Since everyone's eyes were focused on Kunpeng, Chen Xu’s appearance was instantly noticed by the Daxia citizens below.
“Hey? Look, there’s a figure on top of Kunpeng’s head!”
“It really is! That face... it’s Boss Chen Xu!”
“What! Boss Chen Xu is here too! I knew it—how could he not know about something as big as a walking the waters ritual? The officials even sent out a notice saying Kunpeng’s intentions were unclear and told us not to go near the Hantian River. I bet the government just wanted to hog all the dragon saliva for themselves, so they came up with that scheme.”
“Exactly! Now that they’ve lost the dungeons as their main resource, the officials are getting stingier and stingier. Now they’re even playing mind games with us. The world is truly going downhill; people’s hearts aren't what they used to be.”
The crowd’s discussions reached Chen Xu’s ears. To prevent the Daxia government from being misunderstood, Chen Xu had no choice but to shout another scolding.
After all, Chen Xu was technically part of the Daxia government—a pillar of the nation and the True Dragon of Daxia. With all those titles, he couldn't exactly sabotage himself.
“Hmph! You beast! You took advantage of my distraction to run off to Blue Star and cause such a commotion! Just wait until I get you back and show you what’s what!”
His scolding was incredibly loud. Although he didn't use mental strength to broadcast it across the entire planet, his voice was like a clap of thunder. Every job-holder in the South Sea District heard it clearly.
As the target of the scolding, Kunpeng saw Chen Xu’s dark expression and, knowing it was in the wrong, instantly wilted. It lowered its head and let out a low, mournful cry.
“Woo~~~”
Chen Xu cursed at it, putting on a serious act, but he didn't actually do anything to Kunpeng.
Long before he arrived, Chen Xu had mentally prepared himself to bail out the creature. In 《Journey to the West》, it was said that nameless nobodies with no background were executed on the spot, while the mounts of powerful beings were simply sent back home.
Since Kunpeng was backed by the Lord of the Undead, it could be considered a disciple of a powerful being. Naturally, it couldn't be executed—not that anyone on Blue Star could actually do anything to it anyway.
Chen Xu had come prepared to clean up Kunpeng’s mess, but fortunately, Kunpeng had been sensible and hadn't performed a typical walking the waters ritual.
This ritual hadn't caused any flooding or harmed the common people.
Instead, it had stirred the water momentum, making the water spiritual energy within Daxia’s borders significantly more active. Cultivators with water roots were overjoyed, immersing themselves in the phenomenon.
Of course, there were some victims—specifically, those cultivators with only fire roots who didn't exactly appreciate this change.
In short, judging by the outcome, Kunpeng’s walking the waters seemed to be a grand event that benefited all parties. Nevertheless, Chen Xu still had to keep a straight face and teach the fellow a lesson.
The job-holders below quieted down after hearing the scolding, falling into a brief silence.
After a moment, a wave of discussion broke out again.
“Holy crap, Kunpeng really did sneak away! Boss Chen Xu actually didn't know!”
“The ancient texts didn't lie to me! The mounts, pets, and Daoist boys of powerful beings really do sneak down to the lower realms to become demons and cause trouble.”
“Listen to you talk. I saw you working the hardest to collect dragon saliva earlier. How can you turn your back on them now?”
“Exactly! The ancient texts record the bad immortals. A good immortal like Boss Chen Xu would definitely raise a good pet.”
“That makes sense. After Kunpeng walked the waters, the water momentum surged. We cultivators can collect water essences without any effort. Our cultivation speed is many times faster now, and we don't have to spend points or fight for spots to train in the Cave Heavens.”
Just then, Xia Qiming, with two fire wheels under his feet and a long spear in his hand, flew into the air and looked down at the crowd.
“Everyone, Kunpeng’s walking the waters has concluded. Please do not gather here any longer. The Daxia government still has cleanup work to do. We ask for your cooperation.”
