Five days later.
The atmosphere in Radiant City felt evidently more serious and imposing compared to normal. Early in the morning, the usually bustling city became very quiet. Apart from some stores that sold daily necessities, most of the stores chose to cease business for the day.
This was because it was the day of the Grand Sacrificial Ceremony.
The Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Tianran, would be at the outskirts of the city to attend the ceremony. He was going to pay his respects to heaven and earth, as well as the ancestors of the Sun Moon Empire.
The territories of the Sun Moon Empire had expanded greatly in the short period of time after Xu Tianran ascended to the throne. This ceremony was more of a ceremony to flaunt his achievements. At the same time, he was warning everyone to be prepared for the day that he ruled over the entire continent
Preparations for this Grand Sacrificial Ceremony had been in motion for many months. Many resources, including workers, money and materials, were tapped into for this ceremony.
Many citizens streamed out of the city in the early hours of the day. They came to the outskirts and prepared to witness the beginning of this glorious ceremony.
On the main streets of Radiant City, the soldiers wore helmets as they stood at the sides. The entire place was heavily guarded. An intense, solemn aura filled the entire city.
The citizens proceeded towards the southern outskirts in an orderly fashion under the eyes of the army.
This ceremony was extremely grand. For it, the Sun Moon Empire had deployed an army of more than a hundred thousand men.
At the southern outskirts, a huge sacrificial altar had already been constructed half a month ago. The altar was a platform that was weirdly-shaped. The left side was circular, while the right was like a crescent. The significance of such a design had to do with the Sun and the Moon, which symbolized the Sun Moon Empire.
The circular sacrificial altar was more than ten thousand square meters in area, and up to a hundred feet high. It was made completely from granite. There was even a six-story platform above the original platform. Each and every story of this platform was shaped exactly like the original platform, just that they were increasingly smaller in size. The platform at the top was only a thousand square meters in size.
From the bottom to the top, the colors of the platforms were respectively red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, blue and violet. They represented the colors of the rainbow, and signified everything in heaven and earth.
There was a total of eight stone stairways around the sacrificial altar. They all led to the top.
This altar wasn"t only used once. It was pa.s.sed down from generation to generation, and its sole purpose was to pay respects to the heavens.
The altar was heavily guarded. There were soul formations in each of the four cardinal directions. Even though the scale of the soul formations wasn"t as large as that of their soul engineer legions, these soul formations were constructed by the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. The technology used was the most advanced as of yet.
Of the hundred thousand man army that was deployed to this ceremony, forty thousand guarded the altar. The rest were stationed elsewhere. Most of the soldiers were responsible for maintaining order.
The sky was already starting to turn bright. The sun shone on the majestic grand altar, which exuded a rainbow glow. From afar, it was a magnificent sight.
All seven altars combined reached a total height of a hundred feet, which was much higher than the tallest skysc.r.a.per in Radiant City. It was bound to become one of the symbolic structures of the Sun Moon Empire in the future.
Under the soldiers" orders, the citizens were crowded around the altar until there was hardly any s.p.a.ce left. There were more than twenty million citizens in the Sun Moon Empire. They formed the core of the empire. Even if there weren"t ten million people here to watch today, there were still a couple of million. The entire place was densely populated right now, and it was difficult to see the end of the sea of people.
The time of the ceremony was set at around nine in the morning. The energy from the sun was the strongest then, and it signified the Sun Moon Empire"s continuous rise in the future.
In the distance, a group decked in bright yellow was slowly proceeding towards the sacrificial altar from Radiant City.
As this group pa.s.sed, the soldiers opened a path for them. At the front, there was a huge dragon sedan carried by a thousand and twenty-four men. The sedan was covered in silk satin, and there were images of flying dragons embroidered on the silk. However, the images of the Sun and Moon were embroidered in the most core positions of the sedan.
This was Xu Tianran"s dragon sedan. At this moment, Xu Tianran was seated in his sedan. He wore a nine-dragon, purplish-gold crown on his head, and was dressed in an elegant, brocade robe that was only fitting for the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire.
Ju Zi, who was sitting beside him, was also dressed in an extremely elegant, bright yellow palace robe. She wore a smile on her face, and her headdress was adorned with the most expensive gems.
The curtains around the sedan were raised, so that all the citizens could see the most powerful couple in the world.
“Long live His Majesty!” The soldiers lifted their weapons and greeted Xu Tianran at the same time.
Suddenly, all the citizens kneeled down in the direction of the sedan at the same time.
Xu Tianran appeared very dignified as he sat on the sedan. He was also felt very proud of himself at this moment.
When he lost his legs, his world seemed to turn completely dark. However, he was now the ruler of the Sun Moon Empire. He was even the future ruler of the entire continent.
