Chapter One: The First Encounter with Nezha

Ao Bing opened his eyes and shook his head in a daze, finally recalling that he had just returned from the Wind and Cloud world. The memories of that world flickered through his mind, only to be dismissed immediately.

He first inspected the Seed of the Great Dao of Causality in his mind. The leaves, which had originally been half-formed, were now reduced to a single leaf. Perhaps the high level of the Seed meant that the Wind and Cloud world could provide it with little nourishment. Ao Bing felt a touch of anxiety; if things continued this way, the Seed would become a non-renewable resource, capable of fueling only one more journey. Furthermore, it was questionable whether the Seed would even exist after such a trip. Without this cheat, how could he survive in a world like the Primordial Investiture of the Gods? Should he follow the path of past transmigrators, apprenticing under the Interpretation Sect to stand with the victors? Or should he simply face his destiny, starting from the lowly position of a minor deity?

He then examined the causal artifacts he had brought back. Aside from the Dragon Pulse, Xu Fu’s mask and Guan Yu’s blade had transformed into formless entities. The mask became a sphere of white light, and the blade turned into a sphere of cyan light. Ao Bing grafted these spheres onto the spot where the missing leaf had been. Miraculously, as the two spheres drew near, they naturally fused with the Seed of the Great Dao of Causality. A message manifested in his mind: once these two spheres transformed into leaves, shattering them would allow him to descend into the worlds they represented.

With this, Ao Bing gained a clearer understanding of how to use the Seed. The original leaf was a "universal key," capable of opening paths to any world with causal connections—a broad definition that could encompass any world he set his mind to. He had previously restricted himself by assuming he could only visit worlds with dragon clans. The subsequent leaves, however, were "designated keys," limited to worlds related to the items that birthed them. Naturally, the universal key was far more precious.

Beyond these, the only other thing he had brought back was a fragment of the Wind and Cloud world’s origin. Ao Bing split it in two, taking about one-tenth, and placed the Seed of the Great Dao of Causality atop this small fragment. The last remaining leaf shivered, as if expressing great satisfaction. Yet, his inner senses detected no change in the Seed, nor did the world origin fragment diminish. Deciding it was too high-level a matter for him to manage at his current stage, he set it aside.

***

Having organized his gains, Ao Bing left his seclusion to seek out his father, Ao Guang, and his master, Shen Gongbao. Shen Gongbao was nowhere to be found, so he turned toward his father’s quarters.

"My son, you have emerged?" Ao Guang was still coiled around the pillars alongside other divine dragons, suppressing the undersea beasts.

"Greetings, Father!" Ao Bing bowed before continuing, "I have made some progress. Might I ask where Master Shen Gongbao has gone?"

"Your master departed shortly after you began your seclusion. As for his specific whereabouts, I do not know. You may ask him when he returns." The old Dragon King moved a short distance along the pillar and asked, "Are there aspects of your cultivation that elude you? Speak, and I may offer some guidance."

"I have been practicing the techniques of the Interpretation Sect under my master. Why does Father not teach me the techniques of our own Dragon Clan? Surely, Father’s strength is far greater than his!" Ao Bing voiced the question he had long harbored. The Dragon Clan had existed since the ancient days; their cultivation methods should not be inferior. As a Crown Prince of the Dragons, practicing foreign arts felt wrong.

"The cultivation of our clan belongs to an ancient era and is out of step with these times," Ao Guang said with a touch of melancholy. The glory of the past had truly faded. "This is no longer the era of the Dragons, but the era of Humanity. Fortunately, with the aid of the Spirit Pearl, you were born with both human and dragon forms, allowing you to assume a human shape naturally. Practicing human techniques in this age yields twice the result with half the effort."

Ao Bing understood his father’s choice. Simply put, human form was acknowledged by heaven and earth as orthodox; it accelerated cultivation, whereas other forms were fraught with difficulties.

"An era?" Ao Bing lowered his head in deep thought. "What a pity that this is not my era."

***

As he spoke, there was fire, light, and pride in Ao Bing’s eyes, but there was even more resignation. This was not an era where he could contend for supremacy. The tribulation of the Spirit Pearl had yet to pass, and the subsequent Investiture of the Gods was not a trial for a small fry like him, who had been born only a few years ago.

"Do not be impatient, my son. Though I have set you against the Demon Pearl, it is only to secure a better future for you, to attain a higher divine rank—not merely that of a river or water god." Seeing the light in Ao Bing’s eyes, Ao Guang felt both comforted and worried. As a Dragon King, he knew all too well how deep the waters of this world ran.

"Father, worry not. I know what I am doing."

Ao Bing took his leave of Ao Guang and exited the undersea palace, heading toward the surface. Despite being a dragon, he found the long, quiet, and repressive life in the deep sea difficult to bear. He had tried to adapt, but in a world of immortality where time stretched on far longer than in his previous life, the dissonance of time was an agonizing burden. Thus, when he could steal a moment of leisure, he enjoyed lying on the surface of the sea, basking in the sun.

As he drifted with the currents toward the shore, Ao Bing saw a towering blaze in a village, and there, he saw the person of his destiny—Nezha.

He watched the "ugly-cute" Nezha, who wielded fire-control techniques with immense skill, firing volley after volley of Samadhi True Fire. Yet, thanks to the Sea Yaksha’s rapid, erratic maneuvers, every strike missed by a hair’s breadth. When the Yaksha snatched up a young girl, Nezha abandoned his fire attacks and gave chase, desperate to save her. As the Yaksha neared the sea, it became clear that without Ao Bing’s intervention, Nezha would fail.

As the Sea Yaksha leaped, ready to plunge into the ocean, it jeered, "Once I reach the sea, let’s see who can catch me! Blehh!" The Yaksha was incredibly smug, making faces. To escape a foe who was clearly its superior and still carry off a meal was a perfect mission.

Alas, just as the Yaksha was lost in its arrogance, its perfect plan shattered. Ao Bing tapped his foot lightly, and the "Nine Heavens of Ice and Jade" surged through him. The bone-chilling cold was restrained, and the sea surface instantly froze, the ice spreading rapidly from Ao Bing as the epicenter.