Chapter 25: The White Emperor Who Worships the Phoenix

High in the sky, Athena and Mu Changge sat atop a giant owl.

"So, have you finally reached the Foundation Establishment stage?"

"Yes. I hadn't expected the recognition of the Primordial Origin Star to come so easily."

"What were you thinking about when you were communicating with the Primordial Origin Star?"

"I was thinking that if the Primordial Origin Star is this much trouble, I might as well go cultivate immortality; defying the heavens is both exhilarating and fast. Ancient gods couldn't possibly have such thoughts."

Athena was speechless. Since Mu Changge was unwilling to elaborate, she would not press the matter.

In truth, when Mu Changge was communicating with the Primordial Origin Star and was asked why he desired to become an Ancient God, he recalled the face and the words of Athena from before he crossed over, back when she answered why she chose to be his mentor.

"By the way, Teacher Athena, now that we have left the human tribe, where are we going next?"

"We wait for the Four Symbols of Heaven to manifest. I am going to take you to find the White Tiger."

"Couldn't it be the Azure Dragon?"

"You possess the dragon scales of the Heavenly Origin Yinglong; why would you need to find the Azure Dragon?"

"Uh... well, it just feels like the tiger is usually chosen for the sidekick or the villain..."

"And do you think you are one of those?"

"That, I certainly am not!"

"The White Tiger is the God of War and the God of Martial Arts. You can complete your Foundation Establishment through the White Tiger."

"In that case, when will the Four Symbols of Heaven manifest?"

"After the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors."

"That long?" My goodness, each of the Three Sovereigns reigned for hundreds of years; wouldn't the Five Emperors take about two thousand years?

"Is that a long time?" Athena seemed to think it would pass in the blink of an eye.

"Teacher Athena, the saying 'five thousand years of Chinese civilization'—surely that isn't counted starting from the Xia Dynasty, is it?"

"You might not know this, but that saying originates from the Haotian Shangdi (August Jade Emperor). The Haotian Shangdi descended upon the Huaxia realm and commanded the Sages to go to the human race to inspire their thoughts."

"The first year of the five thousand years of Chinese civilization began with the Sages spreading their teachings."

Hearing Athena mention that the Haotian Shangdi had commanded the Sages, Mu Changge, as a well-read young man who had consumed his fair share of web novels, felt something was off. It was likely that, subconsciously, he had equated the Haotian Shangdi with the Jade Emperor.

"By the way, Teacher Athena, you are a Greek goddess; why are you so knowledgeable about the affairs of Huaxia?"

Athena rolled her eyes at Mu Changge. "The part of me that is Luo Qingxian attended the Zhongnan Academy, specially established by the Dragon Kingdom, and read the official books on Chinese mythology compiled by the state."

"Ah?" Mu Changge understood. So, only by entering schools specially established by the Dragon Kingdom could one encounter the truth of Chinese mythology? Why? Were there some records in Chinese mythology that could not be made public?

Seeming to sense Mu Changge's thoughts, Athena said, "Since you have traveled here, you will naturally bear witness to the development of Chinese mythology."

"I see." Mu Changge decided not to dwell on it further.

"I am still glad to see that you haven't given up. I cannot imagine you becoming a Sage ruling the nation, or a cultivator obsessed with schemes, or perhaps leaving the secular world to become a Buddha."

"Then, Teacher Athena, as a reward, won't you give me a goddess's blessing?"

Athena immediately kicked him. Having anticipated her move, Mu Changge skillfully dodged based on his familiarity with her habits.

Athena paused, and just as she was about to deliver a second kick, Mu Changge hurriedly interrupted to ask, "Teacher Athena, I am curious: how did the Heavenly Emperor step down? Was he ousted by the Haotian Shangdi?"

Athena let him off. "I do not know. The official books of the Dragon Kingdom contain no record of how the succession between the Heavenly Emperor and the Shangdi took place. I only know that by the time the Xia Dynasty was established, the Heavenly Emperor was already gone, and the Shangdi appeared only after the Xia was founded."

