Jiang Ziya was not originally human.

Before the Conferment of the Gods, there was a black bear who wanted to apprentice under the Primordial Heavenly Venerate. He knelt at the mountain gate, longing for the Primordial Heavenly Venerate's recognition.

The Primordial Heavenly Venerate glanced at him and said, "I only accept humans as disciples, not other animals." After speaking, the Primordial Heavenly Venerate returned to the mountain and continued playing chess with the Grand Supreme Elder.

The sage played chess, and the stars shifted.

After the game ended, a hundred years had passed.

The black bear turned into dry bones, yet the bones continued to kneel at the mountain gate.

The Primordial Heavenly Venerate took the black bear's soul and reincarnated him as a human, who became Jiang Ziya.

Jiang Ziya kowtowed to the Primordial Heavenly Venerate and was accepted as a disciple.

The Primordial Heavenly Venerate instructed Jiang Ziya to hold the Conferment of the Gods list and complete the enfeoffment on his behalf. He also bestowed upon Jiang Ziya a divine weapon called the Divine Punishment Whip.

After hearing the Primordial Heavenly Venerate's plan, Jiang Ziya knelt for a long time. Finally, he shook his head and said, "I cannot accept this task."

"Why?"

"The Conferment of the Gods plan involves killing many people. If I cause their deaths, it would be one sin. If I use the Divine Punishment Whip to control and restrain them, it would be another sin. In the future, when we all become immortals in the Heavenly Court, we will be courtiers in the same hall. They will be transformed into gods, but I will bear the burden of two sins. Master, how should I face them?"

"You haven't finished reading the Conferment of the Gods list," the Primordial Heavenly Venerate said to Jiang Ziya. "The list enfeoffs countless gods, but there is one position that has always remained vacant. Do you know which position on the list has no god enfeoffed?"

"I don't know."

"The Great Emperor of Jade."

Hearing this, Jiang Ziya's eyes brightened. "Are you saying that if I hold the Conferment of the Gods list, I will become the Great Emperor of Jade in the future?"

The Primordial Heavenly Venerate did not directly answer Jiang Ziya's question. He said, "The position of the Jade Emperor is a crucial role in governing the Three Realms. How can one become the Great Emperor of Jade without experiencing countless tribulations?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ziya gladly accepted the Primordial Heavenly Venerate's assignment. He took the Conferment of the Gods list and wielded the Divine Punishment Whip. To him, completing the Conferment of the Gods list meant enduring countless tribulations, and then he could become the Great Emperor of Jade.

However... if accepting the Conferment of the Gods list would make him the Jade Emperor, why did none of the Primordial Heavenly Venerate's twelve disciples, who had followed him for many years, want to take up this position? It was because they knew that the position of the Jade Emperor had already been decided.

But at that time, Jiang Ziya did not consider these things.

The Primordial Heavenly Venerate's description of the Jade Emperor aroused Jiang Ziya's boundless desire for the position. He mistakenly believed that the countless tribulations mentioned by the Primordial Heavenly Venerate referred to wielding the Conferment of the Gods list and managing the souls that had not yet become gods.

A king does not plot with his subjects; it is only when the ministers are alone that the king can be established.

With this in mind, Jiang Ziya took charge of the Conferment of the Gods list and wielded the Divine Punishment Whip, accepting the Primordial Heavenly Venerate's assignment...

Jiang Ziya showed no mercy to the souls causing chaos within the Conferment of the Gods list. He readily punished those disobedient souls with the Divine Punishment Whip!

He was not worried about the souls seeking revenge on him after they became gods, because he believed that he would become the Great Emperor of Jade in the future!