Central Province, Four Books Academy’s dining hall.
“Two of these, two of those...” Chi Yantian stood with his arms folded as he ordered, then finally seemed to decide this was too much trouble. “Forget it. I’ll take two of everything!”
“You can eat that much by yourself?”
He had been at the academy long enough to become familiar with quite a few people, and someone laughed as they asked, “You’re almost catching up to Academy Head Wen’s appetite.”
“It’s not all for me!” Chi Yantian turned around, perfectly righteous. “There are four mouths to feed inside the Sea of Books Formation!”
Everyone laughed and let him go, watching as he left the dining hall carrying several people’s worth of food.
Elsewhere, outside Four Books Academy, Scholar Xiao strolled down the street with his folding fan swaying in one hand.
Before long, the other was filled with an assortment of snacks and miscellaneous little treats.
Someone passing by greeted him and asked how things were going.
Scholar Xiao secretly glanced up at the sky, lowered his voice, and sighed. “Ah, hard to say. Probably been cooped up in the Sea of Books Formation too long. Someone’s throwing a bit of a tantrum lately.”
He lifted the bag of snacks in his hand.
“Brother Ye can’t come out, so I’m helping him smooth things over.”
“What? Of course the two of them are as lovey-dovey as ever, but even the most devoted immortal couple has arguments!”
Scholar Xiao looked entirely justified.
“Brother, one glance tells me you’ve never been in love. Sometimes couples just tease each other like this... Hey, I wasn’t insulting you!”
He waved a hand, silently withdrew his gaze, and wandered back toward the Sea of Books Formation with his bag.
There, he met up with Chi Yantian.
There were indeed two other people inside the Sea of Books Formation.
Just not the two everyone imagined.
They were Ziyun and Tianji Zi.
Tianji Zi gave Scholar Xiao an amused look. “You look perfectly qualified to inherit Wen Tianxia’s mantle. You’re just as good a liar as he is.”
He pointed at Chi Yantian.
“This kid, though? Hopeless. He gets guilty the moment he lies, so we have to let him tell the truth.”
As he spoke, he tossed a little snack into his mouth [N O V E L I G H T] and chuckled.
“Good thing there really are four mouths here.”
Chi Yantian scratched his head. “Senior, if you already knew that, why make me do this?”
“No choice.” Tianji Zi’s eyes curved with amusement. “Words are more convincing when they come from someone who can’t lie.”
He pointed at Scholar Xiao.
“This one’s even inventing extra scenes for the two of them.”
Scholar Xiao laughed softly. “I wonder how they’re doing in the Sea of Returning Ruins.”
“No rush.” Tianji Zi looked perfectly unperturbed. “They’ll be there a while yet—oh, bring me one of those buns tomorrow. The kind your academy head likes. If he eats them, they can’t taste bad.”
Scholar Xiao smiled and agreed. “All right.”
...
At that same moment, in Yuezhou, within the Sea of Returning Ruins.
The black dragon carried the two of them deeper and deeper into the sea.
Neither knew how long they had been traveling.
At one point, Ye Chenyan tried opening the water curtain.
With the water-repelling pearl, the current did them no harm, but the enthusiastic black dragon immediately struck up a conversation.
That was how they learned his name was Feiyan.
They also learned that the current head of the dragon lineage was a dragon woman named Li Ji.
The moment Ye Chenyan heard that name, he abruptly straightened his back and looked warily at Yu Qingtang.
Yu Qingtang was still making faces at him.
“What? We’re about to meet Li Ji. Nervous?”
Ye Chenyan: “...”
He gave Yu Qingtang a dark look and reached out to pinch his cheek.
“You’ve got it backward.”
Yu Qingtang looked utterly baffled. “Huh?”
Ye Chenyan stared into his eyes. “I’m not the one who should be nervous. You are.”
“Hm?”
Yu Qingtang tried to follow his train of thought. He pointed at himself.
“Me? Don’t tell me I’m supposed to be nervous someone will steal you away.”
Ye Chenyan gave a quiet scoff and looked meaningfully at him.
Yu Qingtang found his attitude inexplicable.
Feiyan cut in, “You actually know of our clan head? It hasn’t been easy for her to hold the sea folk together all on her own. Even now, plenty of people insist on calling her Princess instead of Clan Head, but she’s clearly been carrying the responsibilities of the sea folk for years...”
Yu Qingtang nodded along. “That really does sound difficult.”
“Then your clan head must have sent you to pick us up because she trusts you deeply. You must be one of her closest—”
“Huh? No, she sent me because I swim the fastest,” Feiyan answered casually, then gave two smug little snorts. “Though the clan head definitely trusts me too.”
