Chapter 680: Ao Bing Develops Killing Intent

In Nan Shanbu Zhou, Zhao Ge City.

As the sky darkened and stars began to twinkle, with lanterns just starting to illuminate the night, Di Xin, looking tired, sat on a nine-person carried throne as he left the Da Wang Hall.

Lately, the vassal states' rebellions had become more intense. Da Shang's military might was still considerable, but many hidden problems had surfaced.

Out of eight hundred vassal states, over a hundred had rebelled, which was somewhat expected.

After all, with several of his royal decrees, he had pushed half of the vassal states to a corner—either continue to submit to my Da Shang, or rebel and be utterly crushed by my Da Shang until they submitted.

The Grand Preceptor's advice was to temporarily ease the pressure on the court officials to alleviate the current tensions...

But the Grand Preceptor was always too cautious, too conservative.

Reform demands bloodshed;

Innovation necessitates severe punishment.

Da Shang's foundations, after all these years, were riddled with problems and deep-seated issues. If they weren't removed swiftly and decisively, it would be futile and could trap Da Shang in a situation where it was controlled by a coalition of vassal states, risking its downfall within decades.

Now, the reforms were starting to show results. The land of Shang was becoming more prosperous, and the people were beginning to accept and assimilate the slaves. Although the road ahead was long, this level of national strength alone was enough to deter potential rivals.

Ji Chang was imprisoned, Nan Bo Hou was dead, and Bei Bo Hou had been brought to heel by me. Only the leader of the eight hundred vassal states remained, along with the powerful support behind my queen—the eastern region and the Jiang family.

This Jiang family... Hmph!

They act as if they are the emperor's in-laws, relying on the wealth of Lu territory to secretly support the smaller vassal states in causing chaos, while on the surface pretending to be on good terms with me, indulging in their own reputation.

Do they think they can be the uncrowned king outside of my Da Shang?

They underestimate my ambitions far too much...

"Da Wang."

A soft call suddenly came from ahead, pulling Di Xin from his thoughts.

The carriage had stopped, and not far in front, a beautifully dressed woman, accompanied by several palace attendants, approached and slowly bowed to Di Xin, speaking gently:

"Da Wang."

Di Xin raised his hand, signaling the throne to be slowly lowered.

But Di Xin remained seated, speaking indifferently, "Why are you here, Wang Hou?"

The woman was naturally Jiang Wanghou, who had married Di Xin when he was still the crown prince.

Sensing Di Xin's coldness, she sighed softly and said in a low voice, "Da Wang, I have prepared an evening banquet and wish to invite you to the palace for a chat.

You work so hard every day for state affairs; I don't know what else I can do for you, except try to ease your worries."

Di Xin frowned. "I already have an appointment with Mei Ren."

"Da Wang, isn't your favoritism toward Daji a bit excessive?" Jiang Wanghou sighed. "You are the ruler of a nation and the husband of us sisters. We don't ask you to treat us all equally, but you should at least consider our marital bond and not be so distant.

Now, rumors are spreading in the court, saying that Su Guifei is harmful to the ruler. As the Wang Hou, I feel I must remind you about this..."

Di Xin leaned back slowly, his sturdy frame sinking into the throne, his eyes like two deep pools. He rested his left hand on his cheek, his middle finger against the edge of his hair, his voice calm yet carrying an inexplicable authority.

"Are you teaching me how to be king?"

Jiang Wanghou trembled slightly, quickly stepping back half a pace and bowing her head to Di Xin. "Forgive me, Da Wang!"

"I am the king, and you are the Wang Hou."

Di Xin gestured lightly with his finger, and the throne was slowly lifted by the nine strong men, heading toward the depths of the palace.

Jiang Wanghou stood there quietly, her eyes slowly closing, her left hand tightly gripping her right, her knuckles turning white.

Daji!

You just wait!

In Tianting, Taibai Palace.

"Shixiong, have some tea."

