Metal boots clanked across the clear tiled floor. They reflected the intricately details roof above and the dragon coiled pillars holding up the palace showcasing a level of majesty beyond even immortals.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The escort dragons led a man up to the mighty throne hall. They did not look at the one they escorted and merely held onto their halberds looking forwards. Their steel soles clanking and echoing were the only sounds heard.
Before them, rows upon rows of immortal dragon and turtle ministers stood at the side glancing at the man being escorted. Many of them looked in both curiosity, worry, and disappointment.
They had known him, general Kan. He was an up and coming superstar who'd reached Great Principle Chaos Immortal within thirty thousand years, a monstrous feat. Among the members of the army, this shark was one of the best.
As a direct descendent of the Colossal Shark ancestor, he was both fierce and powerful. His true form was a colossal great white shark measuring thousands of kilometres in length. It was said that he once devoured a Great Unity Golden Immortal avian senior when he had just stepped into that realm in a single bite.
He was domineering and arrogant even among members of his dragon overlords. He lorded his power and talent and had more than once sparred against the Imperial Princes on equal footing.
The current general Kan did not hold that same disposition. He merely looked down not daring to meet anyone in the eye.
Before him was a row of seats numbering three in total. However, only two were occupied. They formed a line occupying the lowest level of the stairs that led up to a much larger and higher dragon throne.
On these seats sat two of the five Imperial Princes. The eldest son Qiu Niu and the third son Pulao, both handsome young men appearing in their late teens when in their Dao bodies. Their true forms told a much different story.
Qiu Niu wore dark clothing and had long silky black hair, a contrast to his yellow scales and free flowing white hair when in dragon form. He wore an annoyed expression throughout the entire procedure. This dragon, once famed for his music, now infamous for the same thing, did not hold much investment in Kan at all.
His younger brother, Pulao, was a different story. The smallest and third eldest of the dragon children was apocalyptic. He was snarling with killing intent every time he looked at Kan.
'That's fair, he never liked the sea clans anyway,' the shark idly thought as he took note of the prince. Born without the signature serpentine body of a dragon, Pulao was short, stout, bulky, and loud. He had routinely come into conflict with members of the sea clans.
A famous incident was when he fought and killed the patriarch of the Primordial Whale clan after a dispute turned violent. General Kan reckoned he'd be the first to call for his death.
Above the two, above the trail of stairs sat his emperor. The Sovereign of all the world's waters ruling over half of the total territory in the great wilderness. The Dragon Sovereign, Zulong.
He was a handsome older man with a short beard and wore imperial robes depicting his exploits. Golden dragons and clouds wrapped around his figure giving him a mystical yet tyrannical feel.
General Kan did not meet the sovereign's eye, he did not dare to.
PAH!
His knees slammed into the floor as he kowtowed again and again. In mere moments, general Kan mumbled apologies after apologies. It was a curious sight to witness an immortal of such power desecrate himself like this, it was a scene rarely if ever seen.
Ordinarily, even when speaking to one of the strongest individuals in the world, immortals of high calibre will still retain their pride. General Kan was much the same, he did not grovel like a weak mortal.
"I have erred. It is upon my shoulders that his highness Yazi was injured," general Kan spoke with clarity and regret.
"The monkeys of the east coast mountains were underestimated by this slave. But it won't happen again, send the command and I shall exterminate them to the last man."
Pulao snarled, his muscular neck twitched as veins popped into visibility. "Dumb fish thinks he can scramble away from this with his life? What audacity, you should do us all a favour and see your own way out."
Pulao's disrespect drew ire from the shark general but he held it in. He glanced at the side, towards one of the ministers observing the situation. Towards his backer, the Colossal Shark ancestor. Silent signals transferred between the two.
Their positions within the dragon's court were no longer stable. His callousness and gross underestimation of the surface led to his current predicament. Their previous gained prestige in the eye of the Dragon Sovereign were all but lost when his Yazi was near fatally injured by his mistake.
But who would've guessed that such lowly creatures could obtain a formation that entrapped even Chaos Immortals of their calibre.
"Have I not proven myself a competent officer? I have taken ample territory and secured many victories for you your highnesses? I swear it shall not happen again. I shall avenge prince Yazi."
Kan lifted his head slightly and instantly forced himself down again. The moment his head raised even an inch, he felt a titanic oppressive aura bear down upon him. A pair of glowing golden draconic eyes.
Zulong rested with his back straight and his gaze directly upon Kan. He never spoke a word and let his sons do the talking. However, his mood was almost visible in the dense fluctuations in the environment.
Pulao sneered, "Oh yes, prove yourself just like you getting trapped helplessly just now. This nonsense has gone on for too long. My second brother is in a coma thanks to you and who knows how long it'll take for him to recover. Father, allow me to teach this incompetent fish a lesson."
Although he claimed to wish to teach him a lesson, Pulao's bloodthirsty was evident. Seeing this, Qiu Niu immediately opened his mouth.
"General Kan, you have served the dynasty your whole life loyally. But time and again you've proven yourself too blind to the obvious. Too arrogant are you that you are negligent in your actions," Qiu Niu said before Pulao can throw more shade at the shark.
The older dragon always had the unique capability to soothe people with his voice. Even when not singing, he was capable of calming the situation.
"This…I can guarantee things shall not happen as they did again. I am more than capable of dealing with those monkeys, allow me to prove myself to you."
