"It's been a long time..."

At the sight of the Heaven-Piercing Whale and the White Dragon, Shi Huan burst out laughing—he had not expected that this time the guardian of the Mirage Abyss City secret realm's entrance would be old acquaintances of his.

Then, beneath the astonished gazes of his friends, the Heaven-Piercing Whale asked, "May I ask—has that friend of yours come?"

"Oh, oh, let me call it over."

The exchange between Shi Yan and the Heaven-Piercing Whale left Zou Tianwang, Yu Shu, Yin Huan, and the others utterly baffled.

But the very next moment, their expressions froze in unison.

Whoooosh—whoooosh—whoooosh—whoooosh—whoooosh~~~

Whoooosh—whoooosh—whoooosh—whoooosh—whoooosh~~~~

At Shi Ying's summons, the temperature around them plummeted almost instantaneously.

Thread after thread of bitter wind coiled without warning across the land, freezing the very air in a heartbeat and sending frost crystals swirling through the sky.

Traced in silhouette by the wind and snow, a colossal creature tens of meters long unfurled its enormous wings and descended upon the spot, as though a myth had stepped into the world.

"ROAR!!!"

With a single roar, its powerful body of ice and stone—covered in blue and purple dragon scales—stretched out fully, and a biting gale swept outward in every direction, carrying the majesty of a dragon with it—

BOOM!!!

With a thunderous crash, the space around them seemed to freeze solid; the Heaven-Piercing Whale and the mutated giant Kun stiffened for a moment, then turned their gazes upon this immeasurably vast dragon.

"Good sleep."

The Frost Dragon felt thoroughly refreshed. It had only been yawning just now; summoned by Shi Jin from the Ice Dragon Ruins, it swung its thick tail, surveyed its surroundings with dragon eyes, and let its gaze linger briefly on the Heaven-Piercing Whale and the mutated giant Kun.

"Woo-hoo!!"

At the sight of the Frost Dragon, the little white dragon's eyes went wide in an instant—it sensed directly from the creature an aura on the level of its own parents.

So strong...

The Heaven-Piercing Whale fell silent at once as well. It sensed from the Ice Dragon an abnormally terrifying fluctuation of power, and understood that it was absolutely no match for this senior.

"So we've reached Mirage Abyss City."

The Frost Dragon spoke slowly, its gaze searching for Shi Ying's figure.

"We've arrived."

Beside Shi Jin, a cute creature resembling a ragdoll cat had also appeared. It too yawned and looked around at the familiar surroundings.

"So you are the Ice Dragon senior who once followed Emperor Shi."

At this moment, as the Ice Dragon appeared, General Whale inquired with respect.

An old monster who had survived from that era deserved its respect.

"Followed Emperor Shi? I suppose so."

The Ice Dragon calculated briefly in its mind. It had been caught by Mu Huiyin, and Mu Huiyin was one of Emperor Shi's great generals—so saying it had followed Emperor Shi was not far off.

"Senior Ice Dragon."

Beside them, the Legend of Overlord Sea spoke up as well. "First meeting—I am Yu Zhihui, one of the titled Legends of the present Ancient Kingdom of Donghuang."

The Ice Dragon had, after all, taken part in the Totem War; it was one of the first-generation sages who had helped humanity establish its dynasty, and the Legend of Overlord Sea held great respect for such elders.

"Ah—Legend Yu, hello." The Ice Dragon looked at the Legend of Overlord Sea and the giant Kun beneath him, and felt that this pair's strength seemed absurdly formidable—in no way inferior to any of Emperor Shi's great generals in those days.

It could not help but show a kindly expression. Ah, the beastmasters of today really were strong; had it not broken through, it truly would not have intended to come out of the ruins.

At present, perhaps because the Ice Dragon's appearance had caused too great a disturbance, even the totems deep within Suoyun City were stirred.

For a powerhouse bearing a totem-level aura of life to suddenly appear in one's own territory was no small matter.

"ROAR!!!!"

Barely a moment after the Ice Dragon emerged, strange portents appeared once more in the skies above Mirage Abyss City. Countless wild winds and black clouds gathered, and accompanied by a dragon's roar, a colossal azure divine dragon nearly a hundred meters long rode the clouds and mist into view. Because this giant dragon was so immense, its bodily features were even more pronounced than those of the White Dragon...

Serpent body, crocodile head, lizard legs, eagle talons, serpent tail, deer antlers, fish scales, whiskers at the corners of its mouth, a pearl beneath its jaw—its face was silver-white, its body fundamentally azure, its frame radiating a stunning beauty of sheer power, magnificent from head to tail, every part in exquisite harmony, its graceful bearing all the more spirited, its gaze maintaining an unassailable majesty.

"Lord Sea Dragon King!"

At the sight of this divine dragon's arrival, General Whale spoke up quickly, and the tens of thousands of shrimp soldiers and crab generals around them bowed in submission as well.

"Father King." The little white dragon shuddered from head to toe.

At the same time, the Frost Dragon lifted its head, and its gaze met that of the Sea Dragon King; in that instant alone, the Sea Dragon King broke into hearty laughter.

"Welcome, Senior Ice Dragon, to the Dragon Palace Banquet."

"You flatter me, you flatter me," said the thousand-year-old mother dragon, her face wreathed in smiles.

"It is I who have intruded."

Her face wore a smile, and a different smile altogether lay behind it. Truly worthy of Shi Jin—he had already made his connections for himself.

The Dragon King of Chenyuan City actually seemed to hold him in some respect. Excellent, excellent.

A reward was in order!

"Elder Ice Dragon, this place is crude and humble. Might we move to my Dragon Palace to continue our talk?" suggested the Sea Dragon King.

"That will do. Thank you for the trouble," said the Ice Dragon.

"Then it is settled. Bahai, will you join us?" The Sea Dragon King looked toward the Legend Bahai. The two were, in fact, old friends, having once held a friendly spar in which neither gained the upper hand within a short span of time.

"I will not go. I shall take these youngsters and make preparations for the Dragon Palace Banquet to come," said the Legend Bahai calmly.

"Very well, then. Heige, see to our honored guests from Donghuang," the Sea Dragon King said to the Heaven-Reaching Whale.

With that, he also looked toward Shi Jin among the crowd and said, "Lord Shi Jin, please come along as well."

The Sea Dragon King knew that the Ice Dragon must share a deep bond with Shi Jin, and moreover, he was rather curious as to why that butterfly had given its scale to Shi Jin. So Shi Jin, too, was certainly someone he wished to meet.

"Then I must trouble you, Lord Sea Dragon King," Shi Jin said respectfully, then turned to the Legend Bahai: "Elder Bahai, I shall go on ahead."

The Legend Bahai nodded.

The next moment, Shi Jin was teleported onto the Frost Giant Dragon's back by the Gem Cat. The Sea Dragon King laughed heartily, turned, and led the way, guiding the Ice Dragon and Shi Jin's party toward his Dragon Palace.

Moments later, all that remained there were the little white dragon, looking thoroughly deflated, and the Gem Cat, preparing to ransack Chenyuan City.

And the utterly bewildered Heavenly King Zou, Yu Shu, and the others.

Ababababa... Could someone, anyone, tell them just what identity this brat Shi Jin actually held?

...

The Sea Dragon King's Dragon Palace.

A sub-domain belonging to the secret domain of Suoyun City.

Within the vast domain space, the Sea Dragon King laid out rare fruits and exotic delicacies and received the Ice Dragon.