Annie let out another soft cheer, trembling with excitement. "We're going to become legends of the Dragon-Han Era! We'll be revered as master thieves for all eternity—people will still tell our tales even six hundred thousand years from now!"
Dragon-Qilin shot her a look. "Look at you, so easily satisfied. If you keep talking like that, we won't even make it to the Black Tortoise Heaven Palace before someone ships us off to the Sky Prison. The most important thing in this business is composure."
Annie snuggled up against his shoulder, giggling. "I've never done anything this thrilling, even when I was with Moon-Venerable. Fat Dragon, you really know a lot—even about this stuff."
"Naturally!"
Dragon-Qilin tried to flick his tail, only to remember he was in human form and had no tail to flick. He felt rather frustrated about it.
"Every time the Shepherd came back to the village, he’d bring me along. There’s Old Cripple in the village—the world’s greatest thief. When he was teaching the Shepherd..."
He gazed into the distance, speaking slowly, "I took the chance to learn a few things myself."
Annie was utterly impressed, her eyes sparkling with admiration as she looked at him.
Dragon-Qilin felt deeply satisfied, though still a bit annoyed. "Too bad I don’t have a tail—if I could flick it a couple times right now, I’d look really impressive."
All across Heavenly Court, countless Roaring-Heaven Hounds were sniffing around, searching for Queen Serena Gong and her allies. Every so often, Great Sun Star Lord’s voice echoed out, shouting, "That woman thief is a pre-historic God-King, a master of divine sense! As long as her divine sense survives, she won’t die—find her at all costs!"
Annie and Dragon-Qilin escorted the palace maid along the way. Queen Serena Gong, borrowing the maid’s body to house her divine sense, was gravely wounded and had to rely on the two for support.
Still, as Serena watched Dragon-Qilin and Annie, she couldn’t help but feel they weren’t the most reliable pair.
Fortunately, they were accompanied by six Heavenly Dragons, each carrying the bloodline of the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon. The Roaring-Heaven Hounds, catching the scent of the Eastern Emperor, dared not approach.
Though the Roaring-Heaven Hounds were fearsome, they paled in comparison to the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon. The six dragons, now in their dragon-headed human forms, walked together, their aura so intense it kept the hounds firmly at bay.
Taking advantage of the chaos, the group made their way across most of Heavenly Court and finally arrived at the Black Tortoise Palace. Dragon-Qilin stepped forward, waking the petrified Black Tortoise spirit-men at the palace gate.
The two Black Tortoise spirit-men, sluggish from years of laziness and literally petrified, were none too pleased to be roused. They yawned, asking, “What’s your business here?”
“We are descendants of the Eastern Emperor and Southern Emperor, here to visit Crown Prince Yooming,” Dragon-Qilin replied.
The Black Tortoise spirit-men examined their unusual bone structures—Heavenly Dragons, a Dragon-Sparrow, a Dragon-Qilin—convinced they were indeed imperial descendants. Not daring to neglect them, one said, “So you’re kin of the two Emperors! Please wait a moment while we report your arrival.”
With that, one of the Black Tortoise spirit-men turned and entered the palace to make his report.
Crown Prince Yooming, hearing the news, exclaimed in surprise, “The Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon is notorious for his debauchery—his offspring number in the millions! Even Brood-Hen Dragons are rumored to carry his blood, though who knows which chicken he sired them with. His descendants? I’d rather not see them. But the Southern Emperor is known for her purity, and I’ve never heard of her having children. A princess from her line is rare—she’s worth meeting.”
One Black Tortoise spirit-man muttered, "Prince, those who come to befriend you are usually just here to swindle our treasures. This group is probably no different—they’re likely scheming for our valuables under the guise of friendship."
Yooming laughed, "Nonsense! Sure, there are treasure-hunters—like Venerable Vast-Sky, God-Emperor Jadecrest, and Prince Umbral—but I’ve listened to my parents and keep my distance from them. But a princess of the Southern Emperor’s line would never stoop so low."
The spirit-man hesitated, "Shouldn’t we inform your parents first?"
"I’m not a child. Why would I need their permission just to make a friend?" Yooming replied, puffing up with pride.
He waved off the concern, "Besides, the Northern Emperor is away visiting the other three Emperors and won’t be back anytime soon. Should I make honored guests wait outside? If word gets out, people will laugh at my lack of etiquette! Go, invite them in."
The spirit-man could only sigh and return to the gate, telling Dragon-Qilin and Annie, "The prince invites you in."
