Candle Dragon's Predicament

Nuwa weighed the pros and cons, while Taishang nursed his own private schemes.

Haotian had grown too overbearing.

He had now reached a point where he could no longer be restrained.

Though Haotian's actions did not affect Taishang all that much, as a sage, being unable to keep Haotian in check was itself a very serious matter.

Now, even they, the sages, faced severe restrictions when meddling in the Primordial World.

What talk was there left of acting on Heaven's behalf?

Thus, Taishang needed a backup.

To apply a little pressure on Haotian.

If he could prop up Fuxi now, then when Haotian eventually threw down the reins, Taishang could smoothly push Fuxi forward.

At that time, Fuxi of the Human Race would succeed to the position of Heavenly Emperor.

For all parties involved, this was not unacceptable.

Replacing the Heavenly Emperor with a Human Emperor would inevitably surge the Human Race's fortune.

This would greatly benefit Taishang.

Moreover, compared to Haotian, Fuxi was undoubtedly far easier to control.

After all, Haotian could summon the Dao Ancestor.

Under such circumstances, not only would striking at Haotian or gravely wounding him be impossible—

even merely making a move to send him back to the Heavenly Court

would earn Taishang a scolding from the Old Man.

But Fuxi was different; at most, he could summon Nuwa.

And would Taishang be cowed by Nuwa?

Impossible!

Faced with Fuxi, Taishang could finally display the majesty of a sage.

His voice in the Primordial World could once again be elevated.

There were some things Taishang could disregard.

But disregarding did not mean he could afford to let them go.

The right to speak was always important, no matter the time.

It was with this consideration that Taishang went along with Nuwa's scheme, conveniently laying out his own plans as well.

As for the pace of the Human Race's development?

Taishang actually cared little about it.

Fast or slow, each had its pros and cons.

Even concentrating the Human Race's fortune onto the Three Sovereigns had both advantages and disadvantages.

The drawback was obvious: the Three Sovereigns' existence was the Human Race's most glaring weakness.

If the Three Sovereigns met with calamity, the Human Race's fortune would inevitably suffer.

But the benefit was equally clear.

From then on, the Human Race's fortune would be plain to see.

As long as the Three Sovereigns were safeguarded, no matter how chaotic the Human Race became, their fortune would remain stable.

Thus, Taishang would save himself much trouble.

He would no longer need to constantly watch whether the Human Race had fallen into some scheme.

As for whether the fortune the Three Sovereigns occupied would affect Taishang?

There was no need to worry at all.

The fortune Taishang held from the Human Race was established through the form of a Great Sect.

As long as the Human Teachings remained and the Human Race's overall fortune was not damaged, Taishang's fortune would not be siphoned away.

Now, the conditions Taishang proposed seemed to constrain the Three Sovereigns, but in truth, they were all about protecting his own interests from harm.

As for Taishang's true aim, though Nuwa did not grasp it fully, she at least understood that he was safeguarding his interests from loss.

Thinking over Taishang's position, Nuwa came to realize the truth.

To achieve his goal, Taishang's conditions had to be accepted.

Taishang would not take risks himself to make things convenient for Nuwa.

After pondering for a moment, Nuwa finally nodded and said, "I accept this condition as well!"

Seeing that Nuwa was determined to push forward the matter of the Human Race's Three Sovereigns, Taishang naturally did not try to dissuade her further.

He simply nodded and said, "Good!

Let it be settled then!

Junior Sister may return and await the opportune moment."

Upon hearing this, Nuwa rose and said, "Then, Junior Sister takes her leave!"

With that, Nuwa turned and went straight back to the Wa Imperial Palace.

Glancing at the spot where Nuwa had vanished, Taishang slowly closed his eyes.

It was as if the matter Nuwa had discussed with him had nothing to do with him.

Yet in Taishang's view, it truly had little to do with him.

The Three Sovereigns were Nuwa's proposal.

This matter naturally had to be carried out by Nuwa herself.

As for protection and guidance, Taishang need not worry.

Before the matter of the Three Sovereigns was accomplished, any mishap would only harm Nuwa.

At most, Taishang would step in later to clean up the mess.

And then finish what remained undone.

These were all trivial details, inconsequential matters.

Besides, Nuwa was a Saint after all; it was impossible for her to fail at something so simple.

A Saint at a loss?

That would depend on who they were facing.

But at this moment, the ones with worries were not just the Saints.

Candle Dragon, who had already joined the Heavenly Court, was also heavy-hearted.

In the Heavenly Court.

Within Candle Dragon's palace.

The Four Dragon Kings looked at Candle Dragon with heavy hearts.

And Candle Dragon sat with a solemn expression, pondering matters.

What matters?

Simple!

The Dragon Race's "great gift" had not been delivered in time.

Earlier, that scoundrel Kunpeng had brought the Demon Race a step ahead.

And the location for the enfeoffment of the gods had been set at the South Heaven Gate.

This meant Candle Dragon had no chance to meet Haotian beforehand.

The Dragon Race's great gift naturally had no opportunity to be presented.

And after the enfeoffment was complete, Haotian went straight into seclusion.

The Dragon Race's great gift still had no chance to be delivered.

If it were just some spiritual treasures or materials, Candle Dragon could have handed them over to Yaochi.

After all, Yaochi was, nominally, Haotian's Dao companion.

Giving them to Yaochi would be as good as giving them to Haotian.

But the key issue was that among the Dragon Race's prepared great gift, there were also several hundred Clam Maidens.

If these were all sent to Yaochi together, what would she think?

Was this meant to put Yaochi in a difficult position?

Regardless of whether the Dao companion relationship was nominal

or had already become real, this was not the way to handle things.

If Yaochi misunderstood now, thinking the Dragon Race was trying to make trouble for her, the Dragon Race would still end up wearing tight shoes later.

Then the great gift would have lost its meaning.

The Dragon Race offered tribute to ensure their safety.

Not to invite trouble upon themselves.

After a long silence, Ao Guang could not help but ask: "Old Ancestor!

What should we do now?

When Kunpeng led the Demon Race in receiving their enfeoffment just now, they were truly imposing.

Looking at our Dragon Race's side, we are indeed more than a step weaker.

Both enfeoffed together, the contrast is clear at a glance.

And our grand gift is too late to present.

If the Heavenly Emperor misunderstands and thinks our Dragon Race is unwilling to contribute, things will become difficult."

As Ao Guang's words fell, Candle Dragon immediately shot him a glance.

Did Candle Dragon not know these problems himself?

The disparity between the cultivators the Dragon Race sent and those Kunpeng brought was far too great.

Whether in terms of cultivation level or sheer numbers, they barely reached a tenth of the other side.

Under such circumstances, Haotian still granted Candle Dragon a high position.

What did that mean?

Only a fool would believe Haotian had good intentions or would care about saving Candle Dragon's face.

Haotian gave Candle Dragon such a lofty post simply because he planned to dump troublesome matters on Candle Dragon in the future.

If even Haotian found those matters difficult, could Candle Dragon truly handle them?

This was not Haotian elevating Candle Dragon, but rather setting him up to be roasted over the fire.

When the dirty work was handed to him, would he do it or not?

Just thinking about possibly facing a Saint made Candle Dragon's scalp crawl.