She was indeed a beauty, but far too capable of bringing a kingdom to ruin. She had nearly destroyed his Great Shang realm, so that was out of the question.
"Deng, my beloved minister, today you killed corrupt officials and slew three demons. I hereby appoint you Grand Tutor of Great Shang."
As Emperor Xin finished speaking, he finally felt that he had the upper hand and his bearing had returned.
The state of Great Shang was now cause for concern.
Only Deng Jiugong could be relied upon to campaign against the rebels of Xiqi.
At this, Deng Jiugong did not reply right away. Instead, he fell into thought.
Becoming Grand Tutor of Great Shang would allow him to command the entire realm. That meant the passes he could oversee would no longer be limited to Three Mountains Pass.
He would have a say in every defensive pass throughout Great Shang!
Clearly, while Wen Zhong was alive, he had not made good use of his authority. Great Shang's many passes had been breached one after another, and in the end, he had died at Juelong Ridge!
However, Wen Zhong had fallen to the Heaven-Piercing Divine Fire Pillar of Yun Zhongzi of the Chan Sect. A Grand Unity Golden Immortal had made a move, and with Wen Zhong's strength, there had been no hope of turning the tide without help from a powerful member of the Interception Sect.
"Congratulations, Grand Tutor Deng!"
"Congratulations, Grand Tutor Deng!"
Before Deng Jiugong could speak, the many ministers below all offered their congratulations.
Clearly, Deng Jiugong had risen to become Grand Tutor of Great Shang. They could hardly wait to curry favor with him.
Even though Fei Zhong and You Hun were dead, there were still plenty of flatterers among the civil and military officials present.
Deng Jiugong paid them no mind. Looking at Emperor Xin, he said with an unchanged expression,
"That will do."
His ambitions did not lie in officialdom, but who would choose to be a low-ranking soldier when he could hold a high position?
At that moment, he could understand some of Kong Xuan's thinking.
Whenever Deng Jiugong mentioned promoting Kong Xuan, Kong Xuan would only smile and never refuse.
Though Kong Xuan's ambitions did not lie in officialdom either, he surely would have been unhappy if Deng Jiugong had made him an ordinary soldier.
At least this was a little consolation!
"By the way, I have two Sign-in Cards now. The Nine Chambers Hall, with the Human King presiding over it, counts as a special location. I should sign in here."
Deng Jiugong thought to himself.
Then he used one of the Sign-in Cards.
Ding-dong! Congratulations, host. You signed in at the Nine Chambers Hall and obtained the Human Emperor Art!
When the system's prompt rang out, Deng Jiugong could not help but stiffen.
The Human Emperor Art—was this meant for Emperor Xin?
Emperor Xin had the makings of someone who could defy heaven. Was this meant to help him climb to the position of Human Emperor?
"Grand Tutor Deng!"
Just then, Emperor Xin called to him softly.
Clearly, after Deng Jiugong had slain the three demons, Emperor Xin was still shaken.
He knew how formidable Deng Jiugong was, and that left him feeling quite unsure of himself.
"If Your Majesty has something to say, please speak," Deng Jiugong replied.
"Please come with me to the side hall."
After speaking, Emperor Xin rose and went straight to the side hall.
Inside the side hall!
Emperor Xin gazed at Deng Jiugong, pondered for a moment, then asked,
"I remember that the Grand Tutor did not possess such strength before."
"Have you cultivated an immortal art?"
After asking, he waited for Deng Jiugong's answer.
"That's right!"
"I have indeed cultivated an immortal art," Deng Jiugong said slowly.
He had already gained some cultivation; otherwise, he could not have slain the three demons.
"May I ask who your master is, Grand Tutor?"
Emperor Xin asked.
"I have never taken anyone as my master," Deng Jiugong replied.
"This!"
Emperor Xin struggled to understand.
Ordinarily, anyone who cultivated an immortal art either became a disciple of some powerful primordial expert or joined a Sage's sect.
There was no way Deng Jiugong could have cultivated an immortal art out of nowhere.
The only explanation was that he had come upon some heaven-defying opportunity.
"Does the Grand Tutor know that the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of humanity all became disciples of the Sages' followers, only to end up imprisoned in Huoyun Cave?"
As he spoke, Emperor Xin could not help sighing.
What a tragedy!
At this, Deng Jiugong's expression shifted.
Although Emperor Xin had little cultivation, he knew a great deal about the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of humanity.
With the sages of humanity all imprisoned, humanity had gradually fallen into decline. By the time of Emperor Wu Yi, the will to defy heaven had emerged.
And now, in Emperor Xin's time, the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation had begun!
After hearing Emperor Xin's words, Deng Jiugong began to understand why the forces of the Heavenly Dao had schemed against him.
Emperor Xin lamented that the sages of humanity had been imprisoned by the Heavenly Dao, while nearly all the humans in the primordial world had now become disciples of the Sages, joining the forces of the Heavenly Dao.
By now, humanity had lost its own inheritance and could no longer truly rise.
"I know something about this."
"I have no connection whatsoever to the Sages' sects," Deng Jiugong said.
At this, delight surged into Emperor Xin's expression.
"Good, good!"
Emperor Xin said the word twice in succession.
"Please accept me as your disciple, Teacher, and teach me the path of cultivation!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Emperor Xin dropped to his knees before Deng Jiugong.
So long as Deng Jiugong had no ties to the Sages' sects, there was plenty that could be done.
Seeing this, Deng Jiugong was dumbfounded.
"This!"
He stared blankly at Emperor Xin, his mind reeling.
Earlier, he had refused to kneel before Emperor Xin. Now Emperor Xin was kneeling before him instead.
"Your Majesty, please get up. This is absolutely inappropriate!"
Deng Jiugong moved to help Emperor Xin up, but Emperor Xin refused.
"Since you know about the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of humanity, Teacher, you must know that although I am the Human King, I have no cultivation befitting one!"
"If I, Emperor Xin, had possessed the cultivation of a Human King, those three demons would never have bewitched me, and Great Shang would never have fallen into such decline!"
Emperor Xin sighed.
"Please accept me as your disciple, Teacher!"
After saying this, Emperor Xin wore an expression that made it clear he was sure Deng Jiugong would agree.
Ding-dong! The host's current situation has been detected. God-Tier Options activated! Option One: Refuse to accept Emperor Xin as a disciple. No reward! Option Two: Accept Emperor Xin as a disciple and pass down the Human Emperor's Great Dao. Reward: Postnatal Merit Supreme Treasure, the Primordial Sky-Measuring Ruler!
As the system's prompt rang out, Deng Jiugong was shaken to the core.
Originally, Deng Jiugong had been planning to pass down the Human Emperor Art to Emperor Xin.
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