No matter what the past had been like, or what the future might become, at least now, upon this vast Divine Land where Rovi had become "Heaven," within these five hundred years of Human Order under his governance, the Mandate of Heaven would always favor the countless living beings.
It would not distinguish between rich and poor, noble and lowly, powerful and powerless.
In the past, the greater trend had been the will of the gods. From now on, the greater trend would be "the will of the people."
This was the manifestation of the Age of Gods stepping into the Age of Man.
It was also the "Heavenly Emperor's edict" Rovi had engraved into the depths of Human Order.
Rovi looked back one last time at the Wei River surging east behind him, then smiled softly, flicked his sleeve, and walked on as though to the rhythm of a song.
The poet from a fallen state aboard the boat was moved for no reason, and something seemed to appear in the hearts of the sallow, starving poor.
It was something called the "Mandate of Heaven."
...
In olden times, during Qin, a celestial being manifested and walked along the Wei River. When asked by the people, he said: If the Mandate of Heaven is overturned, Shang and Zhou could perish, and Qin may likewise be changed.
This is precisely 'resonance between Heaven and Man.' Only when the Mandate of Heaven rests upon one's body can it remain unmoved for ten thousand generations.
Where does the Mandate of Heaven lie? Heaven answered: The Mandate of Heaven lies with me, and my will lies with the people.
—Theory of Resonance Between Heaven and Man
...
In Qin, at Donghua Palace, the rising sun climbed in the east, casting down a strand of morning light. A girl in black robes stood atop the dome, gazing out over the earth beneath her feet.
Her curves were exquisite, her figure graceful. The scant fabric covered only a few secret places, and beneath the cloak draped over her shoulders, fair skin gleamed, the curve of her side full and lifted. Yet in this empty wilderness, there was no one who could see her form.
This initial form, born from a planetary Elemental, was, in Yu Mei-ren's eyes, something only one person could look upon.
"If you're here, then you're here. Why bother hiding?"
"I wasn't hiding. I was just walking a little slowly."
Rovi, who had followed the Wei River back through the pass from beyond Qin Pass, appeared beside Yu Mei-ren. "And on the way here, there were always things I had to do."
"Such as?" Yu Mei-ren glanced at Rovi beside her, not much change in her beautiful expression.
"Such as checking how much a certain someone who seized the White Emperor's position and became the Western Emperor-Lord has grown."
"Do you even need to check? I'm an ancient immortal."
Yu Mei-ren puffed out her chest beneath the black fabric, her pale, flat stomach rising faintly as she looked rather proud.
Rovi added, "One of the ancient immortals."
"And also the one who loved sleeping in the most."
Yu Mei-ren instinctively wanted to bare her teeth and put on an "angry" expression, only to hear Rovi say in the next second, "But no matter what, congratulations."
She had gained power from the "White Emperor," become one of the Five Emperors, and taken her place in the west. From now on, Yu Mei-ren could step by step walk the same path as the ancestor gods of Huaxia.
Of course, it was only a possibility.
But at the very least, she now had the possibility of reaching the "primordial."
From this point onward, she would also no longer be bound by the limitations of existing as a "planetary Elemental."
The morning sun fell upon their shoulders. The two atop the dome of Donghua Palace suddenly looked at one another, a gentle breeze brushing past their robes. Yu Mei-ren pressed her crimson lips together.
The world was reflected in her crimson eyes.
But within that world, there was only him.
She, too, was gradually gaining the possibility of standing beside Rovi.
Rovi sat down and said, "It's about to begin."
"Begin... What does that have to do with me?" Yu Mei-ren showed disdain, but still slowly sat down beside Rovi. Her hand, as though by accident, pressed directly on top of Rovi's.
He froze for a moment, but said nothing. He simply let Yu Mei-ren clasp his palm with her five fingers, their hands gently overlapping.
Drawing the distance between heart and heart closer.
DONG, DONG, DONG—!
The ground trembled faintly. The sound of drums echoed across the fertile lands of Guanzhong. Rovi raised his eyes and could clearly see a black "tide" surging over from the direction of Xianyang.
The "beginning" he had spoken of to Yu Mei-ren was this moment.
Qin had unified all under heaven.
And next, King Zheng of Qin would ascend here as the common ruler of all under heaven and establish the institutions and order of a new dynasty.
The tide gathering from all directions was Qin's army. The towering Qin sword manifested and bloomed between heaven and earth, but the army merely passed through Xianyang and headed straight for Donghua Palace behind the city.
Donghua was Heaven. Taiyi was Heaven.
To ascend the throne under Heaven, naturally, one could not omit the sacrifice to Heaven.
In the front hall of Donghua Palace, the officials, dressed in black robes and dark garments, had long since taken their places. Nine incense pillars stood at the very front, scattering sparks like stars. Chancellor Li Si stood first among the civil officials on the left, while on the right stood the military officials and generals, including Wang Jian, Wang Ben, Meng Tian, and many other great generals who had won merit in destroying the six states.
They gathered around the center shrouded by the solemn palace complex, a space paved flat with stone. At its center stood an enormous nine-sided altar.
