“Nezha!”
“Nezha!”
“How dare your Dragon Palace bully my child like this!”
“Cough! Puh—”
On the pristine beach, Nezha spat out streams of water, his round little belly quickly returning to normal. His tiny body lay limp there as he weakly opened his eyes.
A familiar large face peered over from the side, filling Nezha’s vision.
“Ah, Uncle Chang’an…”
“Third Young Master, you’re awake?”
Li Changsheng’s face was filled with concern as he asked softly, “Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
Nezha opened his small mouth, wanting to speak but unable to. He felt as if he had just experienced a nightmare. His head still ached, and fragments of images flooded his mind, though they remained blurry and indistinct.
He mumbled, “Wasn’t I… fighting with some serpents?”
Li Changsheng smiled, “Third Young Master must have been dreaming. Don’t think too much about it, just relax…”
“Hehe,” Nezha smacked his lips and reached out his small hands toward Li Changsheng, “Uncle Chang’an, carry me!”
“Come here,” Li Changsheng ruffled Nezha’s head and half-carried, half-supported him on his shoulder. “Let’s head back to the manor.”
In his heart, he sighed. Though little Nezha was clever enough, with judgment abilities like those of an adolescent or young adult, he was still fundamentally a child at heart.
Nezha was no longer focused on what had happened earlier. He lay limply on Li Changsheng’s shoulder, weakly humming under his breath.
His whole body ached, his limbs cramped—indeed symptoms of having played too hard.
Eh? How had his clothes been changed? This wasn’t what he was wearing when he went out.
Several question marks appeared over Nezha’s forehead, but his attention was soon drawn to butterflies by the roadside, which he stared at, lost in thought.
Li Changsheng chuckled inwardly.
In the idealized version of “Nezha Battles the Dragon Group,” little Nezha would have been gallant and imposing, magical treasures at the ready, truly radiating heroic spirit, worthy of the title “Little Hero.”
In reality, “Nezha Battles the Dragon Group” involved him burning off his clothes shortly after beginning, clutching the Fire-Tipped Spear while wearing only red underwear, and charging back and forth with his spear—truly worthy of the title…
Little Bottom.
Very spirited indeed.
“Uncle Chang’an, did I kill a serpent?”
“Yes, and you lost control a bit.”
“But you just said I was dreaming. Ah- *yawn*… I even heard Father’s voice.”
Li Changsheng spoke slowly, “Third Young Master fainted in the seawater. When those young dragon clan members tried to take your life, the Master arrived just in time to save you.”
“Where’s Father?”
Nezha blinked his large eyes inquiringly.
“The General Commander is busy with military affairs. After saving Third Young Master, he had to return immediately.”
“Oh,” Nezha yawned, “Then I’ll sleep for a bit… so tired.”
Li Changsheng responded gently, softly patting Nezha’s back as he gradually fell asleep.
During the battle with Ao Bing’s guards, Nezha progressively releases his killing energy to obtain more spiritual power.
This process was almost instinctive, a stress response when Nezha encountered crisis;
For Nezha at this stage, it still posed a considerable burden.
Though little Nezha couldn’t be treated as an ordinary child, having completely merged with his previous life’s self while still in the womb, he was still only just over two years old, and his nature remained pure and simple, never overthinking things.
Especially since Nezha had absolute trust in his Uncle Chang’an.
Li Changsheng’s description was understated, but the actual situation had been far from simple.
Ao Bing had set up a deadly formation to trap Nezha, using patrolling water spirits as bait, intending to condemn Nezha for his crimes.
Ao Bing’s motives were rather complex, showing signs of psychological distortion—this was his self-determined method of seeking validation.
Things had progressed smoothly at first. Several of Ao Bing’s guards had lured Nezha into the East Sea, then into the previously set deadly formation.
This should have been a fatal trap, and Li Changsheng was about to intervene to save him.
