"You've done well. Any reaction from the North and West Seas?"
Sitting leisurely on his dragon throne, Ao Qing asked calmly.
To rapidly gain more Dragon Clan Reputation Points and earn rewards, he needed to rely on the next two sea domains. Once he unified the Four Seas, he could begin his advance onto the land.
"The North Sea Dragon King and the West Sea Dragon King—when they heard the South Sea Dragon King had died suddenly, and that a six-clawed golden dragon had emerged in the Eastern Sea—they were both terrified. However, neither gave a definitive response on the spot. They seem reluctant to submit to our Eastern Sea," reported Prime Minister Turtle, frowning slightly.
He had expected that once the South Sea Dragon King was dealt with, the other two would quickly surrender. But to his surprise, both kings dared to defy the Eastern Sea Dragon King's will.
"Interesting…"
Ao Qing wasn't the least bit surprised. Instead, a faint smirk curled at the corners of his mouth.
Having seen much in his past lives, Ao Qing naturally understood that the North and West Sea Dragon Kings were unwilling to hand over the sea domains they had spent centuries building up. Despite their usual obedient demeanor—unlike the arrogant South Sea King—they each had hidden cards of their own.
Take the West Sea Dragon King, for example. In a future timeline, under his father's "intentional" arrangements, his third son became part of the Journey to the West pilgrimage group. Although he never achieved Buddhahood like Sun Wukong, he still earned the title of an Arhat of the Eight Heavenly Dragons.
Don't underestimate that Arhat position—it meant he had officially gained a spiritual rank under the Western Buddha. It was like becoming a government official. Though he was a Dragon King in title, he had no proper celestial status. With that Arhat position, the West Sea Dragon King aligned himself with the Western Paradise, bringing prosperity to his entire domain.
So it was completely within Ao Qing's expectations that they refused to submit.
"Dragon King, what should we do now!?" Prime Minister Turtle asked anxiously. "If they won't surrender, there's a good chance they'll seek outside help. That would complicate things… After all, many demon kings and monarchs are still eyeing the Four Seas."
But Ao Qing simply chuckled in response.
Taking down the North and West Sea Kings? He wouldn't need to lift a claw. His top priority right now was to consolidate his power from the Dragon God Art and evolve into a Seven-Clawed Golden Dragon. In this mythic world, strength is everything.
Just then, he recalled something—he still had one evolution point left that could be assigned to a subordinate.
As he pondered this, a pleasant chime echoed in his mind:
"Would you like to evolve the Eastern Sea's Prime Minister Turtle?"
"Upon evolution, Prime Minister Turtle will become a Xuanwu (Beginner Stage), gaining all innate abilities of the Xuanwu. His cultivation will rise to Quasi-Golden Immortal Realm! All base stats will forcibly reach 100!"
Ao Qing was stunned at first—and then overjoyed.
Back when he reviewed everyone's post-evolution stats, he hadn't checked Prime Minister Turtle's. But now that he did, it startled him: he could evolve into Xuanwu!
That's one of the Four Divine Beasts, on par with the Azure Dragon of the East Sea! Even though it was just the beginner stage, the title "Xuanwu" already said it all.
And this only cost one evolution point!?
"Yes!"
Ao Qing had been searching for a vanguard to spread his name and reputation across the Four Seas—and Prime Minister Turtle was clearly a perfect candidate!
As soon as his voice fell, a surge of formidable power poured into the small body of Prime Minister Turtle. He felt an intense, violent energy ignite within him, like flames lighting up all his acupoints!
The shackles that had long restricted him now began to loosen under the pressure of this overwhelming force.
Prime Minister Turtle wasn't stupid—how could he not know this breakthrough came entirely thanks to the Eastern Sea Dragon King!? Gritting his teeth, he bore the pain and the transformation with full resolve.
At the same time, his admiration for Ao Qing rose to unparalleled heights!
It wasn't long before he reopened his eyes. His body had visibly grown larger—not quite in full transformation yet, but he could sense that once he did, his physical form would stretch over dozens of zhang.
More importantly, he could now clearly feel it—a terrifying power resting within him, ready to explode at any moment.
"T-This aura… this is the aura of a divine beast—Xuanwu… I… I actually…"
His eyes widened in disbelief, and then he turned his awe-filled gaze toward Ao Qing.
Just a moment passed—
Thud!
Prime Minister Turtle fell to his knees, tears of gratitude streaming down his cheeks.
"Thank you, Dragon King! From this moment forward, I shall follow you to the death without hesitation!"
"No need for that. Go now—bring me the heads of the North and West Sea Dragon Kings."
Ao Qing shrugged and waved casually. He was already too eager to try out his new power as a Seven-Clawed Golden Dragon!
"Yes! I shall not fail your command!"
Overcome with emotion, Prime Minister Turtle vanished in a flash of light, headed straight for the North Sea Dragon King's domain—he didn't even bother to bring any shrimp or crab soldiers.
What a joke. He had just evolved into one of the Four Divine Beasts—Xuanwu. The petty North and West Sea Dragon Kings were no match for him!
The moment Prime Minister Turtle departed, Ao Qing used the remaining evolution point on himself.
"Congratulations! You have used an evolution point (self-assigned)!"
"After evolution, you will become a Seven-Clawed Hunyuan Five-Element Golden Qilin Dragon. Your body size will grow from just over 100 zhang to over 300 zhang!"
As the pleasant voice rang out, Ao Qing felt radiant light envelop him. Mighty energy surged through his limbs, flooding into more than four hundred of his acupoints like a torrent.
It was as if every blocked meridian was blasted open. Power poured through his Ren and Du meridians, spreading wildly.
At the same time, he could clearly feel his limbs stretching and expanding at a shocking pace—