The Dragon King Collapsed: Does It Matter How Many Dragons Are in My Family?

Political Stance?

Ao Guang's dragon brain, upon hearing these four words, fell into an unprecedented blankness the likes of which had never been seen since antiquity.

He had lived through countless Yuanhui, witnessed the Dragon-Han Initial Tribulation, experienced the Witch-Demon Hegemony, drunk wine with Sages, and listened to the Dao with the Dao Ancestor.

But he swore that if he ground up all the Three Thousand Great Daos and billions of laws he knew, mashed them together, he still couldn't concoct the meaning of "Political Stance."

What was this?

Some kind of supreme true word pointing directly to the Great Dao?

Or a vicious curse newly developed by the Jie Sect, specifically designed to corrupt a person's Dao heart?

The dragon sons, dragon grandsons, and aquatic clan generals behind him exchanged bewildered glances, their faces filled with a stupidity and confusion utterly at odds with their formidable cultivation.

The Jie Sect disciple in charge of registration, seeing the Dragon King's dazed expression, put on a professional smile honed through rigorous training.

He pushed up a pair of non-existent glasses on his nose, pulled another stack of Jade Slips from his robes, and extracted one.

"Dragon King, it seems you are puzzled by this field."

"This is the 'Primordial World Household Registration Information FAQ Manual V1.0' compiled by our department, which contains a clear explanation of 'Political Stance.'"

He lightly activated the Jade Slip, projecting a Light Screen before Ao Guang.

[Political Stance: Refers to your basic position and affiliation within the current Primordial World structure. Please select from the following options based on your actual circumstances.]

[A. Staff Member of the Heavenly Court (must specify specific post and rank)]

[B. Disciple or Registered Disciple of the Three Schools of the Mystic Gate]

[C. Follower of the Western Sect]

[D. Remnants of the Witch Clan]

[E. Member of the Demon Race (must specify if a Former Member of the Demon Court)]

[F. Non-partisan Neutral Individual (i.e., Loose Cultivator)]

[G. Other (please provide detailed explanation here)]

Ao Guang stared fixedly at the clear rows of options on the Light Screen, feeling as if every single Dragon Scale on his body was standing on end.

He felt like he wasn't undergoing some household registration.

He was being interrogated!

Stripped naked of all his identity and past, laid out on a cold form, subjected to the most ruthless analysis and categorization!

"This King... is the Lord of the Four Seas, the Chief of the Dragon Clan!"

Ao Guang's voice carried a barely suppressed tremor.

"Understood."

The disciple complied readily, his Jade Pen flying across the Jade Slip.

"Based on the information you provided, I have selected option G for you, with a note stating: Lord of the Four Seas, Descendant of Ancient Overlords, nominally under the jurisdiction of the Water Division of the Heavenly Court, de facto leader of a semi-independent local power."

Having finished recording, he looked up and flashed that standardized smile again.

"Your Majesty, let us continue."

"May I ask your Marital Status?"

"Married, divorced, or widowed?"

Ao Guang's dragon body shuddered violently.

"How many dragon sons and grandsons are registered under your name? Among them, how many are of Direct Lineage and how many are Collateral Lineage?"

"Have you, personally, or the Dragon Clan as a whole, participated in calamities such as the Dragon-Han or Witch-Demon conflicts? If so, please detail the role you played and briefly describe the Karmic Cause and Effect arising from it."

"Do you... have any record of being wanted or punished by forces such as the Heavenly Court, the Chan Sect, or the Western Sect?"

Each question, like the sharpest butcher's knife, precisely carved into Ao Guang's long-shattered Dragon Clan's Heart.

He felt the dignity and honor accumulated over tens of millions of years being mercilessly stripped away and crushed before these cold, impersonal questions.

The Turtle Prime Minister behind him had long since retracted his head into his shell, not daring to watch or listen.

And the group of aquatic clan generals, originally bristling with murderous intent, now hung their heads dejectedly, like eggplants hit by frost.

Their proud Military Merits, their fearsome reputations that could shake the Four Seas, seemed so pale, so... in need of quantification before these questions.

Finally.

When that young Jie Sect disciple asked the next question.

The string in Ao Guang's heart, the one called "reason," snapped completely.

