Chapter 121: The Ascension of the Sovereign Emperor and the Founding of the Human Empire

Yang Xin used a瞬身 technique and appeared beside Zhu Qizhen. Zhu Qizhen nodded to Yang Xin, then swept his long sleeves, signaling the Embroidered Uniform Guard to take their positions and clear the way. He led the civil and military officials in a grand procession straight to the site of the Heaven Offering.

The Heaven Offering site was simply a large, abandoned horse training ground outside the Forbidden City. There were no horses at all, but the area was undeniably vast.

“Immortal Lord, please!” Zhu Qizhen said respectfully.

Yang Xin glanced around the horse grounds, nodded, then used a瞬身 technique to reach the center. There, he began constructing an altar according to the five elements and the eight trigrams formation.

“Fire Release—Dragon Fire Technique.”

Yang Xin deliberately conjured a massive fiery dragon, which circled the air before engulfing the buildings within the grounds in flames, burning them to ashes.

“Water Release—Earth Pit Technique~”

“Water Release—Who built this dam~”

“Wood Release—Arrival of the Tree Realm~”

“Earth Release—Ten Thousand Miles of Earth Flowing Wall~”

One by one, Yang Xin employed various release techniques, transforming the empty horse grounds into a lush landscape of mountains, waters, and trees. The ninety-nine-tiered altar especially caught the eyes of the assembled officials, widening them in awe.

“Moving mountains and filling seas, capturing stars and moon—the might of immortals is truly unmatched...” the officials sighed in unison.

“Is there truly an immortal in this world? If so, can one attain eternal life?” Stirring hearts began to awaken.

Yang Xin paid no heed to their thoughts. Having completed the altar, he瞬身-ed back to Zhu Qizhen’s side.

Nine is the ultimate number. Zhu Qizhen gazed upon the ninety-nine-tiered altar with great satisfaction. The Ming Emperor Zhu Qizhen removed his original dragon robe. With the assistance of eunuchs, he donned the imperial twelve-beaded crown and put on a robe dominated by scarlet, embroidered with golden dragons and auspicious clouds. His distinctive long face, characteristic of the Zhu family, made his refined features seem more mature and added a hint of ruthlessness.

Originally, the Ming Emperor’s dragon robe was yellow, but Zhu Qizhen wanted to distinguish himself from past emperors. Following the theory of the mutual birth and restraint of the five elements, he had eunuchs overnight tailor an imperial robe with scarlet as the main color, accented with golden yellow. Based on his ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang’s legacy—expelling the Mongols, restoring the realm, reestablishing the Nine Tripods, and bringing light to the land—Zhu Qizhen dared to align himself with the element of fire.

As for how to justify this, that was the Ministry of Rites’ affair. Zhu Qizhen now bore the domineering aura of the Hongwu and Yongle Emperors. With a sharp weapon in hand, his murderous intent stirred.

Holding the imperial jade seal, Zhu Qizhen cast his gaze across the land and resolutely proclaimed:

“Heaven above, Earth below, before us stands Zhu Hongwu, born of humble cloth in Huai’s east, rising amid chaos, driven by the people, expelling the Mongols, extending west to Bashu, east to the vast sea, controlling Minyue in the south, Hunan and Hubei in the middle, and both Huai and Xupi in the north—all within the realm. Reforging the Divine Land. After him comes Yongle, raising armies to pacify, penetrating the steppes, vanquishing the Mongol tribes, asserting the might of our Divine Land...”

“Today, the Ming Zhu family reestablishes here the Ming Human Dao Empire!”

“Ming forever: no marriage alliances, no reparations, no ceding of lands, no tributes paid. The human emperor guards the gates of the nation; the sovereign dies for the state!”

Drawing the sharp sword at his waist, Zhu Qizhen held it high. One side of the blade was engraved with sun, moon, and stardust; the other with mountains, rivers, and flora. It was a replica of the ancient Sovereign Xuanyuan’s sword. Raising his sword to the heavens, Zhu Qizhen struck with fury:

“Sun and moon shine bright, the Ming never cease, the human way never ends!”

At that strike, the vast capital suddenly trembled; a thunderclap split the clear sky. The officials and gathered citizens were instantly alarmed. Faintly, they saw a colossal crimson-golden dragon over ten zhang in length descend from the sky, flying toward Qizhen and entering his body.

A heavenly omen bestowed upon the nation, the entire country rejoiced. Yang Xin subtly sensed the upper limit of this world beginning to loosen. He pondered deeply.

