Beginning of Cultivation
Chapter 98: The Declaration of Abdication

Chapter 98: The Declaration of Abdication

After Li Ming decided to become a cultivator, Xia Ni thought it was time to eat. Since he was already here, he wanted to try a bit, it had been a long time since he had ice cream. He said:

"Is there any ice cream left? Get me a bowl. Anyway, someone dragged me here to eat ice cream, it wouldn’t be right not to eat anything."

"Yes, Your Majesty, please wait a moment." Li Ming replied and immediately went to prepare.

Xia Ni saw Jun Wu Xiao sitting and eating happily. Curious, he asked:

"Is it delicious?"

"I’m not sure if you’ll find it tasty, but I like it. Maybe it’s because I rarely eat good food, so everything tastes good to me now." Jun Wu Xiao said.

Hearing this, Xia Ni nodded. He knew that Jun Wu Xiao only ate leaves or some organic stuff, not regular food. Those things tasted awful, so it wasn’t surprising that he found anything else delicious.

After a while, a bowl of ice cream was brought to Xia Ni. The ice cream was decorated very attractively, looking extremely special. Jun Wu Xiao saw it and felt it was unfair. He said:

"Why is his ice cream so special?"

Xia Ni heard this and saw the bowl of ice cream in front of him, which looked more delicious even before tasting it. He laughed and said:

"Ha ha ha, don’t you consider your own status? I’m an emperor, and you don’t even have a citizen ID."

"Your Majesty is right, receiving an emperor should naturally be done with the best effort. As for you, I thought you were an old poor man, so there was no reason to prepare anything this elaborate." Li Ming nodded and said.

Jun Wu Xiao was speechless, unable to argue. Though revered as a god by human, he truly had no real status in human society. After all, the place where he was born has long disappeared into history.

Hearing these words, Xia Ni laughed even louder:

"Ha ha ha, did you hear that? An old poor man comparing himself to me?"

At this moment, his emperor-like image was completely gone. Anyway, that image wasn’t as fun as teasing Jun Wu Xiao.

"Hmph, shut up and eat. Isn’t it just that yours looks better? I’m not jealous." Jun Wu Xiao snorted.

Though he said that, he thought differently in his heart:

"Damn it, if I had known, I would have just brought him here to work, not to eat. Now look at him, his smug face makes me really want to punch him."

A little while later, after finishing his meal, Xia Ni said:

"Li Ming, where do you want to cultivate? Do you want to find a place to cultivate on your own or go to the place I’ll create for cultivation later?"

Li Ming thought for a moment and said:

"I wish to follow wherever Your Majesty arranges."

"Alright, then follow me to the palace now. And you, where are you planning to go?" Xia Ni asked.

"Me? Wandering around is enough. Wherever you cultivate, I’ll go there and cultivate for a few days while waiting for that big event you mentioned." Jun Wu Xiao said.

"Alright, then let’s go. Don’t struggle, it will be quick." Xia Ni said.

"Huh?" Before Li Ming could say anything, Xia Ni grabbed him by the collar and took him straight to the palace.

.....

A few days passed. It was now Monday, and the time had come for Xia Ni to begin his speech. Jun Wu Xiao was sitting in the area reserved for the ministers. Some people recognized him and asked:

"Are you one of those gods?"

Even though Jun Wu Xiao looked no different from a human, they still called him a god to show respect.

"Huh, you recognize me?" Jun Wu Xiao said.

"Ha ha, of course, we recognize you. During the early days of our return to the capital, you gods helped us a lot with heavy work." a minister laughed and said.

"Ha ha, I didn’t help that much. The capital looks beautiful today mainly because of humanity’s effort. I only contributed a small part." Jun Wu Xiao shook his head and said.

He knew well how much he had done, maybe his efforts were equivalent to a few thousand people at most. Occasionally, he did some difficult tasks, but in his opinion, humans could have managed even without his help.

"As you wish. Are you here to see today’s event?" the minister asked.

"Yes, today Xia Ni said it would be a very significant event, so I want to see what he will say." Jun Wu Xiao said.

The ministers didn’t react strongly upon hearing him call the emperor by name. They knew that the emperor and these gods were of the same kind, equals.

"Ha ha, rest assured. Today’s event will have a significant impact on the future of humanity." the minister said.

.....

At this moment, Xia Ni, clad in regal robes, exuded an extremely solemn presence. Before him stood millions of people. He slowly stepped up to the podium and said:

"You may be wondering why I summoned everyone here today. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I have four important announcements to make.

First, I want to talk about the development of humanity after the catastrophe years ago. Monsters appeared, spreading countless miseries and suffering to humanity. More than two hundred million people died and countless of our material possessions were destroyed by monsters, but we were fortunate to overcome this disaster. Moreover, humanity did not falter but instead became more eager to develop, bringing our society to the prosperous state it is in today in just a few short years. I sincerely thank everyone for that.

Humanity is indeed a species with indomitable will, the true rulers of Earth. We will never fall, no matter how terrifying the enemy. As long as we live, no hardship is insurmountable, no enemy undefeatable. Humanity will continue to develop, continue to grow stronger, and one day, no one will dare to be our enemy.

The second matter is that I wish to abdicate..."

As soon as these words left his mouth, the crowd below erupted into chaos. Cries rang out:

"You can’t do that, Your Majesty. Why do you want to abdicate?"

"That’s right, Your Majesty. You are doing so well, why abdicate?"

"Please reconsider, Your Majesty."

.....

Xia Ni deliberately paused, his main purpose being to gauge the people’s reaction to him. He thought:

"It seems I haven’t done too poorly as an emperor. But this role doesn’t truly suit me. Finding a suitable successor will be better for humanity."

"Everyone, calm down. I haven’t finished speaking yet. I will not abdicate immediately but will wait until a successor is found. I know I am not the best leader. I believe among the countless people out there, there are those with extraordinary talent. Therefore, I have decided to hold an annual examination to select the emperor.

Humanity is now unified as one nation. The method of selecting the emperor should also change. I want the emperor, the leader of humanity, to be the most talented leader chosen from among humanity, not my descendants. After selecting a new emperor, each emperor will serve a term of twelve years. Afterward, they can participate in the selection process again if they are still capable and healthy."

This news shocked everyone. For those with ambitions to lead humanity, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was their chance to showcase their talents and become the supreme leader of all humanity.

Though the term of twelve years might seem short, some with significant ambition didn’t think so. They believed that within those twelve years they could abolish this law, so they could be emperor forever. However, that just because they had yet to hear about the Evaluate Council and the group of gods ready to intervene if anyone acted foolishly.