"Your subject is here."
"I command you to gather all the iron in the realm and cast a statue of the Heavenly Emperor. In one month, I will worship the Heavenly Emperor at Mount Tai!"
"Understood!"
Meng Tian was Ying Zheng's trusted aide. No matter how outrageous his orders were, he would carry them out without fail.
When Ying Zheng had demoted Fusu and sent him to the frontier, he had also sent Meng Tian along to protect him.
After giving his orders, Ying Zheng finally turned to the ministers, who were cowering like quails.
"I know what you're thinking. You all believe I've grown senile, don't you?"
"Your subjects are terrified!"
Everyone's hearts jolted, and they hurriedly prostrated themselves on the ground.
"Hmph! Whether I've grown senile will be clear in a month. By then, you—and all the people of the realm—will surely thank me for what I've done today!"
"For now, I don't want to hear a single word of dissent. Do you understand?"
"Your subjects obey!"
After court, at the First Emperor's bedchamber.
After Ying Zheng returned to his bedchamber, Meng Tian followed him inside.
He looked at Ying Zheng, his expression somewhat awkward.
"What is it? You think I've grown senile too?"
Ying Zheng went to his desk and looked through the day's memorials as he spoke.
"Your subject wouldn't dare. I only wanted to ask Your Majesty what the Heavenly Emperor's statue should look like."
Meng Tian was also at a loss. None of the legends he'd heard ever mentioned an immortal called the Heavenly Emperor.
Now that he'd been ordered to sculpt a statue of the Heavenly Emperor, even the cleverest craftsman would be helpless without a model.
At this, Ying Zheng tapped his forehead, then picked up a sheet of paper and began to draw.
"That was an oversight on my part. Wait a moment."
Ying Zheng pictured the Heavenly Emperor Visualization Diagram in his mind and drew it on the paper.
But as soon as he lifted his brush, the paper suddenly burst into flames of its own accord and turned to ash in the blink of an eye.
"Protect His Majesty!"
The moment he saw the flames, Meng Tian's expression changed in alarm, and he hurriedly stepped in front of Ying Zheng.
"It's fine!"
Ying Zheng pushed Meng Tian aside and looked at the Imperial Guard rushing over. "All of you, stand down!"
He had a vague idea of the reason behind the accident.
The Heavenly Emperor was supreme. How could an ordinary sheet of paper record his image?
After a moment's thought, Ying Zheng took out a fresh sheet of silk.
With Meng Tian watching anxiously, he called upon the golden dragon of national fortune that resided within his body.
In an instant, Meng Tian heard a distant dragon's roar beside his ear. Then a golden glimmer appeared at the tip of the brush in Ying Zheng's hand.
He was startled, but quickly understood. His gaze filled with deep reverence as he looked at Ying Zheng.
Perhaps the Heavenly Emperor really did exist!
The thought came to him.
"Done. When the craftsmen build the statue, tell them not to carve a face. Just attach this portrait."
Fine beads of sweat had appeared at Ying Zheng's temples.
He had used the nation's fortune to draw the Heavenly Emperor. Once the statue was complete, the lines formed from that fortune would naturally leave the silk and attach themselves to the statue.
Meng Tian saw this and immediately accepted the silk with both hands.
His gaze was drawn to the portrait at once.
The lines in the image were not elaborate, yet they outlined a figure clad in magnificent robes, whose presence seemed profound and mysterious.
The moment Meng Tian saw it, a name appeared in his mind.
"Emperor Donghua!"
He was certain he had never seen him before, yet it was as though some unseen force had told him that this was the Heavenly Emperor.
Even stranger, once he looked away from the portrait, he couldn't remember a single detail of it, no matter how hard he tried.
Suppressing his shock, Meng Tian dropped to one knee and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. Your subject will not fail in his mission. I will complete the statue of the Heavenly Emperor!"
"Do your job well. Go!"
Ying Zheng waved him away, then bent over the mountain of memorials and continued working.
