Old Man, That Fish Tank of Yours Is Huge!

The East Sea Crystal Palace.

Dragon King Ao Guang of the East Sea lounged on his throne, sipping the Myriad Years Nectar presented by a maidservant while enjoying the song and dance performed for him by the Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals below. Life couldn't have been more pleasant.

Since the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, the once-mighty Witch and Demon Clans had completely left the stage of history. Although the Human Race had flourished, its main powers were all on land.

The Dragon Clan, an ancient race with a long heritage, might no longer enjoy its former glory, but it remained the undisputed ruler of the Four Seas.

The East Sea Dragon Palace was especially wealthy, its Treasure Trove piled high with rare and precious treasures. Even the old Jade Emperor of the Heavenly Court would turn green with envy at the sight.

"Ah, invincibility is such a lonely thing."

Ao Guang took a sip of wine and sighed contentedly, feeling that his life as a dragon had reached its peak.

Just as he was nodding off,

he suddenly felt a pang of dread, as though some terrible disaster were about to befall him.

At that moment, the Qi Luck Golden Dragon coiled around one of the Crystal Palace's pillars let out an uneasy growl without warning.

"Hmm?"

Ao Guang's brow furrowed, and he snapped awake.

He tried to divine what was happening, but the secrets of heaven were in chaos, and he couldn't discern a thing.

"Strange. What's going on?"

An ominous feeling rose in his heart.

"Report! Your Majesty the Dragon King! Something terrible has happened!"

A Shrimp Soldier came rolling and scrambling in from outside the palace, his voice filled with panic.

"What's got you in such a panic? Have you no manners?" Ao Guang chided him irritably.

"Outside... outside the palace gates... there's a... a baby in a red bellyband!"

"She says... she says she wants to find you... and borrow some bricks to build a house!"

"A baby? Borrow bricks?"

Ao Guang stared blankly after hearing the Shrimp Soldier's report, then burst out laughing.

"Ha ha ha! Did I hear that right? A baby came to my Crystal Palace to ask me for bricks to build a house?"

The clam maidens dancing below the dais and the Crab Generals on patrol all burst into laughter as well. The whole Crystal Palace was filled with merriment.

"Your Majesty the Dragon King, perhaps some mischievous young immortal got lost and wandered into our East Sea by mistake?"

An elderly man who looked like the Turtle Prime Minister chuckled.

"Hmm, that makes sense."

Ao Guang nodded, a playful smile on his face.

"Come on. Let's go take a look. I'd like to see whose child is so polite."

He was in a good mood and had been looking for something to relieve his boredom. Now a little amusement had come right to him.

With that, Ao Guang rose and led a great crowd of Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals—who were eager to see the fun—toward the Crystal Palace's main gate.

At the entrance to the Crystal Palace,

Xiruan stood with the Milk Bottle slung over her shoulder, staring impatiently at the two Shrimp Soldiers blocking her way.

"Hey! Are you two deaf or what?"

"I told you, I'm here to see your boss! Move it! Don't block my way!"

"Little girl, you should leave. This isn't a place for you."

One Shrimp Soldier waved the large claw in his hand to scare her.

"If you don't, I'll pinch you!"

"Exactly! His Majesty the Dragon King is busy with affairs all day. Why would he have time to see a Little Kid like you?"

The other Shrimp Soldier chimed in.

They found it odd that a child had managed to reach the Crystal Palace at the bottom of the deep sea all by herself. But she didn't seem to have the slightest trace of magical power, so she was just an ordinary little girl. They didn't pay her much mind.

"Pinch me?" Xiruan's eyes widened. "You dare!"

She hated it when people threatened her!

"See if I dare!" the Shrimp Soldier said, raising his large claw and reaching to pinch Xiruan's little arm.

He didn't really mean to hurt her. He only wanted to scare the clueless child into leaving.

"Oh, so you won't let me in, and now you're trying to hit me!"

"Looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson, or you won't know how strong I am!"

Xiruan gave a sharp cry, swung the Chaos Baby Bottle in her hand, and brought it down on the two Shrimp Soldiers.

