Chapter 776: Who Is the Emperor?
The transformation process was utterly devoid of blood. A human head naturally morphed into a magnificent crown, heavily encrusted with gemstones, while the flowing long hair transmuted into splendid plumes adorning its edges.
Every gleaming gemstone on the crown shimmered with the radiance of Spirit Energy.
If an uninformed person were to see this priceless crown, they would undoubtedly be unable to suppress the desire to claim it for themselves.
But at this very moment, the other True Immortals who witnessed this scene felt nothing but a chill run down their spines.
Although for a Myriad-Phase Celestial Immortal, bodily structure was already irrelevant—a head, hands, or feet could all be freely detached, and a mere thought could conjure anything—under normal circumstances, no one was willing to perform such a ghoulish operation.
After shaking its neck a few times, the headless body regrew a new head.
Simultaneously, its right hand, which had transformed into the Cold Light Fluctuation Sword, also regrew.
Bai Mo, cradling the Imperial Crown in his left hand, floated in mid-air, awaiting their answer.
...
If not for this unexpected turn of events, Ji Er Ke Fu had privately promised to offer certain compensations to the others, so they would nominate him to transition directly from Federation Speaker to Emperor of the Empire.
But at this moment, he had chickened out again, ultimately failing to conquer his inner demons.
The sword he gifted was fine; after all, it was merely for mortals, so any hidden traps wouldn't affect him. But this Imperial Crown was different; it directly targeted the Emperor himself.
He wouldn't believe for a second that there wasn't some kind of scheme hidden within it.
But the other True Immortals weren't fools either; they certainly wouldn't willingly jump into such an obvious trap.
"How about it?" After a long silence, Ji Er Ke Fu proactively asked through their internal communication network.
"Since Speaker, you previously volunteered, we will certainly fulfill your wish... As for compensation, there's no need."
Everyone gave the same answer, pinning the blame on Ji Er Ke Fu, who had first stepped forward.
"You!!!" He was furious at these good-for-nothing, blame-shirking masters, yet utterly helpless against them. While he didn't fear any single opponent in a one-on-one fight, directly confronting all of them at once would surely lead to disaster.
"We still need a Luminous Holy Covenant." Ji Er Ke Fu quickly pondered his options, and as he looked at the Imperial Seal of the Hua-Ya Federation in his hand, a bold idea suddenly struck him.
"I have that." Ramdo produced a top-tier Luminous Holy Covenant and handed it to Ji Er Ke Fu.
Everyone stared at Ramdo with strange looks.
Due to fundamental ideological differences, the Luminous Holy Church had always been at odds with the One-Wheel Cult founded by Ramdo.
The former vehemently denied the existence of personified gods, believing that divinities were formless and incorporeal, and anyone daring to claim godhood was merely an arrogant human.
For Ramdo, this was a fundamental denial of his very being.
Their conflict was one of fundamental Daoist principles, allowing for no reconciliation.
"Why can't I have it?" Ramdo offered no further explanation.
"Ji Er Ke Fu, do you intend to take it?" Bai Mo asked.
"No, I believe the Emperor should be her."
"Hmm?"
"Her?"
Even Hou Lin, who had the best relationship with Ji Er Ke Fu, was astonished, as he too had believed Ji Er Ke Fu would be unable to refuse the crown.
"The Pope of the Luminous Holy Church, Wei Ni Si."
"..."
"She's just a little girl who hasn't even reached the Celestial stage, what right does she have?"
It was Ramdo who first raised the objection.
"Why don't you do it then?" Ji Er Ke Fu retorted.
"..."
Through their brief exchange, Bai Mo understood the reason, but he didn't object.
With Ramdo's example of being stumped fresh in their minds, the others were even less likely to voice objections.
Anyway, being this Emperor of the Empire, aside from gaining a chunk of Qi Luck, it would be impossible to command the powerful feudal lords below. It was a thankless position, one with plenty of minor authority but no real power.
Even if Ji Er Ke Fu truly became Emperor, he would only be able to discuss major policy proposals with the other Electors, arriving at an answer acceptable to a relative majority, utterly unable to rule autocratically like a true emperor.
"I agree."
"I agree too."
...
Soon, in Wei Ni Si's absence, she was nominated to become the first Emperor of the Empire.
As for her gender, and her own wishes, ah, those were utterly irrelevant.
The Federation could be said to be the most gender-equal society from ancient times to the present, because the proportion of male and female cultivators was roughly equal, each occupying half the realm.
And possessing power meant possessing wealth, authority, and the right to speak.
Moreover, with the advancement of science, the Federation had long since achieved the technology for male-male and female-female genetic combination to reproduce the next generation.
Regardless of their gender, any two individuals could use genetic engineering to construct embryo cells with their combined genes, then cultivate them in artificial wombs to produce infants capable of surviving in the outside world.
A significant portion of the differences between males and females had been erased by technology.
...
"Lightning Blade, Spirit Communication Art!" Ji Er Ke Fu traced a communication array with his hand, directly linking to the Luminous Holy Church's headquarters.
"Wei Ni Si?" he asked straightforwardly.
"Hello, Speaker Ji Er Ke Fu." Although slightly annoyed that the other party had initiated a video connection while she was bathing, Wei Ni Si still responded, though the image displayed by the Spirit Communication Art was a casually fabricated false one.
"We've decided that you will be the first Emperor of the Empire."
"??!!!"
Wei Ni Si was utterly dumbfounded.
She only knew that a group of True Immortals from the Federation were engaged in a great space battle; she truly wasn't aware of the specific details. Suddenly hearing about this matter, she was completely at a loss.
What was an Empire?
What was an Emperor?
Weren't they the Federation?
Within the Federation, the Luminous Holy Church was considered a quasi-super organization.
So-called super organizations referred to forces with True Immortals overseeing them, forming the core component of the Federation's supreme authority.
The Luminous Holy Church, however, possessed only a Celestial-stage puppet devoid of a personified concept as its ultimate trump card, wielded by the current Pope Wei Ni Si.
Her own cultivation, however, had only barely reached the Six Tiers.
Therefore, she wisely refrained from participating in this True Immortal battle, knowing that going there would simply be a meaningless sacrifice.
Otherwise, given the hostile relationship between the Luminous Holy Church and Ramdo, they would have long since joined Ji Er Ke Fu's side.
"Could the Speaker explain?" Calming herself, Wei Ni Si rose from the bathtub, casually dispelling the spiritual liquid still clinging to her, then donned her long robe and returned to the main hall of the Pope's Palace.
Ji Er Ke Fu quickly recounted the events to her, naturally omitting any details about Bai Mo refining his own head into a crown.
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