With a gentle call, Ling E floated over, holding a teacup.

This little immortal maiden, Ling E, had seized the opportunity to see Li Changshou out and about, so she had applied a light touch of makeup, changed into a light green flowing skirt with fringes, and styled her hair in a clever cloud bun. She approached with a smile, teacup in hand.

Thanks to a reminder from the Chaos Bell spirit, she knew that her shixiong was in the midst of arranging key moments for the great calamity and shouldn't be disturbed.

But from another perspective, people are most likely to grow closer to those around them when they're tired.

Giving her shixiong some encouragement to help him relax was just what a little shimei aiming to shed her tag should do!

In the thatched hut, Li Changshou looked up and smiled at Ling E, then continued focusing on the bronze mirror in front of him.

Ling E curiously moved closer, smoothing her skirt and tucking her feet together as she sat quietly by Li Changshou's cushion, peering into the mirror.

It showed a backyard where a spirited child in a short shirt and pants, with two buns in her hair, was slowly stretching.

"Little Nezha has grown so much?"

Ling E exclaimed softly, momentarily forgetting her serious mission.

"In just a few years, she looks like a little adult!"

Li Changshou nodded with a smile and said warmly, "Do you prefer boys or girls?"

"Boys, I suppose—they're so lively and robust. But girls are nice too; you can dress them up in all sorts of ways... Oh!"

Ling E couldn't help biting her lip lightly and chided softly, "How did I end up talking about this? It's so embarrassing."

Li Changshou smiled, his eyes narrowing, and picked up the cooled tea for a sip, finding it surprisingly sweet.

"Shixiong, how is Nezha's fiend energy now?"

"It's under control through her emotions and subconscious, so she's not far from fully mastering it," Li Changshou said, pausing before chuckling and shaking his head.

Li Changshou added warmly, "If Nezha fully releases her fiend energy now, even an ordinary Golden Immortal couldn't handle it.

Thinking about it, this might be a bit rushed, though she has the foundation from her past as Ling Zhuzi, plus the endless spiritual energy I provided during her gestation. I suspect there's heavenly intervention behind it."

Ling E: ...

"Can we talk about heaven so directly now? When did you change your ways, Shixiong?"

"Well," Li Changshou laughed, "back when we weren't immortals yet, we focused on survival, facing crises every day and worrying about being accidentally crushed by some great power—that would be so unlucky.

At that time, being cautious, avoiding all karma, was the steadiest path.

Step by step, as we gained the means to stand firm, handling everything meticulously, aligning upward with heaven's orders and downward with Tianting's authority, placing ourselves in the tide of Tianting's rise—that became the steadiest path.

Now, heaven is pushing the great calamity recklessly and even directly interfering in human emperor affairs to maintain the original calamity route.

I need to clarify my stance, using balance as my principle and gathering human will, to show appropriate firmness toward heaven. Under the premise that heaven can't eliminate me, I'll protect all of you—that's the steadiest path now.

Silly girl, everything in the world is constantly changing. Being too conservative or too reckless leads to death. Only adapting to the times is the way to finally escape this chessboard."

Ling E blinked, a bit confused.

It must be a matter of realm—hers just wasn't high enough.

"All right, you watch this," Li Changshou said with a smile. "I'll shift my mind to the paper effigy. This little general is going out to patrol again."

Ling E chuckled lightly and proactively leaned in, linking her arm with Li Changshou's.

With her shixiong's mind elsewhere, she could sneak in a little closeness without feeling too shy.

In the bronze mirror, as Little Nezha was about to step out, the familiar figure appeared behind her—it was the senior attendant, Wang Chang'an.

The mirror surface trembled slightly, transmitting a highly realistic conversation:

"Third young master, where are you headed today?"

"Just wandering around."

Little Nezha said in a mature tone, stretching with a yawn as her copper and gold bracelets clinked crisply, sparks of spiritual light bursting forth.

With that, she walked off with hands behind her back, head held high, exuding an air of authority.

