“Lu Chen, time’s almost up. Only twenty minutes left.”
The sun was climbing higher, and the auspicious hour was approaching.
On the high platform, Sun Yourong gave a soft, timely reminder.
After tidying up and sitting quietly in meditation for a while, Lu Chen slowly opened his eyes, gave a slight nod, and walked to the front of the platform. His gaze swept calmly over the crowd below.
Below him was a massive sea of people, a dark, dense throng. At a rough glance, there had to be at least a hundred thousand people!
“Let’s begin.”
Lu Chen gave a slight nod to Wang Zhongmin, who was standing off to the side.
Wang Zhongmin understood and stepped forward, picking up the microphone first. “Everyone, please be quiet!”
The loudspeakers carried his voice across the entire Great Dragon Pool, and the noisy clamor gradually died down.
Wang Zhongmin cleared his throat, his expression serious. “Today is a huge day for our Longhu County—it’s our ninety-seventh prayer ceremony for rain! But this time, it’s our largest one yet, and the one with the greatest chance of success! Everyone here knows full well the suffering we’ve endured these past three years. I just hope you can trust me one more time! Let’s join hands and, right here today, completely get rid of this drought in Longhu County! Alright?!”
However, there was no obvious reaction from the crowd below.
Wang Zhongmin’s mouth twitched into a wry smile. “Well then… next, let’s give a warm welcome to Dao… Daoist Lu, to say a few words for everyone!”
Wang Zhongmin led the applause and handed the microphone to Lu Chen.
…
“Daoist? What kind of Daoist?”
“We’ve only heard of immortal masters and venerable ones. Where did this Daoist come from?”
“Who cares? It’s just a title.”
A murmur of whispered discussions rose from the crowd, but the response was sparse.
Clearly, years of failed rain prayers had left the common people numb to all kinds of “bounty psychics.”
Some of the more impatient ones, upon hearing that this wasn’t the rain-seeker from yesterday, cursed under their breath and turned to leave.
On the high platform, Lu Chen took the microphone and got straight to the point:
“Fellow townspeople of Longhu County, my name is Lu Chen, and I will be presiding over the rain prayer today.”
“At noon sharp, the ceremony will begin on time.”
“The ceremony has three steps: setting up the altar, inviting the sage, and presenting the memorial.”
“I only need your cooperation for the second part—’inviting the sage.'”
“When the time comes and I call on everyone, please light your incense together and shout in unison: ‘We humbly invite the Well Dragon King to descend upon our county and bestow timely rain upon us!'”
“Just that one line is all I need from you!”
As soon as Lu Chen finished speaking, the Great Dragon Pool erupted in an uproar!
Everyone looked at each other in disbelief.
“What? The Well Dragon King?!”
“Are you crazy? A dragon king who only manages wells—how can he make it rain?”
“Worshipping the Well Dragon King is something our ancestors did, right? Do people still pray to such an obscure deity these days?”
“What’s this, a renaissance in the world of invoking gods? What era are we in? Is there even still a Well Dragon King? The river dragon kings have all gone extinct!”
“Oh man, after all that, we’re invoking this thing? Are you kidding us?!”
The crowd fell silent for a moment, then gasps and curses exploded like an avalanche!
A deafening roar.
“Ha ha ha, that’s hilarious!”
In the crowd, Spirit Water Venerable One was laughing so hard he was rocking back and forth.
“I thought it might be some brilliant move, but he’s invoking the Well Dragon King? Has this kid lost his mind? The Four Sea Dragon Kings have nearly wiped out every river dragon king under heaven—how could there possibly be a Well Dragon King left! Oh, Chen Tiansheng, Chen Tiansheng, you actually believed a fool like this? I’m definitely raising my price now!”
Spirit Water Venerable One slapped his thigh, tears of laughter nearly streaming from his eyes.
…
Ten thousand meters up in the sky.
Hearing that Lu Chen intended to honor the Well Dragon King, the Four Sea Dragon Kings—who had been curiously wondering which rain master he would call upon—all looked utterly bewildered.
“Big brother, did I hear that right? Who did he say he’s inviting? The Well Dragon King?”
The North Sea Dragon King, Ao Shun, used his claw to clean out his ear, his face full of disbelief.
“That’s right, the Well Dragon King.”
The South Sea Dragon King, Ao Qin, almost burst out laughing. “Doesn’t this little brat know that we’ve nearly exterminated all the river dragon kings under heaven? Never mind the lowly Well Dragon King?”
