I Am King Zhou, Human Emperor!

Taibai Jinxing nodded. After bidding farewell to the Jade Emperor, he descended to the mortal world and headed for Chaoge City.

Upon reaching Chaoge City, he took on the appearance of an ordinary man. However, instead of immediately paying King Zhou a visit, he made his way to a grand residence.

Anyone familiar with Chaoge City would know that this was the residence of Prime Minister Shang Rong.

"An immortal has descended to the mortal world, yet I failed to welcome you from afar. Please forgive my offense!" Shang Rong hurried out to receive him.

Once they arrived in the main hall, Taibai Jinxing directly asked about the recent events in Chaoge City.

Naturally, his main concern was King Zhou's various actions during this period.

Clearly, although he had descended to meet King Zhou, he did not intend to go in unprepared.

Before meeting King Zhou, gaining a detailed understanding of this Human Sovereign would undoubtedly ensure he was fully prepared.

However, the fact that Taibai Jinxing had sought out Shang Rong as soon as he arrived in Chaoge City clearly showed that the two had long been connected.

Within Great Shang, likely no one knew that Prime Minister Shang Rong had such ties to the Heavenly Court.

After hearing Shang Rong recount King Zhou's actions during this period, Taibai Jinxing's expression grew solemn as he sank into thought.

"According to you, King Zhou had originally been indulging in pleasure, spending every night amid music and revelry in the Inner Palace, and committing many foolish acts.

"But just over half a month ago, King Zhou suddenly changed completely. Not only did he issue an Edict of Self-Reproach, he even personally slew deities?" Taibai Jinxing asked.

Once he understood the sequence of events, it was not difficult to see that all the changes had occurred just over half a month ago.

The formerly foolish and immoral King Zhou seemed to have become a different person, repeatedly doing unexpected things that were truly difficult to fathom.

"What the immortal says is correct. The King has changed completely and no longer shows any signs of foolishness. That should have been a good thing.

"But the King has repeatedly shown disrespect toward Heaven and treated deities as if they were nothing. That is the path to disaster!" Shang Rong said worriedly.

Ever since the King had personally slain the Spirit of the Qi Water River and the Mountain God of Taihang Mountain, he had felt deeply uneasy.

Now that an immortal had descended to the mortal world, he could not help but worry: had he come to demand an accounting?

That was an immortal, and that was the Heavenly Court. If they sought to punish the King, how was he supposed to choose?

However, he quickly came to his senses. He had already made his choice long ago, so how could he hesitate now?

"I came precisely because of this matter. The Human Sovereign should not anger Heaven, nor should he be hostile toward deities!" Taibai Jinxing said.

Though he said so, after learning of King Zhou's actions during this period, he felt somewhat concerned.

No matter how he looked at it, the current King Zhou was far too forceful. Could he truly accomplish what he had come here to do?

Still, since he had already come, he naturally could not retreat at this moment. Yet he still did not intend to meet King Zhou immediately.

If he prepared properly, perhaps he could seize the initiative and completely reverse the situation.

The next day, after Morning Court, Zi Shou specially summoned Grand Tutor Wen and Assistant Minister Bi Gan.

"I suddenly had an idea today and made several things that may benefit the people. I called for the Grand Tutor and Uncle to come have a look!"

As he spoke, he led Bi Gan into a room filled with numerous objects of various sizes.

During this period, aside from cultivation, he had been making these things.

"The King bears the dignity of ten thousand chariots. How can you indulge in such trifling playthings? You must understand that playthings..."

Grand Tutor Wen said nothing, but his expression made it clear that he too was quite resistant to the things before him.

Before Bi Gan could finish a single sentence, the King had already begun introducing the various objects in the room.

"This is paper. It can be used for writing, and the Papermaking Technique is actually quite simple. There is also Movable Type Printing..."

"This is a compass..."

"This is a waterwheel..."

"This is an iron plow..."

As Zi Shou continued his introductions, Bi Gan had long since become dumbfounded, his body beginning to tremble uncontrollably.

He had assumed these were all playthings and had worried that, just as the King had finally begun to change, he would now lose his ambition to trivial pursuits again.

He never would have imagined it! The things the King had made appeared simple, yet every one of them had immense uses.

Take paper, for example. At present, most writing was done on Bamboo Slips, which were not only difficult to make but could hold very few characters.

Then there was Movable Type Printing. It was simply an ingenious idea. If it were used together with paper, would that not mean...?

Take the iron plow as another example. If used in farming, it would surely achieve twice the result with half the effort.

The compass, waterwheel, Twenty-Four Solar Terms, and the rest all had enormous uses.

Grand Tutor Wen likewise found it difficult to remain calm, and his gaze toward the King was filled with astonishment.

He had merely gone to the North Sea once to suppress a rebellion. How had the King before him become so completely different?

If he had not known that the King was the current Human Sovereign, protected by Human Path Luck and immune to all evil, he might truly have suspected that the King had been possessed.

Still, as far as he was concerned, regardless of the reason, the King's transformation was ultimately a good thing.

