Chapter 220.2: Rain Officials
“Hmph. Looks like those demons and monsters have really gotten themselves into trouble this time~”
Fallen Heaven Star, Myriad Stars Sea—
A black dragon a hundred meters long, its body covered in numerous wounds, bobbed in the turbulent seawater. Most of its body remained submerged as it stared intently at the growing number of divine streaks of light overhead.
At present, there were at least several hundred deities gathered above Myriad Stars Sea.
Beside it was a white dragon of roughly the same size. It was in much the same condition, with wounds covering its entire body. However, because of its white scales, it couldn’t hide easily in the seawater. Thus, the black dragon was helping it by keeping most of its body concealed beneath the surface.
The white dragon slowly raised its head, its long whiskers drifting through the water.
“Our trip to deliver the news to the Hu Xuan Sect wasn’t in vain. Who would’ve thought this mortal Daoist sect would be so capable? They actually managed to summon the deities!”
The black dragon affectionately rubbed its neck against the white dragon’s.
“You’re still the clever one. We can’t deal with those demons that have no physical bodies, but once the deities kill those damned things, we’ll finally be able to go home.”
Myriad Stars Sea wasn’t the largest sea among all the oceans, but the black and white dragons had always lived quite comfortably there.
As dragons, they were naturally powerful. They had no opponents in the ocean and only needed to spend their days eating and drinking.
The seawater itself was their domain. Even if they couldn’t win a fight on the surface, once they reached the ocean depths, their innate ability to control water meant that the dragon race was practically invincible.
They had the home-field advantage, so no deity or demon would ever venture into the ocean.
Thus, the black and white dragons had originally enjoyed a pretty good life. The only creatures in the ocean that could pose a threat to them were other dragons.
But the two of them were very powerful, and they were mates who could fight together with perfect coordination. Other dragons living alone couldn’t defeat them, making their lives even more comfortable.
That was until a group of demons appeared in Myriad Stars Sea.
These damned demons were different from the ones that simply caused havoc among mortals based on their instincts. These ones seemed highly organized, and there were a great many of them.
They went around proclaiming that the Heavenly Dao had perished, and that if they wanted to survive, they had to draw upon the world’s last reserves of power and use that energy to create a new world.
The two dragons had never attended school and weren’t particularly well-educated. But if the world really was going to be destroyed and they could move on to a new world, they would be quite happy to do so.
The problem was that, in the eyes of these demons, the so-called last reserves of power referred to the lives and souls of every living creature in the world.
And, naturally, dragons were included in the category of living creatures.
In other words, those demons believed they should create a new world, and the black and white dragons were supposed to serve as the bricks used to build it.
In fact, because dragons were naturally powerful and the strongest among demonic beasts, killing them would yield even more energy. In the demons’ eyes, dragons weren’t just ordinary bricks.
They were the bricks among bricks.
The dragons of Myriad Stars Sea had only one thing to say to these demons:
‘You lunatics, get the hell out of our ocean!’
Unfortunately, although these lunatics clearly weren’t right in the head, their strength was bizarrely formidable. They also possessed all sorts of strange magical artifacts and could even control the corpses of dead dragons.
Despite the ocean being the dragons’ home turf, they were beaten back again and again. And because dragons, aside from mated pairs, weren’t accustomed to living together in groups, the demons had enjoyed an overwhelming advantage right from the beginning.
The black and white dragons only realized something was wrong in Myriad Stars Sea after the demons had killed more than a dozen dragons and begun using their dead bodies to attack them.
The two dragons were among the strongest in Myriad Stars Sea, but even they couldn’t stand against more than a dozen dragons at once. Their opponents couldn’t kill them for the time being, but they could pursue them relentlessly.
The two had no choice but to abandon their underwater home and flee from place to place, hiding wherever they could.
At first, they had even considered gritting their teeth, abandoning their homeland, and moving to another sea.
However, dragons were territorial by nature, and the various oceans didn’t welcome dragons from elsewhere. If they went to another sea, it would mean having to fight every dragon living there. That was a good way to get themselves killed, too.
The two dragons found themselves caught in a dilemma. They couldn’t decide whether to stay or leave.
Until they discovered one particular trait of the demons: As long as something was a living creature, the demons would kill it the moment they saw it, extracting what they called its power.
When a seagoing vessel passed through the area, the demons slaughtered everyone aboard.
And among the wreckage of that ship was the insignia of the Hu Xuan Sect.
It wasn’t difficult for the two dragons to figure out that the demons were killing everyone who passed through the sea. In the past, whenever they felt like eating something different, they would occasionally seek out a random seagoing vessel. The people aboard would naturally toss down plenty of food that could normally only be found on land.
But ever since the demons appeared, the two dragons hadn’t seen a single ship.
