Volume One, Chapter Seventy: Live Broadcast

Chapter Seventy: The Live Broadcast

“Under the command of the Naga Dragon King, Dragon One leads an army of twenty-four divisions of demon dragons conducting official business here. All unrelated demons and aquatic tribes are to withdraw immediately, or face punishment for grave disrespect—”

Upon hearing this, the assembled monsters realized that this was not a provocation directed at them but involved the Naga clan. So, should we leave? Who would dare watch this battle?

With a great commotion, the ripples on the water’s surface settled as numerous demons and aquatic kin who had arrived first vanished without a trace.

Hidden in the shadows, the five closest followers of Rahu hurriedly produced image-crystals, each aimed at the battlefield from a different angle, striving for a comprehensive, three-dimensional recording and broadcast of the coming fight.

At this moment, across the six heavens of the Desire Realm, six colossal veils appeared in the void. On every one of these heavenly screens, a massive water curtain emerged, displaying the confrontation between Tu Zhe’s party and the Naga demon dragons.

Instantly, all six heavens of the Desire Realm were thrown into an uproar. Celestial beings rushed to inform one another, gathering en masse beneath the great water screens.

Hey, brother, you’re here too? What’s happening?

I heard that the young prince of Mount Sumeru, Tu Zhe, has been traveling widely and now, while crossing the Great Saline Sea, has run afoul of the Naga clan.

Wow! That’s serious. The Naga clan dominates the seas, a mighty overlord whose strength is so vast that even the heavens prefer to turn a blind eye. How did this young prince offend them? He may not survive this time.

No one really knows. This brilliant young Tu Zhe has met with countless extraordinary encounters since birth. He is the disciple of Lord Mara, adopted son of Rahu the Great Asura King, and rumor has it that even just a month after he was born, he already wielded the power of a Divine King. Terrifying indeed...

So what if he’s at the Divine King realm? He’s facing a legion of Great Sages—a whole host of them! How could he possibly prevail? He’ll be crushed to dust...

Meanwhile, Mara sat comfortably in a large plaza atop the Heaven of Free Enjoyment, having set out a chair and called for a gathering of little demon kings to watch, as if the prince’s life or death had nothing to do with him.

“Come, come, everyone! Watch my good-for-nothing disciple. A few days out of sight, and he’s already up against the Naga demon dragon king—now this is interesting! Let’s see what happens, ha ha...”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. They’re bullying us with numbers, aren’t they? Those damn... Not to brag, but no matter how many come, they won’t lay a fang on my disciple’s, well, you know—ha ha!”

“Don’t believe it? How about a wager? If you lose, your little concubine must meet this realm lord’s gaze, eh? Ha ha—”

The little demon kings rolled their eyes, ignoring him, and simply turned their faces up to watch the scene unfolding on the heavenly screens.

At the same time, the Lord of the Heaven of Joy, Chou Falun; the Lord of the Tushita Heaven, Maitreya; and the Lord of Yama Heaven, Mou Xiulou Tuo, all sat with their respective young celestial kings in plazas, watching the spectacle on the sky’s water curtain with great interest.

Only the Lord of Trayastrimsha, Indra, received a report that a water screen had suddenly appeared in the sky, seemingly broadcasting a live event involving Tu Zhe.

Indra frowned deeply, feeling something amiss. He hurried out to see for himself, only to find Mount Sumeru thronged with crowds, and the screen above showing Tu Zhe facing off against the Naga dragon princes.

What on earth does this mean?

Could it be that my carefully laid plans have gone awry?

That can’t be. If something had gone wrong, Tu Zhe would have used the teleportation array to reach Chakala Mountain directly—why would he still be wandering the sea?

So, is this young scoundrel doing this on purpose?

Did he arrange for someone to record and broadcast the event to all the heavens, because... he’s certain of victory?

Impossible! A Naga demon dragon king at the Great Emperor realm, more than twenty Great Sages, hundreds or thousands of Saints—such power could punch a crater through the heavens! Even I would be hard-pressed to contend with that!

So, does the boy have an ambush? Reinforcements?

Is it my old father-in-law? Or that troublesome Mara?

No, it can’t be...

As Indra turned these questions over and over in his mind, he saw Tu Zhe standing with his hands behind his back in the void, speaking calmly:

“So you are Dragon One? With such a host of monsters, did you already know I used to be a butcher? Are you here to help me open a slaughterhouse?”

The Naga demon dragon king’s twenty-four Great Sages had no names—simply Dragon One through Dragon Twenty-four.

At their head, Dragon One led the ranks—each one fierce and sharp, exuding murderous intent. Behind each stood more than thirty Saints who had reached the Arhat realm, all armored and armed with divine weapons, stirring wind and waves, their demonic aura suffusing the sky.

Lined behind every Great Sage were five million aquatic demon dragons and serpent monsters, a vast, unending sea of forces. For anyone faint of heart, such a sight would either make them wet themselves or break their spirit completely—who would still have the will to fight?

Even the countless celestial multitudes of the Desire Realm, watching from their own heavens, could not help but gasp in horror. No wonder the Naga clan has endured for tens of millions of years, untouchable by any—such is the depth of their power. Everyone wondered: if their own heaven faced the Naga clan alone, could they win?

The answer was yes—but the cost would be high.

To kill ten thousand, you’d lose three thousand yourself. That’s the outcome.

Take Mount Sumeru, for instance—where could they find so many Saints of such power? With all thirty-two young celestial kings, a handful of low-profile great powers, and the Saints from the Four Heavenly Kings, the total still wouldn’t reach half the number the Naga clan had just displayed. Moreover, Indra—known as the greatest warrior of Trayastrimsha—was at most at the peak of the Great Emperor realm, the same as the Naga demon dragon king. But with the Naga clan’s current show of force, if Trayastrimsha tried to resist, they’d likely be crushed.

Tu Zhe the young prince, with only his hound Yama and a mere six companions—could they possibly survive such overwhelming might?

Almost no one believed Tu Zhe’s group stood a chance.

Yet, from the look of things, Tu Zhe and his companions showed no sign of hesitation. And Tu Zhe himself, far from cowering, actually mocked and taunted Dragon One—was he courting death?

Dragon One, having assumed a human form, stood tall and imposing, his dragon scales transformed into glossy black armor. In his hand was a bronze spear several meters long, mottled with verdigris and inscribed with demonic markings, ancient and mysterious—a formidable sight.

He regarded Tu Zhe, who stood with his hands behind his back, garments billowing, exuding an otherworldly grace. His flair for dramatic posturing seemed to grow by the day, yet Dragon One only sneered, exhaling a searing, fetid dragon breath thick with the stench of hell itself. The blast tore through space like a hurricane, shattering the air into fluttering scraps, surging toward Tu Zhe.

Beneath the six heavenly screens of the Desire Realm, billions of celestial beings screamed in terror.

Just a single breath from Dragon One, and such power—space itself shredded in his path, black holes flashing into being, like ancient beasts opening their jaws to devour.

How could young prince Tu Zhe withstand this? Would he and his party not be sucked into those spatial black holes in an instant?

Mara, hearing the cries of alarm, felt the urge to provide live commentary himself.

His voice rang out across the six heavens of the Desire Realm:

“Celestial multitudes, Dragon One of the Naga is, after their king, the foremost below the Great Emperor realm. Every gesture shatters mountains and rends space. In all the Desire Realm, barely one in a hundred Great Sages could stand against him.

Can my disciple withstand this? Can he defend and counterattack against such dragon breath? Let us all watch and see—”