Just then, a voice came from the backyard:

"Don't come back too late playing around!"

Little Nezha shrank her neck, turned, and shouted, "Got it, Mother!"

Then she hurried off, feeling quite embarrassed.

Li Changshou followed with a smile, carrying a bag of gold and silver in case Nezha accidentally damaged something and needed to compensate the mortals.

His previous habit of throwing around large sums of gold had been strictly forbidden by the Yin family, though Li Changshou had wanted to say...

It wasn't their money anyway!

But he stayed calm; the Yin family was just worried about Nezha developing bad habits.

Soon after leaving, calls of "Third young master" echoed from all sides. Little Nezha nodded maturely and strolled along like an old official of Chen Tang Guan, amid the admiring gazes of the crowd.

The city folk now saw Little Nezha as a lucky star and wished they could hug her.

It wasn't just for gold or wealth; they wanted to share in her good fortune.

When they reached the east market, Nezha waved a small hand, and Li Changshou tossed some gold and silver to the tea house she often visited. The attendant would shout that today's tea was on the third young master!

In the west market, two rows of young people stood shoulder to shoulder, chests out, accepting Little Nezha's inspection.

These once-idle youths had been shaped by Nezha into a reserve force for Chen Tang Guan's military.

Some women called out for Nezha to try honey treats, and elders offered to teach her a poem, but Little Nezha just smiled and passed by without saying much, yet never seeming rude.

As she wandered, Nezha left Chen Tang Guan's east gate, stretched, and flexed her muscles, muttering softly:

"Chang'an uncle, I'm going to find a place to play and be back before dark.

Don't tell my mother I left the city!"

Li Changshou laughed. "Sure, go ahead. As long as you don't fight anyone, I'll handle things with madam."

"Um!"

Little Nezha gave a thumbs-up, kicked off with her legs, and shot away like an arrow, leaping into the rolling mountains in a few bounds.

Who knew if she'd drag back a bear or haul in a serpent today?

Li Changshou greeted the gate guards familiarly, then went to his usual spot, settling into a lounge chair in the shade amid the guards' fawning smiles, and picked up the offered purple sand teapot.

Being an immortal had turned him into what others saw as an ordinary secondary heavenly emperor;

Being an attendant meant being the most unremarkable secondary master in others' eyes.

What was Chen Tang Guan's underworld influence, anyway?

"Pfft, cough! Cough, cough!"

Li Changshou choked on his tea because his immortal sense caught a figure emerging from the eastern sea waves, with a faint smile, heading toward the nearby mountains to hunt for "prey."

Seriously, not learning her lesson?

Last month, after being caught and beaten for the seventh time in her philandering ways, she was still at it.

The eastern coast of Nan Shanbu Zhou was so vast—did this dragon have mush for brains? Couldn't she find somewhere else to flirt?

If there wasn't heavenly meddling behind this, Li Changshou wouldn't believe it even if Maitreya himself said so!

Now, Ao Bing wandered through the mountains, her immortal sense sweeping over various villages and then toward the demon gathering spots, thinking of experiencing demon life.

The sea's flavors were fresh, but mountain delicacies were also delicious.

Too bad she couldn't enter the bustling human cities—those young women there were the real...

"Serpent! How dare you show up again!"

A cold shout suddenly rang in her ears, making Ao Bing shudder instinctively. She turned toward the source, her handsome face instantly paling.

In the treetops, Little Nezha stood on a leaf, arms crossed, a vivid red sash floating around her, her face full of anger.

"You again!"

Ao Bing gritted her teeth and scolded, "You brat, how dare you keep humiliating this palace master!"

Nezha tilted her head. "You're stealing someone's wife."

"You're the one stealing wives! I only go after single women."

"You're stealing them in advance."

"Pah! Get lost! This palace master can't explain it to you!"

Ao Bing waved her hand, sending a whirlwind at Nezha.

