Dragon Sovereign

A flood of spectators watched as a gargantuan yellow black light manifested high above them upon the platform. All several hundreds of trillions of living beings who made it personally. At the same time, countless quintillion's watched on from around the world.

The image of the Celestial Dragon appeared, broadcasting for all to see. In the most driest of deserts, frigid of tundras, desolate of mountains, or the most isolated of forests, a projection of Kailong Chen came into view.

This event was planned millennia in advance. Supreme materials and xiantian spiritual treasures were used to construct a massive broadcasting spell that was intended for all to gaze upon Zulong's glory.

A signal to all in the world, a herald to his coming. The dragon didn't just want the seas to witness his rise, he wanted the world to know. The sheer arrogance of this creature was heaven defying.

Many mighty beings around the world silently sneered at this audacious display. Oh sure, they were aware of how strong this Chaos Immortal expert was. But they too had either reached that realm or were closing in as well.

This was even more so for the innate gods currently cultivating in seclusion. They felt vindicated at the disruption caused by the broadcast. Some aggressive deities even wanted to travel to the east sea and teach the dragon a lesson.

Then Zulong manifested.

Upon the stage, the image of the Celestial Dragon closed in, transforming in a swirl of primordial Qi. Incredible amounts of refined chaotic energies twisted and contorted in a display of fierce power.

The images of rising pagodas, dancing goddesses, singing celestial birds, wise monkeys, invincible divine soldiers and so on appeared. All to herald the descent of Zulong.

He appeared from within the illusionary manifestations standing on the edge of the platform. The heavenly phenomenons generated by him unleashing his power washed over Kailong Chen and beyond.

Even those observing from afar could feel dangerous power emanating from the east. A supreme force both terrifying yet awe inspiring.

The phoenix sitting in her throne room dressed in an elaborate five coloured dress sneered.

The devil forging his swords ceased his actions. He emerged from his cave and joined his six armed brother in observing the ceremony.

The mysterious sage on Mt Yujing stopped cultivating and looked eastwards. He smiled expectantly.

"Welcome, citizens of the four seas world. Welcome to Kailong Chen," Zulong began. The trillions of spectators physically here could feel an almighty gaze bearing down upon them. It made even the strongest of Great Unity Golden Immortals feel small.

"You are all here today, to bear witness to history. To commemorate our flourishing present and to a glorious future," Zulong declared. "I am Zulong, supreme patriarch of the Primordial Celestial Dragon clan, ruler of the four seas."

"I was born from the primordial Yang Qi of Pangu, most venerable lord of water and the imperial heaven. Today, I shall assume my inheritance and fight for rulership over this world. Today, I establish the empire of dragons."

"But before I do so," Zulong paused. "Allow me to clear a few things first."

"When I spawned into this world. I arrived in a time of strife, a time where cultivation clans ran prosperous vying for power. Across the entire world from the five continents to four seas, war was abundant. Immortals stood everywhere dominating each other for territory and resources."

Around Zulong, many patriarchs and warriors of their own respective clans silently nodded. This wasn't news to them, merely a fact of life. For many places, immortals weren't expected to live their maximum lifespans.

"Fortunately, my brothers and I spawned in the east sea, perhaps the most peaceful of the four seas. We were rich and prosperous, there were certain rules to engagements. There wasn't any natural phenomenon threatening our lives nor a violent dictator treating us as food," Zulong said appearing to be reminiscing.

The ancestral dragon's two brothers smiled faintly in nostalgia. In hindsight, they were extremely lucky in comparison to many in the world. They didn't even suffer one bit in comparison to many immortals among the crowd.

Zulong's descriptive words invoked a great sense of superiority from those native to the east sea. A strong sense of superiority they felt they had over the rest of the seas. At the same time, the south and north sea wallowed in their jealousy while the west sea denizens grumbled.

"But that is not to say the other seas are behind. Tragedy may have occurred, but they also bred incredible heroes, heroes who aided me and in my cause," Zulong glanced back.

Xie Chun who sat among the ministers nodded in acknowledgement along with several elders from the north and south seas. They were both shocked and overjoyed at the praise.

"Throughout it all, I have witnessed all four seas and their people. I have watched and read of how each civilisation came to be. I have studied on the cultures of all living beings across the primitive world be they of the mountains or seas."

