Chen Xia was a little surprised.
He had not expected this emperor to know so well when to bend and when to stand tall.
He had tossed out a casual joke, and the emperor had actually played along.
The civil and military officials in court remained silent. The scene before them was rather comical, yet none of them could laugh.
Before unparalleled strength, imperial authority really did seem a little too ridiculous.
Song Wei said respectfully again, "Foster Father, please join me at the seats of honor. We can hold morning court together."
With that, Song Wei even extended a hand, gesturing for Chen Xia to go first.
Chen Xia quite naturally walked ahead, strolling toward the highest chair in the hall.
The officials watched with their hearts in their mouths. What were they to do if the immortal sat directly on the imperial throne in the middle?
Wouldn't that leave the emperor standing beside him?!
What... what were they supposed to do?
Each official worked their own private abacus.
Chen Xia reached the highest point, but did not sit on the dragon throne. Instead, he turned his head and said casually,
"Bring a chair over. Where else am I supposed to sit?"
Song Wei hurriedly shouted at the palace maids attending beside the dragon throne, "What are you all standing around for? Hurry and fetch Foster Father a chair!"
The palace maids hurriedly withdrew to the rear. Moments later, a dozen-odd eunuchs carried over an enormous, heavy, gold-inlaid chair and set it behind Chen Xia.
After carrying the chair over, the dozen-odd eunuchs stood in neat rows behind it. Though sweat streamed down their backs, they dared not make even a panting sound, afraid of disturbing their master's foster father.
Nor did they dare leave. According to palace rules, servants could not leave of their own accord after finishing a task unless their master dismissed them. They had to wait until their master had passed judgment.
Chen Xia did not sit down. He turned toward the dozen-odd eunuchs standing respectfully behind him, smiled, and offered his praise.
"Sorry for the trouble, everyone."
He was very polite.
The dozen-odd eunuchs hastily knelt and kowtowed. "It is our honor to serve our master. Even through boiling water and raging fire, we servants would never refuse!"
"Mm." Chen Xia answered casually and sat down, propping one hand on the chair to support his head as he thought about his own affairs.
Seeing that Chen Xia was satisfied, Song Wei was delighted. He walked beside the dragon throne and told the dozen-odd eunuchs,
"You did well. Go collect a chest of gold from the Imperial Household Department."
"We thank Your Majesty for your boundless grace!" The eunuchs kowtowed and cried out again, then withdrew one after another.
Next came morning court.
"Long live Your Majesty! Ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"
After their cry, the officials looked at Chen Xia, seated quietly beside the emperor in a position that seemed slightly higher than the emperor's, and felt something was amiss.
The emperor strained his eyes, signaling furiously at the officials.
Fortunately, the chancellor promptly understood his meaning. He took the lead in kneeling and bowed again.
"Long live the National Preceptor! Ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"
The officials hurriedly echoed him.
Chen Xia frowned, however, and offered a suggestion. "No need to wish me ten thousand years. Just wish me invincibility."
Ten thousand years was hardly good news for Chen Xia.
It was like going to a centenarian's birthday celebration and wishing them a long life of a hundred years.
Then you were not there to bring birthday wishes. You were there to attend a funeral.
"May the National Preceptor be invincible under heaven!"
The chancellor hastily corrected himself, and the officials echoed him.
The rest of morning court was rather boring, consisting entirely of administrative matters from various regions.
Chen Xia could not understand any of it, but felt awkward leaving midway, so he propped up his head and stared into space.
Only, Song Wei would ask him from time to time,
"Foster Father, how do you see it?"
How could Chen Xia see it?
By staring at it with both eyes.
At first, he fobbed Song Wei off with "Not bad," "Mm," and "Good." Later, annoyed by the questions, he simply replied,
"Just do things as you normally would. Don't mind me. Pretend I'm not here."
"Of course, of course." Song Wei hurriedly nodded.
The entire morning court passed with Chen Xia staring into space. To him, it was quite boring.
Then came the departure. No one dared leave first, and all eyes turned toward the absentminded Chen Xia.
Chen Xia came back to his senses and asked curiously, "Why are you all looking at me?"
Song Wei hurriedly replied, "Foster Father, according to custom, when court is dismissed, the person with the highest standing at court should leave first."
Who held the highest standing at court?
Without question, it was Chen Xia, National Preceptor of Great Song and the emperor's foster father.
Since he could leave, Chen Xia had no desire to dawdle. He stood straight up and walked out of the hall.
Song Wei hurriedly called, "Foster Father, where are you going? The royal exit is inside the hall!"
"It's fine. I'm taking a stroll," Chen Xia called casually, already reaching the steps.
There was nothing Song Wei could do. He could only instruct the experts from the Constabulary,
"Follow Foster Father, and make absolutely certain he enjoys himself. If he shows the slightest displeasure, go to the Punishment Office yourselves to receive punishment!"
"Yes!"
The Constabulary experts followed Chen Xia from afar. They dared not approach and could only watch him from a distance.
Chen Xia sensed them too, but paid them no mind, because something more astonishing stood before him.
A hundred-meter-tall figurine of him... no, wait... a statue.
It had been carved entirely according to the portrait, so it did not look much like Chen Xia.
Because the portrait did not look much like him.
Some details were captured very well, though, such as Chen Xia's languid air and half-closed eyes, as though he might fall asleep at any moment.
But the statue looked a little too old, appearing thirty-five or thirty-six, with a somewhat mature look.
Chen Xia's actual appearance was only that of someone in his twenties.
He stopped before the statue, with the civil and military officials piling up behind him.
As long as Chen Xia did not move forward, the officials dared not pass him. They could only wait.
