Ao Qing moved too fast—so fast that the two remaining dragon elders had no time to react...
And by the time they did react, Ao Qing's dragon claw was already descending upon one of them, giving them no chance to respond at all.
Puff!
Amid the splatter of blood mist, that elder followed in the footsteps of the South Sea Dragon King—dead beyond any hope of recovery.
The remaining elder, realizing the situation was dire, immediately tried to flee and escape this place.
"Hm?"
Ao Qing chuckled. In truth, even he hadn't expected the power of the Six-Clawed Golden Dragon to be this overwhelming. In his eyes, the movements of the South Sea Dragon King and his subordinates were as slow as turtles.
Seeing the final elder trying to run, Ao Qing raised another claw and slammed it down with a thunderous roar!
That elder didn't even have time to defend—he was crushed cleanly in half on the spot...
The entire South Sea Dragon Palace fell into a silence so complete, one could hear a pin drop. Countless guests and South Sea soldiers stood frozen, slack-jawed, utterly dumbfounded. They stared blankly ahead as if someone had cast a petrification spell on them.
As for the South Sea Dragon Princess and the Crown Prince, though they wanted to avenge their father, under Ao Qing's oppressive dragon might, they found it hard even to breathe—let alone make a move…
The entire battle hadn't lasted more than a few seconds—barely more than the blink of an eye.
In just that blink, the lord who had ruled over the South Sea coast—South Sea Dragon King—was slain by Ao Qing, the new East Sea Dragon King. And from start to finish, he hadn't even had a chance to fight back…
The whole confrontation was pure domination.
Plop!
Plop!
The South Sea's shrimp soldiers and crab generals, seeing their commander slain, all immediately fell to their knees, tossing aside their weapons in surrender, terrified that any delay might cost them their lives.
As for the South Sea Prime Minister Turtle, he was so frightened that... an unbearable stench began to fill the air. He had soiled himself completely, losing all ability to fight!
Ao Qing swept a cold gaze across the crowd and said flatly, "Clear the battlefield. From this day forward, the South Sea is territory of the East Sea Dragon King."
As his voice faded, light shimmered around him as he reverted to his human form.
His tone wasn't loud, but each word landed like a heavy hammer in the hearts of those present—leaving them no courage to resist.
Soon, the elders and soldiers of the East Sea Dragon Clan rushed forward to round up the surrendered forces of the South Sea...
At this moment, their excitement and elation were impossible to describe. The South Sea had humiliated the East Sea for so long, and now, at last, they had paid the price and become their prisoners. The satisfaction was indescribable!
Ignoring the bustling activity around him, Ao Qing's lips curled into a smile, his eyes glittering with anticipation. He wanted to see what rewards the system would bestow upon him now that he had unified the South Sea.
Sure enough, the pleasant system notifications followed:
"Congratulations! You have claimed the South Sea Coast! Your territory has expanded!"
"Congratulations! You have conscripted 20,000 South Sea Shrimp Soldiers and 5,000 South Sea Crab Generals! Your military power has increased!"
"Congratulations! Dragon Clan reputation has increased by 8 points!"
"You have gained 1 Evolution Point (assignable to yourself)!"
"You have gained 1 Evolution Point (assignable to a subordinate)!"
"Due to your exceptional performance, you have received an additional 2,000 years of Dao cultivation!"
"Due to your exceptional performance, you have received a bonus—one exquisite Dragon Palace!"
A string of system messages appeared, first startling Ao Qing, then delighting him.
Just as he'd expected, defeating the South Sea Dragon King had brought a significant rise in the Dragon Clan's luck—this time, directly boosting it by 8 points!
Don't underestimate those 8 points of dragon clan fortune. Previously, he had to struggle just to earn 2 or 3 points. Now, it had jumped up all at once!
However, compared to this vague concept of luck, those two evolution points were far more practical!
The Six-Clawed Chaotic Gold Qilin Dragon was already this powerful—what about the Seven-Clawed form? The Eight-Clawed? The Nine-Clawed!? Not to mention the bonus Dragon Palace and Dao cultivation he had just received…
While his East Sea subordinates were still busy, Ao Qing gave a message instructing Prime Minister Turtle to compile a full report for him. Then, in a flash, he returned to the East Sea.
After all, his East Sea still lacked an exquisite Dragon Palace.
Without delay, Ao Qing tapped on the "Use" button.
"You have used the Dragon Palace!"
"The Dragon Palace will descend at your location!"
With the pleasant notification, a breathtaking scene unfolded before him.
In a previously empty stretch of ocean, a massive palace suddenly appeared as if conjured from thin air—entirely constructed from marble and glazed tiles. Moments later, it began to fill with exquisite decorations and ornate coral sculptures…
In the span of a few breaths, a majestic and luxurious Dragon Palace stood before Ao Qing's eyes.
"The East Sea Dragon Palace!?"
Ao Qing had seen countless depictions of the East Sea Dragon Palace in movies and TV shows, but none of them could compare to the grandeur, magnificence, and atmosphere of what he now saw before him…
But what pleased Ao Qing the most were the attributes of this Dragon Palace:
East Sea Dragon Palace: A system-generated Dragon Palace. While inside this palace, the host and subordinates' cultivation speed increases by 100%. All enemies entering the palace suffer a 30% reduction in combat power. Additionally, based on enemy strength, there is a chance to persuade them to become subordinates. Subordinates possess 100 loyalty.
Even without the cultivation speed boost and enemy combat penalty, the chance to convert enemies into loyal subordinates alone was enough to show how terrifying this palace was...
Without hesitation, Ao Qing flashed into the palace and entered his private chamber to begin cultivating the Dragon God Art.
Though he now had enough Evolution Points to evolve into a Seven-Clawed Golden Dragon immediately, he chose first to stabilize his current realm.
He understood well the principle of steady, step-by-step progress.
Besides, during his battle with the South Sea Dragon King, Ao Qing had realized something: while his raw power was overwhelming, his combat technique was lacking—he had only been relying on brute force.
It was like a martial arts novice with hundreds of years of inner strength, but no method to turn that strength into true destructive power.