"Elder." The clown kneeling on the ground hurried over to Jiang Mian and said tremblingly, "I'm the manager of the Mermaid Circus, Xu Sanshi."
"Oh." Jiang Mian chuckled. "Is this how your Mermaid Circus treats its audience?"
"The Mermaid Circus has gone through some changes recently. Everyone is unsettled, so naturally, there's been some pent-up frustration." The clown rubbed his hands together and spoke softly.
"Even if you're upset, you can't take it out on the audience." Jiang Mian grabbed the clown by the collar, leaned close to his ear, and said in a low voice, "Besides, those dragon people are fake. How do you have the nerve to use them for false advertising?"
"My lord, we have our own difficulties." Cold sweat poured down Xu Sanshi's forehead as he whispered, "Could you please come backstage with me?"
"Trying to bribe me?" Jiang Mian smiled faintly, rose to his feet, and followed Xu Sanshi backstage. Xie Yue and the Evil Emperor followed closely behind. They were not worried that Jiang Mian would be ambushed; these people simply did not have the strength for that. They were merely curious and wanted to join in the fun. Since they were already here, they might as well see it through.
Once backstage, Xu Sanshi looked around and, seeing no one nearby, dropped to his knees with a thud. He confessed, "A while ago, the Mermaid Circus's second-in-command broke away from us, taking most of the personnel and funds with him. The once-glorious Mermaid Circus was split in two. We had neither money nor staff left, so we had no choice but to resort to this."
"So that incredible performance was only part of it?" The scattered light in Xie Yue's eyes gathered again as he asked excitedly, "Is that right?"
"Only a small part." Xu Sanshi let out a long sigh, tears welling in his eyes. "The second-in-command took nearly all the resources with him and left us nothing but an empty shell."
"That's good." Xie Yue breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why do you sound so relieved?" Jiang Mian shot Xie Yue a speechless glance.
"Shh." Xie Yue reached out and pinched Jiang Mian. "In that case, the Mermaid Circus's wrongdoing can barely be excused, Jiang Mian."
"Whatever." Jiang Mian spread his hands. "I don't really care."
Xie Yue's grip suddenly tightened.
"Remember this: the audience comes first. Deceiving the audience never ends well." Jiang Mian asked, "What exactly was that dragon person?"
"She was a thousand-year Mermaid." Xu Sanshi stammered, "We spent the last of the circus's funds to buy her some time ago. I couldn't just watch everyone starve."
The Evil Emperor folded his arms across his chest. Suddenly, as if struck by lightning, he looked outside the circus and muttered, "What powerful energy."
"What happened?" Jiang Mian asked in surprise.
The Evil Emperor gave Jiang Mian a meaningful look, and Jiang Mian immediately understood. "Rui Sha, go evacuate the crowd."
"Yes." Rui Sha did not dare linger. He rushed outside to disperse the civilians.
The Evil Emperor sighed. "That aura just now was unmistakable. It was a real dragon person."
"Why would a dragon person come to a place like this?" Jiang Mian's heart skipped a beat. Before he could react, the Evil Emperor stomped on the ground, and vast Soul Power surged out like an ocean.
The Evil Emperor stood at the center of the vortex, his hair fluttering in the wind.
"You publicized news about dragon people everywhere and attracted a real one." The Evil Emperor frowned slightly. "I once had the fortune of meeting the princess of the dragon people. This Soul Power fluctuation isn't entirely identical, but it comes from the same bloodline."
"How many ten-thousand years?" Jiang Mian asked warily.
"Relax. She isn't my match." The Evil Emperor abruptly withdrew his Soul Power, and Jiang Mian's group instantly found it much easier to breathe. The Evil Emperor glanced outside. "She has concealed her aura."
"Senior was worried that the dragon person might do something impulsive just now, wasn't he?" Xie Yue said. "She didn't leave. Instead, she transformed into a little girl."
"Your Mind's Eye is quite useful." The Evil Emperor praised him before saying, "Let's go meet her."
The circus personnel had already been evacuated by Spirit Hall. Jiang Mian's group moved quickly and soon locked onto a little girl mingling among the crowd.
She looked very frail and wore a light-blue dress. A pair of delicate, adorable little dragon horns could vaguely be seen atop her head. They looked like decorations and gave her an exceptionally cute appearance.
"Little dragon person, leaving in such a hurry?" The Evil Emperor appeared behind her at some point. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "You saw me and didn't even greet me?"
"Let go!" The dragon person's voice was low, yet clear and refined to the ear, like that of a child in her early teens. A watery blue aura suddenly bloomed around her as she tried to break free of the Evil Emperor's restraint.