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Colossal Shark ancestor frowned from his stance at the sidelines. Kan was his most recent grandson and his most promising descendent since Gui Daiyu's birth. The empress was not present but general Kan's talent was no less than her's had been in the past.
"Your highnesses, your majesty, my descendent is young and incompetent. But he has also learned much and is a valuable asset to the dynasty. experts who've attained the Great Principle are hard to come by. Is it not wiser to allow him the chance to avenge himself?" He spoke out.
"Jade Spring Valley, Hurricane Peaks, Red Crystal Reefs, Falling Reed Highlands, I can name dozens more. We overlooked these because of you elder Colossal Shark. But the losses this time were too high," Pulao spat smashing at his armrest.
His own power of Great Principle Chaos Immortal was unleashed and the muscular image of a draconic beast manifested behind him. Qiu Niu appeared slightly hesitant however, the loss of a Chaos Immortal cuts deep, even if his own rage argued for it.
"How many? Just how many rising talents perished under your command? But we overlooked it since you gave back some gains. Well, your sins have caught up to you now," Pulao continued.
Kan gritted his teeth. Yazi was his friend and comrade and his inability to defend him was regretful. But Pulao was blatantly overblowing issues for none other than his dislike towards the sea folk.
"Your highness, please reconsider," Colossal Shark said taking a stance by Kan's side. His eyes darted upwards slightly before turning them away towards Pulao. He did tighten his fists though, if push came to shove, he may have to defend himself.
Colossal Shark was an old fox. He could easily justify things as Pulao letting his rage get the better of him as was commonly known. But what worried him was Zulong's lack of words.
From start to finish, the Ancestral Dragon had not spoken. But whenever someone turned to glance at him, they could feel an incomprehensible pressure bearing down upon them. It was tantamount to a mountain crashing toward a person.
"Your highness, I understand my mistake. I…"
"A Chaos Immortal being humuloiated by a bunch of weaklings. You led my brother and many others into a trap that should've been obvious. Your incompetence sullies the name of our dynasty."
"Cease!"
Zulong's voice was soft and quiet. But it was clear and heard by everyone in the room. The Dragon Sovereign's fingers gently tapped his armrest.
...
...
...
"BLAAGH!"
SPLATTER!
THUD!
Pools of blood flooded the imperial throne hall before anyone could react. Even Qiu Niu and Pulao were surprised.
Colossal Shark widened his eyes and glanced sideways in utter disbelief.
A Great Principle Chaos Immortal, general Kan of the Colossal Shark clan, keeled over and spat out pools of blood. His eyes were bloodshot and he slumped over to the floor clutching his spasming body.
He did nothing but gasp again and again. His aura grew weaker and weaker until it became a small blip on everyone's radar. His radiant Dao fruit shriveled into a cracked mess.
"NO!"
Colossal Shark called out. But he soon found out he could not move his body. The gaze of the dragon was upon him and even he, a being closing in on the Primal Origin realm found it difficult to do anything but stay still.
"He'll live," Zulong said as if that placated his old subordinate.
Qiu Niu grimaced at the bloody display while Pulao appeared satisfied but not placated. He was itching to do more.
"Our son is alive and due for a full recovery hence we saw no need to terminate a Chaos Immortal servant. Kan is hereby stripped of his rank, we will tolerate no incompetence in our ranks."
Colossal Shark shrank down and kowtowed, "Many thanks for your majesty's mercy." He glanced at his twitching grandson's prone form and his feelings were complex.
As for Kan, he only felt pain. His world existed in nothing but torment. Even his cultivation did nothing to alleviate this fact.
"We have grown tired of those monkeys at the Flower Mountain ranges. Leishen, Koilong, we do not want to hear about any Flower Macaque clan when we see you next," Zulong declared.
The sovereign glared around the hall with a deep frown before disappearing. "Court dismissed!"
…
On the Flower Mountain ranges, a wild party was going on. Billions of primates celebrated their greatest victory yet, victory over the draconic tide that washed the east continent. Thousands of clans and trillions of living beings have fallen to them already, yet many more fight hard.
The East Continent cannot be taken so easily.
Their Chaos Immortal ancestor was laughing and drinking right alongside them. Even one of the famed sons of the dragon had failed to penetrate their formation. What's more, they were even beaten black and blue by them.
In the end, the dragon and sea folk army had retreated to their remaining stronghold on the old Vast Plains Rhino's territory. The Macaque's next plan of action was to gather allies to invade, after all, the lands there had rich spiritual veins.
As they parted, the skies darkened. At first, it was small, barely noticeable. But as time went on, they began to notice.
Rain poured down uncontrollably and a raging thunderstorm began. Not even the power of their patriarch could remove it. Lightning crashed down onto the monkeys smiting them to death.
Amidst the storm, a face appeared. A bored face of a thunder dragon.
The reaction was immediate, the macaque's formation was activated and a kingdom of enlightenment manifested into the form of a divine ape. It opened its mouth and roared in defiance.
Led by a Great Principle Chaos Immortal and supported by dozens of Great Unity Golden Immortals, this formation was worth armies of similar manpower by itself.
The thunder storm grew stronger and stronger in response. The rivers also rose up as drills of water combined with the rain above to form massive tentacles.
Leishen and Jian Koilong. The two strongest dragons after the three ancestors. The thunder dragon and the ascendent dragon, both represented the heads of both factions of dragons.
Some would even say their strength exceeded that of the dragon king.
It took five months to penetrate the formation and another for the remaining monkeys to be hunted down.