Dragon-Qilin, Annie, and the others entered the Black Tortoise Palace, dazzled by its opulence—pearls gleamed, treasures filled every corner, and the halls overflowed with luxury.
“The Northern Emperor’s household is truly extravagant,” Dragon-Qilin couldn’t help but praise.
Leading the way, the Black Tortoise spirit-man boasted, “Our lord was born from the Celestial River and is worshipped by all. The river and its treasures belong to him, so of course we’re wealthy.”
Serena scoffed coldly, “Fraudulent fame!”
The spirit-man glanced at the seemingly blank-faced palace maid, but dismissed it as just another attendant from the Southern Emperor’s court.
The world believed the Four Ancient God Emperors were born of heaven and earth, and that’s how they presented themselves—but Serena knew the truth behind their origins.
The Western Emperor White Tiger, for instance, was born from the collective sacrifice of Serena’s own Nüxin Clan.
The other three Emperors had their own stories. The Northern Emperor Black Tortoise was birthed from the Juyu Clan’s rituals—a husband and wife pair, with Wu-Empress’s story especially tied to Serena herself.
The ‘yu’ in Juyu meant ‘northern waters’—the clan’s name referred to the Creators who lived by the Celestial River’s northern banks.
‘Northern’ simply meant the northern region.
The Juyu Clan originally dwelled beside the northern Celestial River, worshipping the Black Tortoise god through ritual sacrifice.
The Black Tortoise god eventually split into two: Xuan-Emperor and Wu-Empress. This was because Serena, both Supreme Emperor Darius’s wife and matriarch of the Nüxin Clan, held equal status to him within the Juyu Clan.
In the Nüxin Clan, women held authority. After Serena married Darius, her standing in the Juyu Clan was as high as his, so they sacrificed for two gods—giving rise to both Xuan-Emperor and Wu-Empress.
The Juyu Clan’s worship of Black Tortoise embodied their wish for Darius and Serena to be united as an ideal couple, harmonious as one.
But even the best wishes can’t stand up to harsh reality.
As for why the Northern Emperor is so wealthy—wasn’t it because, when the Creator catastrophe struck, he looted the Juyu Clan’s riches?
Suddenly, loud laughter echoed through the halls. A burly man strode toward them—it was Crown Prince Yooming.
Yooming, not yet the down-and-out prince he’d become, was imposing and robust, his dragon whiskers growing sideways across his face, exuding strength. His clothes, though, were so lavish it bordered on absurd—his black robe embroidered with gold flowers and coiling serpents.
Most eye-catching of all were the trinkets hanging from him: twenty-four luminous pearls at his waist—each representing a Heaven World!
His wrists sported several beaded bracelets, his belt held three or four jade pendants, and around his neck hung a thick chain, its treasures unknown.
Even his boots were set with floating clouds—some on top, some underneath—so that as he walked, the clouds lifted him off the ground.
Dragon-Qilin couldn’t resist a jab: “Prince Yooming would make a perfect street hawker, peddling goods from door to door!”
Annie bowed. “Greetings, elder brother.”
Dragon-Qilin and the six Heavenly Dragons also saluted: “Elder brother!”
Yooming hurried to return the salute, grinning, “Our three imperial families rarely interact, so I’m not very familiar with my noble siblings and cousins. Forgive me.”
Queen Serena Gong, using her divine sense, clouded his perception so he couldn’t see Quinn Shepherd in the halo behind Annie’s head. Thus, Yooming didn’t notice the Dragonblood Treasure Tree or the Shepherd Heavenly Venerable hidden there.
Dragon-Qilin suddenly dropped a bombshell: “Elder brother, do you know Heavenly Court is about to split?”
Yooming jumped in fright, clapped his hand over Dragon-Qilin’s mouth, and glanced nervously around. He whispered, “To even say that aloud is a capital crime! Don’t speak carelessly!”
Just then, a divine attendant arrived to report, “His Majesty has returned.”
Yooming rushed off to greet them. “Please wait here, I’ll be back soon.”
Xuan-Emperor and Wu-Empress took their seats, and Yooming bowed. They exchanged glances and said, “Son, don’t go out for the next few days. Heavenly Court is about to split.”
Yooming, suddenly inspired by Dragon-Qilin’s words, declared, “I already knew.”
Xuan-Emperor and Wu-Empress beamed with pride. “Our foolish son has finally wised up and understands the situation in Heavenly Court.”
(Author’s note: This is daily update commentary and word count, not part of the novel narrative. Skipped as irrelevant.)