At that moment, Liang Haisheng's voice came from outside the quiet room.
"Li Xian, the auspicious hour is almost here, and just about everyone has arrived. You should come out!"
Inside the room, Li Xian temporarily pushed down the thoughts surging through his mind.
He stepped forward, opened the door, and walked out.
Liang Haisheng, who had been waiting outside, couldn't help taking a good look at him.
With his handsome features and slender build, he truly was a rare, fine young man.
More importantly, compared to the day he fought the Buddha Son, the aura radiating from Li Xian was even more profound—like a towering mountain reaching straight into the clouds, like a sea that seemed calm on the surface yet hid raging waves beneath.
Still as water, swift as Thunderbolt!
It had only been a few days. Could he have grown stronger again?
Even Liang Haisheng, who had lived for more than half his life and met countless people, couldn't help feeling astonished.
Was Li Xian's cultivation talent really so absurdly exceptional?
His guess was right. Li Xian had indeed grown stronger.
After cultivating the Great Heavenly Dragon Prajna Heart Sutra to the eighth layer and attaining the Prajna Freedom Realm, he had smoothly broken through from the Upper Three Ranks to the Upper Two Ranks of the Martialist Realm.
With the Heart Sutra's support, his stamina was practically limitless. In battle, he could maintain his peak condition for an entire day and night.
He could truly fight for a whole day!
If he faced the Buddha Son again now, he was confident he could take him down within three moves.
With his current strength, even across all of Qingzhou Prefecture—including the long-established old monsters who devoted themselves to cultivation and lived in seclusion—there were few who could match him!
Li Xian had already walked a few steps when he looked back at Liang Haisheng, who was staring at him in a daze.
"What are you doing? Didn't you say the auspicious hour was almost here? Why are you still standing there?"
"Oh... oh, right, right... It's almost time. We should hurry."
Only then did Liang Haisheng come back to his senses. He hurried forward a few steps and followed behind Li Xian.
Today was a very important day for the Cao Gang.
Today, Liang Haisheng was stepping down to make way for a worthy successor!
Today, Li Xian would take over and become the Cao Gang's new Dragon King!
By now, the spacious Dragon Ship Deck was packed with people.
Not only had the Hall Masters stationed in distant locations been summoned back, but all the prominent gangs of Qingzhou Prefecture had sent representatives to attend the new Dragon King's inauguration ceremony.
Unlike Liang Haisheng's inauguration last time, this new Dragon King was the people's choice.
His record had been forged through real fights, his fame built step by step upon the souls of his fallen foes.
"It's getting late. Why hasn't the Dragon King Li come out yet?" someone said impatiently.
"Hey, what's the rush?"
"Exactly. Even if the Dragon King Li doesn't come out until tonight, I'll still wait."
The man didn't get angry at the others' retorts. He just grinned and said, "I'm only impatient because I want a glimpse of our new Dragon King."
"Obviously. Who doesn't?"
"I heard our new Dragon King is a handsome young man."
"Bullshit. I heard our new Dragon King is Heavenly Gifted, with two horns on his head and wings on his back. He can soar through the skies and dive underground!"
"That's strange. I heard the new Dragon King had Three Heads Six Arms!"
The battle between Li Xian and the Buddha Son had been so spectacular that many busybodies had added their own ideas to the story, twisting it into all sorts of different versions.
As these incredible tales passed from one person to ten, then from ten to a hundred, they grew more and more outlandish.
As a result, many out-of-town Hall Masters who had never seen Li Xian had grown curious about what he looked like.
Just as the stories grew wilder and wilder—
"Quiet! The new Dragon King is here!"
In an instant, the Dragon Ship Deck, which had just been buzzing with voices, fell completely silent.
Every gaze gathered on the tall, slender figure.
There were no horns on his head, no Three Heads Six Arms. At first glance, he looked like an ordinary person—just excessively handsome.
But as everyone on the deck watched that figure slowly approach the Dragon King's seat, they felt as if an enormous boulder had settled on their chests without warning.
The powerful pressure left everyone on the deck feeling suffocated.
This was the measure of the number-one young expert in Qingzhou Prefecture today.
When Li Xian reached the seat of honor and sat down, Liang Haisheng stood respectfully at his side.
Looking at the people below, Li Xian's lips curved slightly.
It was as though a warm breeze had swept past. The oppressive weight on everyone's chests vanished without a trace.
Everyone let out a long breath.
"Phew..."
"So strong..."
"Is this the new Dragon King's strength? No wonder he's a Great Master who could slay the Buddha Son of White Dragon Temple!"
"With such an expert protecting the Cao Gang, who in Qingzhou can stand against it from now on?"
"Across Qingzhou, perhaps only the Demon Suppressing Division can keep the Cao Gang in check."
"And the mysterious Green Lotus Sect, as well as the returning Seventy-Two Demon Masses!"
"They're all minor irritants, no more than clay chickens and earthen dogs. They're nothing to worry about and will never amount to much."
"Not necessarily. I heard several counties in southwestern Qingzhou Prefecture have fallen to the Green Lotus Sect. The Demon Suppressing Division has suffered heavy losses there, and Lord Yuan is having a headache over it."
"That's right. I went there a while ago. Countless commoners were displaced, and the land was filled with lamentation. The situation there is even worse than we imagined."
"Gasp. It's that bad?"
"Looks like Yangzhou City is still the safest place!"
Seeing the murmurs below grow louder and louder, Liang Haisheng cleared his throat and called out.
"Silence!!!"
"We will now begin the ceremony to hand over the position of Dragon King!"
At his words, everyone fell silent.
With everyone looking on, they went through a long series of tedious formalities. At last, the handover ceremony reached its final stage.
"Everyone below, why don't you step forward and pay your respects to the Dragon King?!"
Immediately, voices rang out across the deck in orderly succession.
"Hall Master of the Cao Gang's Punishment Hall..."
"Hall Master of the Cao Gang's Green Wood Hall..."
"Hall Master of the Cao Gang's White Tiger Hall..."
"I am Liang Lizan, Gang Leader of the Fierce Tiger Gang..."
"I am Liu Fu, Gang Leader of the Poisonous Snake Gang!"
"I am Lu Rong, Gang Leader of the Flying Eagle Gang..."
At last, everyone clasped their fists and bowed together, shouting in unison.
"We pay our respects to the Cao Gang Dragon King!!!"
Their voices shook the four quarters, churning the waves across the canal and drawing countless gazes from both banks.
Seated high in the place of honor, Li Xian listened to the thunderous cries of those paying homage below. Even as someone who had lived two lifetimes, he couldn't help feeling his heart surge with boundless pride and excitement.
So this was what it felt like to be revered by ten thousand people, to stand high above them all. It was intoxicating.
No wonder countless people throughout history had thrown themselves at power, willing to be shattered to pieces for its sake!
No wonder some people lost themselves to power.
Li Xian cautioned himself.
In this world, the strong were revered!
He had today's status and power only because of his strength.
If he was satisfied now and stopped advancing,
then one day, when he fought someone, he would be the one to die.
By then, all the splendor he saw today would be no more than a castle in the air, a passing cloud.
Only by growing stronger without end could he hold on to all of this!
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