Chapter 431

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Chapter 431: Amaterasu

Bai Wei could naturally see and hear, and he found this matter interesting, so he might as well take a closer look.

He never put himself in the position of a deity, nor did he care about how many followers or beliefs he had.

Just like an emperor who doesn’t understand how hard the officials work, an entire empire can be destroyed in an instant.

Of course, being noticed like this, no one would feel displeased.

But Bai Wei didn’t want them to hold their beliefs too high. As for gods, you can worship them if they are useful, be polite when in need, and leave them aside on regular days. Don’t let them affect your normal life, and don’t bother with codes of conduct, such as a lifetime of being unmarried, or disrespecting immortal teachers… Isn’t it annoying? Even the gods themselves would find it annoying. It’s really unnecessary to make it too metaphysical.

This matter was a loss for the Chao family themselves. It wouldn’t hurt to bow a few times to the deceased, especially since they were deities. It’s not embarrassing to bow.

Bai Wei thought, "Those who bow are emperors, what does it have to do with me, a person from the Ming Country? I don’t care if they bow or not."

If you want to bow, isn’t it simple? Just go take a walk in the Summoner’s Rift, and you’ll have a Minotaur bowing to me every day.

Igarashi Shimizu asked for the people involved to go, and what they lost wasn’t just the face of a congressman, but rather a more practical alternative to apologizing.

Rina Asakura was used to being arrogant and defiant. She was forced to bow to the shrine, but she resisted and hid behind her father, showing a disrespectful attitude. She completely ignored the increasingly solemn atmosphere, which is quite rare for someone who always causes trouble.

Asakura was in a difficult position. With her daughter’s personality, her reputation had exploded. With her upbringing like this, regardless of how capable the person involved is, it is difficult for anyone to have high hopes for the next generation of Asakuras. The Yingzhou congressman is elected, which is good, but mostly for local families, so it can be said that it is inherited. The educational requirements for children are relatively high, just look at Haruno Yuki to know. She has been forced into a joke by her parents.

It’s not that the Asakura family and their kind of privileged girls are rare, it’s just that it’s rare to live like this. One of her parents must bear the main responsibility.

Bai Wei glanced at Hokusinn Kichyō not far away, then looked at Hokusinn Xuanma, and sighed softly, "Your situation is not easy…"

Hokusinn Xuanma’s mouth twitched, and he whispered, "Don’t compare my daughter to that person… That’s insulting."

Bai Wei expressed understanding, "I understand… But how will this situation end?"

Hokusinn Xuanma didn’t know how to end it either. He said, "Unless there’s a direct prophecy."

Bai Wei said, "Which idiotic god would say at a time like this, ‘Although you’ve destroyed my blessed amulet, I forgive you generously’… Doesn’t that make my daughter lose face? Please introduce me to such a loving god. Maybe if I burn down their shrine, they will still thank me."

Hokusinn Xuanma didn’t say anything, he heard some noise in the crowd. He turned around and saw the crowd split in two, like Moses parting the sea. The noble people respectfully moved aside as a woman wearing a white kimono and a golden sun crown on her head walked towards them.

"What a grand display," Bai Wei said. "Even the Canyon Vanguard doesn’t have such a big show."

"Be careful with your words," Hokusinn Xuanma said. "That’s the royal family."

"Oh?" Bai Wei remembered that the royal family were considered living gods. He looked closely and saw the words floating above their heads.

[Living Gods] [Amaterasu]

The Yingzhou Emperor was a created god. The Kojiki, a chronicle of ancient events, was only compiled in the 7th century, and the idea of divine right of the emperors was a lie. The royal family claimed to be descendants of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, but in reality, Amaterasu was also a fiction. The Yingzhou royal family attached themselves to the divine status of Yingzhou’s main deity, tying their clan’s fortune and the nation’s fortune together. Even with the change of shogunates, the royal family remained in a superior and noble position. That’s why Shintoism is the national religion of Yingzhou.

Each generation of the Yingzhou Emperor is considered a living god, and their children inherit their divine bloodline. Because of this, the royal family doesn’t have surnames, only names. In theory, they don’t even have Yingzhou nationality because they are considered gods.

Because Amaterasu is a female deity, the female heirs of the emperor are called Amaterasus, while the male heirs are called Tsukuyomi.

The one appearing now is Amaterasu, the princess of the royal family and the eldest daughter of the current emperor. Her kimono also has the royal family’s unique crest, the sixteen-petaled double-layered Chrysanthemum pattern.

In today’s Yingzhou, the influence of the imperial family is stronger than ever before.

Just like in the correct history, it was the decline and collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate that brought the emperor back to the political center, starting the Meiji Restoration… Now, in Yingzhou, there is also a wave of modernization, and the main force driving it is not the Shogunate, but the emperor’s cabinet, which is made up of members of the parliament who were selected and acknowledged.

In the past, the Tokugawa Shogunate strongly suppressed the imperial family, ensuring they only focus on "scholarly matters," while keeping all other rights in their hands. They implemented a class system and centralized power, until the previous generation of shoguns became more relaxed and established the parliament and cabinet. However, they still kept a close eye on the imperial family. But in this generation, the current shogun, a hero with exceptional martial skills, chose to voluntarily relinquish power, allowing the cabinet to expand and the imperial family to return to the political stage, promoting reform, and making drastic changes to the system, which in turn limited the power of the Shogunate.