Nezha smirked, pointing a fair finger at Ao Bing. The Hun Tian Ling behind her shot forward like a rainbow, slicing through the whirlwind!

Ao Bing turned and fled, knowing full well the power of the Hun Tian Ling from past encounters.

But she was too slow. Before she could transform into a dragon, the sash caught up, binding her in moments and dragging her back to hang upside down from the treetops in front of Nezha.

Nezha crossed her arms, lifting her little chin smugly.

"You, you!"

Ao Bing trembled with rage, cursing, "You bully people with your treasures! I'll tell you straight—I know your background! You're just relying on Taibai Jinxing to back you up!

Today, this palace master will make it clear: my father is the East Sea Dragon King!"

Nezha blinked, as if asking who the East Sea Dragon King or Taibai Jinxing was, then pouted with a hint of pride.

"Chen Tang Guan is my turf. My mother said, you can only marry one wife."

"My father is the East Sea Dragon King!"

Little Nezha crossed her arms, slowly lifting her right foot, her eyes sparkling.

Ao Bing stared at Nezha, recalling the times she'd been kicked away, her expression panicked yet still trying to sound tough. "My father is the East—"

As Nezha's foot struck Ao Bing's abdomen, the Hun Tian Ling released its hold. Ao Bing grunted and transformed into a shooting star vanishing into the sky...

"Hmph," Little Nezha dusted off her hands, then walked away with hands behind her back, a touch of satisfaction in her eyes.

Maintaining order in Chen Tang Guan and dealing with scoundrels was the duty of the third young master of the garrison commander's house!

My father is the old overlord of Chen Tang!

"Hmm?"

In the Li family backyard, Li Jing, who had just returned, rubbed his nose, suppressing a sneeze. Seeing the house was quiet, he knew Nezha wasn't home.

He swept his immortal sense and spotted the senior attendant resting on the city wall, so he relaxed and paid no more attention to Nezha's whereabouts.

"I'm furious! Cough, cough! I'm furious!"

In a secluded hall of the East Sea Dragon Palace, Ao Bing was stomping and cursing. Several guards and two rows of sea maidens kept their heads down, afraid to speak, lest they become her venting targets.

What kind of justice was this?

Had the dragon clan's reputation fallen so low?

That insolent Nezha, relying on being a disciple of Taiyi Zhenren and having Taibai Jinxing as her godfather, was acting so arrogantly and meddling in everything!

Had even half a scale on her dragon body broken heavenly rules?

And calling her a little hero? She was just a kid!

If not for the thin dragon king blood in this third prince, would Nezha dare act so cocky?

"Princess," a guard asked cautiously, "your injury..."

"This palace master is injured?" Ao Bing straightened up, enduring the soreness from the kick, and snapped, "This palace master just let that brat get in a few hits! If I showed my true form, would I fear her?

Hmph! A child flaunting her parents' protection, acting wildly and unreasonably!

Truly hateful! Deserving of death!"

A guard whispered, "Princess, why not report this to His Majesty..."

Ao Bing instantly calmed down, chuckling awkwardly before turning to her shell-shaped bed.

Her father had no regard for her.

Even now, with her wild behavior, she couldn't earn a single word of scolding.

In her father's heart, her second brother, the heavenly warrior, was his true heir.

On the soft couch, Ao Bing closed her eyes coldly and waved her sleeve impatiently. The two rows of sea maidens and guards bowed and retreated.

Why did Nezha have so many treasures and so much affection?

With ties to Chan Jiao, Taibai Palace, and the human race, she was suppressing a dragon prince like her.

Why...

Why?

WHY?

Ao Bing opened her eyes, flames burning in them.

She sat up, hands buried in her long hair, touching the horns slowly growing out, her gaze turning icy.

I have it.

Father, I'll make you see—even if my bloodline is far weaker than my second brother's, I can still stand on my own!

"Guard! Summon the patrolling night yasha for me!"

(The end of this chapter)