As soon as he finished speaking, multiple streaks of sword light rose as many job-holders flew away on their swords.
The rest showed off their own unique methods—some used talismans, some used mental strength to teleport, others summoned mounts, and some even buffed themselves to run away on foot.
The dungeon era hadn't been over for long, and most of those gathered here were veterans who had lived through it. Most still held a sense of awe and respect for the government.
Their earlier complaints were mostly just nostalgia for the abundant resources of the dungeon era.
Moreover, since the order came from General Commander Xia Qiming himself, the crowd was sensible enough to leave quickly.
Seeing the crowd disperse, Xia Qiming steered his fire wheels and came up into the sky.
Seeing Xia Qiming in this state, Chen Xu couldn't help but laugh before the man could even speak.
“Hahaha! Principal Xia, what kind of play are you putting on? Why the getup? Don't tell me you’re having a mid-life crisis and decided to take up cosplay like the youngsters.”
Xia Qiming did not look amused by Chen Xu’s teasing.
“Hmph. I was scared into this by your big treasure. Fuxi sent you messages and you didn't reply. When we tried to communicate with Kunpeng, it just said it was walking the waters and wouldn't explain why.”
“Otherwise, I wouldn't have had to dress up as the Great Deity of the Three Altars.”
“Kunpeng’s situation was my fault. I was careless and didn't expect this fool to learn how to be sneaky and pull off such a big stunt behind my back. But Principal Xia, what does that have to do with you dressing up as Nezha?”
“Hmph.”
Xia Qiming didn't say a word, simply sharing his job-holder panel with Chen Xu.
【God-Invoking (Exclusive): By playing the role of or replicating the posture of an ancient deity, one can borrow the power of that deity in special scenarios to subdue demons and stabilize the world.】
“Holy crap, Principal Xia, you’re cheating too? I remember your class was Martial Monk. How do you have such a ridiculous skill?”
Chen Xu was genuinely shocked. Could it be that Xia Qiming was the original protagonist? If Chen Xu hadn't appeared as an extradimensional demon, would Xia Qiming have been the one to end the dungeon era?
“This is a skill I obtained after breaking through to the Mythic rank. A Martial Monk is still a monk; it’s perfectly normal to pray to Buddha, recite scriptures, and invoke gods for protection.”
“When you put it that way, I guess it makes sense. Principal Xia, can you invoke any god?”
“Theoretically, I can invoke any deity recorded in mythology. It’s easier if they have a Buddhist or Daoist background.”
“Then why did you dress up as Nezha? Aren't there more powerful ones?”
The myths and legends of Daxia were similar to those from Chen Xu’s previous life, which was why he was so curious. Was the monkey not strong enough? Or was Buddha’s palm too soft? Why not invoke the truly powerful ones?
Xia Qiming understood what Chen Xu meant, but God-Invoking was only a mythic-tier skill after all. There were massive restrictions on which deities he could currently invoke. He couldn't invoke the truly powerful ones, and doing so by force would carry heavy side effects.
However, Xia Qiming didn't want to continue discussing his skills with Chen Xu. He forcibly changed the subject, pulling a loach with horns on its head from his waist.
The loach lay in Xia Qiming’s hand, trembling under Kunpeng’s dragon pressure. Yet, Chen Xu accurately captured a deep-seated resentment hidden within its eyes.
“Principal Xia, this is?”
“Ao Xia, a loach from the Hantian River. After the Spirit Qi Recovery in Daxia, the Hantian River underwent a massive transformation.”
“This little loach received a boost from providence and gained a trace of latent dragon qi. Once we discovered it, we signed a contract with it. Daxia would help it become a dragon, and in exchange, it would serve as Daxia’s guardian beast once it transformed.”
“A boost from providence?”
Chen Xu caught the keyword. His eyes narrowed, and with a single thought, he hauled the Blue Star Heavenly Dao over.
Bound by Chen Xu’s powerful mental strength, the Heavenly Dao’s boy avatar trembled just like the loach.
