The Arhats, Vajras, and Dharma Protector Venerables of Western Heaven's Buddhism who had made the list were granted only idle auxiliary posts outside the Heavenly Court, side positions as Dharma Protectors of the heavens, or scattered godhoods as wardens of the earthly realm.
They did not enter the core center of the Heavenly Court, could not participate in the decisions of the heavenly order, and possessed only empty divine titles without the slightest share of core authority.
They had likewise been listed in the Investiture, yet one side had filled the vacant seats of the Heavenly Court's Ancient Venerable Gods, carving up the core authority of the heavens and standing above myriad gods.
The other side had to bow beneath others, be constrained and controlled, occupy the lowest ranks, and have their Path of Dao locked dead.
The gods filling the sky stared at this glaring disparity, then looked toward Zhao Gongming and the other two Ancient Venerable Gods, who stood majestic and awe-inspiring as they looked down upon the heavens. In their eyes, only endless, profound envy and reverence remained.
Meanwhile, Yuanshi and Zhunti stood atop the sea of clouds, gazing at the humble and mediocre divine positions of their own disciples, then comparing them to the heaven-shaking favor granted to the Jie Sect and the Three Tribes.
They only felt they had completely lost face. Their chests were stifled, and endless regret and humiliation clogged their saintly hearts, impossible to calm for a long time.
The towering, vast Investiture Platform hovered amid the sea of clouds of the Nine Heavens. The ten thousand golden rays of mandate light gradually withdrew, and the Investiture talismans drifting throughout the sky returned to their positions one by one, settling into place.
The clamorous conferral of divine offices that had just filled