Chapter 40: Me, the Second Prince of the Dragon Palace
Chapter 40: Me, the Second Prince of the Dragon Palace
These long two days...
In some boring performances of music and dance, Li Changshou unlocked another new skill—while using the Wind Whisper spell to monitor the surroundings, he slowly read through the scriptures he borrowed from the outside hall of the Daoist Library.
Slightly bored.
The most exciting part of this Demon-Cleansing Conference should be the Dragon Palace's treasure offering and the sparring among disciples of various sects.
Li Changshou had no interest in the treasures of the Dragon Palace.
Although one can never have too many magical treasures, firstly, this time there were too many wolves and too little meat when it came to the treasures. Competing for treasures with just his cultivation of the second stage of the Return to Void Realm was far from enough.
Secondly, he speculated that the Dragon Palace would inevitably face a great calamity in the future, and he couldn't afford to get involved in any related karma. If he did get involved, it would be like getting into trouble for no reason.
Calculating the time, it was almost time for the official opening of the Demon-Cleansing Conference.
Li Changshou glanced at the high platform in the sky. Over the past two days of discussions, the celestial immortals of various sects should have already negotiated many matters with the Dragon Palace, such as the boundaries of the East Sea.
But these matters had little to do with him...
Jiujiu was still struggling with the Rubik's Cube, which directly proved that cultivation realm and intelligence were not directly correlated, ensuring that she smoothly passed the two boring days without alcohol.
Since the last time Li Changshou mistakenly said something rejecting to Qin Xuanya, it seemed like she understood something. Although she looked back every half an hour, she didn't make any moves to come over...
Overall, these two days were relatively stable.
As he was leisurely reading the scriptures, without any warning, Li Changshou felt two sharp gazes fall on him, full of hostility.
Calmly putting away the bamboo slips in his hand, he focused on analyzing the information brought by the Wind Whisper spell. Following the direction of the gaze, Li Changshou discovered the blurry figure of a young man.
Huh?
Did he have some grudge against me? There's no reason for that.
Li Changshou looked up and saw the person standing on the edge of the venue, about a hundred feet away from the seats of the disciples.
Strictly speaking, he wasn't a "person"; he had tender dragon horns on his forehead.
A young dragon from the dragon clan?
He should be one of the young dragons who would spar with disciples of various sects during this conference.
Li Changshou was filled with doubts because he noticed that the eyes of this young dragon had been staring at him all along.
He subtly leaned back, and as he did so, he noticed a slight shift in the young dragon's gaze, confirming that he was indeed being observed.
Upon closer observation, he could see a faint blue light in the young dragon's eyes.
Could it be that he had been discovered hiding his cultivation? That shouldn't be the case. His method of concealing his cultivation was a unique technique he had developed by deeply analyzing various methods of detecting others' cultivation and then summarizing it into a unique skill...
"Could it be that he's staring at me because I have the lowest cultivation among the disciples here? So he's targeting me?"
Li Changshou pondered for a moment. Just then, the Wind Whisper spell captured a faint "confident" smile at the corner of the young man's mouth.
Perhaps this young dragon lacked confidence but was required to win in the upcoming sparring. So, he decided to target the weakest disciple from a major sect first?
This approach...
Is it really that audacious?
Li Changshou looked up and met the gaze of the young dragon with a calm look. The faint blue light in the young dragon's eyes gradually receded, and their eyes, like sapphires, quietly locked onto each other from a distance of hundreds of feet.
According to the classic "ten-second stare" rule, this exchange between the two should be...
Their gaze was suddenly blocked by a figure in crimson robes, a turtle-like immortal, who appeared in front of the young man.
"Your Highness, why did you come here? It's almost time for your appearance!"
His Highness? The son of the Dragon King?
Being targeted by such a character was definitely not a good thing.
But this made Li Changshou even more puzzled. Why did the son of the Dragon King, amidst the crowd, spot him, a disciple of the Degree Immortal Sect?
Could it be that his appearance had some inexplicable attraction to male dragons?
Li Changshou fell into contemplation, carefully analyzing the cause and effect, wondering if he should find an excuse to leave now...
The overall situation of the dragon clan was actually quite awkward.