They had spent a long time searching the ocean before finally finding a piece of the ship’s hull bearing the Hu Xuan Sect’s insignia.
The white dragon immediately decided to go to the Hu Xuan Sect and report what had happened. Its reasoning was particularly simple: whenever deities and Daoist sects encountered demons, the two sides would inevitably fight tooth and nail.
The dragon race was a third party and had little experience fighting demons. That was why they had ended up at such a disadvantage.
—For example, even now, the two dragons still couldn’t understand why the corpses of their dead kin could continue moving, let alone attack them.
But the Daoist sects would surely know. They would certainly have plenty of ways to deal with demons.
Looking at the ever-growing number of deities gathering in the sky, the white dragon was extremely pleased with itself.
“This is what they call: When two tigers fight, the fox profits!”
A slightly childish voice came from inside the black dragon’s mouth, repeating the phrase:
“We profit~”
The smug expression on the white dragon’s face immediately turned affectionate.
“Is my little one awake?”
The black dragon opened its mouth wide. A little black-and-white dragon poked its head out. Its body was divided right down the middle, with the left half black and the right half white.
It wanted to swim out, but the black dragon’s teeth were positioned at just the right angle, leaving only enough room for it to stick its head out.
The little black-and-white dragon still couldn’t speak very well, so it could only express itself by repeating what others said.
“Awake~”
The white dragon leaned closer and gently rubbed its enormous head against the little one’s.
“Stay nicely inside your father’s mouth and don’t be naughty. Otherwise, when they start fighting in a moment, the waves might sweep you away, and then you’ll never see your mommy and daddy again.”
The little black-and-white dragon only half understood. It was itching to get out and play.
“Naughty~”
The white dragon spoke gently. “You can’t.”
The little black-and-white dragon replied, “Can~”
The white dragon remained gentle. “No.”
The little black-and-white dragon insisted, “Yes~”
The white dragon continued speaking gently.
“Don’t make me beat you up.”
This time, the little black-and-white dragon understood.
It immediately settled down. It stopped mimicking its parents and obediently tucked itself farther inside the black dragon’s mouth.
—The little one was actually the biggest reason the two dragons had been so reluctant to move away.
The dragon race had no such concept as respecting the elderly or protecting the young. Dragons had enormous appetites, so there could only be a few dozen dragons at most in any given sea. If their numbers grew too large, the food in the ocean would be consumed too quickly, potentially leaving everyone with nothing to eat.
Adult dragons also found it very difficult to kill one another. The most likely outcome of a fight was that both sides would inflict serious injuries on each other.
And then another dragon would benefit from their misfortune.
As a result, adult dragons generally tried to avoid fighting other adult dragons.
However, whenever they encountered a young dragon that wasn’t related to them, most would choose to go over and kill it.
Mortals might call this b*llying the weak and fearing the strong, but the demonic beasts themselves saw absolutely nothing wrong with it.
Therefore, dragons with offspring had to be extremely careful.
Raising a young dragon to adulthood in familiar waters was already difficult enough.
If they moved to an unfamiliar sea, their child’s chances of survival would become terribly, terribly low.
Fortunately, they’d found an excellent solution that would allow them to preserve their strength while also driving away those demons.
Once the deities killed the demons, more than a dozen dragons would also be dead in the ocean, leaving plenty more room for raising their child.
The more the two dragons thought about it, the happier they became. Their bodies pressed tightly together, their little one tucked safely inside the black dragon’s mouth. They secretly watched the sky above while eagerly anticipating the great battle that was about to begin.
It probably wouldn’t be long before the fighting started.
They waited for a while.
Then they waited a little longer.
Gradually, the black dragon began to sense that something wasn’t quite right.
“Are there… a little too many deities up there?”
It was now morning, and the two dragons could clearly see that the sky above was already packed with deities.
And this so-called packed sky was continuing to expand outward.
By now, from their perspective, practically the entire sky was filled with deities.
The white dragon was also dumbfounded.
“Does the Hu Xuan Sect really have such an extensive divine lineage?”
“How would I know?”
When the sky was filled with ten thousand deities, the two dragons had rejoiced, convinced that the deities would definitely win against the demons.
When the sky was filled with hundreds of thousands of deities, the two dragons gradually began to feel a little overwhelmed.
Were those demons really that difficult to deal with?
But if so many deities had gathered here for something other than fighting demons, what else could they possibly be here for?
When the sky was packed with a million, then even ten million deities, the two dragons began thinking about making a run for it.
Fine, they’d move to another sea! At worst, they’d just have to risk getting injured to kill off the few dragons already living there.
However, as they submerged themselves and swam rapidly toward the open sea, they soon discovered that the seabed ahead had somehow become covered in enormous, glittering golden nets forged from divine power.
