Chapter Seventy-Six: Two Missions
“His Majesty has arrived!”
A court official from the Ministry of Rites shouted to the heavens, and in an instant, the once-boisterous crowd before the imperial palace fell into silence.
...
Not far away, upon the Round Mound Altar, the ancestral tablets for the Celestial Emperor, the Earth Mother, the Sun, Moon, stars, clouds, rain, wind, and thunder were arranged in their proper order.
Before these divine tablets, over a thousand ceremonial vessels, each of at least treasured quality, were arrayed in preparation for the grand rites of heaven.
“Welcome the Emperor and the gods!” “Let the music begin!”
At the call, the rows of chime stones, bells, and bronze drums—over a hundred meticulously arranged instruments at either side of the steps—burst forth in solemn, majestic harmony.
In the distant beginning of the wild and ancient times, when all was chaos and the five elements unmoved, the twin lights still dim... when the murky and the clear were first divided, Heaven, Earth, and Man established, and all things brought forth...
With the music rising, the Emperor, garbed in imperial purple and gold, ascended the altar, performing three kneels and nine prostrations in the grand ceremony.
“In reverence to Heaven and in emulation of the ancestors! Heaven is round, the Earth is square... I, of the Purple-Gold Imperial Court, under Heaven's Mandate... pray for a thousand generations of prosperity!”
“For this Grand Celebration of Court, the first-ranked province shall receive an increase of one hundred thousand troops, the second fifty thousand, the third thirty thousand. Each subsequent rank will see a decrease by ten thousand, while the last three will lose twenty, forty, and sixty thousand soldiers respectively! Let the competition begin!”
...
After an exceedingly elaborate ceremony, His Majesty announced new rules for the allocation of rewards and resources, and the triennial Grand Celebration of Court was once again underway.
Once the Emperor was seated, the entire assembly erupted in thunderous cheers, discussing the newly revised distribution and speculating on who would emerge victorious this year.
Only the elder Murong Quan could find no joy in the spectacle.
The rules of the Court Celebration’s contest were brutally simple: twelve provinces, drawing lots to pair off in combat, with the winners battling among themselves for final placement, and the losers likewise to determine their ranks.
What was truly on trial was the fighting strength of the younger generation in each province.
...
“Wu Ji, looks like you’re going to lose everything this time, hahaha!”
“Who can deny it! His Majesty is truly wise—a brilliant new system for ranking and troop allocation!”
“Not only will you lose your last copper, you’ll end up stripping your province of its remaining garrison... Tsk, tsk. Let’s see how you’ll show your face back at your post now.”
“Hmph! Whether or not I can go back with my head held high is not for you to decide.”
...
After the drawing of lots amid the jeers of the other provincial governors, each returned to the front of their own team’s viewing stand.
...
“Young friend Changqing, you have two tasks in this competition.”
“The first is to lead our team to victory, all the way to first place—otherwise, I’ll truly be left penniless.”
“The second—especially if you face the provinces of East Lake, West Lake, Fengmeng, or Wucheng—don’t hold back. Crush them for me, leave them utterly broken!”
“No problem, I hope?”
“You think too highly of me, sir!”
“Don’t forget, Murong... heh, you know what I mean! Hahaha!”
“Shameless. All right then, since you command it, I’ll do as you say.”
“Excellent! Compete boldly—if you win, there’s an unexpected reward waiting for you!”
“Oh? What is it? Tell me.”
“Heaven’s secrets must not be divulged!”
...
“Teams holding lots number one and two, to the dueling platform!”
The presiding judge from the Ministry of Rites called out, and two teams of equal number leaped onto the stage, exchanged salutes, and immediately took up their stances to begin the match.
...
All the contestants from every province were uniformly at the late stage or peak of Foundation Establishment.
Although the contest was meant to test team battle prowess, since none were professional soldiers, there was no formal battle formation as in a military engagement; in truth, it was just as much a test of individual combat ability.
As Governors Song Wuji and Gu Xiaopang whispered together below, the contestants above from Northern Yan and Dengfeng provinces fought with perfectly matched ferocity.
On the vast dueling platform, of the roughly eighty contestants from the two provinces, less than a third remained standing in moments, the battle fierce beyond compare.
...
Dozens of treasured weapons were shattered, fragments flying everywhere;
One fire-element cultivator, driven to desperation, unleashed indiscriminate flames across the field;
Another, struck from the stage, managed in midair to lash a whip around his opponent’s ankle, dragging him down as well;
And some, willing to suffer heavy self-injury just to inflict greater harm on the enemy, fought to mutual destruction.
...