Yue Zhiyin's face showed no fear, projecting an arrogant aura of "come at me."
Shao Feng took a deep breath, wanting to take off his shoe and throw it at him.
Yue Zhiyin, smug and triumphant, continued to tell Si Qing and Qi Yu that Shao Feng was more suitable for the position of Heavenly Emperor after his provocation.
Qi Yu twitched the corner of his mouth.
It was evident that the former Dragon King of the South Sea was about to explode from that statement.
"The position of Heavenly Emperor has always been decided based on merit," Si Qing opened the Heavenly Law Scroll, and the merit points of Yue Zhiyin and Shao Feng clearly appeared in mid-air.
Shao Feng, seventy thousand merit points.
Yue Zhiyin, sixty-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine merit points.
Silence fell over the entire scene.
Shao Feng was on the verge of tears: "Hasn't Yue Zhiyin's merit points been fully calculated yet? I think he usually takes good care of flowers and trees, and he even saved a butterfly before. These should all count as merit, right? Add them all to his total."
Qi Yu looked at Shao Feng with pity: "According to the merit displayed, the position of the new Heavenly Emperor is officially conferred upon Shao Feng, the former Dragon King of the South Sea. His family members are to accompany him to the Ninth Heaven immediately."
As the Heavenly Dao's decree was issued, everyone bowed in assent.
Yue Zhiyin could barely contain his excitement.
Ever since he had occupied that position in the Ninth Heaven, he had understood what it meant to be lonely at the top. The position of Heavenly Emperor was a troublesome one, with so many responsibilities and constant oversight. Even during celebrations, there were rules about which foot to step out of the South Heavenly Gate first. He had a mountain of documents to judge, and not even a single day off. Although he had descended to the mortal realm many times, it was merely an excuse to find some time to rest. Yet, every time he returned to his study in the Ninth Heaven and saw the pile of documents, he would regret his decision eight hundred times over. However, unless there was a major mistake or a significant event, the position of Heavenly Emperor was generally not changed.
Yue Zhiyin placed a hand over his heart. Heaven knew how much effort he had put into avoiding accumulating too many merit points, all in an attempt to escape this position. Now, he had finally waited for this moment. He could finally cast off this burden. He could finally abandon all his work without reservation and travel the world, for the Dragon King of the North Sea did not have to deal with daily trivialities. Tears welled up in Yue Zhiyin's eyes as he thought about it, almost moved to tears.
Shao Feng, the entire dragon, felt utterly dejected, standing there blankly as if he had lost all hope in life. Oh, dragon life.
After Si Qing and Qi Yu concluded this matter, they turned and headed back to the Thirteenth Heaven. However, halfway back, Qi Yu paused as if remembering something, and turned to ask, "By the way, where is the Dragon King of the West Sea?"
The scene was silent. A Dragon Clan member from the West Sea stepped forward and explained, "Our Dragon King of the West Sea has been missing since he went to the Underworld."
Qi Yu had not paid attention to the affairs of the Dragon King of the West Sea during this time. Hearing the West Sea Dragon Clan's explanation, he could only summon the Ten Yama Kings to inquire about the whereabouts of the Dragon King of the West Sea.
The Fifth Yama King ascended to the surface. Upon hearing Qi Yu's inquiry, he hurriedly replied, "Reporting to the Heavenly Dao, after the Dragon King of the West Sea entered the Underworld, he voluntarily entered the City of the Wrongfully Dead in search of someone. However, time passed, and he did not emerge. He has been trapped in the City of the Wrongfully Dead ever since." The Yama King added awkwardly, "The rules of the City of the Wrongfully Dead were not set by the Underworld, but have been passed down since the emergence of the Heavenly Dao. No one has altered the rules of the City of the Wrongfully Dead for such a long time, so..."
Qi Yu pondered, "I have visited the Underworld several times before and have seen the City of the Wrongfully Dead. Its existence for so long naturally has its reasons, but prolonged inflexibility will lead to a disconnect with the development of the mortal realm."
"From today onwards, the Underworld shall establish a new department specifically to manage the issues of personnel retention and departure within the City of the Wrongfully Dead."
"As for the Dragon King of the West Sea... after the new department of the Underworld is established, we will find the new Heavenly Emperor to handle it."
With that, Qi Yu turned and returned to his palace. Si Qing walked alongside him.
Upon returning to the Thirteenth Heaven, Qi Yu discovered that the entire Thirteenth Heaven had been reconfigured. The Heavenly Dao and the Laws are complementary existences, so Qi Yu and Si Qing each occupied half of the courtyard in the Thirteenth Heaven.
Qi Yu looked at the brand-new Thirteenth Heaven and then at his own unique palace and pavilions. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow!" and then, holding up his skirt, he ran over quickly, "This huge palace, all for me to live in alone? It's too extravagant!"
"I have an identical one on my side. Our courtyards are adjacent," Si Qing raised an eyebrow. "When we came to the Thirteenth Heaven before, the layout of the old Laws and the old Heavenly Dao's residences was not like this. So, this must have been changed by the Thirteenth Heaven according to our living habits."
Qi Yu was extremely excited and turned to grab Si Qing, suggesting, "This is really great! Then let's put our offices together too." She looked at Si Qing with starry eyes.
Si Qing twitched the corner of his mouth and took a step back to protect himself. "Sister, although I am very happy that I found you, and I am very happy to have stood up for you, I think we should keep things separate."
"What do you mean by keeping things separate? I don't have any other ideas. I just want to put our desks and studies together, so it's convenient for communication." Qi Yu said this with a sincere expression.
Si Qing looked into her eyes. "Sister, do you believe what you're saying?"
Qi Yu's expression visibly drooped, like a pitiful child who had been abandoned. "Alright then, I'll live here alone. I don't really have any other ideas."
"I just want to combine our studies so I feel more secure. The Thirteenth Heaven is so vast, and I'm doing things alone, I'm so scared, sob sob." She said this while drawing circles on the table.
Her thoughts raced. Although the Heavenly Dao was supreme, at the pinnacle of the Three Realms, the problem was that there were simply too many things to do. She had to listen to the voices of all beings in the Three Realms every day, and also bestow blessings upon them. The most important thing was to mete out heavenly punishments to those who violated heavenly rules and to send down lightning tribulations to those undergoing trials. As the Heavenly Dao, Qi Yu was so busy, while Si Qing, as the Law, only had two tasks: one was to supervise Qi Yu, and the other was to oversee all beings in the Three Realms. Tsk tsk tsk... It wouldn't do for her little brother to have nothing to do! How lonely that would be!
Qi Yu decided that no matter how much Si Qing refused, she would move his study into her own study and then... share her work with him! To prevent him from being lonely and bored! She was truly a considerate and thoughtful elder sister! Qi Yu could almost applaud herself for her care for her brother.
Si Qing stared at Qi Yu speechlessly: "..." The Thirteenth Heaven had no day or night, only daylight. Moreover, ordinary demons and monsters, or those with impure intentions, unless they were like the Blood Demon Sha of the past and invaded and possessed others, could not openly live in the Thirteenth Heaven. Even so, she was afraid? What was there to be afraid of? Sister, just tell me, what are you afraid of?! You clearly just want to trick me into doing your work!