A rough voice accompanied by intense pressure came from the sky. Dark clouds covered a thousand li around Chen Tang Pass, and fierce winds swept through everywhere, breaking tree branches and sending roof tiles flying. Many mortals’ clothes that hadn’t been brought in were swept beyond their courtyard walls.
Over ten elder dragons coiled and writhed in the clouds, their call for Li Jing echoing throughout Chen Tang Pass.
They made no attempt to conceal themselves, directly demanding accountability, all consumed by rage, causing anxiety among the hundred thousand mortals of Chen Tang Pass.
In the Li Manor’s back courtyard, little Nezha drowsily opened his eyes. Lady Yin, who had just gone to the window, quickly closed the wooden shutters and returned to the bedside, gently patting her third son until he fell back asleep.
In the front hall, Li Changsheng’s paper avatar had vanished, but his voice had already reached the ears of the three Enlightenment Teaching immortals.
“If the dragon clan causes trouble, the Enlightenment Teaching can suppress them.”
True Lord Taiyi rose to his full height, and shook his sleeves, his eyes gleaming.
With those words, everything was settled.
Though he couldn’t quite understand all of this person’s calculations, since Li Changsheng had spoken thus, there must be deeper schemes at work.
True Master Yu Ding stood up with a stern expression and walked to True Lord Taiyi’s side, speaking softly:
“The dragon clan need not be feared too much.”
True Lord Taiyi nodded calmly, a cold smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
Today, he would start trouble at will!
At the main seat, Li Jing slowly exhaled, the veins bulging slightly on his hands as he gripped the armrests. Two sword gleams flashed in his eyes before returning to stillness.
Carrying his sheathed sword, stepping with a military bearing, shoulder armor accompanying his long robes, his face as if carved from bone.
Li Jing walked out of the hall without a word, looked up at the layers of dark clouds in the sky, and clasped his sword before him with both hands while keeping his back ramrod straight. His clear voice, carried by his immortal power, spread throughout Chen Tang Pass!
“Li Jing of Chen Tang Pass is here.”
In a corner of the back courtyard, a faint smile appeared at the corners of Li Changsheng’s mouth.
“Li Jing.”
Thunder sounded again as the dark clouds began slowly rotating. Just beneath the funnel-shaped clouds, an elderly dragon head slowly emerged, over a hundred zhang in diameter, its whiskers constantly floating and dancing.
“Do you acknowledge your guilt?”
“Oh?” Li Jing lowered his arms, holding his sword in his left hand as he looked skyward, frowning, “I don’t know, what position do you hold in the Dragon Palace? Why have you come to my Chen Tang Pass directly accusing me of crimes?”
Ice filled the dragon head’s eyes as it spoke coldly: “I am an elder of the East Sea Dragon Palace. Your third son killed our East Sea Dragon Palace’s Third Prince. Do you perhaps want to quibble that you didn’t know about this?”
Li Jing nodded slowly, his originally calm tone gradually filling with emotion:
“If it’s about Ao Bing, I certainly know about it.
He disregarded heavenly law, repeatedly coming to Chen Tang Pass seeking pleasure, was stopped by my third son Nezha, harbored a personal grudge against my son, and today even set an ambush in the East Sea, using a deadly formation against my child who isn’t yet three years old!
Is this how the Dragon Palace conducts itself?
Is this what the Dragon King’s bloodline, the descendants of the Ancestor Dragon, has become!”
“How dare you!”
“Nonsense!”
More azure dragons extended their heads from the clouds, dragon head after dragon head emerging to glare at Li Jing.
Over ten azure dragons, the weakest at the seventh rank of the Golden Immortal realm—this was the dragon clan’s foundation.
At this moment, the dragon clan had left themselves a slight retreat path by not directing their pressure at the city’s mortals or countless souls would have scattered in terror.
As these waves of pressure descended, Li Jing’s dao heart immediately trembled, but he gripped his scabbard tightly, his eyes seemingly about to burst into flames, standing tall without retreating half a step.
“Li Jing,” the central dragon elder cursed angrily, “your third son killed our dragon clan prince, today you must pay with your life! Kneel and beg forgiveness now!
Otherwise, today we’ll make your Chen Tang Pass become our prince’s burial ground!”
After these words, fierce winds arose in heaven and earth, the black clouds continuously churning, thunder rolling without ceasing.
