"What? You're unwilling to call me elder brother?" Qing Long's eyes narrowed, his tone shifting. "Or do you think I'm not worthy of being your elder brother?"
Qing Ling's eye corners twitched violently. He quickly put on a fawning smile. "Willing, willing! Little brother greets elder brother."
"Mm, since that is the case, let us begin," Qing Long said indifferently.
Qing Ling was startled. He looked at the automatically closing palace doors behind him, the activated restrictions, and Qing Long beside him. He suddenly thought of something, his voice trembling slightly. "Lord, no, elder brother, you're not going to..."
"Indeed, it is time," Qing Long nodded. "This is the last thing I can do for you. I only hope that in the future, you can wholeheartedly serve my Dragon clan."
Qing Ling's expression turned solemn. "Qing Ling will certainly not fail elder brother's trust."
"Let us begin."
The two sat facing each other, divine light emanating from their bodies. Azure light intertwined, the principal and auxiliary harmonizing.
At this very moment, a mighty spring breeze swept across heaven and earth, and gentle spring rain traversed boundless mountains and rivers. The vernal season returned to the great earth, its vitality surging through the four seas and eight desolate lands. Heaven and earth teemed with life, and all things coupled and multiplied.
Many great beings felt a stir, all gazing eastward.
On the shores of the Arctic, white clouds stretched across the sky. A divine palace rested upon the clouds, and a goddess stood atop it.
Bai He looked up, observing the spring season sweeping across the Primordial World, pushing back the winter. She raised her hand several times but ultimately held back.
She was the divine being who assisted winter, while the principal divine being of winter was Xuan Wu. Formed from innate snow clouds, she had cultivated for hundreds of Yuan Hui before finally reaching the eighth level of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm.
However, she favored quietude and purity, hence the white and silent snowy lands of the north.
Now, with the inexplicable vernal shift in the east, spring had already spread to the Northern Cold Celestial Domain.
Although the principal divine being had fallen into slumber, she absolutely could not let the spring season encroach upon the northern territories.
Bai He rose, her plain robes fluttering. She walked out of the great hall and beckoned. A pure white jade bottle appeared in her embrace.
She tapped it gently with her finger.
"Clang~"
The divine bottle suddenly unleashed ten thousand miles of biting cold wind, rushing southward to resist the spring warmth.
She tapped it again. The divine bottle released ten thousand miles of snowfall, the snow falling like goose feathers, pure and flawless, creating a frigid celestial domain.
The biting wind and fierce snow concealed the spring tide; no life was visible in the northern celestial domain.
Meanwhile, within the divine mountain hall of Qing Long, Qing Ling's spring god's divine spark trembled at his brow, his primordial spirit aching as he accepted Qing Long's principal spring god's divine spark.
The principal and auxiliary divine sparks gradually merged, emerging from Qing Long's brow and integrating into the divine pattern on Qing Ling's brow.
The divine pattern, forged over ten thousand years, finally solidified, with the principal and auxiliary becoming one.
From then on, Qing Ling's brow bore only a single divine pattern: the Great Dao pattern of "Spring." There was no longer an auxiliary or a principal; he was the sole Spring God in this world.
Qing Ling rose and bowed in thanks. Qing Long smiled and helped him up. "This divine position is neither here nor there to me. It is better to give it to someone who truly needs it."
"Elder brother, rest assured, Qing Ling will never disappoint you."
Qing Long smiled and nodded. "Go, let all beings behold the new Spring God, behold the successor of my Qing Long."
Qing Ling smiled in agreement, then turned and ascended into the sky.
The Spring Wind and Rain Banner spontaneously rose into the firmament. He controlled the spring winds of heaven and earth with his palm, and the cycle of time and vitality of heaven and earth resided in his thoughts.
Spring returned to the earth, spring entered the azure clouds, spring rose from the Eastern Extreme, spring swept through the eight desolate lands, the spring wind never ceased, the spring rain dew fulfilled, the Spring God descended, the spring season returned, all beings welcomed.
Qing Ling pointed one finger to the sky and another to the earth. He clasped his hands before his chest, his divine voice resounding: "I am Qing Ling. From this moment forth, I shall govern the Spring God of heaven and earth, wielding Spring."
