East Sea Turmoil, the Dragon Race Watches

The East Sea Dragon Palace lay hidden deep beneath ten thousand acres of emerald waves, with glazed tiles for its roof, crystal for its walls, pearls for its lamps, and coral forming its forests.

In the past, immortal music drifted through its halls and radiant light shimmered everywhere. It was the pinnacle of luxury and power longed for by the aquatic races of the Primordial Era.

Yet at this moment, an unprecedentedly grave atmosphere shrouded the magnificent underwater palace.

Dragon King Ao Guang sat upright upon a dragon throne carved from a single block of ten-thousand-year warm jade. His knuckles had whitened from exertion as he gripped the enormous relief carving of a water-repelling golden-eyed beast set into the armrest.

That warm jade, harder than refined gold, actually let out a faint but teeth-grinding creak beneath his unconscious strength, as though it might shatter at any moment.

His dragon face, usually majestic even in anger, was now thick with storm clouds. Beneath his tangled dragon brows, suppressed fury and deep apprehension burned in his dragon eyes.

Below the throne, the Dragon Sons and Grandsons stood in orderly ranks, each holding their breath and focusing their minds. Even the most favored and unruly Dragon Princes stood as meekly as quails.

They lowered their heads, not daring to meet their royal father's gaze, which seemed ready to spew fire.

Turtle Prime Minister hunched his back, his aged eyes half-open and half-closed as he stroked the smooth Jade Cane in his hand, who knew what calculations turning in his mind.

Whale Marshal, Shark General, the Sea Patrol Yaksha Leader, and the other fierce aquatic generals barely dared to breathe. Their broad chests rose and fell faintly, betraying the unrest in their hearts.

The crystal palace hall was so silent that only the babbling flow of the Spiritual Spring outside could be heard, along with the slightly heavy breathing of certain nervous aquatic beings.

"Have you investigated this thoroughly?" After a long while, Ao Guang's low, imposing voice finally shattered the hall's deathly silence, like muffled thunder rolling through the seabed.

Every word struck the hearts of the aquatic races. "That one who calls himself Wanhua—what exactly is the background of this so-called 'Myriad Dao Academy'?

"Could it truly be... that even an enraged strike from the one in Purple Firmament Palace could do nothing to him?"

He deliberately avoided the words "Dao Ancestor," yet when he mentioned that purple Dao talisman descending from the sky, his voice still unconsciously carried a trace of alarm that even he himself had not noticed.

The Sea Patrol Yaksha Leader in charge of gathering intelligence was a fierce general with a burly frame, indigo-blue skin, and a water-parting fork in hand. Yet now, he looked as though all spirit had been sucked out of him.

Forcing himself to step forward, he dropped to one knee. His voice trembled uncontrollably. "R-Reporting... reporting to Your Majesty the Dragon King, it is... it is absolutely true!

"Though we were awed by the Saint's might and did not dare approach the place where the three islands merged too closely, that day... that day, when the purple divine talisman descended from the Nine Heavens, its power... its power was simply like the sky collapsing!

"The East Sea turned upside down, and the souls of countless aquatic beings trembled. This subordinate... this subordinate was patrolling ten thousand li away, yet even I felt as though my Primordial Spirit would be frozen by that killing intent!"

He swallowed saliva that did not exist and continued his difficult report. "B-But just as that divine talisman was about to strike its target, it... it inexplicably stalled. In the end, it actually melted away like ice and snow, dispersing without a sound.

"Not only did Sage Wanhua's aura not weaken, it instead... instead became like a divine weapon tempered in fire—more perfectly contained, more unfathomable."

He secretly raised his eyes and swiftly glanced at Ao Guang's increasingly dark expression, lowering his voice even further. "Now, the three islands of Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou have completely vanished.

"In their place stands an unprecedented, vast continent, floating above the East Sea, wreathed in Auspicious Clouds, with palace towers faintly visible within.

"Moreover, a... a peculiar Aura of Literary Splendor shoots straight into the heavens, gathering without dispersing.

"At the center of that continent, four great Dao characters have manifested—Myriad, Dao, Academy."

By the end of the report, the hall had become so quiet that a needle dropping could be heard. Merging the Three Immortals Island and taking a strike from the Dao Ancestor without losing so much as a hair—either feat alone was enough to overturn their understanding of "power."

The Yaksha Leader paused, an expression of extreme difficulty and humiliation appearing on his face. In the end, he gritted his teeth and added the final piece of news in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

The news that most humiliated the Dragon Race: "And... and according to reports arriving from every direction, after Sage Wanhua... dissolved the Dao Ancestor's attack and established the academy...

