The Seventy-sixth Emperor's Reign

  After Zhuanxu's death, the prestige of Xuanyuan in the human tribe fell to a low point. Guangchengzi let Gaoxin succeed as the emperor of the human tribe in the name of Xuanyuan, known as Emperor Ku. Due to Zhuanxu's death, he also gradually alienated Xuanyuan, and Xuanyuan gradually faded out of the human tribe. Gaoxin was very intelligent and kind since childhood, after he ascended to the throne, he did not indulge in pleasure, benevolent but not losing dignity, gentle and able to keep promises, highly cultivated, and gradually gained the trust of people all over the world.

  Emperor Ku married two wives, and the son of Ji was called Zhi, while the daughter of Chen Feng gave birth to Gong Gong. After Emperor Ku's death, Zhi became the new emperor. However, after ascending to the throne, Zhi did not achieve any notable accomplishments, so his brother Gong Gong took over. This is Emperor Yao.

  Under the command of Yao, the ministers formulated the first calendar according to the law of sunrise and sunset as well as the distribution of stars in the sky, and guided the people's production and migration with the help of solar terms. A year was set at 366 days long, and an intercalary month was added to adjust the four seasons.

  Yao gradually grew old and discussed with his ministers about the selection of a successor. Among the ministers, someone recommended Yu Shun. Yu Shun's name was Chonghua, who was a member of the Youyu tribe. The family background of Chonghua was very humble, although he was a descendant of Emperor Zhuanxu, but five generations had been commoners and were at the bottom of society.

  Shun's experience was even more unfortunate. His father, Gun, was blind and his mother had died early. After Shun's birth mother died, he remarried and had another son named Xiang. Gun was not a good person, his stepmother was cruel, and his younger brother Xiang was arrogant and disobedient. Shun lived in a family environment where "his father was stubborn, his stepmother was quarrelsome, and his brother was arrogant". However, Shun did not lose his filial piety towards his parents and was very obedient. He was also very friendly with his younger brother and remained so for many years without any laziness. Gun favored Xiang, so Xiang and his mother colluded to monopolize the family property and plotted to kill Shun. When they tried to harm him at home, Shun escaped in time; when things improved slightly, he immediately returned to their side and did his best to help them. Despite being born into such an unfortunate situation and living in a harsh environment, Shun was able to demonstrate extraordinary virtues and handle family relationships well.

  Shun was considered a thorn in the eye at home, but he had no resentment towards his parents and younger brother. He repaid their malice with virtue, and whenever his family members made any demands on him, he would try his best to satisfy them. Shun cultivated the land on Mount Li, and the people of Mount Li gave him land; when he went fishing at Lei Ze, the people of Lei Ze provided him with a place to live. Wherever Shun lived, local people came to admire him, and in one year, they formed a village; in two years, they formed a town; in three years, they formed a city.

  Yao heard the ministers' praise of Shun, so he married his two daughters Ehuang and Nuying to Zhonghua, and from his daughters, he indirectly inquired about Shun's character. The result of the inquiry made Yao very satisfied, so he let Shun be responsible for teaching the five virtues of fatherly kindness, motherly love, brotherly friendship, fraternal respect, and filial piety to the people. After Shun's teachings, the moral customs of the people gradually changed.

  Later, Yao let Shun participate in government affairs, manage officials, receive guests, and undergo various tribulations. Shun not only handled government affairs in an orderly manner but also made improvements in personnel matters.

  After many trials, Shun finally gained the recognition of Yao. Then Yao wanted to abdicate in favor of Shun, but Shun felt that his prestige was not enough and his virtues were insufficient, so he did not want to accept it. Yao had no choice but to let him temporarily take on the duties of the Emperor, if Heaven's will did not allow Shun to succeed, there would certainly be some signs.

  After Shun took over the imperial duties, more than twenty years passed and Yao died. However, after Yao's death, his body disappeared into thin air, so they could only build a symbolic tomb to take its place. When the people learned of Yao's passing, the whole nation mourned as if they had lost their own father or mother. Shun issued an order that for three years, no feasts or celebrations with music and dance would be allowed in any part of the country to commemorate Yao's achievements.

  After the three-year mourning period, Shun yielded to Danzhu, the son of Yao, and retreated to the south of the South River. However, when the feudal lords came to pay homage, the people sang praises, and the villages made judgments, they all came to Shun's place, and Danzhu's place was almost deserted. All the officials said that this was the will of heaven, and Shun could no longer decline, so he took the imperial throne, becoming Emperor Shun.

  After Shun took office, he revised the calendar again and held grand ceremonies to worship the gods of heaven and earth, the four seasons, and the mountains and rivers. He also collected the jade tablets from the vassals, chose a auspicious day, summoned the vassal lords from all over the country, and held a grand ceremony to reissue the jade tablets. In the first year of his reign, he went on an inspection tour to various places, worshipped famous mountains, summoned vassal lords, and examined the people's sentiments. He also stipulated that every five years, he would go on an inspection tour again, examine the vassals' achievements, and clearly define rewards and punishments. It can be seen that Shun paid attention to his connection with local areas and strengthened his control over them.

