Not long after, Zi Shan stepped into the Crystal Dragon Palace of the Purple Zenith Dragon King, located at the heart of the deep sea and so magnificent it took one's breath away, carrying feelings more complicated than ever before.
This was an ironclad rule laid down by his late Emperor, whose desire for control was exceptionally strong.
Every so often, all Dragon Sons and Grandsons granted territories beyond the palace, regardless of whether their fiefs were rich or poor, near or far, had to return to the dragon palace to report on their duties.
There, they would be scrutinized, displaying the dragon might.
To Zi Shan, it was less a report of duty than a routine humiliation.
The Qinghe Water Mansion under his command lay in the border waters between the Wei Kingdom and the Li Kingdom.
Resources were scarce, affairs were numerous and complicated, and in the eyes of the dragon palace's nobles, it was no different from a desolate backwater.
As a Dragon Son, he was naturally one of the marginal figures among Dragon Sons.
In the past, he had not even been qualified to enter the main hall and meet his late Emperor.
He could only wait in the long jade corridor outside a side hall, until the aged yet imposing Mysterious Turtle Commander beside his late Emperor received him in his stead, asked a few token questions, recorded them, and then dismissed him.
He could even sense the faint, barely concealed contempt in the eyes of the Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals guarding the dragon palace.
This time, it seemed no different.
The enormous doors of the Myriad Dragon Hall, the dragon palace's grand main hall, were carved from a single piece of ten-thousand-year cold jade. They remained tightly shut, exuding an austere, frigid presence.