On the way back to the fleet, King Virūḍhaka said nothing, which made Nathan Young vaguely uneasy.
He kept feeling that things weren’t as simple as King Virūḍhaka made them sound, and that Marshal Silver wasn’t the type to drop by just because of some rumor and offer his condolences. But if King Virūḍhaka wouldn’t say more, what could he do?
The real issue was that he felt uneasy himself. After all, he’d also helped shelter Blossom Mountain back then, so he had even less confidence to press for answers.
Fortunately, King Virūḍhaka’s absolute loyalty to his father was common knowledge—whatever happened, he surely wouldn’t risk his own father’s life.
That thought gave Nathan Young some peace of mind.
By the time they reached the fleet, it was already deep into the night.
Drake City on Blossom Mountain was as brilliantly lit as ever, its lights echoing the arc-shaped blockade of the fleet. From high above, it looked like a waxing moon beside a lone star.
Leaving the light cruiser, the three each returned to their own cabins. King Northmore, however, quietly doubled back and knocked on King Virūḍhaka’s door.
“What did you really talk about today? What is Marshal Silver’s true aim?” King Northmore asked as soon as he entered.
King Virūḍhaka hesitated briefly, then opened the door. Once King Northmore was inside and the door was closed, he spoke in a low voice: “He wants to march on Blossom Mountain.”
"What? March on Blossom Mountain?" King Northmore's hand trembled, and he stared at King Virūḍhaka for a long moment. Only when he was certain he hadn't misheard did he ask, incredulous, "What is his real aim?"
King Virūḍhaka let out a long sigh. "He says he wants to wipe out Blossom Mountain as soon as possible."
"What does crushing Blossom Mountain have to do with him?" King Northmore pressed.
King Virūḍhaka blinked and pursed his lips. "Actually, Marshal Silver isn't wrong. Blossom Mountain isn't just any demon lair. If we don't stamp it out early, it will become a calamity. If things spiral out of control, none of us will be able to contain it. He's planning to petition the Jade Emperor for permission to join the campaign against Blossom Mountain—and he's asked us not to interfere or block him."
"And you agreed?"
King Virūḍhaka nodded slightly.
King Northmore drew a sharp breath, his voice rising: "But—what about King Lee? Are we just leaving him behind?"
"No." King Virūḍhaka closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "It's precisely because of this that there's still a chance to get him back."
"Huh?" King Northmore was baffled.
King Virūḍhaka pursed his lips, fixing his gaze on King Northmore as he explained slowly, "Marshal Silver is right. There are two scenarios where King Lee will never be released. First, if King Lee is extremely important, the Monkey can hold him as a guarantee of safety. In that case, the Monkey will never let him go unless he gets a better deal. Second, if King Lee isn't important at all. Heaven won't let this standoff drag on forever—one day, we'll be forced to withdraw. When other forces are sent to attack Blossom Mountain, King Lee's value as a bargaining chip disappears. Tell me: will the Monkey really keep his word and release King Lee, letting Heaven regain a top general? Or will he kill him? The Monkey says he'll release him when the time comes—but will he? From start to finish, it's all just our wishful thinking."
King Northmore fell into deep thought at these words.
King Virūḍhaka went on, "Truth is, we've always been in a dire situation—we just refused to admit it. Before, we had no options. Now we do. If the Heavenly Fleet gets involved, and two armies attack Blossom Mountain at once, we might be able to fish in troubled waters. Who knows, we might actually get King Lee back."
After a short pause, King Virūḍhaka lowered his voice, warning, "Don't tell the Third Prince about this, no matter what. If word leaks, everything will fall apart."
...
Early the next morning, Warren Azurewave and his family arrived at the gates of Drake City on Blossom Mountain, just as promised.
Monkey received the report and, giving them full honors, personally went out to greet them. From afar, he could see Princess Marina Azurewave had suffered a minor injury.
He summoned a military doctor to examine her, then arranged for the family to stay in a vacant residence within the city. After asking about their journey, Monkey learned that something had happened at the Western Sea Dragon Palace.
Warren Azurewave had brought the Nine-Headed Wyrm and Princess Marina to the Western Sea Dragon Palace, first to apologize and dissolve the engagement, and second to return the Peach of Immortality.
The Western Sea Dragon King was broad-minded, an old friend and kinsman of Warren Azurewave. Both were fathers with headstrong daughters, so what seemed a monumental affair was resolved with a few casual questions. The Western Sea Dragon King, though helpless, expressed his understanding. During the feast, he repeatedly said that although the marriage couldn’t go ahead, he’d gladly take Princess Marina as his goddaughter, and might even help her secure a celestial registration in Heaven someday.
His kindness only made Warren Azurewave feel even more ashamed.
But the Western Sea Dragon King's open-mindedness didn’t extend to everyone at the Western Sea Dragon Palace.
That night, the Western Sea Dragon Palace hosted a banquet for Warren Azurewave’s family. After the feast, the Western Sea Dragon King and Warren Azurewave retired to the courtyard to play a special dragon clan game of stones.
