Lingxiao Palace.
The Great Heavenly Venerable sat upright on his throne, holding a Merit Golden Lotus in both hands.
Below the throne, the civil and martial immortals stood in ranks on either side.
The immortals held their breath and focused, their gazes occasionally drifting toward the golden lotus in the Great Heavenly Venerable's hands.
Of course, even more gazes secretly fell on the Star of Literary Excellence.
Those gazes held admiration, envy, and burning jealousy.
This Merit Golden Lotus carried extraordinary significance.
Why?
Because this golden lotus had come from Southern Jambudvipa.
To the other great emperors and Star Lords, Southern Jambudvipa was merely a region rich in incense offerings. To the Great Heavenly Venerable, however, it meant something altogether different.
When the Great Heavenly Venerable had once taken mortal form in the Mortal Realm, he had endured seventeen hundred and fifty tribulations. The most important and most grueling of them had taken place in Southern Jambudvipa.
It was no exaggeration to say that Southern Jambudvipa was where Heaven had risen to glory.
And now, purely through the reverence of its living beings, a Merit Golden Lotus had naturally formed and coalesced.
What did that prove?
It proved that the living beings of the Mortal Realm lived in peace and prosperity, that Southern Jambudvipa enjoyed favorable winds and timely rains. On a deeper level, it proved that the Great Heavenly Venerable governed the Three Realms with wisdom and might, his virtue sheltering all living things.
"Good."
"We are most gratified!"
After examining it for a long while, the Great Heavenly Venerable set the Merit Golden Lotus on the Imperial Desk and nodded. "Wenqu Star Lord, you have done very well. Southern Jambudvipa is a tangled mass of affairs. We were somewhat concerned that you, a mere civil official, might not