"You damn fool!"
Little Dragon suddenly flew into a rage and cursed. Then he hurriedly ran... flew... swam toward the East Sea Dragon King.
"Father, Father, something terrible has happened!"
Little Dragon's voice arrived before he did. He was so frantic that the East Sea Dragon King thought something serious had happened and quickly used his divine powers to pull him over.
"What is it, Ao Yi? What happened? Is someone trying to harm you?"
The East Sea Dragon King was furious and immediately fired off a string of questions. If anyone was trying to harm his son, he would make sure they never left alive.
"Father, no one is trying to harm me. It's just that our Dragon Palace is going to make a fool of itself at this Monster Quelling Assembly!"
Ao Yi, the Second Prince of the East Sea Dragon Palace, quickly told the East Sea Dragon King what he knew.
"Father, just think about it. If our East Sea Dragon Palace makes a fool of itself, and the Immortal Crossing Sect is also inconvenienced by arriving late, won't that leave both sides worse off?"
The East Sea Dragon King's expression darkened. He didn't know much about this matter, but he did know some of what had happened. In fact, he had even approved some of it.
For example, he had deliberately arranged for a small group of newly bred Shrimp Soldiers to wreak havoc along the East Sea Coast. The Immortal Crossing Sect had responded by coming to the East Sea to exterminate demons and protect the human race.
He didn't dare retaliate against the Immortal Crossing Sect, since it was a successor of the Human Teachings. So he had prepared this Monster Quelling Assembly to show off the Dragon Clan's strength and draw a boundary along the East Sea with the human Qi Practitioners.
So he had taken someone's advice and deliberately sent an arrogant Azure Dragon to deliver an invitation to the Immortal Crossing Sect, hoping to teach them a lesson and humiliate them.
He knew all about that.
But what had actually happened?
The moment Ao Yi arrived, he had seen through the secrets of heaven and learned what had really happened back then.
Not only had the Azure Dragon been humiliated, it had also given them the wrong date.
He had even discovered that some powerful members of the Dragon Clan had arranged a series of petty traps for the banquet and the Monster Quelling Assembly, hoping to vent their anger. The East Sea Dragon King was so furious he nearly laughed.
A bunch of fools.
If they didn't dare act, then they should just admit it. Why resort to all these underhanded tricks? Was this a Monster Quelling Assembly?
This was clearly a Dragon Clan Exposes Its Own Shame Assembly!!!
And setting all that aside, even if their plans weren't foolish, the Immortal Crossing Sect had been given the wrong date. Wouldn't that make all their preparations worthless?
At that moment, the Turtle Prime Minister saw the East Sea Dragon King's displeased expression and immediately understood what he meant. He stepped forward and quietly explained things to Ao Yi.
"Your Highness, Second Prince, this won't leave both sides worse off. It'll only leave our Dragon Palace worse off."
Fearing Ao Yi still wouldn't understand, he explained in detail. "The Monster Quelling Assembly is a year earlier than the date given to the Immortal Crossing Sect. They'll definitely find out about it during that year.
"So when the date they were told finally arrives, whether they come or not, they'll have slapped our Dragon Palace in the face."
Ao Yi's eyes widened. So no matter how you looked at it, our Dragon Palace was going to lose?
Looking at his father's expression, Ao Yi realized that the East Sea Dragon King already knew this too.
"Then, Father, the Monster Quelling Assembly is about to begin. What should we do?"
"What else can we do? Send a dragon to inform them!"
The East Sea Dragon King still had some pride and didn't want to admit fault, but Ao Yi didn't see it that way.
"Father, we're going to lose face either way. But if we send another arrogant dragon and anger the Immortal Crossing Sect of the Human Teachings, they might not come at all. Wouldn't that make us look even worse?"
"Then what do you suggest?"
