"Uncle Taiyi, do you want to become a disciple?"
Taiyi Zhenren's face stiffened, and he felt a little frantic as he faced Xiao Li's suspicious gaze.
" Xiao Li, is there a problem?"
"Uncle Taiyi, it's alright. I heard that the Nine Dragons Divine Flame Cover you possess is very powerful. I wonder if you'll pass it on to Nezha."
Taiyi Zhenren's heart skipped a beat.
The Nine Dragons Divine Flame Cover was his most prized Innate Spirit Treasure; how could he possibly give it to Nezha?
Aww!
At this moment, a painful and intense scream brought Taiyi Zhenren back to his senses. He turned his head and stared intently, his expression changing drastically.
It was Nezha who used the Innate Spirit Treasure Universe Ring to break off the dragon horn of Ao Bing, the Sea Dragon King. In his right hand, there was also a pair of scissors with considerable power, radiating a brilliant golden light.
"You old mudfish! What are you yelling about! If you yell again, I'll cut open your dragon back and dig out your dragon tendons!"
Taiyi Zhenren's heart trembled. His gaze shifted, and he questioned Xiao Li and Lingzhuzi, "Did you give them those golden scissors?"
Lingzhuzi raised her hand and said, "I lent it to Nezha. It was given to me by Nüwa. It's called the Primordial Golden Shears, and it can cut through Yin and Yang, all things, and even the Sumeru space."
Upon hearing this, Taiyi Zhenren felt a chill run down his spine.
"You unfilial disciple! Stop right now!"
Taiyi Zhenren was frightened; this little devil had been corrupted by those two troublemakers Xiao Li and Lingzhuzi.
"Hmph! You old mudfish, I'll spare your life today for my master's sake! If you ever dare to act recklessly in my Chentang Pass again, I'll cut open your dragon back and dig out your dragon tendons to make bowstrings for my father."
Upon hearing this, Li Jing subconsciously considered the power of a bowstring made of dragon tendons, but he quickly regained his senses, breaking out in a cold sweat, and roared at his unruly son Nezha in the sky, " Nezha! How long are you going to keep this up! Release the Dragon King at once!"
Enraged, the Dragon King spat out a mouthful of dragon blood, which transformed into a bloody Dotō of water that poured down from the heavens.
"You old mudfish! You're asking for it!"
"Aww!"
The Dragon King's Reverse Scale was struck by the Universe Ring. His brain felt as if it had been struck by lightning, his body convulsed, and he immediately fainted.
The enormous Dragon King, as large as a mountain, was about to fall from the sky when Taiyi Zhenren quickly intervened, using his whisk to trap Nezha and then rescue the Dragon King, locking him on a cloud for treatment.
" Ao Bing, wake up!"
Ao Bing awoke, and the pain from his Reverse Scale returned, causing excruciating pain and thick bloodshot veins in his longan.
" Taiyi Zhenren!"
" Ao Bing, it was I, Taiyi Zhenren, who failed in my duty of discipline. You shall return to the Dragon Palace and I will pay you a visit later."
Ao Bing scoffed inwardly. He was merely Peak Golden Immortal, while Taiyi Zhenren was a disciple of Sage; he couldn't afford to offend him.
Unable to quell his resentment, Ao Bing decided to head to the Southern Heavenly Gate to seek justice from the Jade Emperor.
After the Dragon King left, Taiyi Zhenren appeared before Nezha with a dark expression.
"Master, please let me go! I'm so uncomfortable being tied up, I need to pee."
"Pfft!" Taiyi Zhenren's defenses were breached, and he almost coughed up a mouthful of blood in anger.
"You wicked disciple! What exactly happened?!"
Xiao Li and Lingzhuzi arrived and protected Nezha inside.
"Uncle Taiyi, it's our fault. A month ago, we went to play by the East Sea. An ugly yaksha saw that the Lingzhuzi was pretty and said he wanted to eat Lingzhuzi. Nezha was so angry that he killed the yaksha. It turned out that the yaksha was a patrol yaksha from the East Sea Dragon Palace. Then the Third Prince of the East Sea came to cause trouble, and the three of us beat him up."
Little Nezha said smugly, "In the end, it was my Universe Ring that killed it. I was even planning to pull out its dragon tendons, but Big Brother said that dragon claws and arms are very nutritious when grilled, so we dismembered its limbs and grilled them by the sea. And let me tell you, the meat was really delicious, much better than the honey-glazed hand-pulled chicken at the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion in the city."
