The origins of the Dragon Palace Banquet stretch back to a distant past, a history that predates the existence of any country in the current world. Even before the concept of the human race solidified, the Dragon Palace Banquet was already in existence.

Initially, it was an alliance-based banquet. The Dragon Lord, in a posture of hosting a feast to entertain the world, would proclaim, “With the Dragon Lord’s wine, to enjoy the world, from countries in all four directions, who dares not attend?”

The demon race ruled the present world, supreme over all realms. The dragon race, as the foremost of the demon race’s various departments, proudly viewed themselves as “heaven above heaven, emperor above emperor.” Among the ten thousand races of the world, only those who achieved profound truth could be called “true,” such as True Persons, True Demons, True Devils, and True Kings. Only the direct descendants of the dragon race could be directly called “true.” This was undoubtedly a powerful demonstration of their status. It was said that “all heavens and ten thousand realms are controlled by the demon race, while a hundred kinds and a thousand branches are controlled by the true dragons.” This was not arrogant boasting, but a declaration the dragon race genuinely made at a certain historical period.

This lasted until the ancient Demon Emperor Zhou Jun clan appeared. He personally established the Demon Race Heavenly Court, breaking the barriers between the various branches and completing the great unification of the demon race hierarchy. This also completely shattered the myth of the dragon race’s sole supremacy. Thereafter, the Heavenly Court had a co-lord, who was truly the lord of the demon race. Regardless of whether it was the dragon race or any other race, all had to be subject to the governance of the Heavenly Court.

Of course, if the successor to the Heavenly Court’s co-lord was not strong enough and the established Heavenly Court was insufficient to suppress the ten thousand worlds, turmoil among the various departments was inevitable. The multiple destructions of the Demon Race Heavenly Court throughout history serve as proof of this unstable imperial power.

The Zhou Jun clan was also the first truly terrifying powerhouse recorded in written history of the ancient era, one who overwhelmed the ten thousand ancients. He forced all heavens and ten thousand realms into submission and made the dragon, phoenix, and qilin races bow their heads. His original race is no longer traceable. It is said that to unify the demon race and break down internal species divisions, he used supreme power to erase all information about his own species. He did in fact become the acknowledged common ancestor of most later demon races.

All of these events are recorded in the demon race’s official history, “Ancient Classic Transmissions.” Of course, in these records, the Dragon Palace Banquet exists only as a backdrop to the Zhou Jun clan’s great achievements.

Information about the changes to the Dragon Palace Banquet can be found in the various classics of the dragon race. For instance, the “Divine Text Water Records” records the grand occasion when the ancient Dragon Emperor Yuan Hong clan held the Dragon Palace Banquet, rewarding the world’s proud talents, with both human and dragon race prodigies competing on the same stage.

During the period when the dragon race and human race jointly governed the present world, it was obviously impossible for the top-level human powerhouses to participate in an alliance-based banquet. During this time, the Dragon Palace Banquet was already aimed solely at young prodigies.

The dragon race’s classical texts have suffered two major destructions. One was in the ancient era when the dragon race led the water race in an independence movement, splitting from the demon race and facing ruthless suppression from the Demon Race Heavenly Court. The other was in the middle ancient era when the Human Emperor drove the Dragon Emperor to the vast sea, and the dragon race’s collections in the present world were almost burned to ashes. The “Divine Text Water Records” are considered rare, well-preserved dragon race classics and possess considerable credibility.

Looking through history, it is evident that the influence of the Dragon Palace Banquet is closely related to the influence of the dragon race. In the ancient, upper ancient, middle ancient, and near ancient eras, the influence of the Dragon Palace Banquet gradually declined, just as the status of the dragon race changed. After the start of the Dao Calendar, the world’s water races ceased paying tribute to the Dragon Palace, and human race prodigies began to appear more and more frequently refusing to attend the banquet… until it eventually stopped.

However, when speaking of the first banquet in the world, only the Dragon Palace Banquet can claim that grand title. No other banquet has ever had the influence of the Dragon Palace Banquet. No other banquet has ever had the glorious and long history of the Dragon Palace Banquet.

For the current sea race, the orthodox Dragon Palace is in the East Sea, and the Dragon Palace Banquet should only be eligible to be opened by the contemporary Dragon Emperor.

However, the only true dragon stationed in the Ancestral River in the present world is the lord of the Long River Dragon Palace, whose name is Ao Shu Yi. All the inheritances of the Dragon Palace Banquet truly belong to the Long River Dragon Palace.

