In the martial world, Zhu Tiedan sat in his residence looking uncharacteristically aggrieved—and even a little afraid.
To anyone who knew him, that should have been impossible.
Among the people of the jianghu, everyone knew his courage and power. Only the once-undefeated "urchin" could contend with him.
Of course, though Zhu Tiedan was formidable, he did not dare to rebel openly and proclaim himself emperor—not yet. Besides, this was an old tradition: none of the men of the Zhu clan were gentle folk. Since the days of Zhu Yuanzhang, every reign had been accompanied by blood and storm.
Zhu Tiedan naturally wanted the throne. The woman he desired had been refused to him with a single imperial word; he knelt for a month and still gained no consent. And the result? A good woman had been put to sleep by another. How could he tolerate that?
Added to that, with Zhu Tiedan's martial ability, how could he long remain in another's hands? He had long been dissatisfied with that little emperor. Unfortunately, the boy had his father-in-law Cao to protect him. Zhu could do nothing. Whether it was the emperor's father before, or his imperial brother now, they had always guarded themselves against him.
Zhu Tiedan watched the chatter in the group and felt wronged. His own world was too low-level. This wasn't self-deprecation; it was simply fact. Fortunately, God did not disdain him: as long as he prepared offerings and spread God's doctrine, he, Zhu Tiedan, could still become emperor.
There had been Li Shimin before, and Murong Fu after. How could he, Zhu Tiedan, be content to remain obscure?
But what treasures could he offer the gods? That was the problem. In the world as it was now, God would certainly look down on odd herbs and flowers, and they were not easy to find anyway.
He sat and pondered for an hour and still could not think of any worthy sacrifice.
"Damn it, how am I supposed to 'wake' Su Xin like this!" Zhu Tiedan burst into anger. His sweetheart had been the ache of his heart for twenty years. Tianxiang Cardamom could not be found, and now he had no decent offering either.
Hmph… an offering?
He remembered—one could offer a Daughter of Destiny.
Zhu Tiedan suddenly brightened and finally thought of something. Then he laughed.
"Yes—if I can't find a gift, then I'll prepare goddesses."
Princess Yun Luo was innocent, though somewhat stubborn. As a daughter of the imperial house, she naturally carried a share of fortune. There was also his disciple Haitang, another great beauty. And the Liusheng clan in Dongying had always served him. He could have them offer up two women as well.
With the plan settled, Zhu Tiedan immediately summoned his three disciples.
At this time, Tianya had not yet gone to Dongying; all three were still very young.
"Foster Father, why have you called us here?"
"Is Duke Cao making trouble again?" another asked.
The third said nothing, simply looking at Zhu Tiedan with clear eyes.
"No, no," Zhu Tiedan replied with a smile. "This time I received God's guidance and gained extraordinary power. There are some things you need to do."
God?
The word sounded strange coming from Zhu Tiedan's mouth, because he had always been an atheist. But this era was still the ancient one: "Three feet above the head, there is a god." Who dared to say otherwise? That was pure courting of death.
Haitang fixed her bright eyes on him. "I don't know what Foster Father wishes us to do."
"The Liusheng family in Dongying are my subordinates. Have their two daughters brought here at once. You three—go and fetch the sisters."
All three let out a breath of relief. That was simple enough—no difficulty at all.
Seeing they had no objections, Zhu Tiedan handed them the Eternal Meditation scripture he had prepared.
"This is God's method. Take it and cultivate. Set off tomorrow—your foster father is short on time."
"Yes."
The three looked down at the "manual," the ink barely dry. Their faces showed disbelief. But since he said it was God's method, it must be mysterious.
Before they left, Zhu Tiedan stopped Haitang. The other two returned to their rooms to practice.
"Foster Father, do you have special instructions for me?"
Haitang's large, bright eyes were wet. Though she wore men's clothes, and was not dazzling as she was, if she dressed properly she would certainly be a great beauty.
Zhu Tiedan smiled. "Naturally. In addition to those beauties from Dongying, you will also be part of this sacrifice to the gods."
"Me?"
"That's right. Otherwise, if only women of Dongying go to the God Realm, they'll speak only for their homeland. Wouldn't Zhongyuan be shamed then?"
Haitang felt unhappy, but when she thought on it, his words made sense. Still—did she really have to offer herself? Her gaze gradually grew confused. Even after she returned to her boudoir, she remained in a daze.
Serve the gods? It felt a little like daydreaming. She only hoped her foster father hadn't been deceived by those "gods." Haitang looked at the Meditation scripture in her hand and closed her eyes to practice.
The next day, the three gathered again. Their strength had broken through to the innate realm, even more potent than Zhu Tiedan's used to be when he bore the title "Iron-Guts."
"Go," Zhu said. "Go quickly and return quickly!"
