At the peak of Mount Phoenix, Di Jun stood in the wind, gazing at the giant egg in the sky. It had beco extrely solid.
"As a king, I too have failed," he murmured to himself.
Originally, he should have first birthed the Ten Suns and Twelve Moons, but under the current circumstances, this was simply impossible.
Although he had used the divine powers of the God of Ti and the God of Space to successively repel two contemporary god-humans, this left only enough residual reproductive power for one subordinate god to descend.
But he was the God-King, a presence that reigns supre over the world—this bit of difficulty would not make him give up.
Di Jun was his favorite na, so he would not accept being casually forgotten by humans.
Now that he had co to the earth and manifested in this form, he believed that for the forgetful humans, as long as he reenacted the myths upon the land, they would naturally rember the na "Di Jun."
"Power... I still need more," the ancient Heavenly Emperor's gaze flashed like lightning. "My subordinate, you once served in conquering the land—now, I need your service once again."
As if hearing his voice, the giant egg in the sky began to destabilize.
The light currents in the sky beca more ferocious than ever before, all converging toward the egg and being entirely absorbed.
Between Heaven and Earth, a clear sound rang out.
Accompanying this sound, a crack appeared on the eggshell.
With that as the start, the giant egg completely shattered. Vast streams of air burst out, and within the wind and clouds, a tall and muscular figure erged.
It was a burly man, with the appearance of a hunter.
"Father-God" the robust subordinate god descended before Di Jun and bowed down.
"My son, now is the ti to show the world your valor."
Di Jun nodded and extended both hands.
In his left hand was a bow entirely red in color, and in his right hand, a quiver filled with white-feathered arrows.
"I bestow upon you the Red Bow and Pure Quiver. From now on, you are Yi the Archer(Hou Yi). Go and retrieve all the scattered power on the earth for ."
"Yes!" The subordinate god—Yi the Archer—received the bow and arrows granted by Di Jun and leaped down from the mountain peak.
However, in mid-air, he had already begun to change. His divine body radiated light and fla, transforming into a blazing three-legged crow, flapping its wings as it soared into the sky and quickly disappeared beyond the horizon.
"My son shall slay all abundance in the world, and yet be sung of by mankind as a hero who saves the world. God-humans, if you wish to stop him, just try."
Di Jun looked in the direction Yi had vanished, his expression filled with confidence.
"High Ancestor, what should we do with those won?" From behind ca the voice of the King of Mount Phoenix.
"My descendant, are you concerned?" Di Jun chuckled softly, "God-humans are ultimately still human. As for those won, they are now useless to without reproductive power. But do not harm them—let them go."
He paused for a mont, then continued: "Even if they are descendants of the ancestral gods, their power is still too ager. But surely on this land there are still my kin. If not... then even god-humans are not off limits."
"Yes," the King of Mount Phoenix replied respectfully and withdrew, leaving only the God-King, still standing in place, gazing into the distance.
.
.
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anwhile, outside the dark world, Hikigaya Hachiman was running at full speed.
The little girl in his arms had long stopped fussing—she had begun sulking instead.
Mariya Yuri was no longer screaming either, as there was nothing around them—no people, not even a rabbit—truly nothing left to scream about.
Though Fist Spirit Mountain was desolate of people, it had always been a paradise for animals. But now, it was eerily silent.
This was no coincidence. Because of the divine tool containing the power of the ancient Earth Mother Goddess, Hikigaya could sense the vital energy of the land escaping, as if sothing were chasing it.
Hikigaya quickly received his answer.
A wave of intense heat swept over him from above. As it passed, all the surrounding plants withered instantly.
But this force had not yet hard Hikigaya. He looked up and saw a form all too familiar.
"A three-legged golden crow?"
He cried out.
In the myth of Hou Yi shooting down the suns, this was the most well-known animal form of Di Jun's son, the Ten Suns.
But this creature did not exist in the myths of the Shang Dynasty's Di Jun, which gave him an ominous feeling.
And that feeling was quickly confird.
After the golden crow in the sky flew past above Hikigaya, it began to transform—the flas gradually disappeared, and the crow's body beca human.
In Hikigaya's eyes appeared a strong man holding a bow and arrows.
"Yi..." Hikigaya's mouth fell open. He really was a jinx—wait, more like he had a cursed heart?
In the myth of shooting the suns, Yi played the role of the heroic savior. But in texts like the Classic of Mountains and Seas and Huainanzi, his origin was completely different. In the forr, he was a god descending to the human world to beco a mortal hero. In the latter, a human achieved feats worthy of a god.
Regardless of the origin, Yi's connection with Di Jun was always quite close. And from the Classic of Mountains and Seas – Guideways within the Seas, from "Di Jun gave birth to Hou Yi" this clearly implied a father-son relationship between Di Jun and Hou Yi.
But in front of him now, it wasn't just an implication—it was clearly the case.
Oh, right. If he was Di Jun's son, then his proper na would be "Yi the Archer."
While Hikigaya was considering whether to strike first, Hou Yi had already made his move in the sky.
But his target wasn't Hikigaya.
In Hikigaya's spiritual senses, the vital energy of the land was rapidly gathering.
Light lit up the entire mountain—that was the earth's spirits.
Hikigaya was already familiar with spirits. Many magicians had experience dealing with them. These spirits had no form and were invisible, but those with extraordinary talents could sense them as clearly as they sensed mana, and recognize that these beings held exceptionally pure positive emotions.
Because of this, magicians believed that spirits were the beings closest to gods in essence. They had no shape like deities, but still influenced the natural world.
Now, the spirits of Fist Spirit Mountain had beco the target of Di Jun's son, Yi the Archer.
Hikigaya didn't even have ti to stop it— Hou Yi had already fired the divine arrow, the sa that in myth had brought down nine suns.
There was no mountain-shattering crash, no thunderous boom. Silently and without a trace, the light covering an entire mountain disappeared—completely wiped out by Yi's arrow.
Without spirits, this land was essentially dead.
A strange sense of unease rose in Hikigaya's heart.
Until now, he had always believed that the thoughts and actions of gods had nothing to do with him. He was a god slayer—so whenever he encountered gods, he would fight them, defeat them, and take their power. That was all.
And now, in the sky, Hou Yi retrieved the arrow he had fired. That arrow now shimred with radiant light.
Clearly a divine arrow ant to shoot down suns—yet it had wiped out the spirits of the earth. Hikigaya no longer cared why.
He lifted his head, staring at Hou Yi, who was now looking down at him—ready for battle.
Hero or not, right now, you're just another bastard I need to wreck!
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