Ji Shuyue lay prostrate on the ground, his body trembling faintly, grief piercing him to the bone.
Clear tears rolled down silently, soaking dark patches into his ceremonial robes. One drop, then two, struck the stone with the faintest of sounds.
The entire gathering was deathly silent. Only his sobs could be heard.
Seeing the banner of "righteousness" they had finally managed to raise about to be overturned by Crown Prince Ji's tearful plea, someone could no longer hold back and shouted urgently:
"Bullshit! Great Zhou clearly-"
"Ancestor!"
Before the speaker could finish, Ji Shuyue drowned him out with another wailing cry. It was so shrill that Yun Qing thought someone had stepped on his little cat's tail.
Ji Shuyue abruptly raised his head. Tear tracks streaked his handsome face, which was filled with "heartbroken" remorse and resolve.
"Countless ages ago, the Ji Clan of our Great Zhou received our ancestor's grace and was granted the orthodox legacy of the Immortal Court. Only then did we gain the foundation to establish our dynasty, enjoy its enduring fortune, and shelter the living beings of this land!"
His voice choked with sobs, yet every word rang clearly through every corner of the Sacrificial Altar.
"But your unworthy descendants failed to safeguard that legacy, allowing an Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon to exploit our weakness, usurp the Imperial Throne, and bring about today's towering catastrophe! Though the false emperor Ji Chongli has been executed, all the bamboo in the world would not suffice to record his crimes! After this calamity, our Great Zhou Immortal Dynasty's mountains and rivers lie shattered, its dragon qi weakened. Within, corrupt power brokers still gnaw at us like vermin; beyond our borders, powerful neighbors watch us like hungry tigers. We are riddled with wounds, as precarious as a stack of