Zhou Yalong, dressed in a golden dragon robe, led a group of Princes and Princesses and flew out from the palace.
He was wearing a red ribbon hydrangea on his chest and looked calm, but there was a trace of excitement in his eyes that was hard to hide.
He was about to become the ruler of Great Zhou!
“Second brother, in the future, you’ll be the Emperor,” Zhou Chengxin said in admiration. As for the Great Zhou’s Crown Prince, he did not come.
He had made too much of a fool of himself, and he had guessed Zhou Xuanji’s identity. He had already disappeared and no one knew where he was or what he was doing.
Emperor Yan of Zhou did not pursue this matter; every time they thought of this, they would feel great terror.
“I’ll be relying on little brother’s support in the future,” Zhou Yalong said as he lightly laughed without looking back at Zhou Chengxin.
Princess Xuanya pouted and inwardly thought: Stop putting up pretences!
The thing she disliked seeing the most was how fake Zhou Yalong was.
He looked down on everyone and yet always put on courteous airs.
Soon, they were all seated.
At a glance, there were over 10,000 people on the Ascension Stage. There were more than 10 powerful factions, including even Sanctums and Empires.
Next to Princess Xuanya was a young woman with delicate looks. She wore a blue dress and was also a princess.
She was called Princess Lingling, the adopted daughter of Concubine Chen. After Lady Zhao Xuan’s incident, Emperor Yan of Zhou had engaged her to Zhou Xuanji as a posthumous marriage. This had caused her to become a laughing stock, and only Princess Xuanya treated her sincerely.
“Big sister, with so many factions here, will something happen?” Princess Lingling asked in a low voice. She could not feel at ease.
Princess Xuanya shook her head and said, “Don’t worry, they’re just here to support.”
After saying this, she glanced at Zhou Yalong and shook her head, saying, “I don’t know if Great Zhou will remain prosperous and the people will be at peace. How great would it be if your husband can become the Emperor.”
Ever since she found out that Sword God Zhou was Zhou Xuanji, she had teased Princess Lingling quite a bit.
If it wasn’t for Zhou Xuanji, Princess Xuanya might have died in the Cloud Swallow City.
She had long since adored Sword God Zhou, and had watched on as Sword God Zhou had shaken the world step after step. This made her greatly desire to meet him again.
“Big sister, what are you saying? It doesn’t count and he doesn’t even know…” Princess Lingling said with a shy, reddened face as she pouted.
The two women spoke quietly and with how rowdy it was on the Ascension Stage, no one heard their exchange.
Time continued to pass, and the sunlight became more and more intense. Soon, it was noon.
“The hour has arrived!” Xitan Changshi roared, his voice sounding throughout the sky and causing countless people’s bodies to tremble.
He was the State General, so no one dared to curse at him.
All of the Ministers and Generals flew out, kneeling in front of the tower.
Zhou Yalong, Zhou Chengxin, Princess Xuanya, and the other Princes and Princesses also did so, as if they were paying respects at the imperial court.
The concubines all kneeled beside the tower, their eyes red and looking incredibly heartbroken.
“Emperor Yan of Zhou, styled Zisu, was born during the crisis of Great Zhou. He was forced to escape, but he did not forget his roots. After gaining immense power, he slew millions of Great Zhou’s enemies and received the acknowledgement of the late Emperor and was made the heir apparent. After the late Emperor passed away, Zhou Zisu ascended to the throne as Emperor and was named Emperor Yan of Zhou.” Xitan Changshi spoke, his voice powerful and intonation rising and falling. His words were filled with might, causing the entire Royal City to quieten down, and millions of people listened to him talk.
“After Emperor Yan of Zhou ascended to the throne, he cleared the demon race at the boundary of the Great Zhou, shook foreign nations, and led Great Zhou to prosperity…”
Xitan Changshi began to list Emperor Yan of Zhou’s achievements, causing the nerves of everyone in Great Zhou to tingle with excitement.
Putting aside private matters, Emperor Yan of Zhou was indeed a capable Emperor.
He never showed weakness to outsiders and never oppressed his people. He was a powerful yet benevolent Emperor.
Great Zhou could not do without him, so always remained as the Emperor.
