Haotian sat solemnly upon the Heavenly Emperor Throne, his majestic gaze slowly sweeping over everyone below.
Once everyone's attention was fixed on him, he took a deep breath and spoke in a loud, dignified voice. "Today, I, Haotian, shall fulfill the duty of conferring titles in the name of the Great Heavenly Venerate of the Primordial World! In recognition of the extraordinary abilities and outstanding achievements each of you has displayed, I hereby issue the following appointments!"
He raised a hand slightly, pointed toward Su Mu, and declared, "Su Mu, receive your appointment! You are gifted by nature, skilled in wood-element spells, and have established martial arts among the Human Race. I hereby appoint you Great Emperor Qinghua of the Eastern Pole, in charge of the growth of all plants in the East and the protection of all living beings. May you uphold justice and live up to your mission!"
Next, he turned his gaze to Shaoyao and said gently, "Shaoyao, receive this decree! You are gentle and kind by nature, skilled in the Medical Dao and immortal arts, and have saved the dying and healed the injured many times, earning immeasurable merit. I therefore appoint you Great Emperor Longevity of the Southern Pole, in charge of the South's good fortune, longevity, health, and peace. I grant you an ageless body, so you may safeguard the well-being of all people."
Then Haotian looked at Cangjie and announced solemnly, "Worthy Cangjie, you are a sage of ancient times. You created writing and ushered in the light of civilization. I hereby appoint you Great Emperor Gouchen of the Western Pole, to command the stars of the West and oversee good and evil throughout the world. May your discerning wisdom shed light on worldly affairs and preserve the order of Heaven and Earth."
Next, his gaze settled on Bei Xuan, and he called out, "Bei Xuan, you are valiant and fearless. I appoint you Great Emperor Ziwei of the Northern Pole, to guard the Northern Pole and repel the invasion of evil forces. May you continue to embody the spirit of courage and keep the Heavenly Court at peace."
Haotian paused, then spoke again. "Kong Xuan, your martial skills are formidable, your divine powers vast, and you are invincible in battle. I hereby appoint you Grand Marshal of Heavenly Court Armies, to command the Heavenly Soldiers and generals, put down rebellion, and defend the dignity of the Heavenly Court."
Haotian looked toward Lingzhuzi and said, "Lingzhuzi, you are clever and quick-witted, with limitless potential. I appoint you Great God of the Three Altars, to assist the other generals in battle and subdue demons."
Finally, Haotian looked at the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird and said, "Dapeng, you are astonishingly swift and immensely strong. I appoint you Marshal Dapeng, responsible for patrolling all four corners of the Heavenly Court and ensuring its safety."
As Haotian's proclamations came to an end, an invisible force seemed to envelop the entire Heavenly Court.
Everyone felt the powerful fortune of the Heavenly Court gathering around those who had received titles, like a great river in flood. Their figures seemed to grow taller and more sacred.
After the ceremony ended, Great Emperor Haotian wasted no time and hurried off to retreat into cultivation.
Su Mu and the others, newly appointed, headed to their respective manors to formally begin carrying out their duties.
Everyone knew that only through diligent work could they accumulate enough merit.
Inside Qinghua Great Emperor's Manor in the eastern part of the Heavenly Court, Su Mu focused as he took a shell-shaped Sound Transmission Spirit Treasure from his robes.
He gazed at the wondrous treasure, moved his lips, and quietly spoke a few brief but significant words. Then he carefully put it away and devoted himself entirely to handling the many affairs of state.
Meanwhile, in the mysterious, profound Heavenly Dao Reincarnation Space in the Underworld, Zhenyuanzi, who had been meditating in cultivation, suddenly opened his eyes.
He swiftly reached into his robes and took out a shell like the one Su Mu had.
At that moment, the shell glimmered faintly with golden light.
"Hmm? Isn't this the Sound Transmission Spirit Treasure Su Mu gave me? Does he have important news for me?" Zhenyuanzi murmured to himself.
Without hesitation, he poured a faint but pure trace of Magic Power into the Sound Transmission Shell.
At once, Su Mu's voice came clearly from the shell. "Vice Leader, the time is ripe. You can arrange for Senior Hong Yun to enter the Path of Reincarnation now." Zhenyuanzi's heart shuddered, and astonishment crossed his face.
"The time has already come?" Zhenyuanzi furrowed his brow and pondered briefly. Then his hands flashed through a series of seals as he began to calculate the hidden truth.
But as his calculations deepened, his expression grew increasingly grave. At last, he couldn't help exclaiming, "Could Su Mu be planning to..."
