The refining of the Chibao Sword also marked the time when the War of Ziweixing had reached a phase of clearing the remaining demons. According to unwritten tradition at this time, Phoenix, the administrative core and fairy city of Ziweixing's supreme emperor, was also supposed to take a resounding name, symbolizing her official rule over Ziweixing.
The fairy city is built over eight hundred miles away from the original site of the Flying Saint City, and it has just been completed in its rudimentary form, while only a small part of the grand palace complex has been constructed.
Now it is officially named the Chibao Palace.
Phoenix hadn't noticed any issues initially, but during Ding Cai's report, she frequently heard the name Chibao Palace, and her heart couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. "What if it were called Ziweixue Palace instead? How wonderful that would be!"
The Supreme Emperor of Ziwei resides in the Zixiao Palace, which is quite reasonable, isn't it?
Even if she is very skilled in creating buildings and wants to build the entire fairy city and palace, it will take at least ten years, during which time a large army must be stationed on Ziwei Star, and one of the three celestial palaces, Taowei Palace, must be captured. There is no shortage of things to do.
Military operations are essential, and domestic affairs must also be rushed. Diplomatic work cannot be abandoned either. She decided to take all three approaches simultaneously.
The side hall of the Azure-Dawn Palace in the Heavenly Court.
"Your Majesty, General Jingzhun has sent an invitation, which he plans to take over the position of Tianzhen Ziweixue Beibei Dashanyangdi in Ziweixing on April 18th in ten years. The speech in this edict is heartfelt and every word is a pearl, reading it moved me profoundly. What are your high thoughts, Your Majesty?" Wu Tian asked Jiangziyao while holding the edict from Phoenix.
Old Jiang looked at a loss, "Why ask me about this? Can I persuade her to withdraw her troops? Or can I pretend to be a demon and annihilate those several tens of thousands of celestial soldiers and generals with one stroke? I'm not capable of that!"
Having spent so many years in the Heavenly Court, he has come to understand the character of this Supreme One in the Three Realms. It's not enough to completely go against him, but blindly following him is also not appropriate.
The Marshal of Jingzhun is a prime example. At first, he pointed where he shot, but later, when his official position was elevated to the top, he simply ignored Wu Tian.
Of course, Marshal Jingzhun has a backing, which Old Jiang can't match. Old Jiang's backing seems to be none other than Marshal Jingzhun himself. It's all a mess in here, and it's impossible to sort out who is who.
He had no choice but to answer earnestly, "I believe sending envoys to attend the ceremony would be sufficient."
Wu Tian's face remained composed, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Your Majesty speaks wisely. In ten years' time, I will represent Your Majesty at the ceremony."
"Your servant will comply."
Wu Tian pulled out another edict, which was full of "recommendations" for various officials and generals under Phoenix's command to be promoted.
This is an important task in domestic affairs. People risk their lives for what? When it's time to draw a cake, do it. When it's time to give benefits, do so.
The expedition to Ziwei Star has reached the final stage, and now it's perfectly fine to bestow rewards based on merit.
Zhang Guifeng became the ruler of the Tianshi Palace, and Ding Cai became the ruler of the Taiwei Palace, which surrounded Ziweixing Palace. They served as her right and left hands.
The Four Heaven Kings, Distance-Seeing Eye, Wind-Catching Ear, and numerous celestial soldiers who followed the expedition all received varying degrees of rewards.
Including the Nine Golden Sunbirds, a group of immortals who came to help with their own supplies were also rewarded according to their contributions. Those with greater contributions were granted official positions, while those with lesser contributions received various spiritual materials and artifacts as rewards. However, Wu Tian did not concern himself with the spiritual materials; they had to be paid for out of Phoenix's own pocket.
Phoenix originally held the position of Tianpeng Marshal for a long time and handed it over to Lao Zhu. This was both a reward for their merits and a layout for the new political structure at the moment.