“Hmph—”
A light laugh came from the hall, easily drowning out the wind, thunder, and dragon roars.
They saw that red-robed immortal slowly walking out from behind Li Jing, his dao-crowned hair was particularly elegant, his eyes contained starlight, and his manner relaxed and composed as if he were just passing by to watch some entertainment.
His dao name was Taiyi, this immortal called Yin-Yang.
Should wind and clouds arise, he could sully even a sage’s name.
True Lord Taiyi approached with his hands behind his back and glanced at True Master Yu Ding beside him, wanted to speak but felt he wouldn’t get his expected response, so he shifted his gaze to Li Jing.
His mind turned, and he had a plan;
His mouth opened, and out came half the primordial world.
“General Li, look, this is where you’re wrong.”
The ten-plus elder dragons in the clouds were stunned.
True Lord Taiyi sighed: “Let me speak some fair words. Let’s not look at how this started—the dragon clan lost a prince.
What is this? This is a reserve Dragon King!
If the old Dragon King happens to fail one day, and the two ahead in line for succession also die in battle, this one would have to step up and become the new Dragon King.
This is a position of great power and authority, one dragon’s life is worth ten ordinary dragon princes! No, a hundred!”
Those elder dragons frowned one after another as they listened.
It seemed their position was their position, and their reasoning was their reasoning.
They had come here today to demand accountability based on what?
Wasn’t it to emphasize their Third Prince’s status and position, thereby forcing Li Jing to admit guilt on humanity’s behalf, thus preserving some face for the dragon clan?
But somehow, this Enlightenment Teaching immortal’s words seemed a bit… a bit strange in flavor.
And the more they savored it, the stranger it became.
Li Jing’s brows furrowed tightly as he spoke firmly: “Friend, what are you saying? How can we not look at how this started?
That dragon clan Third Prince harbored killing intent, wanting to take my son’s life. My son fought back and won, fortunately surviving. I didn’t even go to their Dragon Palace to demand an explanation, already considering our proximity to the East Sea and Chen Tang Pass’s many fishing folk.
Where is the reasoning in this?”
True Lord Taiyi said with difficulty: “Well, they did lose a prince, and that carries more weight.”
Li Jing spoke firmly: “If so, then when dragon clan princes kill and burn without cause, that’s not considered a crime?”
“Hmm!” True Lord Taiyi said meaningfully, “He was the Third Prince, what position and status does a Third Prince have? What’s wrong with killing a few people?
What heavenly laws and punishments? Do you think they can control the Dragon Palace?
The Heavenly Court only had the opportunity for great prosperity because the dragon clan joined.
The entire dragon clan was born from the perfection of the primordial dao!
They once served as Pangu’s footstool, once beat the Phoenix Clan and Qilin until they couldn’t raise their heads, shattered the ancient primordial world, collapsed the Nine Filth Springs—how many living beings died, how many sins were committed, yet aren’t they still a great clan of the primordial world?
All this talk about humans being the protagonists of heaven and earth is just idle chatter. If you look at it, it’s still the dragon clan that matters.
Isn’t that right, everyone?”
How could the ten-plus elder dragons in the clouds not taste the flavor now?
This True Lord Taiyi’s every sentence was sarcastic, fanning the flames, practically hoping for their dragon clan to directly fight with humans. Taking these words at face value made them increasingly grating to the ear.
“True Lord Taiyi,” that largest dragon head’s expression was utterly cold, “have you said enough?”
“What?”
True Lord Taiyi said with a smile:
“Have I spoken a single false word? The dragon clan bears endless sins, the Heavenly Court gave you a helping hand, and now you think you’re capable again?
Today’s primordial world is no longer ancient, antiquity.
Never mind that my disciple killed your East Sea Dragon Palace’s Third Prince in self-defense—even if they had fought over some trivial matter and accidentally killed your Dragon Palace’s Third Prince, you’d still need to carefully weigh whether you can touch him!”
“Silence!”
An elder dragon flew into a rage, a dragon claw shooting out from the dark clouds, descending toward True Lord Taiyi’s head.
This elder dragon was the most profoundly cultivated among the dragon clan group. If True Lord Taiyi dodged or directly blocked this angry strike, it would easily cause catastrophic consequences for Chen Tang Pass.