"One last basic information question, Dragon King."

The disciple paused, then asked slowly in a businesslike tone.

"Please declare all Houtian Spiritual Treasures, Innate Spiritual Treasures, Spiritual Roots, Ore Veins, and other forms of... Fixed Assets held under your personal name and under the East Sea Dragon Palace as a unit."

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A terrifying aura at the peak of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm erupted explosively from Ao Guang's body!

The entire Crystal Palace let out a strained groan under this pressure!

Countless coral and jade trees shattered inch by inch in the wake of his fury!

"Enough!"

Ao Guang rose abruptly from his throne, his golden dragon eyes blazing with an inferno vast enough to scorch the seas and boil the oceans.

He pointed at that disciple, at the rows of office desks, and unleashed a roar that shook the four seas.

"This is too much!"

"The Dragon Clan's treasury, the spiritual veins of my East Sea—are these things for the likes of you to casually pry into?!"

"Today, even if it means offending the Dao Ancestor himself, I, this king, will suppress every last one of you... at the Eye of the East Sea!"

The terrifying pressure, like a tangible tsunami, swept toward the three hundred Jie Sect disciples.

The seawater within the hall instantly boiled!

Yet, facing this thunderous wrath that would make even an ordinary Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal pale, not a single one of those three hundred Jie Sect disciples flinched.

Their Dao robes rustled violently in the raging currents, but their formation stood utterly still.

On their faces, there was no fear, no panic—only a calm bordering on indifference.

Zhao Gongming, at their head, didn't even lift an eyelid.

He merely took one slow step forward, standing at the forefront of the line.

He didn't summon the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, nor did he release his own aura.

He simply raised a hand and waved calmly at the disciple in charge of registration.

That disciple understood.

Under Ao Guang's gaze—a stare that could kill him ten million times over—he unhurriedly drew from his bosom another brand-new jade slip, faintly radiating the aura of the Heavenly Dao.

"Your Majesty, Dragon King."

His voice remained calm, still procedural, as if the world-shattering fury of the Dragon King just now was nothing more than an insignificant breeze.

"The Immortal Official foresaw that you might experience some... emotional fluctuations during the asset declaration process."

He gently unrolled the jade slip.

"Thus, he specifically ordered us to carry this 'Notice of Consequences for Refusing to Cooperate with the Heavenly Dao Census Work.'"

"It details thirteen possible penalty mechanisms that may be triggered."

"Article one, following the precedent of Guangchengzi of the Chan Sect, involves listing the party as a 'Primordial Era Dishonored Executor,' revoking all permissions to access fortune and merit at the Heavenly Dao level."

"Article twelve involves suspending the party's faction's legal jurisdiction over its territory until cooperation is achieved."

The disciple lifted his head, looking at Ao Guang, whose expression had shifted from raging fury to ashen gloom, and offered a most sincere smile.

"Your Majesty, would you like to try experiencing one of these first?"

"Pfft—"

Behind Ao Guang, an elderly Octopus Elder rolled his eyes back, spewed a great gush of ink from his mouth, and collapsed stiffly to the ground.

Ao Guang's body trembled violently.

The mana within him, enough to overturn the four seas, surged wildly but found no outlet to release.

He felt like a primordial beast trapped in a spiderweb.

No matter how he struggled or roared, all he got in return was that net called "Process," tightening ever further.

After a long while, as if all his strength had been drained, he slumped back into the cold throne, defeated and powerless.

That terrifying aura, capable of destroying everything, dissipated like smoke.

"Enough..."

"Ask... your questions."

His voice was hoarse, hollow, filled with the despair of one who had accepted his fate.

The disciple's face once again wore that standardized, procedural smile.

He put away the "Notice of Consequences," picked up the household registration jade slip again, as if nothing had happened.

He cleared his throat and continued in that emotionless, bureaucratic tone, asking slowly.

"Very well, Your Majesty."

"Now, let us proceed."

"Regarding the declaration of fixed assets for yourself and the Dragon Clan, may I ask..."

"Would you prefer to declare voluntarily, or shall our office conduct a Direct Access to the Heavenly Dao Data Backend, supplemented by an On-site Asset Inventory?"