My brother is so cunning

Chapter 1019 Obsessed
Wen Rui arrived and took his seat at just the right time. Shortly after he sat down, the Jade Emperor emerged from the rear hall, surrounded by a group of celestial maidens, children, and attendants.

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! May the Emperor forever reign supreme in the Heavenly Court, and may the Three Realms enjoy lasting peace and tranquility!"

"Your Majesty bestows blessings, bringing peace to the four seas and tranquility to the world. We, your subjects, kowtow to Your Majesty, wishing you eternal bliss and longevity!"

……

As he settled into his seat, the hall resounded with waves of worship and congratulations, lasting for a long time.

Wen Rui listlessly tried to follow the crowd and say a few auspicious words. After all, this was the usual procedure for the opening of the Heavenly Court's Jiazi Court Assembly. Although his status and position had been constantly promoted over the years since he ascended to heaven, he always tried to blend in with the crowd and tactfully show the respect due to the Jade Emperor, the supreme ruler of the Three Realms.

However, it was as if the body was extremely weak. After trying for a long time, opening and closing the mouth with great effort, it was impossible to speak. In the end, it could only raise its hand and clap lightly.

This action, rather than being one of an important person watching a performance, is more like a polite and perfunctory clapping.

The Jade Emperor glanced at Wen Rui's demeanor, and his dignified expression twitched almost imperceptibly, but he quickly concealed it and looked away as if he hadn't seen it.

Clearing his throat, the Jade Emperor proclaimed, "Fellow immortals, today is the Heavenly Court's Jiazi Court Assembly. I still remember the last Jiazi Court Assembly, when the Three Realms were beset by internal and external troubles, and the situation was extremely precarious. However, thanks to your concerted efforts, we were able to maintain order in the Heavenly Way and ensure peace for all living beings."

"You are either in charge of the movement of stars, or in charge of wind, rain, thunder and lightning, or in protecting the good and evil of the human world, or in suppressing the laws of the underworld. You are all pillars of the Heavenly Court and the foundation of the Three Realms."

"It should be known that the cycle of Heaven never stops; you all hold celestial positions and should be even more diligent. Over the past sixty years, it is all thanks to your conscientious performance of your duties that your achievements are evident, which greatly pleases this Emperor."

"With the demonic calamity just over and the mortal realm newly at peace, we gather today in the Lingxiao Palace to first summarize the past and reward those who have contributed; and second, to discuss the future and spread the teachings throughout the Three Realms. We hope that everyone will continue to uphold impartiality, express their opinions freely, and contribute their wisdom and strength to the stability of the Heavenly Court and the harmony of the Three Realms."

These words were spoken so beautifully that all the immortals in the hall nodded and smiled, responding enthusiastically. Some shouted, "We obey your decree!" while others bowed and pledged their loyalty. The sound of their voices filled the Lingxiao Palace, creating a scene of unity and cooperation.

Wen Rui twitched the corners of his mouth, wanting to echo a few words and offer a few lukewarm compliments. He had done this before when attending court assemblies, so there was nothing he couldn't do about it.

Unfortunately, he was not in a good state. It was as if someone had changed the key settings for controlling his body. He opened his mouth and could only make incomprehensible babbling sounds. He could not utter a complete sentence and could only clap his hands weakly again.

Wen Rui's Heavenly Venerable Throne was very close to the Jade Emperor's throne. His every move was under the Jade Emperor's watchful eye. When the Jade Emperor saw Wen Rui's somewhat mocking actions, veins bulged on his forehead, but he still chose to pretend that nothing had happened and act as if he hadn't seen it.

After the opening ceremony of the court session was completed, the Jade Emperor sat upright on his dragon throne, his brows expressionless, but his tone was more solemn than usual: "Creator Heavenly Venerable."

Once the announcement was made, the hall fell silent.

The Jade Emperor slowly said, "In the past hundred years, a sudden calamity of demons has occurred, causing suffering to the human world, widespread death and destruction, and shaking the fortunes of the Three Realms. At that critical juncture when the Three Realms were in danger of extinction, the Heavenly Venerable personally went into battle to fight the Demon Ancestor and drove the remaining evil beyond the Nine Netherworlds. This is the merit of stabilizing the chaos."

