Chapter 40: I, Second Prince of the Dragon Palace

These long two days...

Amidst the somewhat tedious music and graceful dancing, Li Changshou unlocked a new skill: simultaneously monitoring his surroundings with the Wind Whisper Spell while leisurely reading the ancient texts he had borrowed from the Outer Hall of the Daoist Scripture Repository.

He felt slightly bored.

The most exciting parts of this Monster Purging Assembly were likely the upcoming treasure offerings from the Dragon Palace and the sparring matches between disciples of various sects.

Li Changshou had no desire for the Dragon Palace's treasures. While one could never have too many magical artifacts, firstly, the competition for these limited treasures would be fierce, and his displayed cultivation of the second stage of the Void Return Realm was far from enough to compete. Secondly, he inferred that the Dragon clan was destined for a great calamity in the future, and he couldn't afford to get entangled in any karma related to them. If he did, then it would be Jiugu's fault.

Calculating the time, it was almost the official opening of the Monster Purging Assembly. Li Changshou glanced at the elevated platform in the sky. The Heavenly Immortals from various sects must have finalized numerous matters, such as the East Sea boundaries, with the Dragon Palace over the past two days of discussions. However, these issues had little to do with him.

Jiujiu was still struggling to solve the six-color Rubik's Cube, which directly proved that cultivation level had no positive correlation with intelligence. This also helped her smoothly pass two boring, wine-free days. As for Youqin Xuanya, after Li Changshou had misunderstood and uttered those words of refusal last time, she seemed to have understood something. Although she would still look back every half an hour, she no longer approached him.

Overall, these two days had been relatively peaceful.

As he was comfortably reading a scripture, Li Changshou suddenly felt two sharp, hostile gazes fall upon him without any warning. Without changing his expression, he put away the bamboo slips he was holding and focused on analyzing the information from the Wind Whisper Spell. In the direction of the gaze, he spotted the blurry figure of a young man.

Hmm?

Did he have an old grudge with him? There was no reason for that.

Li Changshou looked up and saw that the person was standing at the edge of the venue, still a hundred *zhang* away from the Immortal Du Sect's seating area. To be precise, this was not a "person," but had soft dragon horns like velvet antlers on his forehead.

A young dragon from the Dragon clan?

He must be one of the young dragons who would spar with the various immortal sects at this assembly. Li Changshou's mind was filled with questions because he noticed that this dragon prince's gaze remained fixed on him. He subtly leaned back, noticing the dragon prince's gaze shifting slightly, confirming that he was indeed looking at him. Upon closer observation, he could discern a faint blue glow in the dragon prince's eyes.

Could it be that this dragon prince had seen through his hidden cultivation? That shouldn't be possible. His method of concealing his cultivation was a unique technique he had developed by thoroughly analyzing various detection spells and then summarizing them in reverse.

'Could it be that he sees I have the lowest cultivation among the Immortal Du Sect's contingent? Is that why he's targeting me?'

Li Changshou quickly ran through calculations in his mind. Just then, the Wind Whisper Spell also detected a certain 'confident' smile appearing at the corner of the young man's mouth. Perhaps this young dragon lacked confidence but was required to win in the upcoming sparring, so he wanted to pick the weakest person from a major sect first?

This tactic... Is it really that brazen?

Li Changshou looked up and met the dragon prince's gaze with a calm expression. The blue glow in the latter's eyes gradually receded, and those sapphire-like eyes met Li Changshou's from several hundred *zhang* away. According to the classic "ten-second stare" rule, this human and dragon should have been...

His vision was suddenly obscured by a bright red figure. A Turtle Immortal had appeared in front of the young man.

"Your Royal Highness, how did you end up over here? It's almost time for your appearance!"

Prince? The Dragon King's son?

Being targeted by someone like this was truly not a good thing. But this made Li Changshou even more puzzled. Why did the Dragon King's son, in such a vast crowd, single him out, an Immortal Du Sect disciple? Could his appearance have some inexplicable attraction for male dragons?

Li Changshou immediately fell into deep thought, carefully analyzing the cause and effect, wondering if he should find an excuse to leave now.

The Dragon clan's overall situation was, in fact, quite awkward. They possessed numerous experts accumulated from ancient times, and countless treasures, but they also faced a great predicament: being rejected by heaven and earth after shattering the primordial world in the ancient war. Although the Dragon clan seemed powerful with a multitude of experts, their overall strength was far inferior to the rapidly developing human race. Furthermore, the Dragon clan primarily relied on bloodline for strength, and after the Ancestral Dragon, their strongest member, perished at the end of the ancient war, no dragon had been able to surpass him. As a result, in the current primordial world, after the Six Sages returned to their positions, the Dragon clan could only be extremely careful, fearing to offend the Sages and be directly annihilated by them. Yet, they were unwilling to fade into obscurity, still clinging to their dream of being the overlords of heaven and earth.

