The thunderous roar from the depths of the Dragon Palace had not yet subsided when a figure in gleaming silver armor arrived, stepping on the shimmering water. Ao Bing, wielding twin hammers and with pale blue lightning Entanglement his dragon horns, exuded an arrogant and domineering air. "Father, this brat must have eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard, daring to defecate on our head. Let me capture him, chop him into mincemeat, and serve him to you, so he'll know the rules of our Dragon Palace."
When Ao Guang saw his son volunteer, the gloom in his eyes dissipated slightly. "Good! My son, go and teach him a lesson!" Before he finished speaking, Ao Bing had already led dozens of shrimp soldiers out of the water, creating water bridges wherever they went.
On the banks of the Nine Bends Bay, the divine deer galloped swiftly through the dust, its antlers still glistening with forest dew. Nezha gently stroked the deer's mane and lifted the trembling children onto its back. "Divine deer, take them back to Chentang Pass." The divine deer let out a soft cry and vanished into the swirling dust with the speed of the wind.
Nezha kicked the Yaksha's floating corpse, frowning and muttering, "I thought it was some powerful character, but it's just a toad." Before he could finish speaking, a thousand giant waves suddenly exploded on the sea, and Ao Bing burst out of the water with an icy blue aura, gripping his twin hammers and roaring, "Who, who killed the Yaksha!"
"I killed him, who are you?" Nezha ( Huo Yuhao ) said.
Ao Bing smiled and announced his name: "I am Ao Bing, the Third Prince of the Dragon King. You brat, you really don't know your place, daring to kill a subordinate of our Dragon Palace!"
"Boy!" Ao Bing's eyes were like knives as he stared at Nezha ( Huo Yuhao ) and said, "You dare to kill the Yaksha? The Yaksha is a righteous god of my Dragon Palace! Today I will take your life!"
Nezha ( Huo Yuhao ) looked up and stared directly in Ao Bing's direction, saying, "You demand the sacrifice of young boys and girls, otherwise not a drop of rain will fall. This is evil. I had no intention of harming anyone. It was that yaksha who attacked me, trying to capture me and sacrifice me as well. I was only trying to protect myself."
"Shut up!" Ao Bing swung his hammer fiercely, instantly freezing the sea surface into thousands of ice blades. He commanded his shrimp soldiers to form a pincer movement, "Go! Skin him alive and eat his flesh!" Before he finished speaking, he had already charged forward, riding the walls of waves, his twin hammers carrying the force of thunder, aiming for Nezha's face. "You brat, take this!"
Nezha moved like a dragon, weaving and leaping among the ice blades and waves. His Red Armillary Sash transformed into a crimson stream of light, sweeping away the shrimp soldiers that were close by and throwing them into the deep sea, but he couldn't avoid Ao Bing's tricky attacks. When he was forced to the edge of the cliff, he suddenly sneered, "Don't speak too soon, or you'll bite your tongue." The Universe Ring on his wrist suddenly expanded, transforming into a golden wheel the size of a mountain to meet the ice hammers. With a deafening roar, ice crystals and sparks flew together, and Ao Bing's two hammers were actually shaken out of his hands and fell into the waves.
"You little brat, you do have some skill. Let me unleash my true form!" Ao Bing's pupils constricted, and his scales glowed with an eerie blue light, instantly transforming him into a hundred-foot-long dragon. His tail swept across, creating a tsunami tens of feet high, and the lightning crackling Entanglement his claws cleaved the clouds in two. However, before he could even unleash his dragon breath, a streak of crimson light wrapped around his neck.
"Perfect timing!" Nezha's lips curled into a cold smile, Red Armillary Sash transformed into a crimson rainbow, binding the dragon's body. He leaped onto the dragon's back, stepping on its scales, and his fists slammed down. Each blow caused Ao Bing to roar in pain, but in his heart, he thought: After all, he's the Dragon Girl Girl's brother. I can't kill him for now, but I should teach him a lesson...
Suddenly, he touched a scale growing backwards on the back of Ao Bing's neck. With a forceful tug, he tore off the scale, blood and flesh streaming down its face. With a mournful dragon's roar, the scale was uprooted, and blood stained the sea red like a torrential downpour.
Ao Bing tumbled wildly in the air, crashing through the clouds. Nezha, just in time, retrieved his Red Armillary Sash and landed steadily on the rocks. "Go back and tell the Dragon King! Don't be ungrateful. I'll spare your life this time, just bring the child back. Otherwise, I'll tear down your Dragon Palace!"
Ao Bing, dragging his wounded body, fled in a sorry state, leaving only Nezha's figure standing against the wind on the sea. He gripped the still-dripping Reverse Scale in his hand, gazing at the gloomy sky and muttering, "Dragon King, this is just a warning... Next time, it won't be so simple."
