"Today, I have summoned you all to announce an important matter."
The dragons all looked delighted.
After all, in their minds, the long-awaited moment for the final battle against the Phoenix Race and the Qilin Race had finally arrived.
But their Ancestral Dragon soon shattered their hopes.
"I hereby decree that from this day forward, no member of the Dragon Race may leave the Four Seas without permission. Anyone who goes out to sea without a pressing reason or my approval will be severely punished!"
"What?!"
The members of the Dragon Race were stunned, and even their many powerful experts gaped in disbelief.
Previously, their Ancestral Dragon had turned a blind eye to those who went out to sea without permission. But judging by the way he looked now... he was serious!
"Elder brother!"
Candle Dragon was alarmed and tried to speak up in protest.
"Dragon Ancestor!"
The Dragon Race's experts were even more anxious, but when they saw Candle Dragon about to speak, they could only listen quietly.
Candle Dragon said urgently, "Elder brother, our Dragon Race has billions of members, and you are brave and skilled in battle. We deserve to be called the strongest race in the Primordial World! Now is the perfect time to expand our territory and unify the Primordial World. How can we retreat to the Four Seas and hand over all that fine land to others?"
His eyes fixed on the Ancestral Dragon, eager to hear his explanation.
The Dragon Race had always acted with arrogance and domineering force. Asking them to retreat to the Four Seas? Was this a joke?
Even if the Four Seas were already almost as large as the land of the Primordial World, who wouldn't want an even larger territory? They had no intention of yielding their place to the Phoenix Race and the Qilin Race.
"Enough! I have made up my mind. You need say no more."
The Ancestral Dragon gave Candle Dragon a meaningful look. He had no intention of listening to their opinions, and swore:
"Heavenly Dao above, I, Ancestral Dragon, as the leader of the Dragon Race and the leader of the scaled beings of the Primordial World, sense that the Four Seas are in turmoil and the Heavenly Dao is incomplete. I am willing to lead the Dragon Race in suppressing the Four Seas, thereby ensuring favorable weather, peace, and safety for all things across the Primordial World. Any member of the Dragon Race who fails to honor this oath shall be expelled from the Dragon Race and stripped of their dragon bloodline. May the Heavenly Dao bear witness!"
Boom!
The Heavenly Dao stirred, acknowledging the Dragon Race's oath, and sent down a vast mass of merit upon them.
The merit was distributed among all the dragons according to their standing and status in the Dragon Race.
But the Dragon Race already numbered in the billions. Even with such a vast mass of merit, each dragon received only a tiny, meager amount.
Jade Capital Mountain.
"Daoist Hongjun, why would the Ancestral Dragon really do this? Could it be that he no longer wants to dominate the world?"
Qiankun Ancestor furrowed his brow slightly. Something was off about the Ancestral Dragon.
"Daoist Qiankun, you're reading too much into it. Think carefully: there's nothing in his oath about giving up the struggle to dominate the Primordial World."
Hongjun smiled.
Qiankun thought for a moment, then said, "The Dragon Race will guard the Four Seas forever... but he never said they would stop competing for dominance over the Primordial World, nor did he say they would never leave the Four Seas. It seems the Ancestral Dragon has changed somewhat. He's learned to think before he acts."
"Mhm. Language is an art."
Back during the Beast Calamity, the Ancestral Dragon had been domineering, but he hadn't known the first thing about scheming.
Now, the Ancestral Dragon was quite different from before.
If the Dragon Race stayed out of it while the Phoenix Race and the Qilin Race fought to the death, wouldn't the Dragon Race benefit in the end?
Qiankun had nearly misunderstood the Dragon Race, thinking they had truly given up on dominating the Primordial World.
He wondered whether the members of the Phoenix Race and the Qilin Race would see through this artful use of language.
"Hmph! The Dragon Race... Ancestral Dragon, just as one would expect of you! You truly have the makings of a leader. What a clever scheme!"
First Qilin opened his eyes from his secluded cultivation and couldn't help but scoff.
He, too, had noticed the change in the Dragon Race—or rather, in the Ancestral Dragon. Compared to before, the Ancestral Dragon had become much more cunning.
The War of the Three Tribes had been started by the Dragon Race, yet now they had used an oath to confine themselves to the Four Seas.
At first, the oath sounded as if the Dragon Race would never leave the Four Seas again. In reality, though, they could come up with a hundred different interpretations of it in no time.
It would be easy for the Dragon Race to go out to sea!
The Dragon Race was using this method to withdraw from the conflict between the three races and let the Qilin Race and Phoenix Race clash first. Once both sides were badly weakened, they could let the phoenixes and qilins fight again, leaving the Ancestral Dragon to reap the benefits.
Did they really think so little of him, First Qilin?
Still, there was one thing that frustrated First Qilin: he couldn't imitate the Dragon Race's approach. If the Qilin Race confined itself to one place, wouldn't that be the same as handing the whole Primordial World to the Phoenix Race?
Wouldn't that woman Yuanfeng become a saint straightaway?
But he couldn't just let the Ancestral Dragon have his way, either. A war against the Phoenix Race was no good.
The Ancestral Dragon's move was brilliant! Truly high-level. He had gained merit, safely withdrawn from the great battle, and remained ready to reap the benefits.
No... he had to think of something.
"Everyone, the Dragon Race has confined itself to the Four Seas and won't come out. How should we respond?"
A thousand years later, First Qilin summoned all the experts of the Qilin Race to the Qilin Ancestral Hall and asked them.
"Clan Leader, with the Dragon Race confined to the Four Seas, this is the perfect opportunity for us to settle things with the Phoenix Race!"
A Qilin Race strategist spoke up:
"As long as we defeat the Phoenix Race, we'll surely gain the recognition of the Heavenly Dao and become the true rulers of the Primordial World. Our ancestor could even become a saint in one fell swoop! By then, won't the Dragon Race have to obey us?"
"Clan Leader, the strategist is right! I, Nao Tan, agree with him!"
"That's right, that's right! I, Nao Xueshu'an, agree with the strategist too!"
"I, Da Shabi, agree as well!"
The strategist's words won the approval of many of his fellow experts.
At that moment, most of the Qilin Race were fired up and excited.
With the Dragon Race out of the picture, all they had to do was defeat the Phoenix Race to gain the Heavenly Dao's recognition and become the sole protagonist race of the Primordial World. What were they waiting for?
"Foolish!"
First Qilin berated them without hesitation:
"Who said that defeating the Phoenix Race would guarantee our becoming the protagonist of the Primordial World? Did the Ancestral Dragon ever say he was withdrawing from the struggle for dominance over the Primordial World?"
"Uh..."
The Qilins present fell silent, pondering his words.
But they all realized one thing: the Dragon Race had only said it would guard the Four Seas. It had never said it wouldn't come out, much less that it would withdraw from the struggle for dominance over the Primordial World.
"The Dragon Race is so cunning!"
"Thankfully, our ancestor is wise and saw through the Dragon Race's scheme. Otherwise, the Dragon Race would have reaped the benefits while we fought!"
"Exactly! We'll have to be careful now and make sure the Dragon Race doesn't take advantage of us."
The Qilin Race's experts all grew wary.
"What do you think we should do about the Dragon Race?"
First Qilin asked again.
"Uh... Watch while standing? Sitting? Lying down?"
"We await your instructions, ancestor!"
Before you continue