A few years ago, the East Sea Dragon Palace deliberately arranged for a small group of newly cultivated shrimp soldiers to cause trouble along the East Sea coast. The Immortal Du Sect dispatched disciples to purge demons and protect humanity in the East Sea, which amounted to a slap in the face for the Dragon Palace. However, the Dragon Palace dared not retaliate because the Immortal Du Sect was a direct lineage of the Three Religions. That's why this Monster Purging Assembly was convened; the Dragon clan wanted to use this opportunity to display their might and demarcate the East Sea boundary with human cultivators. Later, the Dragon Palace sent an evil dragon to deliver an invitation to the Immortal Du Sect, but it was flicked away by True Immortal Wanging with a single finger. This was another slap, even more resounding than the last. But the Dragon Palace still dared not make a move against the Immortal Du Sect. Consequently, some Dragon Palace nobles arranged that small grape trap, wanting to vent their anger through such a petty scheme.

In its childishness, it also revealed the Dragon clan's helplessness and awkwardness. In Li Changshou's view, the Dragon clan was already strong outwardly but weak inwardly, deeply entrenched in problems that were hard to reverse; the entire race had become somewhat twisted.

'Could this dragon prince have targeted me for these very reasons?'

Li Changshou pondered for a moment and quickly made a decision: he would quietly observe how the situation developed. Leaving directly, in this chaotic place, was far less secure than staying beside his own immortal elders. If a high-ranking expert from the Dragon Palace secretly tried to squash him, a small fry from the Immortal Du Sect, to vent anger, that would truly be bad. Later, during the sparring competition, if that dragon prince directly called him to the stage to fight, he would simply admit defeat due to his low cultivation.

The music and dancing ceased. A white-browed Turtle Immortal appeared, riding a golden turtle, and began to slowly and methodically recount the Dragon clan's past glories, which Li Changshou couldn't even be bothered to listen to. He again felt that same gaze. Decisively, he put away the Wind Whisper Spell and looked up in the direction of the gaze, spotting the young dragon who was about to make his appearance behind the main stage.

***

'...I, Ao Yi, the Second Prince of the East Sea Dragon Palace, must accomplish something significant today.'

Ao Yi stood behind several Immortal Flood Dragon Soldiers, his face calm, awaiting the Turtle Prime Minister's introduction before stepping onto the stage. The immortal armor and precious robes he wore glowed faintly, making his still refined and delicate young face appear as gentle as jade.

Ao Yi knew that he was half the protagonist of today's Monster Purging Assembly. It was his tenth birthday. But don't misunderstand; it was actually his tenth birthday since hatching from his egg. As early as two hundred and thirty years ago, Ao Yi had gained consciousness within his dragon egg and could move around for three hours each day. In the Dragon clan's professional terms, that was "egg movement." From that point on, various "teachers" used those three hours daily to constantly instruct him in etiquette, poetry, music theory, immortal arts, and more. Nothing else, he was the second son of the current East Sea Dragon King, and the bloodline inherited from the Ancestral Dragon was purer than his elder brother's. In the future, he might have the potential to aspire to the Grand Unity (Da Luo) realm and become a pillar of the clan.

For the first few decades, the teachings Ao Yi received led him to believe that the Dragon clan was the strongest race in the world, natural powerhouses, and the true masters of the primordial world. However, Ao Yi clearly remembered a certain clear morning in the East Sea, one hundred and sixty-three years ago, when he could already wake up for five hours a day inside his dragon egg. A "music theory" teacher, seemingly having had too much to drink, recounted many, many details about the Dragon clan's deplorable current situation.

The Dragon clan was not the strongest.

There were Sages in Heaven, and humans on Earth...

During the ancient war, the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin clans shattered the originally boundless primordial world, causing countless beings to suffer immense devastation. The Dragon clan thus bore an eternal, unredeemable sin, rejected by Heaven and Earth, their destiny sealed by the Heavenly Dao. They could only settle in the Four Seas, continuously using the bodies of Dragon clan experts to fill the unstable sea eyes of the Four Seas, thereby slowly cleansing their past sins.

What were sea eyes? They were the defiled springs of heaven and earth, the most perilous hell!

From then on, Ao Yi became worried and anxious, constantly pondering every day. As the son of the Dragon King, an inheritor of the Ancestral Dragon's bloodline, what should he, Ao Yi, do for the Dragon clan, and what could he do?

