Chapter 343: The Punishments
Chapter 343: The Punishments
Xiang Ling watched as five of her men settled down on their respective seats in the grand meeting hall of High Council along with other High and Supreme Immortals.
Once everyone was seated, the arrival of the God of Life, Heavenly Emperor, and Heavenly Empress was announced by the guards stationed outside the ornate doors of the meeting hall.
Everyone stood up as the trio stepped inside the hall, making their way toward the high chairs waiting for them. Once they all were in their respective places, everyone greeted them officially, starting with God of Life and then followed by the Heavenly Emperor and Empress.
The trio accepted the greetings and God Zhang asked everyone to settle down in their seats. The council was being held to conclude the war that took place not long ago and also to decide who would be getting punished and how.
The first matter that got settled was that of the remaining Dark Force who surrendered during the battle. Since Zhang Xuan was there to handle the matter fairly, Xiang Ling didn’t find the need to interfere. She trusted him and knew that he wouldn’t be biased in the situation.
After listening to several suggestions from the Immortals present in the hall, Zhang Xuan stated his final decision. "The Dark Force has committed all sorts of crimes for thousands of years. They were partly responsible for what happened to the God Realm back then, and also the catastrophe that happened in the Lower Realms recently..."
Listening to the way he was speaking, it seemed like he was about to punish the Dark Force for all their crimes and this realization made almost everyone present in the council feel excited, except for Xiang Ling. She just sat there in silence, waiting for him to finish speaking.
"There’s no denying that for thousands of years, the Dark Force has been the most evil army out there, attacking and ruining every other Realm just because they believed in their Master’s vision of ruling the world with their darkness..." God Zhang continued in a calm voice.
Xiang Ling’s gaze shifted from him to the group of leaders of different sections of the remaining Dark Force who were present in the meeting hall to witness their punishment. They looked torn, dejected, almost... hopeless, and since she knew that they were fighting for something entirely different this time - survival - her heart ached for them.
God Zhang became silent for a few seconds while his gaze shifted across the hall, momentarily stopping on her. The moment their gazes locked, she confirmed that she could trust him. His eyes were telling her to do so.
Once he had silently passed his message to her, he returned his attention to the audience that was waiting for the final decision. "The Dark Force has indeed committed countless crimes and they deserve to be punished for them. However..."
Though the hall was already silent, it became deadly silent at this point. Almost every immortal, or mortal, was holding their breaths as they waited for God Zhang to finish the sentence, and when he finally did, it was anything that any of them was anticipating.
"... they have received more than enough punishment for their previous crimes. They lost their Realm, got sentenced for several millenia in the Abyssal Lands, lost their master and brothers, and now are left at our mercy. Thus, they will be punished based on their recent crimes only."
A soft murmur spread across the hall as everyone was taken aback by the decision. No one expected for God of Life to be lenient in punishing the remnants of the Dark Force.
Zhang Xuan knew exactly how dissatisfied the Immortals were, and yet, he showed them no face as he announced his final decision, not even pretending to listen to their opinion.
"The remnants of the Dark Force will be banished to Mount Blaze for next five hundred years. They will be responsible for farming and livestock care to continue their supplies to the realms during this period. At the end of their punishment, they will be allowed the society and live freely without the guilt of their past. Carry out the punishment immediately."
The hall immediately erupted with protests as everyone believed the punishment was too light and merciful. However, when they noticed that even the leaders of all the Realms were silent, they were forced into silence as well. Besides, no matter how much they wanted to oppose, they had neither the status nor power to contradict a God... The only God left in their world.
Meanwhile, those from the Dark Force who were present in the meeting hall, immediately kneeled and started kowtowing in gratitude of the mercy they received from the God of Life.
A sigh of relief escaped Xiang Ling and she finally felt herself relaxing.
The next part of the meeting was regarding the punishment for her, Xin Cheng, and Li Dao Ming. Instead of Zhang Xuan, it was the Heavenly Emperor who announced their punishment, and just like what everyone was expecting - their punishments were light as they had already made up for their mistakes.
Xiang Ling was punished to spend next ten years working in the archive department while both Xin Cheng and Li Dao Ming were sent to the Ice cave for next ten years as their punishments.
The rest of the meeting was filled with discussions about how the Realms would be working in future. While everyone wanted for the God Realm to open and for Zhang Xuan to be the Supreme Power, the God refused to do so.
He gave his word to help out the Realms when in need, but he wasn’t interested in ruling the world. He was happy with the free life he had been living all this time.
With all the important matters taken care of, the meeting came to an end. Xiang Ling was supposed to head straight to the archive department to start with her punishment, but she had one important matter to take care of first.