Chapter 447 382: The World's Shock! Emperor of the New Dynasty: Chu Bamboo

Imperial Capital.

The God Worship Sect, Eastern Sect Headquarters, front gate.

Ning Linglong stared strangely at the white-haired old man before her, her lips trembling. "Teacher... you?"

Yesterday, her teacher had woken her in the middle of the night and dragged her directly to the Imperial Capital—

She couldn't understand what was happening at all... Her phone had been confiscated, and while she was given food and drink as usual, she was forbidden from any form of communication with the outside world. No, this was basically house arrest!

She knew then that something major had happened, and it was highly likely to involve her teammates... She had pleaded relentlessly, but her master remained unmoved.

But now...

It was baffling... The only way to describe it was baffling from start to finish!

She had thought she would be locked up for a long time, but on just the second day, her master dragged her out—dragged her straight to the Eastern Sect Headquarters of the God Worship Sect. The headquarters was magnificent and vast, its style quite similar to the Imperial Palace... a counterpart to the Western Sect Headquarters in the Celestial Capital.

"Sigh!" The old man let out a soft sigh. He opened his mouth to speak several times, but in the end, he said nothing and just continued walking inside.

The guards in armor seemed to have been notified in advance, as they didn't stop the old man!

Finally...

Ning Linglong followed the old man into a palace hall.

"You've come!" A woman inside the hall, her back to them, seemed to sense their presence. She spoke as she slowly turned around.

She had long, silvery-white hair and skin as fair and clear as jade. She seemed less like a person and more like a creation carved from crystal or jade. As she moved, her skin even reflected an iridescent, five-colored sheen under the light, giving her a dreamlike and illusory appearance.

"...And you are?" Ning Linglong's brow furrowed, her confusion deepening. 'Wait, why are we at the Eastern Headquarters of the God Worship Sect? Isn't my master a Daoist?'

Ning Linglong fell into thought, feeling she had stumbled upon a blind spot.

The woman said nothing, merely waving her hand gently. Instantly, the old man transformed into a wisp of pure energy and merged into the woman's body. Ning Linglong's pupils contracted as she realized something.

"I am the semi-National Preceptor of Daqian! And also the Sect Leader of the Eastern Sect of the God Worship Sect! Jia Yan Yu!" The woman's tone was flat. "You should have realized your master's identity by now..."

She deliberately used this tone to make Ning Linglong mistakenly believe her master was an incarnation of her—but strictly speaking, Ning Linglong's master was not an incarnation... but one of her ten Dao bodies.

To erase a certain corruption, she had once sealed her own memories and lived through ten lifetimes. Some ended in premature death, others in old age. After achieving her Dao, she had separated these lives from herself to continue walking the Mortal World!

In essence, Jia Yan Yu didn't really want any contact with these Dao bodies—because they still carried the corruption she had partitioned away from herself! This was how she maintained her current state of purity!

But she couldn't help it... This matter was simply too serious!

A monumental shift in the Celestial Mandate! Especially...

With no other choice, she had reactivated this Dao body of hers, throwing herself into the game!

"...Sect Leader, you!" Ning Linglong's body trembled, her face a mixture of confusion, bewilderment, and apprehension.

Her mind was a complete blank. Although she had long known her master was no ordinary person, this... this was just too much!

The Sect Leader of the Eastern Sect—what did that even mean? Just as she'd said... a semi-National Preceptor!

In other words, if the founding Grand Ancestor hadn't strictly forbidden any sect from becoming the state religion, she already would be.

"Time is short, I can't explain everything to you one by one!" Jia Yan Yu took out a phone and tossed it to Ning Linglong... Ning Linglong caught it instinctively. After a quick look, she realized it was her confiscated phone and glanced at Jia Yan Yu in confusion.

Seeing Jia Yan Yu nod, Ning Linglong vaguely understood something. She cautiously turned on the phone, and then her expression froze.

Because the voice of Nuwa was coming from the phone!

And it was even speaking in proper Dream Language...

The Great Goddess Nuwa calmly stated her identity, then went on to explain the state of the world in detail: Daqian had lost the way, a new dynasty had been decided, and its name was Great Chu!

The Emperor of the New Dynasty had been chosen... His name—Chu Bamboo!

"??? This is impossible!"

Ning Linglong let out a sharp cry, even suspecting the Sect Leader was just messing with her.

"You may leave!" Jia Yan Yu's jewel-like eyes stared at Ning Linglong for a long moment. She didn't try to convince her, but simply waved her hand.

After a moment of daze, Ning Linglong was stunned to find herself standing at the back gate of the Eastern Sect's headquarters, with no one else around. "???"