No matter how much the old dragon Sen Hai, as a dragon from the Vast Sea, hated and detested the Long River Dragon Lord, he still had to admit that the Long River Dragon Lord’s power was far beyond his own. No matter how loudly he cursed behind his back, in person he dared not have a kneeling posture that was not standard.

He really did not want to go and accept the scrutiny of the Long River Dragon Lord in the posture of a prisoner locked in the Star Tower base by a human race prodigy. Unless Jiang Wang went to the Dragon Palace Banquet and did not make a move, or made a move that did not involve the Star Tower… but how was that possible?

However, Jiang Wang indeed had no reason to refuse the invitation. He simply said, “I really have to go.”

The old dragon Sen Hai said, “If you must go, you won’t tell Water Lord Majesty what I told you from my heart, right?”

Jiang Wang said meaningfully, “That depends on whether you hope not.”

“This is a secret between us,” the old dragon Sen Hai said.

Jiang Wang said indifferently, “Of course.”

The old dragon Sen Hai thought for a while: “Let’s talk more about the strength of the Long River Dragon Lord?”

Jiang Wang smiled slightly: “I am very willing to listen.”

“In the era I was born, Ao Shu Yi no longer publicly made a move. I don’t know exactly what level he reached. But I saw a record in the classics,” the old dragon Sen Hai said. “Before the human-dragon war happened, His Highness Bi An once publicly shouted at Ao Shu Yi, wanting to execute and kill him. Ultimately, with the intervention of the middle ancient Dragon Emperor, the matter came to nothing. Ao Shu Yi was at least someone who could be noticed by His Highness Bi An.”

Bi An was the seventh son of the middle ancient Dragon Emperor Xi Hun clan, presiding over the water race’s punishments, a top-level figure with real power in the middle ancient era. Even such a prominent existence, in a situation where they had already fallen out, was unable to kill Ao Shu Yi. This shows Ao Shu Yi’s extraordinary nature, and his ability to protect himself is at least very admirable.

Jiang Wang pondered for a moment and said, “You have such a good understanding of the Long River Dragon Lord. Let me ask you – suppose if I accidentally offend him, no matter for what reason, how do you think he would try to deal with me if he wanted to?”

Zhuang Gao Xian sending an envoy to the Long River Dragon Palace first, and Ao Shu Yi reopening the Dragon Palace Banquet and sending an invitation later, there was no way Jiang Wang wouldn’t think more about it. Especially since he knew Zhuang Gao Xian had water race bloodline, with Zhuang Gao Xian’s cunning and Du Ru Hui’s strategy, perhaps they could find some way to convince the Long River Dragon Lord. If he just went to the Dragon Palace Banquet without asking, just so boldly, then he had indeed wasted his years as the King of Ba State.

The old dragon Sen Hai thought for a long time this time, then shook his head: “He won’t make a move against you. No matter what you do, you can’t offend him. Even in the worst case, if you really offend him, he still won’t do anything to you. He endured what he could endure, and that’s how he became who he is today.”

Strangely enough, this old dragon’s words gave people a very sincere feeling.

Jiang Wang said lightly: “What if it’s because of some conflict of interest? What if he needs to choose between me and another person?”

The old dragon Sen Hai was very serious: “The power to control the world’s water veins he has already let go. After the middle ancient Human Emperor passed away, it didn’t cause any waves. What kind of conflict of interest could make him take such a risk? At most, he’ll just observe.”

“After all, you are the Yellow River leader born under his witness, and you are recognized as the world’s number one in the Inner Mansion realm. If he were to take a stance so easily, it would be impossible for him to have been the Long River Dragon Lord for so many years.”

“He may not have been the Long River Dragon Lord for one or two thousand years. He has been in this position through the end of the middle ancient era and the entire near ancient era. His determination is far beyond what you or I can imagine.”

This old dragon’s worry for Jiang Wang’s safety was not false at this moment. He had also genuinely considered the situation. After all, if Jiang Wang was gone, he would be gone too.

Jiang Wang nodded slightly, indicating that he had listened: “Then I can attend this Dragon Palace Banquet with peace of mind.”

“At least during the banquet, you won’t have any problems.” The old dragon Sen Hai said this, then turned and said, “It seems you have an enemy that you can’t deal with for now… Is that Zhuang Gao Xian?”