And when the two dragons were blocked by the nets, unable to leave Myriad Stars Sea, and had no choice but to surface and investigate, they finally realized something:
Why were there even more deities gathering overhead?!
“Greetings, fellow Daoists.”
A voice suddenly rang out without warning, nearly making the scales of both dragons stand on end.
Several hundred robust-looking divine figures suddenly appeared all around them, their bodies looking just as powerful underwater as they did above.
Every single one of them had arms that looked strong enough to tear a shark apart with their bare hands.
Under the two dragons’ horrified gazes, the deities extended an invitation.
“We are divine officials serving under the Great Luo Heavenly Court of Blue Sea. We have come here today because the four seasons’ rain and dew require officials to oversee them.”
“We have heard that dragons are skilled at controlling rainwater. Therefore, we have specifically come to invite you, fellow Daoists, to take up the position of Rain Official, overseeing rainfall across the land and protecting the common people.”
The two dragons: “…”
Huh?
Divine officials? Them?!
The deity speaking smiled politely and raised the head of a demon in his hand.
“While searching for you, fellow Daoists, we encountered this creature. Only then did we learn that the dragons have been suffering from the harassment of demons. Today, on behalf of the Heavenly Court, I can promise you this: If you join our Heavenly Court, then from this day onward, should you ever encounter danger, every divine official in the Heavenly Court will spare no effort to come to your aid.”
Spare no effort to come to their aid…
With countless deities gathered overhead and the head of a demon held out before them, the white dragon felt as though its entire world had gone slightly hazy.
So, did that mean that from now on, whoever attacked them would have to face every deity who had come to Myriad Stars Sea today?
The black dragon was just as stunned. It was so overwhelmed by the shock that it even forgot to keep its jaws tightly shut.
A little black-and-white dragon head cautiously poked out from inside its father’s mouth, secretly peeking at the imposing deities before them.
The deity at the head of the group noticed it and smiled warmly.
“Little Dragon Lord is adorable. Once you join the Heavenly Court, when you grow a little bigger, you can become a Rain Official too.”
The smile meant that he liked it. The little black-and-white dragon, which had been somewhat timid just moments ago, immediately grew bolder.
It eagerly mimicked him.
“Divine official~”
The white dragon and black dragon exchanged a glance.
That was right. The two adult dragons could manage just fine no matter what happened to them.
But their little one desperately needed a powerful backer.
The two dragons quickly reached a decision.
“All right. We accept.”
The white dragon was still somewhat cautious. It lowered its voice and tentatively added:
“But we have one condition. We want to continue living in Myriad Stars Sea in the future. Also, would you be willing to help us get rid of the demons here?”
A ball of flame appeared out of nowhere in the leading deity’s hand. In just a few seconds, the demon’s head was burned to ashes.
He simply washed his hands in the seawater, then broke into a smile.
Immediately afterward, he somehow produced a long, golden-glowing staff.
The other deities followed suit, each taking out an identical staff.
The golden divine power radiating from the staffs made the bulging muscles in these deities’ arms look even more imposing.
“Of course.”
He smiled confidently as he gave his assurance. Yet, strangely enough, there was also a hint of anticipation in that smile.
“The Venerable Emperor has issued an order: Anyone who harms an official of the Heavenly Court, regardless of rank, is committing an offense against the Heavenly Court and must be punished according to the Heavenly Laws. Since these creatures have harmed our Rain Officials…”
“Not a single demon in this place will be spared.”
…
Above Myriad Stars Sea.
A massive seagoing vessel was sailing forward.
“Master, we’re almost at Myriad Stars Sea.”
The sect master, who had been meditating inside his cabin, slowly opened his eyes.
“Is everything ready?”
“Everything is ready.”
The sect master nodded and stood up, his expression stern.
He walked onto the deck and formed a Wind-Controlling Seal with his hands, urging the ship to travel even faster.
“Those demons dared to slaughter the cultivators of my Hu Xuan Sect. Today, Hu Xuan Sect will make them pay!”
With the Wind-Controlling Art boosting its speed, the ship sailed rapidly forward for a while before finally entering the waters of Myriad Stars Sea.
On the large vessel, the cultivators had already equipped themselves with their magical artifacts and prepared for battle. But when they saw the scene ahead, every single one of them froze in place.
This included the sect master of Hu Xuan Sect.
His eyes widened as he stared at the sky above Myriad Stars Sea.
At least a hundred million deities were hovering in the air.
An enormous net forged from divine power had enveloped the entire sea.
The deities stood in layer upon layer in the sky, looking down from above like a gigantic tower.
Amid the demons’ screams, they gazed down upon all of Myriad Stars Sea.
