I Am King Zhou, Human Emperor!

"Your Majesty, with so many Northern Sea demons, this battle cannot be won by force alone!" Zhang Guifang said in a low voice.

The Demon Race was inherently stronger than ordinary humans—setting aside everything else, their sheer size alone gave them an absolute advantage.

Though the army contained some cultivators, they were few in number, with ordinary humans making up the bulk.

He now commanded the army, but how could mere troops fight against such a horde of demons?

"What does my beloved minister propose?" Zi Shou asked calmly.

At this moment, the demons appearing in the Northern Sea were not actually that numerous, and all were of low cultivation.

There were perhaps a few dozen Earth Immortal-level demons; the rest were below that level, not yet fully formed.

They seemed numerous only because many among them were actually Sea Beasts from the Northern Sea.

From his understanding, only those who had opened their spiritual wisdom and understood cultivation could be counted as demons.

The Sea Beasts of the Northern Sea, though massive in size, had not opened their spiritual wisdom and could not cultivate, merely absorbing the essence of heaven and earth by instinct.

Still, despite that, Sea Beasts were enormous, and their thick hides and tough flesh alone made them no easy foe for ordinary humans.

"Your Majesty, the demons' rebellion is an affront to heaven and earth. Any cultivator who learns of this will surely lend their aid!

Your servant was born into the Jiejiao Sect and can invite Jiejiao experts to help. They will surely suppress the remnants of the Northern Sea demons!" Zhang Guifang said.

His thinking was simple: to suppress the demon remnants in the Northern Sea, cultivators were needed.

And since he came from the Jiejiao Sect, his first thought was to call upon Jiejiao's strong. Suppressing the Northern Sea demons would then be effortless.

"Why trouble the Jiejiao experts for matters of the human race?" Zi Shou said.

Letting Jiejiao's strong act while sitting back to watch the tigers fight was not a bad strategy.

But as the Human Sovereign, facing foreign enemies—especially the Demon Race—how could he seek outside aid?

"Your Majesty, this battle is perilous. How can we suppress the Northern Sea demons with just these men?" Zhang Guifang urged.

He was growing anxious, fearing the King would act on impulse and charge the Northern Sea demons with the army.

The two sides were not evenly matched at all. Calling in experts was the best choice—how could they act on emotion?

"Say no more. This Lonely One has his own plans. Go set up camp and keep a close watch on the demons' movements!" Zi Shou said.

He was not foolish enough to suppress the Northern Sea demons with his army, but he felt no worry either.

Though the demons before him were many, in his eyes, they were nothing but chickens and dogs.

There could not be only these demons in the Northern Sea. How to eliminate this threat once and for all was the most important matter.

Moreover, the Exposition Sect was stirring trouble in the shadows, and who knew what tricks they would pull.

Still, this was also an opportunity—a chance to pacify the Northern Sea completely!

Deep in the Northern Sea, two figures stood atop the vast, rolling waves, their gazes piercing through the void toward the Northern Sea coast.

One figure was clad in a black robe, his body hidden within the loose garment, his form and features unclear.

The other was tall and burly, human-shaped but with horns on his head, marking him unmistakably as a demon.

Anyone familiar with the Northern Sea would recognize him as its surface overlord, the Jiao Demon King.

The Jiao Demon King had ruled the Northern Sea for years, his cultivation deep and his strength formidable—few dared provoke him.

But now, the Northern Sea's overlord wore a look of full respect, standing behind the black-robed figure.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, must we truly follow the Exposition Sect's orders and help them deal with King Zhou?" the Jiao Demon King said gravely.

In the past, when they aided the Seventy-Two Route Lords of the North Sea in rebellion, they only sent a couple of demons.

But this time, the Exposition Sect suddenly ordered the Northern Sea demons to mobilize in force—that could not be good.

"The Exposition Sect is powerful. If our Demon Race wants a part in the Canonization of the Gods, we cannot offend them!" the black-robed figure said.

His voice was low, tinged with hoarseness, sounding strange and somewhat savage.

If nothing else, the black-robed figure had not only concealed his face but also disguised his voice.

"Still, that doesn't mean we should send my Northern Sea demons to their deaths!" the Jiao Demon King said.

The human race was at its peak. Making enemies of them was not a wise choice.

"Death is unlikely—just a bluff! We are cooperating with the Exposition Sect, not submitting to them!" the black-robed figure said.

Helping the Exposition Sect was fine, but letting the Northern Sea demons suffer heavy losses for their sake was absolutely out of the question.

