"Come on, eat up. You can't drink without having something to eat."
Zhang Yifan was pleased to see that Taibai Jinxing, this servant, was so sensible.
"Here, try this fish. It's one of my specialties."
"Alright, Dad."
The Jade Emperor picked up his chopsticks and reached for the fish, but before he could even grab a piece, he was stunned.
This wasn't fish at all—it was True Dragon meat! And it came from a True Dragon with the purest bloodline.
True Dragons had long vanished from the Primordial Era World. They were rarely seen, yet today, one had actually become a dish on the table!
This dad was truly astonishing!
"Give it a try. How does it taste?"
Suppressing the shock in his heart, the Jade Emperor picked up a piece of fish and took a bite.
The moment the fish entered his mouth, it transformed into an incomparably pure stream of energy that surged into his body. It even contained Fragments of Great Dao Laws.
"Delicious! Absolutely delicious!"
The Jade Emperor could not help praising it. Setting aside the Fragments of Great Dao Laws, the fish itself was simply incredible—unbelievably tasty.
"If it's good, then eat more."
Zhang Yifan looked smug. Even that damn system had said his cooking had reached the pinnacle beyond god-tier. How could it not taste good?
"Then your son won't stand on ceremony."
The Jade Emperor immediately seemed like a different person. Like a starving ghost, he stuffed mouthful after mouthful of food into his mouth. Even when he could no longer fit any in, he kept forcing it down.
Taibai Jinxing was dumbfounded at the sight. Was that really necessary?
Why did eating a meal look like pigs fighting over food?
Remembering the wine from earlier, Taibai Jinxing was startled and suddenly understood.
Could these dishes be the same?
Taibai Jinxing picked up a bite and ate it. Sure enough, it was exactly as he had suspected!
How could he possibly hold back now?
Eat! Grab it!
Taibai Jinxing completely forgot that the Jade Emperor was beside him. He too began madly picking up food and fighting for it.
In no time at all, the Jade Emperor and Taibai Jinxing swept the entire table clean like a whirlwind.
"Damn, I haven't even touched my chopsticks yet. Were you guys really that hungry?"
Zhang Yifan was stunned. Was that really necessary?
How many days had they gone without eating? Why were they fighting over a meal like the pigs raised in his backyard?
"Sorry, Dad. We were a little hungry."
The Jade Emperor wiped his mouth, feeling somewhat embarrassed instead.
When had he ever lost his composure like this? But he simply could not stop himself. It was truly too delicious! And who would ever complain about having too many Fragments of Great Dao Laws?
"Fine, I'll make a few more dishes."
Zhang Yifan was speechless and could only go make several more dishes.
This time, under Zhang Yifan's restraint, the Jade Emperor and Taibai Jinxing behaved much better and did not fight over the food.
"Where did you two come back from today?" Zhang Yifan asked the two of them.
"We came from Fengxian County," the Jade Emperor answered.
"Fengxian County?" Zhang Yifan raised an eyebrow. "Don't go to Fengxian County again. That place is about to become a living hell. Be careful, or you might not come back."
"A living hell? Why?" the Jade Emperor asked curiously.
"Hmph, why? Because that idiot Jade Emperor. Not only did he create a mountain of flour and a mountain of rice, making dogs finish the flour and chickens peck through the rice, he even set up a bronze lock and said it would only rain once a candle burned through it. Tell me, can Fengxian County avoid becoming a living hell?"
Idiot?
The Jade Emperor's mouth twitched. How had he become an idiot now?
At the side, Taibai Jinxing lowered his head extremely low.
He pretended not to have heard anything at all.
Was there a second person in the Primordial Era World who dared call the Jade Emperor an idiot?
He did not want his head moved from his shoulders.
The Jade Emperor frowned. The mountain of flour, mountain of rice, and bronze lock had not even been arranged yet, yet this dad already knew?
"Aren't all beings of the Three Realms subjects of the Jade Emperor? Why would the Jade Emperor do such a thing?" the Jade Emperor knowingly asked.
"Because he's an idiot, hahaha. If the county lord of Fengxian County knelt devoutly at a table and begged the Jade Emperor to come down and rest there, would he overturn the table? Even if he wanted to, would he have the ability to overturn it?"