'So... what on earth does that mean?!'

Ning Linglong was lost. 'Does she want me to get in touch with Chu Bamboo and talk about the Eastern Sect?'

'Or maybe...'

'But why didn't she say anything? It doesn't seem like she wants me to relay a message!'

'And...'

'No, wait, the stuff on the phone... it's really real...' Ning Linglong listened to Nuwa's repeated words. 'He really became the Emperor?'

Ning Linglong was bewildered. She looked up at the sky. 'I was... captured, and it's only been a day, right...?'

'It should be just one day...'

'This... this couldn't happen even in a year!'

'Maybe in ten years, there's a tiny, tiny chance!'

'What in the world happened?'

'Could it be that Chu Bamboo was actually the Crown Prince, had a falling out with the Emperor, and then used military force to ascend the throne... But even then, you can't just change the name of the dynasty!'

The more Ning Linglong thought, the more chaotic her mind became, like she was standing disheveled in the wind... It was incomprehensible!

...

A long silence.

..." Ning Linglong suddenly muttered to herself, "What on earth am I supposed to do now?"

She turned to look at the closed back gate and laughed in exasperation. 'Seriously, what kind of move is this, just throwing me out without saying anything?'

'I used to think my master was pretty normal, but this Sect Leader of the Eastern Sect... she's so not normal... Why do I get the feeling she's kind of afraid of interacting with people?'

Ning Linglong thought it over and over, and could only conclude... 'Is she crazy?!'

Sighing, Ning Linglong finally made up her mind. She dialed the familiar number and pressed the call button with gritted teeth... and then...

"? It's not going through? Wait, someone's on the line with him..." Ning Linglong realized belatedly.

...

"Mm!" Chu Bamboo listened expressionlessly to Lu Muxue's confused, trembling voice. "Alright, Mu Xue, let's leave it at that for now! We can find more time to talk later... but I'm on a tight schedule right now!"

Hanging up, Chu Bamboo's brow furrowed again as he saw another call coming in. Or rather, someone was probably calling him nonstop right now... so as soon as he hung up, the next call would connect immediately. "...Hai Mingyue?"

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Chu Bamboo answered again, his tone flat. "I hope you're not calling to say... congratulations on taking the throne... and all that nonsense!"

"...Of course not!" Hai Mingyue was calm and composed. "I'm just calling to ask, do you need our support?"

"?"

"The Hehuan Sect is willing to place a bet on you..." Hai Mingyue's voice was respectful.

"...I can make the Hehuan Sect into an Orthodoxy! But, have the Hehuan Sect Leader give me a complete list of your internal members. Also, provide a description of the help you can offer! Detail the specific treasures of your Hehuan Sect, and tell me where they are hidden... Of course, I don't need you to hand over these treasures! I can swear on the Great River... If you want a Divine Power User with Contract Divine Techniques as a guarantor, you can bring him over directly... If possible, get the list to the Imperial Capital before eleven o'clock today! If you don't agree, then forget it." Chu Bamboo hung up again.

He didn't need to think to know that the Sect Leader was certainly right beside Hai Mingyue.

'This life, in the end, is just a scouting mission! If I can, I'll just fleece them for some intel and then reset... if not, then so be it... It's just the Hehuan Sect!'

"Hive, block all incoming calls!" Chu Bamboo said coolly. He was feeling a major headache coming on. It wasn't that he was turning his back on old friends now that he was on the throne... it was that time was genuinely too tight! He had no mental energy to spare for idle chatter with these people...

"...Successfully implemented!" Hive responded calmly.

"Authority!" Nuwa No. 17 said softly. "The people from the Ministry of Rites... seem to be ready! Are you preparing to..."

"Wait!" Huo Qiming's expression changed drastically as he watched Chu Bamboo staring at the altar, now gradually taking shape in front of the Grand Ancestral Temple on the light screen.

As if waking from a dream, he only now vaguely realized something and hurriedly said, "You can't do this! If you go now... you might be captured, and then..."

"That's right," Hu Kaikang chimed in, having also realized. "You're a Transcendent now! Even with the Great Goddess Nuwa, even before the Grand Ancestral Temple, there's no guarantee... This is part of the established order... Our power is completely unable to protect you... How about you contact His Holiness the Pope..."

"...It's fine!" Chu Bamboo shook his head. He narrowed his eyes, his voice steady. "I've already made preparations."

Chu Bamboo recalled his last meeting with Governor Ji Lan of Jiangnan, his expression turning somewhat peculiar—some losses, he only intended to suffer once in his life.