Ch 90: The Malevolent Monster Just Wants To Farm

Even though Jiang Lin didn’t have high expectations for the intelligence of the god in golden armor, he never imagined that the god could be so arrogant.

It was as if the god was openly telling the humans: The Heavenly Court looks down on you, and so do the gods.

Although humans revered, feared, and worshipped the gods, they were still beings with intelligence and a sense of honor. Anyone with a bit of pride would feel uncomfortable hearing such words.

But upon further reflection, Jiang Lin understood the god’s perspective.

Gods live for tens of thousands of years, while humans only live for a few decades. To them, humans are no different from ants.

How could a person possibly care about the feelings of ants?

Similarly, why would a high and mighty god need to consider the feelings of mere mortals when speaking?

The logic seems sound.

But humans and ants are fundamentally different.

Humans possess intelligence, thoughts, and the ability to learn. They feel discomfort when faced with injustice and will resist when oppressed.

This is something the gods, who dwell high above, have yet to realize.

A white-haired elder asked in a panic, “What does the god mean by this?”

A young man supporting him angrily retorted, “What does it mean? It means we’re not guilty at all!”

These people had once admired the gods.

In the stories they had heard, gods could summon the wind and rain, move mountains and seas, and travel across the heavens and earth with limitless power.

But the celestial soldiers they encountered today, while powerful, displayed an attitude of complete disregard for mortals, leaving them feeling humiliated.

Jiang Lin suddenly sighed.

He said, “Everyone, since the matter has been resolved, you should return home. The situation in Chentang Pass will be reported to the Heavenly Court by the East Sea. We hope to obtain the Emperor’s decree to bring rain to Chentang Pass.”

With that, without waiting for a response, he transformed into a streak of light and disappeared from their sight.

When Jiang Lin returned to the Dragon Palace, the first thing he did was seek out the Dragon King of the East Sea.

“Father, today I’ve offended the Heavenly Court,” Jiang Lin said bluntly.

“What!” The Dragon King was shocked. “What happened?”

Jiang Lin briefly recounted the events.

After listening, the Dragon King couldn’t help but sigh, “You were too impulsive. The Heavenly Court has disliked the Dragon Clan for a long time. Your actions today may have given them the excuse they needed to act against us.”

Jiang Lin laughed sarcastically, “So even you, Father, knew that the Heavenly Court has disliked us for a long time. I thought the Dragon Clan had become so dull that they hadn’t even noticed.”

The Dragon King was taken aback and frowned as he looked at his beloved son. “Ao Bing, what’s wrong with you?”

Jiang Lin’s expression became serious, and he looked steadily at the Dragon King. “Father, there are many things that, even if you don’t talk about them, I can see clearly. Just because everyone pretends to be ignorant doesn’t mean those things don’t exist.”

The Dragon King stared at his son as if seeing him for the first time. Suddenly, he raised his hand, and a transparent barrier enveloped the Crystal Palace.

Jiang Lin asked, “Father, is this barrier secure?”

The Dragon King smiled wearily, “Though we have fallen on hard times, the Dragon Clan still has some resources. Rest assured, nothing spoken here will reach anyone else’s ears.”

He set aside his gentle demeanor and calmly looked at Jiang Lin. “What do you want to say to me?”

“There’s too much to say.”

Jiang Lin asked a seemingly unrelated question: “Father, do you remember how old I am?”

The Dragon King chuckled, “How could I forget? This year, you are exactly nine thousand years old.”

“Yes, nine thousand years.” Jiang Lin said with a touch of melancholy. “I was born with memory and have watched as our Dragon Clan has declined, step by step.”

The Dragon King’s expression changed.

Jiang Lin smiled as he observed his father’s reaction. “Why, Father, are you unwilling to admit it?”

“When I was born, the Heavenly Court sent emissaries to congratulate us. The East Sea held grand banquets, and hardly any gods dared to show disrespect. Whenever there was a significant event in the Heavenly Court, an emissary would always inform the Dragon Clan.”