When he saw the millions of people bowing down to him, Xu Tianran could sense luck and fortune coming his way. That feeling was magical.
Paying respects to the heavens was only an act, but bringing the people together was important to stabilize the empire. Carrying out such a ceremony was what Xu Tianran wanted to do after he ascended to the throne.
Over the past two years, the three empires of the original Douluo Continent had made rapid developments. They had developed their soul tools and recruited more soldiers. But wasn"t it the same for the Sun Moon Empire?
Xu Tianran got his rhythm completely right. At the beginning, his position as the Emperor wasn"t very stable. However, he stood his ground and initiated an invasion with the Holy Ghost Church"s support.
Why? It was to distract attention away from the internal conflicts in the empire. Whether his officials supported him or not, they knew what to do as long as they were intelligent enough. Defeating their enemies was the main priority.
Ju Zi didn"t disappoint either. She relied on her wits and astonishing military talent to unleash the full advantages of the Sun Moon Empire"s army, dominating the Star Luo and Heavenly Soul Empires. In the end, she attained marvelous results.
Although the war had already stopped before the Heavenly Soul Empire was completely occupied, one couldn"t deny the fact that Xu Tianran had expanded the Sun Moon Empire. At this point, he chose to slow down his attacks and solidify the empire"s defenses after listening to Ju Zi"s suggestion. Instead, the empire would turn to soul tool technology to earn the trust and respect of the people in the occupied Heavenly Soul Empire. At the same time, Xu Tianran turned his attention inward.
Due to the achievements made during the war, there were much fewer objections. Ju Zi"s pregnancy and the birth of the Crown Prince also served to further consolidate Xu Tianran"s position. In just a short two years, he had completely silenced all his doubters. He was now the true ruler of his empire.
However, all of this still wasn"t enough to satisfy his desires. He was too ambitious. He wanted to rule over the entire world and the entire Douluo Continent. He wanted to avenge the Holy War that the Sun Moon Empire had lost four thousand years ago.
This was why he wanted to pay respects to the heavens. He wanted to use this ceremony to tell the world that the Douluo Continent belonged to him and the Sun Moon Empire. After this ceremony, the Holy War would begin.
Ju Zi silently sat beside Xu Tianran. She could sense the heat from his body. It wasn"t a change in his body temperature, but a manifestation of his ambitions. He was like the Sun as everyone watched him, releasing a bright yet dominant glow from his body.
Ju Zi was wearing a grin on her face throughout. After she gave birth, she appeared even more cla.s.sy, elegant and mature. Her figure also became more voluptuous. Her originally smooth and delicate skin was even more moisturized now.
Xu Tianran patted Ju Zi"s hand and jolted her back to her senses.
Ju Zi smiled as she said, “Congratulations, Your Majesty. You are the Emperor of Eternity.”
Xu Tianran also revealed a smile on his face, “No matter what I own, I"ll share it with you. Are you still unhappy? I didn"t bring the Crown Prince along because he"s too young. He"ll be scared to see so many people.”
Ju Zi gently shook her head and replied, “Why would I be unhappy? Your decision is right. I"ve already thought it through.”
Xu Tianran replied, “It"s good that you understand. Once the ceremony is over, I"ll follow you to see Yunhan.”
“Alright.” Ju Zi nodded.
She naturally knew why Xu Tianran didn"t want to bring her son for this ceremony. This was because he wasn"t his biological son. Moreover, so what if they were biologically related? Given his character, he wanted to become the Emperor of Eternity. His dream took precedence over everything else. To him, the Crown Prince was only a tool. Of course, she was also a tool.
Finally, the dragon sedan arrived in front of the altar.
Xu Tianran stood up and held Ju Zi"s hand before slowing descending from the dragon sedan. After this, they walked up the altar.
Right now, the bottom platform of the altar was filled with people. Those who were fit to be on the altar were all important figures in the Sun Moon Empire. To them, being here was an absolute honor.
The cheers of the citizens were very rapturous. It was astounding! The soundwaves created by a few million people echoed extremely far away.
Xu Tianran wore a smile on his face. Ju Zi wasn"t the only one who could sense his gloss. Everyone on the altar could also sense it. Their hearts trembling, they kneeled down and bowed to him.
They could sense that the Sun Moon Empire would rule the entire continent in the near future.
Xu Tianran wasn"t quick, but he was steady. When he reached the sixth platform, he naturally let go of Ju Zi"s hand. Ju Zi stopped and watched as he climbed up to the seventh platform.
Yes, he was the only one who ascended to the seventh platform.
The seventh platform was adorned with many elegant patterns. A huge hexagram array reflected dim golden lights. In the center of this hexagram array, an image of the Sun and Moon was blinding. The Sun was golden, while the Moon was silver. Gold and silver intersected and complemented each other.