The Qin army had arrived. Long spears, blades, and swords surrounded the mountain and the palace so tightly that not even water could pass through.
Atop the altar, fierce winds howled. King Zheng of Qin, wearing a twelve-tassel jade crown and black ceremonial robes embroidered with a dark bird in flight, lowered his eyes to look below.
"Your Majesty, the hour has come." The Prefect of the Palace Carriage Office stood beside him and spoke respectfully. The so-called Prefect of the Palace Carriage Office managed the king's carriage and entourage, and his duty was precisely to transmit orders and information for the king while attending at his side.
The King of Qin flicked his sleeve and rested his hand on the Qin sword at his waist. "Then begin."
Begin—the sacrifice to Heaven, the enthronement.
"Bright and glorious Huaxia, Yan and Huang restored. Xia collapsed and Shang began; Shang declined and Zhou arose. Such is the cycle of the Mandate of Heaven, coming and going, beginning and ending. Since Great Qin founded its state, five hundred years have passed. Now that the six states have been swept away and all under heaven pacified, it shall receive the Mandate of Heaven and rule the people."
A clear voice echoed through the air. The speaker wore plain white robes and a light veil over the face, making it difficult to tell whether they were male or female, yet a sacred aura suffused them. They stood upon the altar, facing Ying Zheng.
That person's position was level with Ying Zheng's. Both stood at the highest point.
They were Great Qin's State Preceptor.
The envoy of "Donghua."
The puppet body made by Xu Fu—
"Siming."
They recited the sacrificial text, ending with, "Now, all of Great Qin, from top to bottom, and the countless living beings, pray here to the dome of heaven, to sun and moon, to mountains and rivers."
"Bow to Heaven!"
"Bow to Heaven!"
"Bow to Heaven!"
The civil and military officials bent at the same time and kowtowed. Only King Zheng of Qin remained standing.
Li Si bowed forward and said, "Now that we have received the Mandate of Heaven, we must establish new institutions."
Ying Zheng turned to face the civil and military officials, and even more, to face the countless living beings of this unified all under heaven.
"I decree: From this day forth, enfeoffment shall be abolished, and central governance shall be established. The authority of all under heaven shall be returned to the center. Kings shall no longer inherit and rule as lords of states. Dukes, marquises, counts, and nobles shall no longer truly inherit authority over land."
"All under heaven shall be divided into the Nine Provinces and thirty-six commanderies. The measures and weights of the former states shall be abolished and standardized according to the Qin system. The scripts used by the various states shall be abolished and unified as 'Qin script.'"
"The title 'Son of Heaven' shall be abolished and replaced with 'Emperor.'"
What was an Emperor?
"One whose achievements surpass the Three Sovereigns, and whose virtue exceeds the Five Emperors!"
"My Great Qin shall endure for a thousand generations, for ten thousand generations. We shall here proclaim him the First Emperor!"
Zhao Gao said, "Cry out!"
The civil ministers bowed their heads. "May the First Emperor live ten thousand years!"
The military officials were somewhat displeased. Ever since Qin had enacted Shang Yang's reforms and implemented the system of farming and war, generals had not spared themselves, and soldiers had not feared death. Had all of it not been for the sake of earning fiefs through military merit?
Every human heart had selfish desires.
Yet today, with civil and military officials gathered, after Ying Zheng had unified the six directions, his majesty grew heavier by the day. Especially since Wang Jian, the foremost of the military generals, had already bowed his head without hesitation. "Long live the First Emperor!"
The other military generals suppressed the dissatisfaction in their hearts and bowed as well.
Their voices rose like a mountain roar, crying ten thousand years.
They shouted long life!
Abolishing enfeoffment, implementing commanderies and counties, establishing the imperial system, unifying weights and measures... The work of a thousand autumns began from this moment.
Atop the dome of the rear hall of Donghua Palace, Rovi smiled.
"This is..."
Yu Mei-ren also looked in surprise at the light and shadow faintly appearing above Qin's civil and military officials.
Rovi explained, "That is the radiance of Human Order."
"Human Order?" Yu Mei-ren naturally could not be ignorant of what Human Order was. Leaving aside the past, merely staying by Rovi's side during this period had taught her many concepts she had not known before.
Qin had unified all under heaven, and King Zheng of Qin was enthroned at this moment, taking the title "Emperor."
Thus, Qin's "history" reached its peak at this moment, and Qin's Human Order gathered into a great river.
"Bright and glorious Qin restores our Huaxia."
"The sacrifice to Heaven begins."
The State Preceptor "Siming" recited in the same voice.
The sacrifice to Heaven began.
King Zheng of Qin burned incense and questioned Heaven.
"It's my turn to appear." Rovi stood.
Yu Mei-ren rose with him.
Their hands, which had unconsciously been clasped tightly together, parted.
"It will only take a moment."
Rovi stepped forward, his figure rising into the air.
Yu Mei-ren watched quietly.
When the King of Qin asked Heaven, how would Heaven answer?
A wild wind swept in, stirring the robes of Qin's officials. A radiance appeared in the sky.
