Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 115

Chapter 115: Xia Imperial Duke

Ji Congyun was long gone, but the platform remained deathly silent.

Did Great Xia… really become a grade-8 state just like that?

The crowd felt light on their feet as if they were in a dream.

Xia Yu stared at Fang Chen in a daze. He had made up his mind to lead Great Xia to overcome its bottleneck and become a grade-8 state, so that it could stand on par with Chillwater. Yet, his great ambitions… were fulfilled by someone else before he could become the emperor?

The officials of the imperial court were trembling with excitement, but they composed themselves to maintain the poise of a powerful state. From time to time, they would eye the Longdu, Guhe, and Yizhou’s envoys.

The three envoys felt like they were sitting on needles. Every now and then, they would glance at Fang Chen with fear in their eyes.

In contrast to the silent platform, the civilians below celebrated this joyous occasion. Great Xia had become the weakest state in the region since its tragic defeat five years ago.

Even Guhe, a state specialized in mining, would climb over their heads every now and then. Their scholars and martial artists walked on their streets with an air of superiority.

Yet, Great Xia turned the tables on them within a single day.

Not only did Fang Chen thoroughly crush Chillwater’s Nightmare Knights, but he displayed exceptional means as a martial artist too. He even forced one of Chillwater’s leading figures to acknowledge Great Xia as a grade-8 state and relinquish three of their vassal states to them.

Great Xia had never achieved such feats even at its peak!

How could Great Xia’s civilians not be excited? From this day onward, they would be Longdu, Guhe, and Yizhou’s superior state. Gone were the days where they had to endure their scorn!

The crowd looked at Fang Chen with eyes filled with respect, be it the ordinary populace, martial artists, scholars, or the Great Xia Shadow Guards.

“It’s our Great Xia’s blessing to have someone like War God Fang!”

Great Xia’s emperor had a beaming smile too. “War God Fang, I hereby confer you as transcendent-grade Xia Imperial Duke, and this position will be inherited by your descendants. On top of that, I’ll bestow you with 10,000 golden taels and 2,000 fine pearls!”

Transcendent-grade Xia Imperial Duke?

The officials of the imperial court were shaken by that announcement.

Since the founding of Great Xia, there hadn’t been a person who was conferred a transcendent-grade nobility. The founding emperor of Great Xia had famously declared that anyone who made Great Xia a grade-8 state would be conferred the title of Imperial Duke Xia. This was not a military position, but it equaled the emperor in terms of standing.

For centuries, countless outstanding individuals had contributed to Great Xia in all kinds of ways to raise its national prowess, but none had succeeded in making Great Xia a grade-8 state.

It was simply too difficult a feat to pull off.

Yet, Fang Chen managed to pull it off.

So, the emperor fulfilled the founding emperor’s promise and conferred a transcendent-grade nobility to him, and this position could be passed down through his lineage. With this, the Fang Clan had become the most prestigious family in Great Xia aside from the imperial family.

Tao Mingsheng warmly congratulated Fang Chen with a smile alongside the other officials, but unease and terror were reflected in the depths of his eyes.

Xia Yu was also taken aback by his father’s declaration.

Five years ago, Fang Chen became Great Xia’s youngest grade-1 general, putting him on the same pedestal as Prime Minister Li Guozhu. That was a rank higher than even the Ministers of the Six Bureaus!

He was far beyond the reach of his peers in the capital, and most thought that they would never surpass his accomplishment.

But Fang Chen’s defeat in the Three Realms Mountain resulted in him being stripped of his position, and he was ordered to remain at home to reflect on himself. The Fang Faction that had formed around him naturally dissolved.

Many thought that Fang Chen would live his life out like that after losing his official position, going blind, and having his ki sea crippled. Yet…

After five short years of silence, Fang Chen finally raised a ripple. The ripple slowly grew bigger and bigger until it was so thunderous that it dizzied others.

Transcendent-grade Xia Imperial Duke! How noble that position was! Even Xia Yu, despite being the crown prince, would have to bow to Fang Chen as a junior from this day onward…

“Young miss… War God Fang has been conferred as an imperial duke! On top of that, he’s conferred with the ‘Xia’ character!” Fang Qingyao’s maid exclaimed with a reddened face.

