Chapter 240: The Old Human Sovereign’s Test

Lately, Ji Zhi and Yu Yin were both troubled.
Yu Yin invited Ji Zhi to visit the Tianyuan Dynasty, and Ji Zhi gladly accepted.
The two conversed warmly in front of the Ministry of Rites official from the Great Zhou and the visiting official from Tianyuan, reaching several agreements—from establishing trade cities along the border to military peace treaties—all greatly beneficial to both sides.
The officials on both sides were all smiles.
The Great Zhou and Tianyuan Dynasties were neighboring countries. During the reign of the former Tianyuan rulers, their relationship had always been strained. The Great Zhou saw the other as a bunch of brutes who only knew how to rule by force, while Tianyuan thought the Great Zhou’s talk of justice and fairness was just hypocritical moral posturing.
Their governance philosophies couldn’t be more different.
It wasn’t until Yu Yin took power that relations between the two began to improve.
Great Zhou’s legal system stood out starkly in the Nine Provinces, totally at odds with the broader cultivation ethos.
No one could quite understand the reasoning behind linking national fortune with legal systems—it contradicted the cultivation world’s belief that “once one attains the Dao, who cares if floods drown the world behind them.”
This tone had been set by the Great Zhou’s former emperor, Emperor Shun, and even Great Zhou itself couldn’t quite explain it.
People said Emperor Shun saw the future and knew such a system would benefit the Zhou most, thus tying law to national fate.
And indeed, the results spoke for themselves—Great Zhou was powerful.
Across Nine Provinces’ long history, dynasties rose and fell; some rose gloriously, others faded, and still others disappeared altogether. Only the Great Zhou remained steadily in the top three in national strength, never faltering.
Other dynasties’ strength depended on whether their emperors were wise or foolish. A string of bad emperors could send a country into chaos.
But Great Zhou remained orderly whether under a wise ruler or a fool—nothing ever shook its foundation.
Now that Jiang Li, who loved order, had become the Human Sovereign and set an example for cultivators across Nine Provinces, the overall atmosphere began to shift. This made Great Zhou seem less conspicuous.
When even the strongest played by the rules, what right did Fusion, Soul Formation, or Nascent Soul cultivators have to bully the weak?
Once the ministers withdrew, Ji Zhi and Yu Yin looked at each other, faces falling in unison, and sighed together.
“What do we do about the Luban Sect?”
“Who knows.”
“They came to your Great Zhou voluntarily—four Fusion Stage cultivators plus countless Soul Formation and Nascent Soul stage people. What’s there to be upset about?”
“Their intentions aren’t pure, Comrade Yu Yin!”
“Comrade?”
“It’s a word Jiang Li taught me. Speaking of, maybe we should ask him about this. He’s full of sneaky ideas.”
“Sounds good, just don’t call Bai Hongtu. Those two together are guaranteed to cause trouble.” Yu Yin reminded him, remembering clearly what those two had done when together.
The Old Human Sovereign once tested the intelligence and eloquence of Human Sovereign candidates by giving them this task: sell combs to monks—the one who sold the most would win.
When the candidates learned about this test, they all groaned, thinking it was an impossible mission.
One person went to three temples, pleaded endlessly, and got cursed out and chased away by monks many times, yet remained undeterred. In the end, he moved a young monk and sold one comb.
Another went to a temple deep in the mountains. Because the mountain was high and windy, the hair of all the worshippers who came to burn incense was blown into disarray. That candidate went to the abbot and said, “It’s disrespectful to face Buddha with messy hair. There should be a wooden comb at every incense altar so guests can tidy up.”
The abbot agreed and bought ten combs.
Yu Yin calmly analyzed the situation and figured combs could serve as temple gifts. She went to a bustling temple and told the abbot, “Every pilgrim who comes to burn incense does so with a devout heart. The temple should give something in return to bless them and encourage good deeds. I have a batch of engraved combs. Your calligraphy is exquisite—you could inscribe phrases like ‘Virtue-Accumulating Comb’ and give them to visitors.”
The abbot agreed and bought a thousand combs.
A thousand combs—an astonishing number. Yu Yin believed no one could beat her.
Turns out she still hadn’t seen enough.
Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu prepared ten thousand combs and took them to Mount Sumeru to give to the Old Buddha of Mount Sumeru. The Old Buddha was confused and asked why they were giving him combs.
Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu replied in unison: “The Old Human Sovereign thought your leg hair was too long and asked us to bring you combs to tidy it up.”
The Old Buddha was furious, immediately smashed all the combs, and stormed off to confront the Old Human Sovereign.
The Old Human Sovereign was completely stunned. The two great beings had a full-on battle before finally clearing up the misunderstanding—it was Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu’s prank. Furious, the Old Sovereign strung the two up and gave them a beating.
After venting, the Old Buddha felt much better. Seeing the broken combs, he reflected that his cultivation still wasn’t enough—too prone to anger. Taking it as a lesson, he decided to buy all the combs as a reminder.
Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu sold ten thousand combs and tied for first.
They proved their intelligence—with a sales method unlike any other. They also proved their eloquence—just one line and they managed to pss off the Old Buddha.
The Old Human Sovereign seriously wondered if the Earth Veins of the Nine Provinces had lost their minds, letting these two become Human Sovereign candidates.
“Is Jiang Li around?” Ji Zhi contacted him via Remote Communication Talisman. Nowadays, all nine imperial rulers had them.
“What’s up?”
“The Luban Sect wants to relocate to Great Zhou.”
“What’s that got to do with me?”
“They say Great Zhou’s laws are the most effective, so they want to marry their puppets there and gain legal recognition. According to Great Zhou’s marriage laws, humans and puppets can marry.”
“…I never get a f**ing break. Where are you now? I’ll come to you.”
This was no small matter. If spiritual treasures and humans married, it could cause massive ethical issues with endless consequences.
“The imperial palace of Tianyuan Dynasty.”
“On my way.”
“Bai Hongtu’s not with you, is he?”
Jiang Li was confused: “Why would he be?”
“Good.”
While waiting for Jiang Li, Yu Yin casually chatted with Ji Zhi: “Didn’t expect you to give up your Human Sovereign candidacy so early. You inherited the throne too young. Otherwise, your cultivation level would be way beyond Soul Formation by now. Such a shame about your talent in the Dao of Time.”
Ji Zhi replied helplessly, “What choice did I have? My father suddenly had an accident, and none of my brothers were any good—I had to become emperor. I thought after losing to Jiang Li, you’d just obediently be his Crown Princess. Didn’t think you’d end up the emperor of Tianyuan.”
“Well, the Crown Prince back then couldn’t even take two hits before dying. The old emperor tried to kill me. I wasn’t about to just stand there and let him do it, so I struck back. Tianyuan had no leader—if I hadn’t taken the throne, a bunch of useless idiots would’ve fought over it. Not only would people have suffered, even if one of them won, they wouldn’t know how to rule. I had no choice but to reluctantly take the crown.”
“Being emperor does have its perks—I can tap into national fortune and compete with veteran Tribulation Stage cultivators, even though I’ve only just entered the stage.”
Neither of them really wanted to be emperor.