But unexpectedly, the deadly formation was scattered in an extremely short time. Nezha’s killing energy and spiritual power erupted simultaneously, instantly engulfing Ao Bing, and destroying his dragon soul with a single thrust of the spear.
The other azure dragons hurriedly retreated upon seeing this.
Just as Nezha was about to give chase, the bracelet on his wrist emitted a gentle glow, causing him to fall unconscious immediately.
As for Ao Bing, whose dragon soul had been destroyed, a trace of his remnant soul escaped into the void, seemingly heading toward the Investiture Board below the Middle Heaven Gate.
This should be the first spirit to enter the Investiture Board.
Li Changsheng’s thoughts stirred, realizing he could have prevented this, but he chose not to intervene, allowing Ao Bing to enter the Investiture Board, quietly awaiting his deification after the Great Calamity.
After Nezha lost consciousness, those guard dragons, worried about punishment from the Dragon Palace, thought they might as well finish what they started and take Nezha back to the Dragon Palace.
Li Jing arrived just in time. Though his cultivation wasn’t sufficient to fight several guard dragons, he brandished his sword and shouted in anger, protecting Nezha.
Those guard dragons, panicked and knowing they were in the wrong, collected Ao Bing’s corpse and hastily retreated, but not without leaving some threatening words:
“Well done, Li Jing! Well done, Chen Tang Pass!”
“Don’t run if you’ve got the guts!”
“You will feel the dragon clan’s wrath!”
A very common pattern of threats, but Li Jing was indeed somewhat worried.
Fortunately, Li Changsheng promptly reminded him to go to Mount Qianyuan to request True Lord Taiyi’s presence to help deal with the aftermath. Li Jing then entrusted Nezha to his most trusted immortal and hurriedly left for the Middle Divine Continent.
This scheme concerning the dragon clan, using Nezha as leverage, was part of Li Changsheng’s far-reaching strategy.
Before the Great Calamity had safely begun, Li Changsheng had observed the dragon clan for a long time. He had noticed their awakening “ancient noble soul” and their oppressive rule over sea tribes, which came with the destiny of submitting to the Heavenly Court.
The dragon clan could be viewed as having four social strata.
At the highest level were the Four Sea Dragon Kings, the various Great Elders, and the older generation of elders who no longer concerned themselves with worldly affairs, focusing solely on suppressing the sea eyes.
They were the foundation of the dragon clan and their strongest deterrent force against external threats. Though they seemed ineffective when facing the pressure of Western Teaching’s sages, that was only because the sages’ radiance was too dazzling.
The second level consisted of dragon princes and princesses, representatives of those born after ancient times.
The third level was more complex, including sea tribe leaders, accomplished dragons who had transformed, and many “ordinary dragons” who had lost dragon clan glory due to impure bloodlines.
The fourth level mainly comprised transformed dragons and flood dragons, forming an important part of the dragon clan’s military force.
Sea tribes… in the dragon clan’s eyes, didn’t deserve to have a social stratum.
Previously, when Western Teaching dealt with the dragon clan, they had exploited the conflicts between the fourth level and the top three levels, using the dissatisfaction of immortal flood dragon soldiers and transformed dragons as an entry point. They controlled large numbers of sea tribes, causing the dragon clan considerable trouble.
However, this predicament had only temporarily concealed the internal contradictions within the dragon clan. The dragon clan had awakened a wave of “clan soul,” filling sea eyes, overcoming difficulties, submitting to the Heavenly Court, and becoming an important support during the Heavenly Court’s weakness.
In reality, the core contradictions within the dragon clan had never been truly resolved.
[Most dragons were unwilling to accept their role as supporting characters in heaven and earth, yet they remained intoxicated in ancient dreams, unwilling to wake up. This accumulated too much class pressure, which could cause the dragon clan’s internal structure to collapse at any moment.]
Specifically, this was like Ao Bing choosing to attack Nezha despite knowing his background and backing.
