Dragon Lord Temple
A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and the once enthusiastic atmosphere in the city turned strange. Originally, Zhou Chu wanted to eliminate the scourge and kill the harmful Flood Dragon, which was a good thing. However, after the people's enthusiasm subsided, coupled with some rumors in the city, suddenly, some people did not want Zhou Chu to take action.
The matter is simple; it's nothing more than worrying about Zhou Chu's defeat. That's the Dragon Lord, after all! Even though based on its characteristics it's just a Flood Dragon a type of dragon-like creature), it's still a dragon. How could a human possibly defeat a dragon?
The previous South Mountain Tiger was nothing more than a wild beast; even if Zhou Chu couldn't kill it, it would only be another meal for the South Mountain Tiger. But the Flood Dragon is different. This Dragon Lord has already begun to develop intelligence. What if he can't kill it and the Dragon Lord becomes enraged?
Moreover, rumors were rampant in the streets, claiming that Zhou Chu only sought to eliminate the scourge to show off his power, and that he had no regard for the people's well-being. He said that with his martial arts skills, if he couldn't kill the Dragon Lord, he could escape, and the Zhou Clan had plenty of guards, so there was no need to worry about the Dragon Lord. Then, who would bear the Dragon Lord's Wrath? Naturally, it would be the people. At that time, it wouldn't be enough to appease them by offering a few boys and girls every year.
The Temple Keeper Xu of the Dragon Lord Temple, Xu, even spread the word that the Dragon Lord already knew about Zhou Chu's affairs, and demanded that the people immediately send ten pairs of young boys and girls to appease the Dragon Lord's anger, otherwise he would immediately unleash a great flood to inundate Yangxian City.
Now the people were wavering. The fear of being controlled by the Dragon Lord for years had eroded their courage. They even blamed Zhou Chu, thinking how much better An'an live a peaceful life, where all they had to do was offer sacrifices of young boys and girls every year. Why did they have to provoke the Dragon Lord? Sure enough, Zhou Chu was a scourge.
"Bang!" The sturdy wooden table was smashed into pieces. Zhou Chu angrily said to Lu Li, "These bastards, how dare they look at me like this! Although I did this partly to make a name for myself, wasn't it also for their own good? How ungrateful!"
Looking at Zhou Chu, who was in a rage, Lu Li smiled and said, "Most people are content with the status quo. As long as they can get by, they will try their best to maintain it. Even if you want to help them, if there is any possibility of causing harm, they will see you as an enemy who disrupts the stability of their lives."
"Yingzhi, what do you suggest we do? The city lord has already sent people to pressure the Zhou Clan, actually telling me to behave myself. It's ridiculous!" Zhou Chu said angrily. A few days ago, he killed the South Mountain Tiger and returned home, and the city lord even bestowed upon him the title of tiger-slaying hero. Now, he's being told to behave himself?
"It's very simple." Lu Li toyed with the Oil-Paper Umbrella in his hand, his Shadow Magic carving strange patterns on it. He said, "Where did those rumors that slander you come from?"
"What you mean, the Dragon Lord Temple?" Zhou Chu wasn't stupid; after Lu Li's reminder, he understood these things immediately.
"That's right. By eliminating the harmful Flood Dragon, the one whose interests are most harmed is the Dragon Lord Temple." Lu Li nodded. "I asked around, and the Dragon Lord Temple is now managed by the Temple Keeper Xu family. They're quite a large family. The Temple Keeper Xu family has many descendants, and they don't do any production. They live a very comfortable life just by the money they receive from the incense money each year."
"If you kill that Evil Dragon, who will still go to worship at that damned Dragon Lord Temple?" Lu Li said, making Zhou Chu hate the Temple Keeper Xu's family to the core.
"Solving this is simple," Lu Li said, squinting. "The reason the people disagree with you exorcising the Flood Dragon is because they have an easy path: sacrificing young boys and girls every year, offering incense money at the Dragon Lord Temple, and they can live a peaceful life. Why would they take the risk of having you exorcise the Flood Dragon?"
"So all you need to do is cut off this path!" Lu Li said with a light laugh, "Smash the Dragon Lord Temple, kill Temple Keeper Xu, and the people who have no way out will have no choice but to support you."
Zhou Chu nodded, closed his eyes and pondered for a while. When he opened his eyes again, a terrifyingly fierce light emanated from them.
Yangxian City, on a riverbank, stands a temple with the three large characters "Dragon Lord Temple" inscribed on it. Inside the temple is a statue of a deity with a dragon's head and a human body, and at his feet lies a coiled Dragon-Sow.
The Temple Keeper Xu family's mansion was not far from the Dragon Lord Temple. After having breakfast, Temple Keeper Xu went straight to the Dragon Lord Temple. Looking at the throngs of people, Temple Keeper Xu smiled silently. That damned Zhou Chu's commotion wasn't without its benefits; it had instilled fear in the people, and to appease the Dragon Lord's anger, wouldn't a large number of people come to offer incense?
He pretended to have a gloomy face, as if to show that the Dragon Lord was very angry, but in reality, he had not told the Dragon Lord about Zhou Chu's matter, and the Flood Dragon had no idea that a human was so audacious as to want to leave it.
When the money from the incense offerings goes into his pocket, he can also add a batch of sacrificial offerings, deceiving the Dragon Lord into believing that he got it for him. He believes he can get some rewards in return, whether it's treasures in the water or the Dragon Lord's aura. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Thinking this, Temple Keeper Xu suddenly sensed a strange aura. He practiced the Flood Dragon Dragon-Worshiping Qi-Nurturing Scripture, which allowed him to absorb the aura of the Flood Dragon and the fear of the people towards Flood Dragon through worship. This gave rise to various supernatural powers, one of which was the Flood Dragon Pearl. Dragons are inherently lustful, and the Flood Dragon, which are inextricably linked to dragons, are no exception. Just look at the Dragon-Sow in the river to know this.
The Flood Dragon Pearl was formed in the lower abdomen of Temple Keeper Xu, and can produce a large amount of dragon fluid, which allows him to still be vigorous even at the age of fifty or sixty. He has fathered a large family, and he himself cannot distinguish which of his descendants are sons and which are grandsons.
Putting all that aside, because of his practice of Dragon-Worshiping Qi-Nurturing Scripture, Temple Keeper Xu was exceptionally sensitive to the aura of other beings. Sensing the strange aura, he immediately looked up and saw a young man in black standing at the entrance of the temple, holding an Oil-Paper Umbrella covered with black patterns. A river breeze blew by, and his half-long black hair swayed in the wind.
Since the college entrance examination, Lu Li has not cut his hair. Due to the stimulation of the Shadow Magic, his hair has grown relatively quickly. It's almost shoulder-length. Lu Li looked at Temple Keeper Xu with a strange smile, and an ominous premonition rose in Temple Keeper Xu's heart.
A pitch-black spear appeared out of thin air, moving at such incredible speed that Temple Keeper Xu had no time to react. If that spear had been aimed directly at Temple Keeper Xu, the Temple Keeper Xu who had been living in comfort for so long would probably have been pierced through.
But he had no time to rejoice, for the black spear pierced straight through the dragon-headed, human-bodied statue on the altar. Countless Thorn erupted from the spear, shredding the statue into fragments. An angry roar echoed from the distant river. The Temple Keeper Xu knew that things had gone terribly wrong...