We Fly on Three
As the dragon kings of the waters, dragons naturally dislike fire, and extinguishing flames is almost an instinctive behavior.
As long as Zhang Xuezhou can stop the fighting, Ao Li is willing to adjust the water and bring rain.
The Shanglin Garden is surrounded by eight rivers: Wei, Jing, Feng, Lao, Yu, Hao, Chan, and Ba. For the Dragon King, this area is not difficult to control in terms of cloud formation and rain control.
A continuous curtain of rain was drawn from the river and poured down from high in the sky, creating a localized downpour.
The wildfires on the outskirts were extinguished first, and then gradually subsided.
Once burned and then soaked by rain, the probability of it quickly reigniting will be greatly reduced.
Zhang Xuezhou and his group traveled to Jinghe quickly and returned just as fast, before the Imperial Guards had even gathered at the array's core.
Apart from Han Yan, who was shouting himself hoarse in the mountains after learning the new emperor's identity, the other Imperial Guards who were rushing on their way remained extremely calm.
"This technique is amazing!"
If the Dragon Kings' skills in controlling water, clouds, and rain are second to none, then few would dare to claim first.
In particular, Ao Li is the Great Dragon God in charge of rain, and his abilities are second to none among the dragons.
The new emperor was amazed by the top-notch Technique Method, feeling that this was the true art, unlike those half-baked spells that required only a short time to cast rain prayers.
The new emperor had long wanted to stab the Jinghe Dragon King in the kidneys to see if the dragon king's demon blood could activate the true Red Empyrean Sword, but after being doused with rain by the dragon king, those thoughts in his mind gradually faded away.
No one in the imperial court possesses Ao Li's abilities, which also signifies Ao Li's rarity.
Clearly, as long as communication can occur, a living Jinghe Dragon King is far better than an uncertain outcome.
He couldn't help but praise him repeatedly, and only then did Ao Li, who was controlling clouds and rain, notice the person sitting behind the Imperial Shuttle.
"You have people with you behind you?"
Ao Li looked back and saw Zhang Xuezhou sitting steadily on the Imperial Shuttle, while behind the shuttle sat a man with a completely black face.
The bet Zhang Xuezhou offered was too eye-catching, and coupled with the fact that the new emperor was covered in soot from the fireworks, and it was nighttime, the two began to fly at extremely fast speeds. Ao Li indeed did not notice the new emperor in the Imperial Shuttle.
Only when they stopped and hovered high in the air did he notice the person behind Zhang Xuezhou.
"I told you before that I borrowed this treasure to fight you," Zhang Xuezhou laughed. "The person sitting behind me is the owner of the Law Treasure. He was afraid I would run away with it, so he's been sitting behind me watching!"
"This treasure is truly remarkable; I wouldn't feel comfortable lending it out myself!"
Ao Li replied sullenly while conjuring rain.
Several years ago, Ao Li and Zhang Xuezhou flew from Jiangxia to Chang'an City. At that time, he was leading his son, while Zhang Xuezhou could barely keep up with the speed and distance of the flight.
Today, Ao Li discovers that things have completely reversed.
Zhang Xuezhou piloted the Law Treasure to carry people into flight, while he used all his strength to chase after him.
Ao Li felt that Zhang Xuezhou's flying technique could not have improved so rapidly in such a short time, and he attributed this difference to the Law Treasure.
He felt a mix of envy and a sense of loss, as if he had already lost the game.
If we don't compare the distance they flew, but only the distance they just covered, he can be considered the loser at this moment.
"We need to agree on a distance for our fight after we put out the fire, so it doesn't go on forever," Ao Li reminded him.
"You've used up your Law Power to summon clouds and rain, so I won't take advantage of you. We can fight another day, or you can extinguish the fire and fly back to the Jing River," Zhang Xuezhou said.
"No need to wait until tomorrow, let's race back to Jinghe again!"
Over the years, Ao Li's body had become weak and his strength diminished due to the dragon-making process. Now that someone was offering him food, how could he refuse?
In his eagerness to engage Zhang Xuezhou in a flying duel, he unusually spat several mouthfuls of air downwards.
The normal torrential rain turned into Jieyin irrigation, with water cascading down like a waterfall.
The previous wildfires began to turn into flash floods. The burning flames were extinguished, and the floodwaters continued to slide down the mountain, carrying black and gray soil. There were more signs of landslides.
