and then give me eight million, eight hundred and eighty thousand merits?”

Ling Wen stated, “I am a literature god. If you want someone to kick you, you ought to find a martial god. The harder you get kicked, the more merits you’ll receive.”

Xie Lian heaved a deep sigh. “Allow me to think about what to do.”

Ling Wen patted his shoulder and said, “Don’t lose your head. When you encounter a mountain, there will always be a way through.”

Xie Lian responded, “In my case, when the boat reaches the pier head, it will naturally sink.”

If it was eight hundred years ago, during Xian Le nation’s most prosperous time, eight million, eight hundred and eighty thousand merits weren’t a big problem. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would wave his hand and give them, not even blinking over such a loss. But the present was now different from the olden days. In the secular world, all of his temples had already long burned away, not a single one remaining. He had no believers, no incense, and no worship.

It was needless to say more. He just had nothing, nothing, not a single thing!

One person squatted at the edge of the Immortal City’s main street as they had a headache for quite a while, before he suddenly remembered something. It had already been almost three days since he had ascended, yet Xie Lian had not entered the spirit communication array. Just then, he had also forgotten to ask Ling Wen for the password.

The Heavenly Officials who had ascended united together to create a spirit communication array. It was possible for them to use their divine sense and immediately communicate with each other within the array; and after ascending, it was imperative for the new gods to enter it. However, one must know the password to be able to locate the particular array. It had already been eight hundred years since Xie Lian had last entered the spirit communication array, thus he certainly hadn’t remembered the password. So he released his divine sense to look around before he found an array that seemed to resemble it. As he casually entered, he was immediately hit in all directions by violent and excited voices so powerful that he became a bit unsteady.

“Place your bets, no take-backs! Come bet how long our Royal Highness the Crown Prince can persevere before he’ll have to descend once more!”

“I bet one year!”

“One year is too long, last time he only lasted the time span of one incense stick. Perhaps this time he’ll persist for three days? I’ll place a bet for three days, three days!”

“Don’t ah, you dunce! Three days have almost gone by already. Are you gonna be okay?”

… Xie Lian silently left the array.

Wrong place. It definitely couldn’t be this one.

The deities in Heaven were all big-shot Heavenly Officials who oversaw their own region; and each one of them were a household name among a great number of people. Because they were all Heavenly Officials who had seriously cultivated to ascend, they were dignified and were usually quite reserved. More often than not, their speech and behaviour had an air of arrogance. There would only be him who, because he had been too excited the first time he had ascended, had went and grabbed every Heavenly Official in the spirit communication array to make his greetings. Xie Lian had been incomparably earnest as he introduced himself, and his thoroughly detailed introduction was unparalleled.

After he had retreated from the previous array, he began randomly searching once more. Finally, he casually entered another array again. After entering this time, Xie Lian relaxed a bit as he mentally thought: “It’s so quiet here. This is probably the one.”

At that moment, he heard a voice lightly say, “Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince has returned again?”

At first, this sound was extremely comfortable to hear. The voice was soft and the tone was gentle. However if one listened to it closely, they would realize that the voice sounded extremely cold, and the speaker’s tone appeared very indifferent as well. Thus, it made that gentleness seem as if it harboured some evil intentions.

Originally, Xie Lian had wanted to enter the array in a restrained and well-behaved manner. Silently lurking there was good enough. However, since someone was already looking for him to chat, he couldn’t pretend to be mute and deaf. He was also extremely happy that a Heavenly Official in Heaven was still willing to take the initiative to talk to him, a god personifying pestilence. Thus, he quickly replied, “That’s right, ah! Hello everyone! I returned again.”

How would he know that after this one question and response—every Heavenly Official in the spirit communication array at that moment all perked up their ears.

That Heavenly Official continued to speak in a leisurely manner, “This time, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s ascension made a really big commotion, ah.”

Within Heaven, it could even be said that monarchs were walking around everywhere, while heroes were as common as water flowing in rivers.

