In the central square of the Divine Capital.
The Number One Beneath the Heavens Grand Tournament that everyone had focused their attention on finally drew its curtains.
Both the God Sect and the royal family could not wait for this tournament. The God Sect had spent a huge amount of money to organize this tournament that gathered all the elite cultivators in the world. Their goal was not to do charity, but to win over the hearts of the people. They wanted to show everyone in the world that the God Sect had an unshakable and absolute ruling position in Daqi!
Even the invincible Imperial Tutor Chang Yuan could feel that the God Sect's prestige and prestige were constantly slipping due to the continuous wars and natural disasters. Especially with the Crown Prince's continuous rise in the face of danger, his prestige had already caused a huge impact on the Imperial Tutor's prestige.
Because of this, the cultivation sects that had been trying to challenge the God Sect's position also started to get restless.
After all, which powerful sect in the world did not want to get their hands on the Divine Capital?
The God Sect needed to be the core host of this tournament to prove their strength to all the cultivators in the world. They also needed this grand event to proclaim the glory of the God Sect to the world.
Similarly, the royal family needed this tournament more than the God Sect.
The continuous natural and man-made disasters had almost torn apart the Da Qi Kingdom's luxurious and prosperous clothes. Everyone could see what was hidden under the remaining clothes.
The princes had completely fallen out with each other in the fight for the throne. The capital was in a serious state of internal strife. The officials were not in the mood to govern and were busy with scheming. The military officials were not in the mood to train and were busy with colluding. The Crown Prince was assassinated, the Major Star Officer was assassinated, and the Emperor was assassinated. This series of assassinations had dealt a heavy blow to Daqi's royal family.
The Crown Prince, Major Star Officer, and the Emperor of such a large and powerful empire had been assassinated one after another. The assassin who killed the Crown Prince and the Major Star Officer were still at large!
Nothing happened to the Crown Prince and Major Star Officer. This was a slap to the empire's face!
Who would still care about the empire's prestige?
The royal family was out of money, and so was the national treasury. Fortunately, Li Chengfeng gave them three brilliant plans at the last minute, which quickly helped Daqi's officials earn a huge sum of wealth.
Even though much of the wealth had flowed into the hands of the nobles, the most prominent was the Fourth Prince. With the help of the gambling, he had amassed hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in less than a month.
Once they had money, most of their income was kept. They didn't invest it in the grand event of the Magic Competition. Instead, they fought against the Divine Church.
The officials of the Ministry of Revenue complained, but they only dared to say it in private. The conscientious Imperial Censors could only complain in the brothels and wine shops. They did not dare to say these words in front of the Emperor and did not dare to submit memorials to oppose this matter.
That was because no one who could become an official was a fool, and even a fool could see that every Magic Contest was a battle between the royal family and the Church. Both sides were competing for "influence"!
Influence determined their ruling power and the legitimacy of their rule!
Regardless of whether it was the officials in their positions, the scholars who had gathered in the capital to wait for the imperial examinations, or the cultivators who had gathered, all of them were coldly watching this battle that appeared to be extremely glorious on the surface but was secretly surging with turbulent waves.
However, the commoners did not notice the terrifying undercurrents hidden under the calm surface. Early in the morning, they had already surged to the various streets and occupied the best viewing spots.
The Divine Church's black-robed and white-robed guards had sealed off the entire sky above the Divine Capital. Black and white Guardians could be seen hovering in midair everywhere. They were stacked up in layers, split into inner and outer areas, up, down, and down. They used various levels to seal off the sky above the Divine Capital. At this moment, if anyone were to barge in from the sky, they would definitely receive a fatal blow from them.
In the eyes of these guards who were hovering in the air, the entire central area of the Divine Capital had turned into a stretch of black. There were black masses of heads everywhere. The roofs, tree trunks, streets, and even the various spires were filled with people. All of them looked around, raising their hands to their foreheads. Right now, it was really like raising their hands to form a forest, and they were sweating profusely.
To the east of the Divine Capital's central square was the Divine Light Street, while to the west was the Divine Splendor Street. When the time came, the Emperor would enter from the Divine Light Street on the east, while the Church's Sect Master, who was also the Imperial Preceptor, Chang Yuan, would enter from the Divine Splendor Street on the west. Both parties would enter one after another, competing with each other. It was a unique sight in the Divine Capital, and it was also the most magnificent scene in every World's Number One Magical Contest.
"Hey, hey, hey. They're here, they're here!"
The commoners had gathered here in the morning. Right now, they had waited for over two hours, but there were still no signs of them. They had long since become a little impatient. However, when the commoners in the streets in front saw the group coming over, they waved their hands and shouted. One spread to ten, and ten spread to a hundred. Very soon, the streets burst into an uproar like a furious wave coming from afar. At the beginning, there were only faint shouts, but the shouts got increasingly closer and increasingly louder. By the time they reached the people in front, they were already like mountains and seas, shaking the world!
For a moment, the sounds were deafening. Some of them covered their ears, some covered their women's ears, and some covered other people's women's ears. All of them opened their mouths and shouted loudly, but they could not hear the other party's voice.
Immediately after, the ground started to rumble and tremble. The tough and sturdy granite ground trembled rhythmically, and a series of kaka kaka kaka sounds of footsteps approached from afar.
Everyone could see a dense forest of spears gathering toward them from afar. Walking in the front row were the most elite Imperial Forest Blood Guards in the entire Divine Capital. Their entire bodies were covered in blood-red heavy armor, and there were no gaps on their bodies at all. Only a pair of eyes were hidden behind the cross-shaped holes in their helmets, and they were like eagles or falcons. The Demon-Breaking Spears they were holding were as long as 3.5 meters, and they were riding on two-meter-tall horses. They were like heavenly soldiers that had descended to the mortal world!
There were 100 Blood Guards in the lead, each with four people in a row, forming a total of 25 rows. Each of their actions were like one person, and even the posture and distance of the horses they were riding were exactly the same!
This caused everyone to click their tongues in admiration, 'The Blood Guards live up to their reputation!'
Following closely behind them were the majestic Imperial Forest Guards. They each sent out 200 people who were dressed in neat armor and split into a few square formations. Each square formation was as neat as tofu, and the sonorous footsteps under their feet were like the beating of drums. Each step struck heavily on the hearts of the spectators, causing them to be overwhelmed with emotions and their blood vessels to surge.
After these Blood Guards passed by, the crowd did not feel their interest diminishing at all. Instead, they craned their necks and waited for the main event to arrive.
It was because everyone knew that the next person to appear would be the Great Qi Kingdom's Emperor. He would appear in the grandest and most magnificent palanquin!
Each time this palanquin appeared, it would incite a heated discussion in the capital. It was because it was sufficiently magnificent and extravagant!
Putting aside everything else, just the palace maids who held golden hooks and laid out velvet blankets, as well as the maids who held flower baskets and sprinkled flower petals, were sufficient to decorate the scene of a flourishing and extravagant era.
However, when everyone craned their necks and waited, they discovered that the next person to appear was not the huge and extravagant palanquin that was like a golden mountain. Instead, it was a shiny golden yellow horse. This yellow horse's entire body was orange-yellow, as if it had been sprinkled with gold. It was extremely tall, reaching a height of 2.3 meters. The person riding on this horse wore an eight-dragon crown and an eight-dragon robe. He had a dignified and dignified appearance. It was the Crown Prince, Zhao Hanqing!
With this, everyone was greatly astonished!
Where was the Emperor?
Why hadn't the Emperor appeared?