Green Dragon: "You gave me this? An atonement gift?" ??
Golden Dragon: (Emotionlessly) "That is correct."
The Green Dragon was initially grateful, but the Golden Dragon’s cold attitude angered her: "Fine, I will take the Dragon Pearl, but you watch yourself! I will report back to the Dragon King; you wait for it. If you ever come to the Ancestral Dragon Mountain (T? Long), prepare to face the Dragon King's wrath!" ??
Golden Dragon: (Still coldly) "Very well."
The angry Green Dragon transformed and flew away, heading toward the central mountain of the Mu Continent—the highest peak on the continent, also known as the Ancestral Dragon Mountain. This was the seat of the King of all Dragons ?? and the gathering place of the Four Great Dragon Kings of the four directions:
- The East of the Mu Continent was governed by the Azure Dragon King (Thanh Long V??ng) ??, a massive blue dragon, King of all azure-colored dragons, and kin to the East Sea Dragon.
- The South was governed by the Crimson Dragon King (Xích Long V??ng) ??, a red dragon.
- The West was governed by the Purple Dragon King (T? Long V??ng) ??, a deep purple dragon.
- The North was governed by the White Dragon King (B?ch Long V??ng) ??, a white, blue-eyed dragon, and the father of the Golden Dragon—a unique son among his white siblings.
The Yinglong Silver ?? handed the Jiaolong's Dragon Pearl to the Golden Dragon and then disappeared, seemingly monitoring from above for months to see what would happen.
The New River God
Ly B?ng ?? received the Dragon Pearl and, following Noe's request, returned to his sect, the Ten Thousand Ancient Hundred Spirit Beasts (V?n C? Bách Linh Thú), to create a Headpiece (M?o ??i ??u) called the Jiaolong Crown (M?o Giao Long), which allowed the wearer to transform into a Jiaolong.
Afterward, Noe performed a ritual to confer the title of River God (Th?n S?ng) upon Ly B?ng and the title of Water God Protector (H? Pháp Th?y Th?n) upon Old Turtle Immortal (Quy L?o Tiên) ??, commissioning them to govern that river bend. This area was particularly prone to attracting evil spirits and demons, which could gain power quickly there, necessitating their immediate banishment or destruction.
Noe carried out the ritual to invite the Celestial Dao (Thiên ??o) and formally confer the Godhood upon Ly B?ng. A pillar of light ? descended from the sky upon them, enveloping them in an invisible shield of protection.
Spell of prophet: Celestial Dao Blessing
The common people who came to watch found the ceremony quite boring; it was just a column of light descending from the sky, lacking the dancing, drumming, or impressive scenes they expected. Thus, most were skeptical, but one trembling elder knelt in reverence, and a child stared blankly, pointing to the sky. A few educated people whispered in astonishment,
"This truly is the Prophet!",
while the vast majority remained half-believing, half-doubting. The administrator of the Water God Temple performed a perfunctory ritual, erecting two statues in front of the gate—a Water Ox and a large Turtle—as the Water God's protectors.
Ly B?ng had no objection, accepting the position the villagers assigned. When he needed to assert his authority or make the villagers obey, he would wear the Jiaolong Crown to transform.
Ly B?ng took responsibility for the Jiaolong’s wife and unborn child, treating the wife as his sister and taking the son (not yet born) as his adopted son. The entire village still believed the Jiaolong had swum out to sea or transformed into a Yinglong.
Only the Jiaolong's wife understood the truth; she did not blame Ly B?ng, but was somewhat grateful, as he had saved her life. She had prepared herself for death many times, just like the Jiaolong's previous wives. She felt relieved that she and her child had a protector, instead of being discarded as she initially thought, and sincerely thanked Ly B?ng. Ly B?ng patted her head and said she resembled his own sister.
Headgear: Jiaolong Crown
Ly B?ng promised the wife that when the adopted son—his future disciple, who carried both dragon and human blood—grew up, he would give him the Jiaolong Crown, tell him the whole truth, and hand over the position of River God if he proved worthy. This was Ly B?ng’s promise to the Jiaolong’s wife.
The Divine Judgment of the Dragon Soul
The Yinglong Silver ?? witnessed everything and was satisfied. The arrangements and solutions provided by Ly B?ng and Noe were reasonable, providing him comfort. He then summoned the Jiaolong's Soul and showed him the scene, so the soul could rest in peace.
Yinglong: (Sadly) "There, you see? If you had listened to me from the start, given up your Dragon Pearl to become a Yinglong like me, wouldn't you have been better off?" ??
Jiaolong’s Soul: (Bowed) "I apologize." ??
Yinglong: "What is there to apologize for? You were simply stubborn and greedy! The Dragon Pearl staying too long in your heart stimulated all your desires and greed. Only by giving it up can you ascend; only then can your body be free. I warned you when you married your first wife, but you didn't listen! I even refused to see you afterward! You thought that was freedom? You fool! You let your lust harm one person after another. Why were you so foolish?
Why didn't you marry two or three women at once? Marrying one human wife is a sin; marrying two or three at once is the same sin, but at least they would have lived and been happy. Now you've killed over a dozen people, both mother and child—your sins are compounded!" ??
The angry Yinglong chastised him fiercely. The Jiaolong’s Soul could only remain silent. Having vented his anger, the Yinglong lifted the Jiaolong’s Soul higher, to God Zone 1 (Th?n Khu 1), or the first Heavenly Tier. Here, the Yinglong himself appeared in his Dragon Soul Form (H?n ?ng Long) and flew into the Dragon God Hall (?i?n Th?n Long) ??? in God Zone 1, which was filled with auras of merit and white clouds, the judgment hall for Dragon Souls in the Mortal Realm.