Champions and Supernatural Mounts in Creation of the Gods (Part 5)

An article inspired by the War Beast Rider challenge . Part 4 This final article takes a broader look at the characters and mounts featured throughout the series: an approximate combat hierarchy, a selection of the novel’s most memorable supernatural beasts, and the role these creatures play in transforming the Shang–Zhou conflict from dynastic warfare into full-scale mythological war. Combat Ranking Fengshen Yanyi has no official numerical power-ranking system. Magical treasures, formations, specialized counters, ambushes and divine intervention can allow a seemingly weaker fighter to defeat someone who appears much stronger. The ratings below are therefore editorial estimates based primarily on demonstrated combat ability, cultivation, magical treasures and the opponents each character faces in the novel. They should be understood as a broad hierarchy rather than a canonical measure of who would defeat whom in every encounter. S+ — Supreme Tongtian Jiaozhu A sect founder operating at the highest level represented among the characters in this series. His personal intervention brings him into conflict with some of the most powerful Daoist figures in the novel, while formations associated with him can reshape the entire supernatural war. S — Exceptional From left to right: Yunxiao Niangniang Zhao Gongming Both prove capable of overwhelming multiple powerful opponents and forcing the opposing side to seek extraordinary methods of countering them. Yunxiao's formations and treasures make her extraordinarily difficult to confront directly, while Zhao Gongming defeats several powerful opponents before his enemies resort to a supernatural curse to bring him down. A — Elite Immortals From left to right: Wenshu Guangfa Tianzun Puxian Zhenren Cihang Daoren Wen Zhong Lü Yue These are major supernatural figures capable of confronting powerful immortals or creating threats that affect entire armies. Their strengths also illustrate how different forms of power can be in the novel: some excel through cultivation and magical treasures, while others wield specialized abilities capable of creating large-scale battlefield crises. A- — Very Powerful Supernatural Fighters From left to right: Huo Ling Shengmu Shen Gongbao Yu Yuan Luo Xuan These characters may not stand at the very highest level of the supernatural hierarchy, but each possesses abilities capable of causing major problems for their opponents. Fire, extraordinary durability, magical treasures and the ability to draw other immortals into the war all become different forms of power. B+ — Strong Supernatural Warriors From left to right: Princess Longji Huang Tianhua Yang Ren Zhang Kui Jinguang Shengmu Each is capable of deciding major encounters and defeating dangerous opponents, while possessing distinctive magical abilities, treasures or supernatural techniques. B — Capable Immortal or Magical Warriors From left to right: Jiang Ziya Qiongxiao Niangniang Bixiao Niangniang Wang Mo Yang Sen Hong Jin These are formidable supernatural combatants, although their personal fighting ability generally falls below the highest immortal tiers represented in this series. B- / C+ — Supernaturally Enhanced Generals From left to right: Gao Youqian Li Xingba Chong Heihu Zheng Lun Chen Qi Each possesses supernatural abilities, unusual weapons or extraordinary mounts that place them well beyond ordinary battlefield warriors. C+ — Exceptional Mortal Hero Huang Feihu A remarkable human general whose strength lies primarily in military skill, courage and battlefield leadership rather than high-level supernatural cultivation. Which Mounts Are the Most Memorable? Among the many supernatural mounts featured throughout Fengshen Yanyi , a few stand out especially strongly because of their close association with major characters, unusual abilities, or distinctive role in the war. From left to right: Sibuxiang — The Signature Sacred Mount Jiang Ziya’s unusual sacred creature is one of the mounts most closely associated with the central story and with Zhou’s supernatural leadership. White-Browed Tiger — The Wanderer’s Mount Shen Gongbao’s White-Browed Tiger carries him across mountains and battlefields as he travels from one immortal to another, recruiting powerful figures into the conflict. More than a battlefield mount, it becomes closely associated with his role as the restless instigator who repeatedly expands the supernatural war. Mo Qilin — The Iconic War Mount Wen Zhong’s black qilin is closely tied to his battlefield presence, accompanying one of Shang’s greatest commanders throughout his campaigns. Qingluan — The Celestial Mount The Qingluan represents the increasingly aerial nature of supernatural warfare, carrying powerful immortals through the heavens far beyond the limits of ordinary cavalry. Black Tiger — The Predatory Mount Zhao Gongming’s Black Tiger gives him an immediately fierce and unconventional battlefield presence, setting him apart from generals mounted on more traditional creatures. Red-Smoke Steed — The Elemental Mount Luo Xuan’s Red-Smoke Steed is memorable because its flaming hooves directly reinforce its master’s connection to fire, making mount and warrior feel like part of the same supernatural theme. Jinglong — The Most Unusual Mount Hong Jin’s Jinglong, or Whale-Dragon, is perhaps the strangest of the group, allowing him to flee across the North Sea and showing just how far the novel moves beyond anything resembling ordinary cavalry. From Dynastic War to Mythological War What makes these warriors and their supernatural mounts so memorable is the way character, beast and magical ability often combine into a single distinctive presence. Wen Zhong without his Mo Qilin feels incomplete. Zhao Gongming’s Black Tiger reinforces his formidable battlefield presence. Luo Xuan’s Red-Smoke Steed extends his association with fire all the way to the ground beneath him. Yunxiao’s Qingluan gives celestial grace and aerial mobility to one of the novel’s most powerful immortals. Huang Tianhua’s Jade Qilin immediately distinguishes him from ordinary Zhou generals. The mounts also reveal how thoroughly Fengshen Yanyi blends military epic with mythology. At the beginning of the story, warfare still resembles something recognizably human: generals lead infantry and cavalry, chariots cross battlefields, and armies attack fortified cities. As the conflict escalates, however, supernatural warfare becomes increasingly dominant. Qilin thunder across battlefields. Celestial birds descend from the clouds. Tigers carry immortals into combat. Plague masters arrive on supernatural camels. Strange beasts send ordinary horses into panic. Some mounts fly through the heavens, while others generate fire, clouds or supernatural light. By that point, the fall of Shang is no longer simply a war between two dynasties. It has become a conflict involving humans, immortals, gods, magical treasures—and the extraordinary creatures that carry them into battle. -End- Interested in the world of Creation of the Gods ? If you would like to explore another side of the story, you can also read my Daji: The Fox Spirit of Xuanyuan Tomb series, which retells the story of Daji, King Zhou and the events that set the fall of the Shang dynasty in motion. While this article focuses on the warriors, immortals, and supernatural creatures of the great Shang–Zhou conflict, Da Ji’s story returns us to the royal court of Chaoge and to the woman whose arrival would become inseparable from the dynasty’s downfall.