The West Sea Dragon King, Ao Run, chuckled dryly. “I thought he was going to invoke some proper rain deity from the Rain Ministry. Instead, it’s the lowest, most insignificant rank of dragon king. And the thing is, I haven’t even seen a well dragon in over a century. Where on earth is he going to find one?”
The three dragon kings turned to look at the East Sea Dragon King, Ao Guang.
“Big brother, this is your territory. Does Longhu County even have a Well Dragon King?”
Ao Guang furrowed his dragon brow. “Impossible! This area used to be under the jurisdiction of the Xu River Dragon King. That stubborn fellow was so hot-tempered he wouldn’t even accept my invitation. How could he have tolerated another dragon sleeping on his turf?”
The South Sea Dragon King thought for a moment. “But this kid seems so confident. It doesn’t look like he’s joking. Has he actually found a Well Dragon King?”
The North Sea Dragon King coiled his dragon body, radiating menace. “So what if he finds one? I’d like to see which stupid dragon is tired of living! This is a perfect chance to wipe them all out—grind their bones to dust!”
The West Sea Dragon King nodded. “Fourth brother is right! The Star Lord only told us not to interfere with the rain prayer, but that doesn’t forbid us from killing dragons. It might not be convenient to act today, but we can kill them another day. Then Longhu County will return to drought, which will serve as revenge for big brother! Big brother, let me handle this, how about it?”
The West Sea Dragon King’s dragon eyes gleamed red, eager to act.
Ao Guang gave a sinister smile. “In that case, why don’t you all rein in your auras completely? Otherwise, how will the fish take the bait?”
“Big brother is wise!” The four dragons exchanged menacing grins, their massive bodies vanishing into the depths of the clouds.
…
“Heh, these four dragon king brothers…”
Inside the Xuan Dou Palace, the Water Virtue Star Lord looked somewhat embarrassed.
As the highest-ranking proper deity of the Water Ministry, having his subordinate dragon kings behave so recklessly made him feel rather awkward in front of the Wealth God, Lord Jun.
However, Lord Jun seemed not to have heard a thing, his expression remaining calm as ever.
The Water Virtue Star Lord smiled and changed the subject. “But Lord Jun, I originally thought your sworn brother would find a river dragon king. I never expected him to seek out a Well Dragon King. The thing is, the Well Dragon King’s mortal worship has been cut off for nearly a hundred years. Even if he finds one, it’s unlikely to be of much use.”
Lord Jun smiled faintly. “Don’t worry, Water Virtue. My sworn brother never fights a battle he hasn’t already won.”
Having said that, Lord Jun himself wasn’t entirely certain.
He had agreed to elevate the Well Dragon King to become his own golden dragon and raise its rank, but he had no power to grant it the kind of magical ability comparable to the Four Sea Dragon Kings.
Therefore, if the Well Dragon King truly proved incapable of bringing rain, this difficult problem would ultimately be Lu Chen’s to solve on his own.
“Oh?” The Water Virtue Star Lord stroked his beard with a smile. “Then I’ll just wait and see. But for now, I’d like to watch how he gets the people of Longhu County to sincerely worship the Well Dragon King. After all, without sincerity, even ten million sticks of incense are useless.”
The gazes of the two revered deities turned back to the Mystic Light Mirror…
There, the Great Dragon Pool was a storm of doubts and questions crashing like monstrous waves against the high platform.
But Lu Chen, standing on the platform, was as steady as an old dog.
He had expected all of this.
Because this was inevitably the trouble that comes with “investing in an unglamorous altar.”
So, Lu Chen wasn’t angry or frustrated at all. Instead, he chuckled lightly into the microphone:
“I know you don’t believe me. You think the Well Dragon King is too lowly and weak to possibly make it rain. I even believe some of you think I’m a fraud. That’s fine—I understand your disbelief, but!!”
Lu Chen’s tone shifted sharply, suddenly becoming clear and piercing:
“Have you ever thought about this? If the Well Dragon King really can’t do it, then all you’ve done is waste a stick of incense. No major loss whatsoever.
But what if—just what if—He actually can?
Then your disbelief, your scorn, your mockery today would be no different from you personally blocking Longhu County’s last path to survival!
So, go ahead and laugh if you want. It doesn’t matter to me.”
Lu Chen spread his hands. “After all, I’m not from Longhu County…”
