Gao Sheng opened his mouth as if to speak, but didn't know how to explain.
Nan Jue spoke up beside him. "I'll explain. This is military intelligence. Since Councilor Zhu Meng sent them to you, that means you're allowed to know. Have you heard of White River Dolphins?"
After Nan Jue, an insider, filled them in, Lu Jun and the others finally understood what had happened.
Lu Mei found it strange. She had never heard of an untamed Demon Horde voluntarily seeking refuge with humans, let alone one that had triggered a minor flood season on the Yangtze. Tang Yue, on the other hand, fell silent, as if she'd thought of something.
Lu Jun wasn't surprised. He rubbed his chin. The original story hadn't mentioned this, but when he thought about it, it made sense. A real world had all sorts of different sides and countless people; Mo Fan's perspective couldn't cover everything.
Besides, he glanced at the few White River Dolphins in the water, splashing each other for fun. They were just a few little demons. How long would it take them to reproduce and form a horde again? In eight or nine years, when the Sea Monsters invaded, it would be far too late.
So the four of them simply ignored Gao Sheng's boast about his underwater forces. Unless they resorted to some unscientific methods, that is.
Curious, Lu Jun asked, "How did you get involved with these White River Dolphins? Their kind went extinct, and the surviving remnants voluntarily came to you?"
"It's a long story." Gao Sheng climbed ashore on the supple back of the big white dolphin, lit a cigarette, and sighed. "I was seriously injured years ago. I was practically crippled. Somehow, I heard about a Demon Beast called the White River Dolphin. Its remains could be used to make [White Jade Paste] after it died."
"They say it can nourish the body and even repair a damaged Magic System."
Lu Jun heard a fairly ordinary story. Gao Sheng had decided to go hunting, but even after finding the White River Dolphins, he hadn't found any White Dolphin Paste. Feeling cheated, he'd planned to leave.
On the way back, however, a White Sturgeon Demon attacked him, and he nearly drowned. The White River Dolphins had saved him.
That was how Gao Sheng had formed a bond with the White River Dolphins. He began investigating them and discovered that these Demon Beasts were surprisingly friendly toward humans—or, more precisely, people were lucky if they simply left each other alone.
The fishermen's villages within the White River Dolphins' territory secretly raised them. Once out on the river, even if they encountered a Demon Beast and fell into the water, the White River Dolphins would pull them out.
The fishermen hadn't dared report it to the government, keeping it secret all these years.
Gao Sheng had studied the White River Dolphins purely out of interest. He wanted to develop them into excellent waterborne mounts, an entirely untapped field in the country.
When the minor flood season on the Yangtze broke out, the White River Dolphins were slaughtered, their blood dyeing an entire stretch of the river red. The fishermen along the banks had already fled after the floods hit. Only Gao Sheng had acted in time to save a few of them.
"So I don't know what Councilor Zhu Meng was thinking," Gao Sheng sighed. "Bringing the White River Dolphins here. Sure, a few General-level ones could make a big difference on a local battlefield, but that's nothing compared to their research value. The capital isn't short of a few General-level fighters."
Lu Jun rubbed his chin. He more or less understood what Zhu Meng had in mind. Hesitating, he pointed toward the dam reservoir where the river flowed in. "Could it be that we don't need those few General-level fighters either?"
Gao Sheng didn't understand what Lu Jun meant. He urged the playful white dolphins to continue upstream, but then caught the increasingly strong smell of blood. The river was turning pale red, as if some vermilion dye had been poured in upstream and was flowing down with the current.
Wait. Gao Sheng had seen plenty of battlefields and knew what that meant. His expression changed, and he hurriedly urged the White River Dolphins onward.
But the dolphin beneath him refused to go any farther. Its massive body trembled slightly.
Gao Sheng had already seen the blood-red lake around the dam reservoir. Crocodile Demon corpses, each seven or eight meters long, were piled up densely—at least a thousand of them.
He was stunned, then instantly understood Zhu Meng's intentions. They'd come here to take refuge. The most dangerous place was the safest, keeping them out of the main battle.
Gao Sheng praised him. "You're young, but you've accomplished what even a High-level Mage would struggle to do. We'll leave things to you, then."
"No problem." Lu Jun nodded. Nan Jue remained silent beside him; she had guessed the councilor's intentions from the start.
The five of them and several Demon Beasts guarded Songjiang Dam for more than ten days.
To everyone's surprise, very few Crocodile Demons came to this stretch of river. At most, a few small groups of stragglers wandered here after losing their way, only to be killed by Lu Jun as he passed.
