Chaos Under Heaven, Reputation Like Fire

The well was deep and dark. A faint red glow rippled across the water's surface.

Qin Geng stood beside the well's stone rim, straight as a pine. His gaze pierced layer after layer of darkness, reaching the bottom.

The Book of a Hundred Trades showed a talent shimmering with light.

[Water Lord (Level One)]: While in water, you can draw on its currents to recover stamina and heal injuries, gain a slight boost to combat ability, and exert a natural pressure over the Waterfolk.

That talent must have been how the carp sensed him.

"Xun River Water Lord."

Qin Geng spoke the four words softly, without putting on a show of authority. He sounded like someone casually giving his name to an acquaintance he had run into at a teahouse.

But to the red carp at the bottom of the well, they struck like thunder from the ninth heaven.

A Water Lord ruled an entire stretch of water. It was a title granted by the divine order itself.

And depending on the waters, some domains were far harder to claim than others.

The Xun River branched off the Tianjin River, right beneath the emperor's feet. Anyone who became a Water Lord in a tributary of the Tianjin River had to possess power that reached the heavens.

The well water surged. It was the red carp's instinctive reaction to its shock.

It had thought Qin Geng was a Water Lord from some remote region who had come to Tianjin seeking an opportunity. Now it realized it had been wrong about everything.

"Hiss—"

A thought like a sharp intake of breath traveled up through the water, trembling all the way.

"So the Dragon Lord of Xun River stands before me!"

The red carp's bearing sank straight into the dust. Its