Chapter 1020: Emperor
"Emperor?" It was Lin Huang's first time hearing that term. However, he could tell it was a high position.
"Emperor is the highest title we have in Dynasty. It's not just a title, but the Emperor is a leader who has the real power, possessing the highest authority to control the entire Dynasty. Including the First to Third Grand Dukes like us, all the Dukes, Princes, and Dynasty members, we must all listen to the Emperor," Huang Tianpu explained in detail.
"I don't understand this. Why are you guys getting yourself a superior? Aren't you just giving yourself a hard time?" Lin Huang raised his doubt as soon as he was done listening. "Without the Emperor, isn't it great for the First to the Third Grand Dukes in reign?"
Huang Tianpu shook his head and forced a smile when he heard that. "This has something to do with the rules that were passed down from Royal during the establishment of Dynasty.
"My master, who is the founder of Dynasty, Mr. Huang Tianyu, was Dynasty's very first Emperor. He founded Dynasty back then in an attempt to build a tremendous empire like the Union Government. He came up with the title 'Emperor' because it's the equivalent of the ruler of a kingdom who possesses the highest authority.
"My master was Royalty. He needed a massive amount of resources to build Dynasty, so he signed an agreement with Royal to make Dynasty the affiliate organization under the latter. Because of the identity as an affiliate organization, Dynasty developed quickly and very soon rose in this gravel world. It never stopped growing.
"However, there's a problem in the agreement. It clearly states that only Dynasty members have the right to inherit the Emperor title."
"Since Master passed away, none of our Dynasty members are eligible to inherit the title. Royal contacted us and gave us two options.
"The first option is to detach from Royal to become an independent organization. If we choose that, we won't be getting any resource support from Royal from that day onwards while all the ruins won't be opened to us. Furthermore, Dynasty must pay the compensation for all the expenses Royal has spent on building and training us for the past 5 centuries. The annual compensation will be 50% of our annual income.
"The second option is to continue being Royal's affiliate organization. Since we don't have an Emperor, we're only assigned the lowest supply of resources from them. We'd also only be given the lowest authorization for all the ruins. There's also a request. We'll need to find a Royalty to be the new Emperor within 3 centuries. As soon as the Emperor goes on duty, all the resources will be recovered following the Emperor's privileges in Royal.
"However, if we can't find a new Emperor within 3 centuries, Royal will send their people to take over the affiliate organizations. By then, the entire organization will belong to Royal, including the members and items. Everything would become Royal's private property.
"We heard about that through some intel. As soon as we become their private property, it'd be equivalent to losing our human rights. We'd be no different from being a slave. Moreover, it would mean losing the potential to elevate on certain levels for demigods. There's a high possibility that they might be given the slave imprint and sold to powerhouses in the great world."
Lin Huang understood why they looked for him right after hearing Huang Tianpu's detailed explanation.
"So, you guys went for the second option?"
Huang Tianpu nodded while forcing a smile. "It would've been stupid to choose the first option back then. We had gotten used to having Royal supporting us, it was hard to imagine what would happen to us without their support. Furthermore, we were very confident that we could train a Royalty within these 3 centuries."
"However, never had we thought that we wouldn't have even trained a single Royalty when the 3-century deadline is coming to an end. Even Huang Wuji, who we rooted for, was sent out on the second day of the trial."
"How long more to the 3-century deadline?" Lin Huang could not help but ask.
"In 11 more years, but the Royal Trials will only happen in 100 years. We've lost our only hope."
"Since there are still 11 years, why don't you just leave Dynasty? If you leave now, I don't think they'd come after all of you one after another in 11 years?" Lin Huang asked.
"We can't do that. As soon as we joined Dynasty, our names were on the register of the Royal affiliate organization. Since Master died, Royal automatically recorded all the new Dynasty members' details. As long as our names are on the list, the people from Royal will definitely find us. It's futile for us to hide anywhere in the world.
"There's only one way to leave Dynasty, which is to get the Emperor to remove the members from the list with his Royal Authorization."
"What if you dissolve Dynasty directly?" Lin Huang suggested.
"There's no way to do that," Huang Tianpu shook his head feeling helpless, "Dynasty is Royal's affiliate organization, so Royal has the ownership. As long as Royal disagrees with that, we can't be dissolved. To dissolve an affiliate organization, the affiliate organization's Emperor must send an application into Royal's headquarters."
"So, you guys have locked yourself in a dead-end." Lin Huang was rather puzzled to hear that.
"We only have one solution now, which is to find a new Emperor."
"I've got a question." Lin Huang thought about it before speaking again, "Are you guys sure that the first Emperor is dead?"
Huang Tianpu nodded almost without thinking. "We've confirmed it. Master went to the great world a few years after breaking through to virtual god-level 3 centuries ago. Royal announced his death less than 10 years following his departure."
"Didn't you guys see the body?"
