Chapter 16: The Jade Emperor and the Planet Venus
The Celestial Generals and Heavenly Soldiers wore strange expressions.
Your old Dragon King’s daughter has gone missing, and you want us, the heavenly troops, to come capture her? Have you lost your mind?
When heavenly soldiers descend to the mortal realm, except for official duties, they are forbidden to appear publicly—that is a rule set by the Great Celestial Sovereign!
Who dares to defy the Great Celestial Sovereign’s edict? That’s just courting death.
Moreover, matters concerning the Dragon Palace are not under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Court!
Though the Four Seas Dragon Palace and the many River Dragon Kings and Well Dragon Kings are nominally managed by the Heavenly Court, in reality, they possess great autonomy.
Except when violating heavenly laws and requiring trial by the Heavenly Court, any misdeeds by dragon descendants are handled internally by the dragon clans themselves.
Not to mention a runaway daughter; even if the old Dragon King’s wife were to disappear, no one from the Heavenly Court would intervene.
The Celestial General relaxed his stiff expression and forced a smile, saying, “Old Dragon King, it’s not that we brothers don’t want to help, it’s just... we really can’t!”
He was indeed in a difficult position.
If he took the lead in this matter and the upper echelons investigated, he would be the first to receive heavenly punishment.
The heavenly soldiers, after all, were merely following orders and would not suffer consequences.
Seeing this, the old Dragon King said no more and directly produced a radiant golden orb.
When the orb burst open, an inscrutable voice resounded:
“Today, the East Sea Dragon King is in distress. The Heavenly Court’s soldiers and generals shall assist accordingly and not shirk their duty.”
This was...
The Celestial Generals and many heavenly soldiers present all changed color and bowed deeply to the small golden orb, saying, “We obey the Great Celestial Sovereign’s command!”
Jiang Wang followed the heavenly soldiers in unison, deeply shaken inside.
The old Dragon King actually held an imperial edict from the Jade Emperor, the Great Celestial Sovereign?!
Since crossing over until now, the most famous deity Jiang Wang had encountered was one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Mo Liqing. He had never even seen his direct superior, Zhao Gongming.
The Jade Emperor? He had heard the name but never seen him.
He never expected to receive the first imperial edict from the Jade Emperor here in the East Sea Dragon Palace.
Thinking of this, Jiang Wang recalled the self-proclaimed useless prophet from his world-crossing, Qin Wuxu.
She regarded herself as a top-tier immortal, exuding a faint aura of sycophancy. If properly cultivated, she might one day become a master at squeezing spiritual stones for juice.
Of course, to squeeze without restraint, one’s status and image must be impeccably maintained.
At this moment, wasn’t this the perfect time to solidify one’s image?
Jiang Wang immediately entered the chat group.
Guardian of the Southern Heavenly Gate: “The Jade Emperor has issued an edict. If you @ me and I don’t respond, I may be busy. Please do not repeatedly @ me. Everything will proceed once I'm free. Spiritual stones are still being collected. Collect ten to receive a random attribute immortal pill. Plus, if you collect fifty, you can customize the immortal pill you want, but customization must be within my ability. That’s all, logging off.”
Having said this, Jiang Wang silently observed.
To his surprise, the first to respond was not the useless prophet Qin Wuxu, but the venerable Celestial Master Zhang Zhiwei from Dragon-Tiger Mountain.
The Celestial Master: “If I am not mistaken, the Great Celestial Sovereign refers to that one, right? The Supreme Jade Emperor of the Golden Palace of Heaven, the Exalted Sovereign of Pardoning Sin, Mysterious Sky High Emperor!”
Snake Queen: “Who is this? Such a long title? To be called Emperor, is he on par with a Dou Emperor?”
Golden Generation of the Martial Soul Hall: “Dou Emperor? Is that similar to the title of a Douluo? If so, that’s indeed powerful.”
Little Spider: “That name sounds familiar! I came across it during my research; apparently, he’s the Lord of All Gods?”
Lifelong Enemy of the Mosquito: “Lord of All Gods?! Then he must be incredibly powerful.”
Snake Queen: “!! God Lord?”
Golden Generation of the Martial Soul Hall: “?! God Lord!”
Even Saitama, who usually only cared about supermarket discounts, couldn’t help but show interest.
Useless Prophet: “@Snake Queen @Golden Generation of the Martial Soul Hall, please do not insult the Jade Emperor, alright? The Jade Emperor is the true supreme existence! Defining him merely by power is a grave insult!”
Useless Prophet: “@Guardian of the Southern Heavenly Gate, honored immortal, the Jade Emperor has issued you an edict; you must be a trusted deity of the Jade Emperor. May I know your title?”
Snake Queen: “I still don’t understand how strong the immortal in our group and the Jade Emperor truly are. Without an intuitive sense, your words, Prophet, feel somewhat vague.”
Golden Generation of the Martial Soul Hall: “+1~”
Lifelong Enemy of the Mosquito: “+1.”
Little Spider: “+1.”
Celestial Master: “My descriptions are inadequate; better let the young lady explain.”
Useless Prophet: “Just a few words for you all—the Jade Emperor controls the sun, moon, wind, rain, and all natural changes; human fortunes and misfortunes, life and death, longevity, auspiciousness and calamities—all human fates; rules of the world, reincarnation, time, space, and all worldly laws. He is the supreme god! The true meaning of God!”
Little Spider: “......”
Lifelong Enemy of the Mosquito: “......”
Snake Queen: “If I were to make a wish, could the Great Celestial Sovereign grant it?”
Golden Generation of the Martial Soul Hall: “A god who controls everything? Aren’t gods supposed to govern their own domains?”
Celestial Master: “Ah, if I could catch a glimpse of the Jade Emperor’s grandeur, it would be fortune spanning ten or a hundred lifetimes.”
Useless Prophet: “I also wish for that. Let’s wait until the immortal is done with his tasks.”
...
Jiang Wang silently watched the discussion about the Jade Emperor and said nothing further before closing the chat group.
Meanwhile, in the Lingxiao Treasure Palace, the Great Celestial Sovereign seated on the Jade Emperor’s throne suddenly twitched at the brow.
His gaze swept over the Six Realms but found no abnormalities.
He furrowed his brow in puzzlement, calculated silently, then quickly resumed his compassionate and solemn demeanor.
At his side, Venus of the Evening Star reported, “Your Majesty, the heavenly soldiers guarding the Southern Heavenly Gate have descended to the mortal realm with the East Sea Dragon King. They will naturally carry out your edict when they see it.”
The Great Celestial Sovereign nodded lightly. “The old Dragon King’s matter concerns the Western Journey calamity. Whatever he requests must be accomplished, but the Heavenly Court must not make a grand display. It is difficult for those heavenly soldiers. Once the generals and soldiers return to the Heavenly Court from the Dragon Palace, reward each of them accordingly.”
“By the Great Celestial Sovereign’s decree.” Venus of the Evening Star stroked his white beard and added, “Great Celestial Sovereign, should we prepare in advance for the Western Journey calamity?”
“No need. The Western Journey calamity is not aimed at us. Let everything proceed naturally.”
“Understood.”
...
In the mortal realm, at the East Sea Dragon Palace, the old Dragon King held the Great Celestial Sovereign’s edict, commanding the generals and heavenly soldiers as he wished.
But his only demand was that they capture his daughter and most importantly, ensure her safety.
This surprised Jiang Wang greatly.
He had assumed that with the old Dragon King’s imperial edict, the heavenly soldiers would assist with additional tasks.
For example, imprisoning that demonic dragon that had been ravaging the East Sea!