East Sea Dragon Palace, Crystal Palace.
Dragon King Ao Guang was discussing further strategies to pressure Myriad Dao Academy with the Turtle Prime Minister. Incense curled through the hall, pearls still gleamed, and Ao Guang even wore a cold expression of one in control.
In his view, even if Ao Zhan could not crush the Academy in one stroke, the continued siege and attacks would be enough to drain them severely.
They would force the Academy to reveal a flaw, and then the Dragon Palace would have more methods to employ at leisure.
However, this false calm was utterly shattered by a Messenger Yaksha who burst in frantically, nearly scared out of his wits.
"Y-Your Majesty! This is bad! Terribly bad!"
The yaksha stumbled and crawled into the hall, his face white as paper and his voice shrill with panic. "G-General Ao Zhan... the Sea Patrol Navy he led... the entire army... the entire army has been wiped out!"
"What?!"
Ao Guang abruptly rose from his dragon throne. Dragon might erupted uncontrollably from his body, shaking the entire Crystal Palace violently as pearls rained down from the ceiling. "What did you say?
The entire army was wiped out? How is that possible?! Did Wanhua make a move?!"
He could not believe it! That was the Dragon Palace's elite force, led by Ao Zhan, a peak Taiyi Golden Immortal, and formed into the Myriad Dragons Overturning Seas Wave battle formation!
Even if they could not defeat a Primordial Chaos Sage, how could they have been silently wiped out without even sending back a single message?
"Y-Yes... Sage Wanhua acted!"
The Messenger Yaksha wept bitterly, clearly terrified beyond measure. "B-But he did not fight them... He... he merely... merely looked at them.
He said a few words... and then... General Ao Zhan and all the soldiers... they... they all turned into light... and vanished! They... they were refined into magical treasures and bestowed upon the Academy's disciples!"
His words were disjointed, but their meaning was like countless icy spikes stabbing viciously into the hearts of every core Dragon Race and water-clan member in the hall!
One glance! A few words!
The entire army wiped out!
Refined into magical treasures!
Every one of those phrases carried a chill that froze the soul!
"Pfft—" Ao Guang felt blood surge up his throat. His vision darkened, and he actually staggered before collapsing back onto the dragon throne, his face instantly turning deathly pale.
He was not heartbroken over the loss of that Water Army. Rather, he had been crushed by the terrifying truth represented by this news, one far beyond anything he had imagined!
That was not a battle. That was... erasure! It was a display of supreme saintly might that allowed no defiance whatsoever!
A Primordial Chaos Sage truly could... and truly would... act so mercilessly over the offense of mere ants! There was not even room for reconciliation!
"The might of a Sage... has reached such a level..." The Turtle Prime Minister's Jade Cane fell to the floor with a clatter.
His stooped body trembled. All color had drained from his aged face, leaving only endless terror and lingering dread.
Every scheme, every calculation he had made had become laughable self-importance before that absolute power.
Only now did he truly understand how utterly fragile the Dragon Race's supposed dignity and the East Sea's dominance were in the eyes of a Primordial Chaos Sage!
The hall fell deathly silent. A pin dropping would have been audible.
The dragon princes and descendants, along with the fierce water-clan generals who had previously clamored to flatten the Academy, were all ashen-faced and silent as cicadas in winter. Some of the more timid ones had gone weak in the knees and were nearly collapsing.
Ao Xin was especially pale, cold sweat pouring down his body in lingering fear. Only now did he truly understand how fortunate he had been to return alive that day!
"It is over... Our Dragon Race... has brought catastrophe upon itself..." a Dragon Race elder muttered, his voice filled with despair.
Ao Guang sat upon the dragon throne as though he had aged ten thousand years in an instant. He waved a hand.
His voice was hoarse and weak. "Tell... tell me every detail... Do not omit a single thing..."
The Messenger Yaksha, gripped by extreme terror, haltingly recounted what had happened—how Wanhua had appeared calmly, how he had used Word of Law to immobilize their attack.
How he had casually refined countless water-clan soldiers into treasures, and how he had finally warned, "If the Dragon Palace dares violate this territory again, the outcome will not be like today's."
"...Sage Wanhua also said... said, 'Even if Ancestral Dragon himself came, he would still have to show me proper respect,'" the Messenger Yaksha added at last.
Those words were the final straw, utterly shattering the last trace of luck and pride within the Dragon Palace.
Ancestral Dragon! He was the spiritual totem of the Dragon Race, an existence that had once stood at the summit of the Primordial Era!
Yet in Wanhua's words, he was merely someone who "would have to show proper respect"?!
Immense terror and humiliation surged like icy tides, drowning every member of the Dragon Race.
They finally recognized a bloody reality: before true supreme power, the glory and dignity they regarded as life itself were as fragile as bubbles.
The Primordial Era Falls Silent, All Factions Are Horrified
The Dragon Palace wanted to suppress the news, but how could they completely conceal such a world-shaking event? Especially when so many living beings around the Academy had witnessed it.
The news seemed to grow wings, spreading across every realm of the Primordial Era at an astonishing speed.
At first came disbelief.
"What? An elite Water Army of the Dragon Palace was erased by Sage Wanhua with a flick of his finger, then refined into magical treasures? H-How could that be possible?"
