Huh?? Yeah at some parts I agree with you but I'm still confused. I think the author disregard some of what he/she says what happened in the early chapters here's what I think I've understood but im not entirely sure:
Yellow dragon said in the early chap to dojin that they've met in dojin's world but I think that didn't really happened nor he existed in it coz the author didn't give any other info besides it until the end.
And also about what you said; yellow dragon being a poisonous snake and a betrayer,
i thought that's black tortoise?? Coz in the early chap they said that yellow dragon created by witches coz the royal family wants to protect their kingdom in yooshin(?) They even sacrifice the other twin so that it can happen right? so I don't really gets the story about the black snake like who is it??
(I'm sorry if there's many grammatical errors. I'm bad at english but i rlly want to reply on your comment bcoz there's so many questions on my mind and i want to tackle it with you. There's still so many questions i wanted to say but i can't explain it here nor my brain HAHAHA)
So I'm not very good at english but i will try my best to answer ( i read this story at 3am so I didn't quite catch some parts of the plot )
1. The pearl was destroyed by the animal spirits because he got enraged when (probably) the first dojin got killed by red lotus and her minions
2. For real but then that's like only 27 dojin
3. Yes she is indeed the one who was supposed to be the god,,, I'm also disappointed that after dojin comes back to give the pearl they were never mentioned again
4. The animal spirits were trained to protect the people from the gods but i guess it will be hard to do that if even the humans wants to harm the gods.
5. As far as i know the dream is Yellow Dragon probably turning back time again so Dojin will not die again
ANd i also agree with what you said at the end since that's what makes this story even more interesting to me, i wish the author has choose to make the story longer and answered all the plot holes ╥﹏╥
i also don't quite understand what yellow dragon meant by meeting elsewhere because in yellow dragon's memory, he pretty much summoned dojin and then let him go back... that's why he watched dojin marry. only the 26th and the current dojin tried to live with yellow dragon. (i honestly don't understand the whole emperor dynamics because in the end, he let dojin return in the real world but then turn back time again to be with dojin. i suppose he couldn't fully let him go. but at the same time, he keeps dojin in his dreams to keep him safe while also trapping him??)
black tortoise is just one of the gods, but he became evil because yellow dragon's manipulation failed. yellow dragon was too weak which led to black tortoise's empress to cease existing and in her place, dojin's rapist came instead. also, some of them even retain their memory. it was a serpent's wish to become a god but when the serpent told yellow dragon to guard the vessel(?) he dived into it and received the sacrifice instead. and that's the reason why Red Lotus, the witch and serpent, wanted to kill yellow dragon, turn into the god she was supposed to be, and make an emperor out of the old man she was on cahoots with.
funny thing is the animal spirits have gone over this 26 times. the poisoning isnt so new but they still let it happen. for the life pearl, i supoose yellow dragon only started to make use of an emperor as a life force after it was destroyed by the animal spirits?
in the yellow dragon's memories, he did watch dojin go back to human realm and get married...i think i also get confused when dojin really died, when did he live and get married, or did he save dojin's life thru dreaming a world for him and yet he chooses to marry?? then what of the 26th dojin? did that dojin return to his world? why didn't the yellow dragon take him then seeing as he lived a celibate life waiting for the Yellow dragon... plus why did he have the life pearl?
i know im ruining the story in my head coz im being nitty giritty coz all seems good and happy. HAHAHA (kinda sad so many of the animal spirits even died in a snap)
Before I lay-out what I understood, here's the reason why I have to lay it out: The actual worldbuilding and sequencing is confusing and leaves too much burden on the reader to piece together the story. The overwhelming metaphors, vague flashbacks, or just the sudden information after things have happened undermine the need for straightforward storytelling.
This is a simple rundown of what I understood:
We have a god who "dreams" for his lands prosperity. but unlike a naturally born god, Yellow Dragon is a poisonous snake who betrayed the serpent, the intended god to be created. Hence, he received the sacrifice of Yooshin, the selfless emperor, and became the god. And in his own judgment, he killed Yooshin's twin and mother because they were going to be the fall of Yooguk. With the death of the emperor, Yoosung (the twin), Yellow Dragon summons emperors from another world. until he meets Dojin, a peculiar emperor who wished for Yellow Dragon's freedom instead of wishing for his own happiness. Both Yellow Dragon and Yooshin who resides within him, fell in love with Dojin and didn't want to let him go. so for 26 times, he turned back time. but because he becomes a black dragon, an evil entity, the animal spirits try to make him sleep which caused his eternal life force, a magic pearl, be destroyed. and he becomes weaker.
The thing is, just from the defails above, there are alot of missing information or vague details.
1. If Yellow Dragon has a life force, the pearl, why does he need emperors as life force?
2. Just the whole dynamics of summoning an emperor, trying to turn back time to love Dojin again... it's a headache
3. Red Lotus... is she the serpent who was supposed to become god but was tricked by Yellow Dragon? — i think this is clearer to me, but her relevance to the story is so detach that she looks like a nuisance instead of a vital character.
4. The animal spirits... are so weak that sometimes they're almost useless and simply try to sew things together after it has already been torn apart by their late action—they cant even protect the emperor.
5. the dream sequences to find the crack and awaken yellow dragon... was it intended to keep Dojin safe fron harm? but the first time was because Yellow Dragon was forced to sleep... then did Yellow Dragon not want to let Dojin go so he keeps him in his dreams instead?
The last bit was at least more organized. However, there is simply no cohesion to the plot and numerous characters were thrown off the bus just to focus on Dojin and Yellow Dragon. What happened to Red Lotus, the other guy who wanted to be emperor, Black Tortoise, and to Dojin's rapist—who was foreshadowed but came about SO LATE. totally forgot about him then he came o so suddenly.
★★★