"Lu Chen, it's about time. Twenty minutes left."
The sun climbed higher, and the auspicious hour drew near.
On the raised platform, Sun Yourong softly reminded him at just the right moment.
Having finished preparing and sat in quiet meditation for a while, Lu Chen slowly opened his eyes. He gave a slight nod, rose to his feet, and walked to the front of the platform, his calm gaze sweeping over the crowd below.
The space beneath the platform was packed with people, a vast sea of dark heads. At a rough estimate, there were at least a hundred thousand of them!
"Let's begin."
Lu Chen nodded toward Wang Zhongmin beside him.
Understanding at once, Wang Zhongmin stepped forward and picked up the microphone first. "Folks, please quiet down!"
The loudspeakers carried his voice throughout Great Dragon Pool, and the roaring clamor gradually subsided.
Wang Zhongmin cleared his throat, his expression solemn. "Today is the day of Dragon-Tiger County's ninety-seventh prayer for blessings and rain! But this time, it is our largest-scale attempt—and our most hopeful one! Everyone has deeply felt the suffering of these past three years. I only hope that you can believe me one more time! Let us join hands and, today, completely cast off Dragon-Tiger County's drought! All right?!"
Yet there was no obvious response from below.
The corner of Wang Zhongmin's mouth twitched, and he gave a dry laugh. "Then... next, let us warmly welcome Daoist... Daoist Master Lu to say a few words!"
Wang Zhongmin took the lead in applauding and handed the microphone to Lu Chen.
"Daoist Master? What Daoist Master?"
"We've heard of immortals and exalted masters, but since when did another Daoist Master pop up?"
"Who cares? It's just a title."
A wave of hushed discussion rose from below, with