“Mm!’ Fang Qingyao nodded in excitement.

She was accompanied by famous merchants in the capital, including Li Maocai.

Li Maocai was excited by the news too, knowing he could reap benefits from having once gifted Fang Chen a valuable weapon.

“Thanks to Imperial Duke Fang, it’ll be much safer for us to do business now!”

“Of course, Longdu, Guhe, and Yizhou are now our vassal states! Let’s see if they dare harm any more of our merchants!”

“But what if they don’t accept it…”

“Imperial Duke Fang will destroy them!”

Fang Chen looked at the emperor. Seconds later, he clasped his fist and replied, “I’m grateful for your conferment, Your Majesty.”

Just like that?

Fang Chen’s impassive startled the officials, who were just joyously congratulating him.

The emperor squeezed out a smile and said, “There’s no need to stand on ceremony, Imperial Duke Fang. I’ll have a ceremonial court robe delivered to your Fang Manor, so…”

“There’s no need for a court robe. I’m content with being a carefree duke,” Fang Chen replied with a smile. “The imperial court doesn’t suit me.”

The emperor was taken aback. Li Guozhu and the others also looked at Fang Chen with perplexed frowns. The Fang Chen they knew five years ago wasn’t like that.

Back then, Fang Chen’s voice was the loudest in the imperial court. Even the emperor would have to carefully consider his words before replying. Yet, the same Fang Chen was giving such a placid response despite being granted such great power and prestige?

Is he feigning disinterest to get more out of this? Or is he truly not interested? The crowd wondered.

“Speaking of which…” Fang Chen smiled at the emperor. “I don’t think that Xiao Shence is suited to continue being the Valiant Defenders’ commander. Your Majesty, what do you think?”

A wave of shock crashed on the crowd. They struggled to keep up with Fang Chen’s tempo. Why is he suddenly making a move on Xiao Shence? That’s His Majesty’s aide!

While Prime Minister Li Guozhu and his faction often impeached Xiao Shence, highlighting his incompetence in keeping his subordinates in line, they would never dare claim that he was not fit to be the Valiant Defenders’ commander.

Xiao Shence was the emperor’s aide, after all. Anyone who tried to take him down would inevitably draw the emperor’s ire and might even be suspected of harboring rebellious thoughts.

Yet, Fang Chen said those words out loud. The atmosphere on the platform turned tense.

Many emotions flickered across Xiao Shence’s face. Before the emperor could speak, he clasped his fist toward Fang Chen and said, “Imperial Duke Fang, I brought my men into the Fang Manor back then because…”

“Liu Tian colluded with Vice Minister Qin under Xiao Shence’s nose and indirectly caused the death of countless Great Xia’s civilians. Liu Tian has escaped, but I believe Xiao Shence ought to take responsibility for his incompetence. Your Majesty, what do you think?”

The crowd was dumbstruck.

He’s dealing with Xiao Shence over this, and not because Xiao Shence brought his men into the Fang Manor to arrest the Fang Clan?

The emperor’s smile slowly faded. “Imperial Duke Fang, who would you suggest I replace Commander Xiao with?”

Xiao Shence’s face paled. The officials of the imperial court stared at Fang Chen as they wondered what he was thinking.

“Your Majesty, what do you think about Huang Sihai?” Fang Chen smiled.

Huang Sihai? The man who used to be one of Fang Chen’s Four Dragon Generals?

The crowd frowned.

—

Starve’s trivia about Xia Imperial Duke

In ancient China, when a person is conferred a high noble, they are often conferred with a character too. This character usually signifies certain traits or have historical meaning.

The character Fang Chen was bestowed with, Xia, is the imperial family’s family name.

That’s a huge thing, as anyone else using the imperial family’s family name for anything could have been easily executed for sacrilege. This conferment is almost saying that “The imperial family considers Fang Chen one of our own”

As for transcendent-grade, it means that, officially, his standing is even higher than the Prime Minister.