The New Village Chief

When Ying Nan announced that Ta Lo Village would have a new chief, Li Qi frowned slightly. He had expected some of the villagers to stand up in opposition, or at least raise questions and doubts. After all, this was a major decision concerning the village's future direction.

But to his surprise, not one of the simple, unassuming villagers objected. Instead, joy lit up every face, excitement sparkled in their eyes, and they clapped vigorously, celebrating the decision with enthusiastic approval.

This rather surprised Li Qi, but he did not dwell on it. He merely shook his head lightly, treating it as a trivial matter.

Afterward, a crowd of jubilant villagers surrounded Li Qi warmly, singing and dancing. Speakers in the square played cheerful dance music, its lively rhythm seemingly possessed of a kind of magic. Before long, the entire square became a sea of song and dance, a bustling scene of joy and prosperity.

Surrounded by the crowd, Li Qi could not help swaying along, dancing a few steps as the mood took him.

Beside him, the sisters Ying Li and Ying Nan stayed close as shadows, attending to him with care. All around them were young women of about twenty, their long hair flowing like black silk fluttering gently in the breeze,

dressed in festive finery whose vibrant colors made them look even more lovely and captivating. Their figures were slender and their dancing graceful, every movement brimming with youthful energy.

The villagers' gazes toward Li Qi were filled with respect and obedience, pure and untainted by any other feeling. At that moment, Li Qi was also focused on considering Ta Lo Village's affairs, with no other distracting thoughts.

As Li Qi danced, his brow remained tightly furrowed as he considered Ta Lo Village's security. Since he and the others could come and go freely, outsiders entering was merely a matter of probability.

Once his business was finished, he decided to have Stark Industries strengthen protection here and turn it into a mysterious Ta Lo base similar to Wakanda. Of course, making contact with and integrating into the technologically advanced nation of Wakanda was a plan for later.

After a while, the mysterious space containing Ta Lo Village gradually darkened, as though a sheet of black silk were slowly descending to shroud the entire world. Colorful lights in the square switched on at just the right moment, instantly making it as bright as day, and the villagers grew even more enthusiastic.

After dancing a little longer, Ying Nan walked softly over to Li Qi, bowed slightly, and quietly asked the new village chief for permission to light the bonfire and begin grilling the food prepared earlier. Li Qi smiled and nodded his approval.

In an instant, the brilliant lights all went out, and everyone stopped moving in unison, as though someone had pressed a pause button. A few seconds later, a towering blaze sprang up as the wood for the huge central bonfire was lit. The smaller cooking fires around it were lit one after another, their warm glow illuminating everyone's faces.

Li Qi noticed that the villagers were not grilling animal meat, but carefully prepared vegetables and other ingredients. In this mysterious Ta Lo Village, where rare creatures from the Classic of Mountains and Seas could be found everywhere, grilling those creatures would have been quite inappropriate.

Thus, the villagers chose vegetables, soy products, and other foods suitable for grilling. Li Qi heartily approved, nodding slightly and silently considering it a wise approach to protecting the ecosystem and maintaining sustainable development.

Everyone sang and danced enthusiastically with the new village chief until midnight, when Li Qi finally raised his hand, signaling for them to disperse, rest, and clean up the grounds. After bidding the village chief farewell, the many female villagers went home with satisfied smiles on their faces.

Accompanied by the two sisters, Li Qi returned to the entrance of the village chief's residence with an easy stride.

Xu Wenwu and his daughter were still dutifully serving as guards and bodyguards. They stood tall and straight like two statues, silently guarding the entrance. Seeing their hard work, Li Qi nodded to signal that they could go and rest.

Some villagers warmly welcomed Xu Wenwu and his daughter into their homes for the night. That night, with the two sisters beside him, Li Qi slept very soundly, as though the whole world had become peaceful and serene.

Early the next morning, sunlight streamed through the open window like golden threads, falling gently over the soft bamboo bed. Ying Li and Ying Nan slowly awoke one after the other. Through sleepy eyes, they saw that Li Qi had already risen and was quietly looking through the window, his gaze deep as he watched the rolling mountains across the water and the site of the dragon-scale seal.

Li Qi considered how to resolve the potential danger before him. Through the system, he had learned that the dragon-scale seal was almost at its weakest, and that the evil creatures from another world being held back would soon cross over.

He knew full well that taking the initiative was the best way to resolve the problem. Attacking was often the most direct and effective approach.

After Li Qi got out of bed, the two sisters immediately came forward and gently attended to him as he washed, then hurried lightly off to prepare breakfast. Li Qi stood in the courtyard, sunlight falling over him and outlining his resolute figure.

Xu Wenwu and Xu Xialing entered the courtyard in step. After saluting the Dominator, they stood quietly behind him.

Li Qi turned around and, with a firm gaze, told Xu Wenwu that they would go to the dragon-scale seal after breakfast to examine the situation. Xu Wenwu nodded solemnly in assent.

He wore a fitted black martial outfit, with the ten rings around his arms. The rings glimmered mysteriously in the sunlight, yet even their radiance seemed dim before Li Qi.

Xu Xialing stepped forward, determination and yearning in her eyes, and asked the Dominator to let her fight. Li Qi frowned slightly and refused her, his gaze full of concern,

because she was only an ordinary person with relatively strong physical abilities and had obvious shortcomings when facing evil creatures from another world.

In the original storyline, Xu Shang-Chi had awakened magical powers in the deep pool not far ahead, allowing him to control the stone rings and defeat the evil, dragon-shaped Soul Eater.

But out of concern for Xu Xialing's safety, Li Qi refused her request to fight, uncertain whether she had inherited her mother's magical constitution at this point.

Xu Xialing looked at her master with determined eyes, her lips trembling slightly. In the end, under Li Qi's firm gaze, she obediently nodded.

Through the doors and windows, Xu Xialing saw Ying Nan and Ying Li busy in the kitchen at the back. After asking her master for permission, she headed there with slightly dejected steps to help prepare breakfast. Li Qi nodded his approval.

Before long, a lavish breakfast was ready. Li Qi sampled several dishes, and their delicious flavors brought a satisfied smile to his face. Seeing Xu Wenwu still standing to one side, he warmly invited them to sit down and eat together. Everyone enjoyed the meal at ease.

The whole of Ta Lo Village gradually came alive as the young, beautiful female villagers began their daily training and routines.

Ta Lo Village bore the heavy responsibility of guarding the sealing barrier from generation to generation. Combat awareness and fighting skills were indispensable, and daily training and physical exercise had become compulsory parts of every day.

In the square and deep in the bamboo groves, female villagers could be seen training everywhere. Their bodies were agile, their movements crisp, and their shouted calls rose one after another.

Thanks to the protection of the divine dragon's energy, Ta Lo Village's inhabitants were physically far stronger than normal people in the real world. An extremely small number of female villagers would also awaken a magical constitution, allowing them to receive and store the divine dragon's energy.

The sisters Ying Nan and Ying Li both possessed magical constitutions, and their physical abilities far surpassed those of the other villagers. Under the sunlight, the entire village brimmed with vitality, like a painting teeming with life.