Let Me Be the Heavenly Emperor, Lord of the Three Realms?

As the three junior brothers chatted among themselves, the Three Pure Ones inside had also barely reached a consensus.

"Yu'er, come in and speak!"

As the three were talking, the voice of the Grand Pure One Laozi rang out.

They immediately stopped their conversation.

"Senior Brother, Master is calling you. Go on in!"

"Mm, alright. Let's catch up another time when we're free!"

With that, Xian Junyu rose and walked inside.

He had no idea what his First Senior Uncle wanted with him now, but with the Three Pure Ones gathered together, summoning him at this moment could hardly be a trivial matter.

Unable to figure out why he was being called, he simply stopped thinking about it.

"First Senior Uncle! Second Martial Uncle! Master!"

Upon entering, Xian Junyu gave a slight bow, cupping his hands in salute to the three figures seated high before him.

"Mm, good!"

"At ease, Yu'er!"

Laozi and Yuanshi looked upon Xian Junyu with satisfaction. As the first disciple to join the Three Teachings, he was also their very first junior.

For this junior, they often showed leniency.

"Since Yu'er is here, listen well!"

"After discussing with your First Senior Uncle and Second Martial Uncle, we have decided to seize control of the position of Lord of the Heavenly Court!"

Tongtian cut straight to the point, laying out the result of their deliberations.

Xian Junyu, standing in the middle, was deeply shaken by these words.

Seize the position of Heavenly Emperor? Things had changed—this wasn't how it was supposed to go!

According to the original events of the Primordial, the Three Pure Ones, upon receiving the Dao Ancestor's summons, should have rushed straight to the Purple Mist Palace without delay, with no such thing as deliberation taking place.

Earlier, he had assumed their gathering to discuss matters was merely speculation about the Dao Ancestor's intentions. He never expected the three to actually reach a consensus and decide to claim the position of Heavenly Emperor of the Heavenly Court.

Could it be that, because of his arrival, the minor currents had already shifted?

Before Xian Junyu could process this, Tongtian dropped an even more explosive decision.

"Now that the myriad races no longer have the power to contend for dominion over heaven and earth, this trip to the Purple Mist Palace for discussions will surely determine the Heavenly Court's authority over the Three Realms!"

"The Three Realms are vast beyond measure. The reopening of the Heavenly Court will inevitably form a colossal force, with immense benefits to be reaped. And the position of Lord of the Heavenly Court is of paramount importance!"

"After much deliberation, we have decided to push for you to become the Lord of the Heavenly Court, securing advantages for the Three Teachings!"

Hearing this, Xian Junyu's mind exploded.

Push him to be the Lord of the Heavenly Court?

Was this some kind of joke?!

Hongjun already had a candidate in mind. Summoning all the sages was merely going through the motions, so that when the sages failed to agree on a single candidate, he could push forward his own choice.

And now, his master and uncles wanted to jointly recommend him as the Lord of the Heavenly Court? That was like throwing him straight into the fire!

If he caught the attention of his nominal grandmaster, that old schemer Hongjun, he wouldn't even know how he died.

"No, no, no—absolutely not, this won't do at all. Master, Martial Uncles, allow this disciple to refuse!"

Thinking of Hongjun's eyes always on him, Xian Junyu quickly declined.

"What?! We're backing you to sit on the throne of the Heavenly Emperor, and you brat dare to refuse? I think your skin is itching for a beating..."

Tongtian had barely managed to convince his two elder brothers to support this, and now this reckless kid was turning it down. How could he not be furious?

Just as Tongtian was about to beat Xian Junyu into submission, the Grand Pure One Laozi spoke up.

"Hold on, Third Brother. Why be so quick to anger? Hear his reasons before you discipline him."

"Yu'er, tell us why you refuse."

Xian Junyu, as a junior, held considerable standing with both Laozi and his Second Brother Yuanshi. They thought highly of him.

More importantly, Xian Junyu was the linchpin connecting the Three Teachings, as well as the bond between the Three Pure Ones themselves. That was what Laozi valued most.

His two younger brothers, Yuanshi and Tongtian, were both stubborn to the core. Neither would yield an inch, and they had been locked in petty quarrels over trivial matters for thousands of years.

If not for Xian Junyu's appearance, even sitting here to talk would have been a struggle.

Recommending him to take the position of Lord of the Heavenly Court was undoubtedly the most suitable choice. As for anyone else—not only would his two brothers refuse to agree—

Even he himself found them utterly unworthy.

"Reason... reason... First Senior Uncle, this disciple has no reason. I simply don't want to sit in that position..."

"First Senior Uncle, you know this disciple's nature. Let me eat and drink on Mount Kunlun, tease the little cultivators—that I can do. But to hold power and sit as the Lord of the Three Realms..."

"Forgive this disciple's incompetence. I truly cannot do it. And with my cultivation level, how could I possibly be worthy of being the Lord of the Three Realms?"

Xian Junyu said he had no reason, yet he rattled off a dozen excuses in one breath—in short, one thing: he wouldn't be the Lord of the Heavenly Court.

If he could just say that Haotian was meant to be the Heavenly Emperor, he really wouldn't want to find all these excuses.

But could he say that?

To refuse, he was having such a hard time...

Tongtian listened to these excuses, his face growing darker and darker, while Yuanshi beside him could only shake his head helplessly.

"Bastard! You worthless thing, how did I end up with a piece of trash like you? If I don't give you a couple of lashes—"

As he spoke, Tongtian was about to make a move, but was stopped again by Laozi.

"Third brother! Don't be impulsive!"

After stopping his third brother Tongtian, Laozi spoke to Xian Junyu with a gentle expression:

"Yuer, your carefree and desireless nature is something your senior uncle knows very well. That's precisely why your senior uncle hopes you'll accept!"

"If you take the position of Lord of the Three Realms, you don't need to worry about handling affairs every day. The Three Teachings will help you. To put it bluntly, it's just a change of place to have fun!"

"As for cultivation, there's no need to worry about that either. With your master, your uncle, and me around, who would dare cause you trouble?"

......

"And think about it—sitting in the Lord of the Three Realms' seat, eating immortal fruits, drinking immortal wine, and watching fairy maidens dance—isn't that better than staying in Kunlun Mountain?"

To get Xian Junyu to accept, Laozi kept explaining and even listed many benefits.

Eating and drinking, watching fairy maidens dance?

Did that come from big brother Laozi's mouth?

Tongtian and Yuanshi both looked at their big brother Laozi in surprise. To get Xian Junyu to accept, big brother was really going all out.

Even Xian Junyu looked dumbfounded.

Eating and drinking while watching fairy maidens dance—was he also supposed to take a harem of consorts and party all night?

That was practically a tyrant! But still, that scene was indeed quite nice.

Unfortunately, with Hongjun around, he had no chance at the Lord of the Three Realms position—at least for now, he really had no chance. As for later, that was hard to say.

"Senior uncle, the scene you described is indeed something I long for, but—"

Before he could refuse, Yuanshi forcefully interrupted him.

"Enough, Yuer. Since you long for it, there's nothing to hesitate about. Wait to take over the Heavenly Court. We've already wasted some time and can't afford to dawdle here!"

"Leave on your own. We need to set out!"

Without giving Xian Junyu time to reply, Yuanshi waved his hand and sent the man out directly, also checking his body in the process.

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