102: Too ashamed to face your ancestors? Then don't face them!

General Cheng stepped forward and took the ledgers.

The first page he opened had a single, simple character.

Kill!

The second page was a list, with official positions ordered from smallest to largest.

The last page listed the Three Dukes and the Prime Minister, and so on.

"Hiss!"

He gasped, taking in a sharp breath.

Originally, he and General Wang had guessed that the worst outcome would be using the Family registers to pressure the aristocratic Families, letting them know that the largest Family was the Imperial Family, and using their power to force the aristocratic Families to serve them.

But now.

Massacre the aristocratic Families!

This… this was simply unprecedented!

Whether there would be anyone to follow, he did not know!

"Your Majesty… Your Majesty, do you truly intend to do this?"

General Cheng swallowed, his throat incredibly dry; if they were to kill according to this ledger, there probably wouldn't be many people left at this banquet today.

At that time, how would the world be governed?

By them, these mere martial men?

Of course, Old Wang would have no problem governing the court, as he had read many books.

But if he himself were to govern the court, he feared he would only make things worse.

Seeing General Cheng hesitate.

Everyone became displeased.

"Chu Mo, Your Majesty has handed the ledger to you, which means he trusts you. If you do not act according to Your Majesty's decree, that is defiance!"

"Exactly! Chu Mo, are you trying to defy orders?"

"Quickly, read according to the ledger. Do not delay Your Majesty's time, nor keep us waiting long."

"……"

Expressions of impatience appeared on everyone's faces, each citing the New Emperor's decree, forcing General Cheng to read.

General Cheng showed a look as if he was watching an idiot.

He had seen people cut in line, but cutting in line for reincarnation was truly something he had never seen.

Li Tian Ce smiled faintly, "General Cheng, why aren't you acting? Do you want Us to do it personally?"

Although Li Tian Ce was smiling, this smile, in General Cheng's eyes, was so cold and bone-chilling.

If he didn't follow what was on the ledger, he would probably be the first person to be eliminated.

General Cheng took a deep breath, grabbed the wine cup on the table, and slammed it to the ground, pointing with a large hand.

He roared, "Close the gates, don't let a single one escape!"

Smashing the cup as a signal?!

Chu Mo was going to rebel!

Everyone scrambled to their feet, only to see that the Imperial Guards had already blocked all exits, and all their sabers were drawn, their Killing Intent chilling.

The Prime Minister panicked, he was truly panicked.

"Chu Mo, what do you want to do? Rebel? Do you know that Your Majesty is a True Dragon Son of Heaven, and the Immortal beside him is also an Immortal beyond the world? If you attempt to commit murder at this banquet now, are you not afraid of having your nine generations exterminated?"

"Bah! Exterminate nine generations?"

General Cheng laughed.

He laughed maniacally.

"Whether I am exterminated for nine generations, I don't know, but you, your nine generations are gone!"

"Do you see the ledger in my hand? This is your Family register. What I am going to do is kill according to the Family register!"

"But don't worry, your official position is high, so you'll be killed later!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's faces turned pale.

One by one, they looked with disbelieving eyes at Li Tian Ce, who sat high on the platform.

"Your Majesty, you want to kill us?"

Li Tian Ce nodded gently, saying calmly, "A hundred-year Imperial Dynasty, a thousand-year Family. I want to see if the Family can survive for a thousand years under my rule!"

The Prime Minister took a step forward and responded, "Your Majesty, forgive your subject for speaking frankly, but without subjects like us, Your Majesty cannot govern the common people, cannot govern the officials, and cannot govern the world!"

"Governing the world does not rely on martial power, but on books, on the governance policies of ancient sages."

Upon hearing this, everyone straightened their backs. Aristocratic Families collected books from various dynasties and possessed various schools of thought.

Even if the Imperial Dynasty perished, the aristocratic Families remained standing.

When it came to governing the world, no one understood how to govern the common people, the officials, and the world better than them.

"Ancient sages?" Chu Mo scoffed, "If they understood so much, why didn't they become emperors themselves?"

"You…" The Prime Minister was about to erupt, but when he clearly saw that the speaker was Chu Mo, he fell silent.

This was an Immortal!

It would be a miracle if he could win an argument with an Immortal on these matters.

"Alright! The farce should end now! The Family members distributed throughout the Great Tang territory have probably all been killed according to the Family registers you handed over."

"Now, it's your turn."

