"Big brother... Big brother…"
"Big brother, please wake up…"
"Big brother, without you, the entire East Sea is finished…"
"Ao Qing? Ao Qing? Ao Qing!?"
In a daze, Ao Qing vaguely heard voices calling out beside his ears, as if someone was trying to wake him up.
"What… what's going on…"
He muttered groggily and struggled to open his eyes.
But the moment he saw the scene before him, the confused Ao Qing instantly shot up from the dragon bed, his eyes flashing with astonishment.
Right before him was a massive, pitch-black iron pillar, plunging into the depths of the seabed and rising straight into the clouds. And bound beside the black pillar by golden chains… was a colossal five-clawed dragon over a hundred meters long—a breathtaking and overwhelming sight.
That giant dragon, eyes wide and full of concern, stared at Ao Qing with burning intensity. Seeing Ao Qing awaken, it finally let out a sigh of relief.
Standing nearby were several shrimp and crab soldiers. At the head of the group stood a young boy in white robes, with a pair of blue dragon horns growing from his head.
"Brother, you're finally awake…" The child with the blue dragon horns sighed in relief, his face full of joy.
"This place is…"
"Wasn't I just watching Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child!?"
Ao Qing frowned slightly, staring at the world around him, clearly deep in thought.
Suddenly, a torrent of memories surged into his mind like a tidal wave, overwhelming and forceful.
It took a long while before he finally came to his senses—and understood.
Like countless other transmigrators in the stories, Ao Qing had crossed over to another world.
Only, the world he arrived in was an ancient mythological realm rooted in the events of Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child. Here, the Three Pure Ones [T/N: Daoist primordial deities], the Jade Emperor, the Queen Mother of the West, Taiyi Zhenren… all existed. Everything existed.
Ordinarily, transmigrating into a grand mythological universe like this should've been a thrilling and exhilarating experience. But only Ao Qing understood—
—Being reborn into the Dragon Clan in this world was possibly the most miserable fate imaginable.
Especially in the mythos of Birth of the Demon Child.
In that tale, the East Sea Dragon Clan had guarded the ocean's edge for generations. Though they suppressed one hundred thousand demons beneath the sea, they could never leave their post—doomed to serve Heaven as obedient lapdogs for all eternity.
It was precisely because of this that the old East Sea Dragon King had painstakingly tried to help the Third Prince, Ao Bing, obtain the Spirit Pearl, defeat Nezha, and build reputation in order to ascend into the celestial ranks—hoping to reverse the fate of the Dragon Clan.
Even in the broader world of Journey to the West and Investiture of the Gods, the East Sea Dragon Clan had always been treated like punching bags.
Case in point: the River Dragon King of Jinghe was executed just for altering rainfall slightly. The Monkey King showed up, and the East Sea Dragon King had to present gifts and treasures in fear. Even after multiple petitions to the Heavenly Court, they were repeatedly ignored. At the Peach Banquet? Dragon tendon and dragon meat were served to entertain the immortals!
It's no exaggeration to say that ever since the fall of the Ancestral Dragon in the Great Desolation, the Dragon Clan's status had declined with every generation—until they were little more than lackeys of the Heavenly Court. When Heaven called them west, they dared not go east. Even demons lived freer than dragons…
But Ao Qing quickly realized—his very presence had caused a slight deviation in the fate of the East Sea.
He, Ao Qing, was now the new East Sea Dragon King, in charge of all affairs along the Eastern shores!
As for the massive dragon bound to the black iron pillar… that was the former Dragon King, Ao Guang. For the sake of the Dragon Clan's survival and prosperity, he had passed on the Dragon King title to Ao Qing.
The original owner of Ao Qing's body had offended many deities in Heaven while trying to secure Ao Guang's release. He'd been secretly assassinated—leaving behind a body for Ao Qing to take over.
And the one who had just called him "Big Brother"… was none other than the Third Prince Ao Bing—the very Ao Bing who, in Birth of the Demon Child, would eventually be slain by Nezha.
Only right now, Ao Bing was just a toddler barely two years old.
Fate was fast approaching—there were only a few months left.
Shen Gongbao, Taiyi Zhenren, and others were already beginning to move.
"This East Sea Dragon King's position is seriously tragic…"
Ao Qing couldn't help but smile bitterly. Never mind anything else—just in a few months, Nezha would be wreaking havoc in the East Sea, inevitably causing bloodshed. And his little brother Ao Bing? He was practically fated to die.
But for some reason, when he looked at the adorably wide-eyed little Ao Bing, Ao Qing simply couldn't bring himself to accept that future.
"Please, let there be a cheat or golden finger of some kind...?"
As Ao Qing furrowed his brow in frustration, a melodious voice suddenly echoed in his ears—
"Congratulations, Host!"
"The Dragon Clan Infinite Evolution System has been activated…"
[System Notification]
As long as the Host elevates the reputation of the Dragon Clan, Evolution Points can be earned.
These points can be used to evolve yourself—or your subordinates.
Newbie Pack detected. Would you like to claim it?
The pleasant voice appeared out of nowhere, leaving Ao Qing stunned for a moment—then overjoyed. He hadn't expected his cheat to arrive so suddenly. Clearly, this was the key to resisting the immortals of the Heavenly Court!
Without hesitation, Ao Qing shouted, "Yes!"
The next moment, the system's voice echoed again—
[System Notification]
Congratulations! You have opened the Newbie Pack!
"You have obtained: "Dragon God Technique"
"You have obtained: 3,000 Years of Dao Cultivation"
"You have obtained: 1 Evolution Point (Self-Use)"
"You have obtained: 1 Evolution Point (Subordinate-Use)"
"You have obtained: Character Status Viewing Ability"
"Your realm has advanced to: Taiyi Mysterious Immortal Realm [太乙玄仙境]"
"You have evolved into: Five-Clawed Hunyuan Golden Qilin Dragon [五爪混元金麒龙]"
One after another, system prompts rang out.
Ao Qing could clearly feel immense power flooding into every inch of his body. His blue dragon horns glowed with a brilliant, dazzling light.
In that moment, his understanding of martial cultivation soared to an entirely new level. All former bottlenecks and limitations—
Shattered.