Gradually, Ao Yi discovered a pathetic truth. The majority of the Dragon clan still believed they were the strongest race. Countless clan members even considered the Heavenly Dao's punishment of guarding the Four Seas to be a noble quality of the Dragon clan, actively working for the well-being of all living beings! Even more countless clan members clamored that the Dragon clan was once the overlord of heaven and earth, an ancient race, countless times nobler than humans, who are born as ants!

Today, the Phoenix and Qilin clans are almost extinct, and the Witch and Demon clans have become supporting roles, yet the Dragon clan remains as prosperous as in ancient times, and is even worshipped as a totem by humans. This, they claim, is proof that the Dragon clan is the strongest...

Tragic!

Ridiculous!

The Dragon clan's current passive pursuit of temporary peace was bought with the flesh and blood of countless Dragon clan ancestors filling the sea eyes! Sages in Heaven could annihilate the Dragon clan with a single finger. Humans on Earth, their momentum is vast and far from what the Dragon clan can resist!

Yet, the vast majority of the Dragon clan are still dreaming of being ancient overlords, unwilling to wake up from their dreams. Because of this, they constantly display their might to humans, yet dare not truly go to war with them. A few days ago, his elder brother, the First Prince of the Dragon Palace, even arranged for someone to use such a despicable trick against the Immortal Du Sect, yet dared not step forward to issue a true challenge letter to them! This is our mighty Dragon clan! This is an ancient overlord that has rotted and twisted at its very root!

What could I, Ao Yi, a young dragon just ten years old, possibly do?

Ao Yi looked towards the high platform, as if seeing his father, who was already in the Grand Unity realm. Grand Unity Golden Immortals could only be destroyed by great calamities, and even if his father abdicated, the position would go to one of his uncles; he couldn't sit in that position, nor could he use the Dragon King's authority to reverse the Dragon clan's situation.

Ao Yi scoffed.

'To put it bluntly, I'm just a pretty puppet on whom my kin placed high hopes, meant to help them vent their anger and maintain their overlord dignity.'

That's all.

'My son, at today's Monster Purging Assembly, you must choose an Immortal Du Sect disciple to spar with. Remember to win beautifully, to delight your father.' These were his mother's instructions.

'Your Highness, when you make your move later, you must still exercise restraint and not truly injure anyone, otherwise the matter will be difficult to handle.' These were the Prime Minister's instructions to him.

But they had no idea what he was about to do.

"...And now, please welcome today's birthday celebrant, His Royal Highness, the Second Prince of the East Sea Dragon Palace, to the stage!"

The Turtle Prime Minister had already begun calling him.

Ao Yi stepped onto the stage with a calm expression, feeling the converging gazes, but couldn't be bothered to look at these non-dragon beings. The Turtle Prime Minister was still reciting his pre-prepared script. Soon, it would be the segment where Ao Yi personally chose an opponent to spar with. This was an "entertaining performance" before the official start of the Monster Purging Assembly. It was also meant to publicly teach the small Immortal Du Sect a lesson.

Ao Yi naturally knew his true strength. His deep accumulation within the dragon egg, Ancestral Dragon bloodline, and innate divine abilities meant that even though he had only hatched ten years ago, the newly ascended immortal dragons in the clan were long since no match for him.

But today...

At this moment, with all eyes on him and immortal sects from near the East Sea gathered!

He, Ao Yi, the ten-year-old Second Prince of the East Sea Dragon Palace, was going to accomplish something significant!

Just now, he had observed the strength of the Immortal Du Sect disciples and had targeted the weakest one!

Oh, noble Dragon clan, you were slapped twice by the Immortal Du Sect before, and you still don't think it was resounding enough? Still can't wake you up?

Very well then!

Today, he, Ao Yi, the Second Prince of the Dragon King, would squarely and openly lose to the weakest person among the Immortal Du Sect contingent!

Is this slap loud enough?

Wake up, Dragon clan!

Wake up, those clan members immersed in ancient dreams!

It's not too late now. We must abandon the Dragon clan's so-called nobility and find the true path forward for our race. Let talented dragon sons and daughters, like those human youths, apprentice under the Sages of the Three Religions and cultivate their methods and principles!

The Turtle Prime Minister chuckled, "Today, our birthday celebrant, His Royal Highness the Second Prince, will find a talented individual from an immortal sect to spar a bit..."

It's time.

Ao Yi gently took a breath, stepped forward, and looked towards the Immortal Du Sect's seating area. Along with his gaze, everyone else in the arena also looked towards the Immortal Du Sect's seating area.

"You."

Ao Yi raised his right hand, pointing at the weakest Immortal Du Sect disciple he had chosen earlier, and spoke in his still youthful voice:

"Come and spar with this Prince a bit."