At that thought, Zhenyuanzi didn't dare hesitate any longer. He immediately used his divine powers to send Hong Yun into the Reincarnation Passage, allowing him to be reincarnated without a hitch.
Across the vast human world, it was the reign of Jie, the sixteenth ruler of the Xia Dynasty.
Ever since Jie ascended the throne, he had completely abandoned the Benevolent Governance practiced by his father and grown increasingly arrogant and conceited.
Worse still, he was cruel and tyrannical, with no regard for morality. He spent his days indulging in luxury and debauchery, turning a blind eye to the suffering of the common people.
He also paid no heed to the loyal remonstrations of his ministers. All he cared about was enjoying wealth and power and acting as he pleased.
Jie's many evil deeds finally stirred up fierce resentment among the feudal lords. They raised the banner of rebellion and formed an alliance to attack the foolish, unjust tyrant.
Among the many lords who took part in the campaign was Jian Di, a lord's daughter. The prolonged warfare had kept her cooped up at home, leaving her restless and frustrated.
One day, Jian Di could no longer contain her restlessness. When no one was watching, she slipped out of the house with her personal maid, intending to enjoy the scenery and ease her pent-up frustration.
The mistress and maid laughed and chatted as they walked, and before long they reached the foot of a small mountain called Xuanqiu Mountain.
Just as they were about to continue on, a deafening roar suddenly came from above.
Jian Di instinctively looked up. The sight left her pale with fright.
High in the sky, an enormous bee was locked in a fierce, heart-stopping battle with an equally gigantic, brilliantly colored Five-Colored Peacock!
They clashed back and forth, neither yielding an inch, locked in a stalemate.
As Jian Di stared in shock at the astonishing sight, the giant bee seized its chance and launched a swift attack, driving the sharp stinger at its tail deep into the Five-Colored Peacock's body.
The Five-Colored Peacock let out a piercing cry, and one of its feathers fell away. It shot straight down like a bolt of lightning.
By sheer coincidence, the feather fell right into Jian Di's outstretched palm.
But then something unexpected happened. The instant the feather touched her palm, it transformed as if by magic into a crystal-clear, egg-shaped object.
The gorgeously colored peacock was none other than the famous Kong Xuan!
The enormous, ferocious yellowjacket was Qin Yuan, one of the Demon Saints of the Demon Race.
With the Human Race caught in the chaos of war, both powerful beings had appeared there.
As it turned out, Qin Yuan had taken advantage of the turmoil within the Human Race to appear and prey on people, slaughtering them in great numbers.
But by chance, just as Qin Yuan was enjoying the bloody feast, Kong Xuan happened to pass by.
Kong Xuan's keen, hawk-like eyes first swept over the mysterious egg in Jian Di's hand, then fixed coldly on the fleeing Qin Yuan.
Without hesitation, he spread his splendid wings and shot toward Qin Yuan like a bolt of lightning.
A gale howled and sand and stones flew as the two instantly erupted into a fierce battle.
Meanwhile, Jian Di stared at the egg in her hand, turning it over and over as she examined it.
One moment she leaned close to inspect it; the next, she cautiously held it beneath her nose and sniffed.
The instant Jian Di brought the egg to the tip of her nose, something utterly unexpected happened: the egg seemed to come alive and darted into her mouth in the blink of an eye.
"Ah!" The maid beside her turned pale with fright and screamed. Instinctively, she reached out to dig the egg from Jian Di's mouth, but it was already too late.
Like a loach slipping into water, the egg slid down Jian Di's throat and into her belly in an instant.
Terrified, the maid grabbed Jian Di by the hand, and the two stumbled and hurried home in a panic.
As soon as they arrived, the maid rushed to fetch a Healer, hoping to find out what had happened inside her mistress's body as quickly as possible.
Unlike the frantic maid, Jian Di herself remained remarkably calm.
She gently patted the maid's hand and reassured her. "Don't be afraid. There's no need to panic. The Five-Colored Peacock belongs to the Phoenix Clan, and the Phoenix Clan has always been the Guardian Divine Beast of the Human Race. They would never harm me. Don't worry." With that, Jian Di gave a faint smile, seemingly unconcerned by the strange event that had just occurred.
"Miss, you should still let the Healer examine you. You'll feel better once you know."
The Healer arrived quickly, took Jian Di's pulse, then rose to her feet and said, "Congratulations, miss. You're pregnant."
Jian Di: "..."
The maid: "..."
