"Oink oink."
The little pig wasn't about to give in to Huo Dou. On its pink skin, eerie nightmare eyes suddenly opened one by one.
Tusks protruded from the pig's snout, and purple fiendish qi gathered in the air, forming a massive beastly maw.
The little pig spoke to Huo Dou with an air of triumph.
"Stupid dog."
"Barking?"
"Can't even speak, you stupid dog."
As it spoke, the little pig deliberately rubbed against Chen Zhou's chest and crooked a tiny hoof at Huo Dou in a provocative gesture.
"Woof—!!!"
Huo Dou flew into a complete rage. The flames on its four paws surged, its body began to swell, and a scorching aura swept outward.
Chen Zhou's temple throbbed slightly.
He looked at the little pig in his arms, who was joyfully stoking the fire, and then at Huo Dou below, who was so angry its head was practically smoking. He sighed inwardly.
He had just finished dealing with the external troubles, and now the little ones at home were starting to cause a ruckus.
Since Huo Dou cared so much, he wouldn't hold either of them.
He had to be fair and not favor one over the other.
Then, he made a decision.
He loosened his grip.
The little pig, who was happily rubbing against Chen Zhou, suddenly felt the ground beneath it disappear. With a "splat," the entire pig fell onto the cold ground.
The little pig: "...???"
It lifted its head in a daze, its eyes filled with confusion.
The little pig turned to look at Chen Zhou with a grievance, attempting to use its large, watery eyes to act cute and get away with it again.
However, it found that Chen Zhou was looking straight ahead, completely immune to its act.
Seeing this, Huo Dou immediately began to gloat.
It let out a few playful barks and bounced twice in front of the little pig, pointedly rubbing against the leg of Chen Zhou's trousers.
The little pig froze for a second. Then, all its confusion and grievance instantly transformed into a towering rage toward Huo Dou!
"Squee—!!!"
The little pig let out a roar, instantly reverting to its Nightmare true form.
Purple mist surged, and in the blink of an eye, a hideous wild boar over ten zhang tall, with exposed tusks and a body covered in purple eyes, appeared before everyone!
Its heavy body landed, making the ground tremble slightly.
"Roar!"
Huo Dou refused to be outdone. It also let out a long howl toward the sky, its body swelling as it transformed into a ferocious giant dog, pitch black all over, with dark red flames swirling around its limbs and long tail.
For a moment, on the ruins of the imperial palace, a mountain-like large black dog and an equally massive mutant wild boar began to brawl with each other.
Purple fiendish qi and black terrestrial true fire collided in the air, blasting the surrounding ruins and broken walls into powder.
"Good! Good dog!"
Seeing this, Zen Master Wu Hai didn't try to stop them.
Instead, he slapped his thigh in excitement, directing the group of Bone Temple novice monks behind him—who were also more than happy to watch the chaos—to cheer for Huo Dou.
"That's it! Good dog! Show that stupid pig from Sukhavati the power of our Bone Temple's divine beast!"
"Make it understand that our Bone Temple is the most capable direct descendant in the Ancestral Master's heart, the most favored of all!"
"Go for it, big dog! Bite it! Bite it hard!"
"Defend the glory of our Bone Temple!"
Wu Hai shouted with particular enthusiasm, spit flying everywhere.
Meanwhile, Plague Rat squeezed through the crowd with two "seafood" companions.
They still carried the unique salty-damp scent of the sea and a faint smell of blood, having clearly just arrived from the Eastern Region battlefield.
Cangming saw Chen Zhou and immediately stepped forward with excitement, dropping to one knee.
"Lord Dragon Ancestor, Cangming has arrived late to protect you. Please forgive me!"
Chen Zhou raised an eyebrow.
Why was he still calling him Dragon Ancestor?
With the Golden Dragon of Merit around, it clearly looked more like a true dragon, didn't it?