Deep in the East Sea, the glazed tiles of the Coral Palace trembled in the eerie blue light. The Dragon Girl hid behind a seashell screen, her fingertips gripping the coral railing tightly, witnessing her brother Ao Bing having his scales plucked by Nezha. The crimson light from the Hun Tian Red Armillary Sash ribbon) collided with Ao Bing's dragon breath on the sea surface, and the resulting giant wave overturned the luminous seaweed she had carefully cultivated, yet she didn't even have the courage to step forward and stop it.
"Father is surely going to eat young boys and girls again..." She bit her lower lip, her nails digging deep into her palms. The Dragon Girl quickly noticed this as well, having just witnessed the battle between Nezha and Ao Bing.
She knew her father had definitely eaten people again, and Nezha was one of his targets. If Nezha died because he came looking for her... she didn't want to lose this friend.
However, if he were to show himself and try to stop it, it would only put Nezha in a desperate situation of "colluding with the dragon Dragon Clan," and given his father's violent temper, he would surely grind the boy to dust and his family would not be spared either.
What troubled her even more was that Nezha deliberately avoided fatal blows every time he threw a punch, clearly showing him leniency out of consideration for her—if this affection became his death warrant, she would never be able to forgive herself for the rest of her life.
Ao Guang's furious roar echoed from the dragon throne, causing bubbles to flutter throughout the entire palace. The Dragon Girl took a deep breath, parted the cascading pearl curtain, and stared directly at the ferocious dragon horns on her father's forehead. "Father, have you captured a boy to eat his flesh?"
"Indeed, those ants being consumed by the Dragon Clan is a blessing they've accumulated over eight lifetimes!" Ao Guang slapped his dragon tail violently, causing the seawater to swirl within the hall. "What? Are you going to take the side of outsiders?"
Tears Sisi in the Dragon Girl's eyes. With mixed emotions, she said, "Our Dragon Clan is meant to bring rain and protect all living beings. Bringing rain is our duty. How can we eat innocent children? How are we any different from ordinary demons? Just now Nezha clearly had the chance to kill Ao Bing, but he only plucked a scale as a warning..."
Her voice suddenly choked with emotion, "He left room for maneuver, why did Father have to be so ruthless?"
"Daughter, how can you talk such nonsense?" Ao Guang was somewhat angry, but he wouldn't say it in front of his daughter. "It seems I've spoiled you too much! From today onwards, you are not allowed to step out of the Dragon Palace!"
Just as he was about to turn and leave, Ao Guang suddenly stopped. "Wait... what did you say that kid's name was?" He narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing in his dragon pupils. When he heard the name " Nezha," he crushed the cup in his hand to pieces. "That Nezha! He's incredibly audacious, daring to snatch someone from my Dragon King's hands! Humph!" He swung his claws sharply and ordered, "Crab General! Go and find out for me what Nezha's background is!"
The Dragon Girl watched her father's departing figure, her pearl earring swaying gently with her trembling body.
Deep within the Dragon Palace of the East Sea, a bone-chilling cold permeated Ao Bing's bedchamber. Bloodstained scales were scattered on the jade bed, the Third Prince clenched his teeth, and torn marks remained on his dragon horns.
He slammed his fist into the coral pillar, sending shattered coral pieces raining down. "You, Nezha! To subject me, Ao Bing, to such humiliation, to have my Achilles' heel removed, I will surely seek revenge!"
He rubbed the bandaged wound on the back of his neck, then suddenly stopped—that handsome yet sharp face inexplicably evoked a sense of familiarity. "Wait... this face..." He narrowed his eyes, memories surging like a tide. The day before yesterday, when his sister returned to the Dragon Palace humming a little tune, she seemed to carry a faint scent of gunpowder.
"Guards!" Ao Bing's roar shook the seashell chandelier violently. A shrimp soldier tumbled in, his antennae curled in fear. "Your Highness!"
"That brat I fought on the shore, has he ever been to the Dragon Palace?" Ao Bing suddenly grabbed the shrimp soldier by the neck, ice crystals condensing at his fingertips.
The shrimp soldier nodded frantically, his voice trembling with tears. "Reporting... reporting to Your Highness! Yesterday, this humble general personally witnessed Her Highness the Princess and that young man touring the Dragon Palace together, and... and they even went to the Coral Secret Realm..."
Before he could finish speaking, Ao Bing suddenly released his grip, letting out a chilling laugh. The laughter echoed throughout the palace, startling the surrounding luminous pearls, causing them to glow with an eerie light. "So that's how it is... Hahaha!"
He clapped his hands and laughed, a venomous glint in his eyes. "Sister, oh sister, you've personally pushed your good 'friend' into the abyss!"
Ao Bing paced to the window, gazing towards his father's palace in the distance, his fingertips tracing deep claw marks on the windowpane. " Nezha, do you think you can rest easy by sparing my life?" He licked his lips, his eyes blazing with murderous intent. "Tomorrow morning, I'll add fuel to the fire for my father. Even if he spares your life for my sister's sake, the wrath of the entire Dragon Clan will be enough to reduce you to ashes!"