Just like now—though the demons appearing on the Northern Sea coast seemed numerous, that was all they were.

Even if all these demons died, it would not be a great loss to the Northern Sea demons.

Giving the Exposition Sect an explanation was enough. Seizing this chance to achieve his own goal was what truly mattered.

"Hmph! Those self-righteous old fools have been brushing me off. Time to show them a thing or two!" the black-robed figure thought to himself.

Deep in the Northern Sea lurked many great demons left over from ancient times, each with profound cultivation and formidable strength.

He was the rightful heir of the Demon Emperor—all demons should bow to him—but those great demons refused to acknowledge him.

If the Demon Race were not so weakened now, he would have long since killed those old bastards to make an example of them.

But these great demons had been paying lip service all along, and his patience had reached its limit. This was the perfect opportunity to use the occasion to knock them into line.

"Hm? The Great Shang army has mobilized—are they preparing for a full-scale assault?" the Jiao Demon King said in a low voice.

The black-robed figure temporarily set aside the thoughts in his mind, his gaze converging on the shore of the North Sea. Since yesterday, the Great Shang army had arrived at the North Sea coast, set up camp, and then held their position without moving. He had thought that King Zhou was afraid, but now, in just one day, the Great Shang army had begun a large-scale deployment. What was this supposed to mean? Did they think that relying on a few mortals could let them stand against the Demon Race? Such overestimation of their own strength—this was just the chance to teach that King Zhou a lesson, and it would also serve as an explanation to Chanjiao.

Time went back to a day earlier. After setting up camp, Nezha couldn't wait to come before his master, his face full of indignation.

"Master, those demons of the North Sea are far too insolent. Let me go and slaughter them all!" Nezha said. Ever since his solo charge into the enemy lines, slaying the Earth Immortal demon, he had become the center of everyone's attention. He was just a three-year-old child, and being the object of endless praise naturally made him a bit full of himself. Now, arriving at the North Sea shore and seeing so many demons, he didn't take them seriously at all. In his mind, since he had already come, those demons should have fled in panic; their failure to do so was simply ungrateful. Having tasted victory before, he was now itching to go into battle and send those demons fleeing in utter defeat.

"Don't worry! You'll have your chance to act soon enough!" Zi Shou said with a smile. Nezha's childish temperament didn't bother him, but he did indeed intend to let Nezha take the field.

"The King, do you truly mean to send Nezha into battle?" Zhang Guifang asked, puzzled. Faced with the North Sea demons, the King's approach was somewhat baffling to him, but he dared not say much. After all, not long ago, he had suspected the King of being a glory-seeker, only to be quickly proven wrong. Though he couldn't fully fathom the King, he knew that the King was no tyrant. Since that was the case, this seemingly unreasonable arrangement might well hold deeper meaning.

"Since the demons won't move, we naturally have to make the first move," Zi Shou said with a smile. The army had appeared openly on the North Sea shore; the demons couldn't possibly be unaware, yet those in the North Sea showed no reaction. In fact, even now, the demons remained in the North Sea, not coming ashore. Since the demons wouldn't come, he would go to them—this was the perfect chance to test the depths of the North Sea demons.

The next day, the army mobilized. Neat ranks stood arrayed on the North Sea shore, forming a stark contrast with the demons within the sea. Zi Shou took a step forward, standing at the very front of the army, his expression solemn as he gazed at everyone.

"Since ancient times, humans and demons have never coexisted. Now the demons invade our Great Shang's borders and slaughter our Great Shang's people—if this can be endured, what cannot? Today, Imperial We declares to all: whoever offends Great Shang, be they Gods and Devils or the Demon Race, though they be far away, they shall be punished!" Zi Shou said in a deep voice. His vast voice resounded between heaven and earth. Behind Zi Shou, the fire of the Human Path blazed fiercely, and a Phoenix bathed in flames soared high with wings spread. In that moment, everyone who saw this scene and heard these words changed expression, all realizing something. As the Human Sovereign, speaking such words publicly represented a declaration, one that even resonated with the Human Path Luck. The Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao and the demons in the North Sea suddenly understood that this matter would likely not end peacefully. With the Human Sovereign issuing such a declaration, this battle had escalated into a conflict between the human race and the Demon Race. Rising from the North Sea rebellion to a racial struggle—these were two entirely different concepts. The Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao exchanged glances. Though somewhat surprised by this turn, they didn't take it to heart. After all, King Zhou was targeting the North Sea demons, not their Chanjiao—why should they worry?