While Prime Minister Turtle was sweeping away nearby threats, the elders of the Eastern Sea Dragon Clan were far from idle.
Rumble!
Suddenly, a loud booming sound rang out. Under the control of the former Eastern Sea Dragon King, Ao Guang, several multicolored corals rapidly assembled into a structure resembling a grand academy within mere breaths.
Soon, a group of eager fish spirits swam into the newly built academy, pulling out cultivation manuals they had long prepared and immediately began studying them.
The instructor waiting on the side also entered the building, beginning the first lesson for these fish spirits.
"Not bad, not bad," Ao Guang murmured with satisfaction as he watched the fish spirits so fervently engaged in their cultivation.
These fish spirits had all been hand-picked by Ao Guang from among countless ordinary fish—each with extraordinary innate talent—and personally enlightened by him.
As a mythical-level cultivator, he could bestow sentience upon animals, turning them into spirits. However, while such fish spirits and monsters gained some basic combat potential after enlightenment, their strength was generally quite poor.
The reason was simple: though granted life by the power of nature, these spirits had to figure out the path of cultivation on their own. Forget elite tutors—most of them barely benefitted from interacting with others.
As a result, the cultivation progress of most monsters was incredibly slow.
However, ever since Ao Qing issued the decree to establish specialized academies for fish spirits and monsters, Ao Guang was shocked to find that those who previously made little progress were now advancing with astonishing speed.
Some realms that might have taken years, decades, or even centuries to break through—these students managed to surpass them in just a few days.
Don't underestimate this!
After all, in the entire Four Seas, there were only a few hundred thousand monsters with any real combat strength. As for true top-tier fighters, there were only a few hundred—maybe even just a few dozen.
And that was after the Four Seas had been accumulating strength for tens of thousands of years!
Now with Ao Qing's new order, in just a few days, fish spirits and monsters were becoming capable warriors. What did that mean? No one understood better than Ao Guang himself.
Think about it—how many fish spirits and monsters could potentially be enlightened across the Eastern Sea alone?
Not just millions—potentially hundreds of millions, even billions!
If these academies were successfully implemented, then the Eastern Sea Dragon Clan's power wouldn't merely double—it would explode exponentially!
Just then, a shrimp soldier approached cautiously, his eyes filled with admiration:
"Milord, the martial training ground has also been completed. It's right next to the academy. Would you like to inspect it?"
Ao Guang took a deep breath and nodded.
Though he was no longer the Dragon King, he was determined to help Ao Qing build the most fearsome monster training base in the world, standing firmly as his strongest supporter!
The martial training grounds were similar to the academies, but with a stronger focus on combat prowess.
Since there weren't yet many fish monsters qualified to train in combat, most of the current participants were shrimp soldiers and crab generals. The grounds were packed with rows upon rows of them, all laser-focused and listening intently.
Two dragon clan elders sparred on the training stage, while also explaining battle techniques and cultivation insights. The shrimp soldiers and crab generals wouldn't dare miss such a precious opportunity and listened with rapt attention.
This kind of thing had never happened before.
"Hmm. Very good…" Ao Guang nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the earnest expressions of the shrimp and crab soldiers. In them, he saw the future of the Eastern Sea!
Though he had once organized martial drills, the efficiency of direct instruction like this was clearly far higher.
He even felt that very soon, the strength of these shrimp and crab soldiers might rival that of the elders!
Meanwhile, as the Eastern Sea Dragon Clan operated like a precise machine under Ao Qing's string of decrees, Ao Qing himself was reclining on the dragon throne, relishing the moment.
The reason was simple: as the reforms progressed, pleasant notification tones echoed in his ears nonstop:
"Your Dragon Clan's Fortune has increased! Your Dragon Clan's Reputation has increased! +1!"
"Your Dragon Clan's Fortune has increased! Your Dragon Clan's Reputation has increased! +1!"
"Your Dragon Clan's Fortune has increased! Your Dragon Clan's Reputation has increased! +1!"
…
In just a few days, his clan's reputation had increased by 15 points!
That might not sound like much, but in the past, gathering that much prestige would have taken months.
Just from listening to those chimes, Ao Qing knew—this strategy of scouring the Four Seas and establishing cultivation academies for fish spirits was absolutely the right move.
What even he hadn't expected, though, was that the fish spirits—once given proper instruction—were progressing at lightning speed. Not one bit inferior to human cultivators.
But on second thought, it made sense. While cultivation did require insight, a good teacher could make all the difference.
And in the coastal regions of the sea, what was in endless supply? Fish spirits and monsters!
Still, there was one thing that left Ao Qing a little frustrated: even with the elders accelerating the rate of enlightenment, the production speed of fish spirits in the Four Seas still felt a bit too slow.
This was the foundation of the Eastern Sea's combat force. The more base-level warriors they had, the more elite powerhouses they'd eventually produce.
Just as Ao Qing was pondering this problem, a crisp system prompt suddenly sounded in his ears:
"Would you like to evolve the Hunyuan Seawater of the Eastern Shore?"
"After evolution, it will become Super Hunyuan Seawater, comparable to a celestial paradise. It will increase the birth rate of fish spirits and monsters by 300%. All fish spirits and monsters born here will have 100% loyalty to the Dragon Clan!"