Chapter 571: Ascension

“Hold the plate~ We bow down in worship~ Praise be to the Heavens~ May everyone prosper~”

There was a grand altar in the palace of the Liang Kingdom, and it was built to absorb and amplify the voices of the old eunuchs, allowing their voices to spread far and wide.

Hundreds of officials were standing below the grand altar, and their hands holding bone plates were raised as they knelt toward Gao Zhijian on the east.

The drummers around the altar displayed their perfect coordination to play a rhythm.

Li Huowang and Li Sui were standing far away on a roof, and they were staring at Gao Zhijian’s face hidden behind the veil of his crown.

“Dad, how much longer must we stand here? I’m hungry,” Li Sui asked. She had no idea what was happening, so she decided to focus on her needs instead.

“Soon.”

“Hold the plate~ We bow down in worship~ Praise be to the Earth~ May everyone prosper~”

The eunuchs' feminine voices pervaded the plaza as they chanted in unison.

The officials raised the bone plates in their hands once more and kneeled toward Gao Zhijian on the north.

“Hold the plate~ We bow down in worship~ Praise be to the Emperor~ May everyone prosper~”

The scene of Gao Zhijian moving through the cardinal positions under the guidance of the eunuchs made Li Huowang feel weird.

His friend, who traveled with him and went through life-or-death situations, was about to become the emperor.

Regardless of how good their relationship was in the past, their relationship was bound to change today.

Ji Lin was forced to turn ruthless in the palace, and Li Huowang didn’t know how much would the simple Gao Zhijian change. He hoped that Gao Zhijian would maintain his character and not turn into someone despicable.

He was thinking about this when he saw Gao Zhijian being escorted down the altar by the eunuchs.

Li Huowang jumped down and asked the Imperial Preceptor, “Lord Imperial Preceptor. Is the ceremony over?”

Gao Zhijian’s skin broke open like dragon scales, and his blood covered every inch of his clothes.

“Zhijian! Are you okay?!” Li Huowang exclaimed. He had just raised his right leg when two old eunuchs holding golden horse-hair whisks kneeled in front of him.

“Please rest easy. Our Lord is currently shouldering the entire luck of the Liang Kingdom. Nothing must go wrong here.”

The two old eunuchs were kneeling, but the tingling on Li Huowang's neck told him that he'd be decapitated if he were to take one more step.

Realizing that this was part of the procedure, Li Huowang stopped worrying and observed the scene with Li Sui.

Soon, Gao Zhijian’s body started changing. He became similar to the emperors in the coffin as he sported dragon claws, whiskers, and horns.

Gao Zhijian raised his claws and pulled something in the air. At the same time, everything came to a halt. The powerful presence from within the coffin vanished as well.

Li Huowang found it strange. Gao Zhijian was far from becoming the Dragon Vein, but his aura had changed to resemble one.

The ceremony was over, and Li Huowang didn’t need anyone to tell him that. The Liang Kingdom's luck was on Gao Zhijian's shoulders now, and he had truly become the Emperor of the Great Liang.

Senior Li, do you see this? The Qi Kingdom is saved. Li Huowang gingerly stroked the spine sword and sighed. He suddenly remembered the little girl who had cried until her voice became hoarse. She's going to live at the very least.

The old monk’s illusion was even more excited than Li Huowang as he said, “Daoist, you did a good deed! This is a major good deed! You’ve saved so many people that you'd automatically become a Bodhisattva in your next life.”

Li Huowang couldn't care less about that. He was more concerned about the fact that Zhuge Yuan had deceived him.

“If one wants to be successful in politics, one must bring fresh changes to it first. One must follow the rules set by one's predecessors. One must be kind and gracious to start a new rule,” Huangfu Tiangang said; he was still reciting sentences that were too difficult for Li Huowang to understand.

However, Li Huowang deemed those words as unimportant, as the most important step was over.

The remaining steps were simply for formalities' sake.

Taking one last look at Gao Zhijian’s back, Li Huowang pulled Li Sui outside and said, “Suisui, it's time for us to leave.”