Chapter Ninety: The Human Emperor Ascends the Throne

Although Fuxi had attained the position of chieftain, his youth caused many to feel dissatisfied, believing him unqualified for the role. This discontent placed considerable pressure on Fuxi as leader of the tribe, to the point that he had not enjoyed a proper night’s sleep in many days.

Why is governing people even more difficult than cultivation? Heaven must truly be playing a joke on me, burdening me with such a mess to manage.

Yet, there was no escaping this fate; it was Fuxi’s own insatiable curiosity that had driven him to accept this heavy responsibility.

Days passed one after another, yet over time, the people’s attitude toward Fuxi grew ever more respectful. Why was this? In this period, Fuxi had accomplished many beneficial deeds for his tribe.

First, he ended the era of recording events through knotted cords. Previously, people would tie knots in a rope to remember matters, but Fuxi deemed this method far too cumbersome. If everything were recorded this way, how could anyone recall what each knot meant? So, he imparted the knowledge the Supreme Lord Laozi had taught him, instructing people to use written characters for record keeping.

Fuxi performed another feat that won the admiration of the people. At the time, men were the sole labor force of society. As a result, men were highly sought after and practiced a form of walking marriage between tribes, ensuring that the labor force was not lost while women in other tribes could continue their lineage.

Fuxi saw the flaws in this practice. Households where only the mother was known, but not the father, left people ill at ease. The hardships of single-parent families were not easily borne. Thus, he decided to abolish the tradition of walking marriages for men; instead, men and women together would bow to Heaven and Earth, pay homage to the Holy Father and Mother, and vow to remain together for eternity. This became the marriage institution among the people.

Moreover, Fuxi, wishing his people to farm more efficiently, created the calendar of the four seasons, so everyone would know when to sow and when the harvest would be bountiful.

In summer, because the tribe lived close to the river, the people would go fishing, each with a fork in hand. For Fuxi, this was the simplest of tasks—he could ensure a plentiful catch with a mere water incantation. However, if this continued, the people would become dependent on Fuxi and others with spiritual powers, ceasing to fish themselves and growing lazy.

For the long-term development of the human race, Fuxi sought a solution. One day, as he looked up, he saw a spider catching prey in its web. Inspired, he wove nets from rope and taught the people to fish with them. Their enthusiasm for fishing was reignited.

When winter arrived, people could only hide in caves and houses, unable to go outdoors. Fuxi thought such a life must be tedious. So, using these idle hours, he invented the zither and composed a piece called “Driving the Chariot.” From then on, people lived in a world filled with music. Inspired by Fuxi, Nuwa crafted an instrument called the sheng.

As a cultivator, Fuxi could eat raw meat without harm, but ordinary people could not. At that time, people ate raw animal flesh and hides, which greatly shortened their lifespans, and illness and death were common.

Though the Thunder God and others tried to help, the Huaxu clan was vast, making it impossible to tend to everyone. Fuxi realized fire could be used to cook food and recalled his days with the Supreme Lord Laozi. He taught the people to preserve fire seeds, and thus they learned to make and eat cooked food.

Furthermore, Fuxi saw that in winter, his people could no longer wear leaves, as they were too thin. Remembering animal hides, he instructed them to use furs to keep out the cold, thus ending the era when people wore leaves and lived in a wild, primitive state.

At the time, people did not know how to distinguish east from west or north from south. But Fuxi did—how could a student of the Supreme Lord Laozi not know the directions? He told them that the sun’s rising marked the east, its setting the west; the south was warmer, the north colder. With this simple explanation, the people understood their place in the world and no longer lost their way.

The changing of the four seasons under Fuxi’s guidance only deepened the people’s respect for him. Fuxi was not a selfish man; he shared all his inventions with other tribes without reservation. In this way, all of humanity in the vast, primeval world benefited. From then on, Fuxi of the Eastern Huaxu clan became an idol revered by all.

It was once again time for the decennial Human Race Assembly, held as scheduled on the Sacred Mountain of Humanity—the anniversary of the day humans were created, recorded by the Holy Father. This had become the grandest sacrificial event among the people.

Fuxi and his companions traveled from the eastern coast all the way to the central Sacred Mountain of Humanity, encountering no danger on the journey. To ensure the ceremony happened on time, Xuandaozi had granted each of the four tribes an artifact of flight at the first decennial assembly, greatly reducing travel time and increasing safety.

Upon arrival, Fuxi and his party were received as honored guests in the chieftains’ hall. The cultivators living on the Sacred Mountain broadened Fuxi’s horizons—his own late-stage Taiyi Mystic Immortal cultivation was only average here, a testament to the mountain’s hidden power and the mighty forces of the primeval age.

“Today marks the ninety-ninth Grand Assembly of the Human Race. Leaders from all directions, welcome. I am about to announce a matter of great importance, one that will unite our people and create a bright future together!” Xuandaozi proclaimed passionately from the high platform.

Below, the audience listened attentively to the Holy Father’s words. When his speech ended, there was no murmur of discussion—only thunderous applause, a display of profound respect.

Moved by the Holy Father’s message, the crowd spontaneously began to shout, “Fuxi! Fuxi! Fuxi—!”

The people truly felt the blessings Fuxi had brought to their lives. Whether or not he was of their own tribe, gratitude welled up, compelling them to call out his name with heartfelt sincerity.

Even the other four chieftains declared that none but Fuxi could serve as Lord of Humanity. Fuxi tried again and again to decline, but could not resist their earnest pleas, and at last reluctantly accepted the title of Human Sovereign.

He was to be the first emperor of the human race; every great power in the primeval world came to honor the occasion. Masters of the Three Eastern Teachings—the Sect of Man, the Sect of Enlightenment, and the Sect of Mysteries—as well as the Holy Mother of Humanity, Lady Nuwa, the Heavenly Emperor Haotian and the Golden Mother of the Jade Pool from the Celestial Court, the Two Sages of the West, and others all appeared in the sky in their divine forms to offer their congratulations.

Under the gaze of all, Fuxi received the imperial robe, jade crown, and other regalia from the Holy Father Xuandaozi. At that moment, the Dao itself manifested in the heavens, sending down the aura of merit before all the immortals and deities. There and then, Fuxi awakened to the entirety of his past and present lives—his memories fully restored.

These past days have been busy, leaving me no time to write, and I was without an internet connection until just now. From now on, I will continue to present even more captivating stories for my esteemed readers to enjoy.