He subconsciously scanned the crowd with his divine sense but didn't find the golden dragon transformed from the Dragon Carp. He didn't know where that fellow had run off to after absorbing the merit.
Chen Zhou shook his head.
Never mind. Since no rightful owner had come out to clarify, he would continue to play the part of this fake Dragon Ancestor for a while. Explaining it would be a hassle anyway.
One couldn't have too many aliases.
He looked at Cangming and got straight to the point: "Rise. How is the Eastern Region?"
Cangming immediately stood up and reported with a serious expression: "Reporting to Lord Dragon Ancestor, the crisis in the Eastern Region has been resolved."
"Although the losses were heavy, the black spots have been brought under control, and the sea eye has been resealed..."
"Wait!"
Before he could finish, the nearby Wu Hai wasn't having it.
He had been cheering for Huo Dou just now, and hearing someone call Chen Zhou "Lord Dragon Ancestor" made him immediately displeased.
He told his disciples to keep cheering for Huo Dou, insisting they must not lose the battle of momentum.
He then rushed over like a whirlwind, forcing his way in front of Cangming and blocking Cangming's view of Chen Zhou.
"You damn stinking salted fish! What kind of relative are you trying to claim?"
Wu Hai announced loudly: "This is the Ancestral Master of our Bone Temple, the Bone God!"
After speaking, Wu Hai immediately switched to a fawning, smiling face and said to Chen Zhou obsequiously.
"Ancestral Master, the Northern Region has been well-built by your disciples!"
"The ice and snow have been melted by the dog, and the arrays, branches, and labor camps at Evil Dog Ridge... we haven't missed a single thing!"
"As your direct descendant, this disciple has definitely not tarnished your prestigious name!"
He placed heavy emphasis on the words "direct descendant," specifically glancing at Cangming from the corner of his eye before continuing to claim credit.
"Furthermore, this disciple brought the entire temple's manpower this time, traveling ten thousand miles to support you!"
"This filial devotion can be witnessed by heaven and earth!"
Chen Zhou found his appearance quite amusing but still nodded and affirmed, "You've done well."
Wu Hai's face instantly lit up with joy, his posture straightened, and he let out a triumphant hmph at Cangming.
Cangming also became anxious. As the heir to the Sea Emperor, how could he let someone else steal the spotlight in front of the Dragon Ancestor?
He pushed with a sudden burst of strength, shoving Wu Hai aside and causing him to stagger.
"You!" Wu Hai glared at him.
Cangming ignored him and said loudly.
"This is the Lord Dragon Ancestor of our Eastern Region!"
"He is the common faith of all sea races and the source of our bloodline!"
Then Cangming hurriedly expressed his loyalty to Chen Zhou.
"Lord Dragon Ancestor."
"Thanks to your great fortune, your children of the sea have cleared and controlled the black spots in the major sea areas."
"Although... although the losses in this battle were heavy, with countless warriors buried in the maritime territory..."
At this point, Cangming's eyes reddened slightly, and his voice choked up, but he quickly became firm again.
"But the surviving clansmen, to a man, look forward day and night to the day you return to the sea and lead the Eastern Region to regain its glory."
Wu Hai was fuming as he listened from the side. This fish-head actually dared to fight him for the status of direct descendant?
He rolled up the sleeves of his tattered patchwork robe and pointed at Cangming's nose.
"Bah! You long-tailed fish spirit!"
"Stop trying to forge connections here. The Ancestral Master is the Ancestral Master of our Bone Temple!"
"Not convinced? If you're not convinced, let's step outside for a duel!"
"Only the winner can be the Ancestral Master's direct descendant!"
"The loser can only be an outer disciple from now on!"
Cangming was also stubborn. He was already in a state of grief and indignation, and being provoked by Wu Hai like this made his blood boil.
When it came to the ownership of Lord Dragon Ancestor and the glory of the sea race, how could he show weakness?
"Fine!"
Cangming drew the long halberd from his back, battle intent rising in his eyes.
Rate on N.U.