"He... he proclaimed to the Primordial Era that his academy offered 'Education for All,' that it would pass on... pass on some method of the 'Confucian Dao,' and... and..." He truly could not bring himself to say it, his face turning from blue to purple as he held it in.

"And what else? Speak!" Ao Guang's voice abruptly rose, and his dragon might spilled forth beyond his control, crushing the aquatic beings in the hall until they could scarcely breathe.

The Yaksha Leader steeled himself, shut his eyes, and shouted, "He also said that the academy has only just opened and still lacks several disciples to sweep the courtyards and tend the halls, to manage the texts and scrolls. He wondered... he wondered which fellow Daoist would be willing to go!"

"Boom!"

The moment those words were spoken, it was like splashing a ladle of cold water into boiling oil—the entire Dragon Palace hall instantly exploded into uproar!

"Outrageous!"

"Arrogant!"

"He bullies the dragons beyond all measure!"

A Dragon Prince clad in crimson scale armor, the most violent-tempered among them, suddenly strode forward. Flames flickered around him, and the seawater steamed into wisps of white vapor.

With fury shooting to the crown of his head, he shouted sharply, "Father King! This wretch simply treats our East Sea Dragon Race as though we are nothing!

"Seizing our East Sea immortal islands for his Dao grounds is already a capital crime! And now he actually dares... dares utter such mad words, inviting our Dragon Race to become lowly sweeping servants?

"What a monstrous humiliation! Since the creation of heaven and earth, our Dragon Race has never suffered such monstrous humiliation! Your son requests the command to muster one hundred thousand elite aquatic troops and deploy the Myriad Dragons Overturning Sea Grand Formation.

"I will surely raze that damned academy to the ground, seize that madman, tear out his tendons and flay his skin, to uphold the majesty of our Dragon Race!"

"Exactly! Flatten the academy! Raise our dragon might!"

"May Your Majesty the Dragon King dispatch the army!"

The hot-blooded Dragon Sons and Grandsons and aquatic commanders all echoed him in outrage. Their killing intent surged, and the temperature inside the crystal palace seemed to plummet, the chill piercing to the bone.

"All of you, shut your mouths!"

Ao Guang suddenly roared. The sound waves rolled outward, shaking the entire Dragon Palace until it hummed, while even the luminous pearls in the ceiling swayed without end.

He rose sharply to his feet, his immense dragon might pressing down like something tangible and instantly suppressing all the clamor by force.

His chest heaved violently as his dragon eyes swept over the twisted faces below, contorted by rage. Yet his heart was cold as ice.

How could he not be furious? He wished he could immediately pour out all the East Sea's strength and grind Wanhua and his academy into dust.

But as the Dragon King, he could not act on a moment's passion alone. The sight of Wanhua merging the three islands with a wave of his hand and dissolving the Dao Ancestor's strike haunted his mind like a nightmare that would not fade.

"Deploy troops? Which of you will go retrieve that purple Dao talisman?"

Ao Guang's voice was icy to the bone, carrying a trace of exhaustion and helplessness. "Who is confident they can keep their life before that Wanhua? Who can break the restriction formed from the combined fortune of the three islands? Hm?!"

That string of rhetorical questions was like a bucket of ice water over their heads, instantly calming the enraged aquatic clans. Anger still remained on their faces, but now there was even more fear and bewilderment.

That was an existence even the Dao Ancestor had been unable to do anything about for the moment...

The great hall fell into dead silence once more, with only heavy panting rising and falling.

At this moment, the Turtle Prime Minister, who had remained silent all along, finally leaned on his cane and trembled as he shuffled a few steps forward.

His wrinkled face bore a pair of aged eyes that gleamed with the wisdom and shrewdness accumulated over countless millennia.

"Please quell your anger, Your Majesty." The Turtle Prime Minister's voice was old and slow, yet it carried a peculiar soothing power.

"Your Highnesses, generals, please also set aside your thunderous fury for now. This old minister believes that this matter... truly cannot be rushed. It must be considered over the long term."

Ao Guang drew a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his surging blood and qi. In a low voice, he said, "Prime Minister, if you have any insights, speak freely."

The Turtle Prime Minister nodded slightly and said slowly, "Your Majesty sees clearly. That Sage Wanhua's strength is unfathomable, and his Dao arts differ greatly from the norm—something unheard of before. Rashly clashing with him would be no different from throwing eggs against a rock. Not only would it fail to recover our honor, it might instead bring a catastrophe upon the Dragon Race. Yet our Dragon Race has ruled the East Sea for hundreds of millions of years; our dignity cannot be lightly insulted either."