They had accumulated many experts from ancient times and countless treasures, but they also faced a great crisis after the ancient war shattered the primordial chaos, leading to the rejection of the heavens and the earth. Although the dragon clan appeared strong with numerous experts, their overall strength was far inferior to the rapidly developing human race.
Moreover, the dragon clan primarily relied on bloodlines to gain power. After the ancestral dragon fell at the end of the ancient war, no dragon could surpass the ancestral dragon. As a result, in the chaos after the six sages took their positions, the dragon clan could only be cautious, fearing to provoke the sages and be directly exterminated by them... But they were also unwilling to be lonely, still dreaming of their former glory as the lords of heaven and earth.
A few years ago, the Dragon Palace deliberately arranged a small wave of newly cultivated shrimp soldiers to cause trouble on the shores of the East Sea. The Degree Immortal Sect dispatched disciples to cleanse demons and protect the human race in the East Sea, which was considered a slap in the face to the Dragon Palace.
But the Dragon Palace dared not strike back because the Degree Immortal Sect was the successor of the Three Teachings. Thus, this Demon-Cleansing Conference was organized. The dragon clan wanted to use this opportunity to demonstrate their strength and negotiate the boundary of the East Sea with the human cultivators.
Later, the Dragon Palace sent an evil dragon to the Degree Immortal Sect to deliver an invitation, but it was easily dismissed by an immortal. This was another slap in the face, even louder than the last one.
Yet, the Dragon Palace still didn't dare to take action against the Degree Immortal Sect. Consequently, some influential figures in the Dragon Palace arranged petty traps to vent their anger...
In their childishness, the dragon clan revealed their helplessness and embarrassment.
In Li Changshou's view, the dragon clan was already weak on the outside and rotten to the core.
Could this young dragon also have locked his gaze on him for these reasons?
After contemplating for a moment, Li Changshou quickly made a decision and quietly observed the situation.
Leaving directly wouldn't be as safe as staying close to his sect's immortal. If there were experts from the Dragon Palace targeting him as a petty retaliation against the Degree Immortal Sect, it would be truly troublesome.
If that young dragon directly challenged him to fight during the sparring later, he would simply admit defeat due to his low cultivation level.
As the music and dance faded away, a white-browed turtle-like immortal stepped onto the stage on a golden turtle, beginning to eloquently recount the past glory of the dragon clan. Li Changshou couldn't be bothered to listen.
Once again feeling the gaze from earlier, Li Changshou decisively put away the Wind Whisper spell and followed the gaze, seeing the young dragon who was about to appear from behind...
The Second Prince of the Dragon Palace.
"I, Aoyi, the Second Prince of the Dragon Palace, must accomplish a great deed today."
Aoyi stood behind several dragon soldiers, his face calm, waiting for the Prime Minister Turtle to introduce him before stepping onto the stage.
The celestial armor he wore emitted a faint glow, accentuating his still somewhat delicate young face like jade.
Aoyi knew that today's Demon-Cleansing Conference was half about him. It was his tenth birthday, but don't get it wrong; it was actually his tenth birthday since hatching from his egg. Over two hundred and thirty years ago, Aoyi already had consciousness inside the dragon egg and could move within it for three hours every day.
In dragon terminology, that was called "egg movement."
From that time onwards, various "teachers" utilized these three hours each day to constantly teach him etiquette, poetry, music, and Daoist techniques...
He was, after all, the second prince of the current Dragon King of the East Sea, with purer ancestral dragon bloodline than his elder brother. He might even have the potential to break through to the Great Luo Realm in the future and become a pillar of the clan.
In the first few decades, the teachings Aoyi received made him believe that the dragon clan was the strongest clan in the world, the natural rulers of heaven and earth.
But, Aoyi remembered clearly, it was on a certain clear morning in the East Sea one hundred and sixty-three years ago, when he had already been waking up in the dragon egg for five hours a day.
A music "teacher," seeming to be drunk, told him many things about the miserable situation of the dragon clan.
The dragon clan was not the strongest.
There were saints in the heavens, and humans on the earth...