This world was one of low cultivation. First, Yang Xin had widely planted divine trees; then Zhu Qizhen cultivated the Human Emperor’s Qi Condensation Technique, refining the imperial jade seal into his life’s origin. Originally, when Zhu Yuanzhang founded the nation, Liu Bowen had slain a giant dragon, severing the bridge between heaven and earth. This world did not permit the emergence of immortality or innate martial arts. Now, that restriction seemed to be loosening.

Amid national jubilation, Yang Xin followed Zhu Qizhen back to the Forbidden City. To consolidate power, Zhu Qizhen first targeted the Ministry of War, stripping many of its privileges, retaining only the authority to recruit soldiers. Next, he curtailed the Five Armies Command, similarly removing many powers but keeping only the training authority. Then he established the General Staff, centralizing all rights to deploy and command troops there.

To prevent abuses such as generals exploiting soldiers or siphoning supplies, Zhu Qizhen created the Logistics Department, which controlled all military supplies and soldier provisions. He also founded a military academy, appointing himself as its head; from then on, all mid- and lower-level officers were imperial disciples. Finally, he established the Military Secretariat, ensuring that all military intelligence, troop movements, and operations bypassed the cabinet and reached him directly.

Zhu Qizhen did not abolish or reduce the cabinet’s power but expanded the number of Grand Secretaries. The previous "Three Yangs" cabinet system had allowed the three Yangs to dominate. With Yang Shiqi retired, Zhu Qizhen, wary of the remaining two Yangs growing too powerful and deceptive, appointed seven more Grand Secretaries at once, diluting the two Yangs’ influence thoroughly.

Through this series of moves, the court’s supreme power consolidated under Zhu Qizhen. Of course, to fully centralize power, time was needed. As time passed, all believed Zhu Qizhen would become a human emperor whose words carried the force of heaven’s law and whose edicts were unchallengeable.

Regarding the revival of the feudal enfeoffment system from the Shang and Zhou eras, and the risk of powerful vassal states rebelling against the Ming overlord, Zhu Qizhen was unconcerned. Beyond the Ming’s absolute military and cultural strength, on the very day the Ming Human Dao Empire was founded, Zhu Qizhen sensed the true power of the imperial jade seal.

The imperial jade seal not only gathered the fate and spirit of the Chinese people but also bestowed that fortune upon its bearer, strengthening his control over the empire. Specifically, any martial artist not officially sanctioned by the Ming Human Dao Empire would be suppressed by the Qin Empire’s national fortune upon entering Ming territory.

More importantly, with the empire’s national fortune supporting the Ming army, even an ordinary soldier wielding a Ming imperial edict could exert some suppression over top-tier martial artists in the martial world. As for supreme commanders, they could harness the imperial fortune inscribed on their tiger tally and military orders to subdue peak experts such as those from Shaolin or Fang Zheng and Fang Sheng.

“Hiss~ Terrifying indeed—this is the true embodiment of holding the heavenly law in one’s mouth, and having one’s words weigh like nine tripods!” Zhu Qizhen drew a long breath. This was the fundamental reason he dared to boldly seize power.

If a vassal state tried to rebel, no matter. He would simply declare they were barbarians, not vassals. Without the empire’s national fortune, their armies would be no match for the Ming, and they would quickly learn why the flowers bloom so brilliantly.

Anyone attempting to assassinate Emperor Zhu Qizhen need not mention the formidable combat power and regenerative ability bestowed by the Thousand-Hand bloodline. Even without that, the national fortune’s blessing meant no traitor could enter the Forbidden City; those who tried would be crushed by the oppressive might of the fortune-bearing golden dragon.

Stealing the imperial jade seal was out of the question. It had been refined into Zhu Qizhen’s life origin. With a mere thought, no matter where the seal was, it would fly back to his hand. He could even absorb it into his body. Forging imperial edicts with other seals was useless, and edicts issued without his consent were utterly ineffective.

In short, Zhu Qizhen, empowered by the national fortune, was the unrivaled strongest in this world. With the Ming Empire’s territory expanding, it was only a matter of time before Zhu Qizhen became a human sovereign akin to Fuxi, Shennong, or Xuanyuan.

At this moment, holding the imperial jade seal, Zhu Qizhen glanced at Yang Xin. His expression shifted. The fortune-bearing golden dragon opened its blood-red maw and with a roar charged toward Yang Xin...