The divine pattern on his brow flickered, his primordial spirit's divine spark blazed. Heaven and earth responded, all beings and beasts paid homage, and the fortune of the four directions converged upon him.
Qing Long's transmission of the principal spring god's divine spark to him was far more than simply granting Qing Ling an additional divine position. Though he was the auxiliary Spring God, his divine spark was not low, but ultimately, as an auxiliary, the word itself defined the height of his achievements.
But now, with the principal and auxiliary merged, and as the sole Spring God, this was not just an elevation in fortune and divine position, but the beginning of infinite future possibilities.
The auxiliary god of Spring had given him the foundation of an innate deity, but it had also limited his ceiling.
Now, this celestial and earthly shackle had been broken. If he had not achieved the realm of a great heavenly and earthly being, then today, he could have ascended to that very realm with this.
Upon Jade Capital Mountain, the old Daoist priest frowned for the first time due to a figure whose heavenly secrets were not entirely clear. Perhaps he had overlooked this minor character, but he would not do so in the future.
Beneath Qing Long's divine mountain, the many Great Luo Golden Immortals of the Dragon clan were astonished, not to mention envious and jealous. The positions of the two principal divine beings of time and season in all of heaven and earth! If bestowed upon them, perhaps they too would have a sliver of a chance to step into the realm of great heavenly and earthly beings.
Qing Ling descended from the clouds. With his divine sparks unified, a faint divine might emanated from him at all times. Gentle breezes swirled around him, clouds accompanied him, his countenance was that of a deity, noble and blessed.
"Qing Ling thanks elder brother again."
This 'elder brother' he called out with utmost sincerity and truthfulness. It was unlike his dealings with Shi Tian Supremacy, which were based on mutual benefit, nor like his interactions with Luo Hu, which were born out of necessity.
Qing Long smiled, brighter than the sun. Shedding his divine spark, he lost a fraction of his awe-inspiring majesty, gaining a more sunshine-like, warming demeanor.
"Don't just say it; you still need to do what you ought to do in the future."
Qing Ling replied, "I would never dare disobey elder brother's words."
"Come, let's take a walk."
"Alright."
The two, bathed in the same light and smiling, walked upon the waves, greeting the magnificent sunrise over the East Sea. Each step they took was bathed in golden radiance, amidst the vast ocean.
They did not look at the sky, only letting the rising sun illuminate their path and their feet tread upon the boundless ocean. They walked from sunrise to sunset, and then to the appearance of the Tai Yin moon, its silver brilliance stretching for miles. The sea became like the sky, reflecting stars and the moon, carrying a sea of stars and moon, leisurely breaking through the waves.
For the first time, Qing Ling saw the ocean of the Dragon clan, witnessing the era where dragons soared to the heavens as venerated beings and where spiritual jiaos had a path to becoming dragons.
Qing Long was showing him the might of the Dragon clan, and also warning him of the even greater might of their enemies.
Qing Long stood in the mid-air of the East Sea, watching young dragons playing in the sea and great jiaos traversing the waters in the distance. He said to Qing Ling, "Qing Ling, do you know what my heart's greatest desire is?"
Qing Ling smiled and said, "The world says Qing Long Ancestor was the God of War of the Dragon clan, invincible in his conquests. But who knew that elder brother's heart held nothing more than the hope for divine dragons to eternally dwell in the sea and for spiritual jiaos to have a path to becoming dragons."
He couldn't help but chuckle in mild surprise. "My old self's thoughts have actually been seen through by you."
Qing Long laughed. "Where is elder brother old? Which female dragon in the clan has not dreamt of Qing Long? It is evident elder brother's charm is transcendent, capable of captivating all the female dragons in the clan."
Qing Long glared at him. "Stop spouting nonsense."
Then, looking at the spectacle of the dragons returning from their sea voyage and the dragon roars that shook the nine heavens at sunrise, he said softly, "Qing Ling, if one day, us old fellows are no longer here, I hope you can protect such a scene."
Qing Ling looked at this peerless expert whose realm had reached its apex, yet who now sighed with emotion like an ordinary mortal. His heart was filled with a sense of melancholy, but more so with a feeling of responsibility and mission.
His life had been inextricably entwined with the Dragon clan. His achievements were all due to Qing Long's assistance. Whether bound by karmic ties or by his promise to Qing Long, he would do his utmost.