Facing Jiang Wang’s suddenly sharp eyes, he tugged at his chains and explained in a harmless manner: “When you activate the power of the Star Tower to fight, those accidental scraps of conversation can also allow me to guess a bit.”

“Don’t guess blindly,” Jiang Wang said with an expressionless smile.

“Although Zhuang Gao Xian is a small country lord, his talent is vulgar. A character like young friend, how can you be tripped up by such a vulgar person?” The old dragon Sen Hai felt it was very unfair to Jiang Wang. “Do you still remember the perfect profound truth method I told you about?”

Jiang Wang of course already knew that such a method did not exist in the world, and profound truth could only be sought by oneself. But he asked with curiosity: “Does a perfect profound truth method really exist in the world?”

The old dragon Sen Hai said in a low voice: “In the usual sense, this method doesn’t exist. Because everyone’s ‘truth’ is different, how can there be one method in the world that can be completely good and fully true? But there is a great existence, whom you are not unfamiliar with, I believe – Wu Han Gong, perhaps you know?”

Wu Han Gong! One of the eight wise ministers who helped Sui Ren clan overthrow the Demon Race Heavenly Court in the ancient era!

The so-called eight ministers of the Human Emperor were Bu Lian, Cang Jie, Bing Wu, Wu Han Gong, Feng Hou, Ji Yan Shu, Xuan Yuan clan, and the clan whose surname was erased from the river of history, who opened the way. Having reached the level he had now, Jiang Wang, who was qualified to see the truth of history, naturally had an understanding of these predecessors.

The first was the “Human Emperor’s teacher, the ancestor of fate divination.” The second was the ancestor who created characters, allowing ordinary people to also speak of the Dao and enabling the wisdom of the world’s human race to be used for their own kind. The third was known as the “Soldier Ancestor,” who created military formations and techniques, allowing the power of ordinary people’s blood and qi to kill amidst superhuman spells. He truly created the possibility for the human race to defeat the strong with the weak and defeat enemies by gathering crowds.

The fourth was none other than Wu Han Gong!

Wu Han Gong’s greatest achievement was that in his lifetime, he created a massive number of human race techniques, which were the source of various later cultivation schools. The Confucian Patriarch and the Law Patriarch both acknowledged benefiting from him on the path of cultivation. The “Quiet Void Imagine Collection” records such a saying that was widely circulated in the ancient era – “Bu Lian is the Human Emperor’s one teacher, Wu Han Gong is the teacher of the human race’s ten thousand people!”

Related to such a legendary figure, even unbelievable things can become possible. This old dragon really did have some genuine information, not just making things up to deceive him!

Jiang Wang’s expression was somewhat surprised: “Your dragon race also has research into our human race’s wise ones?”

“How could we not research? We were all driven to the vast sea, we always wanted to know why we lost. Wu Han Gong’s greatness deeply convinced me. Even when I was still in the vast sea, I took him as my goal, wanting to make more contributions to the sea race and become the Wu Han Gong of the sea race…” The old dragon Sen Hai sighed for a while, then turned to his main topic: “Wu Han Gong’s unparalleled talent in cultivation techniques made him a source-like existence in the history of human race cultivation. And the fundamental technique he left behind can allow each person to find a path within it that infinitely approaches perfection.”

Changing to any other person would not have been enough to be so persuasive. But the name Wu Han Gong itself represented infinite possibilities in cultivation.

Jiang Wang couldn’t help but say: “Did you master the fundamental technique left behind by Wu Han Gong?”

“I of course did not!” The old dragon Sen Hai shook his head in denial, but then added: “However, I know a place where it might be. No, it will definitely be there! I have captured the traces left behind by Wu Han Gong.”

“What place?” Jiang Wang was very cooperative.

“It was a chance encounter when I was roaming the universe. However, I left in a hurry at that time and didn’t investigate carefully. If you’re also not busy, why don’t we go explore it again…” The old dragon Sen Hai became more and more amiable: “You are an absolute world prodigy, and I was also an absolute world prodigy several thousand years ago. If you and I join hands, combining the strengths of humans and dragons, what kind of inheritance can’t we penetrate? Wait until you prove the Dao and become a True Person, then release me. Afterwards, the universe is vast, and we can be Dao companions to each other, pushing forward. It wouldn’t be a disappointment to our fate in these years.”

A rather long-term plan!

“Where is the address? Do you have a star map?” Jiang Wang asked.

