Chapter 1667: Zhaoyuan (I)

The demonic creature made no attempt to temper his words, openly hurling insults at the Cui Family's Daoist Master. The expressions of all the cultivators present changed at once. They exchanged glances before lowering their heads, while Cui Juechen remained kneeling at the front, frozen in place and not daring to utter a word.

Cui Jueyin, standing to the side, was even more stunned, a wave of bitterness rising in his heart, So that was it... So that was the reason...

The demonic creature merely stood there with his chin raised, sneering coldly.

In the end, Sea Patrollers served the dragons. Their ranks varied in importance, but most relied on the dragons' authority to throw their weight around, and would never ordinarily dare offend a cultivator with divine ability. Yangya, however, was an exception.

When the Cui Family first established itself in the Eastern Sea, it had faced the very real threat of annihilation. The family head at the time had urgently sought the protection of the Flood Dragon Palace, and used a wisp of [Radiance Profound Essence] to resolve an urgent crisis for the Dragon King. Only then had the Cui Family secured a foothold in the Eastern Sea. From that point onward, the family had relied upon the dragons. Though they were never formally named as subordinates, they were subordinates in all but name.

Yangya was a member of the Cui Family, which had risen under the dragons, and he had long resided in the Western Sea. By all rights, after Yangya attained divine ability, he should have visited the palace to pay his respects. Instead, he had simply remained in the Western Sea and ignored the matter entirely. Fortunately, his branch of the family was established in the Western Sea, giving him some justification for not making the journey. Only because of that had no one made things difficult for him.

If Daoist Master Yangya were present, this demonic creature would never have dared mock him so openly... Yet everyone understood that although the Dragon King did not care, there were inevitably others within the sea who resented Yangya's conduct. Clearly, Yangya had never met with envoys of the dragons. With Yangya absent, the demonic creature could hurl insults with complete confidence, secure in the knowledge that he had grounds to do so.

What could Cui Juechen possibly do? He was a man of little standing whose words carried little weight. He could neither answer the demonic creature nor shift the blame onto Daoist Master Yangya.

All he could do was repeatedly kowtow and reply, "We truly know nothing of a divine ability cultivator's arrangements... We only know that my second brother's cultivation has reached a bottleneck, and that he now has an opportunity to attempt to attain divine ability. That is why he returned from the lake with the necessary provisions... Presumably, the two Daoist Masters have already given their approval... Sea Patroller, for the sake of what little regard you may have for my second brother, please spare us!"

The moment he finished speaking, the people around him dropped to their knees in a wave. Sea Patroller Hui's expression hardened as he snapped. "Are you implying that I am abusing my authority to make things difficult for you over a personal grievance?!"

"We would not dare..."

Cries rose from all around, but the colossal beast in the sea roared once more, sending water spraying in every direction and instantly drowning out the commotion.

Sea Patroller Hui flicked his sleeve and said with waning interest, "Enough, enough... Have that second brother of yours come forward and speak to me!"

Cui Juechen felt as though he had been granted a pardon and hurriedly withdrew. Cui Jueyin then stepped forward, bowed, and greeted him respectfully, "I am Cui Jueyin of the Cui Family of Chongzhou. Greetings, my lord!"

"Oh!" The demonic creature immediately dropped his cold expression and forced out a smile, speaking with great warmth and enthusiasm, "So you're the one! Goodness! Don't call me 'my lord.' You're truly giving me far more honor than I deserve!"

The demon's abrupt shift from arrogance to fawning deference was astonishing. Even Cui Jueyin briefly lost his composure and allowed himself to be led away in a daze as the demonic creature laughed. "You... you... Why keep calling yourself a man of Chongzhou or a member of the Cui Family? How could names like those possibly do you justice?! If I were you, I'd swagger around and make myself master of this place! I wouldn't call myself Cui Jueyin of the Cui Family of Chongzhou. I'd call myself Cui Jueyin, Envoy under the Qilin's Seat! Wouldn't that sound impressive?"

Cui Jueyin did not know whether to laugh or cry, but he remained meek and deferential as he replied, "I could never... I could never..."