"Word of Law, treating an army of ten thousand as nothing... Is this the might of a Primordial Chaos Sage?"
"The Dragon Race has... kicked an iron plate this time! No, they kicked Chaos Divine Iron!"
What followed was shock and dead silence that swept through the upper echelons of every major power in the Primordial Era.
Sun Star, Demon Race Divine Palace.
The light of the River Diagram and Luo Script in Dijun's hand faltered, and his deductions came to a halt. He and Eastern Emperor Taiyi exchanged a speechless glance, each seeing unprecedented gravity in the other's eyes.
"Erased... refined into treasures..." Taiyi slowly said, his voice slightly dry. "Big Brother, this Wanhua... is even more decisive, and even less someone to provoke, than we imagined."
Dijun was silent for a long while before saying in a grave voice, "Pass down the order. No member of my Demon Race is to approach the Ten Thousand Mile Sea Region around Myriad Dao Academy in the East Sea for the foreseeable future!
Any act of provocation against the Academy will be treated as treason against the race!" He had completely abandoned any thought of testing the Academy or profiting from the situation.
Kunlun Mountains, Sanqing Hall.
On Taishang Laojun's ordinarily placid face, his brows faintly furrowed. "Decisive in killing, leaving no room behind. This Sage's temperament is far from ordinary."
Yuanshi Tianzun snorted coldly. "Though his methods were harsh, the Dragon Race brought this humiliation upon themselves. They offended saintly might; this was the fate they deserved!"
Though he disliked Wanhua's conduct, he despised the Dragon Race's overestimation of themselves even more.
Tongtian Jiaozhu's eyes shone brightly. "Excellent! This is the bearing cultivators like us should possess!
If someone displeases you, crush them directly, then make use of the waste! Splendid! What a pity I did not witness it myself!" His opinion of Wanhua had instead improved further.
Barren Western Lands.
The suffering on Daoist Jieyin's face deepened. "Amitabha... Though the slaughter arose from the Dragon Race, such methods may create karmic consequences..."
Daoist Zhunti's eyes gleamed as he murmured, "Senior Brother, fortune lies within misfortune.
After suffering such a devastating blow, the Dragon Race's strength has been greatly reduced. For our West, this may... be a good thing.
Perhaps we can attempt to contact Sage Wanhua and observe his Dao techniques. There may be something worth learning from..." He was still calculating how to profit from this matter.
Minghe of the Sea of Blood, Kunpeng of the Northern Darkness, Zhenyuanzi of Wuzhuang Temple, and other Great Powers were all solemn after learning the news.
In the most direct and cruel manner, Wanhua had announced his existence to the entire Primordial Era, along with the consequences of offending him.
For a time, every faction that still harbored petty designs toward Myriad Dao Academy had no choice but to reconsider.
They designated that Pure Land of Literary Radiance above the East Sea as an absolute forbidden zone not to be touched lightly.
The upper echelons of the Primordial Era had been utterly silenced by Wanhua's move. A new understanding of, and reverence for, a Primordial Chaos Sage was branded into the hearts of all Great Powers in a bloody manner.
Within the Academy, a Renewed Atmosphere
Unlike the shocked silence beyond its walls, Myriad Dao Academy became even more united and spirited after the initial shock and reverence passed.
Xuanjizi held the Startling Dragon Brush refined from Ao Zhan's origin. Feeling the vast Literary Qi and faint dragon-might Dao resonance within it, his reverence for his teacher became boundless, while his Dao Heart grew even firmer.
With this treasure's aid, whether he wrote Dao principle Runes, performed Tongue-and-Sword, or attempted the Spring and Autumn Annals Brushwork in the future, he would achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Elder Teng caressed the Sea-Suppressing Inkstone, its heavy aura faintly resonating with his Benevolent Resilience Literary Heart;
Yun Xi refined the nine Vast Sea Literary Waves Formation Flags, gaining a deeper understanding of the Dao of Guardianship;
Jin Li, Mingxin, and the others each received Literary Treasures suited to themselves, greatly increasing their strength.
After this battle, every disciple understood what it meant that a Sage could not be insulted. They also understood the responsibility they bore to safeguard the Academy and the dignity of the Confucian Dao.
They cultivated more diligently, and their study of Dao principles grew ever deeper.
The Aura of Literary Splendor gathering above the Academy did not weaken under the pressure from outside. Instead, because of the purity and unity of their convictions, it became even more magnificent and vast.
Wanhua remained seated quietly within Chaos Space, as though all the turmoil outside had nothing to do with him.
His move this time had been both punishment and a display of power, as well as a profound lesson for his disciples.
He knew that after this, the Academy would enter a relatively stable period of development.
However, the great currents of the Primordial Era were like an endlessly rushing river. Hidden reefs and dangerous shoals had never vanished.
The Dragon Palace's hatred would not easily fade, nor would the covetousness of other forces ever truly cease. This temporary calm might be brewing an even greater storm.
But no matter what, through Wanhua's thunderous and unquestionable saintly might, the names of Myriad Dao Academy and the Confucian Dao had truly established a resounding reputation across the vast Primordial Era! No one would dare treat them lightly again.
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