Chen Xia naturally noticed this too. He turned toward them and smiled. "Go on ahead. Don't mind me. I take things slowly!"
The chancellor hurriedly said, "National Preceptor, you are truly considerate, with the heart of a bodhisattva. This old minister is moved beyond words and cannot thank you enough. I can only bend my back to your service and give my all until death!"
The remaining officials also spoke up one after another, declaring their loyalty.
After a single court session, they had understood things completely. In the world today, the emperor ranked second. This National Preceptor ranked first.
Rather than curry favor with the emperor, they might as well curry favor directly with the National Preceptor.
Chen Xia frowned slightly. Wasn't everyone in this Great Song Dynasty, from top to bottom, a little too good at bootlicking?
Still, there did not seem to be anything wrong with that.
He nodded slightly and repeated, "Go on ahead."
The officials dared not delay and filed forward. As they passed Chen Xia, some even lowered their heads and greeted him respectfully, hoping he would remember their faces.
Now the officials all began lining up to pass Chen Xia.
It took a full hour for them all to pass.
Chen Xia did not remember a single face.
After all, bootlickers all looked alike.
With his hands clasped behind his back, he shook his head slightly. He still could not get used to a life where everyone flattered him. It felt pretty good, but it was dull.
Chen Xia glanced slightly aside and took a step, instantly vanishing from where he stood and appearing by the palace wall three hundred meters away.
"Hello."
He offered a greeting. Before him stood an old man with graying hair, dressed in a black python robe.
The old man was startled inwardly, but his composed expression did not change. He cupped his hands and bowed to Chen Xia in greeting. "This old servant is Nine Thousand Years. I beheld your honored countenance from the wall just now and inadvertently gave offense. I beg your forgiveness, National Preceptor."
Nine Thousand Years?
Chen Xia frowned slightly. He had heard this title in Weixi Town decades ago. After thinking carefully for a moment, realization dawned.
"You're one of those ten greatest experts under heaven?"
Nine Thousand Years shook his head and smiled bitterly. "Before you, National Preceptor, what ten greatest experts under heaven could there be? There is only that other immortal."
"Mm." Chen Xia nodded.
That was the truth.
There was one thing he was curious about, though, so he asked, "Do you know anything about the immortal in seclusion in the immortal sect?"
Nine Thousand Years nodded, his expression turning serious as he replied in a slightly shrill voice.
"He is a sword cultivator, said to be an immortal reincarnated from the Upper Realm. He has existed since Great Song was founded. He once cleaved open the nation's gates with a single sword strike, suspended his sword above the founding emperor's head, and forcibly demanded a fief fifty li across to establish his immortal sect."
"Only fifty li? That's not much," Chen Xia remarked with a nod. After all, with a sword already hanging over the emperor's head, asking for fifty li really was not much.
Nine Thousand Years nodded in agreement and continued, "My first encounter with this immortal was two hundred years ago."
"At the time, he was already invincible in this world. Returning from a voyage overseas in search of immortals, he quelled Great Song's chaotic martial world with a single sword strike, then rode his flying sword alone into the imperial city. That was our first meeting."
"As one of the martial world's supreme experts at the time, I withstood two sword strikes before collapsing to my knees atop the imperial city, half-dead."
"Only afterward did I learn that he had carried his sword onto the dragon throne and kicked over the imperial seal. When he later departed on his flying sword, he left one sentence amid mocking laughter."
Nine Thousand Years shook his head, somewhat reluctant to repeat it, but spoke nonetheless.
"He said, 'The emperor is the foremost man under heaven. I am heaven.'"
Arrogance was the word for it.
But he certainly had the strength to back that arrogance up.
"I hear you killed his disciple?" Nine Thousand Years asked.
"Mm. Killed him with a flick of my finger. It was very dull." Chen Xia admitted it candidly, even adding his assessment of the experience.
Nine Thousand Years fell silent for a moment, then said with a bitter smile,
"If I remember correctly, he holds grudges and is fiercely protective of his own. A hundred years ago, one of his disciples suffered a setback at Old Dragon Temple."
"He sheared the summit clean off Old Dragon Temple's mountain and killed the abbot of the time. The present Old Dragon Temple was rebuilt and is not as glorious as it once was."
"Let's hope you remember wrong," Chen Xia replied evenly.
Nine Thousand Years gave a dry laugh, unsure how to respond. After a moment's thought, he continued,
"He is now in closed-door death seclusion and has not appeared for a hundred years. But judging by his seclusion, his strength may be growing greater and greater. I fear that if he truly emerges..."
Nine Thousand Years paused, studied Chen Xia's calm expression, and continued,
"He may truly be invincible in this world!"
Nine Thousand Years deliberately stressed the words "truly be invincible."
"It's fine. I can enter closed-door death seclusion too." Chen Xia's reply remained calm.
Besides, if he entered closed-door death seclusion, his strength would not merely be certain to grow. It would absolutely grow.
Nine Thousand Years looked somewhat anxious. Frowning, he explained, "But right now, he is in the vulnerable state of closed-door death seclusion. If we seize the opportunity, we might be able to send him into reincarnation."
At last, a faint smile appeared on Chen Xia's perpetually calm face. He patted Nine Thousand Years on the shoulder and shook his head.
"You aren't qualified to be the fisherman."
Chen Xia then pointed at himself and offered his assessment.
"You're tiny shrimp. He's a little fish. I'm..."
Chen Xia deliberately paused.
Sweat broke out on Nine Thousand Years' forehead. Lowering his head, he hurriedly followed the lead of his words. "A big fish?"
"No." Chen Xia shook his head and revealed his identity.
"I'm a star destroyer."