With a new minister of Law set up and the rest of the administrative machinery working in proper order, King Hong felt pleased. To him, this was one of the most necessary things that needed to be addressed.
Lin Mu was also happy with the progress and got to experience the inner workings of a kingdom for the first time. He got to learn how different matters were handled and how it was to deal with complex people, all of whom had their own agenda.
While this was not useful to him directly right now, he reckoned he may as well learn all that he could. Xukong was of the same mind and told him to do so while Little Shrubby continued his search.
Littler Shrubby had been looking for the Wandering sinkhole right on the day when Lin Mu made the agreement with King Hong and the two disciples. He gave the description of the sinkhole to Little Shrubby and told him to search across the entire Hong Lin forest for it.
Little Shrubby was fine with it and did so.
Jing Luo on the other hand, was busy with making formation arrays.. The tribulation attenuation array was already completed and ready for use at any moment. He was now setting up the formation arrays for the Hong Lin Kingdom's capital city.
Upon hearing the plan that Lin Mu had for the city, Jing Luo went even more extravagant and asked that if they are doing it for the city, why don't they just do it for the entire kingdom.
Hearing this, everyone was shocked as well, and they didn't know if this was viable at all. To this Jing Luo explained that while security on the same level as that of the capital might not be possible, it would still be possible to set up lower levels of securities across the entire kingdom.
At the borders, there would be a basic formation array that detected and recorded who left and entered the kingdom. Of course, this was a rather grand project, but under the support of the entire Kingdom and their other formation masters, Jing Luo didn't have much problem in starting it.
Even the Hua San and Hua Wu joined in to help. While they weren't specialized in formations, they still had enough knowledge to help out. Plus, they were one of the stronger cultivators in the entire kingdom and thus just their cultivation base was enough to support more of the formation arrays which depended on power and not skill.
Of course, this plan was done rather covertly, and the people were mobilized secretly. The ones involved were asked to take oaths. That would kill them if they ever broke them. Only after that were they allowed to be part of it.
King Hong's tribulation was also fast approaching and there was little time left until he would have to get ready for it. The same could be said for the former adviser Chu but in his case what was approaching him was death.
The old man had not moved since that day and had stayed in the same state. Everyday King Hong and Adviser Liu would go to see him and check his condition. They were ready to give the man the funeral he deserved.
Finally, three weeks had passed since the start of the plan and today Xian Po broke through to the Core condensation realm.
"Xian Po pays his respect to King Hong." The man cupped his hands in greeting and bowed his head.
"At east, Minister Xian Po." King Hong said with a smile.
Xian Po looked up at the King and the rest of the people sitting in the royal court. He was the last one to join, and the rest of the positions had already been fulfilled. While he was technically the first to be added to the new court, since he entered seclusion, it took him longer.
"Take your place Minister Xian Po, it's time we begin." King Hong said and gestured to the third seat on the left side of the court from the King's position.
On the left of the king sat adviser Liu, while on the right sat none other than Lin Mu. He was actually feeling rather awkward here.
'Should I even be here? This feels strange…' Lin Mu thought to himself.
He didn't know why, but King Hong had specifically requested for him to be here for the Royal court. It was fine before since the were in a more informal setting and discussed the plans.
But not all of those members were here. Hua San and Hua Wu weren't invited.
Lin Mu looked at the ministers sitting in their seats. Their clothes showed their rank and position with it being embroidered on their outer robes. The ministers sat closer to the king on the left side, while the junior ministers and other officials such as army officials, sat on the right side.
"Today we are here to start a new journey. This will either take us to a safer future or lead us to our eventual end." King Hong spoke, turning the vibe in the room a bit cold.
"I have decided to tell you what we are facing now. It is an unprecedented threat, the likes of which only our ancestors have faced before. Some of you here already know about it or have an idea about it, but I'll be properly telling about it to you all." King Hong said, turning the faces of everyone serious.
Hearing this, Lin Mu now understood why King Hong had asked him to be here. Hua San and Hua Wu were helping out Jing Luo and thus were out of the capital at this moment in one of the other major cities.
'No wonder…' Lin Mu thought to himself.
Lin Mu felt a little less anxious now and listened to how King Hong spoke about Gu Yao and the threat he posed along with the threat of the Northern Tribes.
——
Once King Hong WA finished with his explanation, the people of the royal court finally understood the reason for the recent upheaval in the kingdom. Having learned that there was someone who could control them and others wouldn't even know was a terrifying thought.
"Now that I am done, you all can speak if you wish to." King Hong spoke.
Lin Mu looked around and saw that most of them weren't really in the mood to do anything and were still digesting the tough information that had been dropped on them. The ones that had a stronger mentality though, were already thinking of plans to do.
"Your Majesty, I have something to say," the new minister of Law Xian Po suddenly spoke.
"Pleased do, Minister Xian Po." King Hong replied.
Xian Po stood up and looked around at his fellow court members.
"We all have heard King Hong speak and have even seen the effects that this man Gu Yao has brought upon our kingdom. While we were lucky that we had senior Lin Mu this time who helped us avoid an even worse situation, I do not know if we would be lucky in the future.
I have personally experienced the distress brought on by the former Minster Fu Delun and the difficulties it brought. I do not want anyone else to go through it, yet there is a chance someone among us may end up being controlled anyway.
Thus to address this, I propose we take up an oath." Xian Po stated, surprising everyone.
While it was fine asking the formation masters and other lower officials to take oaths, one must know that asking their ministers and other higher official such as army generals, was not usually done.
This was considered to be offensive in many places and basically meant that the King did not give them the respect they deserved and also made them into slaves. Since taking an oath meant they would be binding themselves forever, giving a sense of safety and trust, it also meant that they were cutting off their other routes of escape.
If for some reason the kingdom fell and they had no other choice, they wouldn't even have a chance to escape, as that would mean them dying anyway. Of course, the specific conditions of the oaths varied, but this was the general consensus among them.
Xian Po and Lin Mu looked around, seeing the hesitation on the faces of some people in the hall.
"I volunteer to do it first!" Xian Po spoke up with determination.
"I shall take it as well." This time Adviser Liu stood up.
"And I'll be doing it as well." King Hong said, shocking everyone.
"But… why you, your majesty?" one of the generals asked.
"The situation we are facing is not just any threat. While you can be controlled, I can be controlled as well. Besides, it would be unfair if you all are bound to just me. Rather than that, I would prefer it to be a unified oath so that all of us are on equal terms." King Hong replied.
Hearing this, the court officials were left speechless.