Chapter 107: The Terrifying Origin-Level Panel!
Song Qi had once despised Di Xin.
But the older he grew, and the more he came to understand, the more he liked him.
"Still... Di Xin's cruelty may well be real, but his incompetence is another matter altogether."
Song Qi remembered clearly that even before he had crossed over into this world, people had already begun to notice that something was wrong and had started defending him.
In the records of the Zhou Dynasty, there were three chief accusations leveled at Di Xin.
The first was this: a hen crowing at dawn and trusting the words of women.
A "hen crowing at dawn" meant using women in office and heeding their counsel, supposedly bringing about the collapse of rites and the uproar of vulgarity.
But in truth, Di Xin was not the first to trust women. Long before him, there had already been a woman named Wu Hao serving as a general.
Wu Hao campaigned east and west for the Shang Dynasty for more than a decade.
She fought no fewer than a hundred great and small battles.
More than twenty neighboring kingdoms were crushed in her hands and folded into the domain of the Shang.
It was precisely because of Wu Hao's efforts that the Shang realm expanded by several times over.
Seen from the perspective of the present day, Di Xin's deed could not be counted as a fault at all. On the contrary, it was a tremendous achievement.
The second accusation was this: neglecting sacrifice and showing disrespect to Heaven.
Before the Zhou Dynasty, all such rites had been performed with human sacrifice.
Di Xin changed that, replacing human sacrifice with animal sacrifice.
He believed that his fate was his own and not Heaven's.
He placed human authority above divine authority.
He used the very rites reserved for sacrifice to the Heavenly Emperor to honor his own father and grandfather.
And in Song Qi's eyes, this too could hardly be called a crime.
Not only that, Di Xin's action also set the tone for the thousands of years that followed on this land.
It prevented this land from ever descending into the kind of scene seen in the West, where priestly power ran rampant.
One could even say it was a great achievement, a great merit.
The third accusation was this: killing worthy ministers and favoring petty men.
Bi Gan, who possessed the seven-orifice exquisite heart, was said to have died for remonstrating.
This was the heaviest charge against Di Xin.
But in truth, the "petty men" spoken of here did not refer to people of low character.
It referred to people of low social standing, such as slaves and commoners.
Before him, every dynasty selected and employed officials only from among the great noble houses. They would never choose from the common people.
Much less from slaves.
For so long, Di Xin alone did not scorn them for their humble origins.
Instead, he broke with convention and appointed men by ability alone.
Fei Zhong, Fei Lian, and E Lai were all talents raised beyond their station by Di Xin.
They made immeasurable contributions to the prosperity of Shang.
In the Three Kingdoms era, Dian Wei was known as the "E Lai of ancient times."
That E Lai was one of the three great generals elevated by Di Xin.
And he was also one of the three so-called "petty men" denounced by the people of the Zhou.
As for "killing worthy ministers," the meaning became clear enough when read alongside "petty men."
The so-called "worthy ministers" were the officials born of the great aristocratic clans.
When commoners were put into office, the interests of those noble houses were bound to suffer.
That was why they slandered Di Xin with such frenzy.
"That said, there is no denying that Di Xin's methods of killing were indeed brutal."
Song Qi sighed.
But at the very least, Di Xin judged all men by the same standard.
If a commoner broke the law, he killed them.
If someone from one of those noble houses broke the law, he killed them too.
All told, Di Xin was...
the first sovereign in history to select officials from the common people;
the first sovereign in history to triumph over divine authority with human rights;
and not only that, he was also...
the first sovereign in history to truly abolish hereditary noble privilege;
the first sovereign in history to repeatedly bring down powerful foreign forces;
the first ruler in history to achieve the great unification of north and south.
Aside from his rather savage methods of execution...
in a certain sense, Di Xin's ideas were indeed extraordinarily advanced.
Beyond all that, Di Xin was also a being of monstrous physical strength.
He had once ordered the casting of a colossal bronze cauldron and invited all the feudal lords and warriors to come and compete.
He promised unimaginable rewards to whoever could shoulder it.
But in the end, no one besides himself could lift it.
"I never thought I'd actually be able to summon this one..."
Song Qi let out a long breath, feeling his heart and liver tremble; even his hands and feet had grown faintly beyond his control.
The last Human Sovereign.
Though his strength could not compare with the gods and buddhas above, that single title alone was enough to make Song Qi treat him with utmost seriousness.
Song Qi stepped into the center of the array and sat down cross-legged.
As his consciousness slowly sank, that familiar sea of thought emerged once more before him.
Countless summon spirits' consciousnesses flashed past in a torrent.
"Summon... Human Sovereign, Di Xin!"
Whoosh.
A stream of consciousness swept toward him.
It entered Song Qi's brow.
At that instant, their contract was forged.
[This summoned spirit's quality is... Epic!]
[Divine Summoning Art activated. Quality enhancement commencing...]
[Quality enhancing...]
[Congratulations! You have obtained Primordial Di Xin!]
"Primordial?"
Song Qi was startled.
So this was the rank above Saint Spirit?
Smack.
After the contract was complete, Song Qi's consciousness was kicked out of that space.
And at that moment, a fierce-looking man appeared before him, clad in fur, his chest bare, his build extraordinarily massive and imposing.
There was no doubt about it: this man was the Human Sovereign Di Xin.
Song Qi immediately opened his information.
Summon Spirit: Primordial Di Xin
Level: 40
Quality: Primordial
Strength: 8500
Constitution: 8500
Agility: 4000
Spirit: 4000
Equipment: Primordial Nine Tripods
Status: Sealed. Limited by the summoner's strength, Di Xin has not yet displayed his full power. Before he is fully unsealed, his level will rise in sync with the summoner's level.
Talent:
Human Sovereign: Di Xin is a Human Sovereign, not merely the Son of Heaven, and stands on equal footing with the Heavenly Emperor. Any negative status inflicted by enemies of lower rank than he possesses no effect upon him.
Abolished Sacrifice: Di Xin abolished human sacrifice and placed human rights above divine authority. Therefore, no prophecy, foresight, scrying, or curse-type skill may directly or indirectly discern his information.
Hen Crowing at Dawn: The charge that "King Zhou let the hen crow at dawn and trusted women's words" stirred the great noble houses into collective assault, and drew denunciation from all of Zhou. After activating this skill, all enemies within Di Xin's vicinity will prioritize attacking him. Cooldown: 1 minute.
Bearer of the Cauldron: Di Xin is of extraordinary strength, mighty enough to shoulder a cauldron. His body is exceedingly formidable, reducing all damage he takes by 50 percent. In addition, the damage he suffers will be stored and released no later than one minute afterward, with a 10-minute interval between releases.
Talent Above Birth: Di Xin selected talent from among the common people and did not confine himself to the great noble houses. His allies, regardless of rank, likewise receive 30 percent damage reduction.
Severe Punishment: Before Di Xin, punishment did not descend upon the common people, and punishment did not reach the nobles; since Di Xin, all are judged alike according to their crimes, highborn or lowborn. In Di Xin's presence, no matter the enemy's strength, each direct-damage attack will strip at least 5 percent of the target's life force.