No one noticed that each time he finished reading a memorial, a faint golden dragon appeared on his shoulder. It lay there with its eyes half-closed, its mouth slightly open, and a wisp of golden energy from the void flowed into Ying Zheng's body.
The Confucian School.
Little Sage Village.
Many great scholars from across the realm had gathered in the main hall.
"Everyone, have you heard that the First Emperor ordered a ceremony to worship the Heavenly Emperor at Mount Tai in one month?"
Yan Lu broke the heavy silence in the hall.
"An evil presence has brought calamity upon the realm. The land had only just been pacified, and now it seems turmoil will return."
A great scholar sighed and spoke with sorrow.
"Hmph! The Qin State is cruel, and Ying Zheng is a foolish, tyrannical ruler. He built the Great Wall and the Epang Palace, leaving the people of the realm destitute.
"Now he wants to gather all the iron in the realm to cast a useless statue. The Qin State is bound to fall sooner or later!"
Zhang Liang, courtesy name Zifang, was born into a noble family of Han. His forebears had all served as prime ministers of Han.
Ever since Han was conquered by Qin, he had regarded the Qin State as an enemy.
He had even made several attempts to assassinate Ying Zheng, but none had succeeded.
Hearing this, Fu Nian offered no opinion. Instead, he looked toward the old man in the seat of honor.
Xunzi.
He was also the martial uncle of the three of them.
"Martial uncle, what do you think?"
At this, Xunzi slowly opened his eyes.
The many great scholars turned to look at him as well.
Since Confucius's death, Xunzi had gradually become the foremost figure in the Confucian School.
Naturally, they all held him in the highest regard.
"The Master did not speak of strange forces, violence, or spirits. By killing Li Si over talk of ghosts and gods, Ying Zheng has cut himself off from the strategists of the realm!"
In the former Zhao territory, in Dai.
Zhao Jia threw back his head and laughed. The venomous look that usually lingered on his face had faded considerably.
"Ying Zheng, I thought I'd never be able to avenge my kingdom in this lifetime. I never imagined you'd be so superstitious."
"Good! Good! Good! If you were in Xianyang, I might not be able to kill you. But this trip to Mount Tai will be your Death Date!"
Every word Zhao Jia spoke brimmed with undisguised hatred.
It was no wonder. He should have been the next King of Zhao, but now he was wandering the wilderness, barely surviving. How could he not hate Ying Zheng?
"Someone!"
At his call, one of his subordinates came over.
"Send word to the remnants of the other five states. Tell them that I, Gongzi Jia, invite them to join me in a great undertaking!"
The Yin-Yang School.
Donghuang Taiyi sat in the seat of honor, his face pale. Moon Goddess, Xu Fu, Gan Luo, and the others stood at his side below.
"Ying Zheng has regained his youth?!"
He had paid no attention to Moon Goddess's report that the position of Great Priest had been abolished and that support for the Yin-Yang School had been withdrawn. Instead, he asked urgently.
"I saw it with my own eyes. Ying Zheng really did grow decades younger. His Life Essence was so vigorous that it could not possibly have been the result of a disguise," Moon Goddess said with absolute certainty.
Even recalling the means Ying Zheng had used filled her with a hint of fear.
Donghuang Taiyi fell silent. Ying Zheng's transformation, combined with the celestial signs he had divined earlier...
It seemed that something had indeed happened in the Qin State—something he had never anticipated.
He simply didn't know whether it was good or bad.
If the Heavenly Emperor really was an immortal...
Donghuang Taiyi's slender fingers tapped rhythmically on the armrest as he pondered, a thoughtful look on his face.
"What Heavenly Emperor? I say he's nothing but a charlatan, a fangshi who dabbles in tricks and sorcery. He wants to snatch food from the Yin-Yang School's jaws? He should know his place."
Gan Luo wore a haughty expression. As the greatest prodigy in the history of the Yin-Yang School, and second in strength only to Donghuang Taiyi, he had every right to be arrogant.
"Lord Eastern Emperor, give me time, and I'll track down this so-called Heavenly Emperor. I'll make Ying Zheng understand that the Yin-Yang School is the only choice for him."
Before you continue