Meanwhile, the real aggrieved party—Prince Adrian of the Western Sea—made his move.
With the two elders absent, Prince Adrian led his personal guards to surround the guest residence where the Azurewave family was staying, intent on seizing Princess Marina.
The Nine-Headed Wyrm would never allow it.
Tempers flared, and a fight broke out almost instantly.
He’d come to apologize, and his father-in-law had finally begun to warm to him. So although the Nine-Headed Wyrm fought back, he held himself in check. But once the blades were drawn, accidents happened—a shrimp soldier carelessly wounded Princess Marina.
At that, the Nine-Headed Wyrm truly snapped. Right there, he revealed his demon form and fought with full force.
Prince Adrian cultivated the Traveler’s Path and was a top talent among dragons. But top-tier for dragons was one thing; the Nine-Headed Wyrm was among the greatest demons in the world, with far more years of cultivation.
Once the Nine-Headed Wyrm fought for real, Prince Adrian was no match—he was knocked flat on the spot.
In the end, the Nine-Headed Wyrm demolished three buildings and captured Prince Adrian. The palace guards were powerless and had to summon the Western Sea Dragon King and Warren Azurewave for help.
The two Dragon Kings arrived and promptly scolded both Prince Adrian and the Nine-Headed Wyrm, sending everyone away in a sour mood.
As the Nine-Headed Wyrm recounted the story, his face was full of indignation, while Princess Marina Azurewave laughed like a blooming flower.
Apparently, watching two men fight over her was secretly thrilling. What a troublemaker...
In any case, the matter was finally settled. The Nine-Headed Wyrm smoothly joined Blossom Mountain's military register, firmly binding himself to its cause.
Still, he remained as carefree as ever. As a general, his cultivation made him outstanding, but as a commander... his reckless tongue was enough to drive Monkey mad.
Because of this, Monkey dared not entrust him with major responsibilities, leaving the Nine-Headed Wyrm with plenty of idle time. Which, honestly, suited him just fine.
And so, the Nine-Headed Wyrm and Princess Marina Azurewave began their happy little life on Blossom Mountain.
Days slipped by, and before anyone noticed, it was early spring of the following year.
During these months, the Celestial Palace was wracked with constant arguments. But the fighting sides weren’t the Heavenly Fleet and South Heaven Gate, but rather the Jade Emperor’s faction and those opposed to Marshal Silver.
After the Emotion Case, Marshal Silver and the Heavenly Fleet’s position in Heaven had changed. Officially, they were still part of the celestial army, but now they were more like vassal states—'subject to assignments, but not to commands,' just like Lord Erland.
Moving such a force—especially out of its original territory—was no simple matter. It required at least an imperial edict from the Jade Emperor to be legitimate; without it, other armies could legally attack.
The Jade Emperor could sign off on secret letters himself, but an imperial edict required discussion among the celestial hosts.
In some ways, the Jade Emperor’s power in the Celestial Palace was less than that of a mortal emperor. An imperial edict wasn’t just his will—it represented the will of all Heaven.
Before the campaign, Marshal Silver anticipated resistance, so he first neutralized any objections from the South Heaven Gate faction. As a result, both the South Heaven Gate and the Heavenly Fleet kept silent during the debate—the former because they'd been briefed, the latter because they had no voice at all.
The main force driving events became the Jade Emperor himself.
But Marshal Silver had clearly underestimated the strength of his opposition.
The West Ox Continent scandal had already earned him many enemies among the celestials. The Emotion Case had embarrassed even more. Now, these celestials followed a simple rule: anything that helped Marshal Silver, they opposed; anything that hurt him, they supported.
So, when the proposal to send the Heavenly Fleet to help besiege Blossom Mountain was put forward, it was met with a chorus of opposition from the celestial hosts.
Most of the celestials believed that helping to subdue Blossom Mountain was just a pretext—that the Heavenly Fleet was really using the campaign as an excuse to expand its power.
Marshal Silver had anticipated this and sent a letter to the Jade Emperor, letting him arrange for other celestials to raise the issue in the Celestial Palace. If the Heavenly Fleet had petitioned directly, who knows what chaos might have followed.
But did their opposition mean giving up?
In his secret letter to the Jade Emperor, Marshal Silver spelled out the heart of the matter—and even mentioned General Lee Jing’s capture outright.
Of course, the Jade Emperor wasn’t foolish enough to bring up Lee Jing’s capture in the Celestial Palace. Heaven wasn’t his alone; he had to follow protocol. Just verifying whether Lee Jing was truly captured would take days, and the troop deployment would be stalled. For the greater good, he had to play dumb for now.
Even so, the disputes were endless. To prevent Blossom Mountain from growing into a true disaster, the Jade Emperor had to mobilize every available force—even calling on old celestials who rarely attended meetings to speak up.
And so, three months of bickering passed.
While the Celestial Palace bustled with intrigue, a white-robed gentleman quietly crossed the sea and arrived at the gates of Drake City on Blossom Mountain.