"May I ask, Third Princess, are those River Dragon Kings and Well Dragon Kings all True Dragons too?"
Di Tian's mouth fell open in shock. Even wells in the Primordial World had their own Dragon Kings overseeing them?
Ao Cunxin scoffed. "Naturally, they are of True Dragon stock. The flood dragons and wild dragons of the Primordial World are mostly evil demon beasts, burdened with untold karma. How could they serve as officials in the Heavenly Court?"
"Hiss..."
With that affirmative answer, Di Tian was utterly dumbfounded.
He could not imagine that the Primordial World actually had so many True Dragons.
But he soon noticed something amiss.
"Third Princess, by that reasoning, the Dragon Clan is indeed a great power, but why does it only oversee gathering clouds and bringing rain? Surely the Dragon Clan shouldn't be weak in combat?"
"Combat strength?"
Ao Cunxin's expression grew somewhat sorrowful. "You're very clever to notice something wrong so quickly, but you're mistaken. The Dragon Clan's combat strength isn't considered powerful at all in the Primordial World."
"Since you've accepted this opportunity, I'll give you a proper account of the Dragon Clan's history."
"In the ancient days of the Primordial World, the Dragon Clan was indeed immensely powerful, just as you said. At that time, innate beings had yet to walk the Primordial World. The Dragon Clan, the Qilin who ruled the land beasts, and the Phoenix Clan contended for supremacy over its lands."
"Wherever the Dragon Clan went, the myriad races retreated. The Dragon Clan of that era stood supreme over the Primordial World."
"The Dragon Clan's forefather, Ancestral Dragon, gathered the fortune of the entire clan and broke through to the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm. That is an existence beyond a Daluo Golden Immortal, a supreme expert in any era of the Primordial World."
"But the leaders of the Qilin Clan and Phoenix Clan also broke through to that realm. Inevitably, the three clans clashed on the Primordial World Continent, fighting until heaven and earth were shrouded in darkness."
"Who knows how many living beings were wiped out."
"You must understand, heaven and earth had only recently been created then. All the living beings in the Primordial World were innate beings, and even Saint Nuwa had yet to distinguish herself."
Ao Cunxin recounted it steadily, as though drawing back a great curtain.
A scene appeared before Di Tian's eyes: amid the boundless Primordial World, the three strongest clans seized territory and slaughtered one another, with all submitting wherever they passed.
On the Douluo Continent, everyone was also engrossed in Ao Cunxin's account.
They could easily grasp the Dragon Clan's might from her words.
But why had it now been reduced to overseeing clouds and rain?
Admittedly, that carried authority too, but it was hardly all that important.
"Their existence goes back even further than Holy Mother Nuwa's. The Dragon Clan has truly existed for a long time."
Many people sighed in wonder.
"So there weren't even humans back then, only innate beings. What does 'innate beings' mean?"
"Could innate beings be beings that existed before heaven itself?"
"Hiss... how is that possible?"
"Be quiet and listen. Let's hear the Dragon Clan's history first."
Everyone on the Douluo Continent was engrossed in the Dragon Clan's history, impatient to learn what upheaval had befallen it.
At Shrek Academy, Yu Xiaogang immediately wrote it down in his notebook.
"The realm after Daluo Golden Immortal is called Primordial Origin Golden Immortal."
As Ao Cunxin reached this point, a trace of fear flashed across her face.
"Far, far too many living beings died in the war between the three clans. Reincarnation had not yet emerged then, and countless departed souls wandered the lands of the Primordial World. Then punishment came."
Di Tian's heart tightened. What sort of punishment could bring even a Primordial Origin Golden Immortal to defeat?
"A tribulation came."
"You can understand a tribulation as heaven and earth's adjustment of the Primordial World. Every living being between heaven and earth produces tribulation qi whenever they kill, curse, or commit other negative acts. You could even say it is being produced at every moment. Once it accumulates to a certain degree, heaven and earth will unleash a tribulation."
