The Supreme Kai of the Seventh Universe hurriedly rushed to Grand Zeno's Palace.
He arrived in somewhat of a rush. Although he had used his Supreme Kai ability to teleport here, the heavy divine aura of this place still weighed down on him, making it hard to breathe.
Amidst the sea of clouds and mist, a building shaped like the character "All" stood imposingly at the very summit of the entire world. Seeing this building, he breathed a sigh of relief, though his heart remained filled with apprehension.
Bowing very respectfully, he stepped into the palace.
After the Grand Supreme Kai and the West, South, and North Supreme Kais had all fallen, the East Supreme Kai named Shin naturally became the sole Supreme Kai of the Seventh Universe.
Originally, he was resting in his own Sacred World of the Kai, but suddenly received a summons from the Grand Minister. He had absolutely no idea what had happened and was summoned here in a daze.
Shin was small in stature and weak in power. He rarely came to Grand Zeno's Palace, let alone being personally summoned by the Grand Minister. He was incredibly apprehensive. When he walked into the palace, he was already prepared to be scolded.
Surprisingly, he wasn't the only Supreme Kai summoned this time. Waiting with him was the Supreme Kai of the Sixth Universe, Fuwa—a fat, mild-mannered Supreme Kai who was usually a bit slow in speech and action.
Looking at Fuwa's fat face, one could tell he was originally the counterpart to the Seventh Universe's Grand Supreme Kai. Shin, in every respect, was a junior. Upon seeing the senior from the Sixth Universe, he immediately bowed and said hello.
In the past, although Fuwa's reaction was slow, he would eventually return the greeting politely. He would also chuckle and say a few polite words about how his reaction was slow and it wasn't an intentional slight, asking not to take offense. Was his reaction truly slow or fake? That was hard to say, but at least on the surface, it was passable.
But today, Shin waited for a long time, and the other party only grunted through his nose as a response. That unhappy look was displayed very obviously.
Did I offend this senior? I don't think so?
Shin was completely confused.
Other Supreme Kais would come to Grand Zeno's Palace to report on work at the drop of a hat, but his Seventh Universe was already "lying flat." Report work? Report what ghost! He simply stopped coming, slacking off to the end.
This was where the disadvantage of slacking off showed. Fuwa obviously knew something, while he was confused, severely lacking in intelligence. He had rushed over in a daze, not knowing what had happened.
He waited for a while.
Unless it was something major, that brat Grand Zeno wouldn't see them, and today was the same.
The summons order was issued by the Grand Minister anyway. They routinely said hello to Grand Zeno through the curtain, and then went to see the Grand Minister.
The Grand Minister was Grand Zeno's butler. Although he had a bunch of children, in order to get close to the brat Grand Zeno and do the important job of "playing companion" well, he usually maintained the image of a silver-haired young boy. Over time, no one knew what he originally looked like.
Upon seeing the two Supreme Kais, the Grand Minister spoke very politely: "You two have come from afar; it must have been hard on you."
Shin and Fuwa, the two Supreme Kais, hurriedly bowed, expressing that it wasn't hard for them, and that the Grand Minister was the one truly working hard.
"I called you here today to tell you about a certain matter." The Grand Minister had many affairs to attend to, so without much small talk, he went straight to the topic.
"The Seventh Universe has performed well recently. The cornerstone of order has been preliminarily established. Intelligent civilizations did not die prematurely but embarked on their own different development paths, blooming with extraordinary colors. Lord Grand Zeno is very happy... Shin, although you are young, I must say, you have done very well. Please continue to maintain your current momentum. Both Lord Grand Zeno and I believe that the Seventh Universe has even greater development potential. We hope to see a healthier, more vibrant Seventh Universe."
???
Shin's head was full of paste. What did I do recently? Even Grand Zeno said I did a good job?
Then came wild joy. This kind of opportunity to be praised by a superior leader was too rare for him.
He glanced at Fuwa out of the corner of his eye. This senior Supreme Kai's face was looking increasingly ugly.
The Grand Minister's expression did not change. Wearing that young boy appearance, he said to Fuwa as if chatting about domestic affairs: "The Sixth Universe's performance is actually okay, but like flowing water, if you don't advance, you retreat. Grand Zeno and I currently cannot see your progress. We hope that you can truly establish a healthy and orderly universal civilization environment in the future."
He was very polite and courteous: "Of course, your work is worthy of affirmation. Universal civilization construction cannot be rushed. I just hope you can do better, that is all. This is my personal opinion."
Shin and Fuwa dared not treat his words as "personal opinion." That brat Grand Zeno couldn't be communicated with normally at all; the Grand Minister's words were the highest instructions, end of story.
Destroyers need the Angels' faster-than-light flight abilities to travel to Grand Zeno's Palace, but Supreme Kais do not. They can enter and leave Grand Zeno's Palace via teleportation.
Shin returned to his own Sacred World of the Kai, still unable to figure out what had happened.
What did I do? I didn't do anything!
The universe sequence is paired two by two; he knew this. In the past, the Sixth and Seventh Universes were often compared. The higher-ups basically praised the Sixth Universe while "hoping" the Seventh Universe would do this or that.
Today it was reversed, which was a bit strange.
To be fair, Shin had tried hard, but his prestige, ability, and methods were insufficient. With a myriad of things mixed together, he simply didn't know where to start. After trying a few times, he simply gave up and slacked off.
Now obviously something was done right to get praise from above. That goes without saying—the leader told you to continue working hard, so how can you not? If you can do it, do it; if you can't do it, you still have to do it!
"Did we do anything recently? To make the Grand Minister praise the Seventh Universe and criticize Senior Fuwa of the Sixth Universe, it must be a big deal." Returning to the Sacred World of the Kai, he asked his attendant Kibito.
The red-faced Kibito stood straight, and for a moment was also a bit dizzy from this question.
Don't we just drink tea, chat, and read newspapers every day? What else have we done?
"Could it be that guy who ate without paying that you punished earlier? That guy seemed quite famous, called the 'King of Dine-and-Dash' or something." Previously, Kibito and Shin went out for a stroll and met an alien who ate without paying. They helped teach him a lesson and got the meal money back for the shopkeeper.
To Kibito, this was the biggest thing the two of them had done recently.
Was it this? Shin was just lacking in ability, not stupid.
Thinking from the other perspective, if he were the Grand Minister, would he praise the Seventh Universe for the sake of two steamed buns' worth of money?
"No, there must be another reason."
Kibito frowned and thought for a while, then acted as if he suddenly realized: "Then it must be that guy we caught stealing underwear last month!"
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