“After all, I was the first one to start calling her Clan Head.”
Yu Qingtang nodded thoughtfully and was just about to ask a few more questions when Ye Chenyan tugged him back.
Ye Chenyan gave him a sidelong look. “That interested?”
“I’ve never seen a dragon woman before,” Yu Qingtang answered honestly, looking extremely expectant. “I met the Young Dragon King in Nanzhou, but aside from the horns on his head, he didn’t look much different from anyone else.”
He pointed at Feiyan.
“This is my first time seeing a dragon’s true form!”
Feiyan puffed out his chest proudly. “Impressive, right?”
“Once you leave Yuezhou, you land cultivators don’t get many chances to see the sea folk, much less dragons of the royal lineage.”
Yu Qingtang asked curiously, “Land cultivators? That’s how you distinguish us? Then are there cultivators who live in the sea too?”
“Some cultivators with water spiritual roots are naturally close to water, so they come underwater to cultivate.” Feiyan clicked his tongue. “And some people like finding sea folk to ‘cultivate together’ with—but they call it cultivating together when it’s basically no different from capturing someone and raising them as a spirit pet!”
“I stay out of all that nonsense, but you humans are always getting ideas about us dragons. It’s incredibly annoying.”
Two jets of water shot from his nostrils.
“Some cultivators have even tried to arrange marriages with our clan head! They want her to marry out of the Dragon Palace! Shameless!”
Yu Qingtang immediately nodded along like one of the family. “Absolutely shameless!”
Then he leaned back toward Ye Chenyan’s ear and lowered his voice.
“Hear that? You might get a chance to save a beauty later.”
Ye Chenyan barely seemed to hear him.
He turned slightly and raised an eyebrow at Yu Qingtang.
“You like dragons that much?”
“Of course I like dragons.” Yu Qingtang looked perfectly serious. “I’ve always had a certain special fondness for them.”
Ye Chenyan glanced at Feiyan, lifted his chin, and said, “I can transform too.”
He leaned close to Yu Qingtang’s ear.
“I’ll show you next time.”
“Whoa—” Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened slightly. “You can transform too? Then when you help me ram that wild boar, can you turn into a boar—”
“No.”
Ye Chenyan rejected him flatly, expressionless.
“Aww—” Yu Qingtang slapped his thigh in disappointment. “That’s no fun.”
Ye Chenyan: “...”
While the two were talking, Feiyan called out a warning.
“We’re almost there! Don’t go back inside now. You should see what our Dragon Palace looks like!”
He suddenly whipped his tail and surged forward, cleaving through the water.
The momentum made the two lean back slightly.
Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened curiously.
Feiyan carried them through a vast field of underwater reefs.
Then the view before them abruptly brightened—
There had been almost no light beneath the sea. Until now, they had relied on the faint blue glow of the water-repelling pearl to see.
But now it was almost as though they had returned beneath the sun.
Everything around them was brilliantly illuminated, bright as day.
Looking more closely, Yu Qingtang realized the light came from vast clusters of luminous pearls, their soft white radiance illuminating the entire seabed.
“Whoa—”
Yu Qingtang let out the awed gasp of a complete country bumpkin.
Then he shoved his hand into Ye Chenyan’s and instructed him with a solemn expression, “Hold on to me. Otherwise I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop myself from going over there and scooping some up.”
Ye Chenyan chuckled and tightened his grip.
“Got you.”
The luminous pearls lit their surroundings.
Dense thickets of red coral covered the underwater reefs, making the entire Dragon Palace look extraordinarily festive.
The palace itself was built in a peculiar style, incorporated into several enormous shells. Delicate gauze drifted gently with the currents, giving the whole place an airy, fluid grace.
Yu Qingtang curiously reached out and touched a veil as it brushed past him.
Feiyan explained proudly, “That’s merfolk silk. Clothes made from it repel water. Even an ordinary mortal could walk through the rain wearing it without getting a single drop on them!”
“Oh—” Yu Qingtang nodded deeply. “Waterproof fabric.”
“Hm?” Feiyan sounded puzzled. “It has another name?”
“Probably not. I just made that up.”
Yu Qingtang laughed awkwardly as Feiyan carried them toward the largest structure in the center, an enormous pink shell standing open like a doorway.
Yu Qingtang looked up at it and muttered, “How much shellfish meat must’ve been inside this thing originally...”
“A lot,” Feiyan said, smacking his lips. “And it was delicious.”
Longing appeared on Yu Qingtang’s face.
Ye Chenyan slowly turned his head.
