Chapter 52: The Country That Became a League

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: The Country That Became a League

Chu Country’s political system was completely destroyed by Xiangli.

But Xiang Ying was still alive. By summoning the prefects around Weining City and the generals stationed in various regions, a new core team immediately took shape.

No one took the opportunity to rebel. After all, rebellion required time to prepare.

Xiangli’s outburst was too sudden. No one could react in such a short time, not even the neighboring countries.

Moreover, although the Celestial Master’s Mansion was destroyed, the two Grandmasters of the Celestial Dao Alliance and the Red Flame Sect were both in Weining Prefecture. Without the strength to contend with Grandmasters, any so-called rebellion was nothing but a joke.

Furthermore, there was Lord Li by the emperor’s side, who was suspected to be an Immortal. So, even with such a massive upheaval that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, the political system still transitioned smoothly.

One day after Li Ye returned to Weining City, a decree centered around football was swiftly dispatched to all regions.

The decree required all states, prefectures, and counties to establish their own football teams in the shortest possible time. They were also mandated to participate in the various tiers of leagues promoted by Chu Country within the specified timeframe to discover their own football talents.

The promotion of local officials was linked to their teams’ points.

The football lottery and the Football Newspaper were promoted alongside this decree. For a time, the official roads were filled with Lightweight Skill experts dribbling footballs as they delivered messages.

Accompanied by all sorts of voices, the states, prefectures, and counties of Chu Country fell into a state of chaos almost immediately. The commoners were full of complaints.

After all, the past few consecutive matches had been held in Sirius Valley. The other prefectures’ impressions of football were still based on hearsay. Most people were skeptical about football as a cultivation method, and even more people completely disbelieved it.

However, it was the emperor who was promoting the leagues this time. The imperial edict was stamped with the bright imperial seal, so they had to bite the bullet and carry it out.

No national-level decree could be fully implemented in just a few days, let alone such an unprecedentedly absurd one. So, Li Ye had been very busy these past few days. He was busy going to various states, prefectures, and counties to empower the club members. The Team Emblem couldn’t grant Demon Qi to the clubs remotely; it could only do so when a specific target was identified.

For this massive project to be truly rolled out, Li Ye had to transform into a cheat deliveryman, traveling back and forth among the various football teams to grant them Demon Qi.

Of course, having the newly established football teams come to the Sirius Valley Football Alliance to handle the procedures would have been more prestigious.

But Li Ye had no time left. He had to build this football system up in the shortest amount of time. If the Divine Dragon attacked and he was still leisurely waiting for the clubs to slowly develop, what difference would it be from waiting for death?

With Li Ye’s Demon Qi empowerment, the promotion of the football leagues immediately became much smoother. After all, once the Demon Qi entered their bodies, the effects were immediate—it was a tangible transformation.

The football players who joined the clubs were originally forced into it just to deal with their superiors’ assignments. No one thought such an absurd thing could last.

However, the Spiritual Power that suddenly surged within their bodies gave everyone a pleasant surprise, and everyone’s enthusiasm was instantly ignited. After the news of the tragedy in the Capital City spread, this enthusiasm further transformed into driving motivation.

In the propaganda of the Football Newspaper, the Soul Devourer that caused the tragedy in the Capital City was no longer depicted as Li Ye’s weapon. Instead, it was an invasion by a higher civilization, and Lord Li, who defeated the Soul Devourer, became the Savior.

Playing football was cultivating his lineage. Once one’s cultivation was successful, they would qualify to become an Immortal and achieve Ascension to a higher civilization.

Nothing could be accomplished overnight, let alone a large-scale project like a football league that required the cooperation and promotion of various parties.

Even though Li Ye rushed back and forth to facilitate the formation of football teams everywhere, it would still take at least one to three months for the leagues at all levels to operate normally.

But this was all Li Ye could do.

This world’s efficiency was only so high; it was impossible for him to directly produce a league champion in a short span of two or three days. Even if he could, such a league champion would be no different from having none at all, as it would hold absolutely no real value.

Fortunately, the initial league between the Martial World Sects had already gotten on track. Accompanied by the promotion from the established Football Newspaper, the audience for every match was packed to the brim.

