Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume 11, Part 1)

183 Not Everyone Is Cut Out for That Life

Qiang Yan had been the obvious choice to talk to to get everything rolling. As for the other titled gods, Li Yin had to think for a moment longer to decide who to talk to next. There were some who were rather opinionated so they likely wouldn't be as open. As for others, they might be willing but their tasks didn't transfer well to the dragon realm.

Just think of the Palace of Fate that was responsible for the gods on trial and the humans outside of the immortal realms. Neither meant anything to the dragons so what kind of exchange could there be between the Fate's Scribe and the people of the dragon race? Not to mention that Shun Tao would likely have some opinions about being forced to work with them after how the dragon king had made a mess out of His Highness's trial that he had so carefully prepared.

Li Yin figured that this kind of person naturally couldn't be next on his agenda. Instead, it was better to find somebody who might have a vested interest in strengthening the relationship between their races or was generally more open-minded. As for which person that could be ... well, the Goddess of Magnanimity came to mind.

The Palace of Magnanimity was actually quite closely related to both the Palace of Fate and the Court of Justice. It was the only palace that didn't exist in all nine of the heavens and was unique to the capital city because there frankly wasn't that much to do for them.

It was in charge of disaster relief work throughout the Nine Heavens so only when something happened that the gods themselves couldn't deal with, it would get active. Otherwise, they monitored the people in the mortal realms, looking for people that showed great strength of character. Those who were especially outstanding would be suggested for ascension, even if they had never cultivated a day in their lives. Naturally, this task shared some skills with the scribes in the Palace of Fate so there was a certain amount of overlap there.

As for his Court of Justice, well, the people who ascended would still arrive at the ascension platform in their courtyard and they also needed to approve the choices the Palace of Magnanimity made. After all, just strength of character and outstanding behavior alone wasn't enough for ascension.

Some people might excel as human beings but wouldn't be able to deal with the life of a god. For one, there was the problem of dealing with the knowledge that there was something like the immortal realms with true gods, demons, and dragons. While humans were generally superstitious, believing and seeing were still different things. Two, they had to get used to life in the Nine Heavens. Finding a place to settle down, trying to understand their neighbors, and carving out a way forward for themselves ... it wasn't easy for many of them.

A notable example was certainly the story of Hong Ai and Hong Bao: Originally, the Goddess of Magnanimity had been observing the older sister. As a disciple of the Tian Yu Sect, her conduct had been good all the time but she really stood out when she listened to her sister's pleas for help and went to confront the demonic beasts that had invaded the mortal realm all on her own. She was willing to give her life to protect her sister and those innocent mortals living in the same village. This showed her true character which could be considered admirable.

The Goddess of Magnanimity was convinced of her suitability so she handed the suggestion to the Court of Justice. At that time, her role had been finished and she didn't inquire into Hong Ai's life further. The Court of Justice checked and indeed couldn't find anything troublesome about Hong Ai that should bar her from entering the Nine Heavens. Thus, the proposal was accepted and they sent an official down to receive her.

Unfortunately, with the difference in time between the mortal and immortal realms, Hong Ai's life had already developed in a different direction. She had fallen in love with Shen An De who was half demon and thus likely wouldn't be accepted to accompany her to the Nine Heavens. He was also responsible for the Hei Dian Sect so he probably wouldn't have wanted to either. As a result, Hong Ai finally convinced her sister to take her place.

The Court of Justice investigated this matter thoroughly after it finally came out when Hong Bao tried to assassinate their crown prince. They had found that the fault really lay with them and amended their regulations to ensure such a mix-up wouldn't happen again.

There was no question that Hong Bao naturally wouldn't have made the cut if she had been considered. She might have been courageous just like her sister but she lacked the intelligence, foresight, and skill that made her sister such a valued disciple of the Tian Yu Sect and a candidate for ascension outside the bounds of cultivation. And this was putting it lightly. If Li Yin were to evaluate her more honestly, he'd call her a walking disaster.

Anyway, while Hong Ai probably could have become a valuable member of society in the Nine Heavens as well, Hong Bao had been switched out on short notice. She was only a fifteen-year-old child whose biggest dream in life had been to find a good-looking husband. She lacked any kind of aspiration and thus the drive to make something out of herself. Thus, after arriving, she simply joined a palace at random and became a servant goal. Anyway, she still wanted to have some fun and the pay wasn't bad.

The story of these two sisters really went to show that not everyone was cut out for the life of an ascended deity. Some would thrive in this position while others wouldn't go anywhere. Some might even be worse off than they had been in the mortal realm. This was just the truth of the matter.