Zhang Yifan laughed as he scolded the Jade Emperor for being an idiot.
Uh...
The Jade Emperor suddenly came to his senses.
That was right. The county lord of Fengxian County had knelt devoutly and begged him to come down and rest. It could not possibly have been such a coincidence that he was arguing with his wife.
Moreover, before a Mid Quasi-Saint, how could a mere mortal possibly overturn a table?
Ah, just as Dad had said, he truly was an idiot.
"Dad, then who do you think was pulling strings behind the scenes?" the Jade Emperor pretended to ask.
"Who else could it be besides those bald monks?" Zhang Yifan laughed.
"That idiot Jade Emperor, in order to cater to Dao Ancestor Hongjun and for that so-called Primordial Era Tribulation, while also suppressing the Human Teachings, Daoist Teachings, and Jie Teachings factions within the Heavenly Court so that he could completely seize control of it, cooperated with the Western Teachings to put on the grand Journey to the West performance."
"But who would have thought that the Jade Emperor's cleverness would backfire? He thought he was a chess player, but he was merely a chess piece. Sigh, in the end, he ruined the entire Primordial Era World and became its eternal sinner."
"What? Why?" The Jade Emperor was horrified.
The Journey to the West Tribulation had indeed been set by Dao Ancestor Hongjun, who had promised the rise of the Western Teachings. It was the ordained course of the Heavenly Dao.
He, the Jade Emperor, had indeed wanted to use the Journey to the West to eliminate dissidents in the Heavenly Court and reshuffle the mortal realm, thereby gaining complete control over the Heavenly Court's forces and becoming a true Heavenly Emperor, rather than being sidelined by Grand Supreme Elder Laozi of the Human Teachings and the many forces of the Jie Teachings created through the Investiture of the Gods.
But how would that destroy the Primordial Era World and make him its eternal sinner?
"What do you mean, why?"
"Why would it destroy the Primordial Era World? Why would it make him an eternal sinner? He hasn't done anything, has he?"
"The Journey to the West may sound like it was ordained by the Heavenly Dao, but wasn't it really set by Hongjun? It was also the final great tribulation in his scheme against the Primordial Era World. Once the tribulation ends, Hongjun will Sever Heaven and Earth between the Three Realms, forever separating heaven and mortals. Mortal incense offerings will become fixed; mortals will forever remain mortals, immortals and gods will forever cease advancing, and only Hongjun will remain high above all."
"And the Primordial Era World will completely lose its chance to advance in world rank! It will completely lose its chance to become a high-end supreme Primordial Era World! It will become a lowly, weak world among countless worlds, at the mercy of others! And the chief culprit behind all of this will be the Jade Emperor."
Boom!
The Jade Emperor was struck as though by lightning and froze where he stood.
"The tribulation was actually Dao Ancestor Hongjun's scheme? It wasn't the Heavenly Dao's ordained fate?"
"Advancing in rank? What is that? And what is a high-end supreme Primordial Era World?"
A raging storm rose within the Jade Emperor's heart. Here, he had actually heard such secretive and momentous information!
The Primordial Era World could actually advance?
"What would an advanced high-end supreme Primordial Era World be like?" the Jade Emperor could not help asking.
"In a high-end supreme Primordial Era World, the Heavenly Emperor is the Lord of the Great Dao. One hundred and eight Great Dao Saints serve beneath him, sweeping across the heavens and myriad worlds, their might pressing upon all heavens, with none daring to disobey!"
The Heavenly Emperor would be the Lord of the Great Dao!
The Jade Emperor's entire body trembled. This... this was fucking astonishing!
The Lord of the Great Dao!
And one hundred and eight Great Dao Saints would serve beneath him!
Sweeping across the heavens and myriad worlds!
His might would press upon all heavens, with none daring to disobey!
This was what a Heavenly Emperor should be!
This was what it meant to be Haotian Shangdi, supreme above heaven and earth!
"How can the world advance?" the Jade Emperor blurted out excitedly!
He desperately wanted to know!
He could not wait to make the Primordial Era World advance in rank immediately!
He wished he could instantly become the Heavenly Emperor before whom all heavens and myriad worlds would kneel and submit beneath his feet.
Before you continue