A mighty voice rang out through the Great Shang military camp. Many soldiers looked up and saw the Chan Sect Golden Immortals hovering in midair.
They stood proudly in the sky, surrounded by dazzling colors and wreathed in an ethereal aura—a perfect image of True Immortals who had attained the Dao.
Immortals descended into the mortal world! In that moment, the thought crossed everyone's mind.
"What an imposing display! Does the Exposition Sect not even know the most basic courtesies?"
Just then, a mighty voice rang out like thunder, filled with authority and anger.
But although the voice had sounded, Zi Shou had not shown himself.
Ridiculous! What were the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao to him? What right did they have to expect him to welcome them?
They thought they could make him come out and receive them just by putting on the airs of True Immortals who had attained the Dao? What a farce!
Today, he would show the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao what true courtesy meant.
"We are disciples of a Sage. We honor only the Dao. What do mortal courtesies mean to Golden Immortals who have attained the Dao?
"Besides, even in ancient times, Human Emperor Xuanyuan would personally welcome us Chan Sect Golden Immortals. And you think you're any different?" Guang Chengzi said gravely.
Taiyi Zhenren had told him how forceful King Zhou was, but he had never imagined that the king would dare to show them such open contempt.
As disciples of a Sage, they had always thought highly of themselves. No one had ever dared speak to them this way.
"The past is the past, and the present is the present. Times have changed, so the rules have changed too. If you refuse to accept that, then go back!" Zi Shou said sternly.
That was the confidence of the Human Sovereign of the Human Race. For him to welcome someone in person, a Sage would have to come in person.
And even if he did not personally welcome a Sage, as long as he remained the Human Sovereign, the Sage could do nothing to him.
Besides, he knew exactly why the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao had come.
Add in the rebellion in the North Sea, and what kind of welcome did they expect from him?
The Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao all frowned inwardly, anger showing on their faces.
How many years had it been? How many years since anyone had dared speak to them like this?
"You don't know your place. Do you realize this will bring disaster upon you?" Guang Chengzi said furiously.
Even in ancient times, Human Emperor Xuanyuan had observed the rites of a disciple when he saw him.
And now this mere King Zhou dared speak to him like that?
If he didn't know that the other man was the Human Sovereign, he would have wanted to slap King Zhou down right then and there, just to show him the power of a Golden Immortal.
"All I know is that this is Great Shang, and you Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao must follow the rules of my Human Race too," Zi Shou said.
He and the Exposition Sect were destined to fight to the death. Did Guang Chengzi really think a few words were enough to intimidate him?
He would stand firm against the Exposition Sect. If they had the nerve, they could attack him right now!
Even Goddess Nüwa hadn't managed it. What chance did the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao have?
The Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao exchanged glances. Though they burned with anger, they knew they absolutely could not attack.
For Cultivators, attacking the Human Race was forbidden. One careless move, and they could be burdened with boundless Karmic Burden.
Attacking the Human Sovereign? They might as well be asking for death!
But they had come today to reclaim Taiyi Zhenren's disciple and, while they were at it, test King Zhou.
Who could have guessed that King Zhou would be so forceful that they couldn't even get a glimpse of him?
Return just like this? The Exposition Sect couldn't afford to lose face that badly.
With a raised hand, Guang Chengzi pointed, and a Golden Light Path appeared, leading deep into the military camp and straight toward where King Zhou was.
The Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao stepped onto the Golden Light Path. They seemed like Immortals descending into the mortal world, with lotus blossoms appearing beneath every step.
An invisible force enveloped the whole camp. No one could approach the Golden Light Path.
Still, Guang Chengzi didn't dare harm the mortals. He merely used the Golden Light Path to bring them before King Zhou.
He wanted to see whether King Zhou could stay calm once he felt their presence.
After all, their cultivation was profound. They didn't even need to act; their presence alone was enough to make mortals prostrate themselves in worship.
They really are bold. In the past, I might not have been able to do anything to them, Zi Shou thought.
Kong Xuan could suppress the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao if he intervened, but Zi Shou didn't want him to act this time.
With everyone watching, the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao had openly challenged him, the Human Sovereign. He had to handle this himself.
