The East Sea Dragon Palace.
Ao Guang had been living quite comfortably lately, and even the Aquatic Tribe in his palace had shared in his good fortune.
It wasn't that the Eastern Sea's Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals had grown stronger. The Heavenly Court had simply been providing far too much support.
Back when the Victorious Fighting Buddha had stormed the Dragon Palace and pulled out the Sea-Calming Divine Needle from the Eastern Sea's Sea Eye, it had seemed like an enormous humiliation for the Eastern Sea, a bitter loss it could only swallow in silence.
The Sea-Calming Divine Needle was gone.
A hole had been left in the Sea Eye.
Hadn't that become the perfect excuse to hold out a hand to Lingxiao Palace?
Over the years, Ao Guang had submitted memorials to the Heavenly Court every few days. Their central message was always the same: the East Sea Eye was unstable and could flood the Three Realms at any moment. For the sake of all living beings, he begged the Heavenly Court to maintain the Sea Eye's seal.
Lingxiao Palace could easily afford that much, and it also needed to placate the four seas, so the approvals came readily.
As time went on, Ao Guang had turned the hole that monkey had made all those years ago into a profitable business.
With a treasure basin like that in his lap, it was hard not to live comfortably.
At that moment, in the Dragon Palace's rear hall.
Ao Guang lay sprawled on a couch carved from ten-thousand-year warm jade. Two beautiful Clam Maidens gently massaged his legs beside him. The old Dragon King's eyes were half closed, a cup of exquisite nectar in his hand, and every so often he hummed a few lines to the beat.
"Three or