A country cannot have two central governments, the emperor and the shogun. If one becomes strong, the other will become weak. And the emperor is the rightful ruler of Yingzhou. If they become powerful, the shogun will collapse. However, this generation’s shogun is a heroic spirit in power, a guardian deity, whose position doesn’t require recognition and is even stronger than the imperial family. This creates a unique situation of "two suns in the sky."

The shogun doesn’t mind, but the Shogunate cannot tolerate it. They cannot allow the parliament and cabinet to gain more power. They were originally beneath the Shogunate, but now they have expanded to the same level. This time, they exerted immense pressure on the senior members of the Shogunate.

This time, Amaterasu directly came to the shrine for a meeting and worship, which has never happened before.

How can a living god enter another place to worship other gods? If she were to visit the shrine of the Inari God, Inari Okami should be treated as an equal.

Even if she wants to worship, she should go to the shrine where the previous emperors resided, not this unnamed shrine that worships a foreign god.

It seems that she has a different purpose.

However, no matter how special Amaterasu is, her power as a god depends entirely on the fate of Yingzhou. As a mascot, her fighting ability is debatable. Now that Yingzhou’s national power is growing, it can be seen that Amaterasu has benefited a lot.

Amaterasu walked directly into the scene, and everyone bowed their heads in greeting.

"Greetings, Amaterasu!"

Her current title should be Princess Kaoru Komiya, but many people call her Amaterasu to show respect for her as a god.

Everyone lowered their heads, including Hokusinn Xuanma and the sword witches in the shrine. Even though they weren’t followers of the Shinto religion, they still had to show respect for the ruler of the country. Because they all lowered their heads, Bai Wei, standing tall with a straight back, stood out. He was already quite tall, and even in a crowd, he immediately caught everyone’s attention.

Amaterasu couldn’t help but look at the young man. The two imperial guards who accompanied her also noticed him, and some people noticed the white man standing with his arms crossed and yawning, and were immediately amazed… Not bowing in public, who does he think he is? Don’t you want to fit in here in Yingzhou?

Bai Wei spoke in the language of the Ming Country, saying, "I am from the Ming Country and I don’t worship the gods of Yingzhou."

We’re not the president of Stickland, who salutes the flag of America.

The guard next to Amaterasu whispered something in her ear, and she had a moment of realization in her eyes. She smiled and said, "So it’s Mr. White… Please, everyone, stand up."

A light and airy phrase can have a completely different meaning to those who pay attention.

Bai Wei pondered… Not only the shogunate, but even the higher-ups noticed me, was it because I defeated the shogunate’s sword hunters head on?

Kaoru Komiya walked up to the sword witch and smiled, saying, "But what happened? I didn’t notice anything just now."

"It’s like this…" Senator Tojikura explained what had just happened. In front of everyone, he couldn’t make up lies and could only admit that he failed in teaching his daughter. At the same time, he pulled Tojikura Rena to apologize to Amaterasu.

"No need." Amaterasu gently shook her head. "Why apologize to me? Shouldn’t your apologies be directed towards the shrine?"

Senator Tojikura’s expression turned bitter, and Tojikura Rena could only lower her head trembling and dare not speak. She had to admit her own insignificance in front of Amaterasu, that she was just an ordinary girl without nobility. Before turning into a phoenix, she was just a lowly sparrow, and the more arrogant she was in the past, the more inferior she felt now.

"Please go to the shrine and apologize." Kaoru Komiya’s words were like a warm breeze. "I will also pray for the forgiveness of the shrine’s owner for you."

Tojikura Rena dared not speak more and followed Kaoru Komiya to the front of the shrine. She knelt on a soft cushion and bowed to the shrine nine times.

After she stood up, Amaterasu also stood in front of the shrine, with her hands clasped together, gently tapping. As she closed her eyes and began to pray, a halo of light rose.

In Bai Wei’s mind, he could hear her prayers echoing.

Please forgive the impoliteness of this little girl. I will take her away and apologize for any trouble caused.

The tone was sincere and without any arrogance. Bai Wei couldn’t find any faults and released the Golden Power.

The sword witches anxiously stared at the shrine, waiting for the god’s response, or maybe nothing would happen like before?

Just as they were thinking, they suddenly saw a golden light appearing above the shrine. This golden light was noble and majestic, with a thickness that made it unbearable to look directly at. It wasn’t as dazzling as the sun, but it weighed heavily, causing even the most arrogant person to bow their head.

The golden light intertwined rapidly, forming letters like a message.

But…

Only one word was written in an ancient European font that the people of Yingzhou could not understand.

The sword witches, filled with excitement, knelt down before the shrine after seeing the golden light.

The guests looked at the word, but couldn’t understand its meaning.

This symbol drew an arc and flew into Kaoru Komiya’s palm. Amaterasu opened her eyes and smiled gently, saying, "He said ‘okay.’"

The guests sighed with relief, and toward Cang Lina, they saw the golden light trembling. It turned out that everything was seen by the gods. Fortunately, this one is not narrow-minded. Otherwise, the majestic golden pressure just now would have killed her several times. She felt relieved and trembled as she thanked Kaoru Komiya and bowed to the shrine and the sword witches.

Suddenly, the golden light changed direction and landed on Xia Shu.

Xia Shu blinked her eyes and was enveloped in golden light. She became a little nervous, but quickly realized that the gold was not for her. She seemed to have remembered something and took out a broken amulet from her pocket. The golden light gathered on the damaged amulet, and it began to transform. Originally a hand-carved handicraft, it now melted into a clear golden liquid-like substance that flowed and then solidified into shape.

Everyone watched nervously, curious about what it would eventually become.