He paused, his fingertips lightly tapping the armrest of his throne: "After the chaos, the human world was devastated. The Heavenly Venerable spread benevolent teachings, enlightened the people, oversaw the construction of cities and towns, revived agriculture and sericulture, drew spiritual springs to irrigate parched lands, enabled the displaced to return home, turned barren hills into fertile fields, and brought smoke back to the nine provinces—this is the merit of restoring the world." At this point, the Jade Emperor raised his eyes, meeting Wen Rui's gaze, but there was no warmth in his eyes. He simply said, "To quell the chaos and bring peace to the Three Realms, and to restore the world and solidify humanity—these two achievements concern the very foundation of the Heavenly Way, far beyond ordinary merit. The Heavenly Court has rules that merit must be rewarded; there is absolutely no reason to neglect public duty for private gain."

As their eyes met, the Jade Emperor keenly noticed that Wen Rui's eyes were lifeless, and his entire divine body seemed somewhat dazed, as if his physical body was there but his soul had wandered off somewhere else.

Wen Rui had often skipped court meetings before, but never as seriously as today. After all, when a god reaches a certain level, even if he separates his main consciousness and projects it onto his clone, the main body will not be as listless and soulless as a walking corpse.

Even the Jade Emperor couldn't help but suspect that Wen Rui had set up a puppet to impersonate him at the court assembly and was just trying to fool him.

However, the blindingly dazzling aura of merit emanating from Wen Rui's body undeniably proved that the person sitting there was indeed his true form, thus dispelling any doubts he might have.

Even if Wen Rui used a stand-in to deceive the extremely important Jiazi court assembly, the Jade Emperor couldn't expose him directly. After all, once the facade was broken, the demonic calamity was almost over, and the tens of thousands of martial arts grandmaster puppets that Wen Rui had created would be useless. They could be used as capital to ask him, "Why did Your Majesty rebel?"

Now is not a good time to make trouble for Wen Rui from any perspective. Not only should we not find excuses to make things difficult for him or suppress him, but we should also try our best to appease and win him over.

"I hereby bestow upon you the title of 'Myriad Transformations, World-Stabilizing Protector, Primordial Venerable,' and add a Purple Ribbon Immortal Seal, which allows you to command the guardians of the Three Realms; I also bestow upon you three Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pills, and grant you permission to keep your Purple Mansion open at all times, so that you may directly enter the Lingxiao Inner Palace for any matters of discussion without prior notice."

At this point, the Jade Emperor's gaze darkened slightly, and he added, "Heaven abhors fullness, and the power of creation must be exercised with utmost caution. I hope you will not be arrogant despite your achievements, keep the goal of 'stabilizing the world' in mind, and lest your supernatural powers stray from their proper course."

Wen Rui, supporting himself on the Heavenly Venerable's throne, struggled to stand up, trembling as if he were an old, frail minister still holding fast to his post. He barely managed to stand up straight, but seemed unable to stand steadily, swaying unsteadily.

He tried hard to make a sound, but it was like a patient recovering from a stroke, with his mouth and tongue completely unresponsive.

After holding it in for a long time, he finally managed to utter two words: "Shut Q..."

The Jade Emperor was taken aback upon hearing this, wondering what Wen Rui was up to. If this were a mortal court and he were a mortal emperor, he might have guessed that this powerful and treacherous official had suffered retribution and contracted a stroke as recorded in the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic, and that he was quite ill.

But this is the Heavenly Court, how could gods get sick?

The immortals in the hall looked at each other in bewilderment. Wen Rui's appearance of being half-paralyzed and slurring his speech did not seem to be an act. However, there was no need for a high-ranking immortal to pretend to be crazy. They all cast puzzled glances at him.

"Your Majesty, esteemed celestial officials, my master suffered a qi deviation during cultivation, resulting in a severe shock to his soul. His physical and verbal abilities will require some time to recover. I hope you will forgive him."

The attendant puppet that had been following Wen Rui suddenly spoke, answering the questions in the minds of the immortals.

(End of this chapter)