Then, from the direction of the Huangpu River, the Demon Beasts launched their general assault. Lightning flashed across the sky, and deep rumbles of thunder rolled in. Nine Lightning Halberds pierced the heavens, an astonishing sight. The Tide surged so fiercely that even Songjiang was affected, and they could feel it clearly.
Human mages were battling the Demon Horde.
Lu Jun and the others stared into the distance and drew a deep breath. There was nothing they could do to join the battle. It was a battlefield for Super Rank mages.
A few hours later, the lightning gradually faded, and the surging Tide in Songjiang receded. Everything returned to normal, more or less.
News arrived that a White Sturgeon Demon at the Sub-Lord level had appeared in the Huangpu River and launched a surprise attack on the shipyard. Although it had destroyed the base, the Demon Beasts had paid a price: Councilor Zhu Meng had slain the Sub-Lord on the spot.
This stretch of the Yangtze had now settled down. It was up to Jinling to deal with the rest. Hunters and soldiers across the region relaxed and began tallying their losses.
Rumors about Lu Jun single-handedly holding the line began spreading. Plenty of people had seen Zhu Meng hurry to Songjiang Dam, and military officers had later verified the results and counted the Demon Beasts he'd killed.
"I know that guy. He's from the Azure Sky Demon Hunting Agency. He even stood up to the Black Vatican before. The guy's a real hard case."
"Damn, he's still a student, too. I heard Councilor Zhu Meng has taken a liking to him. I'm so jealous. Look at him at nineteen, then look at you at nineteen."
The hunters chatted, and Lu Jun's name quickly became well-known among the people of Magic City.
The Magic City TV station, which was covering the disaster, perked up at the story. One man had held the dam for ten days and ten nights without leaving the front line despite his injuries—what an inspiring tale.
Before long, more news arrived from Jinling. More than a dozen Super Rank mages had joined forces and severely wounded Crocodile Lord. At last, the minor flood season in November came to an end.
Harvest and a High-level Wind Element
The Magic City defense lines were gradually withdrawn, and Lu Jun could finally tally his gains. Over ten days, he had killed more than a thousand Servant-level Demonic Beasts and two or three dozen General-level Demonic Beasts.
Combining the Servant-level Spirits Essence he'd obtained before, he now had ten in total, plus four intact ones—for a total of [fourteen].
Seven of the Spirit Essences had upgraded Water Shield · Profound Flood Dragon, an extremely useful skill. He'd decide what to do with the remaining seven later. Lu Jun figured there was no need to sell the Servant-level Spirit Essences. The corpses from the battle, together with the reward, would already bring in close to tens of millions.
The group said their goodbyes by Songjiang Dam.
"Goodbye." Gao Sheng waved. "Sorry for the trouble this time, young man."
Lu Jun didn't mind; it had been no trouble. He was more curious about the idea of an underwater force.
As someone who knew what the future held, he understood that they would need an underwater force to defend against the Sea Monster invasion. The ability to control water would be crucial. He asked, "What are you planning to do now? Where will you take these White River Dolphins?"
"Since Zhu Meng doesn't care, I'll take them to Pearl Academy and let the professors in the labs study them. They specialize in this kind of thing, after all. White River Dolphins being friendly toward humans is rare, and that makes them valuable."
Gao Sheng was easygoing. He waved. "Until we meet again, young man."
Lu Jun watched him leave and shook his head. He didn't know if they'd ever see each other again. Well... if Gao Sheng went to Pearl Academy, they could probably meet whenever they wanted.
Nan Jue was leaving, too. Their battles over the past few days had been exceptionally smooth and well-coordinated. As a Sound Element and Plant Element mage, she'd been steady and had excellent control of the battlefield. Paired with Lu Jun's Curse Element and Mind Element, they could take on anyone with their eyes closed.
"Until next time." Nan Jue stood tall and spirited, extending her slender hand as her beautiful eyes met his. "I didn't get enough out of this hunt. I'm looking forward to working with you again. I mean, I hope to see you at the National Prefecture War."
"Thank you." Lu Jun gave her hand a light shake and nodded. "See you at the National Prefecture War."
The two young people were full of confidence, convinced that the preliminary selection wouldn't pose a problem for them.
After parting from Nan Jue and Gao Sheng, whom they'd spent a short time with, Lu Jun and the other two were left behind. Tang Yue pressed her lips together, walked up to Lu Jun with a swaying gait, and opened her arms to embrace him gently.
