Lu Chen’s heart suddenly tightened.
He quickly lifted his eyes and looked toward the platform below. Sure enough, as the earth-shaking dragon roars of the Four Sea Dragon Kings exploded through the heavens, rolling waves of dragon might, like solid mountain ranges, crashed down upon the entire Great Dragon Pool!
In an instant, the faces of a hundred thousand common folks turned deathly pale all at once.
“It… it’s the East Sea Dragon King!”
Among the crowd, someone’s teeth chattered as they cried out in sheer terror.
“No! There are four dragon roars in total! It’s not just the East Sea… all Four Sea Dragon Kings have come!”
“When did they get here? Why was there no warning at all?”
“There was! There was a warning! That thunderclap last night! That was the warning!”
“It’s over… this is completely over! I knew it—praying for rain wouldn’t be this smooth!”
In almost an instant, a surge of despair, like a raging tide, swallowed the hearts and minds of everyone present.
Beneath that domineering, world-defying dragon might, the people’s bodies went rigid. They couldn’t move so much as a fingertip. Their legs felt as heavy as if filled with lead, nailing them firmly to the ground. A few of the more timid ones even wet their pants without realizing it.
Ling Shui Shangren was stunned at first. But once he distinguished those four distinct dragon roars, his pupils contracted sharply, and then he burst into manic laughter:
“Hahaha! I said last night must have been the Dragon Kings revealing themselves! But I never imagined all four seas would arrive together! Kid, you’re done for now! Heaven helps me! Heaven helps me indeed!”
…
Meanwhile, deep within the Great Dragon Pool, inside a hidden cave.
The Well Dragon King and the Lord of the Earth, who had been ordered to hide there, were intently watching this earth-shattering ritual through the Mystic Light Art.
When they saw the dazzling, multicolored light of merit within the “Offering Altar,” both the Well Dragon King and the Lord of the Earth were so terrified they nearly lost their souls, unable to speak for a long time.
Although they knew Lu Chen’s methods were extraordinary, this heaven-defying power of refining merit with incense offerings still completely overturned their understanding.
Only at this moment did the Well Dragon King understand why Lu Chen had been so confident before—
So he had possessed such heaven-piercing abilities all along!
The old dragon king’s heart swelled with wild joy. He only needed to wait for the power of a hundred thousand vows to gather, and then he could return to his post, bring rain, and rise in a single bound to become the Golden Dragon Protector under Lord Cai of Wealth, forever breaking free from the shackles of the Four Seas and soaring through the nine heavens!
But then.
At this critical moment, four earth-shattering dragon roars suddenly came from above the firmament!
The joy on the Well Dragon King’s face froze instantly. His dragon body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Beside him, the Lord of the Earth also froze, his face turning ashen.
“The Four Sea Dragon Kings!”
They had come after all…!
…
At that moment, within the Mystic Light Art, upon the high platform, a cold glint flashed deep in Lu Chen’s eyes.
He had never imagined that even with the Water Virtue Star Lord issuing a divine decree, the Four Sea Dragon Kings would still dare to act so wantonly, openly disrupting the rain-praying ceremony!
Just one step away!
Just one last step!
Then the Offering Altar would gather a hundred thousand vows and draw the Well Dragon King back to his post!
If everything fell apart now, all their plans would be washed away.
Lu Chen deeply understood: “The first effort brings success, the second brings decline, and the third brings exhaustion.”
If he missed this perfect alignment of heaven, earth, and human will today, trying to replicate it another day would invite unimaginable variables.
It might even trigger a backlash from the Heavenly Way, plunging the entire Longhu County into an abyss of no return!
“Wait!” Lu Chen suddenly focused his gaze on the firmament.
Within those thick layers of clouds, only the dragon roars echoed and the dragon might spread—but the true dragons themselves never appeared.
A thought flashed through his mind like lightning: “Could it be… that they ultimately fear the divine might of the Water Virtue Star Lord, and dare not descend themselves, only daring to bluff with their dragon might to force our hand?”
With that thought, Lu Chen’s pupils contracted sharply, and the panic in his eyes faded completely: “It must be so! These four dragon kings are bluffing!”
…
High above the nine heavens, inside the Xuan Dou Palace.
The Water Virtue Star Lord gazed at the tricks of the Four Sea Dragon Kings in his Mystic Light Mirror. The glass cup in his hand instantly shattered into pieces.
“They truly grow more and more reckless!”