Zhang Xuezhou's eyesight was still quite good in the darkness. Seeing that the wildfire was almost extinguished but was about to cause flooding, and could even affect the Imperial Guards who were rushing to the scene, he had no choice but to repeatedly warn them.
"Watering these deserted areas a little more won't hurt, it'll prevent them from reigniting!"
Seeing the vast expanse of wildfire below extinguished, Ao Li was satisfied, and couldn't resist adding a few more splashes of water as he finished.
"Shall we start counting again and begin the flight battle?"
Seeing that the fire was extinguished at an incredibly fast pace, Zhang Xuezhou didn't waste any more time.
His physical Law Power had only recovered to 20%, and without using the Technique Within the Clouds, how could he possibly compete with Ao Li in flying? At this moment, he could only hope to make a short sprint to avoid wasting his precious medicine.
After reminding Ao Li, he couldn't help but call out to the new emperor behind him to sit up straight and be helped up.
"Alright," Ao Li replied, "I'll count to three, then we'll start flying!"
"I'll give the signal. On the count of three, we'll take off," Zhang Xuezhou said.
"Alright!"
Ao Li was indifferent to fame and fortune. He wouldn't argue with Zhang Xuezhou, since there was nothing to argue about when it came to just shouting slogans.
"Then I'll call out, are you ready?" Zhang Xuezhou called out.
"Ready?" Ao Li said, wiping the water droplets from his mouth.
"Three!"
Zhang Xuezhou loudly, and then drove the Sky Shuttle through the Changkong.
"Three... Hey, aren't you going to call out one and two anymore?"
It wasn't until Zhang Xuezhou had driven the Sky Shuttle for nearly a mile that Ao Li belatedly realized what was happening and hurriedly gave chase.
Having lost the advantage of takeoff, Ao Li wouldn't be able to catch up anytime soon.
He was both angry and anxious, but he also felt that Zhang Xuezhou was right. After all, Zhang Xuezhou had said that if he shouted "three," he would fly away, which was straightforward and decisive. He hadn't understood the meaning, so he couldn't blame anyone else.
"This Dragon King is being completely played around by Dongfang Shuo!"
The fleeting images before his eyes became stable. After riding the Sky Shuttle three times, the new emperor mastered the riding technique. His body had fully adapted to this high-altitude flight, and his thinking had returned to normal.
The new emperor believed that the Dragon King was the supreme ruler of the dragon race, possessing a noble status and great power, and thus a figure of great renown.
But after repeated interactions, the new emperor felt that the Dragon King was just a fool who not only got dragged in by Zhang Xuezhou to save the day for free, but also didn't gain any advantage.
When the hazy sense of distance was broken, the fear that had once filled the new emperor's eyes vanished.
He even wondered if those lofty Dao Lords, Zhu Jiuyin, Nine Spirits Primal Sage, Celestial Venerables of the Immortal Court, and the Jade Emperor were similar, or if the world had elevated these beings to an unrealistic level.
The new emperor would not deny the strength of these top experts, but he did not believe that these people were so wise that they could calculate everything without omission.
If they could scheme even once, it wouldn't be impossible for these top-tier beings to fall.
The new emperor encountered Zhu Jiuyin in Lingnan when he was young, and that battle left him with a deep psychological scar.
He was furious but dared not unleash his own sword strike until he came into contact with the Great Dragon God of Rain, and the new emperor realized that all living beings were no different.
Even these high-ranking cultivators, lacking social skills and adaptability to social changes, may not possess the mindset of a thousand-year-old fox as he imagined.
The filter in his eyes shattered, and his sense of security grew. For the first time, he felt less awe towards the world and more eager to try new things.
As the rushing sound of the Jing River reached his ears, the new emperor couldn't help but turn around to look at the Jing River Dragon King who was relentlessly chasing after him.
Compared to the elegant white-robed scholar who had previously moved with agility, the Jing River Dragon King now revealed his dragon form and chased after the enemy in the darkness.
But no matter how the Jinghe Dragon King changed its form and flew, Zhang Xuezhou, who was driving the Imperial Shuttle, was indeed a step ahead and arrived at the finish line first.
Just as he was about to see how Zhang Xuezhou would end this farce, he saw a white light rise into the sky in the distance, then dissipate at an extremely fast speed, almost identical to what he had seen before.
A corner of that secret place in Zhongnan Mountain seems to have been revealed once again.