"Such achievements by the King are practically comparable to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors!" Bi Gan said excitedly.

If these things could spread throughout the land, would the people's lives not undergo earth-shaking changes?

His trembling was born of excitement. Looking at these things, he seemed to have already envisioned the future.

"Then Uncle shall take full responsibility for this matter. Be sure to spread these things throughout the land as quickly as possible!"

Zi Shou could not help nodding to himself. Bi Gan possessed the Seven-Orifice Exquisite Heart and had indeed not disappointed him.

Those with the Seven-Orifice Exquisite Heart could see through falsehoods and communicate with all things.

Zi Shou had merely given a simple introduction, yet Bi Gan not only understood but also saw the value of these things.

With Bi Gan handling this matter, Zi Shou did not need to worry about any mishaps arising while these things were being spread.

Moreover, Bi Gan was not only extremely capable. More importantly, he was utterly loyal to Great Shang and someone Zi Shou could use without concern.

"I will not fail the King's trust!" Bi Gan said firmly.

To him, everything in this room looked simple, yet each was worth a fortune.

Bi Gan immediately buried himself in work, organizing the various inventions, while Zi Shou and Grand Tutor Wen went to the Side Hall.

"I saw the Grand Tutor suppress deities, and I greatly admired it. I have heard that the Grand Tutor comes from the Jiejiao Sect. May I cultivate?"

Regarding the cultivation system of the Investiture of the Gods World, he only knew the general outline and had no clear understanding of many things.

For instance, what was the cultivation of the Spirit of the Qi Water River? What was Grand Tutor Wen's cultivation? What level did they belong to in this world?

Grand Tutor Wen had previously been absent, leaving no one Zi Shou could trust enough to ask. Now that Grand Tutor Wen had returned, Zi Shou naturally would not let this opportunity pass.

"The Human Sovereign can indeed cultivate. During the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, for example, Human Sovereign Xuanyuan once took Guang Chengzi of the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao as his master.

"But from some unknown time onward, the Human Sovereign's cultivation became taboo. My grandmaster also said that cultivation methods must no longer be passed on to Human Sovereigns!" Grand Tutor Wen said.

Zi Shou felt somewhat disappointed. The Jiejiao Sect's Dao teachings came from the saint Master Tongtian, so their value was absolutely beyond measure.

However, he had already begun cultivating. If he could open the ninth level of the Hall of Heroes of the Human Emperors, it might not necessarily be inferior to the Jiejiao Sect's Dao teachings.

What Grand Tutor Wen had said did catch his attention. Why was it forbidden to pass cultivation methods to Human Sovereigns after the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors?

"Has no Human Sovereign ever cultivated?" Zi Shou asked.

After all, this was the Investiture of the Gods World. Though cultivation methods were not widely spread, if a Human Sovereign wanted them, it was not necessarily impossible to obtain them.

"I only heard of this from my Master. Jie of Xia cultivated, and he even achieved some success. His strength was reportedly comparable to that of a Golden Immortal.

"But strangely enough, Jie of Xia was unable to attain immortality, and in the end, he still met the fate of death and the destruction of his kingdom!" Grand Tutor Wen said.

According to him, after the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, there had actually been quite a few Human Sovereigns who attempted cultivation.

Quite a few Human Sovereigns had achieved success in cultivation as well, but no matter how high their cultivation, they ultimately remained like mortals, with only a mere century of lifespan.

Jie of Xia possessed exceptional talent in cultivation and reached the Golden Immortal realm in a short time. He had even hoped to break through into the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm.

Yet Jie of Xia still could not attain immortality. He even committed a taboo in the end, meeting the fate of death and the destruction of his kingdom.

While discussing these matters, Grand Tutor Wen also explained some basic cultivation knowledge of the Investiture of the Gods World at Zi Shou's request.

In the Investiture of the Gods World, those below immortals and immortals themselves belonged to two entirely different levels.

Although there were several realms below immortals, such as Golden Core and Nascent Soul, they were collectively referred to as mortals.

Becoming an immortal marked success in cultivation, but for many cultivators, becoming an immortal was merely the most basic first step.

After becoming an immortal, the first realm was Earth Immortal, followed by True Immortal, Celestial Immortal, Mystic Immortal, Golden Immortal, Great Luo Golden Immortal, Primordial Golden Immortal, and Primordial Great Luo Golden Immortal.

Each realm also had further divisions. For example, Mystic Immortals included ordinary Mystic Immortals and Taiyi Mysterious Immortals, and the same was true for Golden Immortals.

According to Grand Tutor Wen, in this world, Mystic Immortals already counted as powerful figures in their own right, and he himself was a Mystic Immortal.

Golden Immortals had reached the realm of Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown and Five Qi Facing the Origin, making them among the world's foremost experts.

For example, the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao all possessed illustrious reputations and were celebrated by the world.

Great Luo Golden Immortals had attained great freedom, completely transcending the Three Realms and no longer bound by the Five Elements. Free from disaster and calamity, they were exceedingly rare.