Xinzi's mind was virtually empty. Perhaps as an instinctive defense mechanism, whenever he stood in the Zhen-body, the young master restrained his thoughts to the strict minimum—focusing on playing his role. In the Celestial Paradise, these restrictions reached extremes that freed his brain of all unnecessary considerations.
Occasionally, however, random thoughts would cross Xinzi's mind.
'Why is Shenzhuo so useless?'
'Is Yongye's dominance not proof that all her choices are correct?'
'Why can some Gods experience true kinship whereas the majority remain glued to a quagmire of warring interests?'
Sometimes, questions of the sort reared their heads. Whenever they did, Zhen-Xinzi would try not to give them any consideration, but once in a while, curiosity overwhelmed reason, leading him to dig deeper.
This was one such occasion. From that start, Yongye expected Yaochi to send her nephew to the front line. The Heavenly Empress and Cloud Sovereign had all the reasons to believe that the crown prince they trained for 163,000 years would have no trouble suppressing Xinzi, giving them the legitimacy to deny Yongye's claim, and with Yanglong's support, force concessions.
This was all nice and good, except that Zhen-Xinzi could crush three Yun Canghai while playing checker.
Had Yun Canghai been a Sovereign God, the situation would have been completely different. But a Sovereign God, he was not. Heck, in the Celestial Paradise's zillions of years of history, only a handful had managed to cross over 41 steps of the Divine Consecration Ladder, with none managing to reach the 81 steps required for a Sovereign God.
'As expected of Yongye's begotten son, the mother's brutality is only matched by her own corrupt spawn's.' This one thought crossed the minds of the opposition's deities, some shaking their heads at Yun Canghai's unfortunate fall.
Sovereigns and Primevals all came from ancient times, allegedly created by Heaven's Will. But as they stared at Yun Canghai's blasted remains and mangled soul, there was not a single deity on the scene that doubted Xinzi's ability to make history as the first to cross 81 steps of the Divine Consecration Ladder. In fact, he might even be able to accomplish the unthinkable and cross all the steps!
Would that make him a Primeval? Impossible. Heaven's laws decreed that one couldn't become a Primeval. But if nothing else, this feat plus his incommensurable innate abilities would guarantee that his Divine Power could rival, or perhaps even exceed the Primevals!
But could he do it, and if so, then what type of monster would Yongye have at her disposal?
"You...you! You're just like your mother!" The Cloud Sovereign's eyes pulsed with berserk divine light, daggering Xinzi with soaring fury.
"And you're better? You created a child specifically to groom a successor, failing to consider that he might not want to follow in your footsteps. Yes, you gave him all that he could possibly desire—more than trillions, throughout the immensity of all realms, can aspire to. But have you ever considered that, if his dream is to be a fisherman in some monotonous village, if he understands all the difficulties of said dream, yet still pursues it with relentless passion, then the seat you're so determined to make him sit on will only kill his heart?
Have you considered that your version of success doesn't match Canghai, that he'd rather spend 100 years of ephemeral life among mortals than reign as an eternal entity in Heaven?"
"What?" The Cloud Sovereign's brows furrowed at Xinzi's words, confusion taking hold as her lips spread in incomprehension. To say nothing of the Cloud Sovereign, when Xinzi's words reached their ears, 99% of the Celestial Assembly frowned, failing to comprehend the alien words that Xinzi spewed.
Great Gods, High Gods, Sovereign and Primevals; they were deities, the greatest of the great—at the summit of all worlds, and with equals only among their own. The 3616 Heavenly Officials of this Assembly controlled the fates of myriad lives, trillions upon trillions, and they were supposed to do what? Reject the sacrosanct splendor of divine rule to consider...mortal realm alternatives?
It made absolutely no sense. But a few, like Yanglong, Yongye and Yaochi's eyes rippled at Xinzi's words—each for entirely different reasons. Even the puppet Shenzhuo's cheeks twitched, a fact that none on the scene noticed.
"Indeed, billions to trillions of years of existence, yet you've never considered such a simple possibility. You can't, you don't have it in you. Which forces me to ask. How genuine are your bounds? What is the source of your fury? The loss of a son, or the ruin of an heir? Canghai doesn't have long left, and my patience is more limited than his dwindling lifespan," Xinzi reiterated the question, forcing the Cloud Sovereign to stare at him with puzzlement.
"Of course, it is the loss of my heir. I expended vast quantities of Divine Power to create Canghai and guarantee that he'd become a High God worthy enough to take control of the Cloud Pantheon—all so I could retreat from this unending political squabbling and focus on my cultivation! But because of you, because of you! Canghai is ruined—ruined to the core! 163,000 years of cultivation and resources all gone! That's bad enough, but with the damages you've inflicted to his spark, even if I could somehow heal his soul and help rebuild his body, he will never—EVER—again be the same.
You ruined him! Hengye Zhen, damn you!
Attacking a fellow deity's spark is one of our greatest taboos! How could you be so vicious, so brutal, at such a young age! The Celestial Paradise cannot allow you to become its Crown Prince—lest you bring about a reign of eternal terror!" With each word, the Cloud Sovereign's face twisted uncontrollably.
No reaction flashed through Xinzi's eyes, albeit for some slight disappointment.
"I see. Then you won't mind my next move," Xinzi said and aimed his right hand at Yun Canghai. One barely audible bang, and the Divine Soul broke into particles of light—scattering into the void.
One-hundred shackles formed around the fissured spark, fusing with the core, and suppressing all aspects of Yun Canghai's divinity. At the same time, a jeweled silver crown emerged from Canghai's spark, encrusted with nine imperial jade pearls that gleamed with ancient power.
"Wait, wait, what are you doing?!" While the Cloud Sovereign's eyes widened in a complete stupor, Empress Yaochi stretched her hand at Xinzi, shaking in terror.
"The appointment of the Crown Prince requires the Empress' seal. So I'm doing you a favor, in exchange for your cooperation. Give up your seal, and I can show Yun Canghai some mercy. Resist, and he dies on the spot.
The choice is yours."
The young master knew that the Gods would not cave in so easily. So from the start, Yongye likely came with a plan to guarantee that Xinzi would take over the Crown Prince position—a plan that would rely on the opposition's leaders tricking themselves.
The likes of Yanglong and the three dukes didn't come to bestow gifts, at least not gifts that didn't hide lethal poison. Yongye could anticipate all their plans and use them to her advantage, but first, as always she wanted to see the growth of her son. To see how close to her he'd become, and how useful he would be in the enaction of greater plans.
So, with minimal interference from Yongye, Xinzi had to show that he too could play emotions, desires, and impose his will on the Celestial Assembly.
