Shennong Dao Master
Chapter 479 - 54: Bestow Rewards, Exchange Lands, Promote Officials, Fortune Golden Dragon! (6K)

Chapter 479: Chapter 54: Bestow Rewards, Exchange Lands, Promote Officials, Fortune Golden Dragon! (6K)

The reward ceremony process had already been instructed by Jia Pu.

Returning on February 24, Zhao Xing and others had three daily tasks: bathing and changing clothes, burning incense to dispel malevolence, and waiting for their rewards.

Once the rewards were bestowed, they no longer needed to hustle frantically.

As they ascended into the sky, many envious glances were cast from below.

Only generals who had amassed over a million military merits received such treatment, being led to the Tianxin Hall for pilgrimage.

For those of lower ranks, like the eighth and ninth grades, who had lesser military merits, the process was basic: Pinghai State’s Military Department would issue a commendation document, and the Military Realm Cave Heaven would bestow the reward and conclude the matter.

Yang City was vast, and among its ten stationed armies, there were quite a few people who had achieved over a million military merits.

Zhao Xing glanced around and noticed that nearly a thousand people were ascending with him, most of whom were sixth grade, with only a minority being seventh grade.

Zhao Xing’s realm had also reached the early stage of the Heavenly Gang Realm as well.

He had previously been in the Sacrificial Soul Pass, aiming to break through before the reward ceremony.

If he hadn’t reached the sixth grade, then the mighty force of the national fate during this reward ceremony would have helped him advance, wasting a part of that force on his realm instead of extending his lifespan and enhancing his fate.

From the end of December to mid-February, Zhao Xing’s breakthrough to the early-stage Heavenly Gang Realm had been quite smooth.

"Hum~"

The flying speed was slow; this golden light’s appearance was meant to evoke envy from those below and bring prestige to those above.

Moreover, each golden light magnified the features of the person it led in the sky.

Once everyone had entered the hall, a sound would echo, reaching everyone’s ears, akin to opening the "server-wide speaker" of the Ten Suns Cave Heaven.

After 15 minutes, Zhao Xing and others were finally absorbed into the Tianxin Hall.

After entering the Tianxin Hall, the process was the same as the previous promotions: first, they paid homage to the Grand Ancestor and Emperor Wen, and then saw Emperor Jing, who was seated high on the throne.

Emperor Jing still appeared as a giant, but compared to his ninth-rank official initiation, Zhao Xing could now clearly see his full figure.

Emperor Jing wore the Heavenly Emperor’s Crown, which consisted of three parts: the crown, crown clothes, and accessory attachments.

First was the crown board on the crown, called the yemen, elongated, with a slightly rounded front and a squared back, symbolizing "heaven round, earth square."

The jade ornaments hanging along the front and back of the crown, resembling a curtain, conveniently obscured part of the emperor’s face.

This was done firstly to maintain the emperor’s mysteriousness and secondly to remind the emperor not to always gaze at foreign lands but to often look down at the domestic affairs. The phrase "see but not see" originates from this.

The ear decorations hanging from both sides of the crown, metaphorically filling the ears, signify that one should ignore sycophantic words, giving rise to the expression "turn a deaf ear."

The entire crown was black, which was the outfit for the emperor attending court; if he were leading troops personally, he would wear the Heavenly Emperor’s Battle Helmet, don the Emperor Armor, and wield the Emperor Sword.

The Emperor’s Crown was matched with the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Clothes, the upper garment and both embroideries on a black base.

Embroidered were dragons, phoenixes, Qilins, and other auspicious beasts.

The belt was white, and the lower robe was red, with a tan-white division separating the robe into two parts representing heaven and earth.

Emperor Jing sat kneeling, placing his hands on the sections of the robe representing ’Heaven’ and ’Earth,’ symbolically controlling both!

On the Heaven and Earth Crown, decoration included patterns, the upper garment using painting and the lower using embroidery. The patterns included the extremely prestigious "Twelve Ornaments," which no other prince or subject could embroider.

The "Twelve Ornaments" of the Heaven and Earth Crown included mountains, sun, moon, stars, fire, dragon, ax, rice, sea waves, music drums, dark birds, and temples, symbolizing the emperor’s merits and virtues.

Zhao Xing could only see Emperor Jing’s lips and bridge of his nose, unable to see the full face.

But whether seen or not, it didn’t really matter.

The heavenly mandate of the emperor made Emperor Jing’s appearance significantly vary in the hearts of each subject.

As long as one became the emperor, no one knew what his true appearance was.

But once you saw him on formal occasions, you could immediately know this was the emperor.

After a glance, everyone slightly bowed their heads, no longer looking directly at the celestial majesty.

After paying respects to Emperor Jing, there was a showy process: extolling achievements.

"Tiger Flood Dragon Army, Wei Hong."

From the throne, a majestic voice resonated amid golden ripples.

"Present!"

One individual stepped out in the hall and knelt on the ground.

"In the third month of the 17th year of Jingxin, you led your troops to a great victory over the ’Sky Ghost Tribe’ Barbarian group, slaying 157 chieftains and 48,720 enemy troops..."

Emperor Jing began to list the merits Wei Hong had accumulated.

Meanwhile, a majestic voice was also heard outside.

"...Tiger Flood Dragon Army Wei Hong, with exceptional military achievements, promoted three levels, advanced to the rank of Marquis, titled ’Marquis of Merit.’

"Granted land of 2,780,000 acres, a feudal hold of 2,780 households, awarded the ’Valor’ sword, two blue dragons, two leopards... promoted to Public Discussion Doctor, awarded five honors, to acknowledge his contributions!"

Extolling solely picked the brilliant battles to briefly mention, but rewarding and granting were discussed in full detail and spanned a long series.

Wei Hong’s military merits were 2,780,000, not enough to be a military Marquis, so he was granted a third-rank Marquis.

A third-rank Marquis’s title usually bore the name of the granted land, but there were differences. If it was to recognize achievements and included the emperor’s expectations, it was like Wei Hong’s, titled Marquis of Merit.

It was a step higher than those generic land-named titles, although there wasn’t much actual difference—but it was an honor.

"Subject Wei Hong thanks Your Majesty’s grace; may our emperor live forever!"

After pausing for a moment, Emperor Jing called the next person.

"Helian Lie!"

"Present!"

"In the sixth month of the 17th year of Jingxin..."

...

The waiting was lengthy, and Zhao Xing listened attentively.

Those who could enter the Tianxin Hall had now reached the threshold of Marquis, though some titles were rather mundane or even humorous.