What the old dragon said was detailed and plausible, and definitely not completely fabricated. To say he wasn’t interested would be false. But to say he would just plunge in blindly would be foolish.

“Right now I definitely can’t explain the star map address clearly, I believe you can understand.” The old dragon Sen Hai’s eyes were very sincere: “What I hope is that we go together, not you with others.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you either…” Jiang Wang changed the subject: “How about this, you first show me a few secret dragon race classics.”

The old dragon Sen Hai was stunned for a moment, then said: “It’s not that I’m unwilling to give them to you either… However, the dragon race and human race are different species. Our techniques may not be useful to you, and it’s also not certain that they won’t conflict with your original cultivation and affect it.”

Jiang Wang simply said: “The stones of other mountains can be used to polish jade. I just want to reference them… You don’t lack sincerity, do you?”

“Then come down a bit, and I’ll transmit it to you face to face,” the old dragon Sen Hai said.

Jiang Wang smiled warmly: “Oral transmission is fine. My hearing is very good, I can hear it.”

“The mind reaches instantly, the spirit is complete and full of intent. If the words are too long, it’s easy to lose the true meaning,” the old dragon Sen Hai said. “I’ll still transmit it to you with my mind.”

Jiang Wang’s attitude was firm: “I enjoy the feeling of slowly chewing on knowledge, not like a wolf swallowing a tiger. That way, I’ll lose the beauty of seeking the Dao.”

“Ah!” The old dragon Sen Hai sighed heavily again: “My sincerity is of course very full. It’s just that I’ve been locked here for too many years, and for a time I really can’t think of what technique is more suitable for you. Let me think.”

It was truly interesting. After over a thousand years in the Sen Hai source realm and three years waiting in the Jade Heng Star Tower, he was just confused! Thinking? Thinking about how to bury a thorn in the technique without leaving a trace?

Jiang Wang, however, was indifferent. Anyway, if the old dragon gave him a technique, he would either hand it over to Senior Guan Yan for inspection or dedicate it to the Yan Dao Platform in exchange for merit. He would absolutely not cultivate it rashly himself.

“Never mind, you think slowly. Today you have bared your heart to me, and I trust you very much too.” His tone was considerate. Suddenly, he asked again: “Right! Since Emperor Lord Tai Yong has died in battle, can you return to the vast sea now?”

“Perhaps only you in this world would care about this problem… Everyone else only cares about whether I’m dead or not.” The old dragon Sen Hai said somewhat sadly: “Forget it, they hurt me too deeply. I don’t want to go back to that hurtful place. I actually feel that being with you is the most interesting. Speaking of Wu Han Gong’s technique legacy—”

Jiang Wang’s face changed, and he suddenly stood up, disappearing into the Star Tower. Only an urgent voice was left in the tower: “Something’s come up temporarily, let’s chat next time!”

The old dragon Sen Hai curled up in the narrow prison cell, the words filling his chest abruptly stopping. He only used his dragon claws to knock on the stone slab of the ground, like an old man guarding the countryside all alone after his children have left, saying slightly desolate: “Never mind, you’re busy.”

It’s not easy to deceive him! In these few short years, this boy is visibly polluted by this dirty world. The original residents of the Sen Hai source realm were still pure, making the old man miss them.

At the top floor of the White Jade Capital wine tower, “Jiang someone,” who had something come up temporarily, was sitting properly at his desk, guiding the power of the Jade Heng stars, writing a starlight letter to Senior Guan Yan. Of course, there was something, but it didn’t require him to leave in such a hurry, and it didn’t even prevent him from writing a letter first—

“Senior, long time no contact:

Today I gained something from the old dragon Sen Hai – within the world gap of the Sen Hai source realm, there may still be a treasure hidden by the old dragon. I suspect it is a Buddhist treasure stolen by the old dragon in the vast sea. If you have time, you might as well search for it. If it can be beneficial to your cultivation, I hope you won’t be overjoyed.

However, you need to pay more attention. The old dragon is cunning, and I fear he is trying to deceive me. It is also possible that he is calculating a bad plan involving you and me. Senior’s wisdom surpasses mine by a hundred times, but the dangerous heart and evil thoughts are difficult to fully calculate. Please, I beg you, deliberate again and again.

Along with this letter, I have attached some recent cultivation doubts for Senior’s review. Please do not hesitate to whip, point out my errors directly.

Please give my regards to the little troublesome granny on my behalf and wish her a pleasant journey.

—Boy Jiang Wang, at Star Moon Plain.”