"Mm."
…
Once his disciples left, Zhu Tiedan led his guards to the palace. Now that he had strength, there was no need for this emperor to exist.
He brought only ten men. At the palace gate he did not even send in a card, but rushed straight toward the inner harem.
"Stop! Zhu Tiedan, who allowed you to run wild here?"
"Oh? Isn't this Eunuch Cao?" Zhu said, smiling. "Why—this old man is the emperor's uncle. Must I report when I come to see my nephew?"
"I think you place no weight on the emperor at all!"
Eunuch Cao was ruthless in his own right. Though scheming by nature, he understood that once the emperor fell, he would have no pillar to lean on. So he had always defended the emperor's power—just like now. Zhu Tiedan, coming unbidden, was a grave disrespect!
A whistle of qi rose, twining around Eunuch Cao's body. He tapped his toes and flashed to Zhu Tiedan, his dry fingers stabbing out. Spiraling force darted toward Zhu Tiedan's chest.
Eunuch Cao wondered—why was Zhu Tiedan not defending? Had the man drunk too much? Hmph. This nanny would teach this idiot a lesson and—
Before he could be proud for even half a breath, a force surged in from the side.
"What a mangy old dog—how dare you be rude to the Divine Marquis!"
Boom.
Eunuch Cao felt his waist snap; he whistled through the air and crashed into a palace hall.
The men behind him stared in disbelief at the man who had kicked him. He was clearly a humble retainer beside Zhu Tiedan—at best second-rate in strength. How could he send the factory eunuch flying?
Impossible. It had to be false.
The tremendous crash drew a crowd, among them the young emperor.
"What's going on? Uncle… why are you here!"
The moment he saw Zhu Tiedan, the little emperor's heart went cold. He saw no disguise in the other's eyes, and none of the past fawning smiles. Zhu was ready to drop pretense.
"I came to tell you one thing," Zhu Tiedan said evenly. "God says you lack virtue. He commands me to inherit the throne."
His tone was flat, as if speaking of some insignificant matter.
The Imperial Forest Army arrived at a run. Hearing Zhu's words, they could not believe their ears. It was outrageous—invoking divine mandate! Rank rebellion!
"You… Zhu Tiedan! The imperial line was handed down by the First Emperor, not seized on your whim. Why should I see as you see?"
"Because you are foolish—merely mortal."
Zhu Tiedan rose without wind. Suspended in the air, he flicked his fingers; the sky rumbled. Dazzling lightning, like dough, seemed to sleep in his palm.
"Do you see? This is the power God bestows. You truly are unworthy…"
The contempt in his eyes pierced the little emperor to the bone and sent countless imperial soldiers to their knees. Thunder was Heaven's might—and Zhu Tiedan controlled thunder. Then what he said must be true.
At that moment, the attendants behind Zhu Tiedan dropped and cried out together:
"We beg Your Majesty to abdicate to the worthy!"
"We beg Your Majesty to abdicate to the worthy!"
…
The voices rolled on and on into the emperor's ears.
No. I am the emperor. I am the emperor. No one can take this from me.
He took one step forward—and the world went black. Before he could even move again, he fell headlong from the steps. He never woke.
The palace changed hands in a single day without any proclamation to the world. Seated on the throne, Zhu Tiedan ordered the Imperial Forest Army to learn God's method and sent men to oversee the construction of the altar.
"Your Majesty, Princess Yun Luo began to raise a clamor the moment she heard of the emperor's death!"
"Pay her no mind. Seal her acupoints and place her in custody. Tell the girl that if she makes noise again, her mother will be killed."
"Yes."
Hmph. A mere princess. If she weren't useful, she would already be dead. Only thus could he cool the rage in his heart.
Zhu Tiedan waved his hand and painted; soon a portrait of Su Xin bloomed on white paper.
…
"Have you heard? Zhu Tiedan has become emperor. He secretly summoned several ministers."
"Indeed. They were indignant when they went—but when they returned, they were all smiles."
"Ah… Zhu Tiedan always had a wolf's ambition. Eunuch Cao called him a traitor, yet now he's willing to be a hall sweeper. Clearly he's been suppressed."
"All right, let's not discuss it—who knows when we might be seized for loose tongues."
"You're right. I have wine today; I'll be drunk today."
These rumors were released deliberately by Zhu Tiedan. As for those ministers—they had all been overawed by Zhu's methods, and that was that.
The strength of the Imperial Forest troops was far beyond ordinary understanding. What could their unwillingness change? And they all understood why Zhu Tiedan was so strong: he had received God's power and God's recognition. Otherwise, how could he command thunder and lightning?
And so, subtly, with the Imperial Forest Army putting on displays of "divinity" among the crowds, the Eternal Church began to spread among the people.