Chen Xu pointed at Ao Xia and looked at the Blue Star Heavenly Dao.
“You did this?”
The Blue Star Heavenly Dao nodded.
“The world’s providence is closely linked to its spiritual essence. As Daxia’s spiritual essence rose, its providence naturally followed. I saw how obsessed you all were with True Dragons—all that Dragon Seed Program and guardian dragon talk—so I just applied a portion of the providence to this little loach.”
Then, the Blue Star Heavenly Dao raised a small hand and pointed at Xia Qiming.
“He knew about it too.”
Chen Xu looked at Xia Qiming, who nodded.
“The Blue Star Heavenly Dao did indeed come to me to ask how to use that providence. At that time, you had already stepped into the Unique rank and were always busy elsewhere. I thought about cultivating another True Dragon for Daxia, so I told the Heavenly Dao to convert the providence into a True Dragon station. But I didn't expect it to land on Ao Xia.”
Hearing this, the Blue Star Heavenly Dao grew anxious. Fearing Chen Xu would take his anger out on him, he immediately defended himself.
“Hey, you can't blame me for that! You just said you wanted a True Dragon; you didn't say it had to be a Daxia human. So I just found the creature that was closest to it and bestowed the providence.”
Xia Qiming shook his head and continued.
“Originally, we wanted to nurture Ao Xia and let it transform into a True Dragon through the walking the waters ritual. That way, Daxia would have another powerful combatant with an extraordinary background. But who would have thought that a short while ago, it would come to me saying a group of bullies had arrived in the Hantian River and cleared the area? They claimed some King Kunpeng was walking the waters and told all minor spirits to leave immediately.”
Chen Xu turned to look at Kunpeng. Sensing trouble, Kunpeng looked panicked and quickly turned its head away, not daring to meet Chen Xu’s gaze.
“Then, I rushed to the Hantian River and found a group of sea race members traveling upstream, driving all the spirits out of the main river and into the tributaries. When I went to ask, they only said they were following a divine oracle and acting on orders. I went to the East Sea Dragon Palace, but I couldn't find Kunpeng there either. I only saw its High Priestess, who also said it was by the god’s command. Since similar things had happened before, I thought Kunpeng was just playing around and didn't take it to heart. But when the momentum began to rise at the source of the Hantian River, we realized it wasn't a joke. We had Fuxi contact you, and I dressed up like this in advance to prevent things from spiraling out of control.”
“Woo~~~”
Kunpeng let out a cry, signaling that it wasn't a creature that didn't understand the world and would never harm Daxia’s job-holders. It felt Xia Qiming was worrying over nothing.
“Sigh.”
Xia Qiming sighed. “We know you wouldn't harm the people of Daxia, but your walking the waters ritual ended up harming him.”
Xia Qiming held up Ao Xia. Seeing it had someone to back it up, the loach actually straightened its body, showing a hint of dominance.
At this, Kunpeng was full of disdain. It was just a minor spirit that hadn't even reached the Epic rank—a little demon that couldn't even withstand a single breath from it.
“Principal Xia, I still don't understand. Is there a limit to walking the waters? Even if Kunpeng has done it, this loach can still do it later.”
“If it were a normal walking the waters ritual, there would naturally be no problem. But Kunpeng’s ritual... sigh. Just look at its soul, then look at the Hantian River, and even the oceans of Blue Star, and you’ll understand.”
Following Xia Qiming’s words, Chen Xu looked at Kunpeng’s soul and found that next to its original Sea God station, a new title had appeared.
Looking further at the rivers and lakes within Daxia and the four seas of Blue Star, he discovered they all had a master. And that master was none other than Kunpeng.
At that moment, Kunpeng spat out a five-colored dragon orb from its mouth, which radiated an incredibly profound aura.
Chen Xu used soul perception and obtained a piece of information from the dragon orb.
【Dragon Emperor of the Four Seas, Lord of All Waters】
Rate on N.U.
