Ch. 181Lean Camels Are Still Bigger Than Horses: The Nine-Segment Fish Dragon Beast and the Sea Dinosaur Herd
Chapter Summary
Key Plot Points and Events
- Ice Empress unleashes her Extreme Ice Domain on more than twenty attacking flying dragons, instantly freezing them into enormous ice sculptures and killing them.
- The frozen dragon corpses float on the dark sea, while their pure ten-thousand-year soul rings rise into the air.
- Ye Qing admires Ice Empress’s overwhelming “mob-clearing” power, then searches the corpses for valuable soul bones.
- He extracts five high-quality ten-thousand-year soul bones, treating the unexpected loot as a major success. Ice Empress dismisses them as worthless scraps.
- Ice Empress detects traces of her ice power on the previously wounded Nine-Segment Fish Dragon and vows not to let it escape again.
- Ye Qing, Ice Empress, and Snow Empress conceal their auras and follow the trail to a barren black island.
- They discover the hundred-thousand-year Nine-Segment Fish Dragon surrounded by more than a hundred ink-green sea dinosaurs. The dinosaurs exploit its existing wounds, attacking its tail and belly.
- Enraged, the Nine-Segment Fish Dragon unleashes its dual water-and-fire power, slaughtering the entire herd despite its injuries.
- After destroying the sea dinosaurs, the Fish Dragon is left severely weakened, its nine spinal bone spurs dimmed and its body barely able to remain afloat.
Character Developments
- Ice Empress: Demonstrates her terrifying combat power and pride. Her satisfaction at defeating the flying dragons reveals how much her earlier frustration had been relieved. Her determination to pursue the Nine-Segment Fish Dragon is driven by dignity and the refusal to let prey escape.
- Ye Qing: Remains fearless, opportunistic, and irreverent even in the dangerous Sea of Buried Corpses. Rather than being intimidated by the corpses or hidden threats, he focuses on collecting soul bones and joking about the loot.
- Snow Empress: Continues to appear calm and reserved, but her faint smile shows growing amusement and affection toward Ye Qing’s unusual fearlessness and carefree attitude.
- Nine-Segment Fish Dragon: Initially appears arrogant and dominant, but its injuries leave it vulnerable to a coordinated attack. Nevertheless, its hundred-thousand-year cultivation allows it to overcome the sea-dinosaur herd and reaffirm its immense strength.
Significant Themes
- Power and hierarchy: The chapter contrasts Ice Empress’s effortless destruction of powerful flying dragons with the Fish Dragon’s ability to annihilate numerous ten-thousand-year beasts. It emphasizes that cultivation level and deep foundations remain decisive.
- Predation and opportunism: The sea dinosaurs attack the Fish Dragon only after it has been wounded, illustrating the ruthless law of survival in the wild.
- Pride and dignity: Both Ice Empress and the Fish Dragon are motivated by pride. Ice Empress refuses to let her prey escape, while the Fish Dragon responds violently to being treated as vulnerable.
- Humor amid danger: Ye Qing’s casual treasure hunting and playful remarks provide comic relief in an environment filled with ancient beasts and potentially lethal threats.
- Unexpected companionship: Snow Empress’s quiet amusement suggests that Ye Qing’s reckless, unconventional personality is gradually drawing the two powerful women closer to him.
Character Interactions
- Ye Qing openly praises Ice Empress after her mass attack, while she responds with irritation and dismisses his excitement over the soul bones.
- Snow Empress and Ice Empress silently observe Ye Qing’s behavior; Ice Empress criticizes him, whereas Snow Empress privately finds his attitude entertaining.
- The trio cooperate by concealing their presence and tracking the Nine-Segment Fish Dragon.
- Ye Qing and the two Empresses watch together as the wounded Fish Dragon reverses its situation and destroys the sea-dinosaur herd, ending the chapter with the beast exhausted but still formidable.