A few days later, on the shores of the Four Seas—Eastern Sea.
Within one of the training grounds...
"Watch my Shu Mountain Sword-Control Technique!"
With a sharp shout, a shrimp soldier standing atop the combat platform brought his palms together. Instantly, a gleaming longsword began circling around him, before shooting outward with a piercing whistle—hitting dead-center on a distant target.
The scene was so fluid, so precise, that many of the watching shrimp soldiers and crab generals couldn't help but clap instinctively, their faces full of excitement and admiration.
"Sword Control—return!"
On the platform, the shrimp soldier recited an incantation calmly. With a crisp clang, the sword embedded in the target instantly reversed direction and flew back into his hand.
The crowd, already boiling with energy, erupted like a pot of water at full boil.
"Not bad. Your control over the Sword-Control Technique has reached the entry level. You can now basically manipulate a flying sword. Who's next?"
Offstage stood a white-robed Shu Mountain Daoist, calmly giving pointers. With a nod, another shrimp soldier leapt onto the platform, beginning his own attempt at the Shu Mountain Sword-Control Technique.
"Impressive! Some of the shrimp soldiers have already grasped the Sword-Control Technique in just a few days!"
Not far from the platform, former Eastern Sea Dragon King Ao Guang and Prime Minister Turtle sipped tea and played chess leisurely, their eyes flickering with satisfaction as they watched the training.
A few days ago, after Ao Qing returned from Shu Mountain, he immediately established a new cultivation sect—Water-Shu Mountain—right in the Eastern Sea.
The cultivators he had brought back weren't idle either. Under Ao Qing's orders, they were distributed across the Four Seas to instruct the shrimp soldiers, crab generals, and aquatic beasts in the ways of Shu Mountain Swordsmanship.
At first, both Ao Guang and Prime Minister Turtle were utterly confused. Their thoughts were simple: "We monsters have our own cultivation methods. Why waste time learning human techniques?"
But their skepticism didn't last long.
Once they began seeing shrimp soldiers and fish spirits wielding flying swords—increasing their battle power dramatically—they were stunned.
Some talented shrimp soldiers had mastered sword control on the very first day, capable of slaying enemies from over a hundred meters away with precise strikes.
Sure, they had their own water-attribute magic techniques, but when it came to combat efficiency and destructive potential, human sword arts were just better.
And so, once the brilliance of the human Sword Dao was made clear, Ao Guang and Prime Minister Turtle became even more proactive in promoting it. They personally supervised training sessions across the training grounds.
Naturally, they also took the opportunity to pick up some basics themselves—just enough to have a sword orbit them for defense.
Only then did they realize just how profound and intricate human cultivation techniques were, far surpassing the crude and brute-force methods of the monster clans. No wonder Ao Qing had gone to such lengths to visit Mount Shu in person!
Scenes like this played out everywhere across the shores of the Four Seas.
Initially, many shrimp soldiers, crab generals, and fish spirits had resisted Ao Qing's directive. After all, they already had cultivation methods—why bother with a new one?
But once they began practicing the Shu Mountain Sword-Control Technique, those objections quickly quieted.
More and more aquatic beings experienced tangible improvements in their combat power—something they had never felt before.
In just a few short days, the entire Four Seas was swept into a Sword Dao craze.
Everyone began competing to see who could progress faster. Those with higher mastery in swordsmanship received generous rewards, creating an atmosphere of healthy rivalry.
Even the blacksmith shops began overflowing with demand for swords, as the once spear-wielding shrimp soldiers and crab generals uniformly switched to swords.
Two weeks passed.
In that time, almost all aquatic clans throughout the Four Seas had received the Dragon King's order: mandatory training in the Shu Mountain Sword-Control Technique.
Thousands of shrimp soldiers and fish spirits reached the second stage of Sword Dao: Sword Control Through Qi, an incredible achievement in so little time.
Tens of thousands more reached the entry-level stage, capable of simply flying a sword.
Though true sword masters were still rare, overall combat strength had doubled throughout the Four Seas.
All that the Dragon Clan needed now… was time.
"Your Majesty, that's the current state of things. In these past two weeks, our Four Seas Dragon Clan has made significant strides in combat strength. I believe, in time, more and more aquatic cultivators will master the Shu Mountain Sword-Control Technique."
Inside the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace, Prime Minister Turtle knelt respectfully before Ao Qing, who was seated cross-legged upon his dragon throne. As he reported, he handed Ao Qing a detailed scroll of statistics.
"Good."
Ao Qing gave the report only a cursory glance before his lips curled into a satisfied smile.
Inwardly, he thought: I knew my trip to Mount Shu was worth it!
The cultivators he brought back had already vastly improved the strength of his aquatic army, enabling thousands of shrimp soldiers and fish monsters to wield flying swords.
And with the Nine-Colored Exquisite Pagoda in hand, he wasn't worried in the slightest about disloyalty. Those Shu Mountain Daoists were now his loyal servants—tools to elevate the Dragon Clan.
Soon, when the Dragon Clan's strength rose to its peak… unifying the Three Realms would be within reach!
"Your Majesty truly lives up to your name. Who would've thought human cultivation techniques would be so vastly superior to our monster methods? Many shrimp soldiers have openly praised how much more effective the Shu Mountain Sword-Control Technique is!"
Prime Minister Turtle didn't forget to add a little flattery.
"Oh—and one more thing, Dragon King. Now that we've unified the shores of the Four Seas, many Dragon Kings from across the continent are flocking to our banner. Several are already waiting outside, requesting an audience."
"Oh? Interesting."
Ao Qing raised an eyebrow with interest. He had almost forgotten—there were still many minor "Dragon Kings" across the continent: dragon spirits of wells, ponds, rivers, and lakes.
These weren't true pure-blooded dragons, of course. Most were flood dragons or lesser draconic beasts.
Still, if they submitted, they would add to the Dragon Clan's might—and more importantly, give him a hefty boost in Dragon Clan Fortune.
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