"No, no, I couldn't!"
When Tian Dadao heard Wang Yang ask him to sit in the front row, he hurriedly waved his hands and bent even lower, his voice brimming with fawning reverence, looking utterly overwhelmed by the honor:
"Before the Divine Envoy, we're all servants attending upon you! What distinction could there be between a chief and anyone else? Don't trouble yourself over me, Divine Envoy. Little Tian here can find himself a seat!"
Xiao Baoyue glanced at Tian Dadao.
Wang Yang smiled.
"We are all servants attending upon King Pan. Not one of us can boast before him.
Although King Pan teaches us to keep humble hearts, he has never abolished the order of rank.
A chief leads an entire tribe. His position commands respect, and his duties weigh heavily upon him. It is only right that he sit at the front to hear King Pan's true way and set an example for his people.
Let the children see that their elders deserve respect; let the young and strong understand that those who bear duties deserve honor.
Let everything you do in governing and handling affairs henceforth accord with King Pan's wishes.
That is the service that pleases King Pan."
Tian Dadao's expression briefly froze. Then he immediately kowtowed.
"You are absolutely right, Divine Envoy! I shall obey your instructions!"
He promptly scrambled to his feet, kept his back bowed, and took small steps around to the first row before the Sacrificial Altar. Sitting beside the Junior Ritualist with his spine ramrod straight, he listened with the utmost seriousness as Wang Yang described how King Pan had descended, how he had unlocked Wang Yang's Divine Soul Mark, and how he had made Wang Yang understand his mission. Then realization dawned on him: he understood why King Pan had