Chapter 404

Chapter 404: The Furious Ao Yi

East Sea King’s actions perfectly showed what it meant to stir chaos without consequences.

With both sides being his enemies, he saw no harm in secretly adding fuel to the fire.

Though he could sit back and watch the fight, the Dragon Palace had no intention of joining the fray.

—From their discussions in the Dragon Palace to their entry into the East Sea Kingdom, they’d always believed victory was assured.

But this confidence hinged on one condition: the Dragon King overpowering the weaker Mu Lin for an easy win.

East Sea King had always crushed Mu Lin this way.

This gave the Dragon Palace water tribe the false impression that Mu Lin lacked power and backing, making him an easy target for both them and East Sea King.

Yet Mu Lin’s recent actions slapped them awake, proving they weren’t the same as East Sea King.

The conflict between Mu Lin and East Sea King remained internal to the human race. But Dragon Palace’s involvement would turn it into a clash between humans and outsiders.

If this escalated, humanity’s leaders couldn’t let Mu Lin be bullied—doing so would demoralize the entire human race.

“Resorting to calling elders…”

Mu Lin’s move gave Ao Huan, the group’s leader, a pounding headache. For the first time, regret crept into his mind.

‘Perhaps we shouldn’t have meddled.’

Though remorseful, Ao Huan didn’t act immediately. Instead, he reached out to the Dragon Palace water tribe.

He had no choice—their main combat power lay with him, not the Dragon Palace’s young elites. Sending the latter against Mu Lin? He had zero faith.

But while Ao Huan hesitated, East Sea King seized the chance to provoke.

Ao Yi’s earlier mockery and scorn had left East Sea King fuming. Now, revenge was too sweet to pass up.

As Ao Huan consulted the Dragon Palace, East Sea King’s followers spread rumors across Tianhai City: tales of a dragon stripped of its scales and tendons.

Ao Yi’s exploits also flooded every corner.

“Heard the dragon clan’s chickening out?”

“No way! The Dragon Palace water tribe’s too mighty to fear Mu Lin!”

“Heh, the Dragon Palace’s strong, but so’s humanity! Our big shots won’t let outsiders bully our genius. Want Mu Lin dead? Send someone his own rank! But face it—he’s the human race’s greatest genius. The Dragon Palace thought they could stomp him, but now they’re stuck.”

“Pfft! So dragons just pick on the weak too?”

“Right? The funniest’s Ao Yi. With his elders around, he trash-talked Lord Mu Lin nonstop—said he ‘yearned to fight him,’ that Mu Lin ‘couldn’t satisfy him.’ Acted all high and mighty, like he owned the skies!”

“Now that his elders can’t bail him out? Total silence!”

“All bark when backed by seniors, all tears when alone. And this coward dares call himself a dragon? A ‘Golden Race’? Ha! Mu Lin’s right—he’s just a gutter snake!”

“Never seen someone so shameless…”

Inside a tavern, crowds gossiped and jeered at Ao Yi, painting him as a backstabbing, cowardly fraud.

Unbeknownst to them, their target sat in a private booth nearby.

“BOOM!”

Hearing such belittlement, the prideful Ao Yi couldn’t hold back. Overwhelming dragon might burst from his body.

"Bastards! How dare you defame me!"

The tavern fell silent under the dragon’s pressure, but soon whispers arose nearby.

"Showing off to us means nothing. Go challenge Mu Lin if you’re brave…"

"Right! Only bullying the weak – is this how the dragon clan acts?"

"Boom!"

"You all deserve death…"

Seeing his dragon might couldn’t stop the mockery, Ao Yi’s eyes burned crimson.

As his rage intensified, dark clouds gathered above the tavern. Heavenly lightning struck down at the humans.

The tavern’s defenses held, and the diners had some strength – the lightning did not kill anyone.

Meanwhile, East Sea King’s manor’s young masters who’d invited Ao Yi rushed to restrain him.

"Seventh Prince, calm yourself. Don’t stoop to commoners’ level. They know nothing."

"Losing to Mu Lin isn’t shameful."

"Prince Ao Yi, I’ll have Father ban such talk in Tianhai City…"

"Ao Brother, never confront Mu Lin! Better be mocked as a braggart than get skinned alive."

"…You can’t match Mu Lin…"

"!!!"

Their ‘advice’ kept repeating Ao Yi wasn’t Mu Lin’s match – calling him a braggart to his face.

Each word salted his wounds. Ao Yi nearly exploded with fury.

"Bastards! You dare too?!"

Enraged, Ao Yi attacked the manor’s youths.

Transformation-level guards blocked his assault. The youths kept talking:

"Ao Yi, listen! We speak truth, not insults."

"You truly can’t beat Mu Lin. Is honest advice wrong?"

Someone nearby provoked:

"Useless coward! Only attacks weaklings. Confront Mu Lin if you dare."

"Confront Mu Lin? He’d need borrowed courage!"

"… …"

The barrage made Ao Yi’s eyes bloodshot.

Ordinary men might endure such insults.

But Ao Yi – born a true dragon, heaven’s chosen – had only known praise and flowers. Never criticism. This sudden mockery was unbearable.

Though hearing of Mu Lin’s strength, he’d never seen it firsthand.

As a mighty dragon, he believed himself Mu Lin’s equal – or nearly so.

"Even if I lose, I can flee. Mu Lin wouldn’t dare kill me anyway… Killing ordinary dragons differs from slaying true ones."

"I must go! Else humans, dragons, even lowly water tribes will laugh at me forever!"

Imagining despised water tribes mocking his cowardice finally broke Ao Yi’s restraint.

With an earth-shaking roar, Ao Yi transformed into his true dragon form and flew towards Mu Lin’s location.

He never noticed the eerie statue in the tavern corner, radiating dark hypnotic light.

East Sea King had moved.

He’d not only tricked Ao Yi out using manor youths, but staged this entire scene.

To ensure fury, he’d used dark magic devices to amplify Ao Yi’s emotions into madness.