The great hall of the ancestor of the great sea was completely still. Silence permeated both men who stood opposing one another. So quiet that the sound of the drop of a pin would blanket the entire hall.
Da Hai's posture was one of resignation. He did not smile nor did he seem happy at what was said. However, his eyes carried a look of conviction. The great immortal observed his disciple who seemed to be taken aback.
For the first time in eons, the ancestral dragon was taken aback. He looked utterly confused at what just came out of his master's mouth. His handsome face seemed to be struggling to grasp those words.
'I don't think you should be sovereign.'
For a Great Principle Chaos Immortal, their minds could casually move far beyond the speed of light. A mind boggling amount of simulations could race through their minds in the span of a second.
Yet Zulong was completely taken aback for more than a minute. For sixty entire seconds he did not respond. He merely kept that confused look, his mind struggling to keep up.
"Zu…" Da Hai began before his disciple broke out into a hearty laugh. He laughed as if he heard the greatest joke in the world.
"AAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Zulong laughed uncontrollably. Eventually the humorous sound got slower and slower while he held a hand over his stomach until it stopped. "Ah, thank you master, I needed that."
"You know, I hadn't heard such a good joke in…well since ever. You really got me there," Zulong wiped a tear from his eye. "Never knew you could joke so well, I always thought aunt master was the funny one. Guess you learn something new every day."
"Zulong," Da Hai said seriously standing confidently straight. In contrast, Zulong's relaxed posture was still spasming with laughter.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Zulong asked smiling.
"Zulong I'm serious here," Da Hai said. His face was one that meant seriousness. No hint of joke nor jest was found.
"Seriously though master, quite it with the jest," Zulong sighed. However, his smile stiffened. "If it's anything important, we really should…should…"
Zulong gradually stopped smiling. His expression of happiness gave way to one that was neither smiling nor frowning. His mouth was merely a flat line.
"You're serious," Zulong said slowly as if questioning his every word. "You're being fully serious," he mused straightening his back and leaning back slightly.
"Fuck, you're serious," Zulong took half a step back. He took a few breathes to recompose himself whispering, "You're serious," again and again. All this while Da Hai sighed in defeat as well.
"Yes disciple, I believe it would for the best if you relinquish this goal of sovereignty," Da Hai said strongly.
Zulong starred at his master with a look of confusion. "Wha…Why?" He uttered. "If you haven't noticed, I'm doing great out there. Living beings in eight directions praise my name. They sing my name and worship my rule."
"My enemies dare not cross me. My enemies have never triumphed over me. Even a godfiend ancestor of the previous era fell by my hands like a farmer killing chickens," Zulong said in a tone that spoke of how obvious it all was.
"If you're worried about my arrogance then it's easily manageable," Zulogn continued not letting Da Hai get a word in. "I've made precautions against that. My brothers know when to obey and disobey. My wife can work around my more egotistical moments. I can correct any mistakes if you see any," he tried with a hint of desperation.
Da Hai shook his head, "You don't understand, it's much more complicated than that." The sea god sighed.
"Complicated how? Hm?" Zulong folded his arms giving Da Hai a disbelieving look. "Do you not believe in me anymore? Not even after all I've done to prove myself?"
"There are mechanisms in place in this world, mechanisms that will see to it for you to die. Destiny itself is against you Zulong. No matter how much success you're seeing now, eventually, the dragons will fall. Your descendants cursed with an unplayable debt of sin," Da Hai said.
"So what, you divined some horrible fate awaited me?" Zulong scoffed. "Master you know as well as I do that the future is never set in stone. Divination only takes you so far and no future is ever guaranteed."
"This is not divination, it is the future Zulong. I have seen it," Da Hai begged. "Trust in your master. If you follow through with this path you will only bring yourself ruin. No ambition is worth your life."
"Do you even hear yourself?" Zulong was flabbergasted. "You…I…master, you can't seriously believe this…this…bullshit you're spouting."
"Every word Zulong. Your enemies are the least of your worries. The dragon, phoenix, qilin are all doomed to this fate. Years from now, your endless battles will cause a disaster unlike any other which will set this world on fire. One which you will not survive," Da Hai argued. "Please Zulong, return to Yingzhou. Abandoning this path is for the best."
