Resurrection Empire

Chapter 1491: Chapter 561: Supreme Honor (Part 2)

In truth, with his original temperament, he did not care for this kind of ceremonial showmanship.

But things were different now. This, after all, was Marquis Zhenjiang (Qiqi)’s heartfelt arrangement, so he chose to actively sink himself into this state. He treated it both as a way to enhance the sense of solemnity of his own investiture, and as a matter of human courtesy in response to Marquis Zhenjiang (Qiqi), so that others would not make such sacrifices only for him to look as if he did not appreciate it.

Thus, Ren Zhong lightly moved his steady steps, walking down the luxurious hotel’s stairs one step at a time.

Behind him followed the attendants from the Red Blade Clan.

Although most of these people came from the Red Blade Commerce Department and did clerical work related to business, the Red Blade Clan was steeped in martial spirit, prizing the ideal that a man of letters could wield the brush to write history, and a man of war could mount the horse to pacify the world. Even the clerks had some practical combat ability for emergencies. As a result, once these administrative staff donned their splendid formal robes, they appeared especially high-spirited and vigorous—handsome men and lovely women, straight of back and bearing, with an imposing aura.

At the instant Ren Zhong completely descended the steps and set foot upon the long red carpet in the middle of the great avenue, the master of ceremonies, who had long been waiting, raised his voice in a loud proclamation, announcing that the investiture ceremony had officially begun.

In that moment, grand and majestic epic music thundered into being.

The broad and magnificent Remembrance Avenue shook with cheers as the citizens lining both sides raised their arms and shouted in unison, waves of jubilation rolling forth.

Up in the sky, classical-style fireworks began to bloom in rapid succession.

These fireworks had a storied origin. It was said that back when humans of the Ancient Disk Galaxy were still on the ancestral Source Star, in the age of cold steel, this celebratory rite had already come into vogue.

Because this rite carried immense commemorative value, even ordinary nobles could not use it lightly; it could be employed only on the most important occasions. Otherwise, it was considered overstepping.

To Ren Zhong, now was exactly the time.

He paused his steps slightly and lifted his head to the heavens, just in time to see a sky full of branching fire-trees and silver blossoms, and to watch colorful, flame-bright meteors descend like a rain of falling stars.

For a moment, he actually felt a bit dazed and absent.

"Fireworks? How rare. This world has fireworks too?"

He murmured this in his heart, even as his consciousness seemed to drift free of his body, crossing space and time, and returning to his homeland of the 21st century.

The humans of the Empire all believed that this fireworks rite was inherited from the ancestral Source Star, but only Ren Zhong knew that its history stretched back beyond imagination.

"Keep walking."

Just as Ren Zhong’s mind was roaming beyond the skies, Qiqi’s voice rang in his ears.

He nodded ever so slightly and, going with the flow of the moment, took a precise step forward. A stride of seventy-two centimeters, no more and no less.

As that step landed, a new burst of fireworks exploded in the sky at just the right time.

These fireworks formed the shape of an enormous footprint high above.

Within the footprint, a three-dimensional projection took shape—none other than the final scene of Ren Zhong leading the people of Starfire Town in slaying the Descending Demon Baby on Source Star.

The image flashed by in an instant, but it left the old comrades on Source Star—who had specifically stayed awake on Red Blade Star to watch the live simulcast—filled with endless emotion, tears streaming down their faces.

Ren Zhong took another step forward, and a second colossal footprint appeared. The image within shifted again, now showing Ren Zhong leading his forces in the corporate wars on Source Star.

"Marquis, you’ve gone to no small trouble."

Ren Zhong silently voiced this to Qiqi in his heart, but his feet did not stop. He only continued walking forward, step by step, keeping pace with the rhythm of the fireworks projecting the footprints.

A long while later, he finally reached the end of the red carpet and mounted the high platform at the exact center of the vast plaza midway along Remembrance Avenue with a single step.

At this moment, the last footprint vanished.

The image within that footprint was still the scene of him, one against ten, overturning and annihilating the warriors of Duke Wenle Mansion with a flip of his hand.

People say you should not go at something more than thrice, but Marquis Zhenjiang did the opposite, constantly sprinkling salt into the wound of Duke Wenle Mansion, flogging the corpse again and again, to the point that even Ren Zhong felt this might be a bit too ruthless, too excessively humiliating.

But Qiqi took the initiative to explain to him through the Wrist watch communicator.

"The investiture ceremony and your previous investment-promotion conference actually face different audiences. Although your performance at the conference was also broadcast live, the reach of that information was limited. Doing it this way now will allow more people to witness your unprecedented single-soldier combat power and further amplify your personal influence. It will not only elevate your status and reputation, but also openly display the conflict between you and Duke Wenle Mansion. By placing this conflict out in the open, we can in fact preempt many of Duke Wenle’s underhanded moves in the dark; it can serve as half a protective talisman for you."