The next instant, a prairie of flames surged into the sky, spreading three thousand li, and a clear cry rang out.
Within the black flames, a colossal Phoenix spread its wings and soared, flying high into the Nine Heavens.
At that instant, the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao stared at the Phoenix wreathed in flames, their expressions changing dramatically.
"The Human Path Luck has manifested? How is that possible?"
The prairie of flames surged into the sky, spreading three thousand li. A Phoenix rose from the flames and cried out across the Nine Heavens!
Only Cultivators—and those with considerable cultivation at that—could witness such an extraordinary sight.
The Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao had seen it. How could they not understand what it meant?
Those blazing flames were clearly the fire of the Human Path Luck, and that Phoenix was the manifestation of the Human Race's Fortune.
"The Human Race's Fortune has manifested. He truly is the Human Sovereign!" Guang Chengzi said gravely.
Seeing this, how could he not understand? They were facing the Human Sovereign, not merely King Zhou.
King Zhou was the current Human Sovereign of the Human Race, but that was only his title. There was still a great difference between King Zhou and the Human Sovereign.
If he was only the Human Sovereign in name, then as long as they didn't attack him, he was just another mortal.
But if he could gather the Human Race's Fortune and make it manifest, then he was the true Human Sovereign.
Even a Sage would not dare disregard the Human Sovereign standing before them, let alone the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao.
They had originally thought that they could appear before King Zhou, release a little of their presence, and make him prostrate himself in worship.
But now, with the Human Race's Fortune manifesting, if they dared release even the slightest trace of their presence, the Human Path Luck would immediately strike back at them.
The Golden Light Path, for instance, had already vanished before the flames of the Human Race's Fortune.
The flames of the Human Race's Fortune seemed to have neither form nor substance, yet at that moment, the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao all felt as if they were being scorched alive.
"Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao, the Human Sovereign is here. Come forward and pay your respects at once!"
Zi Shou's majestic voice rang out. Paired with the vision of the Human Race's Fortune manifesting, it truly sounded like the Great Dao itself.
The Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao's faces turned ashen. They were trapped in a predicament with no way forward or back.
If they had opened the way with the Golden Light Path, they could have appeared before King Zhou like Immortals descending into the mortal world.
Then they could have released their presence to intimidate him, making him prostrate himself in worship and establishing the reputation of the Exposition Sect's Golden Immortals who had attained the Dao.
But now, the Human Sovereign stood before them, the Human Race's Fortune had manifested in an immense vision, and their Golden Light Path had crumbled.
At this moment, the situation had completely reversed. Weren't they the ones who now had to pay their respects to the Human Sovereign?
The difference in rank and status was nothing like what they had expected.
Now, the Human Sovereign was above them, and they were beneath him.
As the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao, when had they ever been treated like this? When had they ever faced such a situation?
And yet if they backed down now, what would become of the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao's reputation?
But if they stayed, Zi Shou's earlier words made it seem as though they were the ones seeking an audience with the Human Sovereign. They would already have lost the upper hand.
Apart from Guang Chengzi, the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao exchanged glances, utterly at a loss as to what to do.
Guang Chengzi's face was ashen. He glanced deeply toward the heart of the military camp, swept his sleeve, and vanished along with the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao.
Proud as he was, he would rather lose face than see King Zhou standing there with an air of triumph.
"The Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao? Nothing special!"
Watching them vanish, Zi Shou sneered, his face full of contempt.
If the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao had kept their composure and appeared before him anyway, he might have thought better of them.
But they had walked away over nothing but wounded pride, without even daring to utter another threat. It was hard to respect them.
There was no doubt that the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao were now burning with rage.
Having lost face, they would surely look for a way to get even elsewhere.
The matter in the North Sea was not over yet. Things would only grow more intense from here.
Still, after this encounter, the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao probably wouldn't show themselves before him again.
That also meant that as long as Nezha stayed by his side, the Exposition Sect would never get their disciple back.
"Master, were those just the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao? They're unbelievably arrogant!" Nezha said with a frown.
He was deeply unhappy with the arrogant way the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao had acted.
He might have been young, but like Kong Xuan, he was a proud and unruly soul. He couldn't stand people acting so high and mighty.
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