"There was no body but it shouldn't be fake news," Huang Tianpu explained, "The Royal identity token is locked with the particular person. It will only be unlocked when the person dies. As soon as the token is unlocked, Royal would have their record down automatically."
"Do you guys have no other candidates apart from me?" Lin Huang asked rather helplessly.
"No. From what we know, you're the second person who has obtained the Royal Authorization throughout 5 centuries apart from Master. It was the first time Royal contacted us to tell us about you passing the Royal Trials."
"What if I reject this offer?" Lin Huang asked raising his brow, "Are you guys going to kidnap me? And force me to take the position?"
"I would love to do that," Huang Tufu mumbled softly.
"If you reject us, we'll stay by your side until you agree." Huang Tianpu smiled lightly. "We'll follow you no matter where you go, including the bathroom, the shower, when you go to sleep... We'll guard you by your side all the time to show our sincerity."
"Aren't you being a gangster now?" Lin Huang became speechless right away.
Huang Tianpu became serious after cracking the joke. "We really have no other option. If you don't like our way and style of doing things, we can implement a reformation in the entire organization. Although it's quite impossible that we could be as clean as the Union Government or the Hunter Association, it shouldn't be a problem to be as neutral as the Heretics. We promise to cooperate with you with all our might, transforming Dynasty into a brand new organization."
Lin Huang was really moved hearing what Huang Tianpu said. He had been wanting to establish his own organization for some time now. Although Dynasty, who sent themselves to his doorstep, was different from what he expected, joining them would be a shortcut to fight God Bless. Furthermore, with his identity as a Royalty, it was pretty impossible for Dynasty to turn their backs on him.
To establish an organization that truly belonged to him, he could do so by building a core circle within Dynasty. When the circle developed, it would not be too late for him to part independently from Dynasty. Moreover, he could use Dynasty's resources and the people's relationship to develop his core circle.
"Since you're so sincere, I shan't hide this from you. I'm planning to visit the great world after breaking through to imperial-level. If it's soon, I might leave this year. I'll leave next year if I take a longer time. Therefore, your Emperor will soon be going away if you get me to be your Emperor," Lin Huang shared his plan honestly.
"Don't worry about it. As long as the Emperor is still alive, it won't affect us whether you're in this gravel world or not. Furthermore, you can assign a representative before you leave and give a portion of your authority to the representative. By then, just get the representative to handle matters that involve authority. About going to the great world, I'll bring a few demigods to go with you for safety purposes." Huang Tianpu seemed to have considered everything in Lin Huang's shoes.
"If that's the case, I agree to be your Emperor." Lin Huang finally acquiesced. "I'm a lazy person, so I won't interfere much with your management. However, I'll monitor you guys since you agreed to a reformation. I hope to see the results."
"Just trust us with the management, but you're welcome to monitor us." Huang Tianpu finally flashed a smile of relief on his face. Even Huang Tufu, who was sitting aside, was greatly relieved to hear Lin Huang agree.
"Master Emperor, would you prefer a grand or a low-key appointment ceremony?" Huang Tianpu changed how he addressed Lin Huang as soon as he agreed to be the Emperor.
"Low-key, I guess. Only Dynasty has to know about it. There's no need to let the world know."
"It's already the 26th of July today. Should we fix it on 1st August? It happens to be an auspicious day." Huang Tianpu even determined the date.
"So soon?" Lin Huang was not prepared at all.
"Since you want a low-key one, we don't have to inform the world. We'll only have to decorate Dynasty a little. It won't take long," Huang Tianpu said delightedly, "There's nothing that you need to prepare. We'll prepare everything for you. If you have guests you'd like to invite, just tell us their names and contact details. We'll get people to pick them up when they arrive in Division 1. You don't have to stay in this hotel. You can do whatever you want and go wherever you want. Just send me your coordinates a day ahead. I'll pick you up by then."
"Sure, arrange everything for me then." Hearing Huang Tianpu's arrangement, Lin Huang could not help but secretly exclaim to himself how meticulous this person was. He did not miss anything in his arrangements and was an all-rounded, talented manager.
"Master Emperor, I shan't stay any longer. I'll leave now to make the arrangements." Huang Tianpu stood up after he was done speaking. He then turned his head to say to Huang Tufu next to him, "You'll stay in the room next to Master Emperor. Stay with him to assure his safety within these few days."
"Master Emperor, just do what you like and pretend he's not there. He'll only follow you when you go out. He won't disturb you other than that unless you ask him to."
"There's no need for that. Just go ahead with your own thing. Since I've agreed, I definitely won't run away." Lin Huang shook his head kindly.
"It's my honor to protect you, Master Emperor." Huang Tufu agreed to the mission.
Lin Huang stopped rejecting him since he said that.
Soon, Huang Tianpu summoned a dimensional portal and left. Meanwhile, Huang Tufu did not stay in Lin Huang's room and returned to the room next door.
Seeing the duo leave, Xiao Mo then returned from the balcony to the living room and asked about the duo rather curiously.