I Am King Zhou, Human Emperor!

"Heavenly Court? This is the human race, this is Great Shang. What do I care about some wild god appointed by the Heavenly Court?" Yuan Hong said disdainfully.

Before he set out on campaign, the King had spoken of the matter of gods and spirits, but he had never paid it any mind.

So what if they were gods appointed by the Heavenly Court?

Could the Heavenly Court control their Demon Race? Or could it control the human race?

Don't be ridiculous! In the eyes of true experts, the Heavenly Court was nothing special.

Today, he would slay this Mountain God before him and see what the Heavenly Court could do about it.

As he spoke, he could no longer hold back the fury in his heart. He raised the One Qi Water and Fire Rod high, ready to strike.

But the next moment, as if recalling something, he lowered the rod again.

"I advise you to think carefully about the consequences. If the Jade Emperor is enraged, you won't be able to bear it!"

This man before him—he had no idea who he really was, only that his strength was terrifying.

He was merely a Mountain God, his cultivation at the Earth Immortal level, a minor figure in the Heavenly Court.

When the man raised that iron rod, he had nearly panicked, afraid the other was a hothead who would strike without regard for consequences.

Fortunately, the man lowered the rod again, which made him think the other had backed down.

After all, he was a Mountain God appointed by the Heavenly Court. Even if the other was powerful, he couldn't completely disregard that.

With renewed confidence, though his tone was no longer arrogant, it carried more conviction.

"Wild god, listen well! It's not that I'm letting you off—it's that the King has already issued an Imperial Edict!" Yuan Hong said solemnly.

He had indeed been about to strike just now, but suddenly recalled the King's instructions before departure.

The King had said that if he encountered a god making a move, he must first read the Imperial Edict to fully establish the other's crimes.

The King trusted him so much as to let him lead the army on campaign—how could he forget what the King had instructed?

Thinking of this, he put down the One Qi Water and Fire Rod and did not attack immediately.

Meanwhile, in Chaoge City, Zi Shou stood on a high place, his gaze seeming to pierce through the void, seeing into the far distance.

"By my reckoning, Yuan Hong should have clashed with the god by now. That Imperial Edict should be taking effect," Zi Shou murmured to himself.

He naturally had no doubt about Yuan Hong's strength. For Yuan Hong, slaying a god would be no difficult task.

But the Imperial Edict was a matter of legitimacy—it was his declaration as the Human Sovereign against the god!

Moreover, that Imperial Edict was no ordinary thing; it was an experiment with the Human Path Luck.

At the same time, Yuan Hong had already taken out the Imperial Edict. The moment it unrolled, golden light exploded, shooting into the sky.

The dazzling golden radiance soared straight into the heavens, transforming into a massive Imperial Edict that slowly unfurled.

"Now there are demons, falsely using the name of gods, wreaking havoc in Great Shang, plunging my human race into the calamity of war—truly heinous crimes!

From this day forth, within the borders of Great Shang, gods are forbidden to act. Any who violate this shall be slain!"

A vast voice resounded between heaven and earth, filled with majesty, as if the supreme Heavenly Emperor himself was passing judgment.

Compared to this, the voice of the Mountain God from earlier was far weaker in presence.

The dazzling golden light was already so blinding, and around the massive Imperial Edict, blazing flames roared fiercely.

That was the fire of Human Path Luck. Ordinary humans might not feel it, but to the Mountain God and the Meishan Seven Saints, it was entirely different.

"Condensing the human race's luck, the Luck Flame blazing fiercely—the King's Imperial Edict is actually this extraordinary?" Yuan Hong thought in shock.

Originally, he had thought the King giving him the Imperial Edict was just for show, to express his stance.

After all, this was a matter of the Heavenly Court's gods interfering with human affairs. As the Human Sovereign, he naturally had to make some gesture.

He had never imagined that a mere Imperial Edict could have such an effect beyond expressing an attitude.

But the truth told him this was no simple edict—it was one that had condensed the luck of the human race.

Even he, facing the Human Path Luck that blazed like the sun, felt an urge to kneel.

If he felt this way, then the Mountain God was even worse off, with none of his earlier arrogance.

