Chapter 1246: Councilor

The image of the Red King surfaced in Chen Ling’s mind once again.

He didn't understand. If the Red King only used him as a tool to suppress the Calamity of Mockery, then now that they had turned against each other, they should have drawn a clear line. Now that the whole world knew he was the Calamity of Mockery, the Twilight Society still recognizing him as Heart of Hearts 6 would undoubtedly deepen the world’s prejudice against the Society...

Yet, he hadn't expelled him from the Twilight Society. Did he forget? Did he simply not care about such details? Or was it something else?

"By the way, what did you say happened to the Integrationists?" Chu Muyun asked.

Chen Ling briefly recounted everything that had happened. After listening, Chu Muyun let out a long sigh.

"I originally thought the Integrationists would be able to avoid this, but I didn't expect them to be caught up in it after all. If that’s the case, their situation is very awkward..."

The Integrationists were not accepted by humans, nor were they accepted by the Calamities. They were stuck between two camps, and both directions were a dead end.

"The Integrationists cannot defect to the Calamities, so the only way out is to lean toward the human domains." Chen Ling paused for a moment. "...That is also the reason I came to the South Sea."

Chu Muyun frowned slightly. "That’s not an easy thing to do... especially in the South Sea Domain."

Hearing the second half of the sentence, Chen Ling keenly caught onto something.

"Especially?"

"Don't you know? The decision to expel the Integrationists from the human domains back then was led by the South Sea Monarch. Moreover, among the nine great domains, the South Sea Domain has the most aggressive propaganda against Integrationists. Here, even the smallest child treats Integrationists like a scourge, on the same level as drug traffickers."

Chen Ling immediately recalled the physician from earlier; when the man realized Xiao Tao was an Integrationist, he looked as if he had seen a ghost. That was a deep-seated instinct of fear ingrained in his heart.

So he had chosen the most difficult domain of all...

"If... I’m just saying if, what if I could persuade the South Sea Monarch?" Chen Ling asked tentatively. "Arrange a place in the most remote corner of the South Sea Domain, and without alarming the public, send the Integrationist children there—even if it’s under strict lockdown, that would be fine."

Given the anti-Integrationist sentiment in the South Sea Domain, it was almost impossible for the public to accept them. Since that was the case, he could only start with Chu Changqing.

Chu Muyun thought seriously for a while.

"Still impossible."

"Why?"

"If it were peacetime, this might be feasible, but now it’s wartime," Chu Muyun replied sternly.

"The five great domains aren't stupid. They guessed that the World-Ending Calamity would definitely attack the domains. Led by the three demigods—the South Sea Monarch, the Red Dust Monarch, and the Pu Family Ancestor—a Domain Alliance has been established. Every resolution that could potentially endanger the fate of humanity, besides needing the nod from the South Sea Monarch and the others, must also be voted on by the councilors of the Alliance Assembly."

"Councilors?" This was the first time Chen Ling had heard the term. "What councilors?"

"They are the rulers of each domain. Most of them are politicians, and they are ordinary people."

Chen Ling found it somewhat ridiculous. "In this day and age, why do the Nine Monarchs still listen to ordinary people? Why let politicians control the lifeblood of the domains?"

"Politics is different," Chu Muyun shook his head. "Ultimately, politics is the management of people by people. For example, who sets the traffic rules for a domain? Who makes the final call on urban planning? How is domain trade planned? How do you get the public to have more children and work hard? This is a profound science.

And the Nine Monarchs, in the end, are just scientists. Those who can step onto the path of divinity are people who have reached the extreme in their respective fields. Such people usually spend a vast amount of time and energy immersed in their own fields. Do you think scientists and artists would know how to govern a domain well?

So, from ancient times to the present, politics and the military have been separated. Even in the most martial nation, you cannot demand that its officials be great generals who can fight a hundred men. Now that it’s wartime, besides resisting the Calamities externally, stabilizing the internal population of the domain and ensuring resource supply are also crucial links. So, even the South Sea Monarch must listen to the opinions of the Alliance Assembly...

The Nine Monarchs are leaders, not dictators."

Having said this, Chu Muyun suddenly remembered something and added:

"Except for the Wuji Monarch."

"The moment that guy woke up, he killed all the politicians in his domain and controlled the operation of the entire domain by himself... and as you saw, during that time, the residents of the Wuji Domain didn't live well."

Chen Ling frowned and pondered for a long time. "So, how many councilors are there in total?"

"Thirty-six in total. Four from the Aurora Domain, two from the Red Dust Domain, none from the Ruoshui or Wuji domains, and six from each of the other five great domains."

Hearing this strange distribution, Chen Ling was stunned at first, but then he realized why.

There were none from the Ruoshui Domain because there were no survivors when it was destroyed; there were none from the Wuji Domain because they were all killed by the Wuji Monarch... The Red Dust Domain had been attacked by the Wuji Domain, so the politicians had likely suffered heavy casualties, leaving only two... Chen Ling was most surprised by the Aurora Domain, which still had four councilors alive.

But it made sense; before the Aurora Domain fell, a train full of high-ranking officials had managed to escape, and these four councilors were likely among them.

"Speaking of the Alliance Assembly, there’s a very interesting thing that I believe you’ll be interested in."

Chu Muyun smiled as if he had just remembered something.

"What?"

"About half a year ago, when the Alliance Assembly was first established, they held a special vote... it was about you."

Chen Ling’s eyebrows raised slightly.

Half a year ago, that was about the time he exposed his identity as the Calamity of Mockery and left the Wuji Domain... He could probably guess what the content of that vote was.

"The incident in the Wuji Domain caused such a stir that all the high-ranking officials of the domains basically knew you were the Calamity of Mockery... Some said you saved everyone, arguing that even though you were the Calamity of Mockery, you retained your humanity. They defended you and demanded that the human domains cancel the warrant for your arrest..."

"And then?"

"Thirty-six councilors: thirty-five votes against, one abstention."

Chen Ling wasn't surprised by the result.

He leaned back in his chair while sipping his coffee and said unhurriedly, "That’s not interesting at all... I’m already used to it."

Back when he was in the Aurora Domain, Wen Shilin had already passed his notes to other domains. Anyone who had read those notes would know that Chen Ling wasn't the mastermind and certainly hadn't murdered the Aurora Monarch, but in the end, Chen Ling still became the scapegoat.

"The interesting part hasn't even started yet," Chu Muyun smiled.

"After the final vote result came out, the person who proposed the motion publicly stated that he did not accept the result..."

"And then..."

"He publicly put the thirty-six councilors on [Trial] right there in the Alliance Assembly court."