As Li Jing was deep in thought, a deafening thunderclap suddenly echoed from outside the Li residence. Ominous dark clouds surged across the skies, blanketing all of Chentang Pass in oppressive gloom.
Even inside the Li Manor, both Li Jing and his wife—as well as Taiyi Zhenren, one of the Twelve Golden Immortals—felt the pressure mounting like a colossal mountain weighing down upon them. This kind of terrifying might was completely unprecedented.
"This… this aura… could it be… Dragon Might?" Taiyi Zhenren, who had followed Yuanshi Tianzun for countless years, immediately sensed the truth the moment the pressure reached them.
"Dragon Might? But this is far more intense than any I've ever felt," Li Jing muttered, frowning.
As seasoned cultivators who had fought countless demons and dragons, neither he nor his wife had ever felt this kind of crushing power before—not even from the most ferocious dragons. This wasn't just any Dragon Might.
Taiyi Zhenren corrected him gravely, "No… this isn't ordinary Dragon Might. This is Imperial Dragon Might. The aura of a Dragon Emperor."
Even Taiyi Zhenren himself was shocked by his own words. Imperial Dragon Might had only ever been radiated by the ancestral dragon in ancient times. No dragon since had ever wielded it. Could it be that the Ancestral Dragon had returned? Or was this a new heir to that ancient bloodline?
Either possibility was a cataclysmic shift in the balance of the Mythic World.
"It was this monster—this so-called Dragon Emperor—who killed my Nezha, wasn't it?" Lady Yin asked coldly, unconcerned with divine politics.
Before anyone could answer, a bolt of lightning split the sky, illuminating the entire Li estate like daytime.
A voice, calm yet resonant, echoed across the heavens:
"I am Ao Qing, Dragon Emperor and ruler of the Four Seas. Today, I come to flood Chentang Pass and avenge my third brother, Ao Bing!"
As his words fell, the aura of the Dragon Emperor surged forth like a tidal wave, shaking the very skies. The atmosphere churned violently under the sheer weight of his might.
Every mortal in Chentang Pass felt as though a mountain had fallen upon them. They collapsed to the ground, unable even to breathe properly, let alone stand.
It was Ao Qing, the Eastern Sea Dragon King.
After slaying Nezha and the horde of 100,000 demons, he had led the full strength of the Dragon Clan to Chentang Pass.
As a transmigrator who had read countless myths, Ao Qing knew the script too well. Nezha, a key figure in the Conferred Gods list, was fated never to die. Ao Bing, however—his third brother—was doomed to be just a footnote, a stepping stone.
Ao Bing had been slaughtered and condemned for eternity—all to elevate Nezha. But why? What had the Dragon Clan done to deserve such a fate?
Now that Ao Qing had been reborn, there was no way he would let that happen again.
With Nezha dead, he knew Taiyi Zhenren would rush to intervene. That was why he had come first—to flood Chentang Pass and change the course of fate. And of course, to farm a hefty wave of prestige in the process.
As his voice faded, the gates of the Li residence opened. Li Jing and Lady Yin emerged, accompanied by Taiyi Zhenren. Rage burned in their eyes. In Lady Yin's arms lay the bloodied corpse of Nezha.
"I never thought the Eastern Sea Dragon King would be so unreasonable," Li Jing growled. "Not only did you kill our son Nezha, but now you claim the right to flood Chentang Pass? Anyone would find this intolerable!"
He had once believed Ao Qing to be a reasonable and civil ruler, and had assumed Nezha's death was some tragic misunderstanding. Clearly, he had been wrong.
Ao Qing merely sneered in response, offering no explanation.
What was he supposed to say? That he was a transmigrator who knew Ao Bing was fated to die at Nezha's hands?
He turned to one of his subordinates. "Prime Minister Turtle, here's your chance to shine."
With that, Ao Qing leaned back on his cloud, watching as though enjoying a performance.
The Dragon Elders didn't fully understand his motives, but they couldn't deny the pride swelling within them. Today, the Dragon Clan would hold their heads high.
As for Ao Bing, he didn't know the full story either. But he could clearly feel the warmth of Ao Qing's care and protection—and deep down, he too felt vindicated.
After all, even though the Dragon Clan had never harmed the human race, they were still treated with suspicion and scorn. Righteous cultivators saw it as honorable to hunt dragons as "monsters."
Why? Was it simply because they were "demons"? Were they fated to be treated as prey?
"Don't worry, Dragon King," Prime Minister Turtle replied, stepping forward through the stormclouds. His eyes were icy and resolute.
Truthfully, he too had had enough of the so-called righteous humans and their self-serving hypocrisy. He held no affection for their so-called justice.
As soon as his words fell, a fearsome spiritual pressure erupted from him, centered on his form and surging outward. The aura of the Black Tortoise, one of the Four Divine Beasts, descended upon Chentang Pass.
The already suffocating atmosphere grew even heavier. The civilians of Chentang Pass could no longer move, barely able to support their own weight as pain wracked their limbs.
"So powerful… Is that the aura of the Black Tortoise?"
Taiyi Zhenren's face changed dramatically. To think that aside from the Dragon King, there was another being in the Eastern Sea with such divine might—an aura on par with the Four Saints' sacred beasts.
"Could the Dragon Clan truly be rising once more…?" he thought, heart sinking.
With a flick of his horsetail whisk, Taiyi Zhenren released a wave of cold, sacred energy. It burst outward from him, clashing head-on with the oppressive pressure of the Black Tortoise.
The confrontation had begun.