  Originally, the people who had been employed, such as Gun, Gao Yao, Qi, Yi, Bo Yi, Kui, Long, and Yu, did not have clear responsibilities. At this time, Shun appointed Gun to be in charge of water control; Yi to be in charge of agriculture; Qi to be in charge of education and moral guidance; Gao Yao to be in charge of justice, making fair judgments so that all the people could receive fair treatment; Yu to be in charge of public works, overseeing all artisans so that they could work diligently; Long to be in charge of mountains and forests; Bo Yi to be in charge of ritual and ceremonial affairs, presiding over them with propriety and respect. Kui was appointed as the music master, in charge of music and education. Dragon Butian was appointed as the "Nasuan", responsible for issuing orders and collecting opinions. It was also stipulated that every three years, there would be an evaluation of their performance, and based on the results of three evaluations, it would be decided whether to promote or demote them. Through this reorganization, all things were well governed, and each department showed a new look. From then on, the people from the four seas all respected Emperor Shun's achievements, and the bright virtues of the world all began with Yu, presenting an unprecedented peaceful scene.

  Shun also had people draw the shapes of five punishments on objects to serve as a warning; he replaced corporal punishment with exile, showing his magnanimity. However, he also established flogging, branding and redemption penalties, especially for those who refused to repent, so that evil-doers would be punished and the hearts of all under heaven would be satisfied.

  However, after Zhuanxu, the various sages saw the continuous decline of the Xian teaching and no longer came to assist the Human Emperor. All matters once again fell under the jurisdiction of the Human Emperor.

  After Shun's accession, Kunpeng gathered his disciples again and asked them to talk about their feelings towards the human race.

  Jingwei, after so many years of cultivation, also had the cultivation of a heavenly immortal and understood many things. She asked: "Master, since the death of Emperor Zhuanxu, why hasn't any sect gone to assist this emperor?"

  Kunpeng said: "The Tianjiao has failed twice in the matter of Renhuang, not only did they not gain any benefits, but also lost their own face. The few Renhuangs after the Three Emperors are not very important, so the saints do not want to lose face in the human tribe because of small things, and therefore no one went to assist Renhuang."

  Jing Wei said: "Even small merits can be accumulated into a lot, they did this to avoid being too careful, merits are not that easy to obtain."

  Kunpeng smiled and said, "You can't say that. You only think of the good consequences, but you haven't thought about what would happen if we fail. In fact, in the Honghuang world, there is only one sect that has the ability to assist the Human Emperor, which is Jie Teaching. But unfortunately, Jie Teaching does not have a primordial spiritual treasure that can suppress the aura of heaven. So how could Tongtian Cult Master dare to take this risk?"

  Jing Wei heard these words and finally understood that she had thought too simply.

  After Hou Yi killed the Emperor Zhuanxu with the Nine Phoenix, he was always worried about her safety and asked: "Teacher, Jiuzhou not only killed Emperor Zhuanxu, but also injured many people. How can such a great cause be resolved?"

  Kunpeng smiled and said, "Although Jiufeng committed such a great crime in the human race, this matter cannot be blamed on her. This cause and effect does not need to be borne by her. The root of all things is that Di Ku found it himself. Even if there is cause and effect, it should be borne by Di Ku and Guang Chengzi."

  Wu Dao followed Kun Peng for the longest time, knowing that the teacher wouldn't gather them together without reason. So he said: "Teacher, gathering us here must be to give us some instructions, what is it that requires all of us to come out?"

  Kun Peng smiled and said: "It's a good thing, of course. Not only will all of you have to move out in full force, but even I, your master, will have to take action."

  Wu Dao was extremely surprised to hear this, as since he followed Kun Peng, every time Kun Peng took action personally were all major events. However, nothing significant had happened in the Chaos right now, which made him somewhat perplexed.

  Kunpeng looked at Wudao and understood what he was thinking, saying: "This matter is of great importance. As your master, I will accept a new disciple for you, and after some time, I will need you to go and assist him, lend him a helping hand."

  Hou Yi asked: "I don't know what kind of disciple Master wants to accept, why make such a big fuss?"

  Kun Peng said: "When the human race is prosperous, it should establish three emperors. After the three emperors, there will be five emperors. As a teacher, I want to receive the last one of the five emperors. As for why you need to go together to assist him, it's because the demon clan has been enduring for so many years and finally wants to take action. The heavenly way is about to come to an end for the human race. The final test is approaching, and your task is to assist the human emperor in completing the heavenly way's test."

  Jiutian paused for a moment, then continued: "Wudao, you will give the 'Star Moon Divine Needle' that I gave to you to me. I want to re-refine it."

  Wu Dao was shocked once again upon hearing this, 'Xing Yue Shen Zhen' was something he had personally witnessed his teacher refine, and the circumstances of its creation were still vivid in his memory. Now, his teacher was going to re-refine this treasure, how could he not be surprised?

  Kun Peng looked at Wu Dao, who was full of surprise, and smiled: "This treasure will be very useful in this disaster. At that time, the master only temporarily came up with an idea and didn't expect to refine a low-grade pre-heavenly spiritual treasure. However, it was just luck. After the master refines it again, its quality may decline, but after its merits are fulfilled, it will no longer be comparable to a low-grade pre-heavenly spiritual treasure."

  Wu Dao was always respectful of his teacher and revered the Tao. He listened to Kun Peng's words and immediately took out the Lingbao and handed it over to him.