His originally towering form had shrunk to that of an ordinary man, now prostrate on the ground, not daring to lift his head.

If he could, that Mountain God would probably wish he were an ant, so small that no one could see him.

As for ordinary humans, they had never imagined that the King of their Great Shang possessed such power.

A mere Imperial Edict could have such might, making him seem more like a god than the gods themselves.

Was this their King of Great Shang?

Under everyone's gaze, as the final word "slay" fell, a clear Phoenix Cry rang out.

The Human Path Luck swept across the Nine Heavens, transforming into a boundless Sea of Fire, and a Phoenix was born from the flames.

Spreading its wings, it soared high, stirring up ten thousand streaks of flame, circling the Nine Heavens, its cry echoing through heaven and earth.

"Heaven sent down the Mysterious Bird, and it descended to give birth to Shang!"

At that moment, everyone thought of these words in unison.

This was not a Phoenix, but a Mysterious Bird, condensed from the Luck of the human race and the symbol of the Great Shang.

In the resounding Phoenix Cry, the Mysterious Bird dove down and arrived before the Mountain God in an instant.

"No! I am a Deity appointed by the Heavenly Court, bearing a divine position—who can kill me?"

The terrified voice could not change his fate in the slightest; only despair remained in the Mountain God's eyes.

The Luck Flame swept over, cutting off the unwilling words, and the Mountain God was completely devoured.

When the human race's Luck Flame dissipated, when the Mysterious Bird vanished, the Mountain God also disappeared entirely from this world.

The Imperial Edict was still the same Imperial Edict, falling once more into Yuan Hong's hands, yet it left him somewhat dazed.

"Is this the Luck of the human race today? Is this the Human Sovereign?" Yuan Hong murmured to himself.

That Mountain God was nothing special; with his own strength, he could have made him vanish from this world in an instant as well.

But what he had just witnessed carried extraordinary significance—that was the manifestation of human race Luck!

Since the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the Human Sovereigns had been passed down generation after generation, countless in number, but when had human race Luck ever manifested?

An Imperial Edict slaying a Deity—the meaning behind this was far from simple.

The weightless Imperial Edict in Yuan Hong's hand felt as heavy as a thousand jun, making him connect it to far too many things.

The other six of the Meishan Seven Saints were no better off; all stood dumbfounded, as if unable to believe what they had just seen.

Only they, as cultivators, truly understood what that scene just now actually meant.

However, no matter what the Meishan Seven Saints thought, it no longer mattered—this battle was already beyond doubt.

"That was The King's voice just now—I once followed The King on an Imperial Expedition, I could never mistake it!"

"The King's Imperial Edict suppressed and killed a Deity—what divine might is this?"

"What Deity? Didn't you hear The King say it? That was just an evil spirit, come to bring chaos to our Great Shang!"

The soldiers of Great Shang cheered without restraint; what had just happened was utterly shocking to them.

That an Imperial Edict could produce such a spectacle—no words of praise could truly do it justice.

Moreover, as the Luck Flame blazed and the Mysterious Bird appeared, while they were awestruck, their hearts were also filled with worship.

This was their King of Great Shang; following such a King, they would surely be invincible—what was there to fear?

On the side of the rebellious vassals, however, all were dejected, their eyes filled with despair.

In their eyes, a Deity nearly omnipotent had died just like that?

And killed by The King's Imperial Edict!

What kind of existence were they opposing?

Having witnessed that unbelievable scene, it was hard for them to feel anything but despair.

Unconsciously, they dropped their weapons, their eyes vacant, muttering to themselves as if struck senseless.

Especially the rebellious vassal himself, who kept chanting: "The Great Shang is favored by Heaven's Mandate!"

At this moment, likely everyone present thought the same.

An Imperial Edict slaying a Deity, with the Mysterious Bird appearing—if that wasn't Heaven's Mandate, what was?

However, if Zi Shou were here, he would surely scoff at such words.

What Heaven's Mandate?

What does so-called Heaven's Mandate refer to? Those lofty Gods and Buddhas? Or those Sages?

If it's merely these beings, simply because they are stronger, can they decide the fate of everyone?

He had never believed in any Heaven's Mandate, especially this so-called Heaven's Mandate, which seemed more like a script written long ago.