He paused, lightly tapping his cane against the floor with a crisp sound that drew everyone's attention. "Since we do not know the truth of his strength or his origins, why not 'know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles'? This old minister believes that our most pressing task is not to send an army to subjugate them, but... to dispatch scouts."

"Scouts?" Ao Guang narrowed his dragon eyes.

"Precisely." A sharp glint flashed through the Turtle Prime Minister's eyes. "Select the most alert and skilled at concealment among your subordinates, elite spies whose loyalty to our Dragon Race is beyond doubt. There is no need for many—three to five will suffice. Have them assume the forms of the lowest-ranked aquatic creatures or ordinary sea beasts, suppressing all aura and demonic power, and blend into the seas around Myriad Dao Academy. Should an opportunity arise... they may even attempt to draw near, or infiltrate its outer regions."

He elaborated in detail, "First, they can closely observe the academy's layout, the mysteries of its formations' operation, and the number and cultivation of its disciples. Second, they can eavesdrop on its lectures on the Dao. If they can hear even a fragment, they may be able to analyze the characteristics of this 'Confucian Dao' method and find its weakness. Third, they can observe the beings coming and going, and determine what Sage Wanhua truly intends—is he sincerely spreading the Dao, or does he have some other scheme? Once we possess sufficient information, then we may decide our course. That would be the surest strategy."

After hearing this, Ao Guang fell silent in thought. His fingers unconsciously tapped the armrest of his dragon throne, while the light in his eyes flickered uncertainly.

The Turtle Prime Minister's proposal was undoubtedly the safest, and currently the most feasible, plan.

A direct confrontation carried too great a risk, while reconnaissance would at least grant them a preliminary understanding of their enemy.

After a moment, a flash of resolve crossed Ao Guang's eyes. He abruptly raised his head, his gaze like lightning as it shot toward the Sea Patrol Yaksha Leader still kneeling on the ground. "Sea Patrol Yaksha, receive your orders!"

"This general is here!" The Yaksha Leader's spirits lifted, and he hurriedly answered.

"Immediately select five of the finest scouts from your Hidden Wave camp! They must be absolutely reliable and absolutely alert!"

Ao Guang's voice was chilling. "Order them to transform and conceal themselves, then infiltrate the waters around Myriad Dao Academy. Watch carefully for this king, listen carefully! Every blade of grass, every tree, every word, every action—they are to take note of all of it! The slightest discovery must be reported at once through the bloodline secret art! Remember: better to gain nothing than expose your tracks and alert the enemy! If anything goes wrong... bring your heads to see me!"

"This general obeys! I will not disgrace my mission!"

Feeling the killing intent in the Dragon King's words, the Sea Patrol Yaksha Leader shuddered. He kowtowed heavily, then rose and transformed into a dark current, swiftly departing to make the arrangements.

Before long, five shadows whose auras were so faint that they nearly merged with the seawater itself silently departed the Dragon Palace's core region like phantoms.

One became a moss-covered stubborn stone drifting with the waves; another disguised itself as a school of tiny silver dartfish with vacant eyes; yet another mimicked an inconspicuous muddy current laced with impurities... Relying on the Dragon Palace's secret concealment arts and their familiarity with the East Sea's environment, they were like drops of water falling into the ocean, stealthily making their way toward the Myriad Dao Academy continent—now the focal point of the East Sea, shrouded in Literary Qi.

Beneath the East Sea, hidden currents churned, and killing intent lay concealed.

The tentacles of this old hegemon of the Primordial Era, the Dragon Race, had already stretched cautiously toward that newborn land symbolizing the unknown and change, carrying vigilance, fury, and a thread of fear difficult to detect.

Upon the white jade plaza of Myriad Dao Academy, Wanhua stood with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering faintly in the sea breeze carrying a salty tang.

He seemed to sense something. His gaze appeared to pierce through layer upon layer of seawater and settle upon those wisps of "undercurrent" cautiously drawing near.

The corner of his lips curled into an indescribable arc—seemingly mocking, seemingly pitying, yet also bearing the calmness of one who held everything in his grasp.

"Is a storm on its way? Good. Let the waters of the East Sea grow more turbulent, then."

He murmured to himself, then turned and looked toward the depths of the academy. There, it seemed, still more principles awaited him to write and expound.