How long had it been since the dragon clan submitted to the Heavenly Court?
What would happen in the future?!
Now, the protagonists of heaven and earth were the human race.
Li Changsheng couldn’t allow a ‘dragon calamity’ that would harm countless mortals to occur in the future.
He had considered many possibilities at the time, determining that resolving the dragon clan’s internal conflicts wouldn’t affect his overall plans, so he chose to take cautious action.
Half-coercing and half-assisting, he pushed the Dragon Kings and other ‘first-tier elder dragons’ to purge dangerous elements within the dragon clan and fundamentally change their perception of the primordial world.
This would greatly benefit both humans and dragons.
The specific steps were complex and would unfold gradually; Li Changsheng hadn’t given the Dragon Kings a detailed script, showing his trust in these old strategists of the primordial world.
The overall approach was for Li Changsheng to provide external pressure—the Heavenly Court, the Enlightenment Teaching, and the human race—three forces to suppress the dragon clan internally, creating a coercive situation. This would allow the Dragon Kings to reorganize their internal structure and transform the dragon clan’s self-perception.
During this process, the Dragon Kings had to maintain solidarity with all dragons to ensure relative stability within the clan and preserve their authority.
The outcome might leave the dragon clan harboring resentment toward the Heavenly Court and feeling less grateful toward the Grand White Star. Ao Bing would become a Heavenly Court immortal, binding the dragon clan more tightly to the Heavenly Court.
The dragon clan would avoid falling into a power struggle with humans, and humans would be spared a catastrophe.
Therefore, Li Changsheng’s essential goal was to make the dragon clan accept that they were merely one part of heaven and earth’s living beings.
Pride was acceptable, but only within bounds.
If any opposed this, they would be eliminated early.
Li Changsheng didn’t want humans to rule over dragons; he merely wanted dragons to live peacefully in the Four Seas without thoughts of competing with humans for dominion over heaven and earth.
This was his way of protecting the human way.
A true old guardian of the way.
Of course, Li Changsheng’s arrangements wouldn’t focus solely on the dragon clan.
As long as subsequent plans remained under his control…
Better to stay cautious and not jinx it.
He would intervene in time to prevent Nezha’s tragedy from unfolding.
The Heavenly Way needed a golden enforcer, and humans were created by Mother Nüwa using her innate dao body as a template, with potential no less than any precious vessel.
According to Li Changsheng’s current understanding of the Way and research into the Heavenly Way, Nezha’s lotus treasure body in the Heavenly Way’s script, centered on incense and merit, actually limited Nezha’s potential.
The Spirit Zhenzhu had already chosen to bid farewell to Little Rabbit when his cultivation path was blocked, resolutely choosing to reincarnate as a human and cultivate anew.
Since Li Changsheng had promised the Spirit Zhenzhu, he would do his best to help perfect his great dao.
There were no perfect schemes or arrangements in the world, and this plan was no exception.
The dragon clan needed a sacrifice of sufficient weight, and Ao Bing was the chosen ‘destiny.’
Li Changsheng sighed inwardly but made no further comment.
Long ago, he had begun wondering if everything he did was also part of the Heavenly Way’s script.
However, after several decades of consideration, Li Changsheng reached a definitive conclusion.
[It wasn’t.]
Since then, Li Changsheng had learned to ‘draw pictures’ in his heart first, then use brush and ink to write schemes on silk that would benefit both himself and the Heavenly Way.
He had been fooling the Heavenly Way for over six hundred years now.
Ao Bing’s death was ultimately the choice of the dragon clan’s highest level, directly related to his position as Grand White Star, but it was indeed the optimal solution to the dragon clan’s current crisis.
On the way back to Chen Tang Pass, Li Changsheng seemed to hear the sizzling sound of a rapidly burning fuse, yet he couldn’t help but smile.
He couldn’t help it—little Nezha’s snoring was louder.
…
Late at night, at the Li Manor.
