The Bo Mountain Brazier smoldered with Aquilaria Incense. Misty mountains rose across its surface, while a host of beasts drifted amid them.
"The road stretched far and long; storms barred the way..."
Breathing in the incense, Liang Qu let out a long, faint sigh.
As the Water Monkey Great Sage, once fully fused, he was more than capable in battle. Within the Great Marsh, his martial strength stood at a great height, enough to dominate the Huai River.
Yet as the King of Huai, a newly advanced Young Dragon, he was simply not enough when viewed against the whole world. He ranked near the bottom, especially since his own territory had yet to develop and could not provide timely nourishment in return.
Young Dragons lived eight hundred years; every generation brought forth new talents.
Within a single province of Da Shun, there could be one or two, even three or four, enfeoffed kings. The five great lineages each had one or two as well, with scattered "independent cultivators" spread throughout.
In the natural mountains and wildlands—the Huai River, Yellow Sands, South Mountain Ridge, An Ridge, Mount Taibai, the Min Mountains, the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains...
Each had Demon Kings entrenched there, swallowing the essences of sun and moon.
The relationships among the many factions were tangled roots and intertwined branches, complex beyond measure.
The nine ancient strongholds of the Southern Border could not agree, leaving the front line unable to decide when to cut and unable to charge when it should. Da Shun was much the same.
It was merely that Da Shun's imperial house was powerful enough to serve as a standard, and could also unite Young Dragons of different surnames. The five great lineages did not dare resist, the Demon Kings of the mountains and wildlands did not