True Lord Taiyi could certainly block it, but it wouldn’t be particularly elegant.
But no matter.
A flash of green light appeared, and a figure quickly materialized behind True Lord Taiyi. His sleeves waved, and that dragon claw instantly collapsed, the elder dragon in the clouds directly sent flying.
A strong wind surged straight upward, directly dispersing half the dark clouds, revealing several azure dragons within, their door-panel-sized scales flickering with various colors of light.
The elder dragon who had just attacked kept trembling his claw, looking with shock at the figure behind True Lord Taiyi.
True Master Yu Ding spoke calmly without raising his head:
“My master is Primordial Heavenly Lord.”
A moment of silence fell over Chen Tang Pass.
“Li Jing! This matter will not end here!”
The central dragon head roared, and the ten-plus azure dragons turned and flew away, the dark clouds swiftly retreating.
True Lord Taiyi shook his head with some regret.
Not satisfying—he had even prepared a precious pearl, planning to act out a scene of using the pearl as compensation for the crime, telling them “Don’t fail to recognize an opportunity.”
Unfortunately, they left too quickly and retreated too hastily.
However, they did recognize the opportunity quite well.
“Whew…”
Li Jing slowly exhaled, standing there in silence for a while, his back unknowingly soaked with cold sweat.
True Master Yu Ding raised his hand toward Li Jing.
Li Jing’s dao heart stopped trembling, and his heart gained some confidence. He immediately cast a grateful look toward True Master Yu Ding.
“Li Jing, you still need to improve your cultivation,” True Lord Taiyi said calmly, “You can’t always have my precious disciple protecting his father.”
Li Jing bowed his head with his sword and agreed.
True Master Yu Ding smiled: “You can also frequently use that line from earlier.”
Li Jing: …
That was still somewhat embarrassing.
Thereupon, the General Commander and the two Enlightenment Teaching immortals returned to the hall, and Li Changsheng’s paper avatar reappeared.
True Person Yellow Dragon, who had been hiding and couldn’t appear directly earlier, now also showed a worried expression, sighing repeatedly.
Being of dragon clan origin and also a disciple of the Enlightenment Teaching’s sage, he was truly caught in the middle, unable to take sides.
Yellow Dragon sighed: “This matter has become so rigid, I don’t know how it will conclude.”
Li Changsheng said gently: “Elder Brother Yellow Dragon need not involve himself too much in this matter. Just observe throughout, only mediating at critical moments to prevent the dragon clan from going to extremes.”
True Lord Taiyi crossed his arms and smiled: “How was my speech just now?”
“Quite formidable,” Li Changsheng gave a thumbs up, then continued, “The dragon clan’s coming this time was actually to force Li Jing to bow his head and settle the matter’s nature.
Analyzing their motives, whether they avenge the Third Prince isn’t important—what’s important is that Nezha, of human origin, killed one of the Dragon King’s blood.
They can’t lose face like this.”
Yang Jian put away his Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear and asked: “Now that the dragon clan’s attempt at venting has failed, this grudge will surely be hard to swallow. We should still guard against them sneaking an attack on Chen Tang Pass.”
The one who refuted Yang Jian was his master, True Master Yu Ding:
“No need to worry too much about this. The dragon clan would find it difficult to launch a sneak attack—it’s their nature.”
“Master, it’s better to be cautious,” Yang Jian said, “Why don’t I go to Mount Mei and bring some immortal soldiers here? It would serve as deterrence for the dragon clan.”
Li Changsheng nodded with satisfaction and smiled: “No need for such trouble, I’ll arrange this matter.
Before this matter concludes, I’ll trouble the three immortals to secretly guard Chen Tang Pass, preventing any individual dragons from ignoring the Dragon King’s orders and carrying out schemes.”
“Very well.”
“Agreed.”
The three immortals each nodded, and Li Changsheng took his leave, his paper avatar sinking into the earth.
Meanwhile, Li Changsheng’s paper avatar in the Heavenly Court had already begun moving, heading straight to the Hall of Clarity to seek two important Heavenly Court civil officials.
East Wood Minister and General Wang.
Li Changsheng carefully instructed them thus and so, and Wood Minister and Wang Shan kept nodding, understanding what had happened and what they should do.
When it came to bureaucratic wrangling, the Heavenly Court was professional.