He let out a heavy snort and turned to Lord Cai of Wealth beside him: “Brother Cai, rest assured. I will certainly give you an explanation for this. But right now…” He sighed softly: “Now that changes have already occurred, if I were to intervene forcefully at this moment, I’m afraid I would attract boundless karma. That would be a loss outweighing any gain.”
Which deity in the Three Realms doesn’t pale at the mention of “karma”?
If he had acted earlier to stop them, he might have avoided some of it. But now that the rain-praying ritual had gained momentum and a hundred thousand people’s hearts were united, interfering at this point—with such immense karma—the slightest misstep could bring disaster upon himself.
The Water Virtue Star Lord naturally wouldn’t take such a risk. He only planned to “settle accounts” with the Four Sea Dragon Kings afterward, which would both preserve Lord Cai of Wealth’s dignity and not damage his own merit.
Though Lord Cai of Wealth was normally composed, his expression had clearly darkened.
He was a rightful god of the Ministry of Wealth, noble and revered in his divine office, but he had no authority to interfere in Ministry of Water affairs. He couldn’t just overstep his bounds right in front of the Water Virtue Star Lord.
Even more frustrating was the fact that he, as an obscure immortal, received sparse incense offerings. In terms of raw magical power alone, he might not even be stronger than the Four Sea Dragon Kings, who now had followers spread far and wide.
Such was the tragedy of being an obscure immortal.
He sighed softly, suppressing his growing anxiety, and turned his gaze back to the Mystic Light Mirror, though his tone remained certain:
“Never mind. I believe such a small storm won’t be enough to trouble my adopted brother.”
“That’s for the best!” The Water Virtue Star Lord stroked his beard and chuckled lightly.
Earlier, he had been the anxious one while Lord Cai of Wealth was calm; now it was the opposite.
The Water Virtue Star Lord continued to watch the Mystic Light Mirror, his divine eyes narrowing slightly, now even more curious to see how things would unfold…
…
Inside the Great Dragon Pool, accompanied by the overwhelming dragon might.
Finally, someone couldn’t hold on any longer.
Before anyone knew it, someone shouted “Run for it!” and the crowd immediately burst like a breached dam, scattering in panic.
Wang Zhongmin snapped awake, dashed to the microphone in one swift motion, and shouted himself hoarse: “Come back! All of you, come back! Don’t run!”
But the fleeing crowd turned a deaf ear, desperately pushing and shoving to escape. Chaos reigned.
A cold glint flashed in Lu Chen’s eyes. He shouted in a deep voice: “Sun Yourong!”
Sun Yourong had already been shaken to her core by the dragon roars, standing frozen and trembling all over.
She snapped back to her senses at his shout.
Lu Chen pointed to a dry, massive boulder not far from the platform.
“Help me split that boulder! The louder the better—shake them out of it!”
Sun Yourong followed his finger. The boulder was round, solid, and massive—taller than a person and two or three arm-spans wide.
“Alright!” She nodded immediately, raised her jade hand, and with a flash of mystic light, a massive battle axe taller than herself appeared in her grip.
Sun Yourong leaped into the air, cutting a sharp arc, and let out a mighty cry:
“Open!”
She swung the great axe in a full moon arc, with the force to split mountains and break cliffs, and slammed it down onto the boulder!
“BOOM!!”
The crash was like a thunderclap from the nine heavens, momentarily drowning out the dragon roars above, echoing and reverberating throughout the Great Dragon Pool.
Stones flew, dust shot skyward.
The fleeing crowd froze at the deafening blast, stopping in their tracks instinctively and turning their heads.
There, beside the high platform, dust billowed as if the sky were falling and the earth were splitting. The shockwave left their ears ringing, and their frantic urge to flee faded a little.
Now was the moment!
Seizing that lightning-fast gap, Lu Chen dashed to the microphone and shouted loud and clear:
“What are you running for?! Those Four Sea Dragon Kings—we hear their voices but see no trace of them! They’re clearly bluffing! So what are you running for?!”
That long, resonant cry left countless common folk in the Great Dragon Pool momentarily rooted to the spot.
Lu Chen didn’t waste a second. His voice rose even higher:
“Don’t panic! They are guardian deities of the Ministry of Water! They are rightful gods of the Three Realms, sustained by the incense offerings of all humanity! Would they dare openly massacre the human race?”
“Aren’t they afraid of divine punishment falling upon their heads?!!”