"Under a tribulation, all beneath the Sages are like ants. No one can escape the reckoning of heaven and earth."
"The more karma you bear, the harder it is to escape a tribulation. Only those with great merit can preserve themselves through one."
"The Dragon Clan's karma was far too immense. Only by swearing to suppress the Sea Eye for eternity did Ancestral Dragon secure a thread of survival for the Dragon Clan. But from that time onward, every member of the Dragon Clan bore the karma of slaughtering countless living beings in the Primordial World."
"Karma is the opposite of merit. Those burdened with karma achieve half the results with twice the effort, no matter what they do."
"The most obvious example is cultivation. The Dragon Clan hasn't produced a Great Unity in a very long time."
"Even though countless primordial assemblies have passed since that tribulation, karma still weighs so heavily on the Dragon Clan that we cannot lift our heads."
At this point in her account, Ao Cunxin could not help feeling sorrowful.
Di Tian was so overwhelmed by what he heard that he no longer knew what heaven and earth were.
The Dragon Clan actually had such a terrifying history and bore boundless karma.
He had watched the livestream before ascending and knew how wondrous merit was. But the bad news was that karma was every bit as terrifying as merit was wondrous.
Moreover, Di Tian had gleaned quite a lot of useful information.
"Tribulations, Sages..."
Murmuring to himself, Di Tian slowly raised his head to look at the sky. When would the Primordial World's next tribulation come?
He was already beginning to feel afraid.
Just then, Ao Cunxin said, "This time, I'm asking you to take the initiative to participate in a tribulation."
"What?"
Di Tian nearly exploded.
"Haha, don't worry. This tribulation isn't that terrifying. I won't shortchange you."
Ao Cunxin explained, "The various powers have kept this tribulation within a controllable range. The risks are small and the rewards are great. It's well worth taking a shot."
"Our Dragon Clan went to considerable trouble to secure this spot. As long as we make it through this tribulation, the Dragon Clan will receive a substantial share of fortune and merit."
"Originally, my younger brother, the Third Prince of the West Sea, was going to enter the tribulation. None of the other True Dragons in the Primordial World are particularly suitable, and the mixed-blood dragons all bear karma. Since I happened to meet you, you can undertake this on the Dragon Clan's behalf."
Hearing this, Di Tian could only accept. He did not dare go back on his word.
Besides, he believed what Ao Cunxin said, and he could understand replacing the Third Prince of the West Sea.
No matter how safe a tribulation was, it was still a tribulation, wasn't it? Of course one would protect one's own family first.
"I understand, Third Princess. I, Di Tian, am also a member of the Dragon Clan. For the Dragon Clan, duty leaves me no room to refuse."
"Very good. Such spirit."
"But Third Princess, you mentioned Sages just now. What realm is a Sage?"
"Sages?"
Ao Cunxin pointed at the sky. "You can think of a Sage as heaven."
"In the entire Primordial World, there are only Seven Sages. Speak their names, and they will sense it; think their names, and there will be a response. Goddess Nüwa, whom you know of, is one such Sage."
Boom!
Ao Cunxin had revealed far too much information.
The tribulations she spoke of first filled people with fear and unease, while the Sages she mentioned afterward opened the door to a new world.
The entire Douluo Continent was left reeling under the impact of this information.
"Tribulations? Are they heaven and earth's way of reshuffling living beings?"
"How terrifying. Does that mean I'm producing tribulation qi at every moment too? Doesn't that mean there will be another tribulation?"
"Didn't you hear? This tribulation has already arrived."
"If only I were a Sage of the Primordial World. I really want to see what splendor the Sages of the Primordial World possess."
"Only seven Sages in the entire Primordial World. That's fewer than the Titled Douluo on our Douluo Continent."
"Hahaha, Goddess Nüwa is one of the Seven Sages! Our Human Race has a Sage."
"I wonder whether the Great Heavenly Venerable is a Sage?"
Before you continue