Very quickly, news of the Tortoise Prime Minister single-handedly suppressing both the Western and Northern Seas spread like wildfire across the Four Seas. Among the shrimp soldiers, crab generals, fish spirits, and aquatic beasts, the tale exploded like a bombshell.
At first, many believed it to be a joke. After all, the Dragon Kings of the Southern and Western Seas were not pushovers. If they weren't truly powerful, how could they have ruled their respective domains?
But when word spread that a six-clawed golden dragon had appeared in the Eastern Sea, a look of realization dawned on many faces.
The strength of a six-clawed golden dragon was well known to most beings.
As for why the Tortoise Prime Minister's strength had skyrocketed out of nowhere, many suspected it was related to the Eastern Sea Dragon King, Ao Qing. After all, in the entire Four Seas, only Ao Qing possessed such power.
For a time, the entire ocean world was in upheaval. Countless monsters and spirits with ties to the Southern, Western, or Northern Seas were thrown into panic. Many began urgently weighing their options: should they submit to Ao Qing, or swiftly sever ties with their old allies?
In short, the Four Seas were in chaos. Numerous factions held secret meetings to discuss strategies. Even several immortals and celestial bigshots began covert investigations into Ao Qing, trying to uncover what gave him the strength to unify the seas.
Of course, in the eyes of most powerful immortals, even if Ao Qing did unify the Four Seas, he still posed no real threat to them. After all, it was impossible for the Eastern Sea Dragon Clan to ever regain the former glory of the Ancestral Dragon.
None of them believed that the Eastern Dragon Clan had inherited the Ancestral Dragon's purest bloodline or could possibly wield his matchless power.
…
As for the outside world's tremors, Ao Qing didn't bother with them—truthfully, he couldn't be bothered.
Right now, he sat cross-legged on his dragon bed within the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace. His skin had turned a deep black, his features were refined, and his whole being exuded a volatile energy, as if he might erupt at any moment.
If someone were present, they would have been shocked to see that Ao Qing had grown visibly larger than before.
Fortunately, he hadn't taken his true form—otherwise, just the transformation alone would shake the entire Four Seas once again.
The reason was simple: with the help of a single evolution point, Ao Qing had evolved into a Seven-Clawed Golden Dragon.
And not just any seven-clawed dragon—he had become the Seven-Clawed Hunyuan Dragon of the Five Elements, the supreme variant among all seven-clawed dragons!
Though he hadn't yet transformed to test it, Ao Qing could clearly feel that his strength had advanced far beyond what it was as a six-clawed dragon.
At this moment, he slowly opened his personal stat panel:
Name: Ao Qing
Title: Newly Crowned Dragon King of the Four Seas
Territories: Eastern Sea, Western Sea, Southern Sea, Northern Sea
Troop Strength:
Five-Clawed Golden Dragons ×3
Four-Clawed Golden Dragons ×10
Three-Clawed Golden Dragons ×30
Shrimp Soldiers ×100,000
Crab Generals ×20,000
Reputation: 16 points
Cultivation Method: Dragon God Art
Cultivation Realm: Pseudo–Great Luo Golden Immortal
Treasures: None
Transformation: Seven-Clawed Hunyuan Dragon of the Five Elements
Skills: Wind Control, Fire Control, Lightning Control, Water Control, Earth Control...
Evolution Points: 0
Dominion Rating: F+ (rock bottom)
This stat panel nearly gave Ao Qing a fright.
He had originally thought it would take months to unify the Four Seas, yet it had taken only a few days. His title had now changed from "Eastern Sea Dragon King" to "Dragon King of the Four Seas."
But what pleased him more than anything was the military strength of the Four Seas under his control.
Compared to when he ruled only the Eastern Sea, his dragon army's combat strength had more than doubled. In several metrics, it had improved four- or fivefold. And his personal cultivation had finally advanced to the Pseudo–Great Luo Golden Immortal stage.
Do not underestimate this realm—once someone reaches Great Luo Golden Immortal, they become one of the top figures in the mythological world, perched atop the food chain. Few could challenge or kill them.
In the distant future, even the legendary Monkey King Sun Wukong, during his havoc in Heaven, had only reached the Pseudo–Great Luo stage!
Of course, even though Ao Qing's individual strength had risen, his overall army power still hadn't caught up—otherwise, his Dominion Rating wouldn't still be at F+.
It was worth noting that the moment the Tortoise Prime Minister executed the Northern and Southern Sea Dragon Kings, Ao Qing had instantly received a system reward.
That reward? A hefty 8 reputation points.
Just 2 more points, and he'd gain another precious evolution point.
Needless to say, Ao Qing was quite satisfied with the Tortoise Prime Minister's performance—it had perfectly demonstrated the strength of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.
As Ao Qing slowly opened his eyes, before he could speak, the ever-diligent Tortoise Prime Minister, Gui Qiansui, hurried forward to report:
"Dragon King, I have successfully suppressed the two Dragon Kings and helped you unify the Northern and Western Seas."
"We now command the entire Four Seas. You are the rightful Dragon King of all. Our military strength has grown fourfold. Many of the Eastern Sea Dragon Clan's elders have already set out to guard the newly annexed seas."
At this point, Gui Qiansui's eyes glimmered with excitement.
For as long as he could remember, he had dreamed of seeing the Four Seas united under the Eastern Sea Dragon King—and now, that dream had finally come true!
"Not bad. Inform the elders of the Dragon Clan, as well as all major department heads, to gather at the Dragon Palace. We will hold a court assembly and discuss important matters," Ao Qing said after thinking briefly.
"C-court assembly?!" Gui Qiansui froze.
That was something only human emperors did! But the Prime Minister knew better than to question Ao Qing. He quickly turned and set off to make preparations.
As he watched the flustered Prime Minister scurry away, a faint smirk appeared on Ao Qing's lips.
During his earlier cultivation, he had already begun planning the Dragon Clan's future development.
One thing was certain: the human clans and land-based factions would eventually need to be dealt with.
Don't be fooled by how easily the three Dragon Kings were killed. The world of myth was crawling with powerhouses. Even Ao Qing alone couldn't turn the tide for the entire Dragon Clan.
If he truly wanted to bring the dragons back to greatness, he would definitely need to adapt and perhaps even borrow the systems and strategies that had made the humans so successful...