Jiang Lin poured himself a cup of tea, drank it in one gulp, and felt a slight bitterness on his tongue.

“And now? Father, what has become of the Dragon Clan?”

“At the Heavenly Court’s grand banquets, the Dragon Clan now sits at the lowest ranks.”

“When important matters arise in the world, they have nothing to do with the Dragon Clan.”

“Aside from the Four Seas Dragons, no other deities or gods are on friendly terms with the Dragon Clan.”

“…”

With each point Jiang Lin raised, the Dragon King’s expression grew darker.

Jiang Lin continued to press on, seeing his father’s grim face. “And why is that? Father, do you really not know?”

He pointed upward. “For nine thousand years, the Dragon Clan has been obedient and patient, enduring everything. But what has patience and obedience earned us? It has only brought us further suppression by those two.”

“The Dragon Clan has gone from being the rulers of all aquatic creatures to being nothing more than weaklings hiding in the Four Seas!”

“At the Heavenly Court’s banquets, a dish called ‘Dragon Liver and Phoenix Marrow’ is served right in front of us!”

“The Heavenly Court has even established a divine rule to suppress our fortune—common carp and spirit serpents, if they cultivate enough and leap over the Dragon Gate, can become dragons!”

Those who leap over the Dragon Gate may take on a dragon’s form, but they lack the true essence of a dragon.

Pure-blooded dragons are born with innate divine powers, possessing immense strength—each one is a natural warrior!

In contrast, those who become “dragons” by leaping over the gate are neither powerful nor possess divine abilities; they are merely ordinary demonic gods with a dragon’s appearance.

These “dragons” lack the inherited memories of the true Dragon Clan, they lack the bloodline, and they are grateful to the Heavenly Court, serving as the lowest-ranking deities there.

—For example, when the Jade Emperor travels, he is carried by a chariot drawn by nine dragons.

Outsiders might not know the truth behind this. They only see that the Jade Emperor’s chariot is pulled by dragons.

Meanwhile, the original duties of the Dragon Clan, such as controlling the clouds, rain, and lightning, have been taken over by new deities like Leigong and Dianmu.

As generations of humans, who live for mere centuries, pass away, new legends emerge: the Dragon Clan is reduced to nothing more than beasts that pull the Jade Emperor’s chariot and serve as dishes.

With the rise of the human race, their understanding of the gods shapes the entire structure of the Heavenly Court. This is why the Heavenly Court now seeks to gather all the world’s faith.

Once humans solidify their perception of the Dragon Clan, the Dragon Clan’s fortune weakens further.

For nine thousand years, the Heavenly Court has consistently been doing the same thing—eroding the Dragon Clan’s fortune.

“Father,” Jiang Lin raised his voice, “the Dragon Clan has endured for nine thousand years. Can’t you see the result of our patience and submission?”

The Dragon King’s eyes had turned red at some point.

He glared at Jiang Lin, “You!”

“Did I say anything wrong?”

The Dragon King replied hoarsely, “No! Not a single word!”

He slumped into his chair. “In those days, the Dragon Clan and the Phoenix Clan fought relentlessly, causing chaos throughout the land and bringing misery to all living beings. Both clans were punished by Heaven. Our two ancestors fell one after the other.”

“The Phoenix Clan was nearly wiped out, and although the Dragon Clan fared better, we were still gravely weakened.”

“Before Dragon Ancestor passed away, he called the four of us to his side and said that our two clans had fought too fiercely, attracting the ire of the Heavenly Dao. He instructed us to lead our people in laying low, to act with caution and discretion.”

The Dragon Ancestor had glimpsed a fragment of the heavenly mechanism, which is why he gave that warning. But what he didn’t anticipate was that his descendants would be so single-minded, practically simpletons.

Lying low didn’t mean completely hiding underwater and never showing themselves. Yet, that’s exactly what the Dragon Clan did.

When the Dragon Clan finally reemerged, they found that the world’s balance of power had been redefined.