"And I have come to a conclusion."

"All beings in this world strive for longevity, to pursue the Dao. But cultivation is difficult, it requires enormous recourses, rare resources. As such brutal wars are waged, the strong prey on and exterminate the weak."

"We only help ourselves and our families while ignoring the outside as if they never existed. We separate ourselves purposefully birthing different cultivation ideologies. We are all divided in our own spheres of civilisation."

"As innate creatures, you've all struggled to improve your bloodlines in order to break through to a level in which you could reasonably cultivate the Dao. Living beings without the foundation of innate gods fumble their way in the dark, they all struggle to create cultivation sutras."

Zulong reached into his inter spacial ring and pulled out a book. "But that doesn't have to be the case. This can be the first step towards true unity, a singular system that is capable of taking you all to true immortality. A system that will prepare you the ultimate physique for cultivating the Dao."

PAH!

Zulong slapped his right index finger on the book he held in his left hand. "This is the Draconic Dao, a cultivation path which will give you the body of an innate god. Based upon my own. A supreme physique that can resist divine lightning, celestial fire, demonic wind, and heavenly water. A perfect foundation for the Dao."

"Witness it, Ao Jianlong," Zulong called out.

From one of the seats on the platform, the carp turned dragon, Jianlong flew forth and saluted his patriarch. His cultivation stood gloriously at the Heavenly Immortal level with a singular flower crown. Yet at the same time, his body exuded the vitality matching, even surpassing triple crown Heavenly Immortals.

"Ao Jianlong is an ascendant dragon. He has transcended mortality and will soon break free from the heavens. The Draconic Dao is not a lie. This is my gift to all of you."

Zulong's declaration brought about an enormous amount of cheering. Especially for weak races with weak foundations, they clapped enthusiastically. For them, their sutras were underdeveloped and extremely weak. A proven system will make their path much easier.

Colossal Shark ancestor glanced around at Yinglong and Qinglong. The old shark pondered on Zulong's words. It was fairly obvious to figure out his intentions.

A singular cultivation path becoming a singular identity. The whole world united under the banner of dragons. This will not just be in name, but in a literal sense where all beings are transformed into dragons. They refer to themselves as dragons and will only be dragons.

'It's like he's trying to erase all of us. How arrogant do you have to be? Do you think us all second class compared to dragons?' This was the common thought among the strongest of creatures. Those who'd reached Great Principle Chaos Immortal realm or the summit of Great Unity Golden immortal and were about to break through.

However, they did not dare speak this thought aloud. They knew perfectly well what Zulong was capable of. He was the epitome of might makes right.

…

"Humph," Zufeng grunted nestled on her throne drinking a glass of grape wine. "Making a whole clan in your image, naming them Ao, then this stunt. How up your ass do you have to be?" She snorted in contempt.

However, after a moment, she paused. "A singular cultivation identity," she rubbed her chin. "All roads lead to the phoenix. This could have merit."

…

Zulong rambled on for longer. He spoke passionately about his vision, his desire as sovereign of the world. His voice carried across the primitive world, broadcasting for all under heaven to hear.

As he spoke, golden light emitted from deep beneath the earth. Strong primordial Qi, so strong that they were indistinguishable from the chaos sea flowed eastwards.

In a convergence of destiny, the world itself directed mountain loads of power towards Kailong Chen. The dragons who were elevated to Golden Immortality smiled at this event.

Zulong himself grinned. He had miscalculated, this amount was even larger than anticipated. He wondered if his introduction of the Draconic Dao helped.

What was happening was the convergence of destiny. The gathering of primordial Qi through natural spiritual veins being funnelled into the location where a great power is being born.

A special extra scenario was the birth of a nation. Kingdoms and empires alike are factions of great destiny by nature. They were rightful rulers of the world and as such are protected by the Heaven Dao.

This was the truth among all chaos worlds. This was also why beings such as gods or demons never personally attacked a kingdom. Doing will easily draw forth divine retribution. Only another kingdom can challenge a kingdom.

Of course, there were ways to get around this. Corruption in government, manipulations, political disasters, maniacal schemes all served to destabilise a national power will drastically weaken a nation's destiny thus leaving them vulnerable.

Such convergence of primordial Qi was only the beginning however. This gathering merely signalled the gift of power by the heavens.