"Yes, yes, it's delicious. I saved some. Uncle Taiyi, would you like some?" Lingzhuzi took out a cold box containing dragon meat.
Taiyi was dumbfounded.
Eating roasted flesh of the Dragon King's third son near the Sea Dragon King's territory—no wonder the Dragon King went berserk.
At this moment, Taiyi Zhenren was so angry that his heart, liver, intestines, spleen, and kidneys all ached.
He couldn't scold Xiao Li, nor could he curse Lingzhuzi.
"You wicked disciple!"
Little Nezha felt a little wronged when Taiyi Zhenren glared at him angrily, and his big eyes welled up with tears.
"Master."
"Uncle Taiyi, why are you shouting so loudly! Little Nezha did nothing wrong. It's those guys in the East Sea who didn't discipline him properly. I heard that many people were taken off the beach and eaten by those yakshas, shrimp soldiers, and crab generals. A bunch of bad apples. They should teach their leader, that old mudfish, a lesson." Xiao Li glared at Taiyi Zhenren with a fierce and cute expression.
"That's right! Uncle Taiyi, although you beat us to it by taking Nezha as your disciple first, we taught Nezha his skills. We'll take responsibility for Old Mudfish's mistakes. You can go cool off somewhere else." Lingzhuzi happily took away the jade box containing the roasted dragon meat.
"Big brother, big sister." Little Nezha was deeply moved.
"Don't worry, Nezha. Even if Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi Tianzun comes today, your Brother Xiao will protect you!" Xiao Li said, patting his chest with a grown-up air.
Taiyi Zhenren's teeth chattered, and he was almost so angry that he suffered internal injuries.
"That's enough."
After thinking for a moment, Taiyi Zhenren concluded that if what Xiao Li, Lingzhuzi, and Nezha said was true, then the East Sea Clan indeed needed to be taught a lesson.
" Nezha, next time you make a move, ask yourself: Did he offend you? Did he commit a crime? Does he deserve to die? Think it through before you act."
"Alright then, Master." Little Nezha looked at Taiyi Zhenren expectantly.
"No way!" Lingzhuzi twin ponytails, shook her head like a rattle-drum, pouting as she retorted, "Little Nezha is still young. These three questions he's asking himself are so profound and take so much time to think about. Uncle Taiyi, are you doing this on purpose? You might as well just let little Nezha expose his neck and let someone chop it off."
Upon hearing this, Nezha realized that his older sister was absolutely right, and he glared at Taiyi Zhenren with even more aggrieved expression.
Taiyi Zhenren was so angry that he suffered internal injuries, and blood gushed from the corner of his mouth. He clutched his chest, swallowed the blood that was about to spit out, and began to take deep breaths.
"It was my fault. In any case, Nezha, you will learn skills from me from now on. I will handle the matter concerning the Dragon King."
"No!" Lingzhuzi, Xiao Li, and Nezha said at the same time.
"Hmm?" Taiyi Zhenren gave the three of them a look that said, 'I want to know why.'
"My brother said that the master can only lead you in; the cultivation depends on yourself. You just need to equip Nezha with elixirs and supplies, and let us accompany Nezha to become stronger in battle." Xiao Li repeated Xiao Tian's voice in his mind very seriously.
" Sage Xiao Tian." Master Taiyi Zhenren trembled.
"What your brother said makes sense, but I still want to teach Nezha the magic itself. Nezha, do you want to learn?"
Nezha nodded frantically. "It's never too much to learn new skills," was what Xiao Li and Lingzhuzi had told him when they first wanted him to learn magic.
"Uncle Taiyi, how about you teach on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and A-Li and I will teach Nezha on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays?" Lingzhuzi offered a reasonable solution.
"Alright." Taiyi Zhenren nodded. He was truly having a terrible headache dealing with these two Human Path disciples.
Now, the old Dragon King, having suffered a grievance at Nezha, stepped through the Southern Heavenly Gate and rushed to the Hall of High Heavens, only to find Taiyi Zhenren ahead of him.
" Ao Bing."
The old Dragon King's heart skipped a beat.
"It's Taiyi Zhenren! What brings you here?"
" Ao Bing, what brings you to the Southern Heavenly Gate?" Taiyi Zhenren remained silent and unsmiling, his eyes containing the wisdom of the universe and the boundless starry sky.
Ao Bing felt uneasy under Taiyi Zhenren's gaze and forced a dry laugh, "This old dragon went to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor about the tribute from the sea creatures of the East Sea."