A new Heavenly Court had been established, with the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother of the West ruling over heaven and earth, revered as the supreme beings of the cosmos, while other gods were assigned their divine duties, governing all things in the world.

At that time, the Heavenly Court still treated the Dragon Clan with respect. The Dragon Clan, being not particularly skilled in governance or strategy, was relatively content with this arrangement.

But by the time they realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

The Dragon King sighed deeply, “The Heavenly Court had already solidified its power, with a deep reservoir of fortune. If we, the Dragon Clan, were to openly oppose them, first, we wouldn’t have the strength, and second, we feared that the heavenly punishment from the past might strike again.”

They were trapped in an invisible cage, slowly bled dry by the Heavenly Court, piece by piece, with no way out.

Jiang Lin listened expressionlessly and then asked, “So, everyone noticed the problem long ago, but no one thought of a solution?”

The Dragon King sighed, “Of course, we thought about it. But the Heavenly Court’s power was already too great. We couldn’t win in a fight, and the mandate of heaven wasn’t on our side. The gods of the Heavenly Court are cunning—what could we do?”

He seemed resigned to their fate.

Jiang Lin, already well aware of the Dragon Clan’s mindset, wasn’t surprised by this response. He said, “The gods of the Heavenly Court—those who are truly capable are few and far between; most of them are just incompetents. Their current power is merely due to the so-called ‘mandate of heaven.'”

The Dragon King acknowledged, “The mandate of heaven is the most important thing.”

Jiang Lin recalled some things, a faint, mocking smile appearing on his lips. “But is the mandate of heaven really on the Heavenly Court’s side?”

The current Heavenly Court’s claim to the mandate of heaven was merely because a sage had foreseen the rise of the human race’s fortune and had sown the seeds of faith in the human world ahead of time.

Just like the later War of the Gods.

A sage once again foresaw that Emperor Xin would be a foolish ruler, and the Shang Dynasty’s fate would end with him, so they immediately supported a new dynasty.

To prematurely drain the Shang Dynasty’s fate, they even allowed demons to disrupt the court.

But what is destiny, really?

Was it that the Heavenly Court foresaw the decline of the Shang Dynasty, and it became an inevitable outcome, so they simply went with the flow and supported a new emperor?

Or did they mistakenly foresee the so-called “fate” and intervene in the mortal realm’s dynastic changes, ultimately causing the fall of the Shang Dynasty?

Jiang Lin didn’t believe in fate so easily.

If the so-called “heavenly mechanisms” were truly that accurate, and if the gods could truly foresee them to avoid misfortune, then why do deities still perish?

Jiang Lin looked at the Dragon King. “Father, the Dragon Clan cannot accept this fate.”

The Dragon King, however, was not optimistic. “What do you intend to do?”

Jiang Lin thought to himself: I know exactly what I intend to do. The ordinary world I once lived in, without any mystical powers, has already provided me with the answer.

He planned to bind the Dragon Clan’s fortune tightly to that of humanity.

In every world he had traversed, in the end, humans only believed in themselves.

They used their own hands to create their destiny and future, rendering the role of gods almost negligible.

Even the most powerful and illustrious gods would eventually fade away.

Yet the Chinese people proudly called themselves the descendants of the dragon.

Jiang Lin softly said, “Father, the Heavenly Court will likely come to hold us accountable very soon. Before that happens, we need to make some preparations.”

The Dragon King repeated, “Ao Bing, what exactly do you intend to do?”

Jiang Lin replied, “Simply to save ourselves.”

He lifted his sleeve, removing the illusion that concealed the fresh, bleeding wounds on his arm. “Three years of drought in Chentang Pass, the sacrificial bride who attempted to assassinate me, Nezha challenging me to a duel—do you think all of this was just a coincidence? With all the commotion between Nezha and me, you couldn’t sense any of it from the East Sea—do you think it’s because you’ve grown old and senile?”

He lowered his sleeve. “Father, if we continue to endure, your most talented son is soon going to lose his life.”