After speaking, Chu Mo looked at General Cheng on the side.

"Report your names one by one. Those who hear their names, step forward. I don't like dishonest people, understand?"

The extremely cold voice sent a shiver through the entire hall.

Seeing that the Immortal beside him had spoken, General Cheng immediately began calling names according to the ledger: "The Lu Family of Fanyang, Lu Lin."

The first name was called out.

No one stepped forward voluntarily. They stood in place, glaring at General Cheng, "You will not die well!"

"Oh my!" General Cheng was instantly displeased, pointing at the crowd, "That one is Lu Lin of the Lu Family of Fanyang, that one is Wang Ziqiang of the Wang Family of Taiyuan, and that one, Cui Bude of the Cui Family of Qinghe..."

His voice was like a death knell. Each person he identified had their Soul taken away by the Human Emperor Flag.

And in everyone's eyes, their proudly cherished Family registers had become a ledger of life and death.

At this moment, they all wanted to curse.

Which bastard invented Family registers!

Was this really a Family register? It was clearly a ledger of life and death!

But General Cheng, who was calling out names, felt that.

This Family register was really useful. Which Genius invented it? In the future, during the Qingming Festival, he would have to burn a Family register for him!

The slaughter continued.

Soon, only a handful of people remained in the entire hall, all of them, without exception, were influential figures from various aristocratic Families.

"Prime Minister Cui, now that things have come to this, do you have anything else you want to say? Feel free to tell Us," Li Tian Ce sat grandly on the platform, "Tell Us about your collusion with foreign tribes, and your attempt to harm Us on the grasslands."

When he went to the grasslands for the marriage alliance, it was these bastards who caused him to be kidnapped by the Khitan people halfway. If not for his great fortune and the rescue by the group members, he would not have lived to this day.

Prime Minister Cui's pupils dilated sharply, and his lips trembled up and down, "You… you knew?"

"Did you think those Khitan people's mouths were that tight? You were sold out completely long ago."

Prime Minister Cui's face turned ashen, and he knelt on the ground.

"It's ruined! It's ruined! The Cui Family of Qinghe is ruined in my hands. How can I face my ancestors when I go down to the Yellow Springs?"

Seeing Prime Minister Cui in such despair, Li Tian Ce felt a little unbearable and couldn't help but comfort him, "Prime Minister Cui, you don't have to worry about not being able to face your ancestors. I will send you to another place. That place has no ancestors of yours, only endless work. Oh, right, 007, you have no problem with that, do you? Overtime without pay, you also have no problem with that, do you? Living in the factory every day, you probably still have no problem with that, do you?"

Prime Minister Cui looked at Li Tian Ce with a bewildered expression.

And then, he only felt his Soul lighten, and when he opened his eyes again, he was in a city.

Above it read: Mang City!

"Is this the Underworld?" Just as he thought this, he was dragged by a great force into a schoolroom.

Before he could even comprehend his surroundings, a nightmare-like voice came from beside his ear.

"Quickly write this down, these are all important points, they will be on the test!"

"You truly are the worst batch of students I've ever taught!"

"The questions in 'Three Years of Herb Cultivation, Five Years of Alchemy' are all questions that have appeared in previous exams. You'd better memorize them."

"If you can't get into the top 500 in Alchemy, you won't become a Soul above Souls. You won't even be able to buy a house in Mang City, you'll only be able to survive with difficulty outside, and if you're not careful, you'll become food for the Soul Beast Ghost Face Butterfly! Understand?"

"Tomorrow's you will definitely thank today's hardworking you."

"No struggle, no fight, equals a wasted life. No hardship, no fatigue, Alchemy is tasteless. All of you, study, or I'll whip you!"

"……"

It wasn't until the whip landed on Prime Minister Cui's body, and an intensely painful sensation struck him, that he awoke with a start.

The teacher looked at him and said indifferently, "Hurry up and study. Mang City is a place where every inch of land is precious; it doesn't support idlers. If you can't adapt, you can only go outside Mang City and fight with the Soul Beast Ghost Face Butterfly!"

Prime Minister Cui wanted to resist, but the Restriction and imprint from the depths of his Soul made him unable to resist, and he was also subtly influenced.

Gradually, he integrated into this learning atmosphere.

He was no longer the Prime Minister of Great Tang; he was just an ordinary examinee like the surrounding Souls.

When he graduated.

He would become a working Soul.