Lao Zhu indeed had strong water battle capabilities, and this time he led the celestial troops to battle, making great achievements.
This person seems to have a bit of good fortune about them. After Feilian and Feiban, it was the descendant of the former demon general Bifang who took over the leadership of the demons, a direct bloodline descendant. The expeditionary force fought against this guy for over a year, and in the end, the demon side was soundly defeated. On the run, Bifang's descendant met with misfortune and was captured alive by Lao Zhu.
Lao Zhu confidently declared after the war that he had predicted the enemy's escape route beforehand and was prepared accordingly. However, according to Phoenix's divination, it was clear that this guy had gotten lost.
However, she didn't say anything. The capture of the demon leader was a definite merit.
Phoenix's position as the Supreme Emperor of Ziwei is to lead the Four Holy Immortals of the North Pole. She doesn't want to give up her base, but the newly conquered territories also need her personal presence. Zhang Guifang, Ding Cai, and these old subordinates need to stay behind to assist her. After thinking it over, only Lao Zhu with his background in teaching is most suitable.
There is a layer between them, and Lao Zhu is not one of her loyal supporters. He has independent characteristics and a background in teaching that Wu Tian cannot neglect. It is likely that he will be appointed through this means.
Phoenix can appoint herself, but as a vested interest, she still wants to abide by the rules of the Heavenly Court. These rules are the foundation of her rule over the three celestial palaces and also the foundation of Wu Tian's rule over the Three Realms.
The fact is that Wu Tian is much more rational than her, and he has generally agreed to her edicts. Only a small number of positions were slightly adjusted, and the differences from the list she submitted were not too great.
The nine golden sunbirds were given official positions as the nine planetary lords because of their previous merits in killing Feiliang and Feidian. Wu Tian pretended not to know their origins, and Phoenix didn't mention it. They were given positions based on the names of the nine asterisms: Bixie, Zhonglang, Sheshan, Jixting, Xuanrui, Yaxing, Dezhen, Renjing, and Yaowen. These names correspond to the nine planets in Chinese astrology.
The Nine Brightness Lords overlap with many positions in the Heavenly Court, such as the North Star's Yangming Penglang Star Lord, Xuanming Wenchu Star Lord, and Beige Wuqu Star Lord. These are immortals who rose to prominence through the Record of God-Kings. The Wenchu Star Lord Bi Gan and the Wuqu Star Lord Dou Rong are even personal confidants of Wu Tian.
Phoenix had no objections to this, and Wu Tian accepted it calmly. Many positions in the Heavenly Court are a fusion of the old and new eras. An immortal with three or more different leadership positions on their head is not uncommon. Everyone has jurisdiction over them. As for which one they should listen to, it depends on their abilities.
Phoenix's accession to the position of Tianzhen Ziweixue Dashanyangdi in ten years is a significant event in Hongwu, but it has nothing to do with ordinary immortals. She invited only gods within the Heavenly Court system, and she did not invite any whose ranks were too low. Even if they were not within the system, there was no need for them to attend, as no leader of a country would invite random passersby to witness the ceremony.
During the three years that Phoenix was refining the Chixiao Sword, Deng Chanyu was also busy. She was invited to Luofu Cave to assist Yunxiao in repairing the Hunyuan Golden Bowl.
The original Hunyuan Golden Bowl had suffered several serious blows and lost its core power significantly, which made Yunxiao feel somewhat inadequate when facing Ranling.
The Chaos Demon God will definitely invade the Primordial Wilderness in the future, and Yunxiao will need a powerful preternatural spiritual treasure in her hands. Repairing the Hunyuan Golden Bowl has therefore been put on the agenda.
Qiongzhou and Bixiazai were also helping, but it was clear from Yunxiao's expression that their help was minimal. As long as they didn't cause any trouble, it would be good. The main force for repairing the Hunyuan Golden Bowl would still have to be them and Deng Chanyu.
