Chapter 1 King Zhou and Goddess Nu Wa At one point in time as King Da Yi, of the newly established Shang Dynasty of China, walked through the royal gardens to gaze at the great beauty that laid before him, the Flying Cloud Pavilion suddenly collapsed. As a single beam from the pavilion fell towards the king, Prince Zi Shou grabbed hold of the beam and threw it aside. After ministers such as Shan Rong and Mei Bo gazed at the strength that the prince possessed, they advised the king to name him Crown Prince. Thus following the death of King Da Yi, Prince Zi Shou took the title of 'King Zhou' and became the new ruler of the Shang Dynasty within its new capital Morning Song. After seven years of prosperity within the Shang Dynasty, etches of evil tyranny begin to evolve in the heart of King Zhou. As the first rebellion thus took place on the second month of the seventh year, Grand Old Master Wen Zhong, the head of civil affairs, went personally ride out upon his great dragon to subdue them at the North Sea district. In the following day, the prime minister Shang Rong asked the king to head to the temple of Nu Wa in order to offer their condolences on her birthday. Following the latter's consent, the king and his entourage thus march from the capital's gates to the temple of Nu Wa. As King Zhou enjoyed the palace's immense scenery after his arrival, he gazed into the eyes of Goddess Nu Wa — who sat behind a celestial curtain. Overtaken by her unparalleled beauty, King Zhou used his ink brush to write a poem of her valor upon a neighboring pillar within the temple. Even after being reproached by Shang Rong for what disaster the poem could bring about, the latter simply brushed him aside saying that it was nothing more than a literary representation of her beauty. After the king and his entourage had returned to the capital, Nu Wa noticed the poem and immediately vow to end the Shang Dynasty due to the former's vile desires. Once she had arrived at Morning Song atop her phoenix, Nu Wa realized that King Zhou still possessed another twenty years of reign — and would thus live with lustful rage. As she arrived at her temple, she summoned forth her three right-hand sprites: Daji, the thousand year-old female fox; Splendor, the nine- headed female pheasant; and Jade, the female lute. Thus following their summoning, Goddess Nu Wa told them to transform themselves into beautiful women in order to distract King Zhou from his state affairs — so that he would be overthrown in a further justified manner. Back in Morning Song King Zhou seated in great depression over the incredible unattainable beauty that Nu Wa had possessed — and thus wished to not perform any action until he could attain her as one of his lovers. After effectively calling minister Fei Zhong to his presence, he suggested to the king that one–hundred women should be taken from each of the four Grand Dukes so that he might have an opportunity to find a woman that ranked in beauty with Nu Wa. With immense delight at such a grand opportunity, King Zhou rested for the night and would make his preparations in the following day.
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