Unfortunately, the Evil Emperor ranked second among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts. Aside from the Beast God Di Tian, who could contend with him in terms of Soul Power, no other soul beast was worth mentioning.
"Senior, what exactly do you want?" The dragon person suddenly relaxed, and her Soul Power dissipated. She looked at the Evil Emperor with wide, adorable eyes full of confusion.
"What is your relationship with the dragon people's princess?" The Evil Emperor released her and asked, "You carry the aura of an old acquaintance."
The little girl in the blue dress said calmly, "She is now the Dragon Person Empress. I am her daughter, Fu Ya."
"No wonder you resemble an old friend. You are the child of an old friend." The Evil Emperor smiled fondly. "I haven't seen your mother in hundreds of thousands of years. Her child is already this grown."
"Who exactly are you?" Fu Ya narrowed her eyes and asked coldly.
"My name is the Evil Emperor." He smiled slightly. "Five hundred thousand years ago, I fought on Sky Island. The one who fought me was the finest warrior among your dragon people, named De Fu."
"De Fu?" Jiang Mian's eyes widened in disbelief. Silky smooth enjoyment?
"He is my father." Fu Ya said, "Greetings, Uncle Evil Emperor."
"No need to be so polite." The Evil Emperor examined the graceful dragon person princess, unable to stop the corners of his mouth from rising. "You truly have much of your mother's beauty. My son is about your age. Would you like to meet him?"
"Why is the Evil Emperor still concerned about things like this at his age?" Jiang Mian covered his face, utterly speechless as he watched the Evil Emperor earnestly arranging a match for his son.
"It seems we've drifted a little off topic." Xie Yue chuckled. "Still, this is good. At the very least, the dragon people's princess won't do anything excessive now."
"Uncle, why are you traveling with two human Spirit Masters?" The dragon people's princess stared at them with her watery eyes and asked in surprise, "Are creatures like these even worthy of your favor?"
"Don't say that." The Evil Emperor patted Fu Ya's head and reminded her, "These two are no ordinary people. They are the hope of our soul beasts."
"Those not of our kind must have different hearts." The dragon people's princess clearly did not trust humans. "I came here because I happened to hear from Sea Spirit Beasts that humans had captured a dragon person. Uncle, you know how few dragon people there are. That is why I came to investigate. If they truly dared imprison one of us, I wouldn't mind sending them to the underworld."
"You rushed in so recklessly. Aren't you afraid humans will send you to the underworld instead?" Jiang Mian chuckled.
"What do you want?" Fu Ya's gaze suddenly turned sharp. The water elements around them instantly grew dense, as though she intended to attack.
"Don't mess around." The Evil Emperor frowned and stepped in front of Jiang Mian. "Since the matter is settled, hurry back to Sky Island. Don't stay here too long."
"Uncle." Fu Ya looked at the Evil Emperor in confusion, raised a hand, and withdrew the water elements. "The Dragon Person Festival is about to begin. Uncle, you can come and take a look."
"The Dragon Person Festival?" A trace of worry flashed through the Evil Emperor's eyes as he muttered, "Have you dragon people still not resolved that problem?"
"How could we? That monster has nearly reached a million years of cultivation through devouring." Fu Ya lowered her head and said softly, "We dragon people cannot escape this nightmare."
"You mean the Deep Sea Demon Whale King?" Jiang Mian suddenly realized. "Do you have to make sacrifices to the Deep Sea Demon Whale King at fixed times?"
"You know about it?" Fu Ya looked at Jiang Mian in obvious disbelief. "How do you know about such a terrifying soul beast as the Deep Sea Demon Whale King?"
"To be honest, he'll soon become my soul ring." Jiang Mian smiled. "He is a Sea Spirit Beast and has no dealings with Di Tian, the Evil Emperor, or the others. Besides, he is on my list. I will definitely obtain him."
"How long until you reach Rank Seventy?" The Evil Emperor could not help asking Jiang Mian.
"A day or two, at most." Jiang Mian spread his hands. "I never expected the Dragon God core to increase my strength so quickly. It's simply unheard of."
"The Dragon God truly cannot be judged by ordinary standards." The Evil Emperor wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled. "In that case, your Dragon Person Festival will not need to take place. We'll help you take down that Deep Sea Demon Whale King."
"Why didn't you agree earlier?" Jiang Mian raised an eyebrow and teased, "Evil Emperor, you were plotting against me too."
