Chapter 378 - 216: Mingjiang Dragon Disaster_4

Words : 1438 Updated : Oct 15th, 2025

Chapter 378: Chapter 216: Mingjiang Dragon Disaster_4"Mingjiang Prefecture has boatmen too." Lady Hong Guan sneered and said, "At the water crossings of Jing Country, wherever someone passes the river, we boatmen’s disciples are there. When it comes to information, we’re more than well-connected." Lady Guan stood up, brushed the wrinkles from her red dress, held her wine cup, and said, "I heard this Young Master, with less than three sticks of incense worth of fire, slew your Mingjiang Prefecture’s Cross-border King, then set up a hunting plan, aligning with you and Gu Ling to swiftly capture both the Suffering Scholar and the Hall Master, and seemingly, the ignition of your group’s Heavenly God’s Fire has countless connections to him. A talent like that—we’re sorely lacking in our Water Fort." "Your information is a bit outdated; Young Master refused the position of Hall Master." "Refused? He doesn’t care for the position of City God Hall Master?" Lady Hong Guan was surprised. Many disciples at tangkou spend their entire lives just hoping to become an incense master. Zhou Xuan, barely in his twenties, was offered the chance to be a Hall Master—and turned it down so easily. "The Young Master is no ordinary person. If you can persuade him to come to the Water Fort, that’s your skill. Sending me to try to move him? I wouldn’t succeed." The painter, having discussed this far with Lady Hong Guan, ceased hiding anything and said, "The Blood Well Human Brain is what the Young Master specifically requested. Moreover, he is stronger than you could imagine." "How so?" "You must be aware of the ’Hunger Eating People’ phenomena at Mingjiang Prefecture recently." "Of course. One of the boatmen’s disciples fell victim to that Hunger and died at Mingjiang Prefecture. His affairs were handled by the tangkou boat leader." "Hunger raged for many days, and we found no leads. In the end, it was the Young Master who gathered intelligence, marked the locations of Hunger’s crimes on a map, and deduced Hunger’s intentions — the fact that it joined forces with an Evil God, aiming to pollute the Ancestor Dragon’s tail of our Mingjiang Prefecture." Since Lady Hong Guan showed such great interest in Zhou Xuan, the painter used the matter of the Young Master’s divine skills as an opportunity to bring up a second task needing her assistance, "Among Hunger’s allies, the Evil God ’Chronos’ profoundly understands the laws of time..." "Compared to your laws, how does that evil god fare?" Lady Hong Guan asked. "In comparison to his laws, I am but a naïve child, far too inferior." The painter said, "The Young Master used the Dream Law to see through ’Chronos’s’ time laws, unveiling the deceiving scheme of mysteriously swapping skies, thereby successfully locating Hunger..." Lady Hong Guan listened to this, sipping her warm wine, and began to yearn slightly. She said, "My intrigue in this Young Master has only deepened. With a bit more than two sticks of incense’s fire, he achieved such feats—far beyond my everyday understanding." The painter nodded, agreeing with her words, and continued, "After locating Hunger, the Young Master helped our Bone Elder Association uncover the mystery of the Ancestor Dragon’s weakening over two centuries. A group of Evil Gods had been using Divine’s offspring to pollute our Mingjiang Ancestor Dragon, and the second matter I’m asking your help with is this: I hope your boatmen tangkou can contribute to predicting the extent of the Mingjiang Ancestor Dragon’s pollution, the consequences of this pollution, and ideally deduce a method to cleanse the contamination within the Ancestor Dragon’s body." The painter had laid everything bare, so Lady Hong Guan refrained from further sarcastic remarks and offered her plan. "I can deliver the Blood Well Human Brain to the Young Master, but not under the guise of your group... It’s unacceptable for us, Yellow Field Prefecture people, to uphold your favor in such a matter," "I’ll personally escort the human brain to Mingjiang Prefecture and hand it over to him." The painter agreed with a nod, already aware of Lady Hong Guan’s motives—she simply wanted to head to Mingjiang Prefecture in person to convince Zhou Xuan to join Qiansha Water Fort. This was akin to ’competing’ with Mingjiang Prefecture for a