Simulating the primordial era? That's way too extreme.

Chapter 56 A Fragile Balance

"I really am a dragon!"

Unable to bear your ambiguous smile any longer, the exasperated Huanglong Zhenren began to prove that he truly was a dragon. At first, you just took it as a joke, but as you listened, your expression gradually turned to surprise: This person does seem to have some skill...

The so-called Four Seas True Dragons are divided into four colors: blue, red, white, and black. These four colors correspond to the four elements of heaven and earth: wood, fire, metal, and water, and also to the four directions.

[Wood is green, located in the east, and is considered the true dragon of the East. Fire is red, located in the south, and is considered the true dragon of the South. Gold is white, located in the west, and is considered the true dragon of the West. Water is black, located in the north, and is considered the true dragon of the North.]

[These are basic facts about the dragon race, which you already know. You also know that these four-colored true dragons are actually descended from the four sons of the Ancestral Dragon, a noble bloodline. After the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity, only these four survived among the Ancestral Dragon's sons, which is why they are called the legitimate descendants of the dragon race.]

[Then what makes Huanglong claim to be a dragon?]

"Because I can be considered, by some means, a son of the First Emperor..."

[Huang Long coughed, and to your astonishment, he unconsciously straightened his head and chest, preparing to receive the worship of a lower-ranking member of the dragon race.]

[But to your surprise, you pointed at him in shock: "The son of the First Emperor is only a Taiyi Golden Immortal?!"]

[Huang Long: ...]

This conversation is impossible!

Through Huanglong's helpless outpouring, you finally understood everything...

The common perception of the Ancestral Dragon is that he had a large harem of children, but in reality, while he did have a large harem, the offspring were mostly hybrid dragons, like the nine sons of the dragon, and were not true dragons at all.

[And since there was only one true dragon in the world, the Ancestral Dragon, and he had no true dragon wife to bear him sons, the only way for these early innate deities to produce pure-blooded offspring was to split off their own origins to independently give birth to individual lives.]

The First Dragon placed the four primordial energies he had separated into the four seas, and then, using the energy of the four directions as a guide, created the Four True Dragons of the Seas, each corresponding to one of the four directions, four colors, and four elements.

[And here lies the problem: Heaven and Earth clearly possess five directions and five elements of Qi, yet the Ancestral Dragon only had four true dragon sons, lacking a son corresponding to the Earth element of the Central Plains...]

[Huang Long recalled slowly, "Actually, the Ancestral Dragon had thought the same thing back then. Wouldn't it be great if the five elements were all balanced? But the Qilin clan, who occupied the Central Plains, thought it wouldn't work!"]

[Thus, this became a regret for the Ancestral Dragon. It wasn't until the end of the war between the three races that the Ancestral Dragon seized the opportunity to secretly throw a piece of his essence into Qilin Cliff, where the earth element was most abundant...]

And this very source is none other than the Yellow Dragon Immortal!

[But that's where the misfortune lies. Huang Long was born in the territory of the enemy Qilin clan, and at a time when the three sides were locked in a fierce battle. You can imagine what a disastrous start that was.]

[The key point is that Emperor Zulong didn't love him; he just wanted to collect him, so he never cared about him at all.]

The Qilin clan naturally vented their anger on him every day, so Huanglong's childhood was somewhat reminiscent of Qin Shi Huang being a hostage in the Zhao state in his early years. Under such circumstances, forget about cultivation; he was lucky to even be alive.

Later, the three clans withdrew from the scene, and Hongjun began to spread his teachings. Yuqing Daoist, who was Hongjun's disciple, happened to discover this unfortunate fellow. Considering that he was the son of the ancient Zulong, he was tempted and, taking advantage of the situation, accepted him as his disciple...

After hearing Huanglong's heartbreaking story, you couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. The two put their arms around each other, feeling like they had known each other for a long time, and chatted animatedly!

[The Taoist priest Duobao, standing to the side, gritted his teeth in anger: Old Deng! His little essay is quite well written...]

After successfully establishing a rapport, Huanglong Zhenren, who had been pausing to shed small pearls, finally revealed his true intentions: "Chief, what do you think of my position as deputy chief?"

[You smiled slightly and immediately had someone take him to cut in line, choosing the most arduous tribe! As a relative of the chief, he naturally had to set an example.]

[Huang Long: ...So all my emotional appeal was for nothing!]

[Huanglong Zhenren left the chieftain's room looking dejected; now only Duobao Daoren remained.]

When Daoist Duobao saw you looking at him, he suddenly exclaimed: "Senior Brother! I'm a highly skilled technician in weapon crafting! It's such a waste for me to be working at the grassroots level!"

[After thinking it over, he agreed, and immediately appointed him as the chief professor of human weapon crafting, responsible for training advanced human weapon crafting talents. Duo Bao, whose major was a perfect fit, happily accepted the appointment and withdrew.]

Only then can you quietly contemplate the future alone...

Since Di Jun couldn't use his divine eye, he only had two indicators to determine the identity of the protagonist of the human race: the human race's diplomatic inclinations and whether they were disciples of a sage who had come by following a whiff of their presence.

[Now, thanks to your micro-management, both indicators have failed, meaning that under normal circumstances, Di Jun would not be able to detect the human race's identity.]

[And as long as this state can be maintained, then the human race will be able to truly coexist and progress with the demon race in the long term. This is the most significant achievement you have made since your three reincarnations!]

As for whether humanity and demons can coexist in the more distant future... you don't know, and neither do the sages.

But think about it: as long as those who cherish ideals continue to occupy the mainstream of humanity, there will always be hope. Even if they occasionally stray from the right path, they will surely return to it.

Sometimes you think that humans are ultimately destined to be the protagonists, the demons above demons recognized by the Heavenly Dao. From any perspective, humans should be able to ride roughshod over the vast demon race, while your own acts of defying the heavens are forcibly dragging them down to earth...

[Not only does it defy the heavens, but it also defies humanity. As things develop in the future, more and more people will "realize" that they have no right to be equal to a group of lowly people. Demons and humans are inherently of two different classes!]

Their actions were tantamount to forcing a wild beast to graze, and thus, their reputation among humans would gradually decline... Perhaps one day, the "enlightened" human race would personally dethrone the only sun that had led them out of their initial predicament...

And who will remember them forever?

Ask yourself honestly.

The answer is obvious: "The demon race!"

Yes, I am ultimately a human chieftain of demon origin. The reason I have traveled through three lifetimes is ultimately for the sake of the demon race. My help to the human race is only out of pity for their early plight. The main reason is that I do not want to see the demon race later slaughtered and oppressed by the human race.

"The demon race is my true root..."

You suddenly feel like laughing at yourself. A human chieftain who always puts the demon race first—you're practically the number one traitor!

Besides, would the demon race necessarily thank me?

Perhaps when the day comes that humanity fully suppresses the demon race, while humanity despises you as a "traitor to humanity," the demon people will also curse you as a "traitor to demons," because it was you who single-handedly supported humanity, making them truly capable of oppressing the demon race...

"Neither demon nor human... In the end, I'm pleasing neither side."

You are filled with emotion, but your conviction remains unwavering.

Sometimes, you have to see something through to the end, even if it's fraught with difficulties, even if it's a dead end, even if no one understands or supports you. You have no choice but to grit your teeth and keep going, because not doing so will only lead to worse consequences.

Just like in your past life, you choose to go down a path to the bitter end, but no longer completely favor one side. Instead, you choose a path of balance between two extremes, even if it is extremely fragile and has no way out.

Just like the countless choices you've made across three lifetimes, you never really had much of a choice to begin with...

……

(End of this chapter)