If he had retired as Emperor 100 years ago, he would not have to ascend.
It had to be known that the higher one’s Cultivation was, the higher their status would be after ascending.
It was said that when ascending, there would be a door. Once one passed through, they would cast off their mortal self and their cultivation would increase by leaps and bounds.
How much it increased by would depend on one’s foundation.
Xitan Changshi spoke for the time of an incense stick before saying, “Please descend, Your Majesty.”
Following this, an incredibly domineering and peerless aura covered the entire city.
Emperor Yan of Zhou appeared at the top of the tower out of nowhere, looking down at the Great Zhou’s Ministers and Generals, Princes and Princesses, and concubines.
He wore a golden Emperor’s robe and a crown socketed with jewels. He looked high and mighty, and his Emperor’s air was incredibly dense, shaking everyone’s hearts.
“Today, we will ascend. We leave Great Zhou to you,” he said as he pointed at Zhou Yalong.
Zhou Yalong looked up and said gratefully, “Your son will definitely lead Great Zhou to prosperity, and will not disappoint father!”
Emperor Yan of Zhou gave a pleased smile. At that moment, joss sticks suddenly lit up in front of the windows in the tower, causing a faint, violet qi to cover the tower.
A ray of bright sunlight shot down, landing on Emperor Yan of Zhou’s body.
Ascending during daytime!
Emperor Yan of Zhou slowly rose up and said, “From today onwards, you are the Emperor of Great Zhou. Before We ascend, We want to see you get married and choose the Empress.”
Hearing this, Zhou Yalong immediately got up.
Xitan Changshi shouted, “Emperor Yuan of Zhou’s marriage ceremony shall now begin. Hanyin Divine Sect’s Saintess, Xu Xianxuan, please step onto the Ascension Stage!”
As Xitan Changshi’s voice sounded out, decadent music sounded out from the boundary of the Royal City as a group of Hanyin Divine Sect disciples carried a red palanquin and flew through the air. Everyone in the city could see them.
“She’s here!”
“It’s said that Xu Xianxuan is the number one beauty in Great Shang; I wonder whether that’s true.”
“It’s true. Even the Great Shang’s Emperor wants his son to marry her.”
“It’s a pity for the Little Evil Lord; I wonder who crippled him.”
“I heard that it was done by Sword God Zhou’s black snake, but it might be slander.”
“Yeah, yeah, everything bad was done by our Sword God Zhou. The Haoqi Alliance is so shameless.”
The entire city was filled with heated discussions, and everyone felt incredibly excited. An ascension was something that one might not have seen in their whole life.
Within the sunlight, Emperor Yan of Zhou slowly rose up, seemingly bathed in divine light.
Zhou Yalong turned and breathed in deeply.
Even though he had never met Xu Xianxuan before, her name had spread throughout the world; how could he not be excited?
Soon, the Hanyin Divine Sect’s palanquin descended.
She was about 800 or so feet away from Zhou Yalong, and red flowers appeared between them, looking extremely beautiful.
The woman in front of the red palanquin, dressed in a green dress, said softly, “Miss, please come out.”
However, she did not hear a reply.
Everyone’s gazes swept over, including Emperor Yan of Zhou’s.
However, Xu Xianxuan still did not come out.
Within the palanquin, Xu Xianxuan, dressed in red and wearing a veil, was gripping her clothes and feeling internally conflicted.
She understood that if she walked out, she would never have freedom again.
However, if she did not go out, she would be dead without a doubt.
Xitan Changshi frowned. If Xu Xianxuan did not come out, that would be equivalent to slapping Great Zhou in the face.
He looked towards the Hanyin Divine Sect’s elder, Zhang Lanya.
Zhang Lanya’s expression was also unsightly, and she immediately tried to telepathically communicate with Xu Xianxuan.
Swish!
At that moment, the sound of the air being torn sounded out.
It was a sword!
The Windcutter Sword!
It landed in front of the red palanquin and stabbed into the stone.
At that moment, everyone turned to look.
“Get married? You’re going to die today, so don’t ruin that girl’s life!”
Zhou Xuanji’s brazen laughter sounded out throughout the heavens and earth, causing millions of people’s expressions to fall.