genius—or perhaps not even that. Talents like Zhou Xuan weren’t bound by any state; their fate was entirely up to themselves. "Alright, Mingjiang Prefecture awaits Lady Guan’s esteemed arrival anytime." "As for the second matter, few from the boatmen tangkou are willing to go to Mingjiang Prefecture. I’ll go alone and join forces with you to predict the calamity of Mingjiang’s dragon." "That’s my plan. Whether to adopt it, Old Hua, that’s up to you." Lady Hong Guan placed her wine cup on her knee, quietly awaiting the painter’s response. The painter felt bitter inside. Lady Hong Guan’s implication was clear: the boatmen tangkou were unwilling to meddle in Mingjiang’s dragon calamity. The dragon calamity was too massive a disaster. Disciples from other state-level tangkou similarly wouldn’t want to be pointless sacrifices. That Lady Hong Guan was willing to go alone to Mingjiang was merely for the sake of the Young Master, to see a part of the whole. Lady Hong Guan had a fair amount of rapport with both the boatmen and the Bone Elder Association, yet even they hesitated to lend a helping hand. Looking for aid in other states would be even harder. Bitter he may feel, the painter knew that having Lady Hong Guan’s help was already a good outcome—one more ally in predicting the dragon calamity meant another advantage. "Thank you, Lady Guan, for your assistance. I, Old Hua, am endlessly grateful. When you arrive in Mingjiang Prefecture, no matter whether the calamity is resolved, I am willing to share my insights into the Space Law with you." "Splendid. With this cup of plain wine, the matter is settled." Lady Hong Guan raised her wine glass. The painter drank it all in one go, then tore the space apart once again, seeking reinforcements. Lady Hong Guan gazed toward the direction where the painter vanished and said, "Mingjiang Prefecture is likely doomed. Two Ancestor Trees have disappeared, and now even the Ancestor Dragon is about to be polluted. Alas, the legacy left by the ancestors is nearly ruined, If I were Old Hua, I wouldn’t bother frantically running around. A mess like this—trying to clean it up is a task as hard as reaching the Heavenly Dome, I’d be better off contemplating how to use my unyielding tongue to bring the Young Master under the banner of the Water Fort..." ... East Market Street. Zhou Family’s Jingyi Shop. When Zhou Xuan awoke again, it was seven in the evening. Fuzi had prepared a tableful of dishes. Zhou Xuan, Zhao Wuya, and Yun Ziliang ate heartily, but Fifth Senior Brother Lv Mingkun ate without enthusiasm, lacking the spirit. "Fifth Senior Brother, still haven’t found your purpose in life?" Zhou Xuan asked Lv Mingkun. "No." After successfully exacting revenge, Lv Mingkun’s resolve dissipated. Running the Jingyi business didn’t make him happy. Strolling around for relaxation? He didn’t have the habit. "What about going to the Metropolitan with Lao Yun tonight? I can call Gu Ling to send a driver over." "Not much interest, Young Junior Brother, you’re busy enough. Don’t worry about me—I’ll try adjusting on my own." Lv Mingkun shoveled the rest of his food and bid farewell to shop members, heading out to clear his mind. "This kid, Old Five, accomplished his revenge but wrecked his own mindset in the process." Lao Yun mocked with words but truly empathized with Lv Mingkun’s emotions. He too lived for vengeance. For three hundred years, he hadn’t stopped thinking about the annihilation of his clan at Hidden Dragon Mountain. If his revenge were fulfilled, he’d likely feel as aimless as Lv Mingkun. "Lao Yun, you all keep eating—I’m heading to Old Painting Pavilion." Zhou Xuan placed his bowl in the kitchen and headed for the door. "What are you going to Old Painting Pavilion for?" "To get rid of the Suffering Scholar and Hall Master—they’re still occupying my spot." Zhou Xuan muttered. Eliminating the Suffering Scholar and Hall Master was one thing, "The incense fire has burned past six inches and reached over seven inches—I can now study the tattoo map of the seventh layer." After taking down the two, Zhou Xuan planned to enter the Totem Hall, mastering the tattoo of the seventh layer. Then, he’d descend into the Blood Well for the second time, returning to Mingjiang Prefecture three hundred years ago...

Chapter 378 - 216: Mingjiang Dragon Disaster_4

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