“...You two really do get along.”
“Ahem.”
Yu Qingtang dragged his gaze away and put on a solemn expression.
“Important matters. Important matters. I haven’t forgotten.”
He craned his neck and looked around.
“Where’s your clan head?”
“Right here.”
Feiyan pointed toward a small box on the table.
Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened in shock. “Huh? Did something happen? Why is she in—”
Feiyan opened the box.
A hazy female figure floated out.
Ye Chenyan clapped a hand over Yu Qingtang’s mouth before he could finish.
Yu Qingtang: “...”
That had scared him.
For a second, he had thought Miss Li Ji was sleeping in a little box now.
He blinked innocently and gave the blurred figure a smile.
“I have been awaiting your arrival,” Li Ji said.
Her voice was clear and flowing, like a murmuring stream.
“Under ordinary circumstances, when guests come from far away, we would at least prepare fine wine, delicacies, and beautiful dancers.”
“But circumstances are urgent.”
Ye Chenyan’s expression remained calm. “There’s no need for any of that.”
“Mhm.” Yu Qingtang nodded along. “We can always watch the dancing after we finish the important business.”
Ye Chenyan turned his head toward him.
Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened slightly.
“It’s sea-folk dancing! Maybe there’ll be mermaids...”
He paused, then looked expectantly at Ye Chenyan.
“Or can you transform into one of those too?”
Ye Chenyan narrowed his eyes.
“I’ll transform into a piranha.”
Then he lowered his voice threateningly.
“Big fish eats Little Yu.”
Yu Qingtang: “...”
He obediently turned back around, looking as upright and righteous as could be.
“No need, Comrade. We came here for matters concerning all under Heaven! Such decadent pleasures would only corrode a man’s will!”
Li Ji laughed softly, evidently finding him extremely amusing.
“Don’t worry.”
“When this matter is settled, if you come to the Sea of Returning Ruins, I will make sure to entertain you properly.”
Under the scorching intensity of Ye Chenyan’s stare, Yu Qingtang guiltily looked away and did not dare answer.
Ye Chenyan slipped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer.
His gaze remained fixed on Yu Qingtang as he asked with a smile, “You’re not going to refuse?”
“Huh?”
Yu Qingtang sneaked a glance at him and blinked rapidly.
“Wouldn’t that be rude? She means well—”
He lightly bumped against Ye Chenyan.
“I never said I’d come alone. I’d bring you with me.”
Ye Chenyan withdrew his gaze and muttered, “I don’t want to come.”
“Oh.”
Yu Qingtang nodded regretfully.
“Then I’ll come by myself.”
Ye Chenyan whipped his head around. “You—!”
“Hey!” Feiyan interrupted them impatiently. “Can you two listen while my clan head is talking?”
Yu Qingtang immediately covered Ye Chenyan’s mouth.
“Exactly! No talking. Listen to her.”
Ye Chenyan: “...”
Li Ji laughed softly.
“You two wish to obtain the Realm Stone. Ordinarily, you could simply come directly to where I am, but the Dragon Palace has encountered a small complication. I wonder if the two of you could...”
“Not just anyone gets to become master of this realm anyway,” Feiyan cut in bluntly. “You’re supposed to pass the Dragon Palace’s trials first. Might as well count this as part of the trial!”
Yu Qingtang asked curiously, “If we pass this one, can you reduce the other trials accordingly?”
“Well...”
Feiyan scratched his head and looked toward Li Ji’s projection.
Li Ji nodded gently.
“Of course.”
“It would not be convenient for me to involve myself in this matter directly. The Stillwater Sect does have some history with the Dragon Palace, and our business dealings in recent years have been fairly amicable.”
She sighed softly.
“I simply do not know where their young master read those stories about dragon maidens repaying kindness, but he became completely determined to marry me.”
“I truly have no romantic feelings for him. After rejecting him several times, all I could say was that I bear responsibilities of my own and would only ever fall in love with a great hero capable of standing tall beneath Heaven—a man like the master of this realm.”
“That finally made him settle down for a while.”
“But who knows what suddenly clicked in that guy’s head lately,” Feiyan muttered. “His cultivation has been advancing by leaps and bounds. Even I can’t beat him anymore.”
“If you two hadn’t shown up soon, he was going to seek out the clan head, take the trials, and claim the Realm Stone himself!”
Ye Chenyan narrowed his eyes.
“...We can help.”
“But...”
Li Ji chuckled.
“Relax. Even if you become master of this realm, no one will force you to marry me.”
“Though if you insist on marrying into my Dragon Palace, I suppose I could consider it.”
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