"FUCK THAT!" Zulong roared startling Da Hai who flinched back. "You can't expect me the just follow through with that. I have come so far, SO FAR. I cannot…No, I REFUSE to quit."
The great hall flared up with an apocalyptic draconic might. The floor tiles cracked, the pillars trembled. As if responding to his rage, the great hall which once held many aspiring cultivators of the east sea quivered.
"I don't care what future you think you saw or what's gotten into your head. But I have come too far to turn my back now," Zulong declared sending Da Hai an enraged look. "And frankly, I don't care. I decided I am the Dragon Sovereign and that is who I will be."
"STOP!" Da Hai shouted back ceasing the rumbling. "I did not teach you to mindlessly throw your life away. I am trying to save your life. The path of a sovereign will only end in tragedy."
"Rich coming from you," Zulong scoffed.
"What?" The aged master said. "Zulong understand what I'm saying. The Heavenly Dao picked out this path for you from the moment you were born. Your desire to become sovereign is a preset desire programmed into you and will only lead to your and your family's deaths. Your thirst for power will make this world bleed and in turn, it will kill you and curse your people."
"Do you hear yourself master? Teaching me? Do you think I'm stupid? Do you think me blind? From the moment I entered your sect you've been preparing me for this path. Administration? Warfare? Logistics? Kingship? Even if that is true, YOU WERE THE ONE WHO WAS PUSHING ME FOR THIS," Zulong roared pointing accusingly at Da Hai.
Da Hai was shocked silent. He was completely taken aback and did not know how to respond. Zulong took a deep breath to calm down. "So don't tell me that bullshit master," the dragon said.
The look Zulong gave was one of utter disappointment. He shook his head and sighed. "I apologise, my rage got to me," he muttered. "But I will not back down master. I will never leave this path."
Da Hai narrowed his gaze in frustration. "I can't let you die," he said. In an instant, the power of a Primal Origin Chaos Immortal flooded the great hall. This time, it was a calm restraining aura.
Zulong widened his eyes in betrayal. He wordlessly questioned Da Hai on his stance. The dragon gripped his fists hard, veins popped out blaring in rage.
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"This is for your own good. Let Zufeng and Zulin kill each other over this world. Don't let the Heavenly Dao or anyone else manipulate you to your doom. You don't have to follow the script, get out while you still can," Da Hai urged.
Zulong merely shook his head. His muscles tensed, he opened his eyes and glared at his master, his mentor for nearly fifty thousand years, his father in all but blood. "You hypocrite," he said.
Da Hai was taken aback as an equally majestic aura washed over the room. Zulong unleashed his immortal might pushing Da Hai's back freeing himself. However, the dragon made no other movements.
"For a while now, I knew. You're not nearly as subtle as you think. I worked it out," Zulong stated calmly. "But I never cared, I was grateful to you for showing me the way. So I'm only going to ask you for confirmation."
Da Hai widened his eyes completely taken aback. The look Zulong sent was a clam look of anger mixed with betrayal. This look cut deeply into the ancient sea god.
"You intended to use me, my brothers, and now I guess my empire for your own means. You wanted us to be your allies…no, your fodder against your enemies. The ancestors Luohu and Hongjun," Zulong said.
Da Hai opened his mouth only to close it again. He wordlessly nodded.
"You saw us as pawns for your own schemes cause you alone was not strong enough. You desired to use me and I'm guessing the other two as well. From the beginning, we were your cannon fodder," Zulong said.
Da Hai nodded once again.
"I suppose you also saw aunt master the same?" The dragon added.
"I'm trying to make amends," Da Hai said looking utterly defeated. His aura had completely receded into himself while Zulong's remained bare. "You are all important to me, I don't want you to meet that fate."
"I failed brother Huoyun in the past," Da Hai began shedding tears as he said so. "I saw my brother die helplessly and I was consumed by the thirst for vengeance. But all that ended up doing was push everyone else away. I didn't see what was in front of me until it was too late."
The image of the moon goddess and the ancestor of the universe appeared in Da Hai's mind. Although the latter wasn't as close with him, Qiankun was still a friend of sorts.
"Please Zulong, I don't want you to die. Not you, not Yinglong, not Qinglong, not Wangshu, not Yi Fei'e, not Er Fei'e, not, San Fei'e, not Si Fei'e, not Wu Fei'e, not Qi Fei'e," Da Hai sent Zulong a pleading look.
