Humanity and Witches, Rank and Definition

The Human Race and the Witch Clan were a tangled mess, their relationship utterly confused.

They had conflicts, and they had cooperated... but when the accounts were truly settled, the Witch Clan had suffered quite a few losses.

The Five Heavenly Emperors each controlled an Ancestral Witch, that much aside, Human King Saint Emperors had used the Witch Clan to rack up prestige at every turn.

The Yellow Emperor suppressed Chiyou and Xing Tian.

Zhuanxu suppressed Gong Gong.

Under Emperor Yao's orders, Dayi set foot upon the path of Shooting the Suns.

In a sense, the respective positions of host and guest between the Human Race and the Witch Clan were well worth pondering.

Now, Saint Houtu was conscripting people across the entire timeline, forcibly creating something called the Witch Clan that was, in truth, the Human Race's fighting force against the Demon Clan... Was that really so surprising?

Feng Xi stroked his chin, feeling many of the doubts in his heart unravel at once.

"So, the Witch Clan is essentially the Human Race's army, the frontline force charging against the Demon Clan?"

"That's why Human Kings can control Ancestral Witches and command Great Witches to serve them?"

"But then, what about all these Human-Witch wars... things like the Yellow Emperor suppressing Xing Tian and Chiyou?"

After thinking briefly, Feng Xi quickly arrived at several conclusions. "I think... I may understand."

Behind nearly every Human-Witch war lay the same theme—contending for the throne!

Contending for the Human King Throne!

Like Chiyou. Like Gong Gong!

"These Great Witches and Ancestral Witches, relying on their status as leaders in the Human Race's military sphere, launched... a rebellion against the Human Royal Court?"

"Using the prestige of generals and commanders to challenge the unified Human Royal Court..."

"Hiss! That's a very serious problem!"

"It concerns a change of dynasty, and even a shift in the Human Race's path..."

Would the royal court command the Witch Clan, or be commanded by it?

During the war against the Demon Clan, such issues could be temporarily ignored. Everything could be centered on victory in war.

But once the realm was unified, when weapons ought to be stored away and horses released to pasture, this would become a contradiction that could not be ignored and had to be resolved.

Had there not been countless dynasties and states throughout human history whose founding emperors purged and killed their meritorious ministers?

At that thought, a layer of cold sweat seeped down Feng Xi's back.

"Even I understand these principles... would the Ancestral Witches not understand them?"

"Would they simply surrender and willingly accept suppression?"

"For the Human Race's saintly kings and emperors to suppress the resistance of such a massive group as the Witch Clan... just how powerful would each of them have to be?"

This was a mythological world! The Primordial World, where Great Power rested within individuals!

Even if one were abandoned by one's race and hated by one's Subjects... one could still rely on one's own strength to forcibly set chaos right.

Unless they were forcibly crushed by an even stronger, more terrifying opponent!

"Looking at it this way, every Human King of the Human Race is shrouded in mystery!" Feng Xi sighed inwardly. "Either they were supported by overwhelmingly powerful Great Divine Ability Users, or they were supreme giants reincarnated!"

"Only then could they make the Ancestral Witches suffer defeat without the slightest room for complaint."

This could be roughly inferred from the Five Heavenly Lords and the forces under their command.

For instance, Fuxi suppressed Gou Mang.

Likewise, the Yellow Emperor suppressed Houtu.

Zhuanxu alone deterred Gong Gong and Xuan Ming.

The Five Heavenly Lords, the five Human Kings—every one of them was among the strongest!

"And possessing strength alone is not enough... because that would only make the problem worse."

"If the unwillingly defeated Ancestral Witches united, they could mobilize the entire Human Race's military power for a counterattack."

"So... perhaps some highly respected Ancestral Witches also defected?"

The fog was too deep to see through, and it exuded immense terror.

Having reasoned this far, Feng Xi wisely withdrew his thoughts and stopped digging deeper.

He was afraid.

Afraid of uncovering secrets he should not uncover.

Many secrets were beyond the right of those without sufficient strength or status to touch.

After all, many of the Primordial World's murderous incidents had one reason behind them—

Silencing witnesses!

"Forget it, forget it..."

"What does the great brawl between the Human Race and the Witch Clan have to do with a short fellow like me?"

"If the sky falls, it'll crush the tall ones first."

"Besides, this is still the honeymoon period between the Human Race and the Witch Clan. They're joining forces against the Demon Clan... the priorities and the greater good, those Ancestral Witches surely understand them more clearly than I do. They must have their own plans."

"I should focus on getting stronger and surviving until the day I see the Human Race's internal strife."

Feng Xi gave up on worrying about the Human Race and its future.

You only worried about matters that matched the food you ate.

The greater the power, the greater the responsibility!

He was merely a Lesser Witch, receiving the basic benefits granted by Ancestral Witch Houtu. All he needed to do was handle his own work properly. Why worry about anything else?

"Do they pay overtime?"

"No!"

Therefore, for matters that were none of his business, he only needed to close his eyes and pretend he had seen nothing.

At most, he could keep his ears open, listen to Ancestral Witch Houtu's speeches, and remember the essence of his superior's words, so that he could better handle the superficial work in the future.

"I know that everyone summoned below the platform has doubts in their hearts."

"Some of you are thinking, is there any point in calling you here over things that have already happened and ended?"

"Others are thinking that you have now become all sorts of strange things, no longer even looking human—some have seven or eight arms, some wield dragons and snakes, and some have grown bizarre bodily components... Can you still be considered Human Race?"

"Wait!"

Saint Houtu's voice was mighty, her expression impassioned. "I understand the confusion and uncertainty in your hearts."

"So, in order to answer your doubts and ensure the smooth progress of future wars, this publicity lecture has been specially convened."

"To let you understand—why you fight, and how you should fight!"

Ancestral Witch Houtu forcefully slapped the desk atop the Dao Platform, waking countless members of the Witch Clan who had cultivated the Eyes-Open Sleeping Divine Ability.

"When it comes to the struggle for the Human Dao, the struggle for the status of Protagonist of Heaven and Earth... do not view it through your former understanding!"

"This is the greatest war, one that concerns All Heavens and All Realms and spans Endless Space-time!"

"The past, the present, the future... so long as they are sentient beings, none can avoid choosing a side!"

"And the second point!"

"Are you still Human Race?"

"Of course you are!"

Saint Houtu shouted, "If one were to judge whether someone belonged to the Human Race solely by their physical form and appearance..."

"Then why would we Ancestral Witches need to participate in this war?"

"Conversely."

"If an utterly pure member of the Human Race betrays the interests of their race and colludes with the Demon Clan..."

"Can such a person still be considered Human Race?"

"Therefore!"

"Abandon your former views on how to judge things!"

"Here, the concept of the Human Race is not defined by physical form or outward appearance!"

"Whether one belongs to the Human Race is not determined by racial bloodline."

"It depends on whether you acknowledge the Human Race's most fundamental principles, and whether you are willing to dedicate and sacrifice yourselves for those principles!"

PS: I've been working overtime lately, so there's only this much each day. Things will improve once National Day begins.