"I see. Ao Bing, you must tell the truth." Taiyi Zhenren gave Ao Bing a meaningful look before walking away.
Ao Bing felt aggrieved. He thought that his Dragon Clan was once the protagonist of heaven and earth, and under the leadership of the Ancestral Dragon, they fought for supremacy in the Primordial. But now they had fallen to such a state, with no pure-blooded Dragon Clan left.
The Hall of High Heavens.
The Jade Emperor smiled broadly as he poured fine wine for Xiao Tian.
"Currently, the staff of various Heavenly Court are idle. Fellow Daoist, you have been in charge of the Investiture of the Gods of the Gods, and I still have many questions. I hope you can enlighten me."
" Haotian, speak freely." Xiao Tian sighed inwardly. This kid truly lived up to his Ginseng Fruit as the attendant of Dao Ancestor Hongjun. The quality of his nectar was almost on par with ginseng fruit. He really knew how to enjoy life.
"Fellow Daoist, you see that most of the people on this list are related to the mortal emperor King Zhou. I wonder if King Zhou would be on the list if he were dead?"
"Puff!"
The nectar that Xiao Tian hadn't yet swallowed sprayed out, covering Haotian's face.
Haotian's lips twitched. He was angry but couldn't explode, after all, the person sitting next to him was Sage even Dao Ancestor Hongjun treated with the utmost respect.
The first Sage in history to Attaining the Dao through Strength!
"Ahem! Haotian, I'm sorry, but your question is really quite interesting."
Haotian chuckled dryly, "Please enlighten me, fellow Daoist."
"Ahem, I think if King Zhou dies, he will definitely be Investiture of the Gods on the Investiture of the Gods. Although he is currently the protagonist of the Great Tribulation Great Tribulation, he cannot control it. He is just a trigger, a point that will cause the Great Tribulation to erupt. However, because of his different destiny, he is very likely to obtain a godhood like one of the Five Great Emperor."
Upon hearing this, Haotian couldn't help but agree, saying, " King Zhou is destined to be a human emperor, just like the three from Huo Yun Cave. If he truly makes it onto the Investiture of the Gods the Gods, his divine position will only be below me and above all the gods."
Xiao Tian nodded outwardly, but inwardly he sneered, thinking, "Let my avatar die and be Investiture of the Gods the Gods? You're dreaming. Even if I am listed, it'll be you giving up your position as Heavenly Emperor. If Hongjun dares to refuse, I'll just have to fight him! I'm itching for a fight right now."
"Your Majesty the Jade Emperor! Ao Bing, the Sea Dragon King of the East Sea, requests an audience!"
"Pass!"
Ao Bing entered the Hall of High Heavens, suppressing his frustration, and recounted the matter of the East Sea Clan's tribute. He hesitated, wondering whether he should also mention the Demon Child of Chentang Pass.
" Ao Bing, is there anything you want to say? Speak frankly." Haotian, being Quasi-Sage, saw through Ao Bing's thoughts.
"Your Majesty has truly discerning eyes! Please, do justice for the old dragon!" Ao Bing wailed and knelt down.
Haotian secretly calculated for a moment and suddenly realized something. He couldn't help but look at the Sage Xiao Tian beside him.
Xiao Tian, unperturbed, sipped his fine wine and Deva Path, "I'll take responsibility for this."
"Fellow Daoist, this is unnecessary. I have already taken care of it."
Ao Bing was nervous. Who exactly was that young man? Even Haotian Jade Emperor, the Jade Emperor, treated him with such respect.
"The tribulation of the Third Prince of the East Sea is ultimately due to the influence of my unruly child. There is cause and effect..." Xiao Tian looked at the old Dragon King below and continued, "Then bring the Third Prince's dragon body to the Human Clan Saint Teacher Hall. I will return his life, but he must also guard the Saint Teacher's Hall for me for a thousand years."
The Human Clan Saint Teacher Hall?!
Ao Bing was struck dumb, realizing the identity of the person who spoke.
"Old Dragon thanks the Sage! Thanks Your Majesty!"
" Ao Bing, then do as I say, and this matter will be over," Haotian announced.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Ao Bing was overjoyed, and even a little grateful to Nezha for killing the Third Prince. Once the Third Prince was resurrected by Xiao Tian and became a guard of the Human Clan Saint Teacher Hall, he might be able to break through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal or even Quasi-Sage in the future.