…
Ao Bing’s death, and the ten-plus elder dragons who went to Chen Tang Pass for explanation being humiliated by Enlightenment Teaching immortals.
This matter exploded like a spiritual bomb throughout the Four Seas Dragon Palaces, dragon clan members one after another requesting orders to go teach Nezha in Chen Tang Pass a harsh lesson.
The four Dragon Kings remained silent, and the various powerful elders only sighed without speaking.
Half a month later, the dragon clan’s internal attention to this matter hadn’t subsided—on the contrary, it grew more intense, directly causing an uproar.
Ao Bing had been unremarkable in life, having no presence in the dragon clan, even privately called useless, his Dragon King bloodline much weaker than other Dragon King princes.
But now, Ao Bing seemed to become proof of the dragon clan’s oppression, a place to vent their bellyful of grievances.
These emotions continued gushing forth, making it impossible for the Four Seas Dragon Kings to remain seated peacefully.
They had to do something.
Thus, the Four Seas Dragon Kings gathered at the East Sea Dragon Palace and summoned the elders to discuss how to handle the Nezha matter.
The aggrieved party was still the current East Sea Dragon King Ao Guang, and the dragon clan’s decision-making power lay in Ao Guang’s hands.
Ao Guang said one phrase: “Don’t be hasty.”
The entire dragon clan hall fell silent.
An elder said:
“This isn’t about being hasty, brothers. It’s that the Enlightenment Teaching is too overbearing, making it impossible to contain the clan’s anger.
Our dragon clan is no longer what it once was—our destiny is rising again, with revival ahead. If we’re targeted by the Enlightenment Teaching like this, I fear it will greatly discourage the morale of our entire dragon clan.”
“Your Majesty, this old minister feels that we truly don’t have right on our side in this matter… If we continue to persist, we’ll lose no matter what. Better to let the matter rest.”
“Let it rest? That was our East Sea Dragon Palace’s Third Prince! Just killed like that by True Lord Taiyi’s disciple!”
“Ah…”
The East Sea Dragon King slowly sighed, smiling bitterly: “My son shouldn’t have died so tragically. The Li family must pay some price.”
The South Sea Dragon King said gravely: “The Li family isn’t simple. Let’s not even mention Li Jing himself—we all know he’s the adopted son of Star-Lord Grand White, of Human Teaching origin, and a nominal disciple of True Person Du’e.
Li Jing’s eldest son Jin Zha and second son Mu Zha have both become masters among the Twelve Golden Immortals.
Combined with the force of both Enlightenment and Human Teaching, we must truly be cautious.”
An elder of considerable seniority snorted coldly: “We’re not necessarily afraid of the Enlightenment Teaching!”
“What about the Human Teaching?” The West Sea Dragon King muttered, “Star-Lord Grand White saved my life—I should advise caution on this matter.
Star-Lord Grand White calculates without error and dares to contend with sages. If we handle this matter inappropriately, it could easily trigger a series of subsequent events.”
“Perhaps,” an elder said softly, “let Prince Ao Yi speak with Star-Lord Grand White? The clan is now full of complaints, just wanting an explanation after all.”
“Hmm?”
On the Dragon King’s throne, the East Sea Dragon King opened his eyes, cold light flashing in them, making that elder tremble.
“In this matter, no one may involve Ao Yi.”
The elder dragons bowed their heads in acknowledgment.
The East Sea Dragon King slowly sighed, stood up, and said: “Prepare gifts for the Star-Lord. I will go to the Heavenly Court to accuse Li Jing of allowing his son to commit murder.”
The dragons each considered this—it was indeed a solution.
However, half a day earlier at the Li Manor in Chen Tang Pass…
Li Jing looked somewhat bewildered at the figure standing in the corner and asked softly: “Go to the Heavenly Court? Adoptive Father, what would Li Jing do at the Heavenly Court?”
“Just come,” Li Changsheng smiled, “If I’m not mistaken, the East Sea Dragon King is already on his way to the Heavenly Court. I’ll watch Nezha—you hurry to the Middle Heaven Gate. I’ve already arranged for people to receive you.”
“Yes!”
Li Jing firmly agreed, not daring to delay. He glanced at little Nezha playing with his wife, then directly mounted his void-crossing treasure and rushed toward the Middle Heaven Gate.