"Of course you could!"

The demonic creature had no sense of restraint whatsoever. He took Cui Jueyin by the hand and began leading him inward, only to suddenly notice that their surroundings had fallen silent. Every member of the Cui Family had raised their head and was staring fixedly into the distance.

"Hey!"

The Sea Patroller's temper flared, and he opened his mouth to curse again. Then his ears twitched, and he realized that even the sound of the waves had fallen silent. The surroundings seemed to brighten, and even the beach was bathed in golden light.

His heart skipped a beat, Heavens above... Could Yangya have returned?!

Having been caught throwing his weight around by the master of the house, the Sea Patroller was immediately overcome with embarrassment, and genuine fear began to stir in his heart. Whether Yangya would dare bear the consequences of killing him was one thing, but if a conflict truly broke out, he himself would undoubtedly be the first to die!

He turned around with trepidation, and saw a radiant light shining amid the dark clouds. A golden-eyed man in long robes, with golden patterns embroidered upon his sleeves, emerged from the great void with his hands clasped behind his back and stood quietly upon the clouds.

Those golden eyes swept casually across everyone, seeming to freeze the very air over the entire beach. The Sea Patroller's mind went blank, but the young man beside him had already stepped forward and dropped to his knees with a thud, his voice trembling as he said, "Jueyin pays his respects to your highness!"

His voice was slightly hoarse, but filled with excitement and uncertainty. The young man lowered his gaze toward him, his expression softening somewhat. "Jueyin."

Thud!

The Sea Patroller was the next to drop to his knees. His blue-green fish-like face scrunched into a knot as he stared fixedly at the ground and cried, "Huiyao... Huiyao pays his respects to your highness!"

This demon was none other than Huiyao! Years ago, he had served in the Southern Sea region and had been responsible for collecting tribute from Zongquan Island, the Li Family's overseas outpost at the time. He could be considered an old acquaintance of the Li Family!

Dazzling heavenly light descended as Li Zhouwei appeared before the two of them. He recognized Huiyao at a glance and said with mild surprise, "Huiyao? You have certainly come a long way!"

The demonic creature pressed his forehead firmly against the ground without moving, displaying the utmost humility.

"My lord's radiance shines brilliantly. Even the merest fraction of its light has graced this humble demon and brought me such good fortune that I was appointed to patrol the seas of this prosperous land. My gratitude knows no bounds... Then I heard that Daoist Master Yangya did not know what was good for him, so I was just questioning them about the matter..."

He spoke with such righteous conviction that the members of the Cui Family were left utterly shaken. At last, they recognized the man before them!

So it was this highness...

Li Zhouwei shook his head with an amused smile. Meanwhile, the enormous demonic beast in the sea had already vanished, transforming into a middle-aged man. He approached stiffly and bowed in silence.

Huiyao did not dare rise. Keeping his face lowered toward the ground, he forced out a broad smile and introduced him, "This... This is General Zhanlin... He has also met you before, my lord... He is a good friend of Ying Hebai. Years ago, they displayed their martial skills before the two highnesses, so there is some history between you..."

"The [Treasure-Scaled Ferry Beast]." Li Zhouwei nodded, motioning for him to rise, then raised a brow and asked, "Ying Hebai... How is he now?"

This Ying Hebai was the North Brocade River King. He had once been a river demon in Jiangbei and had rendered some minor assistance. Later, he withdrew because of the affair involving Li Qianyuan and vanished without a trace. Since then, there had been no news of him whatsoever.

Huiyao looked deeply wistful as he replied, "He is also of noble blood, but I heard he has a relative, though I do not know whether she is his elder sister or some other female elder. She served under the Xu Water Demon King, but for some reason, she fell out of favor and became embroiled in a jealous rivalry. The Demon King had her seized... and thrown into prison.

"When Ying Hebai returned from Jiangbei, he had already lost most of his power and status, and no one called him a king anymore. Then he kept trying day after day to save his relative, which further displeased the Demon King... He has fallen on very hard times!"

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