While Nezha slept soundly in Lady Yin’s chambers, several notable immortals of the primordial world sat in the front hall’s reception room.
The Great Yin-Yang Master Taiyi, the deeply mysterious Yu Ding, the Heavenly Court’s superstar Yang Jian, the survived-great-danger-but-no-particular-blessing-after Yellow Dragon True Person, and one of Li Changsheng’s paper avatars.
Li Jing sat in the host’s position, his eyes showing traces of worry, but more determination and resolution.
Seeing the hall had been silent for too long, Yang Jian took the initiative to ask, “Are we certain the dragon clan struck first?”
“Indeed,” Li Jing nodded slowly, speaking solemnly, “According to Nezha, that Dragon Third Prince liked to come to Chen Tang Pass seeking mortal women for pleasure. Nezha had disciplined him several times, so the Dragon Third Prince harbored evil thoughts and murderous intent.”
Yu Ding spoke slowly, “I fear the dragon clan won’t care about these details… after all, the one who died was the Dragon King’s son.”
Yellow Dragon pondered beside them: “This matter isn’t so simple. Sometimes the Dragon King must also consider the sentiments of the entire dragon clan.”
True Lord Taiyi snorted with laughter, cursing, “They schemed against us, got killed by Nezha in retaliation, and still want to self-righteously demand my precious disciple’s guilt?”
Yellow Dragon said softly, “As Brother Yu Ding said, after all, the one who died was the East Sea Dragon Palace’s Third Prince.”
“So what?” True Lord Taiyi said calmly, “Does a Dragon King’s prince have extra parts compared to other dragons?”
“Uncle Master, this isn’t the time for anger,” Yang Jian said gravely. “The dragon clan now submits to the Heavenly Court. Before coming here, I had someone investigate—that Ao Bing also held a position as an auxiliary deity for cloud and rain management in the Heavenly Court.
If the dragon clan fixates on this matter, it’s indeed disadvantageous for us.”
“Don’t worry about the Heavenly Court,” Li Changsheng said with a smile. “Just focus on the dragon clan.”
True Lord Taiyi asked puzzled, “How did this little dragon prince become a Heavenly Court deity?
Are the Heavenly Court’s standards so loose?”
Li Changsheng spoke seriously, “The dragon clan nominally belongs under the Water God’s jurisdiction. Though I currently hold the Water God position, I long ago delegated the authority to appoint mortal cloud and rain envoys and minor water system deities to the Hall of Clarity.
Presumably, when the Hall of Clarity saw it was the East Sea Dragon King’s Third Prince, they turned a blind eye and granted him an auxiliary deity position.”
True Master Yu Ding asked, “Could there be a dragon clan scheming in this?”
“There probably is,” Li Changsheng nodded imperceptibly.
He couldn’t mention his arrangements for the dragon clan to any friends or family.
“Ah,” Li Jing sighed, “Now we can only deal with things as they come.
Nezha is my third son. Though I, Li Jing, am no great power or master of divine abilities, just a mortal general, right and wrong exist in people’s hearts.
If the dragon clan comes to make trouble, we must ask them why they could harbor such deadly murderous intent toward a child not yet three years old!”
BOOM—
Just as Li Jing’s voice fell, rolling thunder suddenly sounded overhead. Chen Tang Pass’s sky changed color, the stars hidden by dark clouds.
Torrential rain fell without warning. The mortals still active in the streets hurriedly returned home to avoid the rain, and Chen Tang Pass quickly fell silent.
The expressions of the immortals in the hall were remarkably uniform—grave.
The East Sea rose in layers of waves, crashing against the coastal cliffs.
The world suddenly seemed to fill with more than ten faint yet palpable pressures. In the low but heavy dark clouds above Chen Tang Pass, azure dragons churned up and down, their figures flickering with lightning and thunder as they moved above the General’s mansion.
“Where is Li Jing of Chen Tang Pass?”