If one wished to become an immortal god, they must first become an outstanding individual. In the mortal realm, people who achieved and accomplished many goals or people who had a lot of talent, of course, had a larger opportunity to ascend. As a result, it wasn’t exaggerated to say that princesses, princes, and generals weren’t a rare sight to see here. Who wasn’t a proud child of the Heavens? However, everyone was still extremely polite and courteous to each other, calling one another ‘Your Majesty’ or ‘Your Highness’ or ‘General Lord’. They would say whatever sounded more complimentary. But for the prior words spoken by the Heavenly Official, that title he used no longer sounded like a polite gesture.

Although Xie Lian had been a Crown Prince, and the other had greeted him thus—his tone didn’t have even a bit of respect. It rather sounded as if he was trying to use a needle to stab someone. There were many other Heavenly Officials who had been genuine Crown Princes within the spirit communication array, and those few greetings simply made goosebumps appear on their backs as they felt uncomfortable from head to toe. Xie Lian also heard the ill intentions in the other’s voice, but he did not want to make a scene. Thinking to himself that he would escape, he replied with a smile, “It was okay.”

However, the Heavenly Official didn’t give him a chance to escape. He spoke in a voice that was neither warm nor cold, “Huh, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince is okay? My luck was not that good.”

Suddenly, Xie Lian heard a whisper from Ling Wen.

She only said a single word, “Clock.”

Xie Lian instantly understood. So this had been the martial god who got smashed by that clock!

If that was the situation, then the Heavenly Official being angry wasn’t something without reason. Xie Lian had always been extremely good at apologizing and thus immediately said, “I’ve heard about the incident with the clock. I’m extremely sorry, please pardon me.”

The other snorted once, making it impossible for anyone to tell what he meant by it.

There were many martial gods within Heaven and among those, quite a few were new upstarts who had ascended after Xie Lian left. This was why he was unable to pinpoint which god this was just by listening to his voice. However, one couldn’t apologize without even knowing the other’s name. Thus, Xie Lian went to the heart of the matter and asked, “Excuse me, may I ask how I should address you, distinguished one?”

The moment he said those words, the other party became silent.

It wasn’t only the other god who became silent. The entire spirit communication array seemed to freeze as if a puff of stagnant air slapped everyone in the face.

On the other side, Ling Wen whispered to him once more, “Your Highness, though I don’t believe you haven’t recognized the other person after talking to him for so long—I still want to remind you. That is Xuan Zhen.”

Xie Lian asked, “Xuan Zhen?”

He choked up in a flash before finally reacting as he sent a message back in slight shock, “This is Mu Qing?”

Xuan Zhen Jun was a martial god who kept watch over the Southwest. He had seven thousand temples, and in the mortal realm, his reputation was illustrious.

This Xuan Zhen Jun, who had the personal name Mu Qing, used to be a deputy general in the Palace Halls of Xian Le country’s Crown Prince eight hundred years ago.

Ling Wen was also very shocked. “It couldn’t be that you really didn’t recognize him?”

Xie Lian replied, “I really didn’t recognize him. Back then, he didn’t talk to me in this manner. In addition, I can’t even remember when was the last time I met him. If it wasn’t five hundred years then it was six hundred years ago. I almost completely forgotten what he looked like, so how could I still recognize his voice?”

It remained silent within the spirit communication array. Mu Qing didn’t make a single peep. The other Heavenly Officials, on one hand pretended that they weren’t listening, while on the other hand they crazily waited for someone to continue talking.

When it came to these two, it was relatively awkward. After so many years, many rumors had been passed on, so everyone already understood almost everything. In those days when Xie Lian had been the precious Xian Le Crown Prince, he cultivated in Huang Ji Temple. That Huang Ji Temple was the Xian Le country’s Imperial Taoist Temple. Their selection standards for disciples were extremely strict. Mu Qing came from a poor background, and his father was a sinner who had been beheaded. A person like that simply did not have the qualifications to enter the Huang Ji Temple as a disciple. As a result, he had no other choice but to become someone who did odd jobs. In the temple, he was mostly in charge of sweeping the floor for His Highness the Crown Prince, or delivering tea and water to him. But Xie Lian saw he was assiduous, and thus he asked the Taoist Ministers to make an exception and receive him as a disciple. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s words carried great weight. Only then was Mu Qing able to enter the temple to cultivate because of the Crown Prince’s will. After Xie Lian ascended, he appointed him as his general and took Mu Qing along with him to the Immortal City.

