Now that it had reached this point, if anyone still objected to Duke Huai being made emperor, that person was practically begging for universal condemnation.
Presently the Demon Imperial Hall was at maximum capacity and the splendor of the occasion even eclipsed that of the Demon Empress Grand Ceremony. All the various mayors, regional lords, sect masters and various other heroes of the realm had never in their wildest dreams imagined that after merely having come to participate in the Demon Empress Grand Ceremony; that they would still stay here for four more months and bear witness to these momentous events, from the passing of the Little Demon Empress to the ascension of the new Emperor.
All the heroes of the realm were squeezed together in the Demon Imperial Hall and every single one of them were cornerstones of the realm; well qualified to represent the entire Illusory Demon Realm. Right now, the time had come for the coronation of the new emperor, the ascension of Duke Huai to the seat of the emperor, and there was only less than fifteen minutes left before this event would begin. The coronation ceremony was almost at hand.
The Guardian Families and the various Duke Palaces occupied the core seats within the Demon Imperial Hall and the seating arrangements were exactly the same as four months ago. The Yun Family and the Mu Family were shockingly in attendance as well.
Yun Qinghong was seated in the seat designated for the head of the Yun Family and his face was fixed with an unnatural calm. Mu Yurou sat by his side and both of them tightly held each other’s hands without loosening their grip. In contrast to the enduring and ceaseless noise within the Demon Imperial Hall, the place where the Yun Family and the neighboring Mu Family were seated was filled with a lifeless and heavy atmosphere. For a full hour, no one spoke.
“Duke Huai Palace… has arrived!”
Following the sharp and long proclamation, the Demon Imperial Hall instantly descended into silence as all eyes turned towards the doors of the great hall.
The great scarlet-golden doors were slowly pushed apart. Duke Huai, dressed in golden finery, as the members of Duke Huai Palace orbited him like stars orbiting the sun, slowly stepped into the Demon Imperial Hall. His expression was calm and he wore an easy smile as his clearly smoothed out brows seemed to be filled with a formless dignity…. He was astonishingly already exuding an emperor’s majesty from every pore of his body.
Without the Little Demon Empress around, he had impressively assumed the role of the Illusory Demon Realm’s Emperor.
“We respectfully welcome Emperor Huai!!”
A resoundingly loud yell rang out from the location of the core seats as the Helian Family’s Patriarch, Helian Kuang left his seat and knelt down on the ground. He prostrated himself completely on the ground and his posture was deferential and humble in the extreme…. Even when the previous Demon Emperor and Little Demon Empress were in power, he had never completely prostrated himself like this before.
This loud yell had roused the audience from their slumber and in the next instant, they were scrambling to leave their seats and kneel on the ground, to welcome and pay their respects to Duke Huai:
“We respectfully welcome Emperor Huai!!”
Nearly one hundred thousand of the top-notch powerhouses of the Illusory Demon Realm yelled these words out in unison and the sound was so loud that it caused the entire Demon Imperial Hall to shake for a long period of time. Duke Huai unhurriedly swept his gaze across the great hall and he committed to memory those people and forces who had not knelt to welcome him. After that, he slowly raised his head and said in a polite and modest manner, “Everyone, please rise. Even though this duke has received your undeserved kindness and has been elected to be the new sovereign of the Illusory Demon Realm, the coronation ceremony has not yet taken place, so I am still undeserving of the appellation ‘Emperor Huai.’ And this manner of obeisance is something that I cannot accept as well.”
“Allow this humble duke to be so bold as to say this… Emperor Huai, your words are in error!” Duke Zhong loudly said as he cupped his hands, “Emperor Huai, you assuming the seat of the emperor is something approved by all those present and something desired by all under heaven. So how can you label it as ‘undeserving kindness?!’ After the demise of the Little Demon Empress, Emperor Huai has held the realm together, pacified the chaos within the realm and ensured peace reigned in the heart of all its citizens. If not for the sagacious wisdom and high virtues of Emperor Huai, Demon Imperial City and even the entire Illusory Demon Realm would definitely still be in chaos. So in our hearts, even though the coronation ceremony has yet to begin, you have long ago become the Emperor that we will follow and pledge our loyalty to till the end of our days. Today’s coronation… pardon this humble duke for speakin