The East Sea Dragon King spoke gruffly, still clearly displeased. But Ao Yi acted as if he hadn't noticed and suggested, "Have the Turtle Prime Minister go in person. He's steady and experienced, and it'll show that our Dragon Palace takes the Immortal Crossing Sect seriously.
"As for the other dragons, I'm afraid they'll get skinned and have their tendons pulled out."
"Absolutely not!"
Just then, the Azure Dragon who had caused the trouble shouted, "Your Highness, if the Turtle Prime Minister goes, won't that make our Dragon Palace seem inferior to the human race?"
"You damn fools!"
A group of elders at the Immortal Crossing Sect flew into a rage.
"What does the East Sea Dragon Palace mean by giving us the wrong date for the Monster Quelling Assembly? Do they look down on the Immortal Crossing Sect, or are they deliberately trying to spite us?"
The Immortal Crossing Sect was on close terms with many of the other immortal sects invited to the Monster Quelling Assembly.
As it happened, those sects had sent word not long ago that they were preparing to attend the assembly. They had even asked the Immortal Crossing Sect when it planned to set out with them.
But the Immortal Crossing Sect had thought it was a year away and had been taking its time.
By the Grand Pure Sage, the Dragon Clan's brains must be full of weeds!!
"Since things have come to this, we should get ready and go together when the time comes."
"No. Wouldn't that make us look inferior to the East Sea Dragon Palace for no reason?"
"Exactly. The Dragon Palace is the one at fault. If we go, won't it look like we're backing down and admitting we're inferior to the Dragon Clan?"
The elders were all hot-tempered. Even though they knew their cultivation was inferior to the East Sea Dragon Palace's, they still shouted about fighting and killing without the slightest hesitation.
They couldn't help it. They were part of the Human Teachings' Daoist Tradition, with a Saint backing them.
And the Dragon Clan was burdened with immense karmic debt.
They could afford to be this bold.
"If you ask me, we should just stay away and thoroughly humiliate the Dragon Clan."
"I think we should go, then directly confront the East Sea Dragon Palace in front of all the other immortal sects."
The elders' calls for fighting and killing gave the Immortal Crossing Sect Leader a terrible headache.
Just then, a disciple suddenly came to report.
"Leader, the Turtle Prime Minister of the East Sea Dragon Palace is here to pay a visit!"
That announcement meant nothing to the others, but to the Immortal Crossing Sect Leader it was like rain from a clear sky.
"Quick, invite him in!"
The Turtle Prime Minister truly lived up to his title. He conducted himself steadily and did not act arrogantly like the Azure Dragon. Instead, he descended from the clouds and waited outside the Immortal Crossing Sect's mountain gate, observing every courtesy.
That one scene alone won the approval of the Immortal Crossing Sect Leader and the elders.
"So, it's the Turtle Prime Minister of the East Sea Dragon Palace. I'm afraid I've kept you waiting. Please forgive me!"
Who would have thought the Turtle Prime Minister would lower himself and apologize too? "Not at all. The fault is entirely ours. We didn't realize that the envoy we sent before had delivered false information. Now that our Dragon Palace has discovered and investigated the matter, we've specially sent me to apologize. Please don't take offense."
Then the Turtle Prime Minister had the Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals behind him carry one box after another forward.
"These are gifts from our Dragon Palace. Please accept them."
Then he took out another invitation to the Monster Quelling Assembly.
"It was all the Dragon Palace's fault. Please don't hold it against us. This is a new invitation to the Monster Quelling Assembly. Your sect is welcome whether or not you choose to attend."
His words left no room for criticism. The boxes carried by the Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals stretched for ten miles, and treasures gleamed from them in every direction. The Immortal Crossing Sect couldn't refuse such a show of sincerity.
They were, after all, human and part of the Human Teachings' Daoist Tradition. Since the Dragon Palace had shown them respect, they had to attend the Monster Quelling Assembly.
"In that case, the Immortal Crossing Sect will accept these gifts. We'll attend the Monster Quelling Assembly in twenty-one days, as promised!"