Caught off guard, Lu Jun found his face pressed against her soft chest. Her scent filled his nose, and his heart gave a sudden leap. He was reminded of what had happened at the hotel. It had been quite thrilling—and his older sister, Lu Mei, was still watching.
"Take good care of yourself." Tang Yue's beautiful face was flushed as she pulled away. She gave a soft huff. "Don't get the wrong idea. This is just a sister saying goodbye to her little brother. I'm going back to Hangzhou."
Lu Jun scratched his head and glanced at Lu Mei. His sister's expression was half amused, half knowing, making him feel guilty for no reason.
With that, Tang Yue turned and left. She hadn't figured out how to get along with Lu Jun, and being his god-sister was nice enough.
"Look at you," Lu Mei said with a bright smile. "You're making more and more friends."
He coughed lightly and changed the subject. "Go get someone to process the corpses. We can't waste the materials. We've got a little over a hundred million together. Then we can contact the Adjudication Court or someone else and buy a [Star River Vein]."
"Mm." Lu Mei nodded. In a voice no one else could hear, she murmured, "Sorry for the trouble."
Not long after, the military arrived to settle the materials and distribute rewards on the spot.
Lu Jun also saw several interview vans marked with the official TV station's logo pull up. A few reporters were filming from a distance. The lake of corpses piled up here was certainly a shocking sight, and it showed just how brutal the battlefield had been.
The cleanup work dragged on for three days. They managed to settle the materials, and forty million was transferred to Lu Jun's account—a clearly generous price.
As soon as the siblings got the money, they immediately bought a Star River Vein. There weren't any on the market, but the two had made connections with plenty of people. They could get one through Tang Yue's Adjudication Court, Dean Xiao's Pearl Academy, or Old Man Bao's Azure Sky Demon Hunting Agency.
They could even go through the networks of Councilor Zhu Meng and Mu Nujiao.
They spent a full hundred million. Their shared savings were instantly drained, taking them right back to square one.
In the bedroom at Jinyuan Apartment, Lu Mei held a box in her hands. Inside lay a [Star River Vein].
It was about the size of a goose egg and shaped like a diamond, but far more crystal-clear. Countless densely packed points of light adorned its surface. On closer inspection, they looked as beautiful and brilliant as a river of stars.
There was a vast gulf between a [Nebula] and a [Star River]. It was nearly impossible for human mages to break through the barrier and cross that gulf through their own power alone.
They could break through with a Star River Vein or a Star River Magic Tool. As for the Totem Power that Mo Fan and Zhao Manting would encounter later, that wasn't something ordinary people could find.
Lu Mei was a little nervous. Seeing this, Lu Jun reassured her. "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just let it happen naturally. I only just reached the Intermediate Level, so I'm still a long way from High-level. At worst, we can save up and buy another one."
"Phew, phew." His sister took a few deep breaths, then went back to her room and said with determination, "I'll definitely succeed!"
While the siblings shut themselves away to cultivate, news of Magic City's minor flood season broke, causing a huge sensation.
In a shabby apartment complex on the outskirts of Magic City, Mo Fan had finished his arduous cultivation and stepped out of his cramped bedroom. He turned on the television and watched the news, initially thinking nothing of it.
But when Lu Jun's face appeared onscreen for a few seconds, Mo Fan couldn't believe his eyes. He rubbed them, rewound the broadcast, and took a closer look. Finally recognizing him, he slapped his thigh and blurted, "Damn! Old Lu's such a try-hard. When did he get this impressive?"
On the television, Lu Jun stood atop the dam with a mountain of corpses behind him, his stern face radiating ruthless determination.
Elsewhere, Xu Zhaoting's family had moved to Magic City. As his parents watched the local news, Xu Zhaoting happened to pass by and caught a glimpse of Lu Jun onscreen. He'd apparently even won Councilor Zhu Meng's approval.
He sighed. "He just keeps getting more impressive."
Xu Zhaoting had already heard a little about Lu Jun standing up to the Black Vatican last time. Since he followed the news about Pearl Academy, he'd also witnessed the miracle of Lu Jun fighting in the arena for an entire day and night. And then there was that moment at the Snow Peak Mountain Outpost.
Lu Jun's name had long since become legendary at Tianlan High School, spreading through the class group chats. Everyone marveled at how far ahead he was.
Xu Zhaoting simply didn't know that Lu Jun had changed his fate by interfering. Nor did he know that the benefactor everyone had thought of during the battle to defend Bo City—the Sword Immortal—was Lu Jun.