"Could the Heavenly Emperor have been brought down by the combined efforts of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors?"

"Do you think that is possible?"

"Not really. I don't think the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors are the type to replace the Heavenly Emperor just because they felt they had enough power."

"You still have some judgment. Furthermore, that Heavenly Emperor in the Kunlun Imperial Capital is no ordinary ruler. Although the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors are all Ancient Gods who held the title of Heavenly Emperor, their ascension to the position relied heavily on the faith of the human race. Therefore, within the Kunlun Imperial Capital, powerful high-ranking gods like the Five Elements Gods, the God of War, and the Zongbu God can cross great cultivation gaps to duel the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors one-on-one."

"???" Mu Changge suddenly felt this was somewhat like the web novels he used to read, where Nüwa only became a Sage through merit and was inferior to the Three Pure Ones.

"Teacher Athena, is the power of faith that weak?"

"The power of faith is not weak, but there are eight Heavenly Emperors of the human race; that is too many! Moreover, as soon as a human Emperor becomes a Heavenly Emperor, the power of faith stops being supplied to them because the new human Emperor needs the faith! By the time of the Xia Dynasty and the dynasties that followed, although the humans would offer faith to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, when divided among eight Heavenly Emperors, no matter how large the cake, no one gets much of a share."

Good grief, Mu Changge thought to himself. So, it was a case of demand exceeding supply!

"There is another reason," Athena continued. "The Sages of Confucianism, the Immortals of Taoism, and the Buddhas of Buddhism all require the power of faith, so the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors receive even less. You can think of the eight Heavenly Emperors as oversized batteries; when fully charged and with a charger performing ultra-high-speed charging, they are naturally very strong."

"In other words, while they are batteries that should be at full capacity, when they start consuming power, the charger isn't powerful enough, leading to expenses exceeding income?"

"Exactly! Furthermore, the Five Elements Gods, the God of War, and the Zongbu God I mentioned are all peak Divine Ancestors; they are all ace-level combat forces of the Kunlun Imperial Capital."

Mu Changge nodded. Back when he watched the Heavenly Marriage hosted by the Heavenly Emperor Di Jun in the Kunlun Imperial Capital, among the twelve divine generals present, the divine power of the seven—Fire God Zhurong, Water God Gonggong, Wood God Jumang, Metal God Rushou, Earth God Houtu, War God Xingtian, and Zongbu God Yi—had left a particularly deep impression on him.

If that was the case, how did the Heavenly Emperor Di Jun exit the stage of Chinese mythology? And why were there no surviving legends regarding his final fate?

This Heavenly Emperor Di Jun was neither the demon-race Heavenly Emperor from the web novels nor did he have the witch race as rivals; how did the Haotian Shangdi take over the Huaxia realm so inexplicably?

Seeing Mu Changge lost in thought, Athena remembered his earlier insolence and delivered a kick after all.

***

The Human Race.

After the Human Emperor Xuanyuan went to the Huoyun Palace, the one who took over as the leader of the human tribal alliance was Shaohao.

Human Emperor Shaohao used the Heavenly Destiny Profound Bird to attract the phoenix birds of the phoenix clan, taking the phoenix bird as the tribe's deity and worshipping the phoenix totem.

Shaohao's worship of the phoenix reached an extreme level, which greatly influenced the later human race; the phoenix began to become a totem in the hearts of humans as renowned as the True Dragon.

Because of the protection of the phoenix birds, the development of the human race during Shaohao's reign was quite stable and peaceful.

When Shaohao, leader of the human tribal alliance, achieved the status of Heavenly Emperor, he felt deeply that he could not be ranked alongside the Three Sovereigns, so he changed his title to Emperor. The Heavenly Emperor Di Jun in the Kunlun Imperial Capital permitted Shaohao to be called Emperor.

This was the first of the Five Emperors, the White Emperor, Shaohao!