A year later, Jian Di gave birth to a son and named him Qi. By the time Qi was sixteen, he was skilled in both letters and arms. He inherited the positions of his grandfather and the lord, led troops to defeat Jie, brought the Xia Dynasty to an end, and established the Shang Dynasty.
After Qi founded the Shang Dynasty, the land was finally at peace, but much remained to be done. He knew the people had suffered through the hardships of war and urgently needed time to recover.
So Qi introduced a series of Benevolent Governance measures: he lightened taxes and labor duties and encouraged farming and sericulture, gradually bringing the country to prosperity.
While ruling the country, Qi never forgot the lessons his mother Jian Di had taught him.
He understood that the Shang Dynasty owed its founding to the protection of the Phoenix Clan, and that debt of gratitude had to be remembered.
To show his gratitude to the Phoenix Clan, Qi ordered the construction of many Phoenix temples across the country, where statues of the Phoenix were enshrined as a mark of respect.
On every major festival, he personally went to offer sacrifices, praying for the Phoenix to bless the Shang Dynasty with favorable weather, a peaceful land, and a prosperous people.
Through Qi's efforts, the Shang Dynasty became a powerful and prosperous nation. Its people lived in peace and comfort, and society was harmonious and stable.
Qi won the people's love and support and became one of history's most highly praised wise rulers.
As time slowly passed, the reign of Emperor Yi arrived. The land was peaceful, and the people lived in comfort.
Yet Emperor Yi had a beloved son named Di Xin. The boy was extraordinarily gifted and displayed astonishing strength and courage from an early age, as if he were a God of War sent down from Heaven.
From childhood, Di Xin had a great passion and talent for martial arts. He trained tirelessly, constantly honing his skills.
As he grew older, his strength became ever greater. He could even lift a thousand-jin boulder with ease.
Whenever the country faced an invasion or rebellion, Di Xin always stepped forward, leading the army into battle. With his unmatched divine strength, he defeated the enemy time and again, winning great military honors for Emperor Yi.
Far away in the Underworld, Zhenyuanzi watched all this with a slight smile.
Meanwhile, in the distant West stood Mount Sumeru, mysterious and solemn.
The members of the Western Sect lived on this mountain. Daoist Zhunti stood at its peak, gazing out at the vast lands of the East, his eyes filled with boundless envy.
He had seen the prosperity of the Human Race and its immense fortune, and he longed for it.
As Daoist Zhunti stood there, full of envy, a strange wisp of Calamity Qi suddenly slipped into his body like a ghost, without a sound.
This wisp of Calamity Qi brimmed with evil and destructive power, instantly unsettling Daoist Zhunti's state of mind.
He had been cultivating in quiet concentration, but now he could no longer calm himself. One thought filled his mind: go to the Heavenly Court. Without hesitation, Daoist Zhunti abandoned his cultivation, transformed into a streak of light, and sped toward the Heavenly Court.
At that moment, Lingxiao Palace was completely empty and eerily still, as if time had forgotten it.
Just then, Zhunti suddenly appeared in the hall. His face was as calm as still water, yet he inspired awe without showing anger. A powerful, terrifying aura radiated from him.
He casually swept a sleeve, and the enormous dragon coiled around a pillar in Lingxiao Palace immediately sprang into the air as if it had received a command.
The dragon's body was massive, its scales flashing with dazzling light. It spewed roaring flames from its mouth, its presence awe-inspiring.
It opened its gaping jaws and sucked in a mighty breath. In an instant, the dazzling pearl in the hall shot straight into its belly like a falling star.
Then the dragon didn't linger. It twisted its body and raced toward the mortal world.
As it happened, Yao Ji, the younger sister of Great Emperor Haotian, had just entered Lingxiao Palace and witnessed the scene.
Startled, she widened her beautiful eyes and cried out, "You insolent beast! Don't you dare escape!" Then she flashed forward like a bolt of lightning, chasing after the fleeing dragon.
Yao Ji pursued the dragon with swift, agile movements and caught up with it in no time.
Without hesitation, she unleashed her ultimate technique and fought the dragon in a thrilling battle! The winds and clouds changed, and the booming clash between them echoed throughout Heaven and Earth.
Yao Ji and the dragon were evenly matched. They fought back and forth, neither giving ground.
The Magic Treasures in Yao Ji's hands shone brightly, and every swing carried a fierce force. The dragon relied on its powerful body and sharp claws to launch relentless attacks against her.
Their battle grew more and more intense. The surrounding rocks and trees shattered and toppled under the impact of their immense power.
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