[Prelude to the Azure Sea Dragon Palace's Crown Prince Banquet]
[At dawn the next day, hidden turmoil surged throughout Azure Sea Lake.]
[All Nine Great Demon Clans in the lake had learned a piece of earthshaking news:]
[The Third Prince and Marquis Wu Ze would both attend the Azure Sea Dragon Palace. Today's grand banquet would determine who would hold the Dragon Monarch's throne for the next thousand years.]
[As the news spread, the vast Azure Sea Lake abruptly fell silent. The Nine Great Clans lay low and watched, none daring to act rashly, yet beneath the tranquil surface, undercurrents churned wildly.]
[By contrast, the countless ordinary aquatic creatures in the lake were taut with anxiety, tempered by a secret anticipation.]
[A change of Dragon Monarch concerned Azure Sea Lake's fortune for a thousand years. Countless races lived and flourished in its waters; tugging one strand would move the whole. No creature within it could remain uninvolved.]
[Every creature in Azure Sea Lake craned its neck and watched, waiting for the assembly that would settle the Azure Sea Dragon Palace's future to begin.]
[Morning light pierced the lake water as you headed toward the Dragon Palace with the powerful cultivators under your command.]
[Liu Sui, Jiang Ziyang, Hu Xiaozi, Daoyuan, and Lingmiaozi-the five seventh-tier cultivators-accompanied you, their expressions solemn.]
[In Tai Chi Hall, Ye Chen and Elder Jun Mo's people waited for orders. They had yet to enter the seventh tier and were only at the sixth, so they could offer little help at today's Dragon Palace gathering. They needed only to wait outside for your commands.]
[Today, the main waterway from Tai Chi Hall to the Azure Sea Dragon Palace had already been sealed off layer upon layer. Not a single bystander remained nearby; the entire stretch of water