"Heaven" had manifested.
Chaos, nameless, an indescribable mist—this was "Taiyi."
But Taiyi could not be looked upon directly by humans. The civil and military officials here only vaguely sensed something in their hearts, unable to describe or explain it.
That alone was not enough.
Azure Heaven's recognition should not be ethereal and vague. It should be more tangible.
Only then would Qin encounter less resistance in ruling the Divine Land.
This was something Ying Zheng and Rovi had long since agreed upon.
The King of Qin—or rather, the First Emperor—still stood atop the altar, facing the fierce wind.
He was still waiting for "Heaven's" answer.
And he believed Donghua Dijun would surely respond.
Sure enough, in the next second, within the nameless mist of chaos, an even more brilliant light manifested. A vast figure slowly descended from within.
Steel formed skin and bone. Molten lava served as blood. Its eyes blazed like coronas, and the iron wings spread behind it raised a crimson storm like the sun.
Machine God—or perhaps it could also be called "Pangu."
Since formless Heaven could not be seen,
then let the formed acknowledge him.
The Machine God from Greece had long since completed its "localization," opening the "Foundation" as the source of Huaxia's "thought magecraft," opening the "new heaven" of future Mystery.
This form had also long since obtained a Huaxia name.
"Perfected One Pangu."
The officials were solemn and astonished, and they could not suppress themselves from kowtowing. Even outstanding talents like Li Si and generals of illustrious merit like Wang Jian felt an uncontrollable reverence toward that vast steel body.
It was worship of the sacred.
And even more, yearning toward that enormous "Machine God."
Sanctified as a god.
As the manifestation of "Heaven."
"The Mandate of Heaven shall return to Great Qin!"
Rovi lowered his gaze and, in the name of "Heaven," granted recognition.
Recognition that "the Mandate of Heaven returns to Qin."
The ministers kowtowed once more. By the time they rose, the celestial phenomena had already returned to normal. The sky remained clear, and the sun had reached its zenith, blazing with prosperity.
"My king, the ceremony is complete." Seeing Ying Zheng still looking up at the sky, Zhao Gao could not help reminding him in a low voice.
Only then did he notice that Ying Zheng's face...
was filled with excitement?
"What a Donghua! He had a form like that and didn't tell me!?"
A giant mecha.
That was every man's dream!
For some reason, as Zhao Gao looked at the "Emperor" before him, a feeling of unease surfaced in his heart.
"Perfected One Pangu. Perfected One Pangu."
"I have decided—one day, I too must possess such power!"
"Huhahaha!"
Zhao Gao pressed a hand to his forehead. Li Si covered his face. But Wang Jian and the other Qin generals all expressed absolute support.
If such a goal could be realized, then never mind fiefs!
They had no complaints whatsoever!
Perhaps even Ying Zheng and Rovi had not expected that a fissure arising within the military merit group would dissipate just like that.
"In that year, the First Emperor ordered the weapons of all under heaven collected and cast into twelve Golden Men. The First Emperor deemed them all 'inferior products' and sealed them away."
...
"All under heaven has been unified..." At the bottom of the Wei River, in a space sealed by countless iron chains, a hand pale as jade brushed through the water qi, raising boundless white waves.
Wuzhiqi, the ancient demon-god sealed by Great Yu, looked up at the heavenly light falling through the vast waters above and laughed softly.
All under heaven had been unified. Then she, too, should be able to find her chance.
But before that...
"A certain someone should be born soon too, right?"
"What a pain—"
Wuzhiqi let out a breath. "East Sea, Penglai."
"And that stone..."
"Wait, who is this now!?"
The demon-god's pupils focused in an instant, because through the vast water qi connecting the Wei River to the Great River and running straight into the boundless East Sea, she sensed what was happening in the East Sea.
She sensed something approaching.
It was a coiling aura.
It was...
"Is Rovi here?" Golden hair fell down as the girl in a red cloak stood atop the peak of a certain island. She looked at the huge stone beside her, raised her hand, and gently knocked on it. "There seems to be life inside this?"
The girl—or rather, Eresh, who had waited far too long in the Primordial Highest Heaven and finally could not suppress her desire to see Rovi any longer, slipping down from above—murmured softly.
"In that case, I'll speed up your formation just a little!"
The Underworld was the end of death.
But it was also the source of life.
By now, Eresh had long since thoroughly mastered her own power.
She did not need to be in Mesopotamia.
Wherever she was, there was her Underworld.
"I am a god of a foreign land, so I cannot directly set foot upon that land. So you will help me search!"
"Go and find the one I love—divinely made Stone Person."
Faint light flickered brilliantly. The power to urge life to form faster came into being in her palm.
Atop the island peak, the stone gradually cracked apart.
What manifested from within
was a figure with a head full of red hair...
"Eh!? Did I accidentally cause a possession-style birth?"
Eresh let out a troubled sound at just the right moment.
CRACK, CRACK—!
A pair of eyes bloomed with golden light from within the broken rock, shooting through the Ox and Dipper mansions. The East Sea, which had been calm a moment before, instantly filled with rising wind and roiling clouds.
---
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