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

Two dull impacts rang out.

The Shrimp Soldiers, who had been swaggering around just moments before, didn't even get the chance to scream. One blow from her Milk Bottle sent each of them flying.

They traced two graceful arcs through the water and disappeared somewhere in the distance.

The other aquatic guards nearby were all stunned by what they saw.

H-how could this child be so strong?

As they stood there in shock, the Crystal Palace's gates slowly swung open.

Dragon King Ao Guang of the East Sea strode out with the aquatic clans gathered around him.

At a glance, he spotted the baby in a red bellyband standing at the entrance, the Milk Bottle slung over her shoulder and her cheeks puffed up in anger.

"Oh? She really is just a baby."

Ao Guang was a little surprised, then his face filled with interest.

He could tell that the child truly had no magical power, but her physical strength seemed... absurdly powerful.

Interesting. Very interesting.

"You're the master of this place?"

Xiruan spotted Ao Guang too. She looked him up and down: he wore a golden dragon robe and had two horns on his head.

Hmm, he was decked out in jewels and had quite a presence. He looked like a rich man.

"That's right. I am Ao Guang, ruler of the East Sea."

Ao Guang stroked his whiskers and spoke with pride. "Little girl, what do you want with me?"

"Oh, so you're the big boss."

Xiruan nodded and got right to the point. "Old man, that big fish tank of yours is huge. You look pretty rich, too."

Ao Guang's brow twitched almost imperceptibly at her words.

A big fish tank?

She was calling his Crystal Palace a big fish tank?

"Here's the thing," Xiruan continued matter-of-factly. "Someone tore down my house, and my Daddy doesn't have anywhere to live now. It's so pitiful."

"You've got lots of shiny bricks here, so I thought I'd borrow some to build a new house for my Daddy."

"We'll pay you back once we have money."

B-borrow bricks?

After hearing her, Ao Guang nearly laughed out loud.

In all his years, he'd never heard anyone use such a novel excuse to scrounge around in his Crystal Palace.

Pay him back for the bricks?

Every single tile in his Crystal Palace was made of thousand-year-old black crystal or ten-thousand-year-old cold jade.

Every pillar was made of East Sea Divine Iron or deep-sea agarwood.

Take even one of those things outside, and it would be enough to cause a storm of bloodshed.

And she was calling them bricks?

She wanted to borrow them, too?

"Little girl, you can eat whatever you like, but you can't just say whatever you want."

Ao Guang's expression darkened.

"The treasures in my Crystal Palace aren't bricks, and they aren't for just anyone to borrow."

"Oh? So you won't lend me any?" Xiruan narrowed her eyes, her little hand tightening around the Milk Bottle.

"It's not that I won't lend you any." Ao Guang shook his head. He'd decided to tease the amusing little girl.

"It's just that, by the rules of the Dragon Clan, if you want to take something from me, you have to prove yourself."

"How about this?" He pointed to the enormous barrier of flowing water at the entrance to the Crystal Palace.

"If you can break through this Water Curtain, I'll let you into my Treasure Trove and choose any three treasures you like. How does that sound?"

The Water Curtain was a restriction he'd set up using the power of the East Sea's origin. Forget an ordinary mortal child—even a Da Luo Golden Immortal couldn't break through it easily.

He just wanted to see how strong this little girl's body really was.

"That's it?" Xiruan looked at the Water Curtain, which seemed soft and flimsy, and her little face filled with disdain. "It's a deal?"

"A gentleman never goes back on his word," Ao Guang declared proudly.

"Good! You said it!"

After getting his promise, Xiruan rubbed her little hands together excitedly.

"Then watch closely!"

With a sharp cry, her tiny body shot forward like a cannonball. The Milk Bottle in her hand carried the terrifying force of creation itself as she slammed it hard into the Water Curtain!

The smile still lingered on Ao Guang's face.

The aquatic clansmen behind him were all waiting to enjoy the show.

But in the next instant,

the expressions on their faces froze forever.