Deep within the Water Marsh Dragon Palace, the long-sealed doors of the Banquet Hall slowly opened today.
Dozens of demons had already gathered inside. The Dragon Monarch's throne stood empty at the center, its former occupant Water Virtue Dragon Lord Gu Jingming.
No other seat of supreme honor had been arranged in the hall.
A single seat of honor stood to the left. Marquis Changze sat upon it, with the Seventh-Tier Slave standing solemnly behind him.
No colored lanterns or banners hung in the hall. Instead, Luminous Pearls studded every corner, their clear radiance bathing the entire hall in jade-like splendor.
The seats stood in two orderly rows, left and right.
Those on the left all belonged to the Azure Sea Dragon Palace's direct faction. First Prince Gu Feng and Second Prince Gu Rui were among them, along with members of Azure Sea Lake's Nine Great Demon Clans, fierce generals, and powerful court ministers.
Elder Zhuang of the Longze Marquis Residence was also seated among them. Such a gathering was rare even across the whole of Azure Sea Lake.
More than a dozen people had come from the nine clans, though only two leading figures from the Top Three Clans had appeared.
One was Xie Yuan, deputy clan chief of the Celestial River Demon Crab Tribe. He looked like a middle-aged man of lofty bearing, as elegant as a reclusive cultivator, with no trace of his demon form visible.
His cultivation had reached the peak of the Seventh Tier, and his Can Shui arts were unfathomably profound.
Xie Yuan was the eldest son of the Celestial River Demon Crab Tribe's main line. His cultivation had gone smoothly, and he was about the same age as Marquis Changze, Gu Changze.
His father was the tribe's current chief. Barring any upheaval, the