Over the next few days, Ao Qing was fully immersed in cultivating the Dragon God Art and consolidating his Seven-Clawed Golden Dragon realm.
But don't be fooled by his personal stillness—thanks to a few well-placed decrees and the power of the Super Primordial Sea, all of the Eastern Sea—no, to be precise, all Four Seas—were undergoing earthshaking changes.
The first and most immediate shift was that nearly all of the monsters and immortals who had once dared to covet the Four Seas had vanished. No longer did some random demon show up expecting to casually extort equipment or magical artifacts like before.
Secondly—and more profoundly—the Four Seas were now filled with institutes and training grounds devoted to teaching cultivation techniques to the newly awakened fish spirits and aquatic monsters. These institutions focused on opening spiritual wisdom and enhancing strength. Every five li (roughly 2.5 km), a new facility was established, densely covering the entire seascape in a truly awe-inspiring display.
As soon as a fish evolved into a fish spirit or aquatic monster, it would be summoned to one of these designated training halls to begin foundational cultivation and education. Once they reached a certain level, they'd be sent to the training grounds to practice real combat and hone their strength—thus strengthening the Eastern Sea Dragon Clan as a whole.
In addition, Grand Chancellor Turtle had personally led the formation of a "Sea-Taming Force" tasked with clearing out hostile demons and monsters along the sea's borders. These campaigns not only yielded a massive influx of magical treasures and artifacts but also brought back a great number of captives and slaves.
The treasures were immediately locked away in the weapon vaults, while the slaves were distributed to various departments of the Four Seas, aiding key personnel and helping the entire system run more smoothly and efficiently.
The once-feeble Four Seas had, in economic terms, fully returned to their peak. You could now say they had both wealth and grain in abundance.
As for military matters—the transformation was nothing short of revolutionary.
In just two short weeks, the number of trained aquatic soldiers capable of defending the seas had soared from a mere three to four hundred thousand to a formidable six to seven hundred thousand—combat strength more than doubled.
Even the elite shrimp soldier corps had grown from one hundred thousand to one hundred thirty thousand. Though their growth wasn't as dramatic as the common troops, the improvement in combat effectiveness was still astonishing.
Among them, two particularly gifted fish monsters had, within just two weeks, broken through three major realms, ascending to the rank of Fish Kings. Their strength was now on par with the veteran Crab Generals who commanded the water army.
Beyond the economic and military boom, Ao Qing, as the newly crowned Dragon Emperor, had also devised a comprehensive political structure, assigning roles based on performance across various domains. This system ensured swift, efficient governance.
Now, all it took was a single decree from Ao Qing, and the relevant departments across the Eastern Sea would rally to execute it immediately.
Having lived a past life as a human, Ao Qing was all too aware of the importance of a solid administrative system. In the past, governance in the Eastern Sea had been chaotic; many departments lacked clear responsibilities, and tasks were often bounced around due to bureaucratic buck-passing—entirely unsuitable for establishing a glorious new Dragon Kingdom.
Now, two weeks later, Ao Qing slowly opened his eyes, having fully stabilized his Seven-Clawed Golden Dragon form. At the same time, his Dragon God Art had successfully advanced to the seventh tier—his combat power was now exponentially greater than before.
A new day dawned, and the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace convened court as usual.
"So you're saying that, in just two weeks, the military and economic power of the Four Seas has doubled again?" Ao Qing asked with a faint smile, satisfied, as he reviewed a detailed report compiled by Grand Chancellor Turtle.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the Chancellor replied honestly. "Under your wise leadership, all performance indicators of the Eastern Sea have indeed doubled. The explosive growth in combat strength even took us by surprise."
Truthfully, when he'd first heard the Emperor's decrees, Grand Chancellor Turtle had harbored some doubts. But the numbers told a different story. The Emperor's foresight was undeniable—and it left him even more in awe of Ao Qing.
The other Dragon Elders nodded as well. They had all witnessed the Dragon Clan's steady resurgence firsthand.
"I, Ao Guang, can't help but feel a bit of regret," the former Eastern Sea Dragon King said half-jokingly. "I regret not letting you take the throne sooner. If we had, our Dragon Clan wouldn't have been bullied for so long."
"Hahahaha—!"
The elders burst into laughter, the hall echoing with mirth and relief.
But just as Ao Guang was about to say more, a shrimp soldier suddenly barged in, flustered and breathless.
"Your Majesty! Urgent news! The Ten Thousand Saints Dragon King, the Jing River Dragon King, and the Yellow River Dragon King have joined forces! They've somehow recruited a group of terrifying Demon Kings and Demon Emperors—and now they're marching this way, filled with murderous intent! Early estimates suggest at least two hundred thousand demon soldiers! It looks like they've come to avenge the fallen Dragon Kings!"
The cheerful mood in the palace was immediately extinguished.
"The Ten Thousand Saints Dragon King? The Jing River Dragon King? The Yellow River Dragon King?"
Ao Qing blinked, then finally recalled.
It wasn't just the sea-dragon rulers who bore the title of Dragon King. The Dragon Clan also had members assigned to rule over rivers and wells, and these river dragons generally shared some blood relation to the Four Sea Dragon Kings.
Of course, most of them weren't pure-blooded dragons. Take the Ten Thousand Saints Dragon King—he was actually a flood dragon, not a true dragon.
Now these river kings had banded together and come charging in, clearly to cause trouble—and they'd even dragged along several Demon Kings and Demon Emperors?
They were obviously planning to wrest control of the Four Seas from him.
How timely.
Ao Qing had just advanced to a Seven-Clawed Golden Dragon and was eager for a test run of his newfound power.
"Interesting," he said with a cold gleam in his eyes. "All of you, come with me! I want to see what kind of power these so-called Demon Kings and Emperors have, to think they dare provoke this king!"
With a sweeping motion of his hand, Ao Qing released a majestic wave of dragon might from his body. The entire palace trembled faintly, his aura shaking the sea around them.