"What do you know?" The Evil Emperor slapped him lightly, laughing in exasperation. "Who knows which of us is stronger, me or the Deep Sea Demon Whale King? Besides, the ocean is his domain. If he escapes, I can't stay guarding Sky Island forever. If we're going to kill him, we must pull him out by the roots. Otherwise, the dragon people will be the ones who suffer."
"That makes sense." Jiang Mian nodded. "Should we have Di Tian and the others come over again?"
"This time, we're on Douluo Continent. They should be able to get here quickly." The Evil Emperor smiled. "That Deep Sea Demon Whale King is not as easy to talk to as I am. This time, we're really going all out."
"I need to lure him out." Jiang Mian recalled that the Heaven Dou royal family possessed an inherited secret treasure called the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, which was also the Heart of the Sea God.
It was the most important part of the Sea God's inheritance and the key required to enter the Sea God Temple. Jiang Mian had no intention of inheriting the Sea God's divine position, but using that treasure to lure out the Deep Sea Demon Whale King was not a bad idea.
"Xie Yue and I will return to the Heaven Dou Empire first." Jiang Mian instructed, "Senior Evil Emperor, if you want to go to Sky Island, please do as you please. But how many days remain until the Dragon Person Festival?"
"Seven days." Upon hearing that Jiang Mian intended to deal with the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, Fu Ya immediately explained excitedly, "That is when the tides reverse, making it the best time for the Deep Sea Demon Whale King to absorb energy. However, on the sixth day, when yang is strong and yin is weak, he will be at his weakest. After all, he gained his strength through devouring, and heaven and earth will not tolerate him."
"I see." Jiang Mian smiled faintly. "Then we'll take him down on the sixth day."
"With our strength, why should we avoid his edge?" The Evil Emperor sneered. "Bring out the lineup you used when you wanted to deal with me and beat him into submission."
"I really want to stretch my limbs." Jiang Mian rolled his wrists. Having absorbed the Evil Emperor's energy and possessing the Dragon God core, his strength had already firmly reached the level of a Titled Douluo. His rank had simply not caught up yet. Jiang Mian desperately wanted to find someone durable enough to test his edge.
Poor Deep Sea Demon Whale King. You have tyrannized the seas long enough. This time, obediently submit.
Jiang Mian calculated the time. He had wasted too much time on Sun Moon Continent and at sea, leaving less than a month until the Spirit Master Tournament. He had long been rubbing his hands together, ready to show off his skills.
"Let's arrange it." The Evil Emperor nodded. "Then I'll go to Sky Island with Fu Ya. If the Deep Sea Demon Whale King dares arrive early, I'll have a good chat with him."
"Alright." Jiang Mian nodded. "Then we'll return to the Heaven Dou Empire and find the Soul Tool that can lure him out."
The two groups split up. Jiang Mian and Xie Yue immediately set off for the Heaven Dou Empire.
"Jiang Mian, what's going on?" Xie Yue looked at Jiang Mian in surprise. "Since when has Senior Evil Emperor become so proactive?"
"That dragon people's princess was his old flame, probably. I just don't know why they never ended up together." Jiang Mian chuckled. "Besides, I need the Deep Sea Demon Whale King as my seventh soul ring."
"Interesting. I've always been curious—just how strong are you now?" Xie Yue asked.
"If I truly fought, I could defeat either Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo alone, but not both of them together." Jiang Mian smiled.
"Good heavens." Xie Yue wiped the sweat from his forehead and gave a bitter smile. "I understand now. In this life, I may never be able to stand alongside you."
"You can't compare yourself to me." Jiang Mian patted Xie Yue's shoulder and smiled. "I wonder how Yan has been lately. He should be quite happy."
Within Dragon Rock Gorge, Yan roared and charged at the draconic soul beast before him, then transformed into a shooting star and flew toward the horizon.
Yan stood to the side, feeling distressed, speechless, and angry all at once.
Three days later, Jiang Mian and Xie Yue finally arrived in Heaven Dou Imperial City. Jiang Mian straightened his clothes and asked a guard, "Where is Her Majesty now?"
"She is handling state affairs in her bedchamber."
"Tell her Jiang Mian requests an audience."
Inside the bedchamber, Qian Renxue wore loose, casual sleepwear as she listlessly reviewed memorials. The memorials were piled like a small mountain, as though they might swallow her whole.
"Your Majesty, the Regent King requests an audience." The guard walked to the doorway and announced loudly.
"No." Qian Renxue replied instinctively, but almost instantly realized what she had said. She hurriedly corrected herself, "Let him in. Only him."
Before you continue