Across Magic City, stories spread everywhere about the hunter who'd held the front line for ten days and ten nights without leaving, who had passed his own home three times without going inside, and more.
Three days later, the turmoil caused by Crocodile Lord on the Yangtze finally began to die down.
A powerful surge suddenly erupted from Jinyuan Apartment, throwing the air into turmoil throughout the surrounding upscale residential area.
Gusts of wind swept in, making the young, pretty female university students on the street shriek as they clutched at their skirts. Even so, their long, fair legs were exposed.
They weren't the only ones affected. There were also beautiful white-collar workers in stockings and elegant women in cheongsams. Each had her own bearing and figure; some were shy, while others were perfectly at ease.
All the male students on the street feasted their eyes and clasped their hands together, giving thanks for the Demonic Wind.
Inside the apartment, Lu Jun sensed the commotion in his sister's room at once. The Wind Element was gathering in a mighty surge. He was overjoyed. "High-level Wind Element! She did it!"
The door opened. Lu Mei's feet lifted off the floor as she floated lightly in the air. Her fair hand raised a ball of pale, spinning wind. A smile curled her beautiful lips, and she gave a proud, cold snort. "High-level Wind Element. Anyone could do it."
Seeing this, Lu Jun hurried over, his heart stirred. Unable to resist, he reached out and wrapped an arm around his sister's slender yet curvaceous waist.
At his embrace, Lu Mei's breathing quickened. She could no longer maintain control over the elements and fell into his arms.
Chapter 96: Plans for the Three Elements
Lu Jun was completely stunned.
He couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath. The weight in his arms had suddenly increased, but it was still manageable.
Smack! Lu Mei, blushing with embarrassment, pushed her brother away and scolded him, "Why did you suddenly put your arm around my waist? It tickles."
As her soft body pulled away, Lu Jun felt a small pang of disappointment. He scratched his head. "It's nothing. You looked a bit like an action figure floating there, so I couldn't resist touching you."
Maybe he was only this forward around his sister.
Before Lu Mei could say anything, Lu Jun changed the subject. "Sis, what are you planning to awaken as your third element at High-level?"
"My third element?" As expected, Lu Mei's attention shifted. She folded her arms and thought it over. "I'm short on offensive options. Maybe I should awaken the Fire Element as my third. It's also pretty effective against Plant Element mages and some plant Demon Beasts. Together, the two of us would be able to handle just about anything."
"The Fire Element? Sounds good."
Lu Jun gave it some thought and remembered someone: Jiang Feng, the Flame Witch of the Dunhuang Scorched Plain. She had long since transformed into a different kind of Flame Holy Spirit, and she was undoubtedly the best companion a Fire Element mage could hope for.
In the future, one would be a Super Rank mage and the other a Monarch. The two of them together would be practically invincible.
Afterward, he asked about his sister's control over her High-level Wind Element. He already had a few ideas that might improve its combat power and help create a unique, original spell.
After all, he couldn't favor one element over another. He'd already discussed it with Ding Yumian, and now that Lu Mei's control was up to standard, they could talk about it, too.
Lu Mei frowned. "It really is a qualitative leap, but I'm still a long way from a domain. The Star River has a full 343 stars, so I need to build seven Star Charts. It'll probably take about half a year before I can use High-level Magic."
"That's okay." Lu Jun's thoughts raced. "You can work on controlling the stars while also exploring different variations. I have an idea: compress an Intermediate spell into a [Whirlwind in Palm]. When you unleash it, its instantaneous power definitely won't be weaker than the minimum standard for High-level Magic."
"Oh?" Lu Mei seemed interested. "Tell me more."
"This is what I'm thinking. We'll take it one step at a time."
Lu Jun explained his ideas for the 'Compressed Air Cannon,' the 'Miniature Tornado,' and 'Condensed Gang Qi.'
These involved taking the path of compression and [miniaturization], with the difficulty and power increasing in turn. The first two were about releasing the spells instantly and quickly, without worrying about raw power, to interrupt an opponent as they controlled their stars. One was similar to a 'wind-style Rasenshuriken'; the other was a Whirlwind in Palm.
The reason the Intermediate spell Wind Disk seemed so unremarkable was its low density and loose structure. Compressing it and making it explode would definitely give it formidable power.
The last idea was to combine Rock Element and Wind Element magic energy at a basic level, increasing the density of the airflow until a single strand of air could pierce through a steel plate.
The other path was to [amplify its influence] by controlling the airflow and atmospheric phenomena.
Before you continue