Chapter One Hundred and One: Three Strikes of the Whip

These words caused a slight change in Shennong's expression. He paused what he was doing, turned his head, and asked Jiang Yuan, “And how are you so certain they will succeed in devouring the Human Emperor’s fate?”

After all, the fate of the Human Emperor has existed for so many years, sustained by the faith of the human race. Unless the human race itself were wiped out, how could that fate simply dissipate?

Jiang Yuan, resigned, could only take out the List of Deification and hand it to Shennong with a bitter smile. “The Human Emperor’s fate won’t disappear, but it can be transferred.”

Shennong accepted the List of Deification from Jiang Yuan and, after carefully sensing it, frowned slightly. He murmured, “It is indeed an ingenious method. The Human Emperor’s fate exists because of the faith of the human race. They can use the List of Deification to transfer that fate.”

Hearing Shennong mutter to himself, Jiang Yuan felt a wave of relief. As expected of Shennong—he saw through the situation at a glance. The old are indeed the wisest.

“Does the senior have any clever solutions?” Jiang Yuan asked with anticipation.

Shennong shook his head with a wry smile. “What clever solution could an old man who has bound himself here possibly offer? The Primal One has prepared thoroughly. My advice to you is to resign yourself to your fate and wait for death.”

No way! Jiang Yuan, inwardly protesting a thousand times, couldn’t accept this at all. He’d come here precisely to rely on Shennong, and yet Shennong was telling him to die?

“Senior, we are both Human Emperors. Isn’t it meaningless to speak so? I have always regarded you as a father figure.” Jiang Yuan protested, dissatisfied.

If anything, those words only made Shennong angrier. Regarded him as a father? More like treating him as his own father!

“You’d best just wait for death,” Shennong said coolly, stubbornly trying to persuade Jiang Yuan to surrender to fate.

“This concerns the fate of the human race. Can you really bear to stand by and do nothing, senior? Do you wish for the human race to return to the days of primitive savagery?” Jiang Yuan coaxed gently.

After all, Shennong had once been the Human Emperor. How could he not care for the fate of humanity?

“What, have they all grown so pampered? Can they not endure a second hardship after surviving the first? Do you so look down upon the human race?” Shennong snorted coldly.

“Nothing of the sort, nothing of the sort. I just don’t want the efforts of the Human Emperors to be wasted. We're all working for the human race,” Jiang Yuan said earnestly.

Only then did Shennong’s expression soften somewhat. “Those are words worth hearing.”

“Speak then. You wouldn’t come to me for nothing. You must have a request. Let me hear it, and I’ll decide whether to help you or not depending on my mood,” Shennong said casually.

Of course, Shennong would never abandon the human race. It was only that he truly could not extricate himself at the moment. With Jiang Yuan as a go-between, he could at least offer some help.

“Recently, I have taken in a remarkably talented subordinate, but he’s in some trouble that requires my assistance. I wonder if you could help, senior?” Jiang Yuan inquired cautiously.

“Tell me about it,” Shennong replied indifferently.

“Senior, do you know the Celestial Race?” Jiang Yuan asked.

“Of course. The Celestial Emperor is no easy character,” Shennong replied.

“How does the Celestial Emperor compare to you, senior?” Jiang Yuan asked again.

Shennong looked at Jiang Yuan’s eager face and replied calmly, “At the zenith of the human race, even the Celestial Race had to bow their heads in submission.”

Incredible! Jiang Yuan was sincerely impressed.

“Then, senior, do you have any way to make the Celestial Emperor hand someone over? I wish to pay a visit to the Celestial Race, and perhaps probe their strength,” Jiang Yuan said with anticipation.

“Hand someone over?” Shennong frowned.

Jiang Yuan explained, “It’s like this: the genius in question is named Yang Jian. He is the offspring of the Celestial Emperor’s daughter and a human. The Celestial Emperor sees it as a disgrace that his daughter bore a child with a human, so he seized her and imprisoned her.”

“Now, Yang Jian’s mother is being held beneath Peach Mountain by the Celestial Emperor. I intend to go to the Celestial Race to demand her release and, in so doing, assert the prestige of the human race.”

Jiang Yuan spoke skillfully—first highlighting the Celestial Emperor’s disdain for the human race, then expressing his intention to assert their dignity. This maneuver would all but guarantee Shennong’s agreement, given his identity as both a member and emperor of the human race. Surely he could not stand to see the human race looked down upon, least of all by the Celestial Emperor, a representative of an entire race.

As expected, Shennong’s face momentarily flashed with anger before returning to normal.

“That Celestial Emperor dares look down upon my human race?” Shennong said with utter disdain.

Jiang Yuan’s heart leaped—there was hope!

“You speak truly, senior. Might you have a way to help me put the Celestial Race in their place?” Jiang Yuan asked.

Shennong stared at Jiang Yuan for a moment. He had already seen through Jiang Yuan’s attempt to provoke him. Yet what Jiang Yuan described was no lie; knowing the Celestial Emperor, such an outrage was entirely believable.

After all, in the Celestial Emperor’s eyes, his race was the supreme spirit among all creation.

“When you reach the Celestial Race, demand the person from the Celestial Emperor. If he refuses, ask him if he’s forgotten those three lashes from the past,” Shennong said coolly.

Jiang Yuan was stunned. Three lashes? What three lashes?

Did Shennong once whip the Celestial Emperor three times? My god! That’s a sensational secret. The Celestial Emperor is so haughty that even the Supreme Lord of Primordial Beginning must show him some respect. And yet Shennong actually whipped him three times?

“Could you tell me more, senior?” Jiang Yuan was genuinely curious.

Shennong waved his hand dismissively. “There’s not much to say. Back then, the Celestial Emperor repeatedly provoked and humiliated the human race. I couldn’t stand it, so I gave him a few lashes.”

In those days, the human race had only recently gained a foothold among all the tribes. Before that, the Celestial Race was the strongest in the world, and the Celestial Emperor looked down on all others. The human race had yet to make its name; whether spurred by others or perceiving humanity as a growing threat, the Celestial Emperor repeatedly provoked the human race and frequently brought disasters upon them.

During that time, countless humans died due to floods and earthquakes. In the end, Shennong could bear it no longer and went to the Celestial Race, where he whipped the Celestial Emperor three times.

From that moment, the human race truly stood tall in the wilderness, and no tribe dared provoke them again. But as the human race reached its peak and successive Human Emperors began to descend into the Abyss, those who coveted or hated humanity found the perfect opportunity to attack, leading to a great ore war against the human race.

Afterward, humanity began a long decline. But as long as Shennong and the other Human Emperors lived, no one dared truly destroy the human race. Instead, their enemies worked to weaken humanity’s strength, inciting internal strife.

The succession from the Xia to the Shang dynasties proved much—there were always traces of other races’ interference, even the involvement of sages. Everyone coveted the fate of the human race; no one wanted to see them regain their ancient glory.