However, when the Xian Le nation was wiped out and Xie Lian was demoted to descend into the mortal realm, Mu Qing did not follow him. Not only did he not follow Xie Lian, but Mu Qing didn’t even say a single word in defence for him. The Crown Prince was gone anyway, so he was free. He found a blessed place and began to painstakingly cultivate like crazy. Not many years later, he withstood the Heavenly Tribulations and ascended himself.

Back then, one was in the heavens while another was on the ground. Now, there was still one in the heavens and one on the ground, it was just that the two people’s circumstances were thoroughly reversed.

At the other end, Ling Wen said, “He’s really angry.”

Xie Lian replied, “I guessed that too.”

Ling Wen responded, “I’ll go say some other things. Quickly take the opportunity to leave.”

Xie Lian said, “There’s no need. If we pretend nothing happened then everything would be fine.”

Ling Wen asked, “No need? Just looking at you guys make me feel awkward.”

Xie Lian replied, “I’m still okay ah!”

For Xie Lian, any situation was okay as long as he didn’t die. He didn’t have much, but he could definitely still lose a lot of face. He had already done plenty of things that were many times more awkward than this; so he really felt okay in his heart. Who would have thought he shouldn’t have said that so early; Xie Lian had just said the words ‘still okay’ when he heard a voice roar, “Who the f*ck dismantled my golden palace?! Come out!”

This one roar made the Gods listening within the spirit communication array feel as if their scalps were going to explode.

Though their stomachs were already flipping, everyone still held their breaths as they listened with rapt attention. They didn’t make a single peep as they waited to see how Xie Lian would respond to the loud cursing. But nobody expected that instead of something exciting—they would hear something even more thrilling. Xie Lian hadn’t even started talking before Mu Qing spoke first.

Mu Qing laughed twice. “Haha.”

The person who came coldly said, “You were the one who tore it down? Alright, wait for it.”

Mu Qing faintly replied, “I did not say it was me. Don’t randomly spray blood at people.”

The other person asked, “Then why are you laughing? Are you mentally ill?”

Mu Qing answered, “It isn’t like that. What you’ve just said was funny, that’s all. The person who destroyed your golden palace is currently in the spirit communication array, you can go and ask him yourself.”

With things evolving to this degree, no matter what, Xie Lian felt too embarrassed to escape now.

He coughed dryly before saying, “It was me. I’m sorry.”

The moment he spoke, the person who came later also became silent.

By his ear, Ling Wen again transmitted a message. “Your Royal Highness, that is Nan Yang.”

Xie Lian responded, “This time, I recognized him. However, I think he hasn’t recognized me.”

Ling Wen replied, “No. It’s just, he spends most of his time in the mortal realm and less time in the Immortal City. Thus, he merely didn’t know you had ascended again.”

Nan Yang ZhenJun was the martial god who oversaw the Southeast. He was popular and had nearly eight thousand temples, receiving the love and respect from the common people.

In addition, his personal name was Feng Xin. Eight hundred years ago, he was the first general of the Xian Le Crown Prince’s Palace Hall.

Feng Xin was a devoted and loyal person. He was Xie Lian’s Imperial bodyguard ever since the other had been fourteen years old. Feng Xin grew up with the Crown Prince, entered the Heavens with him, was demoted with him, and was banished with him. Unfortunately, he was unable to endure those eight hundred years with Xie Lian. In the end, they separated on bad terms and parted ways, never to see each other again.

ZhenJun is a title. Zhen means ‘genuine’ while Jun means Lord. Later, one character will also have the title ZhenJun while another will just be called Jun.