In the ancient war, the three races of dragons, phoenixes, and qilins shattered the boundless chaos of the primordial world, causing countless creatures to suffer. The dragon clan bore the eternal sin of that war, being rejected by the heavens and the earth, and having their qi and fortune sealed by the Heavenly Dao.
They could only settle in the four seas, constantly using the bodies of dragon experts to stabilize the unstable sea eyes, slowly cleansing the sins of that year...
What were sea eyes?
They were the polluted springs of heaven and earth, the most dangerous purgatories!
Since then, Aoyi began to worry and contemplate every day.
As the son of the Dragon King, the inheritor of the ancestral dragon's bloodline, what could he, Aoyi, do for the dragon clan? What could he do for the dragon clan?
Gradually, Aoyi discovered a sad fact.
Most of the dragon clan still believed that they were the strongest race in the world; many even saw the punishment of guarding the four seas given by the Heavenly Dao as a noble character, actively working for the welfare of all beings!
Even more countless dragons clamored that the dragon clan was once the lord of heaven and earth, an ancient race far nobler than the lowly human race!
Now that the phoenixes and qilins were almost extinct, the witches and demons had become supporting roles, yet the dragon clan still flourished as in ancient times and was even worshipped as totems by humans. This was considered proof of the superiority of the dragon clan's strongest...
Pathetic!
Laughable!
The current state of the dragon clan, full of compromise and self-deception, was achieved through the flesh and blood sacrifice of countless dragon ancestors!
There were saints in the heavens, capable of exterminating the dragon clan with a finger; humans on the earth had already become a force that the dragon clan could not resist!
However, most of the dragon clan still dreamed of their ancient glory as rulers, unwilling to wake up from their dreams, constantly propagating their military strength to humans, yet afraid to truly start a war with them;
A few days ago, the eldest brother, the Crown Prince of the Dragon Palace, even arranged for someone to use such despicable means against the Degree Immortal Sect, yet dared not step forward to issue a real challenge to the Degree Immortal Sect!
This was our noble dragon clan!
This was the ancient rulers who had rotted and twisted from the roots!
I, Aoyi, a ten-year-old dragon prince, what can I do?
Aoyi looked towards the high platform, as if he saw his father, who was already in the Great Luo Realm;
The Great Luo Golden Immortal could only be destroyed by a great tribulation. Even if his father abdicated, the position would still be given to several uncles and aunts. He couldn't sit in that position, nor could he use the authority of the Dragon King to change the situation of the dragon clan.
Aoyi sneered.
To put it bluntly, he was just a beautifully crafted puppet, placed with high hopes by his clan, to help them save face and maintain their dignity as rulers.
That's all.
"My child, at today's Demon-Cleansing Conference, you must select a disciple of the Degree Immortal Sect to compete with you. Remember to win handsomely and please your father," his mother's admonition echoed in his mind.
"Your Highness, when you make your move later, you must be moderate. You must not truly hurt anyone, otherwise, it will be difficult to handle. " This was the advice from the Prime Minister Turtle, his father's confidant.
But they didn't know what he was going to do.
"... Let us welcome our birthday star today, His Royal Highness, the Second Prince of the Dragon Palace, to the stage!"
The Prime Minister Turtle began to announce.
Aoyi took a deep breath calmly stepped onto the stage, feeling the converging gazes, but he couldn't be bothered to look at these non-dragon beings.
The Prime Minister Turtle continued to read the prepared script, and soon it would be time for Aoyi to choose an opponent to spar with, a segment meant to add excitement before the official start of the Demon-Cleansing Conference.
And it was also meant to give the Degree Immortal Sect some face in public.
Aoyi naturally knew his true strength. Despite his profound accumulation inside the dragon egg, the bloodline of the ancestral dragon, and innate supernatural abilities, he was not a match for those newly ascended dragons in the clan.
But today...
In this spotlight, with various immortal sects gathered around the East Sea!
He, Aoyi, the ten-year-old Second Prince of the Dragon Palace, was going to do something big!
He had just observed the strength of the disciples of the Degree Immortal Sect and locked onto the weakest one.
"Me," Aoyi raised his right hand, pointing at the person he had previously selected from the Degree Immortal Sect, and in his still somewhat tender voice, he said, "I shall spar with you."