Gu Li, clean-shaven and clad in Buddhist robes, laughed. By now, he’d already walked up the platform.
Anyone capable of becoming an immortal had an eye for detail. Some, like Yang Jian, were comparatively dumb, but they were few and far between. Given Gu Li"s words and demeanor, they had pieced together his ident.i.ty as Chiyou.
Even so, none of the seated powers reacted overly intensely. They knew full well that, no matter how bitterly they chastised him, it wouldn’t affect Gu Li at all.
With their spiritual power sealed, they were just a group of mortals, nothing more.
Right now, they weren"t concerned with the tied vote itself so much as how it had happened.
Chiyou and the Immortal Region were like fire and ice; completely incompatible. Although he’d had no direct conflict with the Heavenly Court or the Underworld, they weren’t particularly close either. The Buddhist Realm transcended the Three Realms, and only very few Bodhisattvas were in attendance.
Therein lies the problem.
Who exactly voted for Gu Li? There were enough of them that he got 28 votes!
Yes, Gu Zichen made the vote counts public, but he hadn"t included details like who exactly everyone had voted for.
Gu Li sensed the change in their gazes, but only smiled playfully in response. He naturally wasn’t stupid enough rub it directly in their faces......
Hey, r.e.t.a.r.ds! I incited a rebellion amongst your subordinates and you didn’t even know it!
He’d have to be really dumb to do something like that.
Better to let things remain unclear.
He’d just let those self-conceited idiots guess who voted for him on their own.
“Everyone has seen the results.” Gu Zichen smiled faintly, seemingly completely unmoved by this outcome.
His tone was level as he looked over the crowd, saying, "
“The two top scorers are Ye Zichen, the reincarnation of the Yellow Emperor, and Gu Li, the reincarnation of Chiyou. However, only one can receive the seal of the Master of the Three Realms. We have to choose which of them will inherit the position."
“I recommend Emperor Ye for this vitally important role." To everyone’s surprise, the first to speak was the North Pole Emperor, who wanted and valued this position more than anyone.
He"d lost by just one vote and, unsurprisingly, was internally despondent
He was driven and ambitious.
He was sure that, so long as he became Master of the Three Realms, he’d be able to fully realize his potential and shape the Three Realms according to his ideals.
But in the end, he"d failed. A loss was a loss....
Since the results were clear, he could only choose between Ye Zichen and Gu Li. In that case, he would stand by Ye Zichen.
“My reasons are simple; that boy is the reincarnation of Chiyou. Everyone here should know what that means, so I won’t waste your time explaining it. However, even if we put aside his former ident.i.ty, he caused a huge commotion not long ago. He is unfit to be Master of the Three Realms. As the name implies, the Master of the Three Realms is to lead us all. They must put the people first. They must be reasonable and principled. With Chiyou as our leader, I don"t dare even imagine what our future will be like. Therefore, I recommend Emperor Ye for the role.”
The other immortals couldn’t help but stick up their thumbs in approval. The lesser immortals might not understand how deeply the North Pole Emperor longed for this position, but the other major powers did.
For him to so rapidly recover from his despondency and send his own feelings aside...
The way they saw it, it couldn’t have been easy.
“I’m also inclined to recommend Brother Ye for the position.” After the North Pole Emperor finished speaking, the Flame Emperor chimed in as well. “Emperor Ye is from our Immortal Region. In general, our Immortal Region should avoid doing anything to arouse suspicion. However, even if I said nothing, I trust my comrades all share my inclinations and support Brother Ye as well."
“Indeed, although Brother Ye hasn’t been with us for very long, we ought to take his considerable contributions into account," added f.u.xi. Then his gaze instantly darkened. “But never mind all that. Right now, I’m extremely curious: Who the h.e.l.l voted for Chiyou?”
The leaders of each realm looked over the immortals from their respective territories. They weren’t so childish as to believe none of them voted for Chiyou.
Given the circ.u.mstances, it could have been any of their subordinates.
Sensing their leaders" sharp gazes, few of the immortals dared look them in the eye.
Some might have had guilty consciences, but others were likely just afraid of provoking their lords.
It was like a pool of turbid water: difficult to see through.
"When this is over, we"ll be sure to investigate thoroughly."
Some of the immortals lowered their heads further. The seated major powers carefully noted their behavior. Even though not all of them said they"d investigate, they all planned on it. Their subordinates had been incited to rebel. If they didn"t pursue the matter, they"d just be inviting disaster upon themselves.
"If we have to take sides, I"ll perhaps stand by Emperor Ye as well," said Ksitigarbha who had originally been neutral. He didn"t say as much as the others, much less explain his reasoning.
He stood by Ye Zichen. As for his reasons?
Did the people of the Buddhist Domain need a reason?
Instantly, most of those present stood by Ye Zichen. Gu Li expressed no displeasure; he"d long since expected this to happen.
He simply listened as the crowd explained themselves. When the last person finished, he arched his brows.
"Gu Zichen," he said. "Who do you think should get the position? That group of brainless immortals just spouted a whole bunch of nonsense, but the way I see it, none of that matters. No matter what they say, what can they even do? You"re the one with the power to decide. That said, I expect you"ll just give it to Ye Zichen. Tch, at the end of the day, this whole event was just a waste of time."
"Ha......." Gu Zichen forced a laugh. He could tell that Gu Li was mocking him.
If Gu Li hoped to intimidate him with such petty tricks, Gu Zichen could only say that Gu Li"s methods were too simple.
He wasn"t from this world. No one knew him; he was completely unconcerned with others" opinions. Even if he did decide to give Ye Zichen the position, so what? It wouldn"t affect him in the slightest.
More importantly, he lacked the authority to decide.
Although his methods were astonis.h.i.+ng and although he was a supreme figure even in the Upper Three Realms, not even he could influence the laws of a world he didn"t belong to.
He laughed coolly, then smiled. “I’ve heard all your thoughts, but I have to apologize. In truth, it"s not up to me to decide who receives the position. Although I do have the seal with me, I can"t choose who will become its final owner.”
“This should be interesting,” sneered Gu Li. “What, are we going to fight for it?”