Succession Ceremony
This was a scene rarely seen in Delusion-Breaking City for a century, and it was also the liveliest time in the Northern Snowfield in many years.
The red ribbons and colorful flags in the city were no longer enough to express the festive atmosphere. Countless flying horses flew out of the city, scattering spiritual fruits and auspicious sugar to the surrounding villages, thus announcing the birth of the new head of the family.
This was a pre-arranged step by Gong Chengsi, and also the first step in his efforts to build momentum for himself.
Just as he had predicted, large quantities of food rained down from the sky, and the ordinary people living on the snowfield were caught up in a frenzy of fighting over it.
Even if the food wasn't enough to fill their stomachs, they didn't care about anything else as long as they could eat it.
What's more, there are spiritual fruits inside!
Even the cheapest low-grade spiritual fruit was the most delicious thing in the world to them.
The man was also among those scrambling for food. Because he was tall and strong, he was many times stronger than the other thin and weak people, and naturally he got the most food.
However, he also received more damage than others.
Although the spirit fruits and sugar were not heavy, when the Pegasus hurled them down from above, they still caused considerable damage to the mortals here.
When the man snatched the food and happily fed the spiritual fruit to his daughter, his forehead was almost bleeding from being hit.
Seeing her father's disheveled appearance, the little girl no longer cared about the spiritual fruit and immediately burst into tears.
But she had barely uttered a sob when her own mother covered her mouth. "You can't cry today. Today is the inauguration ceremony of the new head of the family. If someone sees you crying, it will be very bad."
Seeing the expression in his wife's eyes, the man suddenly realized what was happening.
He quickly hugged his daughter and comforted her, "Don't cry, sweetheart, don't cry, Daddy's alright. Today we have a new head of the family, and with such a generous new head, our future days will definitely be easy!"
The three of them looked at the towering city wall in the distance without prior agreement. They spoke with certainty, but their inner turmoil was no less.
At this moment, inside the Delusion-Breaking City, Gong Chengsi, with the help of his servants, was slowly putting on his most luxurious outer garment.
With the slightest movement, the high-grade Snow Crystal sewn onto his outer garment would jingle.
This robe, made at great expense by a Soul Leaving Stage weapon refiner, is not only exceptionally defensive but also remarkably luxurious.
Gong Chengsi was very satisfied with this. He looked at his incomparably noble self in the mirror, but his gaze suddenly stopped at the hem of the garment.
Gong Chengsi frowned when he saw the hem that was clearly out of place with the rest of the garment.
Seeing this, the steward, who was standing to one side, hurriedly stepped forward and explained tremblingly, "Master, please forgive us. This succession ceremony was held in a very rushed manner, and there was no time to remake the ceremonial robes. This servant had no choice but to have the robes slightly altered to fit Master's size, which is why there are some flaws."
The steward was helpless; Gong Chengsi had only given them three days and even declared that he would hold the most lavish ceremony.
How can you possibly have time to remake a dress in just three days?
The formal attire Gong Chengsi was wearing was originally prepared by the clan elders at great expense for Gong Chengjue. But now that Gong Chengjue has gone mad, he is completely out of the running for the position of clan head.
Therefore, what should have belonged to him also ended up in Gong Chengsi's pocket, including this formal dress.
The butler was prepared to be scolded, but after the explanation was given, Gong Chengsi showed no sign of getting angry.
"What is there to forgive? This outfit was originally prepared for the head of the family. Now that I am the head of the family, this outfit should belong to me!" Just thinking that he had taken these things from his younger brother, Gong Chengsi was able to suppress all his anger.
Hearing this, the butler breathed a slight sigh of relief.
While the ceremony was still early, Gong Chengsi casually inquired about the Pegasus's gift-giving.
The steward immediately spoke up, "The patriarch's arrangement is truly appropriate. After those flying horses left the city and scattered spiritual fruits and auspicious sugar, all the mortal cultivators living on the snowfield were deeply grateful for the patriarch's kindness, and they were all vying to share in the patriarch's joy!"
This statement isn't entirely false; at least half of it is true.
Gong Chengsi couldn't help but feel a little arrogant upon hearing this.
After asking that, he asked again, "What about Young Master Jimo and his sister?"
Gong Chengsi's ceremony was held in a hurry, and now that the Gong Household is weak, not many people are willing to attend. Therefore, Jimo Qing and his sister are his representatives today.
If these two hadn't shown up today, Gong Chengsi would have lost face big time!
The butler hesitated for a moment before saying, "It seems that Miss Ji Mo is still upset about what happened a few days ago. That's why she won't be attending today. However, Young Master Ji Mo has already promised to come, so the head of the family can rest assured."
Upon hearing this, Gong Chengsi's furrowed brows relaxed slightly.
In his view, whether Sang Ying came or not didn't make much difference; he was satisfied as long as Jimo Qing came.
"Then quickly give the order: today's banquet must be the best it can be, and we must not neglect Young Master Jimo," Gong Chengsi hurriedly instructed.
The steward was well aware of Jimo Qing's importance to this succession ceremony, so as soon as his master spoke, he hurried out to greet this rare guest.
Just as Sang Ying and the others had arranged, Jimo Qing's transformation technique successfully fooled everyone, but he and Liang Ranyue still had to attend the ceremony.
To bolster his prestige, Gong Chengsi deliberately made the ceremony extremely grand, not to mention the decorations in the city and the banquet in the inner city.
Even in the outer city, a grand banquet was held, offering spiritual fruits for everyone to enjoy.
Jimo Qing sat in the seat specially arranged by Gong Chengsi. He could see the altar not far away, which was where the succession ceremony was held.
The auspicious time arrived quickly, and Gong Chengsi, dressed in his finest attire, finally appeared before everyone amidst grand ceremonial music.
On the high altar, there was a jade seal, a symbol of the Gong Household's power, and something that Gong Chengsi had long coveted.
He ascended the platform step by step amidst the gazes of the crowd, his eyes filled with desire.
Amidst the grand ceremonial music, in the secret chamber beneath the palace, the jade bead gradually lost its golden hue, and the vitality and Spiritual Qi that had been surging in from all directions gradually thinned until they ceased altogether.
The jade bead trembled uneasily, causing the ice beneath it, which had been still for tens of thousands of years, to strangely vibrate as well.
Unfortunately, all these movements were masked by the ritual music, and no one noticed these ominous changes or the decline of Spiritual Qi in Delusion-Breaking City.
They were immersed in the joy of welcoming their new head of the household, unaware that the white ice dragon hidden beneath the thick layer of ice had quietly opened its eyes!