Without Li Ye’s participation, the Fun People Club had their fair share of wins and losses when playing against other Sects. Ultimately, their Golden Body of total victory was broken.

By the time Li Ye finished empowering all the football teams across the states and counties and returned to Sirius Valley, the tournament between the major Martial World Sects was already halfway through.

The Celestial Dao Alliance ranked first in points, the Red Flame Sect second, the Fun People Club had to settle for third, and the Royal Club ranked fourth.

However, in terms of player popularity, the market value of the Fun People Club was at the very top. Even the two Grandmasters, Yu Hai and Huaiyi, couldn’t compare to them.

Of course, this might also be because major merchants were too intimidated by their status as Grandmasters to ask them for endorsements.

Xiang Ying finally couldn’t resist the temptation of cultivation and personally took the field to play football.

The Planet Cup was a professional league. Everyone who played here aimed to follow Li Ye into the starry sky. In their eyes, there was no emperor, and they wouldn’t give him any face at all. Moreover, brutally beating the emperor on the pitch and making the Football Newspaper the next day could bring immense fame and commercial value.

Therefore, once Xiang Ying was on the field, he received the most "special care." Every forward was itching to give his royal root a kick, and every defender was dying to slide-tackle and break his royal legs. ℯℯ𝑙.

After one match, there was hardly a single patch of intact flesh left on Xiang Ying’s body. It was fortunate that the healing effects of the Demon Qi were exceptional; otherwise, the royal bloodline in this world would have been completely wiped out.

However, Xiang Ying also benefited from this in a way—the title of "The Most Tragic Emperor in History" gloriously fell upon his head.

After every match, the Football Newspaper would record how many times his royal root was kicked, how many times his legs were broken from tackles, how many slaps he took to the face, and so on.

Xiang Ying didn’t score many goals, but his fame skyrocketed, making him just as popular as Shi Xiang and the others. He even gained a few other nicknames that stood alongside "The Most Tragic Emperor in History," such as "The Living Target on the Pitch" and "The Forward Who Looks More Like a Goalkeeper Than the Goalkeeper."

Given the bonuses brought by his special status as the emperor and his miserable performances on the pitch, Xiang Ying’s Spiritual Power advanced by leaps and bounds. Over a few matches, his Skill Level, originally that of an Innate Master, was charging straight toward the Grandmaster realm.

Shi Xiang and the others, relying on the popularity they had built early on and the bonuses from their gimmick of mercilessly striking their own teammates, were also steadily approaching the Grandmaster level, ready to break through to the Grandmaster realm at any moment.

Although Li Ye had been busy preparing for the leagues these past few days and hadn’t taken the field, the amount of Demon Qi in his body hadn’t decreased; instead, it was steadily rising.

After all, the demonic artifact he carried was the football club Team Emblem. Strictly speaking, every club in this world had been established due to his efforts. Whenever any club gained prestige, it would feed back into him.

Ever since the leagues were promoted in Chu Country, the Team Emblem had been like a prostitute encountering a heavily drugged muscleman—its seductive moans had never ceased echoing in his mind.

The things it said most frequently were, "We’ve hit the jackpot," "I’ve learned it," "I’ll teach people to do this in the next world too," "One day, I will become the most powerful demon in the universe," "Topple the Demon Suppression Tower," "Turn all universes into football pitches," and other such remarks.

Hearing these ambitious words, Li Ye completely put his mind at ease. At the very least, he could safely enjoy the improvements brought by the Demon Qi without worrying about being possessed or parasitized.

A mere Martial World could no longer satisfy the ambitions of this little Team Emblem.

To Li Ye’s surprise, it had been over twenty days since the Team Emblem devoured the glove, yet there had been no movement whatsoever from the Divine Dragon Sect, as if nothing had ever happened. However, not a single one of the people sent to investigate the Divine Dragon Sect had returned.

Up until now, neither Li Ye nor the Team Emblem had any idea what the hell that Divine Dragon was up to.

Of course, they didn’t dare to rashly investigate either. If the other party wasn’t making a move, they were more than happy to take their time and slowly develop!