"No one decided for me," Zulong said meeting Da Hai eye to eye. "I chose this path for myself. Perhaps due to self entitlement at first. But I have grown a genuine desire to do so. I am the leader of the east sea. I am the monarch in the hearts of my dragons."
"Yes master, when I was young I believed that I as a being born from Pangu's Yang Qi that it was my god given right to stand as sovereign of the world. But you changed that and I will always be grateful to you as my master," Zulong said sadly.
"Without you, I'd never have realised the error of my ways. Never have met Yu'er. Never seen so much success in my life," Zulong gave a soft sad smile. "Never have gathered so many who'd wish to follow me without beating them over the heads. East sea, south sea, north sea, west sea, non of them would've gone down without a drawn out war."
His foot shifted and he turned his back on the sea god. "But now I truly want to be the sovereign so many already see me as. I will fight for sovereignty whether you're with me or against me."
He took one step, then another, then another. Zulong, the proud ancestral dragon began steadily walking away from Da Hai. The old sea god merely stood silently watching his eldest and most precious disciple leave.
"Zulong," Da Hai called out. However, the dragon ignored him and kept going. Da Hai did not move from his spot, he watched as the dragon closed in on the door.
Zulong could feel tears running down his cheek. He could not describe everything he was feeling as of this moment. But what he did know was that he needed to see Gui Daiyu.
Suddenly, Zulong felt a force pulse into his mind. He whirled around to defend only to feel no malicious intent. Instead, he felt memories flow into his mind.
Texts upon texts, stories upon stories, theories upon theories. Each covered by their own biases and differing events. But all followed the same outline. Then other information flowed in, events of the past, figures Zulong had never seen before only heard of.
He saw figures battling through the cosmos. Of the beings who most likely inspired his appearance. That titanic Chaos Sky Dragon among the chaos godfiends. He saw the original godfiend named Da Hai and his travels with Yang Mei and Huoyun.
He saw the events leading up to the Shenni war. Of the pathetic being that grew to become his master. Of how that being struggled to find himself. Of how he found his true self and grew in strength. Of the helplessness he felt when Huoyun fell inspite of all he gained.
He saw the man the ancestor of the five elements was. How kind yet hardened he was from Da Hai's perspective. How wise and strong he was from the eyes of Da Hai. Zulong felt his heart move as the memories flowed into him.
He turned his head around and met Da Hai's gaze. A level of understanding was reached wordlessly. However, Zulong's expression did not change. Then he turned back and exited the great hall.
…
"Senior brother! What was that?" Yi Fei'e's panicking figure was the first thing that came into Zulong's view.
When he saw her, Zulong felt like kicking himself for recklessly blowing up like that. His junior sister was not strong enough to resist him if he truly unleashed. Luckily the great palace was in the way.
Zulong glanced back and saw the disheveled appearance of Da Hai's palace. Cracks were everywhere and the building looked like it might collapse anytime.
"Why was going on in there?" Yi Fei'e urgently asked. "The doors wouldn't open no matter what I did and…and… Is master alright? Were you two attacked?"
"He's fine," Zulong said wiping his face of his tears. "Master just needs some space."
"Are you okay?" The moth immortal asked stepping closer worriedly. Zulong instantly knew why. His appearance probably wasn't in the best state to meet people in.
"I am, just had to get some things off my chest. A bit of a disagreement is all," he dismissed. He began walking past the moth and up to Jian Koilong who was hugging himself in a metal position.
"Get up, you make a mockery of dragons with that attitude," Zulong commanded.
"Huh? Uh yes master," Jian Koilong hurriedly said but Zulong held up his palm.
"I am not your master, I am your patriarch as you are a member of my Primordial Celestial Dragon Clan," he corrected. "Follow me, we're heading back."
"O…Okay," Jian Koilong obeyed getting up. He looked back at Yi Fei'e before deciding to obey the dragon's instructions.
Yi Fei'e starred at Zulong's back contemplatively. "Will you be coming back?" She asked.
"Unlikely," Zulong said without stopping.
"I'll always be here for you. We fellow disciples," she said hopefully.
"Yes," Zulong said glancing back. "We're all fellow disciples beneath the ancestor of the great sea." He turned back around and guided Koilong away from Yingzhou. He didn't plan on coming back.