"I am humbled you think me worthy," Zulong said closing his eyes, feeling the wellspring of power pulsing through Kailong Chen. The spiritual vein the city was built on was expanding to unimaginable levels.

"HEAR ME HEAVENLY DAO," Zulong roared into the heavens. "I AM AO ZULONG, PRIMEVAL YANG GIVEN FORM. I BROUGHT INTO THIS WORLD THE DRAGON RACE, I BROUGHT INTO THIS WORLD THE DRACONIC DAO. ON THIS DAY, I DECLARE THE FORMATION OF THE DRAGON EMPIRE."

"RECOGNISE MY RIGHT TO FIGHT FOR SUPREMACY. TODAY, I ASSUME MY BIRTHRIGHT AND I SHALL LEAD MY PEOPLE FORTH INTO A GOLDEN PERIOD. RECOGNISE ME AS DRAGON SOVEREIGN."

And the Heavenly Dao responded.

A virtual world of merit descended. The golden light of karmic luck recognised their master. The celestial dragon who commands great luck in the world and who rules the greatest empire in the world.

In recognition of such, another event took place. If such a being held the enormous luck of the world. Then he shall be the symbol of luck.

And thus, karmic luck condensed into a physical form. The sea of luck Qi gathered in streams and formed up. They twisted and twirled from the clouds into the sky and into the sea.

The construct reached into the ocean and rose into the sky. It roared and danced and displayed its majestic might. A true dragon of ultimate proportions.

A golden dragon so radiant, it blinded the world. A dragon of pure good fortune Qi. A dragon formed of karmic luck. A dragon stretching quintillions of kilometres long.

It was so big, it could be seen from the west continent.

Around the world, similar dragons formed. What was once gas clouds of karmic luck that symbolised the Avian empire and Qilin empire, dragons formed. Both sovereigns gritted their teeth jealously as the image of the dragon became the avatar of destiny.

"If you think me worthy, then I shall name you the Qi Dragon of Luck," Zulong said. A soft humming far above him symbolised the recognition of this name.

A crown appeared on Zulong's head, twelve strings of beads swung before shifting still as they rested upon his crown. His robes transformed into a giant elaborate set of imperial dragon robe, yellow and black in colour.

"All hail the Dragon Sovereign, long may he reign, long may he reign," trillions declared. They knelt down and kowtowed before the platform where Zulong stood raising his arms. He appears as if he was welcoming the world.

He smiled as he sat down on his throne. The platform exploded in a blinding explosion of light before merging into the East Sea Dragon Palace. Zulogn sat at the central hall of the highest palace upon a throne above all others.

His brothers and wife sat below him while others now stood in place.

"I am the Dragon Sovereign, I am responsible for representing all beings in my domain," Zulong began saying. "As such, I shall retire from my position as patriarch of the Primordial Celestial Dragon clan."

"In my place, Ao Yinglong shall succeed me as patriarch. He shall henceforth be named Dragon King of the four seas, lord of all dragons. Ao Qinglong, my little brother, you are the guardian, I name you Saint Guardian of the four seas."

"I hear and accept your majesty's proposal," both dragons said.

"Henceforth, my wife, Gui Daiyu is the supreme matriarch of my domain. She shall henceforth be the Empress of the four seas," Zulong finished. He sat back and sighed in relief.

The first of his main goals were accomplished. He was here, the grand sovereign. Now all that was left was to claim the world.

However, he couldn't help but feel the prevailing echo of sadness in his heart. One person he wanted to be here was not here. Even after several decades.

His master had not arrived. A fact which greatly bothered him.

'Was that really the end of our master-disciple relationship?' He pondered.

High above him, the golden Qi Dragon of Luck brimmed in power. From its original pure golden colour, it took on portions of purple. They mixed into each other and came out as a golden purple Qi Dragon of Luck.

This wasn't a bad thing however, in fact, this was fantastic. The pure golden colour was merely a broad light from the Heavenly Dao. The dragon's current appearance was to signal it completing its descent.

Across the world, various Qi Dragons of Luck also took on different colours. Each colour represented different levels of luck. From white to blue to green to red to black to gold to purple to finally Zulong's mixed golden purple dragon.

It was a magnificent sight. The dragon roared with an imperial authority never seen before in this world.

Then it cracked.